Ahead of this weekend's Sky Bet Championship fixture at home to Wrexham, former Canary Chris Llewellyn spoke to our matchday programme OTBC about his time at both clubs.
Born in Merthyr Tydfil and growing up in Swansea, Llewellyn’s ability to shine on a football pitch came to the fore at a very young age. With natural ability and a steely determination to succeed in the world of professional football, Llewellyn had no hesitation making regular trips from south Wales to Norfolk to enhance his prospects.
And when the time came at 16 to join the Canaries on a full-time basis, the young Welshman was ready to grab the opportunity in front of him.
“I was around 12 or 13 going to trials at various clubs around the country in the school holidays. A scout from Bristol called Richard Everson spotted me playing in Swansea and asked me to come up to Norwich for a trial and that was it really.
"I was instantly hooked on the club, they really looked after me and although there were offers from other clubs, my mind was made up from day one as to where I wanted to end up,” confirmed Llewellyn when asked as to how his initial association with Norwich City came about.
While trips to Norfolk became more regular the closer he got to leaving school, the summer of 1995 signalled the big move as he relocated to Norfolk full-time to commence a two-year apprenticeship with the Canaries.
“I had been coming back and forth to Norwich for years as I just wanted to be a professional footballer, but I can remember my mum, my dad, my sister and my grandfather brought me up the day before I was due to meet up with my team-mates and get settled into my digs and then all of a sudden it dawned on me that they were going to be leaving me there and I had to fend for myself,” recalled Llewellyn who is now 46 and coaching the Under-21s side at Swansea City.
“Once I got over that initial shock it was all OK. I knew most of the players having been through age groups with them, but I hadn’t had a lot to do with Keith Webb until then. I remember as a 16-year-old finding him being quite scary! But we soon built up a good relationship and he certainly had a massive impact on my career really.”
You can read our exclusive interview with Chris in full in our matchday programme against Wrexham. You can purchase HERE or from one our vendors on a matchday.
Words: Peter Rogers
