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‘Will that ever happen again for Norwich City?’ – Sutton still thinks about title race of 1993
Chris Sutton won titles with Blackburn and Celtic but missed out on silverware with Norwich City Picture: Archant Library - Credit: Archant
Chris Sutton admits his mind still occasionally wanders back to just how close Norwich City came to winning the Premier League title during his playing days.
The former Canaries striker was a key part of Mike Walker's team which spent so much of the 1992-93 season sitting top of the table, only to be beaten 3-1 at home by eventual champions Manchester United in March to eventually finish third.
That remains the club's best finish in the top flight but Sutton - who played some of that campaign in defence, before becoming an established striker - admits Leicester's title triumph of 2016 reminded him of how close City were to their own fairytale story.
"That season as a whole, albeit I was young, when you are so close to achieving something - as a whole you finish the season and think brilliant, we finished third - but it was a season of 'what might have been'," Sutton recalls.
"With what Leicester City achieved later on, that was a story where we didn't win it but we had that opportunity and will that ever happen again for Norwich City? Probably not."
My Norwich City Story #5: Chris Sutton on the highs and lows of his Canaries career
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The following season Sutton scored 25 goals in the top flight and was sold to Blackburn for £5million, a British record at the time, after 43 goals in 126 games.
He had hoped to add to that tally after leaving Birmingham City in 2006, but fitness doubts saw City opt for Dion Dublin instead.
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"Was the grass greener? Well it was, because Blackburn won the title and Norwich City got relegated, so it's as simple as that - it was greener," he continued.
"But I had the opportunity to come back to Norwich later in my career, I actually offered myself up to Nigel Worthington, who didn't want to take me.
"I think Norwich were in the Championship at the time, which I thought was pretty remarkable, to not even speak to me, and that would have been something that I really would have liked very much and I ended up signing for Aston Villa in the Premier League.
"So talking about regrets, that would be one that rankles, but I gave them the opportunity. It certainly wasn't about money in any shape or form, it was about wanting to come back to my hometown club."
- You can watch episode five of our My Norwich City Story series in full above and the previous episodes, with Robert Green, Ruel Fox, Andy Hughes and Jon Newsome, at youtube.com/OfficialPinkUn
