view Norris's match-by-match record |
Luke NORRIS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stevenage-born Norris took an unusual route into the professional game, playing at Hitchin Town before joining Brentford on a scholarship at the age of 17. After four years at Brentford, he joined Gillingham where he made 70 appearances before Swindon paid to Gills a fee in the region of £150,000 for the striker’s services, handing him a three-year contract and the number 33 shirt. At 23 years old, Norris was expected to be one of Town’s first choice forwards in a squad which also included Jonathan Obika and Nathan Delfouneso, but scored only six goals in 46 appearances during the 2016/17 season as Town were relegated to League Two. Norris made his debut against QPR in the League Cup on 10th August, and his league debut three days later at Chesterfield. He continued to be involved in the first team, often from the bench, but didn’t score his first league goal until December, heading home a Darnell Furlong cross in a 1-1 draw against Fleetwood. Norris’ role in the first team diminished over the second half of the season, with only two of his last 13 appearances lasting for more than 20 minutes as loanee Nicky Ajose became Town’s focal point in their battle to avoid the drop. With Town looking to return to League One at the first time of asking in 2017/18, Norris played a much more significant role in the first team, scoring on the opening day away at Carlisle, passing his previous season’s tally with a brace against Stevenage in mid-September and notching his tenth for the season just before Christmas. Just as it looked like Norris had established himself as Town’s main striker, the signing of Marc Richards knocked him down the pecking order. Norris scored only three goals after New Year’s Day as Richards struck eleven, and despite signing a contract extension, Norris was allowed to leave two years after joining as he signed for Colchester for an undisclosed fee. Perhaps the most memorable association between Swindon and Norris came in the BBC2 comedy This Country when main character Kurtan was warned that he should “never, ever joke about Swindon Town Football Club. Especially Luke Norris.” PLAYING RECORD:
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