Opinion Norwich City’s comeback at Preston shows new regime’s impact.

City’s 2-2 draw against Preston coincided with my birthday; I’m not going to speak statistics, but without giving too much away, I’ve had more of them than our present head coach.

So when the hosts raced out to a two-goal lead with only 12 minutes remaining, it felt like someone in the cosmos was determined to destroy my day.

As I turned 27, it seems that I wasn’t the only one receiving presents (and not for the first time!).

Even with more than 80 minutes remained, it seemed very clear that City would return from the North empty-handed.

However, here we are, with a six-game undefeated streak still intact – and one might argue that it could have been extended to three points.

It’s possible that I’ve become a bit of a pessimist in my old age, but it might also be what we’ve become accustomed to as Norwich City supporters over the last three years.

Under both David Wagner and Dean Smith, it appeared that if we were behind, we were likely to stay behind, especially if it was by more than one goal.

I, for one, can’t recall the last time a two-goal deficit was overcome and cancelled out.

With the aid of the wonderful NCFC Numbers, I discovered how many times David Wagner and Dean Smith were able to turn a 2-0 deficit into anything other than a defeat.

Spoiler alert: it was zero.

This implies that by taking a point home from Deepdale, Johannes Hoff Thorup has already accomplished what neither of his two predecessors had.

This demonstrates just how much of an impact the great Dane has already had in his short time at the club.

Furthermore, we are not only leaving a game where we were 2-0 down before 12 minutes with a draw, but we are also dissatisfied that it wasn’t more.

This speaks volumes about Thorup’s conviction in his team, as well as how we, as supporters, feel about it.

Don’t get me wrong: the performance was far from perfect, and Thorup will be the first to confess that.

No team should ever be allowed a head start, especially one as capable of shutting out opponents at home as Preston.

One notable statistic mentioned in the Sky commentary of the game was that North End are particularly hot at home during midweek games – yesterday was their 21st midweek home fixture in a row without loss.

We wouldn’t have wanted to give them a two-goal lead.

Under Smith and Wagner, we had a genuine inclination to collapse as soon as we were behind, especially early.

Not only did City not fold on Tuesday, but we took control of the game from that point on.

But for the scoreboard, odds are that no latecomer would have believed the score if they hadn’t arrived or listened in until halfway through the first half.

This is incredibly fantastic and demonstrates how far we’ve progressed since Thorup’s arrival.

Thorup’s in-game management, which was on display for all to witness in Preston, is also worthy of praise.

Throughout the game, City’s formation was adjusted, pulled, and changed as the manager saw fit. And it was actually moving.

I’ll always admire Daniel Farke for everything he’s accomplished, even as the architect of our play-off defeat last year – though I’d argue that another German had as much to do with it as he did.

Despite his triumphs, one of Farke’s most common complaints was his ability to chop and modify his strategy as the match progressed.

Clearly, at peak Farkeball, there was no need to modify because Plan A was always so effective.

However, when it didn’t work, Plan B was not always available – a complaint of Farke that Leeds supporters continue to level.

But, thus far, Thorup appears to have a large number of additional alphabet letters at his disposal – and is not hesitant to utilise them.

As I have stated, I am not resting on my laurels, and there were definitely many lessons to be learnt from the Preston game.

But, from where I’m sitting, things look very good – and the fact that Thorup has already accomplished something neither Smith nor Wagner could accomplish says a lot.

OTBC.

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