Norwich City found themselves in a difficult situation back in the summer of 2009.
Following their relegation from the Championship the previous season, the Canaries faced the potential of playing in England’s third division for the first time in 49 years.
After such a precipitous decline, it is probably not surprising that the summer transfer window was a busy one at Carrow Road, with a slew of players leaving the club.
Meanwhile, several more were brought in to assist Norwich secure a quick return to the Championship in 2009/10.
In other circumstances, the club would invest in transfer fees to bring in new recruits, such as Grant Holt.
Grant Holt joined Norwich after prolfic League Two spell
In late July 2009, the Canaries completed the signing of Holt from Shrewsbury Town, allegedly paying £400,000 to bring the striker to Carrow Road.
In the previous season, he scored 28 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions for Shrewsbury, who were denied promotion from League Two after losing in the play-off final.
At the age of 28, Holt had previously played for 11 senior clubs before joining Norwich.
Indeed, he has rarely remained with any of those teams for more than two seasons before moving on to pastures new. With his move to Carrow Road, Holt appeared to have found a place where he could settle and thrive, at least for a while.
Grant Holt thrived for the Canaries
The striker’s debut for Norwich was somewhat of a baptism of fire, as his new team was hammered 7-1 by Colchester United at Carrow Road on the first day of the 2009/10 season.
That resulted in the sacking of manager Bryan Gunn, who was replaced by Paul Lambert, who left Colchester to lead the Canaries.
Holt, meanwhile, scored a hat-trick in Norwich’s 4-0 League Cup first-round win over Yeovil Town, giving the club hope for the future.
He would also score twice in Lambert’s first official game in command, a 5-2 triumph over Wycombe Wanderers, to kick off his rule with the season’s first league victory.
The striker continued to score throughout the season, totalling 30 goals in 44 games across all competitions. That includes 24 in League One, many of which helped the club earn some crucial wins that guaranteed them automatic promotion back to the Championship as championship winners.
It came as no surprise when Holt was named Norwich’s Player of the Year, and he would maintain his form throughout the following season.
That jump up to the Championship presented no problems for the striker or the club as a whole, as they blasted to a second successive promotion, with Holt once again at the helm.
The striker scored 23 goals in all competitions to help them finish second, with several of those goals proving crucial to some significant wins.
The hat-trick he scored in the 4-1 thumping of local rivals Ipswich Town will undoubtedly be his most memorable moment.
Holt was awarded Norwich’s Player of the Year once more, and he thrived as he moved up the ranks the following season.
In his first season in the Premier League, the striker scored 15 league goals, including efforts that enabled the side to stunning draws away to Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Canaries had a solid first season back in the top division, finishing comfortably in mid-table (12th place).
Holt won the club’s Player of the Year title for the third consecutive season, and he was also inducted into the Norwich City Hall of Fame.
Although the striker requested a transfer in June 2012, he signed a new long-term contract with Carrow Road later that summer.
Despite this, Holt would only stay with Norwich for one more season, leaving at the end of the 2012/13 season.
However, the striker continued to have an impression, netting further goals to assist the club remain in the Premier League before the end of the season.
That included one in his farewell appearance for the club, a 3-2 triumph away at Manchester City, which is still remembered in Canaries mythology today.
As a result, by the time he left, Holt’s goals for the club had cemented his place as a key role in the team’s rise through the levels and back to the top of English football.
His following move to Wigan Athletic reportedly cost £2 million, ensuring Norwich profited from their investment in him as well.
Their return on investment is further increased when the prize money generated by the striker’s goals is taken into account.
With all of this in mind, Norwich City’s signing of Holt in the summer of 2009 was unquestionably a superb piece of business.
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