A toxic Carrow Road could spell the end of David Wagner at Norwich City: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Norwich City broke the habit of a lifetime last year as they did not secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, which ended their somewhat yo-yo status between England’s top two divisions.

Going into the 2022-23 campaign, the Canaries had been either relegated or promoted in their previous four years, but the departure of Daniel Farke in November 2021 has seen the decline of the club continue.

Dean Smith could not keep them in the Premier League, and sporting director Stuart Webber sought to make a change halfway through last season, letting Smith go and replacing him with David Wagner – the manager he brought in at Huddersfield Town in 2015 to help take the Terriers to the Premier League for the very first time.

What has David Wagner’s record been as Norwich City head coach?

When Wagner was appointed at the start of 2023, Norwich were in 11th position in the Championship and outside of the play-off spots, and despite picking up six league wins from his first nine matches, the German saw results spiral.

Just one victory from the Norfolk outfit’s final 11 matches saw Norwich finish in 13th position – which was below anyone’s wildest expectations going into the season and perhaps a worrying sign of things to come.

Norwich had to cut their cloth accordingly over the summer and very little money was spent, but after a 4-0 win in late August against Huddersfield Town, City sat second in the league and looked to be thriving – it only takes one little injury though to scupper things.

Josh Sargent’s ankle issue that he picked up against Wagner’s former club has proved to be somewhat catastrophic, as since that resounding success in West Yorkshire, Norwich have picked up just seven points out of a possible 30 and have dropped down to 17th position.

The last few weeks have been worrying though as Norwich find themselves winless in five and supporters are turning on Wagner, with former player Chris Sutton – who was a big success at Carrow Road in his early days – thinks there is no way back for him, despite acknowledging the tough hand he has been dealt.

This weekend’s home clash though with Blackburn Rovers could be crucial for Wagner, with the Lancashire side making the long trip to Norfolk for a Sunday lunchtime game.

It should theoretically suit Norwich to be on home soil, but they’ve looked anything but convincing in recent weeks and a defeat will only strengthen the boo-boys and sharpen the knife for Wagner’s potential axing – a negative fan reaction this weekend and it will probably spell the end.

David Wagner’s Norwich City contract length

When he arrived at Carrow Road back in January 2023, Wagner only signed a 12-month rolling contract with the club, which isn’t as uncommon as you may think in football.

So, if Wagner is still there at Norwich for his one year anniversary, then the rolling state of his deal continues and he will essentially always have 12 months remaining on his deal.

It is mainly done for compensation purposes, with the rolling deal meaning if Wagner was to be sacked then the Canaries hierarchy will have to pay out less than they would have done if he was on a multi-year deal with the club.

And considering how things are going right now, that particular contract was perhaps not a bad move when it was all said and done as there could be a perfect chance to make a change soon in the dugout.

With the handover period soon coming for the sporting director role at Norwich, which will see Stuart Webber depart and Arsenal loan manager Ben Knapper arrive on November 27, it could be the right time in the next few weeks to replace Wagner.

Yes, Knapper doesn’t start his new role at Carrow Road for another four weeks, but there could be some work in the background done to try and find the best fit for how he wants Norwich to be run in the future, and he will probably have his own ideas on how to move them forward.

Results though in the next few matches – or even just the next one – will dictate that, but it’s going to be hard for Wagner to get support back from now on unless his side goes on a significant winning run.

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