Canaries will never be gamblers

FROM the terraces to the boardroom at Carrow Road, the desire is the same - to keep Norwich among the elite of English football, but not at any cost.

The Norfolk club were facing economic meltdown after their relegation from the top flight in 1995. Celebrity TV chef Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones became joint majority shareholders and put up the necessary cash to stave off the liquidators, the first step in an often difficult passage back towards calmer waters.

The journey took a jubilant turn last May when the Canaries finally returned to the top flight following a nine-year exile.