# Norwich City F.C. Player of the Season

The Norwich City Player of the Season award is voted for annually by Norwich City's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. As a mark of respect, the trophy is named The Barry Butler memorial trophy, after the club captain who was killed in a car accident on 9 April 1966.
This is the more prestigious of two official Norwich City awards, the other being the Young Player of the Year accolade. The 2003–04 winner Craig Fleming made clear just how important this award is to Norwich City players, "It is something you dream of winning... it is such a prestigious award". Other awards available are awarded by other bodies, namely the Capital Canaries, Norwich City Independent Supporters Association, and the "Ambassador Club".
Since the inaugural award was made to Terry Allcock in 1967, nine players have won the award twice, and one, Grant Holt, has won the award three times, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Kevin Keelan was the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons, a feat since emulated by Martin Peters, Kevin Drinkell, Iwan Roberts, and Grant Holt. Two winners have gone on to manage the club, Dave Stringer, the 1972 winner, and double-winner Bryan Gunn.

## Voting mechanism

This award is voted for by the fans of the club. Toward the end of the season, fans are invited to vote, either by submitting a paper slip to the club's Carrow Road offices, or by email or text message, with the winner being the player that polls the most votes. A percentage of the votes from the 'Player of the Month' awards throughout the season also count towards the final votes for Player of the year.

## List of winners

Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame inductee
† Player currently on the playing staff of the club
| Season | Level/Tier | Name | Position | Nationality | Caps | Notes |
| 1967 | 2 | Terry Allcock | Defender | England | | Inaugural winner. |
| 1968 | 2 | Hugh Curran | Striker | Scotland | 5 | |
| 1969 | 2 | Ken Foggo | Winger | Scotland | | |
| 1970 | 2 | Duncan Forbes | Defender | Scotland | | |
| 1971 | 2 | Ken Foggo | Winger | Scotland | | Second award. |
| 1972 | 2 | Dave Stringer | Defender | England | | Went on to manage the club, 1987–1992. |
| 1973 | 1 | Kevin Keelan | Goalkeeper | England | | First goalkeeper to win the award, and retained it the following year. |
| 1974 | 1 | Kevin Keelan | Goalkeeper | England | | Second award. |
| 1975 | 2 | Colin Suggett | Midfielder | England | | |
| 1976 | 1 | Martin Peters | Midfielder | England | 67 | |
| 1977 | 1 | Martin Peters | Midfielder | England | 67 | Second award. |
| 1978 | 1 | John Ryan | Winger | England | | |
| 1979 | 1 | Tony Powell | Defender | England | | |
| 1980 | 1 | Kevin Bond | Defender | England | | No voting for award this year |
| 1981 | 1 | Joe Royle | Striker | England | 6 | |
| 1982 | 2 | Greg Downs | Defender | England | | |
| 1983 | 1 | Dave Watson | Defender | England | 12 | |
| 1984 | 1 | Chris Woods | Goalkeeper | England | 43 | |
| 1985 | 1 | Steve Bruce | Defender | England | | Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who were Football League Cup winners but suffered relegation to the Second Division. |
| 1986 | 2 | Kevin Drinkell | Striker | England | | Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who were promoted back to the First Division as Second Division champions. |
| 1987 | 1 | Kevin Drinkell | Striker | England | | Second award. His goals helped newly promoted Norwich finished fifth in the First Division. |
| 1988 | 1 | Bryan Gunn | Goalkeeper | Scotland | 6 | |
| 1989 | 1 | Dale Gordon | Midfielder | England | | |
| 1990 | 1 | Mark Bowen | Defender | Wales | 35 | |
| 1991 | 1 | Ian Culverhouse | Defender | England | | |
| 1992 | 1 | Robert Fleck | Striker | Scotland | 4 | |
| 1993 | 1 | Bryan Gunn | Goalkeeper | Scotland | 6 | Second award. |
| 1994 | 1 | Chris Sutton | Striker | England | 1 | |
| 1995 | 1 | Jon Newsome | Defender | England | | |
| 1996 | 2 | Spencer Prior | Defender | England | | |
| 1997 | 2 | Darren Eadie | Winger | England | | |
| 1998 | 2 | Matt Jackson | Defender | England | | |
| 1999 | 2 | Iwan Roberts | Striker | Wales | 15 | |
| 2000 | 2 | Iwan Roberts | Striker | Wales | 15 | Second award. Consecutive wins for first time since 1987. |
| 2001 | 2 | Andy Marshall | Goalkeeper | England | | |
| 2002 | 2 | Gary Holt | Midfielder | Scotland | 10 | |
| 2003 | 2 | Adam Drury | Defender | England | |
| 2004 | 2 | Craig Fleming | Defender | England | | |
| 2005 | 1 | Darren Huckerby | Striker / Winger | England | | |
| 2006 | 2 | Gary Doherty | Defender | Republic of Ireland | 34 | First non–British winner. |
| 2007 | 2 | Darren Huckerby | Striker / Winger | England | | Second award. |
| 2008 | 2 | Dion Dublin | Striker / Defender | England | 4 | The oldest winner at the age of 39; retired at end of season. |
| 2009 | 2 | Lee Croft | Midfielder / Winger | England | | |
| 2010 | 3 | Grant Holt | Striker | England | | Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who sealed promotion to the Championship as League One champions. |
| 2011 | 2 | Grant Holt | Striker | England | | Second award for the player, whose goals helped Norwich reach the Premier League with a second successive promotion as Championship runners–up. |
| 2012 | 1 | Grant Holt | Striker | England | | First player to win the award 3 times. His goals helped Norwich reach their highest league finish for 18 years. |
| 2013 | 1 | Sébastien Bassong | Defender | Cameroon | 15 | First African/ Non European to win the award |
| 2014 | 1 | Robert Snodgrass | Winger | Scotland | 15 | Reserve goalkeeper Carlo Nash actually led the fan poll due to a protest vote. |
| 2015 | 2 | Bradley Johnson | Midfielder | England | | |
| 2016 | 1 | Jonny Howson | Midfielder | England | | |
| 2017 | 2 | Wes Hoolahan | Midfielder | Republic of Ireland | 37 | |
| 2018 | 2 | James Maddison | Midfielder | England | | |
| 2019 | 2 | Teemu Pukki | Striker | Finland | 102 | First winner from continental Europe |
| 2020 | 1 | Tim Krul | Goalkeeper | Netherlands | 15 | |
| 2021 | 2 | Emiliano Buendía | Midfielder / Winger | Argentina | 1 | First winner from South America |
| 2022 | 1 | Teemu Pukki | Striker | Finland | 102 | Second award |
| 2023 | 2 | Gabriel Sara | Midfielder | Brazil | | |
| 2024 | 2 | Kenny McLean† | Midfielder | Scotland | 36 | |

## Summary of wins by playing position

| Position | Number of winners |
| Goalkeeper | 7 |
| Defender | 17 |
| Midfielder | 12 |
| Forward | 16 |

## Summary of wins by country

| country | Number of winners |
| England | 33 |
| Scotland | 9 |
| Wales | 3 |
| Republic of Ireland | 2 |
| Finland | 2 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Cameroon | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The official "Level" of competition in the structure of the English league system.
* ↑ For a full description of positions see Football Positions.
* ↑ If blank, uncapped at full international level.
* ↑ By this point in his career, the former forward was playing at "half-back".
* ↑ Keelan was born in India, to English parents.
* ↑ Played some games in defence, but scored 28 goals in all competitions and was then sold to Blackburn Rovers for a then national record fee of £5million.
* ↑ Also played some games as a striker.
* ↑ Doherty has been classed as a defender, Sutton as a striker, Allcock as a defender.
* 1 2 Multiple winners are counted multiple times.
* ↑ Includes strikers and wingers.