Norwich City and Ben Knapper told they ‘undermine their own rhetoric’ after Johannes Hoff Thorup sacking

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Norwich City and Ben Knapper decided to part ways with Johannes Hoff Thorup this week, with the Canaries having lost three times in a row.

Unwanted records have hampered Norwich’s progress this season and they are now winless in five matches, dropping out of play-off contention and into mid-table in the process.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	SwanseaSwansea	44	17	9	18	48	52	-4	60
12	WatfordWatford	44	16	8	20	51	58	-7	56
13	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	44	15	11	18	58	67	-9	56
14	NorwichNorwich	44	13	14	17	67	66	1	53
15	QPRQPR	44	13	14	17	52	58	-6	53
16	PortsmouthPortsmouth	44	14	10	20	56	69	-13	52
17	Stoke CityStoke City	44	12	14	18	45	60	-15	50

Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side have been the Championship’s entertainers this season, scoring the second-most goals in the division this season. Their defence, meanwhile, has flattered to deceive, currently having the joint fifth-worst record in the league.

They have been impacted by chopping and changing too often, but Norwich fans have grown impatient in recent weeks and the thumping defeats to poor sides has not helped, leading to a change.

• READ MORE: Jonathan Rowe opens up about ‘difficult’ Norwich City exit amid rumours of possible return to England

George Elek and Ali Maxwell give Norwich City verdict after Johannes Hoff Thorup sacking

For much of the campaign, the Canaries have been just one of numerous sides in the play-off mix ahead of the run-in. Now, they have to rebuild for the 2025/26 Championship campaign.

EFL experts Ali Maxwell and George Elek of the Not The Top 20 podcast have had their say on the sacking. Maxwell said: “Ben Knapper and co. have decided to sack Johannes Hoff Thorup.

“It’s been a torrid couple of weeks and they’ve decided that their big process guy, their 36-year-old manager, who they plucked from Scandinavia, is not the guy that’s going to see the process through. He’s out — what are your thoughts?”

“Yeah, quite surprised. Obviously, the caveat being that we don’t know the ins and the outs. We don’t know the relationship between Knapper and Hoff Thorup at all. But it seems strange from a club that seems intent on building a longer-term strategy.

“Until a month or so ago, it felt like they had a big chance of finishing in the top six in his first season in charge, having lost Gabriel Sara, having lost Jon Rowe — their two best players alongside Josh Sargent coming into the season.

“I’m kind of surprised, coming into the campaign, that they’ve seen enough and are wanting a change. Especially as a club, who not long ago, had Daniel Farke come in in his first season in English football and oversee an average, middling first season ending in not finishing in the top six.

“And then obviously followed up with an incredible few years, winning the Championship twice. My view is: you are often rewarded with retaining the faith in a manager. Often you are rewarded for allowing a manager to learn a little bit, especially when it’s their first season in a new country with a set of players.

“Obviously, Russell Martin is a name that’s cropping up. It would make a lot of sense if they are able to attract him, given his ties to the club; it would be an obvious fit. But it feels a bit premature to rule out Thorup being the right man for the job. 

“Often in these cases, it’s got to be seen as a bit of an admission of failure by Knapper himself. You appoint someone to be a manager of your club, and, then, 10 months later you fire him? Then you’ve made the wrong appointment there, in my mind. It’s an admission of that. It’ll be very interesting to see where they turn next.”

Maxwell added: “As I perceived it, until about a month ago, I think that the fans were broadly happy to accept the season was less about league finish and more about progress — bedding in some new players, some young players, players from overseas. Clearly, the way the seasons finished on the pitch, it chips away at that faith.

“But I’m still surprised the club have decided to do this. I think it slightly undermines their own rhetoric around building something. That’s been the whole thing since Knapper came in. You do slightly undermine yourself if you make this decision.

“It’ll be interesting to see how clear they are in communicating the reasons for it. The way they explain this away and who they turn to will be quite impressive.  It’s been bizarre how much of a soft touch they’ve been, how poor defensively, and that’s a massive mark against Thorup’s name. Defensive capability is a massive function of coaching and what you do on the training pitch.”

It’s not yet clear who will come in but an EFL Analysis Exclusive revealed a number of managers have declared interest in the Norwich vacancy.

• READ MORE: Alex Neil highlighted ‘difficulty’ as Norwich boss in 2016, now Johannes Hoff Thorup is suffering from the same problem

Josh Sargent’s Norwich City future cast into further doubt

There have been bright spots, including Josh Sargent, who is one of the best strikers in the Championship and firmly in the golden boot race, which pundits are backing him to win. However, there is a high chance of Sargent departing the club this summer without promotion again.

It would then mean a summer rebuild yet again without Sargent or Thorup, and possibly further departures, too. They could be one of the most interesting clubs in the second tier next season, with their floor fairly low but their ceiling very high.

Not long ago, they were a Premier League outfit. Retaining players like Sargent would be key to becoming that again, but it feels like a number of years away currently with the summer they are likely to have in store in 2025.