The Australian goalkeeper is forever linked with one of Norwich City’s most humiliating moments in recent history. Although his time at Carrow Road was brief, it was far from memorable.
Even though Michael Theoklitos’ disastrous debut for Norwich City occurred over 15 years ago, there are still fans of the club who cringe at the mention of his name, wishing they’d never see him again.
Theoklitos’ dreadful debut was the catalyst for his downfall at Norwich. Heading into the 2009/10 season, Norwich City was already in turmoil, having been relegated to the third tier the previous season.
Despite hopes of bouncing back immediately, a chaotic summer left the club struggling to gel, and they faced Colchester United in their first match. What followed was a humiliating 7-1 defeat, with Theoklitos enduring a nightmare performance in goal.
Having joined from Melbourne Victory that summer, the Australian goalkeeper couldn’t have anticipated his career starting—and ending—in such a manner. His teammates offered little support, and one back-pass from a defender led to him allowing the ball to slip over his head just outside the penalty area. Kevin Lisbie was quick to capitalize on this error and score the opener.
The match continued to unravel for Norwich as Colchester took advantage, with Lisbie scoring another before halftime, and David Perkins and Scott Vernon adding to the humiliation. It was a day that would haunt Norwich fans, though probably not Theoklitos, who would rather forget it.
The disaster didn’t end there. After such a devastating start, Theoklitos made headlines again when he failed to show up for an EFL Trophy match against Gillingham. Despite being named on the bench, he was absent, prompting manager Paul Lambert to express his frustration, stating that Theoklitos had let the club down and would be disciplined.
The goalkeeper never played for Norwich again after that incident. In March 2010, Norwich terminated his contract, and Theoklitos returned to Australia, where he hoped to leave his embarrassing stint at Carrow Road behind.
Despite his miserable season at Norwich, the campaign ended on a high for the club. Lambert led them to promotion, even after the heavy defeat suffered on opening day. As for Theoklitos, he moved on from his English adventure, eventually finding success in the A-League with Brisbane Roar, where he set the record for the most minutes without conceding a goal—876 minutes.
In 2012, Theoklitos legally changed his name to Michael Theo, likely as a way to distance himself from his Norwich nightmare and the memories fans at Carrow Road would prefer to forget.
