Chris Sutton has done a Pinkun column, fire away....

Chris Sutton on City's rotation policy and defensive issue
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Norwich City and Philippe Clement have plenty to ponder over this international break after a run of five defeats in eight Championship matches.

It is not the start anyone at Carrow Road anticipated and, in truth, it has come as something of a shock given last season’s trajectory under the Belgian, who could nearly walk on water after that surge up the table away from relegation.

There is a reasonable level of expectation at Norwich City this year, based on the success they had last year, that they should be in the top eight this season. That is a target that Clement has echoed himself publicly since the start of the summer.

It is not going to be easy because of the nature of the Championship, but if they fall short then everyone will consider it to be a major disappointment.

That, therefore, should be the decisive factor running through Clement and everyone inside the club’s head. Every decision, selection call and game should be used in the best possible way to achieve that objective.

Chopping and changing has not worked so far. It is like anything: if you are winning, it is utopia. Players are preserving freshness and the team is continuing to get results. But when you are not winning, it becomes a problem.

There have been good things offensively, but defensively it has been a disaster so far. That is why, in my view, you need continuity and consistency in selection just to get up and running again, put a few positive results together and become a bit more watertight at the back.

Then he will have the option to chop and change and use the squad. But it is one of those situations where, if they come back and get off to a poor start and lose the first two games, there is going to be negativity going into a run of fixtures where you think Norwich should be doing well against those teams. If not, the pressure on everyone will be immense.

Clement has said that some old pros do not understand the intensity of the game now and how relentless the schedule is, and perhaps that is fair enough - even though when we won the Premier League at Blackburn, that was the last of the 42-game seasons. I played 40 of the 42 games and Alan Shearer played all 42. That was essentially three games a week at times.

Even when Norwich won the Championship in 2020/21, which is much more recent, Tim Krul, Kenny McLean, Emi Buendia, Teemu Pukki, Grant Hanley, Max Aarons and Oliver Skipp all played over 35 times. The last two featured in 47 matches. Last season, Coventry had nine players who played over 40 times. Norwich had four in comparison.

If the club are bringing in players who are not capable of playing three games in a week, that is pretty damning on the recruitment led by Ben Knapper.

We all know Norwich had too many muscle injuries last year, but it feels like they have been overly cautious so far. Everyone understands why, but football is a game of risk. Clement brought them back early and they had a long and intense pre-season campaign, so if they are not robust enough now, when will they be?

Everyone understands those returning from injuries need time and patience, but there is a balance to be struck.

Everyone understands those returning from injuries need time and patience, but there is a balance to be struck.

I know what I preferred as a player and where I got my confidence from. I do not necessarily know what younger players would think, but I always gained confidence from the connections I had with team-mates.

He will talk about pressing harder and higher, but I did not necessarily see them press higher and harder at Manchester City the other night. They sat in. There are different ways of looking at it.

The other thing he can do is put out his strongest starting XI, get ahead in games and then take his key players off if that is the case.

Clearly, the other major problem is their defence. Any team that is conceding two or more goals a game is going to struggle - they need to address those issues urgently if they want to be upwardly mobile this season.

They need to get back to basics defensively. Keeping clean sheets is pivotal. They have got a goalkeeper low on confidence and struggling to perform who is not being well protected; that is a fatal combination. Judging by Manchester City, I am not sure Dan Grimshaw gives them the option to rotate.

Vladan Kovacevic will need a compact back line who are being screened by the central midfielders effectively, and the wide players will have to work a bit harder and get back and help out the full-backs. It needs to be a collective effort, and it has felt a bit too individual at times. The gaps between the units are too big.

This is where one issue does seem to feed the other. It is about having those relationships on the pitch, and inconsistent selections lead to inconsistent performances and results. If you are changing the front line, that might not affect attacking, but clearly Ben Chrisene, Jack Stacey and Kellen Fisher are not getting the help they need in wide areas.

They need to know they have got somebody on their side they can rely on. That understanding and connection comes from playing minutes, playing games, and building those relationships. Having someone you can trust ahead of you or alongside you is really important. It is that aspect that is suffering most from their heavy rotation policy.

My gut feeling is things will change. There will be criticism and that needs to be swallowed, but it is only eight games. There have been some really good things, and there have been some pretty bad things, but there is no room for panic and Clement has the credit in the bank to put this right. Let’s be honest, without him they would be playing League One football right now.

From a player’s point of view, this break gives you time to think about things, even though it is one of those situations where having so much time to ponder does not help. You dust yourself down and get away from it.

I do not think people should view things as overly negative. The hardest thing in football is scoring goals. Norwich can do that and they have been doing it pretty freely this season.

It is really about finding a better balance and tightening things up at the back. If they can do that, and let’s be honest, that needs to happen quickly, then this can still be a successful season for Norwich.

Posted By: DrDublin, Sep 23, 10:25:35