After Norwich City’s first Carrow Road Championship win against Watford, Connor Southwell delivers six things you might have missed from their 4-1 win.Â
1 – HoffballÂ
This felt like the afternoon that ‘Hoffball’ truly descended on Carrow Road.
That is, of course, the affectionate title handed to the style of play that Johannes Hoff Thorup is attempting to implement as Canaries head coach, but perhaps speaks to the buy-in that he has achieved despite inconsistent results.
Thorup has been dealt a tough hand in his opening weeks at the club. Key players have departed in high-profile sagas, there has been change aplenty in the window and that disruption was compounded with the exit of key coaching personnel earlier in the week.
That context makes this performance all the more impressive.
The data behind the performance suggests it was City’s best performance under Thorup, something that the eye test backs up.
City’s dominant victory was a season high for expected goals (2.67), shots (19), shots on target (8), pass completion rate (88.1pc), shot creating actions (35), blocks (12) and tackles and interceptions (26).
There has been appreciation behind the scenes for the support in the opening weeks of the new era. That isn’t a hand supporters have held out blindly, but it’s been offered due to the clarity of idea and playing style attempting to be implemented, something Thorup’s predecessors didn’t offer.
Results are needed to retain buy-in, but the offering against Watford is a graphic illustration of the levels this team can reach if it continues building.
2 – Attacking riposte
After last week’s frustration in front of goal against Swansea, there was much conversation and discourse about Norwich City’s lack of attacking productivity.
An inability to convert large spells of possession into clear-cut opportunities is a pattern that has repeated itself within the opening five games at differing points. Even Thorup was left irritated by their struggles in this facet of the game.
City responded to that profligacy with a hard week of training geared towards fixing those deficiencies in the final third. For Thorup and his staff, it was about constructing drills that practiced similar situations to those being worked in games.
Thorup devised a different build-up structure that included Kellen Fisher replacing Jack Stacey at right back and inverting alongside Kenny McLean and Callum Doyle during spells of deep-build up.
That allowed Norwich to get Marcelino Nunez into more dangerous positions, something illustrated by the fact he made fewer touches than in any Championship clash this season.
Another facet is the drop in individual errors this weekend compared to that Swansea defeat.
Norwich’s players were dispossessed on 20 occasions in Wales last week, a high for their season, compared to just five against Watford, the lowest of their campaign. That eradication of errors aided their productivity.
The four goals arrived without the need for Josh Sargent to get on the scoresheet. It is the first time in seven years, since QPR at home in May 2017, that Norwich have scored without the need for a striker.
3 – Games within games
Despite City’s dominance and attacking fluidity, there were still stages within the game that left Thorup frustrated.
Namely the Canaries sudden decision after gaining a 3-1 advantage to concede huge amounts of territory to Watford and add unnecessary jeopardy into a contest that should have ended with more comfort.
That spell came after a quick out of the blocks start to the second half where City pursued a third goal with real intensity, which they got when Marcelino Nunez converted from Callum Doyle’s cutback. To then ease off was a frustrating development and one that has left Thorup with a clear focus heading into another training week.
It is inevitable that City will experience dips in intensity during a 90-minute contest. But that period in the second half lulled on for too long and required Angus Gunn to make a fine stop from Vakoun Bayo—a Watford goal would have created a nervy finish.
When those decelerations within their performances arrive, it is about being compact and riding those waves of pressure. Thorup will be keen to minimalise them as much as possible.
That was evident during a spell of pressure from Watford in the first half when City were able to problem-solve and wrestle back control of the contest.
Even on a day of euphoria for the Canaries, the game provided a reminder of the work still to do as Thorup continues to shift not just the playing style but also the group’s mentality.
Norwich City are now on their longest unbeaten Carrow Road record in over 50 years, with victory over Watford making it 21 games unbeaten in NR1.
It is now 322 days since the Canaries were beaten 3-1 by Blackburn on November 5 last year. Nobody would have anticipated the run that followed since.
The last time they managed to go over 20 successive games without defeat was in 1972, ended by defeat to Manchester United in November of that year.
It came as Ron Saunders took City to the First Division for the first time and saw them win 12 and draw nine to go a whole campaign, and the opening 10 of the next one, unbeaten.
City’s run between 2023 and 2024 has seen them win 13 and draw only eight. It is a staggering record that has followed a run of unhappiness at Carrow Road since the return of supporters following the Covid shutout.
Only Manchester City enjoy a better home record than Norwich across the top four divisions in England.
Thorup has inherited rather than built that run, but forging a positive foundation can only be a positive. It has made Carrow Road a genuinely difficult place for opposition teams to play.
