- A decade later we track the diverse paths of Norwich’s 2016 relegated squad.
- From Premier League managers to sixth-tier, Canary legends have scattered.
- Explore how these former stars traded the pitch for suits and coaching.
It’s been 10 years since what was a manic season in the Premier League. Leicester ended up champions at odds of 5000/1, Southampton were challenging for a place in Europe, Liverpool finished eighth, and, perhaps to the surprise of no one, Norwich City were relegated for a fourth time.
But what did the Canaries lineup look like a decade ago? Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see where each individual’s career took them into the 2020s.
Goalkeeper: John Ruddy – Newcastle United
We begin with Ruddy, who made 235 appearances for Norwich, leaving at the end of the 2016/17 season. He would go on to join Wolves, where he won the Championship in 2017/18, eventually leaving for Birmingham City in 2022. He is now the third-choice goalkeeper at Newcastle, where he has yet to make his debut since signing in 2024.
Right-Back: Ivo Pinto – Fortuna Sittard
Pinto made 85 appearances for Norwich over three years before returning to Dinamo Zagreb in 2019. Loan spells at Famalicao and Rio Ave in his native Portugal followed, before moving to Holland to play in the yellow and green of Sittard in 2022, where he still plays.
Centre-Back: Russel Martin – Retired
The first player of this lineup who is now a manager, at just 40 years old. Martin spent eight years at Norwich, making 278 appearances. After brief spells at Rangers, Walsall and MK Dons, he swapped the kit for a suit and has so far managed four different clubs. His most notable spell was at Southampton, where he won promotion to the Premier League.
Centre-Back: Ryan Bennett – Retired
Bennett played 101 games for Norwich, before leaving with Ruddy to Wolves in 2017. Following a loan spell at Leicester City, and brief periods with Swansea and Cambridge United, he retired in 2024.
Left-Back: Martin Olsson – Malmö FF
Like Ruddy and Bennett, Olsson left Norwich in 2017, but he joined Swansea City. After two years with the Swans, he returned to his native Sweden, where he currently remains, playing for Malmö in the Allsvenskan.
Right-Midfield: Nathan Redmond – Blackburn
Redmond would leave Norwich in the summer following the 2015/16 for Southampton, who he left in 2022 after 195 appearances, to go to Besiktas. Spells at Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday followed, and he joined Blackburn Rovers in March on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
Centre-Mid: Gary O’Neil – Manager of Strasbourg
Onto the second manager of City’s final starting eleven of 2015/16, O’Neil left the Canaries that same summer after 51 appearances, joining Bristol City. He retired in 2019 after a year at Bolton Wanderers, and would then go on to manage Bournemouth and Wolves, before being appointed Strasbourg manager in January.
Centre-Mid: Graham Dorrans – Johnstone Burgh
Dorrans has had quite the career path since leaving the Canaries in 2017. He spent two years at Rangers before signing for Dundee, then had a year in Australia with Western Sydney Wanderers, before returning to his native Scotland with Dunfermline, and now plays in the Scottish sixth tier.
Left-Midfield: Matthew Jarvis – Retired
Jarvis signed for Norwich in the 2015/16 season on loan from West Ham, and that signing was made permanent after just five games. His time at the Canaries was ravaged by injuries, though, and he would only play 14 more times in three years. After spells at Walsall and Woking, he retired in 2021.
Attacking-Mid – Steven Naismith – Retired
Naismith joined Norwich in January of 2016 for what was then a club record fee, but his performances didn’t justify the money spent. After 44 games and just six goals in three years, he returned to Scotland to play for Hearts, where he retired in 2021, and even was head coach for a year from September 2023. He is now an assistant manager of the Scottish national team.
Striker – Cameron Jerome – Retired
Jerome spent four years at Norwich, scoring 38 goals in 130 games. He left in the summer of 2018 for Derby County, before two years in Turkey with Goztepe. He returned to England in 2020, singing for MK Dons and left after a year for Luton Town, where he left in 2023. After his time at Kenilworth Road, he signed for Bolton, where he scored three goals in 40 games, and retired at the end of the 2023/24 season.
