On 8th August 2009, Norwich slumped to a huge defeat as Bryan Gunn's Championship return ended in disasterous fashion. The Canaries' opening League One fixture of the 2009/10 season against Colchester United at Carrow Road, was a bit of a disaster! Losing their first League match of the season, at home, is bad enough, but to lose 1-7 at home against traditionally ‘junior’ neighbours is a disaster!!
Norwich goals: Cody McDonald after 72 mins. Colchester goals: Lisbie after 10' and 38', Platt 13 and 19', Fox 22', Perkins 76', Vernon 90'.
Norwich attempts on target off target
- Norwich5
- Colchester10
Colchester attempts on target off target
- Norwich13
- Colchester5
Norwich manager Bryan Gunn lost his job within a week and was replaced by Colchester manager, Paul Lambert. Norwich later won the return match at Colchester 5-0, taking the League 1 title. It’s funny old game! Gunn played 390 times for Norwich and won 6 caps for Scotland.
Norwich City v Colchester United
Games won: | 10 |
Games drawn: | 7 |
Games lost: | 9 |
Date | Match | Result | Score | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|
23 Sep 1950 | Colchester United v Norwich City | W | 2-3 | Division Three (South) |
03 Feb 1951 | Norwich City v Colchester United | D | 1-1 | Division Three (South) |
23 Aug 1951 | Colchester United v Norwich City | D | 1-1 | Division Three (South) |
29 Aug 1951 | Norwich City v Colchester United | W | 5-2 | Division Three (South) |
26 Dec 1952 | Norwich City v Colchester United | W | 3-0 | Division Three (South) |
02 May 1953 | Colchester United v Norwich City | W | 0-4 | Division Three (South) |
09 Sep 1953 | Norwich City v Colchester United | W | 2-1 | Division Three (South) |
17 Sep 1953 | Colchester United v Norwich City | W | 0-1 | Division Three (South) |
23 Sep 1954 | Colchester United v Norwich City | L | 1-0 | Division Three (South) |
29 Sep 1954 | Norwich City v Colchester United | L | 0-2 | Division Three (South) |
21 Sep 1955 | Norwich City v Colchester United | D | 1-1 | Division Three (South) |
28 Apr 1956 | Colchester United v Norwich City | L | 3-2 | Division Three (South) |
25 Dec 1956 | Colchester United v Norwich City | D | 1-1 | Division Three (South) |
26 Dec 1956 | Norwich City v Colchester United | L | 1-2 | Division Three (South) |
14 Sep 1957 | Colchester United v Norwich City | W | 1-2 | Division Three (South) |
18 Jan 1958 | Norwich City v Colchester United | D | 1-1 | Division Three (South) |
25 Aug 1958 | Colchester United v Norwich City | L | 2-1 | League Division Three |
03 Sep 1958 | Norwich City v Colchester United | L | 1-2 | League Division Three |
03 Oct 1959 | Norwich City v Colchester United | W | 3-2 | League Division Three |
20 Feb 1960 | Colchester United v Norwich City | L | 3-0 | League Division Three |
31 Oct 2006 | Norwich City v Colchester United | D | 1-1 | League Championship |
31 Mar 2007 | Colchester United v Norwich City | L | 3-0 | League Championship |
15 Dec 2007 | Colchester United v Norwich City | D | 1-1 | League Championship |
22 Mar 2008 | Norwich City v Colchester United | W | 5-1 | League Championship |
08 Aug 2009 | Norwich City v Colchester United | L | 1-7 | League One |
16 Jan 2010 | Colchester United v Norwich City | W | 0-5 | League One |
Gunn worked for years behind the scenes at Norwich in a variety of roles, from matchday hosting to coaching. He was appointed temporary manager towards the end of the 2008-9 season and then confirmed as permanent manager during the summer. However, after a 7–1 home defeat in the opening game to local rivals Colchester Utd, he lost his job a week into the 2009-10 football season.
In 1992, Gunn's two-year-old daughter, Francesca, was diagnosed with leukaemia. Norwich City fans were at first astonished by the sight of the goalkeeper running out with a completely shaven head. In the words of author and Norwich supporter, Kevin Baldwin, "Occasionally, the gap between the crowd and the players can cause unfortunate misunderstandings. A few months ago, Gunn shaved his head and we all laughed at him ... I was especially keen ... to shout "Baldy!" ... It now turns out that his daughter was undergoing chemotherapy at the time, which made her hair fall out. He shaved his head to show her that this was nothing to be ashamed of. Sorry, Bryan." When news spread of the reason for Gunn's shaven head, he received "support from the whole of the sporting world and the people of Norfolk".
Gunn describes the period of Francesca's illness and death and how it caused him to reflect on his career:
Francesca died in 1992, aged two. Gunn played a match for Norwich against QPR at Carrow Road just days after his daughter died; he said of it, "When I ran out, I thought, wow, I could feel the whole stadium was with me. I never thought about packing it in." At the end of the season, Gunn won Norwich Player of the Year as the club finished third in the Premiership, its highest ever league position.
Following Francesca's death, Gunn established "Bryan Gunn's Leukaemia Appeal", a fund to raise money to combat the disease. He initially set a target of £10,000, but by 2011 he has raise £1,000,000, under the auspices of The Dove Trust The fund aims to address three issues:
The third of these ambitions has prompted the funding of research into leukaemia at the Norwich-based University of East Anglia. Gunn says:
In addition to the research, Gunn set up a telephone support line that offers advice and assistance for parents of children who have leukaemia or other forms of cancer. Known as gaps:line (an acronym for Gunn Appeal Parent Support), the service quickly grew. From its initial pilot launch in Norfolk in early 2004, it expanded to cover the "eastern region" by the end of the year, and launched nationally in early 2006. The appeal has also funded other research and support work. He is 60 years old now.
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