Since club football returned one week ago, Norwich City have enjoyed a promising spell of results, accumulating seven points from three games. The Canaries beat Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town at home and held West Bromwich Albion to a draw.
Although the easy explanation for Norwich’s renewed form is key players returning from injury, there are other factors behind the Canaries’ momentum, with the whole team performing at a fantastic level.
Jack Stacey’s resurgence
After being an ever-present member of David Wagner’s Norwich team during the last campaign, the right-back has demonstrated patience throughout the season as Kellen Fisher’s emergence forced him onto the sub bench. However, the full-back has emerged back into the side since the November international break, collecting four assists in three games.
The rationale for Jack Stacey coming back into the team was for Norwich to improve their attacking productivity on the right side. Before Stacey’s reintroduction into the side, Kellen Fisher was performing admirably in that position. However, the team struggled to score goals collectively – causing Johannes Hoff Throup to shuffle his pack.
Throup has experimented with Kellen Fisher’s responsibilities in the right-back role, as he’s instructed him to invert infield, as well as occupying a high and wide position. This hasn’t been the case with Jack Stacey, as he’s only been utilised in the last line of attack, playing high and wide. Due to Stacey having fantastic physical qualities, he’s provided an attacking threat on the right flank, finding his teammates in promising areas efficiently.
The full-back has also improved from a technical perspective, as his final ball quality into the penalty box has resulted in the team scoring numerous goals. This has been proved statistically as the full-back has contributed to 36.4% of Norwich’s eleven goals across the last week, assisting in three consecutive games.
Callum Doyle transitioning back into centre-back
Across the season, Callum Doyle has rotated between centre-back and left-back and performed admirably in both roles. Although some supporters question his efficiency at left-back due to his lack of recovery speed, his passing qualities have been ever-present in both positions. According to FotMob, Callum Doyle completed the most passes against Luton Town, accumulating a passing accuracy of 92%. Although mainly those passes would have been low risk, Doyle showed fantastic intent to play through the lines frequently.
Furthermore, the defender has made critical interventions in the last two games after the team has given the ball away in deep areas. The defender has showcased his intelligence and strength to shrug opposition players off the ball and regain possession for his team.
Crnac settles
After arriving at the club for a significant fee in the summer, Ante Crnac has taken his time to hit the ground running, as the forward only accumulated one goal in fourteen league games. However, in his last two matches, the Croatian has scored three goals against Luton Town & Plymouth Argyle whilst collecting an additional assist against the Hatters.
Before Crnac’s impressive two cameos against Plymouth & Luton, he found it difficult to be effective in the striker position, as opposition teams nullified the versatile forward excellently. The Croatian found it difficult to connect with his teammates in attacking areas, resulting in Norwich having an ineffective link-up player in a critical area of the pitch.
However, that narrative completely flipped in the last two games, as Crnac has been a livewire in the frontline, playing at a fast-paced intensity in and out of possession. The Croatian has been fantastic at occupying proactive positions throughout the pitch, showcasing a willingness to come deep and run beyond central defenders. This has brought his fantastic physical qualities into play more frequently, as he’s demonstrated his scintillating burst of speed, which is matched by his instinctive nature to play on the half-turn swiftly.
Crnac has applied his promising performance levels with genuine goalscoring quality, with his powerful left foot being a major source of his goals across the last couple of games. This was displayed against Plymouth during midweek, as the forward drilled home an effort into the bottom right corner.
With Josh Sargent set to be out until the new year, the Croatian will likely play as a centre forward until his return, with the supporters now firmly behind him.
Ball speed progression
Throughout Norwich’s last three games, the team has been efficient in possession, playing at a fast-paced tempo, and that’s been a major difference in the team’s play compared to the previous international break. Before the West Brom game, the team looked flat and fatigued, which corresponded to negative results – losing three on the bounce.
However, once Angus Gunn, Kenny McLean & Marcellino Nunez returned to the team, alongside a well-timed international break, Norwich started to fire again by constructing effective passing patterns at speed to unlock opposition rest defences. This efficiency in possession has been matched statistically, as the Canaries are now the highest goalscorers in the league.
One player that’s been instrumental to the side’s revival is Emiliano Marcondes. The Danish midfielder joined the club as a free agent during the autumn months and has been a revelation in central areas. Marcondes previously worked with Johannes Hoff Throup at FC Nordsjaelland, so he was immediately familiar with his philosophies. This connection is hugely important, as Throup’s methods are complex, meaning having a player reliable at replicating it regularly is an incentive, as they can also support others on and off the pitch.
Marcondes has been that role model figure on the pitch, as his footballing intelligence is terrific. The experienced midfielder has been brilliant at combining with his teammates in crucial areas across the pitch, showcasing terrific press resistance. Furthermore, Marcondes has applied his intelligence to his ball-carrying qualities, as he’s effective at pulling out defensive players, subsequently playing his teammates into better goalscoring positions. This was also represented numerically, as according to FotMob, Marcondes created the most chances against Plymouth Argyle (4).
During the last two games, Norwich looked difficult to contain, as their quick rotations have caused confusion amongst opposition sides, with teams hesitant whether to press or retreat in their shape, causing enormous volumes of space to open up.
Conclusion
Although Norwich looked convincing in their last two games, they have faced teams surrounding the relegation zone. This will continue in their next two matches, as they travel to QPR & Portsmouth in a matter of days, meaning the next step is to continue that form on the road. If they come out of those games unscathed, they’ll go into their matches against Burnley (H) & Sunderland (A) with supreme confidence, where their play-off credentials will be tested.
Although it’s worth downplaying Norwich’s play-off hopes, they must be playing well if Borja Sainz hasn’t got a mention despite scoring four goals.