Norwich City’s hunt for a new manager, following the sacking of Dean Smith, seems to be gathering pace. Now, there is a new odds-on favourite to take the job in the form of David Wagner. But is he the right man to take the Canaries back to the Premier League?
The man best known for producing a promotion miracle with Huddersfield Town in 2016-17 has been out of work since being sacked by Young Boys in March, but his connections with Norwich’s Sporting Director Stuart Webber have made him a major contender for this job.
Webber became Director of Football at Huddersfield in 2015 and was crucial in recruiting Wagner seven years ago. Then, he helped build a squad with the German-born manager that exceeded all expectations as the Terriers won the play-offs, despite finishing with a negative goal difference.
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It was a huge achievement for Wagner, but perhaps even more impressively, he managed to keep Huddersfield in the Premier League for a season, despite having one of the smallest budgets ever seen in the top flight.
Webber’s stock rose further as he left for Norwich and helped them get promoted with some smart signings such as Teemu Pukki and Emi Buendia, but since then things have gone sour for both parties. Wagner left Huddersfield as they were heading out of the Premier League, took a break and then headed back to Germany with Schalke.
The club was experiencing financial difficulties and he started the 2020-21 with an 8-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. After a run of 18 winless league matches in a row, he was dismissed and the club were relegated at the end of the season. As Wagner was failing in Germany, Webber was failing not once but twice at putting together a squad that was able to compete in the Premier League.
German boss Daniel Farke twice won the Championship in style, but was left without the tools to compete in the top flight on two occasions. He’s now at Borussia Mönchengladbach, who sit 8th in the Bundesliga, and has been far more successful than Wagner ever was in his homeland. Norwich fans must be longing for the days of Farke and Buendia once again, but they could face a rather different reality soon.
After leaving Schalke, Wagner headed to Young Boys in Switzerland, where despite securing a famous Champions League win over Manchester United, he failed domestically. Young Boys had won four league titles in a row, but by March they were 15 points adrift of Zurich, and Wagner was dismissed.
And so it brings us to the present day. Webber is more hated than ever in East Anglia, as the good work he did to take them up has been overshadowed by poor recruitment on both the playing and managerial side. He was responsible for sacking Farke last season and bringing in Smith, which materialised into a decision that has not only seen Norwich relegated, but caused the atmosphere around Carrow Road to turn toxic.
Smith's sacking was a chance to start afresh. However, if Wagner is the man chosen to replace him, it will be a case of Webber trusting a man he knows so well, even when his last few jobs haven’t provided enough evidence that he is suited to the role. For the fans, it will be a case of their Sporting Director giving the job to one of his mates rather than the most suitable candidate, which will only lead to more anger and frustration in East Anglia.
Following the sacking of the Smith, Norwich only have a limited budget to replace him. That means they are unlikely to pay compensation and as such, the pool of managers they can go after is reduced. However, even taking that into consideration, with the likes of Sean Dyche, Chris Wilder and Scott Parker on the market, the Wagner appointment would be the wrong move.
Norwich need to snap out of the negative orb they find themselves in. Webber hiring his ‘mate’ would only increase that scrutiny.
