Norwich City has turned toxic – and there is no obvious cure

“Thank you for your support” read the big screen at Carrow Road, as Norwich City’s fans were simultaneously wished a Merry Christmas over the PA system.

By that stage, most of those remaining in the Barclay Stand were already facing the walkways and heading home, bar one man who stood facing the pitch. He used his arm to produce a gesture that either signalled his displeasure or recommended what those in Norwich shirts could do with the rest of their evening.

Only four players managed to cross the halfway line and offer applause to those supporters. Everyone else had long since disappeared down the tunnel.

It was a desperate Saturday night for Norwich, a 2-0 loss at home to Blackburn underlining the issues that run deeper and offering a clue as to why they will not be easily rectified.

Norwich return to action on Boxing Day night at Luton, before concluding their 2022 with a visit from Reading. They are halfway through their campaign and fifth in the Championship table, but closer in points terms to Wigan in 23rd than leaders Burnley.

Dean Smith is expected to still be Norwich’s head coach when they head to Kenilworth Road, despite a significant number of supporters calling for his sacking on Saturday.

So what are the problems — and are there any obvious fixes?

Home discomforts

Norwich’s home record is causing them major issues. Smith highlighted the importance of Carrow Road if his side are to achieve their aim of a top-two finish.

Five wins, 18 points and 18 goals scored ranks Norwich seventh at home. Five teams above them have played a home game fewer.

Compounding the issue is how poor Norwich have been at Carrow Road since September. Their past seven home games have brought one win and five points. Norwich have won four of their past 14 games, with three of those coming on the road.

The style of football can be a subjective discussion but when the results are also leaving home supporters flat, it is a dispiriting mix.

Failing to beat the best

There is a feeling inside the Norwich dressing room they are the best squad in the Championship. They are just falling short in proving it.

However, with the majority of teams at halfway in their season, Norwich’s ceiling appears to be far lower.

As you can see in the table below, Norwich are yet to beat any of the other six teams in the top seven as of Saturday night, losing four times.

All too often Norwich have come up short against the second tier’s more adept teams. Blackburn’s lack of a draw and erratic record had prompted the odd snigger but they were third when they arrived at Carrow Road, and now have a four-point lead over Norwich.

‘Dean Smith, your football is shit’

Debates over a team’s style can be subjective — Smith certainly believes it to be the case — but this chant being given a regular airing on Saturday underlined what the Barclay Stand and Snakepit think of the team’s aesthetic value this season.

After Saturday, Norwich are second in total shots taken and third for total possession share. Both metrics are used by Smith to defend his side’s playing style.

Dean Smith is under serious pressure at Norwich City (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

The margins are fine but seven teams have a higher expected goals value per shot than Norwich. That — and people who watch Norwich regularly — see them often struggling to use their possession effectively, play with a high tempo or regularly create shots of high goalscoring value.

“There is a lot made out of the fans,” said Smith, speaking at Colney on Friday before facing Blackburn. “The fans (here) are no different to any other fans. When you win, they’re happy. And when you lose, they’re not happy. That’s the same at any football club wherever you go. If we win, they will be very happy on Saturday.”

Losing the PR war

That language contrasted significantly with Smith’s sentiments after Norwich’s defeat to Blackburn; quotes that, for some, mark the beginning of the end of his Norwich reign.

“I think the narrative has been set a little bit. A lot of them have been waiting for this period to happen or wanting it, I don’t know,” said Smith. “Fortunately our next game is away from home because you feel like we have to go and score two very quick goals at home to get people on our side at the moment.”

While much of the debate between the torrid time Smith is enduring and the success of his predecessor, Daniel Farke, has been framed by what happened on the pitch, it is also noticeable how differently the two managers communicated their messages in public. More than a year into the job and Smith has struggled to take Norwich supporters along with him on a journey.

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Smith has also had nothing like the same assistance with those messages that Farke received from other figures at the club, from how the fallout of last season’s turgid Premier League relegation was handled and repaired, to projecting a vision for Norwich’s future beyond that failure.

On the face of it, the focus and criticism on Smith has been something of a shield from scrutiny and criticism that could be expected elsewhere.

A broken bond

The toxic atmosphere at Carrow Road on Saturday was another manifestation of the disconnect between supporters and the club.

For now, and in the hope results will pick up, Norwich as a club have opted to blank those protestations and carry on. Having found the noise difficult to deal with for much of 2022, the club has decided to go back to ignoring it.

Norwich City fans are running out of patience with Dean Smith (Photo: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

There has been a view from some inside Carrow Road, held since last season, that Norwich’s supporters have caused issues for the team rather than pulled it in the right direction.

What does it look and sound like, trying to achieve success despite your own fanbase? Hoping that some victories will offer an immediate healing process without actually working through the issues or necessary repairs?

It looks like the nine-game unbeaten run that took Norwich up to October yet failed to capture anyone’s imagination.

It looks like the thousands of empty seats at kick-off against Blackburn, that quadrupled in number come the final minutes of defeat.

Right now, it looks like the relationship between Norwich supporters and their head coach, that has seemingly reached a new breaking point.

(Top photo: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)