3 days Ago
It's been a peculiar few months for Amankwah Forson. The last time he played a Championship match for Norwich City, he scored twice in stoppage time to complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the club's history and beat Coventry 2-1. The time before that he claimed an assist in a 4-2 win over Luton Town.
But it's now been 89 days since that Sky Blues double, and 124 since his strong showing against the Hatters. Forson has played in just one of the Canaries' last 21 league games, and that was only for six minutes, joyous as they may have been. The Ghanaian's decline has been unmatched by any of his peers, from the summer signing fans were most excited about upon his August arrival to the one who seems to be verging on flop territory.
It's a question to which he and head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup will be desperately searching for answers, although they don't seem to be close to finding them yet. One of them, of course, is injury. Ten of those games came as the result of a mysterious knee issue picked up when City lost 4-0 to Brighton in the FA Cup.
Only a week after his Coventry brace, that came at a terrible time for Forson, for whom many thought a big chance was on the horizon. It's now more than three weeks since he returned to the matchday squad, however, and he hasn't seen any sign of action despite being on the bench for meetings with Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City and West Brom. Thorup said ahead of that Owls defeat that it was "about building him up physically", but the same warning was applied to Marcelino Nunez, who has played 72 minutes since his subsequent recovery from a hamstring injury.
Combine that with the fact that the 22-year-old played in a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal for the under-21s, and it's safe to say that his absence has largely been a tactical preference from his boss. So how did a man described by the Dane as "a good story" on the first day of the season end up playing for an academy side? Forson started his Canaries spell positively (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Part of it comes down to formation. Twice now Norwich have deployed a back three, retaining their attacking trio to mean that a man is lost in the engine room.
Physicality and defensive ability become necessities as a result, and neither are Forson's strong point. The sort of creative responsibilities he thrives on have been passed onto Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac, and his introduction would have required significant restructuring. The density of competition he faces comes into it as well, with Nunez, Kenny McLean, Emiliano Marcondes, Jacob Wright, Oscar Schwartau and Jacob Sorensen all to fight past before he earns a starting shirt.
Much of Ben Knapper's work on contracts will consider pathways for young players, and it's easy to see why in this case. Perhaps, then, it's worth considering that time is on Forson's side. It's still early in the Knapper-Thorup project, and at 22 it is in his career too.
Concerns over Schwartau's and Wright's game time could be comfortably in the rear-view by the start of next term, and the former RB Salzburg man also fits into that bracket. His early performances raised the bar, though, and that's why supporters are desperate to see more of him. At present they have to turn up early or stick around late to catch a glimpse of him on the Carrow Road pitch, either in the pre-match warm-up or his post-match running drills.
Just a few short months ago, when City were well beaten by newly-promoted Oxford United at the Kassam, he was the shining light in an otherwise dank and dark performance. The same was true in that highest of highs against Frank Lampard's side. As for when his public can expect him to produce on a more regular basis, it's looking more and more like next season is the earliest that could happen.
That might not be the end of the world, but it's so much less than the campaign promised to be for Forson..
