Sky Sports: Numbers behind City’s Championship disciplinary record.

Sky Sports: Numbers behind City’s Championship disciplinary record.

Borja Sainz’s latest expulsion for spitting at an opponent has sparked fresh concerns about Norwich City’s disciplinary record. But what do the figures show?

Four FA retrospective incidents, two red cards, and 58 yellow cards in their first 26 Championship matches have sparked alarm among some supporters that Johannes Hoff Thorup must address a growing and long-standing issue as he continues to improve the Canaries. When asked about the worries, Thorup remarked, “I can’t reassure them [supporters] that things like that won’t happen again.” They are human beings, and we are touched by emotions. [Against Coventry] was an incredible display of emotion. It could be emotions in another case.

“It’s critical that we confront it as a team and club. Incidents can occur. Some should never happen, but whether it comes to tackles, red cards, or bookings, you must consider everyone and the context of what occurred. “We are undoubtedly the league’s squad with the most suspensions. That is too much. If we want to go up the table, this cannot be our future. So let’s look at the numbers. Norwich have received two on-field red cards: Kenny McLean against Middlesbrough and Jose Cordoba at Sunderland. One was a straight red for a bad tackle, as measured by’serious foul play’. The other was a silly second yellow for a reckless foul in the middle of the pitch.

In comparison to the rest of the Championship, Norwich are in a group of eight with two dismissals. The top four teams in terms of red cards against are Sunderland (3), Plymouth (4), Preston (4), and Luton (5). In terms of bookings, Norwich have 58 in 26 games. Preston lead with 73, followed by Stoke (64), Blackburn and Portsmouth (61), and Watford (59). Thorup’s team ranks eighth in terms of yellow cards issued overall. This comes to an average of 2.23 per game. In comparison to prior seasons, Norwich averaged 1.85 per game under David Wagner last season and 1.89 per game under Dean Smith and Wagner the year before. It is up from previous years.

Under Daniel Farke during their most recent Championship crusade, City were handed just 60 bookings. That equates to 1.30 per game. In 18/19, that was up slightly at 1.72. During the German’s first campaign, they averaged 1.96 bookings per game, which is the highest since this season.

Jose Cordoba saw red for Norwich City against Sunderland.
Jose Cordoba saw red for Norwich City against Sunderland. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)The trends are improving, however. In their last three Championship matches, City have received just one booking per game. Against Coventry, Emi Marcondes was shown a yellow card for ‘excessive celebration’. That feels like it can be forgiven in the circumstances.

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City’s victory over Millwall on Boxing Day was the last time two players were booked wearing yellow and green.

When viewed in more detail, statistics show that Norwich made 320 fouls in their 26 Championship matches. Five teams – Derby, Luton, Watford, Burnley and Preston – have made more than City.

Crucially, Norwich have made the second-highest number of ball recoveries (1,094) in the Championship behind Luton (1,102). There is a correlation between those who make the most ball recoveries and those who make the most fouls.

Part of the disciplinary concerns are a by-product of their intense style of play. The more City press and try to win the ball back, the more fouls they are naturally going to make. Thorup’s explanation earlier in the season surrounding their play style being a contributing factor is fair.

But, incidents like McLean’s unacceptable language directed towards a match official after his red card against Middlesbrough which saw him handed an additional game ban, and Sainz’s spit directed at Chris Mepham are clearly unacceptable and need rooting out immediately. Thorup also knows that. He said as much at his press conference before the Brighton game.

Borja Sainz is serving a six game ban for spitting at an opponent.
Borja Sainz is serving a six-game suspension for spitting on an opponent. (Image by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd.) The FA charged Angus Gunn with misconduct when he kicked a substitute’s board against QPR in December, but did not impose a sports sentence due to his apologies and acknowledgement of guilt. McLean’s aggressive behaviour allegation, which resulted in a new game ban, was contentious to say the least. ‘Violent conduct’ felt like a harsh conclusion on a flailing arm used to deflect an opponent’s defensive throw-in attempt. There is debate over whether the bar was high and unambiguous enough to justify retrospective action on that instance.

These, together with the number of yellow cards, indicate that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Norwich would add their style of play and youthful character to their team as mitigation, providing plenty of context for that decision. However, the numbers do not lie. That image is correct to some extent, even if they are not among the Championship’s worst offenders this season. Perhaps a broader narrative has influenced that impression. Off-field events, such as those involving Shane Duffy and former players Hwang Ui-Jo and Ashley Barnes last season, have ingrained themselves in the minds of fans. Transfer demands and withdrawals from squads have also contributed to that narrative.

Thorup will want to address City's disciplinary concerns.
Thorup will wish to deal with the City’s disciplinary concerns. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd.)Football has its fair share of bad luck. Those FA charges coming so close together have influenced the debate, and Thorup believes they are not being awarded consistently throughout the league. The FA took no retrospective action against any other Championship club during the month of December. Norwich had three incidents involving McLean, Gunn, and Sainz. Finally, Thorup’s final analysis is accurate. If Norwich wants to be successful, they must improve their record. It will eventually act as a prism through which their culture and behaviours can be somewhat analysed.

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