Norwich City have had a horrific start to their Premier League campaign with some truly dismal performances leading to just a single win in 11 games. They have just appointed former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith as their new manager after they parted company with Daniel Farke. The new man in the Carrow Road dugout will have a lot of work to do if he is to prevent another relegation for the Canaries though.
POSITION: 20th
TOP SCORER: Teemu Pukki (3)
BETFRED ODDS: 4/1 to stay up
LAST THREE RESULTS:
Won 2-1 against Brentford (A)
Lost 2-1 against Leeds United (H)
Lost 7-0 against Chelsea (A)
VERDICT:
It has so far been déjà vu for the East Anglians as they have struggled to make a mark in the top flight once again, becoming the whipping boys of the division. They appeared to learn from their mistakes two years ago by bolstering the squad in the summer but, so far, the new faces have found it tough to have an influence on results. Their defence has been shambolic too, conceding the most goals in the competition (26). A change in management had to be made.
FAN’S VERDICT:
Jacob Robinson – Canary Cast
The season so far has been a tricky one. We had an incredibly difficult run of fixtures after a distrusted pre-season, and we were well off the pace. A couple of 0-0 draws against Burnley and Brighton lifted the mood slightly before we got battered by Chelsea and threw away points against Leeds.
VERDICT ON MANAGER:
Daniel Farke was a constant enigma. He would have his Norwich side playing outstanding football in the Championship and yet, when they were promoted, all sense of identity was lost and they would leap from one disaster to another. The Canaries went on a 16-game losing streak in the Premier League spanning back to their last stint back in 2019-20, and that is effectively what cost the German his job.
With new boss Smith, Norwich fans should be excited, even if he cannot pull off the miracle of keeping them up. He has a proven track record of improving clubs, and his recent successes with Villa show just how much of an asset he will be in Norfolk past this season.
FAN’S MANAGER VERDICT:
It was the correct call to let Farke go, currently he’s just not equipped to keep a team in this division who have just been promoted. Every Norwich fan appreciates the remarkable job he’s done at our football club.
Dean Smith seems to be an upgrade, but he will really have to get a tune out of the squad he’s got. He’s a builder of teams so it might take a while to get to where he wants to be but it’s exciting to have someone with a big ambition to prove people wrong, a proven track record in this division and a fan base back together again.
MID-TERM GRADE:
F – The way the players would implement themselves on the pitch under Farke’s instructions were unacceptable for the top flight and there have been too many bad collective performances. They are going to need a miracle if they are to turn their fortunes around and quickly.
