Almost all of the positives from Norwich City’s 2024-25 campaign were collateral damage in the sacking of Johannes Hoff Thorup as it neared its end.
Thorup was dismissed as the Canaries’ head coach with just two games of the Championship season left and Norwich 14th placed – set for their equal-lowest finish in 15 years.
Perhaps it’s fair, then, to consign any of the work he did to the negative books of the club’s history, with his managerial reign likely known for little else than its brevity and how it ended.
But that would be to discount some of the long-term benefits introduced by a strategy whose virtues he extolled near-incessantly. It would be to forget the elation of January’s 2-1 win over Coventry, to scrub from memory thrashings of Hull and Plymouth in the heady early days of his tenure.
It would mean erasing all of the progress made when it comes to the youth department at Carrow Road, taking it from a burdensome sidenote under David Wagner to a welcomed priority when Thorup took the helm.
There were certainly times when the Dane could have thought more long term: Oscar Schwartau was played all over the place and started rarely; Shane Duffy’s presence in 45 line-ups baffled supporters keen on academy stars; Brad Hills was the casualty.
For the supporting cast of City’s season, however, he was somewhat of a revelation. The group of stand-in stars went from Danny Batth, Adam Forshaw and Hwang Ui-jo to Elliot Myles, Gabriel Forsyth and Vicente Reyes, the average age of that particular section plummeting with the rest of the squad’s.
Reyes enjoyed perhaps the most significant breakthrough despite starting the season out on loan in League One at Cambridge United. There he hit promising highs and worrying lows, but he had dropped to the bench by the time he was recalled early in January.
Behind George Long and Angus Gunn in the City pecking order, few would have predicted even one senior appearance for the Chilean when he initially returned. But injuries to both of his competitors meant a first ever start for the club in March’s 1-1 draw with Oxford.
Young goalkeeper Vicente Reyes also made his Canaries breakthroughYoung goalkeeper Vicente Reyes also made his Canaries breakthrough (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
Few mistakes came on that occasion, but they were more regular in the subsequent 3-2 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. He still did enough to push ahead of Long, though, being chosen between the sticks for Thorup’s final game – a 3-1 loss to Millwall.
Another temporary exit is expected at Colney this summer, but his potential suitors will only improve in calibre as a result of those exploits. It might be too early for him to take the number one shirt, although the campaign still counts as a positive one.
For Forsyth it was shaping up to be even more than that. He was the surprise package from pre-season, mentioned by few as the next big thing but thrust into the spotlight aged 17. By the first home game he was in the starting line-up, and five more appearances followed for the Scot.
In the final of them a poor tackle ended his season, although it took months for Norwich to eventually decide on surgery. Had that injury not occurred he may have been the major success story of the term, but now the future is hard to predict.
An audition for new boss Liam Manning awaits, with all possibilities remaining live. Things have certainly moved forward for Forsyth, but not nearly to the extent that it looked like they might.
Myles is rated highly at ColneyMyles is rated highly at Colney (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
Myles’ progress played out more in signals and words than real football, his ability talked up and squad inclusions encouraging while he signed a new contract toward the end of the season. A spring call-up by the Welsh senior side highlighted just what an impression he’s making.
Add all of his minutes together though, and they total just 50. So the question becomes a chicken and egg one: is the hype unjustified given the football played, or is it the other way round? Pre-season again will reveal all.
So there’s certainly work to do on the current fringe of City’s first team, but Ben Knapper will at least be pleased with its shifting demographics. From a situation where experience was backed up by less capable experience, he now has ready players backed up by those still learning.
As far as short term results go that’s meant little improvement. In the wider picture it could make all the difference.