Just read Michael Bailey's article

Christ, when he puts it like that, it's been every bit the shambles it looks like isn't it.

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The home fans at Villa Park wanted a wave from Dean Smith but his first thought was to applaud the modest gathering of supporters in yellow on the far side.

Burnley had already produced a stunning comeback from 1-0 down after 82 minutes to win at Watford minutes earlier on Saturday afternoon, before Norwich City saw a 2-0 defeat confirmed at Smith’s former club, Aston Villa. The second Villa goal, in added time, was created by Emiliano Buendia; a man who had meant so much to those at Norwich before his move last summer.

Sweet Caroline played out over the PA system, cranked up to a volume of 11, as the soundtrack to the home side’s celebrations. But from Norwich, there were no public tears over another relegation to end another one-season stay in the Premier League. No slumping on the floor. In fact, barely an expression of anything.

This was the worst-case scenario, both now and before a ball was kicked: a complete failure with four games remaining. A lack of progress despite two Championship titles in three years — the first of which had been sealed at Villa Park — and vows that lessons had been learned. This time was supposed to be different. It ended with Norwich dropping out of the Premier League for a record sixth time in its 30 years, a fourth time in the last nine years and second time in three years.

The inevitable relegation that was supposed to be anything but…

The doubt was already palpable inside the home dressing room at Carrow Road. It was not supposed to be like this. Especially not after five games.

Norwich’s staff and players were geared to proving they were of Premier League quality; able to compete, or at least having learnt from the experiences of 2019-20’s limp last-placed relegation.

Instead, Norwich had just lost 3-1 at home to Watford, who they were promoted with four months earlier and finished six points ahead of. They had also been booed off, and that caught some of them cold. All signs of promotion momentum had long since disappeared following an EFL title triumph that COVID-19 restrictions meant supporters were not present for.

Not only was the fear of history repeating there for those who’d been at Norwich last time; two of their summer recruits — Joshua Sargent and Milot Rashica — had spent the previous two seasons battling relegation from Germany’s Bundesliga with Werder Bremen before finally succumbing.

That Watford defeat visibly knocked Norwich’s coaching staff, too. From that point on September 18, to some, they looked lost. It was the last thing anyone needed.

Norwich were on the back foot but in truth, they had been from the moment they were promoted. And they never recovered.

Ask those involved now and they wish they had played down the importance of that Watford match more than they did. Then-head coach Daniel Farke launched a staunch defence of individual players and tried to ensure home supporters did not arrive simply expecting victory but baying for it.

Norwich were already a club searching for the belief they could achieve survival this time. Some sensed that belief was lacking internally and in the stands as early as the opening weekend’s 3-0 home loss to Liverpool.

Knowing that only victories would bring those doubters, in the squad and outside, fully onboard, those 90 minutes against Watford underlined a disastrous start to a desperate campaign.

Not that their start to 2021-22 was disastrous solely on the basis of losing an early game they needed to win.

As well as the initial challenge thrown at them by the fixture computer — Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester City and Arsenal as the opening four games — there had been a wretched pre-season.

Norwich cancelled their usual pre-season camp in Germany at short notice because of COVID-19 rules, replacing it with one in the English Peak District alongside friendlies with Championship clubs Coventry City and Sheffield United.

After their first night in the hotel, Norwich woke to 11 positive COVID-19 tests, panic in the group and some players refusing to train with their team-mates due to the risks involved. Those warm-up games were cancelled, Norwich headed back to Norfolk, the positive cases self-isolated, training resumed in small groups with limited meetings and pressure from the Premier League to ensure that opening game was played as scheduled.

Norwich’s preparations were reduced to playing Gillingham, four days before their League One campaign started, and being comfortably beaten by Newcastle United at St James’ Park. Those tough first four Premier League fixtures were regularly referred to as Norwich’s makeshift pre-season, adding to the importance of game five at home to Watford.

By this point, Norwich had already changed their shirt-front sponsorship, cancelling a lucrative agreement with betting firm BK8 following pressure from supporters. Chief operating officer Ben Kensell would then leave the club within weeks — one of many staff departures across various departments over the following year.

The original sponsorship plan appeared to weaken the relationship between some supporters and the club. The financial result of the episode was effectively the lack of a signing to strengthen the side in the January transfer window.

However, Norwich’s struggles and every element already mentioned all come back to the same topic of discussion. Something those at Carrow Road would now describe as the underlying issue — their summer recruitment.

To say lessons had not been learned from the 2019-20 experience would be wrong. Farke’s wish list following his second promotion as Norwich head coach was evidence of that.

Farke knew the limitations of his previous squad. That can be seen by how those well-loved players — the likes of Tom Trybull, Mario Vrancic, Onel Hernandez, Moritz Leitner and Marco Stiepermann — ultimately enjoyed the peak of their careers at that time.

Farke made it clear that this time he wanted to add Premier League experience to the group. An elite level centre-back was top of his list, with a defensive midfielder not far behind to replace the sizeable hole left by Tottenham loanee Oliver Skipp.

Both signings were deemed essential, given they would be in the spine of the team. Those positions would get exposed in the top flight if they did not get it right, unlike wider roles that can be more flexible in tactics and personnel.

Then there was the matter of replacing Buendia: a key offensive player who had added crucial goals and another level of performance to his game in the 2020-21 Championship. His understanding with striker Teemu Pukki was viewed by coaching staff as near-telepathic, and his influence on so much of Norwich’s offensive behaviour was obvious.

Sporting director Stuart Webber made sure the Argentinian’s £33 million move to Villa was completed early and he swiftly went on record to say it was unrealistic to have expected Buendia to stay. His heart was already set on a move, although sources are adamant there was no previous agreement between the club and player to sell him following last season’s promotion.

Even those that loved working with him believed the fee paid by Villa was more than he was worth.

Still, some question whether Buendia’s sale sent a signal to the rest of the squad over what Norwich’s prospects would really be. Brentford and Watford, the other two promoted clubs, were both dismissive of offers they received for their attacking stars Ivan Toney and Ismaila Sarr.

Perhaps the bigger issue, though, was what happened next.

Farke indicated he wanted the money generated by Buendia’s sale spent on three signings: a centre-back, a holding midfielder and a forward to directly replace the then 24-year-old South American. The reality for the club was that the money would have to cover the majority of Norwich’s summer recruitment.

At this point, things get muddled.

Norwich made nine signings in all, if you ignore the transition of loans into permanent moves for Ben Gibson and Dimitris Giannoulis — effectively long-term replacements for the summer 2020 sales of Ben Godfrey and Jamal Lewis.

The initial plan was to limit the size of the squad and pose the challenge of keeping that tight group as fit as possible. Norwich had seen that as a strength of Burnley, who had survived for five years among the elite after their own two promotions in three seasons under the same head coach in 2014 and 2016.

But then a fear took over that the training regime under Farke would bring injuries and Norwich would get caught short.

On reflection, the club know now that they signed too many players and spread their budget too thin. Half the signings made in the bracket between £10 million to £15 million may have worked. Instead, Norwich found themselves with a squad that struggled to compete.

They also tried to avoid giving up on their top targets as quickly as they did two summers ago, hoping patience would be rewarded with better quality signings.

It did not work.

Norwich pursued deals for German club Mainz’s Netherlands centre-back Jeremiah St Juste but negotiations dragged on before the asking price reached €20 million. Fellow Bundesliga side Cologne’s required fee for Sebastiaan Bornauw, another central defender, also ended up out of reach before he sealed a domestic move to Wolfsburg.

William Saliba’s potential loan from Arsenal was scuppered by his wage requirements, before he went back to France with a loan to Marseille. Then Gary Cahill opted against what was shaping up to be a Premier League relegation battle, instead preferring a more uplifting Championship promotion race with Bournemouth, and the added convenience of a move closer to home after nine years in London with Chelsea and then Crystal Palace.

Another target was Kristoffer Ajer. The Norway defender was set to move to Carrow Road until negotiations with Celtic got stuck on his fee. Norwich had set their limit at £10 million and opted to bide their time, feeling Ajer would sign a pre-contract option with them come January, given he was entering the final 12 months of his contract. Then Brentford offered the £13 million fee Celtic wanted and Ajer moved to west London instead of Norfolk.

In the end, Norwich signed Ozan Kabak from German’s Schalke on a season-long loan that included a £13 million permanent signing option. The move took so long to compete primarily because the Turkey international was waiting for something better to come along, having been on loan at Liverpool last season.

Eventually, he agreed to join Norwich three games into the season. He arrived without any pre-season work under his belt because Schalke deemed him too expensive to keep and Farke — keen to play the highly-rated centre-back he had wanted to add to the group — surprisingly threw him in from the start that day against Watford. He was beaten in the air to a cross by Emmanuel Dennis within 17 minutes.

You have already read what happened in the next 73.

Kabak’s deal was as expensive as any made last summer. Some felt he was a significant improvement on what Norwich already had, having left Liverpool with some excellent reviews after a tricky start to his time at Anfield. In that case, he failed to justify that faith.

Others saw a player who struggled to look good alongside excellent players at Liverpool and therefore questioned the wisdom of hoping for better from him when playing at the same level but in a promoted side.

The pattern was similar with Norwich’s defensive midfielder recruitment, but with added importance as they had not offered long-serving Alex Tettey a new contract at age 35.

One missed opportunity was Union Berlin’s Robert Andrich. Norwich agreed a fee for the then 26-year-old but wages became a sticking point as demands reached £60,000 per week, which would have put him near the top of Norwich’s wage bill.

Bayer Leverkusen later obliged, and Andrich has been a regular feature in their push for third place in the Bundesliga and Champions League football next season.

Had he come to Norwich, Andrich would have been in the group for pre-season. Instead, Norwich were left fighting to complete the signing of Norway international Mathias Normann before the window closed at the end of August. His club Rostov’s demands had caused most of the delays but when a proposed move to fellow Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg fell through, Rostov sanctioned an exit to Norwich.

Normann joined on a similar loan-to-buy basis as Kabak, and for the same proposed fee. He also signed for wages not far short of what Andrich had been after.

Again like Kabak, having finally seen one of his much-hoped-for signings arrive, Farke started him at the earliest opportunity — against Watford. Normann created Pukki’s first-half equaliser, but the gamble backfired during a ragged second half.

The rest of the recruitment was ultimately viewed as a collection of projects. They all lacked experience of playing in England, never mind the Premier League. At best, they would need time to adapt, such as Rashica and experienced Ligue 1 campaigner Pierre Lees-Melou; at worst, they would be years away from fulfilling their potential.

And then there is Billy Gilmour.

The Chelsea loanee was arguably the marquee signing of Norwich’s summer — at least to the wider Premier League world — after playing for Scotland at the European Championship weeks earlier. Yet it was clear as early as that friendly at Newcastle that the 20-year-old midfielder would be an imperfect fit with Norwich on the pitch, especially for a team facing long spells without the ball.

At times, Gilmour has not done enough but also, he has never hid from the ball or shied away from trying to win it back. There remains a conviction around the player and Norwich that he will go on to build an excellent career. That may be part of the reason some fans have struggled to support him in the same way they have with previous loanees.

The end of August saw genuine excitement Norwich had recruited exciting players who were equipped to compete among the domestic elite. Ultimately, those signings could not reach the required level in time. Different players had good moments at different times, but consistency and productivity were often missing. The six Norwich players with most Premier League minutes this season, under both Farke and November replacement Smith, were all regulars in the Championship last season.

Last August also saw the departure of head of recruitment Kieran Scott, who opted to further his career by becoming director of football at Middlesbrough in the second division, rather than waiting to see if he would get the opportunity to do that at Norwich.

From being adamant he would leave the club at the end of this season, Webber was having to smooth over the loss of Scott — who was effectively on gardening leave from the start of the summer transfer window — and oversee more than he may have expected a few months earlier.

As a result, Norwich leant on agents to a greater degree than before, and paid the agents’ fees to prove it.

The club had been facing the prospect of Webber and Farke both being out of contract this July. One of those issues was put to bed during pre-season, as Farke signed a new four-year deal. He served four months of it.

Norwich believed they were giving the coaching staff a group of players they could shape into a more defensively solid Premier League side that also carried a powerful forward threat. If that recruitment’s failure has become clear towards the end of the season, it was Farke’s inability to make it work initially that cost him his job.

Norwich’s pointless start through the first six games was followed by five points from the next five — and arguably it could have been better than that. But as game plans reduced to fielding seven defensive players and hoping Sargent and Pukki could develop a partnership up front, Farke’s side were seen to be showing the same weaknesses as two years earlier. With that, they were getting similar results and heading for the same outcome.

Following a 7-0 thrashing at Chelsea on Saturday, October 23, Norwich’s players retained their days off on the Sunday and Monday.

From that point on, those above them deemed the status quo unacceptable.

The decision to sack Farke and his coaching team was made following a 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United eight days later, although Farke was only informed immediately following a 2-1 win at Brentford on November 6 — Norwich’s first league victory of the season. Webber held the meeting with Farke in the away dressing room, moments after the players and staff had left to board the team bus.

Some still wish the decision had been made sooner, or that Farke had been persuaded to recruit a Premier League-level coach to work alongside him. The usefulness of Craig Shakespeare to successor Smith has impressed that point further.

Farke may well feel he deserved more patience and loyalty than he received in those most difficult moments. Some still lament the loss of identity that was emphasised after the German’s exit, although that had already begun and was part of the reason he was sacked.

There was a feeling Farke did not believe he had a good enough group to stay up, and that the players subconsciously knew that. Hindsight may prove Smith felt the same, and that both head coaches have been proven right.

Farke’s goodbye at the Colney training ground after the arrival back from that Brentford game was an emotional address, followed by numerous personal farewells. Equally, once it was done, attention swiftly switched to who would come in next.

Players were protecting themselves in training sessions so they were available for Smith’s arrival.

Smith and assistant Shakespeare, who had been sacked by Villa a day after Farke got the chop, walked into Norwich and in their first days wondered if they had inherited an academy team. The team were relatively quiet overall, neat on the ball, but lacking a physical edge and short of pace and power. Defeats hurt but were perhaps dismissed a little too easily before the next game came along.

In Todd Cantwell, Norwich had a player who had already enjoyed a productive spell in the Premier League and shown wonderful Championship form earlier in the calendar year. If there was an inbox for Smith to deal with on taking the job, getting a tune out of a previously absent Cantwell was near the top of the pile.

There were long conversations, arms around the shoulder and kicks up the backside; all tricks Smith had used with various talented young players at his previous clubs.

These techniques failed.

By January, one of Norwich’s big hopes for the 2021-22 Premier League had been loaned out for the rest of the season to Championship promotion-chasers Bournemouth, who have an option to make the move permanent if they do go up. If they are promoted but don’t want to keep Cantwell, Smith will be presented with the same situation as before come pre-season.

Some players impressed Smith more than he was expecting. Those are the ones that have featured for him regularly.

Centre-back Andrew Omobamidele, 19, would have played a lot of games had it not been for a back issue that should be behind him in time for the Championship pre-season.

Likewise 21-year-old Adam Idah, whose impressive emergence in January tied in with successive victories over Everton and Watford and the most dynamic performances Norwich produced all season. It was no coincidence his maturing hold-up play and running channels also brought Sargent and Rashica to life in a 4-2-4 formation.

So his season-ending knee injury in early February was one of several perfectly-timed punches Norwich failed to roll with.

The changes in shape and tactics were constant as Smith tried to get a tune out of what was available to him. Even if it worked, it would prove unsustainable.

Smith stepped into a club that had four years of Farke’s handprints on it. His modest, humble demeanour is welcoming but at times lacks the personality of some of the game’s leading managers (and indeed, Farke), which can generate its own energy. Smith has said as much himself.

That is often where Shakespeare’s lively personality complements that of his boss. Smith is appreciated for letting his players know quickly whether something is good or bad. His straightforward way of working and honesty are appreciated. The required standards expected are known, even if they are not always met.

In fact, the success of Smith’s job so far is emphasised by how few complaints there have been about the situation at Norwich and how the season has played out from inside the camp. He has a solid foundation to build on ahead of the Championship.

There have been mistakes, of course.

One of the first things Smith said to a director in the tunnel following the 1-1 home draw with Crystal Palace in February was his regret at not bringing on Gilmour sooner than his 64th-minute introduction. The same sentiments had been overheard up in the directors’ box during the game.

Despite an initial injection of belief created by Smith’s initial game plans and three-game unbeaten start as head coach, Norwich missed their chances in a 1-1 draw at 10-man Newcastle.

Come December, they played well enough in a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United to convince Smith there was enough momentum to make playing Villa at Carrow Road a few days later as scheduled worth the risk. Ask him now and he’ll say he would have made sure the game was postponed.

Four of the side played with high temperatures that night, although they did not record positive COVID-19 tests before the game. Those who did so were already isolating. At least one member of the starting XI threw up in the dressing room at half-time.

Norwich had phoned the Premier League to discuss postponing the game but not until a few hours before kick-off.

That game also saw Sam Byram’s dramatic, and premature, return from a near two-year injury battle which almost ended his career. He played as a holding midfielder, after coming on for an injured Kabak late in the first half. Byram later admitted telling Smith he had previous experience of the role when in reality he’d never played there before.

Norwich were abject in a 2-0 home defeat, and the run of five losses it was the middle game of extinguished any previous encouragement brought by Smith’s appointment.

If Burnley do stay up, their decisions to postpone games over that same period for COVID-19 reasons will have at least played a part in it.

Smith was aware of a few things as he discussed joining Norwich.

He received assurances from Webber that he would be staying as sporting director, although Smith may still have taken the job had that not been the case. Smith was also made aware there would be no money to spend during the January transfer window and that any mid-season business was unlikely.

Not that Norwich did not bother at all. They just found there was little interest in anyone buying players they would have been willing to sell for the right price, including Cantwell and Max Aarons.

The domestic loan deals for Gilmour and Manchester United’s Brandon Williams had met clauses for their extension, so even if Smith had wanted to scrap one of his inherited loans to make room for one of his own, it would have been extremely difficult to achieve.

Norwich put a call in to Christian Eriksen’s agent, thinking they would be going out on a limb to help a player looking for an opportunity to restart his career after his heart scare at the Euros led to him being released by Inter Milan. But the wage demands that came back, along with Eriksen’s desire to play in London, put paid to that idea as swiftly as it was hatched and he’s ended up helping Brentford ease clear of their own growing relegation concerns.

But in truth, there was an air of inactivity and acceptance there would be little done.

Even the wages freed up with Cantwell’s move to Bournemouth did little to improve the available budget.

Relegation has felt inevitable since February, although that only seeped into the club following the home loss to Newcastle earlier this month.

That defeat was a big issue.

So were Webber’s plans to stay on at the club, thanks to the board allowing him the time off to fulfil his ambition to climb Mount Everest in the next two years. It emerged in an interview in The Times detailing the challenge, the Summit Foundation set up to raise money for young people along the way, and how it would impact his role at Norwich.

“My life isn’t to appease Norwich fans,” began a key quote. “I had been very clear when I signed my contract that I would leave in June 2022 because I wanted to have some time away… I said to Delia and Michael (Smith and Wynn Jones, Norwich’s joint majority shareholders), ‘If 90 per cent of me isn’t enough, it’s fine, because I’m already ready to walk out the door. I’m ready for the next stage of my life’. But they wanted me to stay and I’m incredibly grateful to them for that.”

The timing of it all, in the 48 hours before that Newcastle game, made for a toxic weekend that Norwich as a club will need to ride out just as much as relegation itself.

To do that, they will need to rely on the majority of the current group of players, a good group of honest characters that brush off disappointments and put the team first, such as what could have been considered the harsh dropping of goalkeeper Angus Gunn after he had ably stepped in for Tim Krul following injury.

But they can also be seen as too quiet, and have failed to show they believe they are good enough to succeed in the Premier League. Even criticism from a team-mate can sometimes be taken personally by some of the group’s younger members, rather than reflecting on its intended purpose.

That also reflects out on the pitch, when players talking to each other can be useful simply in signalling where everyone is as much as communicating information.

The right things have often been said and bright starts to games have been numerous. Yet it can be easy to think you believe you can succeed until you are punched in the face – or indeed, concede a sloppy goal.

“At Norwich, in the Premier League, if you lose it’s like, ‘OK. Cool. Dust ourselves off and go again’. At Newcastle, it’s like, ‘No, that’s not good enough. We need to do this, this and this’.” — so Jamal Lewis told the Belfast Telegraph in August, reflecting on his first 12 months since his move to Tyneside.

That sentiment is exactly the cultural change Smith wants to get stuck into from here.

The signs of a player who struggles in the Premier League are silly individual mistakes and lapses in concentration. Norwich fans have seen plenty of those from their team in the top flight over recent seasons.

At times, Smith and Shakespeare have given the players a full dressing-down, such as during the defeat at Leeds in March. However, those moments have been infrequent – an acknowledgement that the players were at least doing all they could.

All of which led Norwich to the inevitable conclusion at Villa Park today.

Wages will now reduce significantly. Some players will leave — as seems set to be the case with Lukas Rupp, who is out of contract at the end of the season. Others will need to be sold if there is to be a significant budget available for a squad rebuild. Smith’s influence on both that and Norwich’s development from here is set to grow in light of this season’s failings and Webber’s mountaineering ambitions.

By earning promotion via the play-offs last summer, Brentford set Norwich a challenge. Norwich have failed to match the Londoners’ level, despite having so much more experience to draw on. Everyone at the club would do well to come up with the answers to that failure.

There are surviving foundations too. Season-ticket sales remain healthy despite a seven per cent price rise and the likes of Idah, Omobamidele and 19-year-old forward Jon Rowe have made the step from academy talent to first-team contribution.

But in the end, too much went wrong this season and not enough went right.

Even if you feel the club did not have enough money or the self-funded model does not work, Brentford have joined the 2019-20 iteration of Sheffield United in showing Norwich that when you come up it is not all about how much you have to spend but what you spend it on.

Norwich’s boardroom remains a trusting place, allowing people the freedom to get on with their jobs. That works in the good times but in the more difficult moments, it can also bring a lack of accountability — even a lack of protection — for those running the show.

Having fallen short again, Norwich will be given little leeway or forgiveness should the latest set of mistakes be repeated or the lessons not learnt.

Posted By: jAC on April 30th 2022 at 22:13:13

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