When people mention yo-yo clubs, you would typically think of Norwich City. However, this
hasn’t happened in recent seasons, but why is this?
Norwich City’s yo-yo cycle trend started in 2011, following back-to-back promotions to the
Premier League under manager Paul Lambert. This was the club’s first season back in the
Premier League since the 2004/05 season, and it delivered with all odds being defied and
finishing mid-table despite having the team with the smallest overall squad value in the
league. This season is marked as a massive “what if” moment amongst the fanbase, as the
club was a few points behind the European spots at some points of that season. A European
spot would have been life-changing for the club as there would have been a massive
increase in income, which would have allowed the club to invest in the squad and facilities.
Another two seasons in the Premier League followed before relegation at the end of the
2013/14 season. Victory in the playoffs secured promotion back to the top flight the following
season before being relegated again the following season. Three consecutive seasons in the
Championship from 2016 until 2019, followed by a singular season in a Premier League
season, which was disrupted by COVID-19, before securing promotion back to the top
division the following season. However, that fateful 2021/2022 season was their most recent
season in the Premier League, but why is this?
After sacking club hero Daniel Farke during the 2021/22 season, the club opted to appoint
former Brentford and Aston Villa manager Dean Smith as the successor to the German. This
saw a complete change in the style of play, as Smith opted to play a more direct style
compared to Farke’s possession-based style. Although the club was fifth in the
championship after relegation the previous season at the time of his dismissal, fans became
frustrated with the unclear style of play and the club went from being top of the league at the
start of October to only winning three out of their next thirteen matches, as Burnley and
Sheffield United pulled away at the top of the league.
This left Norwich City 12 points adrift of the top two at the time of the change of manager. Despite a bright start under a new German head coach, this time it was under former Huddersfield Town manager David
Wagner, where the club only lost twice in Wagner’s first nine matches, the season finished
with only one win out of the last eleven games and the fight for the playoffs fell extremely
short, as the season finished with the club seven points adrift and in 13th place.
The dismal end to the season was partly blamed on inexperience, with key, experienced members of the
first team suffering injuries. The summer of 2023 allowed David Wagner to make some changes to the squad, with ageing but vastly experienced players being signed as a short-term approach was adopted
by the club, as a return to the Premier League at the second attempt was targeted.
Experienced players such as Ashley Barnes, Shane Duffy, Danny Batth, and Adam Forshaw
joined the squad ahead of the 2023/2024 season, as academy graduates Andrew
Omobamidele and Max Aarons departed for Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth,
respectively.
The football wasn’t nice to watch at times, but players such as Gabriel Sara,
Joshua Sargent, Jonathan Rowe, and Marcelino Nunez played a crucial part in helping the
club scrape into the playoffs, as the club finished in 6th position. Adam Idah also deserves a
little bit of credit, as he hit two injury-time winners before joining Celtic on loan in January 2024.
However, the playoffs didn’t go as planned, as the club was swept aside by Daniel
Farke’s Leeds United 4-0 at Elland Road following a goalless draw at Carrow Road in the
first leg. A majority of the fanbase wanted change at the end of last season after the failure in the
playoffs consigned the club to a third consecutive season in the championship, their longest
spell in the second division since the spell under Alex Neil and Daniel Farke between 2016
and 2019. The fans got the change they wanted, as David Wagner was dismissed by
sporting director Ben Knapper.
Young Danish manager Johannes Hoff Thorup took over with
a complete overhaul of the squad, with ageing players leaving the club and a new crop of
younger players signing. However, the first season under the 36-year-old has not gone to
plan amongst exceptional circumstances from star players handing in transfer requests and
eventually leaving, to multiple injury crises throughout the season, leaving the club facing a
fourth consecutive season in the championship.
The playoffs are still mathematically possible, but with only seven games of the season left and the club eight points off the top six, sitting in 10th position at the time of writing, the club now faces their longest spell in the second division since a four-season spell which concluded in relegation at the end of the
2008/09 season, unless momentum could be built on top of the recent 1-0 win over 6th
placed West Brom.
However, there are reasons to be positive about the club at the moment. They have a
superb young manager who plays a very attractive style of football, which has worked at
times this season, having scored the second most goals out of any teams in the
championship, with only table-toppers Leeds United having scored more goals than the
Canaries this season.
They also have two of the top four goal-scorers in the division, with
the league’s top scorer Borja Sainz having scored 17 goals this season and Josh Sargent
sitting joint third on the goalscoring charts alongside Josh Brownhill having netted 13
goals this season despite having missed a big spell of the season with injury.
Both players will highly likely be subject to interest from the Premier League and other major overseas
leagues in the summer. It is worth saying that Norwich City does not need to sell players this
summer, unlike previous years, and if any star players do indeed leave, it’ll be for a very
hefty fee.
Many good youngsters are currently at the club, with the likes of 19-year-old left-back Lucien
Mahovo and 23-year-old centre-back Jose Cordoba having impressed in defence this
season, despite the poor defensive record. 20-year-old right back Kellen Fisher has also
been impressive and could also be subject to interest this summer. 18-year-old Danish
midfielder Oscar Schwartau has impressed both Johannes Hoff Thorup and Norwich City
fans since joining in the summer, with 22-year-old Amankwah Forson scoring twice in injury
time to secure a 2-1 win over play-off chasers Coventry City in January.
Highly-rated Czech winger Matej Jurasek, who signed for the club in January this year, is yet to make an impact so far but is one to look out for next season, as is Croatian striker Ante Crnac, who joined
the club in the summer of 2024. Lewis Dobbin, who signed on loan from Aston Villa in
January after an unproductive first half of the season at West Brom, was unfortunate to pick
up a season-ending injury in the 1-1 draw away at 10-men Blackburn Rovers, is also very
highly rated amongst the Norwich City fanbase and the club are hopeful that another deal
could be struck to keep the player next season, whether that be another loan or a permanent
deal.
However, there is still a little bit to do before a playoff charge is mounted. A new goalkeeper
is needed, as Scottish international Angus Gunn has been very off-form this season, and
backup goalkeepers George Long and young Vicente Reyes have not been up to scratch
either this season. Other players who could be considered as ‘deadwood’ also need to be
moved on, with Cuban winger Onel Hernandez and Danish defensive midfielder Jacob Lungi
Sørensen out of contract at the end of the current season.
If Norwich City continues to receive backing in the transfer window and keep hold of key
players, they could be back in the Premier League in the not-too-distant future. Watch this
space…
