1 week Ago
Johannes Hoff Thorup and Ben Knapper are trying to build something at Carrow Road that can be sustainable and bring success. That is still in its embryonic stages. They have been dealt a tough hand in that period, with injuries, suspensions and bad luck accruing throughout the first half of the Championship campaign.
Sargent, Marcelino Nunez, Kenny McLean and Borja Sainz have only been available for 10 of City's 28 Championship matches so far. During that period, Norwich have taken 16 points and suffered just two defeats. On the flip side, Norwich have taken 20 points and suffered eight defeats in the other 18 matches.
That is a substantial period of this campaign where Thorup hasn't been able to call upon arguably his four most influential operators. At present, McLean is fit, Sargent is set to return, Sainz is halfway through his suspension and Nunez could, in the best case, be back for Preston next month. It also provides context behind their attacking struggles.
Nunez is one of the most important cogs to connect City's deep phases of possession to their attack. Sargent's and Sainz's quality in the final third is among the best in the division. The American is expected to make his first Championship start for City since November at Carrow Road this afternoon.
Despite his return from a major injury, there is plenty of expectation and pressure pushed onto his shoulders. Norwich failed to record a single shot on target against Sheffield United and Leeds. (Image: Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd) There has been focus on the lack of shots on target in recent matches, but the bigger narrative is about City's overall attacking struggles.
At Sheffield United, they worked moments of promise, had 20 crosses but were wasteful in their decision-making. Leeds was a different tale against the Championship's best team at limiting opposition's quality chances. But the focus on one metric is overblown.
Would City having a 40-yard pot-shot straight at the goalkeeper change the narrative? No. It is about the quality of chances a team creates, not the volume. For context, four other sides haven't mustered a shot on target against Leeds in a game this season: Sheffield United (2nd), Bristol City (9th), QPR (10th) and Oxford United (14th).
Only four teams have managed more than three against them. As for Sheffield United, City are one of four teams to fail to record a shot on target against them. Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn and Derby are the others.
Only seven teams have had more than five shots on target against them this season - Norwich, in the reverse fixture, are one. They are two of the Championship's best defensive teams. It is difficult to construct chances against them at full strength, let alone when depleted.
It doesn't excuse City's toothlessness, but it adds necessary mitigation. To that end, Sargent won't be an instant fix. It is about creating a team capable of constructing those high-value opportunities in front of the goal.
The solution has to be more than just his return. There is a growing sense of frustration at City's campaign. It has been one mired in inconsistency and individual errors.
Supporters are emotional, and that shouldn't ever change. Thorup shares that inconsistency and being in the early stages of a project is challenging, especially when other sides are spending big or winning more matches. Daniel Farke's first season at the club has been a constant reference point for Thorup's debut campaign at Carrow Road.
Maybe it is becoming an over-tired or boring comparison, but it does offer a lot of similarities. Norwich City's last project was littered with hardship and endurance. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) On Saturday, January 20, 2018, Farke's side were beaten 2-1 by Chris Wilder's Sheffield United at Carrow Road.
The defeat left them 13th, one spot behind Ipswich, on 37 points. They had scored only 28 goals, more than just three Championship teams, two of which were Burton and Birmingham, who sat in 24th and 23rd. Farke deployed three at the back.
Max Aarons wasn't in the squad. Mario Vrancic, Marco Stiepermann and Todd Cantwell were all among the subs. City's front three of James Maddison, Josh Murphy and Nelson Oliveira would all exit at the end of the season.
Building periods takes time and enters different phases. The names currently playing key roles or on the periphery could depart or emerge as significant cogs in the future. For much of that campaign, City's possession was criticised for being too stale, and they were often seen as toothless without Maddison's quality from range or dead ball situations.
But, just because there are similarities, it doesn't mean that City's project will follow the same trajectory as Farke's 18/19 title-winning crusade. That was ahead of schedule and against all odds. Thorup's project will likely be a longer journey.
There will inevitably be more pain down the track. After three years of short-termism, City's rebuild is necessary. The key for those orchestrating it is remaining level-headed instead of trading in the extremes of every victory and defeat.
The hard truth is that City's campaign this season is about something bigger than a top-six finish in the next four months. It is about foundation building. It is about changing a style of play, working practices and building a culture.
That doesn't mean a white flag is being waved on the campaign. It doesn't mean fans shouldn't have expectations. Thorup feels Norwich should be doing better and should be closer to the top six.
But that doesn't mean it is a disaster that they aren't. It is often the aspect of footballing projects and resets that aren't discussed - the hardship that comes with building them. Everyone wants one, but few are willing to wait the course.
Johannes Hoff Thorup is as impatient as most Norwich City fans. (Image: Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd) That is why there can be no hard and fast judgment of where Norwich are right now. Nor of how well Thorup is doing as head coach or Knapper's record on recruitment.
A lot of it isn't for the here and now. It is about building a platform for success in the future. Given the fixture list coming up, Norwich have a chance to put a run of results together.
They can eat into the gap between them and the top six. During this time, Sainz will return, Matej Jurasek will become available, Nunez will be fit, and the picture could dramatically change. But that still wouldn't alter the reality.
What City are building is more about the seasons ahead. This part of the season should be used to find another gear to help build optimism heading into year two of this project. That is just as important to retain belief in their ideas.
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