Robert Chase is a Norwich businessman and the former Chairman of Norwich City FC

Norwich City F.C.

Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

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Norwich City career

Chase was elected to the Norwich board in 1982 and became chairman in 1985.
Chase's time as Norwich chairman ended acrimoniously in April 1996, with fans calling for his departure following a succession of player sales and disappointing results on the field.

However, prior to that, he steered Norwich through one of the most successful periods in the club's history, including three finishes in the top five of the English league and a notable victory

Bayern Munich v Norwich City

Bayern Munich vs Norwich City was a first leg match in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup second round, played on 20 October 1993. The match was won by Norwich City, who beat Bayern Munich 2–1....

 against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

. Unfortunately, the first two top-five finishes had failed to book a UEFA Cup place due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel disaster of 1985.

Among the many high profile players he sold included Chris Woods

Chris Woods

Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major...

, Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce

Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

, Dale Gordon

Dale Gordon

Dale Andrew Gordon is a former professional association football player who played for Norwich City, Rangers, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Millwall and AFC Bournemouth...

, Andy Townsend

Andy Townsend

Andrew "Andy" David Townsend is a former professional footballer, who played in two World Cups for the Republic of Ireland and is now a television and radio pundit....

, Mike Phelan

Mike Phelan

Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....

, Kevin Drinkell

Kevin Drinkell

Kevin Smith Drinkell is a former professional footballer and football manager. He runs his football Agency Kevin Drinkell Sport Management Ltd in Stirling, Scotland...

, Andy Linighan

Andy Linighan

Andrew "Andy" Linighan is a former English football player.Linighan was born in Hartlepool into a footballing family – his brothers David and Brian were also professional footballers. He first played for his local side, Hartlepool United, before spells at Leeds United , Oldham Athletic and...

, Robert Fleck, Chris Sutton

Chris Sutton

Christopher Roy "Chris" Sutton is an English football manager and former player.In his career, Sutton played for Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham City and Aston Villa. Sutton scored over 150 career goals in over 400 league appearances spanning 16 years in the English...

, Ruel Fox

Ruel Fox

Ruel Adrian Fox is an English former professional football player of Montserratian and Antiguan descent who played for Norwich City, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Bromwich Albion from 1986 to 2002...

, and Mark Robins

Mark Robins

Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager, appointed manager of Barnsley in 2009.As a player, he was most notable for his exploits with Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City...

. All of these players had left by the time Norwich were relegated from the Premier League

FA Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

 in 1995, and his failure to provide the funds to buy new players had contributed to the failure to mount a serious promotion challenge in 1995-96

1995-96 in English football

- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....

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In recognition of the successes of Chase's time at the helm, in 2003 he was voted by fans as an inaugural member of Norwich City's Hall of Fame.