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Norwich City are one of the dark horses for promotion in the Championship in 2025/26.
It’s been three years since the Canaries were last in the Premier League, and after a mid-table finish last time out, improvements are needed.
However, after Borja Sainz joined Porto, work is still needed to bring their squad to a level at which they can compete at the very top of the division.
Liam Manning has called Josh Sargent a ‘top player’, as the club awaits more bids for the USA striker, but the biggest coup of the season for Norwich will still be bringing the manager to Carrow Road.
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Mark Attanasio reveals why Liam Manning was brought to Norwich City
It looked incredibly likely that Johannes Hoff Thorup was going to be sacked in April, and before the season came to an end, the Dane’s contract was terminated with Manning becoming the successor.
However, the process of hiring the ex-Bristol City boss was not exactly straightforward and Norwich owner Mark Attanasio has revealed how they captured their man. He said (via: The PinkUn): “I think they’d interviewed 12 sporting director candidates when we appointed Ben, and I got involved at the last four.
“With Liam, they’d interviewed a number of coaches, and they felt he was the first choice, the second choice, and the third choice. I was like, ‘You don’t want me to meet anybody else?’
“Liam brought a very specific idea of what he wanted to do. Now I go back as far as Dean Smith. So that is Dean, David Wagner, Johannes, and they all had a different style and a specific idea. If you hire a contemporary architect to build a house, you’re going to get a contemporary house.
“We knew what Liam’s style would be, but we wanted to know what are you going to do with these players? There were intensive discussions that he had with Ben on that, and I think Neil (Adams) and so by the time it came to us, it was more the big picture. I said to Ben, ‘It sounds like if we have a bad interview, it’s going to be on me that we can’t sell him the club?’
“And what was interesting is, you know, Liam Manning, a 39-year-old with a football background and my business partner, Jean-Marc Chapus, who is a Harvard Business School graduate, and managed money for all these years, when he gets up in front of our investors he says it is about ‘people, process, performance’.
“Process leads to good performance. I’m sitting there in this interview and Liam says, ‘You have to have a good process to allow someone to perform.'”
The Canaries have to give Liam Manning time
Norwich looked to have made the correct decision by hiring Thorup last summer, but their form unravelled in the second half of the season.
Nevertheless, Manning is a very smart appointment. Despite a play-off semi-final defeat to Sheffield United, Bristol City’s young team were a breath of fresh air in the Championship and it’s clear to see why the Norfolk outfit were so interested by the 39-year-old.
However, Norwich must give Manning time to allow his style of play to take effect on the pitch and they must not panic if results are not immediately seen.
There’s been a lot of good work done already this summer at Carrow Road, and fans are excited after Mathias Kvistgaarden was signed. Ensuring that the head coach can build a legacy is vital for success in the years to come.