Norwich City icon calls for Johannes Hoff Thorup patience amid slow 2024-25 start

Norwich City icon calls for Johannes Hoff Thorup patience amid slow 2024-25 start.

Iwan Roberts, a former striker for Norwich City, has asked fans to exercise patience after the team’s lacklustre start to the current campaign.

Sporting director Ben Knapper named Johannes Hoff Thorup the new head coach during the summer, succeeding David Wagner, who left the team after leading the Canaries to the Championship play-offs the previous year.

After two draws and two losses in City’s first five games, Thorup has only managed one victory.

Norwich is going through a transitional phase after losing both Jonathan Rowe and Gabriel Sara during the summer, so this hasn’t been the start to the new season that supporters would have hoped for, especially after making the playoffs the previous year.

While there is no immediate pressure on Thorup’s position at Carrow Road, a continuation of poor results over the next few weeks could bring more pressure from the terraces.

Iwan Roberts issues Johannes Hoff Thorup patience message

Former Norwich forward Roberts, who played for the team from 1997 to 2004, asserted that the league standings isn’t even meaningful to examine until ten games have been completed.

He thinks that because Norwich’s performances have been greater than their current point total indicates, there should be trust placed in the process.

Roberts, via Pink Un, commented, “As a player, I never really took notice of the league table until about 10 games into the season, so I don’t think it’s time to panic yet.”

With five points from their first five games, Norwich is currently 15th in the Championship. However, I believe there is still time for patience as their performances have been better than their point total suggests.

“There has been a lot of change at the club this summer, and things take time when a new manager takes over.”

In his 18-month tenure as a coach, Thorup has only previously led one other team, Danish side Nordsjaelland.

In his 67 games in command, the 35-year-old guided them to 33 triumphs, which helped them place second in the Superliga in 2023.

Norwich City’s Championship league position

Following their first five league matches, Norwich is presently ranked fifteenth in the Championship table.

The Canaries are currently seven points behind Sunderland in second place and four points outside of the play-off spots.

Before the international break, they had won against Coventry City, but they had lost to Oxford United and Swansea City.

With the squad aiming to contend for a top six finish in the Championship this year, Thorup will be hoping to turn things around in the upcoming weeks.

Next up for Norwich is a Saturday afternoon home match against Watford, which is scheduled to begin at 12.30 p.m.

Pressure will grow on Johannes Hoff Thorup if results don’t improve soon

Supporters are still giving Thorup a grace period during which he will have time to convert strong showings into positive outcomes.

On the other hand, pressure will really start to build if they can’t seem to win over the next few weeks,.

There is some pressure on Wagner to have a successful season opener because the decision to fire him was taken after the team finished sixth the previous season.

Additionally, better performances are essential for the club’s hopes of promotion, as they don’t want to fall too far behind the top six too soon in the season.

Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/