By admin 
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Norwich City have endured an up and down 20 years since the year 2000, with the club starting the new millennium in what is now the Championship, before falling down to League One in 2009, and then reaching the Premier League and have featured in six top-flight campaigns since the first of those promotions back in 2011.
David Wagner’s current outfit are vying to make their way back, and have got off to a strong start.
In the past 23 years, Norwich have been known to have many entertaining and cult figures which stand out to the Carrow Road faithful, and our Norwich City fan pundit Zeke Downes has given his best Canaries eleven during this period.
Do you agree with his selections?
GK – Tim Krul
Starting off in goal is Tim Krul, who is one of Norwich’s most recent departures, having left to join Premier League new boys Luton Town just six days ago.
The Dutch shot stopper made the move to Norwich from Brighton in 2018, and was a key figure in their rise back to the Premier League in just his first season, as the Canaries won the league with 94 points, featuring in every league game.
RB – Max Aarons
Another recent departure is next in the form of Max Aarons, a player synonymous with Norwich’s spell between the Premier League and Championship over recent years.
Aarons first broke into the side in the title-winning season of 2018/19 under Daniel Farke, and was a mainstay in Norwich’s side under following managers Dean Smith and David Wagner.
During his 213 appearances for the Canaries, Aarons scored 6 times and assisted a further 17. His performances also led to a nomination within the Top 100 shortlist for the Golden Boy award in 2020, as well as winning the EFL Young Player of the Season award the previous year.
CB’s – Craig Fleming / Malky Mackay
Craig Fleming spent ten years at Norwich, a spell which led him into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2003, just six years into his time at the club, emphasising his impact.
The centre-back was named as Norwich’s player of the season in 2003/04 as the Canaries won the Division 1 title on 94 points. In the following Premier League campaign, he played every minute of every game despite relegation. His ten-year spell at the club granted Fleming a testimonial in July 2006 against Newcastle United. Overall, he played 343 times for the club, the 11th highest in its history.
LB – Adam Drury
Another City Hall of Fame inductee is next at left back in Adam Drury.
Drury spent 11-years at Norwich, making 361 appearances in all competitions having joined from Peterborough in 2001 for £500,000.
He was captain of Norwich’s title success in 2004, and despite a loss of form and the captaincy after promotion, continued to be a key member of Nigel Worthington’s side in the latter stages of the season and in their return to the second tier.
RM – Darren Huckerby
Huckerby made an instant impression on the Carrow Road faithful after joining initially on loan in 2003, before signing permanently in the December.
During his first season, the winger scored 14 goals, coming second to the aforementioned Fleming in City’s end-of-season awards.
The following year, he would snub interest from Liverpool and Celtic, opting to stay at Norwich as he scored seven times despite relegation. He would win Player of the Year that season and in 2006/07, as well as runner-up to Gary Docherty in 2005/06.
CM – Jonny Howson
The current Middlesbrough midfielder is next up, having been at Norwich between 2012 and 2017.
Howson joined in the winter of 2012 after impressing with Leeds United, making his debut in the March of that year. After scoring his first goal for the club just weeks later against Everton, then boss Paul Lambert compared Howson to Andres Iniesta.
The midfielder was a regular in the side under Chris Hughton in the following two seasons, before the club were relegated.
CAM – Emi Buendia
One of the most easy-on-the eye players in recent Championship history follows in Emi Buendia.
Having signed from Getafe in 2018, Buendia made a key contribution in Norwich’s title winning season of 18/19, with seven goals, before signing a long-term contract.
LM – Wes Hoolahan
Norwich’s “Irish Messi” is next up, having enjoyed a ten-year spell at Carrow Road between 2008 and 2018.
Hoolahan’s first goal for the club came in a 4-0 win against Barnsley in January 2009, but the club were relegated to League One months later.
However, under Paul Lambert in 09/10, the Irishman recorded his best-scoring season with 14 as Norwich won League One, before another 10 and a first hat-trick against Sheffield United the following year as the Canaries completed back-to-back promotions.
ST’s – Teemu Pukki / Grant Holt
To round off the list, perhaps one of the most formidable strike duo’s you could make out of legendary Norwich forwards, particularly in recent times.
Pukki will ultimately go down as one of the best signings in Norwich history, signing on a free from Brondby in 2018. In his first season, the Fin scored 30 times, and ran away with a plethora of club and divisional awards.
The following season, he would score 11 times including a hat-trick against Newcastle in the club’s first home game, but City would eventually finish rock bottom of the Premier League.
Despite relegation, Pukki stuck around and continued his reputation as a deadly finisher in the second tier, scoring 26 times as the club returned immediately to the elite as champions.
He made an immediate impact, having scored 20 of his 30 League One goals by late December, as Norwich were promoted as Champions and Holt unsurprisingly was named the club’s Player of the Year.
The following season, he netted his 50th Norwich goal in a 6-0 win over Scunthorpe (scoring a hat-trick in the same game) just weeks before City’s second successive promotion.
He would then score 15 times as under Lambert, the club consolidated back in the Premier League the following year, and he would win Player of the Year at Carrow Road for a third straight season.
Despite uncertainty over his future that summer, he featured a further 34 times, before scoring on his final appearance on May 19th 2013, a 3-2 victory away at Manchester City.