Two Norwich students made national headlines recently for their photographs of the Northern Lights.

Sadly, the beautiful purple colours in the sky on their pictures turned out to be emanating from The Premier Inn on Duke Street. I know how they feel.

Last week Norwich City supporters were convinced the Wembley arch and perhaps even the Premier League itself were just about visible on the horizon. The Canaries just needed a performance at Elland Road. What they got was a crushing reality check. The Championship’s 19th best away record was about as likely to triumph against a rampant Leeds United as the Northern Lights are to be seen above Duke Street ever again.

What followed was more inevitable than it was brutal. About 12 hours after seeing 48 games and 10 months of hard work reduced to rubble David Wagner was out of a job.

The news broke before the BBC Radio Norfolk team had even made it back to base. We left the office wondering about Wembley and returned without Wagner.

The short statement released by Norwich City Football Club was telling.

The outgoing head coach’s “class and dignity” were praised by sporting director Ben Knapper. Those are qualities you tend to respect in someone who carried on giving their all and didn’t make a fuss despite knowing they weren’t flavour of the month.

There was no mention of the play-offs at all. Nothing about how well Wagner had done to lead a team from 17th in November to a top six finish. Neither was there any comment on the nature of the latest Canary capitulation at Leeds. The general feeling around the club for a while had been that this was the likely outcome regardless of how the 2023/24 season finished for Norwich City.

It’s a decision that many expected Ben Knapper to make when he arrived at Carrow Road in November. It’s interesting to note that his start date at the club coincides almost exactly with their climb up the table.

Pointedly though Wagner had preferred to single out and thank Stuart Webber for his backing when a play-off berth was clinched a good six months after the previous sporting director departed.

The Pink Un: David Wagner's sacking at Norwich City head coach came as no surprise

The logical Canary conclusion is that Knapper arrived with a plan that required the sort of major surgery that could not be carried out mid-season. It’s hard to make sweeping changes with transfer windows closed and a relentless Championship campaign in full swing.

Some who work at the club have talked about how impressed they have been with Knapper’s vision. Clearly much of this has been for internal consumption only up until now. He couldn’t come out during the season and announce to the world that Wagner was doomed in the dugout.

Over the next few months he would do well to explain some of the detail more publicly.

Whatever happens next the club is going to need to carry the Canary crowd with it. Knapper’s first summer as a sporting director will be challenging. With no more parachute payments he has two and a half months to find a head coach, reduce the wage bill, plug the gaps in the squad while also bringing down the average age.

Wagner would probably argue that a top six finish will be a tough act to follow given those circumstances. He was suggesting as much after the dismal defeat at Elland Road.

Wagner was criticised last summer for signing too many players over the age of 30. It’s an easy stick with which to beat him but context is key. Remember 12 months ago Norwich City failed to score at home after February and were losing experienced players such as Teemu Pukki, Tim Krul and Max Aarons. They also knew Grant Hanley’s injury was a long-term one. It was understandable that a bit of Championship knowhow was ordered by the head coach.

In the end it proved good enough, just about, for a top six finish. A success to some degree but there were enough poor performances, alarming runs and recurring concerns to leave plenty of room and desire for improvement.

Knapper has grasped the challenge of correcting all that. The shared aim for him and the Carrow Road faithful is for a team that wins and plays with style. They want something worthy of being photographed by UEA students looking for a picture that becomes a social media sensation.

It might take a while to get there. Let’s not forget the last root and branch rebuild at Carrow Road led to City finishing 14th in The Championship in Daniel Farke’s first season in charge. He’s now played a part in pressing the yellow and green reset button again.

 

NCFC alumni

Sydney van Hooijdonk’s four-month spell as a Norwich City striker underlined the musical differences between head coach and sporting director.

Signed by Ben Knapper to replace Adam Idah in January the Dutch forward went on to make 12 appearances, all off the bench. David Wagner seemed reluctant to use him.

Van Hooijdonk and Idah have something in common. They could both be playing Champions League football next season. It would require Serie A’s surprise package Bologna to reintegrate the Dutchman into their squad and Celtic to make Idah’s loan permanent.

They could be joined in the Champions League next season by Marcus Edwards who plays for Portuguese champions Sporting. He made just one appearance on loan for City from Tottenham in 2018. Then of course there is Harry Kane, another striker who had a ‘Van Hooijdonk’ of a loan spell at Carrow Road.

Rangers will be in the qualifying rounds for Europe’s biggest club competition as well.

That means that Kane, van Hooijdonk, Marcus Edwards, Todd Cantwell and Kieron Dowell could all be lining up in the Champions League next season. Not something Carrow Road regulars would necessarily have expected on the evidence seen with their own eyes.

At least Aston Villa’s qualification might see Emi Buendia playing in it too. Maybe we do know what we are talking about after all.