Where to From Here?

Article by Colin Rowe

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Given the tumultuous season Norwich have endured, which eventually saw the Pride of Anglia drop out of the top-flight, the summer will be a time to rethink and restructure the team.

If Norwich go about this in the right way then a swift return to the Premiership is certainly a possibility, but handled badly and it could lead to further disappointment and heartbreak for the Y’Army faithful.

The Hot Seat

The first and arguably most important decision is who should be the manager of Norwich come the start of the season.

Hopefully the full-time appointment will come sooner rather than later, allowing the new boss time to structure the team properly.

So who is in the running and who should get the job?

The Likely: Interim boss Neil Adams came in with a near impossible job to do following the home defeat to West Brom and while he might be deemed as unsuccessful Norwich certainly showed more intent during his games in charge, as long as you ignore the match at Old Trafford.

As an ex-Canary player he is certainly popular amongst the fans and has experience of the youth set-up at the club, but has limited experience at the upper levels of management.

There are certainly sentimental reasons for thinking Adam’s would be a good choice, but this might not be the time to go out on a flight-of-fancy and a first-team coaching position might be the best option.

The former Cardiff boss and Norwich defender Malky Mackay will certainly be the bookies favourite and, most importantly, has Championship and Premiership experience. During their promotion season, Cardiff were not expected to be battling at the top and until he was unceremoniously dumped the Bluebirds looked as if they might survive their first season in the top-flight.

Like Adams, Mackay would be a popular call among the fans thanks to his long lasting connections at the club.

The Out of Our Reach: Unfortunately, given our fall from the Premiership, several managers who Norwich were linked with are now out of reach. It is hard to see Celtic boss Neil Lennon or former Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo being interested in taking up a position in the second tier.

This said there is still a lot of talk about Lennon leaving the Bhoys in favour of Norwich, although many would find it hard to imagine him forsaking the Champions League for the Championship.

The Outsiders: While Mackay might be rightly top of the bookies lists there are certainly a few longer shots who are not out of the question.

Former Watford boss Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clark, sacked by West Brom earlier in the season, are both available.

Zola would be a risky call after just one decent season in the Championship, thanks largely to large numbers of loanee players, while his second term ended with him leaving before Christmas.

Many feel Clark was unfairly sacked by the Baggies and might not be a bad call, but might not be as popular a call amongst the fans.

Eddie Howe, Billy Davis and Lee Clark are also being mentioned by the bookies, but again it is hard to see this happening.

There is also talk of Australian Tony Popovic, currently in charge of Western Sydney Wanderers. Despite his success with the A-League team this does not seem a natural choice.

If we are honest it is hard to look past Adams and Mackay and most fans would probably hope for the Scot as manager and our current interim boss as first team coach.

The Dear God No’s: You can get 7/1 on Tim Sherwood taking over at Norwich, while Neil Warnock is less likely at 33/1. Please Mr McNally, on behalf of all Norwich fans, don’t even think about it.

The Top of the Tree

Despite them not all being successful, the money spent last summer was a statement of intent from David McNally and it is in the best interests of Norwich for him to stay in charge.

While there will not be much to spend this summer, Norwich are at least financially stable and so will hopefully be able to hold onto a number of important players and with the parachute payments should be able to keep the club above the waterline.

His McNasty moniker may be slightly unfair to a man who is probably one of the best strategic thinkers in football and you can almost guarantee the next manager is already lined up as will be the statuses of many first team players.

On the Way Out or Staying Put?

When a team gets relegated attention inevitably switches to which players will be leaving over the summer and Norwich will be no different.

Fans might have to accept the fact the likes of Robert Snodgrass and Leroy Fer are going to leave as it would be difficult to for a team in Norwich’s position to hold onto them.

Gary Hooper is another one who might depart as there are mounting suggestions of a possible move back to Celtic, although this depends on any release clauses in his contract and his desire to play in the top-flight of English football rather than in the SPL.

There was a lot of talk he was on the verge of signing for QPR before his Norwich move was finalised so perhaps the idea of one season of Championship football might not be objectionable to him.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel is another in a similar predicament contact wise, but he is unlikely to attract any attention from Premiership teams given his poor return last season, although he could potentially move back to Portugal or the Netherlands I still think the Dutchman could come good for the Canary’s and his struggles this season can be largely attributed to poor service and counter-productive tactics. The fact is he is a poacher who needs to ball in front of goal, not 30 yards out.

The good news is John Ruddy has already said he plans to be a City player next season, which you would like to believe gives some indication of how much respect the players have for the team.

Two players who it will be interesting to watch this summer will be Luciano Becchio and Wes Hoolahan, both of who have struggled to get into the first team this season and have voiced their frustrations publicly.

Both are proven a Championship level, but were never really given a proper chance in the top-flight. Again these are two players who could certainly do a job in yellow and green, but past frustrations might result in them demanding an exit.

Nathan Redmond has certainly impressed this season and all City fans will be hoping we can keep hold of this impressive youngster, rather than seeing him sit on the bench for a Premiership team, however again this comes down to how well he is treated by the board.

As for the other players, I think most will stay.

Bradley, Johnson, Jonny Howson and Alex Tettey have been good in midfield, but not good enough to attract much attention and given Norwich’s financial stability there will be little pressure to offload.

The defence could do with some strengthening, but the Championship will not be as tough a test and the likes of Turner, Whittaker, Martin and Bennett should prove solid enough, especially as Martin Olsson will probably be staying put.

It is unlikely Joseph Yobo will sign permanently, which is slightly disappointing, and neither will Johan Elmander, which no Norwich fan will shed a tear over.

Sebastian Bassong is a bit of an unknown at the moment. While he has played well on occasions this season, it has been marred by some costly mistakes and he is yet to feature under Neil Adams.

While he is undoubtedly a decent player it is unclear who, if anyone, would be interested in signing him so his future in Norfolk might come down to if he is in the new managers long-term plans.

Who Can Step Up

So if Norwich are to lose some players who could come in and fill their roles?

If we were to lose strikers, holding onto Becchio would be a good call as he is a proven goal scorer in the Championship, although it would leave many questioning why he was not used in the top flight.

Similarly, if Ruddy were to leave Mark Bunn, who impressed when he deputised for Ruddy in 2012/13, could be a strong option and a season of regular first-team football in the second tier might be what he needs to take his game to the next level.

Josh and Jacob Murphy could also be called on more regularly, which will please the Norwich faithful and terrify Championship defences up and down the country.

If Snodgrass does go (and it is hard to see him staying) Elliott Bennett and Anthony Pilkington could be great replacements, especially if Norwich holds on to Redmond.

Conclusions

Some players will almost certainly be heading out of the door, namely Snodgrass and Fer, while others might potentially not be at Carrow Road next season, Hooper, Hoolahan and Becchio.

However, given the financial situation of the club Norwich do stand a half-decent chance of holding onto many of the existing first-team, giving us a halfway decent chance of competing for promotion next season.

With McNally in charge, the club in a strong financial position and loyal support City should find themselves in a much more favourable position than most teams.

Stability is important in football and if Norwich, or more specifically McNally, appoint the new manager quickly then this might go some way to convincing some on-the-fence players to stick with us for another term.

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