P.J. Davitt's Blog, page 2

Cordoba coup for Canaries

Norwich City pulled off a ‘phenomenal’ deal to capture headline summer signing Jose Cordoba.

Leading sports intelligence company, Twenty First Group, are at the forefront of the data revolution driving the professional game. City’s sporting director Ben Knapper has put data at the heart of the club’s strategy since his arrival last season, and the 23-year-old centre back’s reported €3.5m move from Bulgarian club Levski Sofia is ranked as one of the best early deals of the transfer window.

The Canaries’ astute scouting in one of Europe’s less fashionable leagues saw them head off interest from the likes of Rangers and Brondby for a signing the London-based data insight group actually value at €7.2m, with the potential to be a Premier League player within two seasons.

“Some players will really explode, and others will fall off a cliff. Ultimately, we’re talking about humans here, we’re not talking about robots,” said Omar Chaudhuri, Twenty First Group’s chief intelligence officer. “But based on an average projection of a player of his profile we believe to reach Premier League level in two to three years time seems pretty likely.

“Which, again, acquiring a Premier League player for the price reported is a phenomenal deal.

“Typically when you get into the Premier League, you’d expect to spend £10m to £20m on a starting centre back for a bottom half team. So this seems like a really sensible bit of business from Norwich, and I’d say a reflection of their analytical approach to recruitment as well.

“If you’re going out into the market to buy a player of that quality, and the market is either the EFL or within western European football, you would typically pay a pretty sizable fee in the region of €5m to €7m, given his age as well. But because he’s coming from a lesser known market, which has not been scouted as much, you’ll tend to pay a lot less.

“And that’s ultimately where smart recruitment is, because, suddenly, now you’ve freed up millions in your budget that you can then go and target either the same markets everyone else is looking at, or try and find undervalued talent elsewhere in Europe, or even globally.”

The club’s sporting director spoke last week how his first six months in the role had felt like a whirlwind, after he was tossed into a turbulent Championship season.

The appointment of Johannes Hoff Thorup to replace David Wagner as head coach was the first signal of the ‘new direction’ Knapper wants to take the club in.

But the early transfer window signing of the highly-rated Panamanian international centre back cut to the heart of how Knapper plans to operate.

A piece of player trading with data front and centre to inform decision-making, at a price point that has the potential to look a snip.

“Typically, Championship clubs are not looking in Bulgaria for talent. But there might be good players in Bulgaria and we certainly think that’s the case with Cordoba,” said Chaudhuri. “We essentially rate Levski as a bottom half Championship level team. If you were to slot them into the Championship tomorrow they’d probably finish somewhere between 14th and 18th.

“But actually, defensively, they’re really good, they’ve got a really good defensive record and Cordoba has obviously been at the heart of that defence for them so that points to him being a key player, and therefore a player able to potentially play at Championship level.

“When you factor in all the other areas of his attributes, his strength, his athleticism, his technical ability on the ball you think, ‘Okay, this player can really be a good fit in the Championship, and for Norwich’.

“Ultimately, market forces dictate a lot of the prices that clubs pay for players. Clearly better players will go for bigger fees. But if a lot of clubs are looking in the same market, maybe they’re all looking in the Netherlands, or looking in France, that will create bidding wars that will drive up the prices of players.”

Twenty First Group, who work with clubs, competitions, investors, brands and media across a range of sports, project Cordoba will add 2.4 league points to the Canaries this coming season.

“Now, a lot of the time people think, ‘This player is worth five, 10, 15 points a season to a team’. In reality, most players tend to only be worth two to five points a season above their replacement,” said Chaudhuri. “Which kind of stands to reason if you take a team towards the bottom of the Premier League they will typically get about 35 points, and if you take a team towards the top of the Championship they might be winning it with 85, 90 points, which is a 50 point gap over the course of a season.

“Therefore 11 players, 50 points, you are typically talking about four to five points per player over the course of a season.

“So 2.4 points is actually a fair bit. If you think about it if Norwich improved every single position on the field by 2.4 points per season, you are comfortably pushing for the automatic places, if not comfortably winning the league this coming season. So potentially a really good return on investment there.

“And a player who could also go on to play at Premier League level in the coming years as well. If you look at players historically who have been playing at a similar level, similar age, position and trajectory of their career.”

The challenge for Knapper and Norwich City is to remain in the front rank of an innovation race now unfolding across the top end of the professional game.

“We’ve had some brilliant case studies with the likes of Brighton and Brentford, who’ve obviously got very different ownership models but I guess shine a light on how data can be used in more innovative ways in recruitment,” said Chaudhuri. “So clubs are increasingly thinking about it.

“There have been a lot of hires, most clubs now at Premier League and Championship level will have some data analysis capability. Obviously, some will be really advanced, but I think the biggest challenge clubs have is culturally embedding data into decision-making.

“It’s all well and good having the analysts and listening to them when you want to listen to them. But it is a very different thing listening to them when you don’t want to listen, or when they say things that you might not expect them to say, and really embracing that as part of recruitment.

“For me, the clubs that really differentiate themselves in this space are not the ones that have the insight to have the capability, it’s ones that embed themselves and embed data into their processes.

“It’s not just data culture in recruitment, it’s across a whole club. And often it comes from ownership, because ultimately, they’re the ones who sign the cheques. And the best owners will say, ‘I’m not signing this off unless I’ve got good evidence that it’s predictive of a good outcome’.

“Norwich have obviously brought in additional investment as well (Mark Attanasio and Norfolk Holdings), where all the signs point to that type of thinking within the club, which I would suggest is pretty encouraging.”

For Chaudhuri harnessing the power of data is crucial to give clubs a competitive edge.

“A lot of people talk about data providing objectivity, which it does, you know, it helps you look past some of your biases and really try and quantify some of the things that players are doing,” he said. “But I think above all else, data gives the ability to look really far and wide, really quickly. We recognise that it’s really important to be able to use data to provide scale.

“Ultimately, you can only watch so many players in a day, but data can look at thousands, millions, whatever it is, within a few seconds. Perhaps not to the same degree as that in terms of accuracy, but at least point you in the right direction.

“The way that we use data is we try and understand players at a global level and understand what level they are playing at. If you are playing week in, week out for Manchester City you’re probably one of the better players in the world. And if you are sitting on the bench in the Thai second division, you’re probably not one of the better players in the world. And then there’s everyone else in between.

“We try and use our models to identify what’s the strength of Bulgarian football, Hungarian football, US football, Brazilian football, wherever it is around the world. And then understand within that level what’s the variation of players within that.

“So we’re able to look through our models and understand the level of Bulgarian football, and specifically Levski Sofia where Jose Cordoba is coming from within that, and then try and understand how that might translate across to English football, based on the relative quality of teams.

“There’s all the other stuff that you need to do around player fit, playing style fit, all the background checks and everything else that goes into any recruitment decision. But on first glance, looking at our global database, Jose Cordoba really came out well, based on what we can say about the level he was playing at, and the potential impact he could have in the Championship.”

City appoint Johannes Hoff Thorup

Norwich City have officially confirmed the appointment of FC Nordsjaelland’s Johannes Hoff Thorup as their new head coach.

The Danish coach has signed a three-year deal to succeed David Wagner in the Canaries hotseat after the two clubs agreed a compensation package reported to be worth over £500k.

Wagner was sacked hours after City’s dismal 4-0 play-off semi final defeat to Leeds United, but would have left his post irrespective of how the Championship campaign concluded as Norwich sought to turn the page.

Thorup becomes City’s 43rd head coach/manager and is the first selected by sporting director Ben Knapper, who identified the 35-year-old as his preferred candidate to lead his new era at the club.

Speaking about his appointment, the Dane told official club channels: “I’m excited, I hope that the supporters are excited as well. I hope that we can create something together, it’s so important that they are proud of the team.

 

“I feel the connection with the people, the club and the city. Everyone I have met with so far is so humble, nice and easy-going.

“I have my ideas and I have my principles in the way that we are going to play, but I am also here to listen to some of the good stuff that has already been done. I have to make sure that I am very clear that this is something that we do together and everyone has to have that feeling.”

Knapper expressed his delight at securing the services of highly-rated Thorup, as he seeks to implement his City vision alongside the Dane.

“We’re delighted to welcome Johannes to Norwich City,” he said. “After a thorough and robust process, Johannes stood out amongst an incredible shortlist of candidates.

“Through all of our interactions, it was clear that Johannes aligns perfectly with our vision and values. He is a proven developer, with a clear and demonstrable playing style.

“We believe that Johannes will be the perfect fit for the next stage of our new and exciting journey.”

Norwich also held talks with former Reims boss Will Still and Pascal Jansen, most recently at AZ Alkmaar, with the pair travelling to Norfolk for face-to-face conversations. Thorup was always the first choice, however, and City began talks with him and his camp months ago.

Talks escalated following the conclusion of the Superliga campaign last Sunday, with a deal thrashed out in the days that followed. Norwich obtained a work permit for Thorup during the interview process.

Thorup has been in charge at Nordsjaelland for 16 months after stepping into the role of first-team boss to succeed Flemming Pedersen in January 2023. In his 69 matches in charge, he recorded 35 wins, 18 draws and only 16 defeats.

Nordsjaelland scored 138 goals and took 123 points during his tenure, with a win rate of over 50pc.

Thorup has won plaudits for his progressive, possession-based and offensive style of play and integration of youth players, something which is a pre-requisite of Nordsjaelland’s ownership group ‘Right to Dream’.

Thorup has brought former FC Midtjylland manager Glen Riddersholm with him as his assistant, and is City’s second youngest managerial appointment since 1969, behind Alex Neil.

He had a short playing career, during which he had spells with Frederiksen and Akademisk before focusing on coaching early on.

He progressed through the ranks coaching various youth teams at Nordsjaelland after joining them in 2015, becoming assistant head coach six years later and earning the top job in 2023.

End of the road for Wagner at Norwich

Norwich City have confirmed the departure of head coach David Wagner.

The experienced German was dismissed following Thursday’s abject 4-0 Championship play-off semi-final, second leg exit to Leeds.

Wagner’s long time assistant head coach, Christoph Bühler, also leaves the club.

The likes of Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta, former Reims boss Will Still and ex-Nottingham Forest chief Steve Cooper have been touted as early frontrunners to replace Wagner.

Sporting director Ben Knapper told the club’s official channels late on Friday morning: “David has operated with class and dignity throughout his period as Norwich City head coach, but we now feel that the time is right for us to move in a different direction.

“We remain committed to progressing our football club, in both the short and long-term, working through a diligent and thorough strategy.

“The appointment of a new head coach is an important one. We will now work and continue our due diligence with the view of making an appointment in the near future.”

 

The club statement added: ‘All at Norwich City would like to place on record our thanks to both David and Christoph for their hard work and contributions to the club. We wish them well in their future careers.

‘The club will now progress with its plans of appointing a new head coach.’

Wagner had 75 matches in charge after replacing Dean Smith as head coach in January 2023. The ex-Huddersfield and Schalke boss mustered 31 wins, 17 draws and 27 defeats and departed Carrow Road with a win percentage of 41pc.

Wagner was asked about his own future following Thursday’s final whistle in Yorkshire.

“I think it’s clear that there has to be some conversations, from my side as well, about the plans of next season,” he said.

“It was an exhausting season. This is the truth. A very strange season, even for me as an experienced manager. It was not a normal season. You always reflect at the end of every season. Everything that happened was more or less for me clear to see the reasons. Unfortunately the fairytale could not happen at the end.

“Is it a low? Absolutely it is. But it’s life and it’s football; you have some downs, and you have some ups well, not only in the game, not only in the season, but over a longer period as well.”

Norwich City 1-0 Ipswich: Paddy Davitt derby pointers

Paddy Davitt delivers his Ipswich verdict after Norwich City’s Championship derby triumph.

1. Ipswich Town, it’s happened again

What a result for Norwich City. A derby game rightly billed as the biggest renewal in nearly a decade. The stakes could not have been much higher. Bragging rights and points to edge another step closer to the Premier League.

Town 23 points clear of David Wagner’s side at kick-off, and looking down on the rest of the Championship. If Portman Road back in December was a missed opportunity to end their long streak without a derby win, surely this was the day for Kieran McKenna and his Blues?

There were nervy moments to navigate. None more so than that final quarter which ebbed painfully towards Angus Gunn’s goal far too often for those of a green and yellow persuasion.

Town hogged possession again, as they did in Suffolk, but this was a merited win for the hosts.

Marcelino Nunez’s bouncing long range free kick embarrassed Vaclav Hladky, and City could have added to their lead with the magnificent Josh Sargent bursting clear on more than one occasion, as Norwich countered with the type of attacking threat that has become Town’s hallmark under the impressive McKenna.

Ipswich may well recover their poise and seal an improbable second consecutive promotion. But East Anglia remains green and yellow, and Wagner has continued a 15-year period of dominance. He deserves all the credit going.

Although the City head coach was quick to push the praise in the direction of the home fans who created ‘the best atmosphere since he has been in charge’. Four points from six against the best Ipswich side in many a year is a testament to the German and his squad.

2. Scary Sarge

Alas, a 10th consecutive Carrow Road goalscoring game might have eluded Sargent, but his reputation at this level now precedes him. The US international was a marauding presence, and the panic he spread through the Ipswich backline was almost tangible.

The 24-year-old was involved in two big moments in each half when he tumbled under challenges from Axel Tuanzebe and Sam Morsy. Wagner felt the first was the right call but in real-time was adamant it should have been a penalty and a red card for the Ipswich captain.

Instead it was Sargent sprawled on the turf before the close up television pictures captured his incredulity. There were also less eyecatching grappling from Town’s centre backs that escaped cautions from the referee, which told you everything about the desire to try and stop Sargent at source. By fair means or foul.

You also saw again, graphically, in that second half as Ipswich tried to pin the Canaries inside their own half, what an asset Sargent’s pace and athleticism is to counter with intensity and relieve that building pressure.

Wagner’s pre-match revelation his prized forward had finally managed to train for a full week without any issues related to that ankle injury which ruled him out for nearly four months felt like a watershed moment.

If the powerful striker feels pain-free and able to handle the training load then he remains not only a difference maker for the Canaries, but a player opponents will not wish to face on the run-in.

3. Mind games

A game unlike any other in these parts. A neighbourly contest impossible to package as simply just another three points. Even though both McKenna and Wagner tried as much in their pre-match soundbites – and the German repeated the same assertion post-match – no-one was surely buying that narrative.

By common consent the biggest derby since the last time both of these clubs could see the Premier League appearing on the horizon. Back in 2015, Alex Neil’s vintage were too good over those semi-final tussles, and then brushed aside Middlesbrough at Wembley.

Which is why this latest renewal at Carrow Road felt like it came with some heavy psychological baggage.

Prevail, and the uplift not only in terms of the points but the feeling nothing can stand in the way of either club’s assault on the big league would feel intoxicating.

Go the other way, particularly on the Norfolk side of the equation, and the first set of players or management in 15 years to relinquish bragging rights would have felt a heavy burden to carry. One the euphoria subsides, Wagner must attempt to bring the feet of his fans and players back to earth.

There are hard yards ahead, not only to shore up that play-off spot which increasingly looks Norwich’s to claim, but then to navigate a path through knock out football. But if you can hold your nerve in a febrile derby atmosphere then there is nothing to fear.

4. Let’s do it all again?

It would not take a huge chain of events from here in the remaining Championship league games to serve up an East Anglian play-off encore.

Be it two semi-finals to rival 2015 or the ultimate test of nerve at Wembley. Wagner was asked directly about that prospect in his post-match interview, and delivered a one word response to whether there would be any psychological advantage to his side. ‘Yes’.

The heart might not be able to take the tension, tinged with excitement, that grips both fan bases in the build up to these local affairs. But who would not want to relive the sights and sounds at Carrow Road from this latest derby?

The old stadium was bouncing before a ball was kicked. From the daredevil descent from two soldiers atop the roof of the South Stand. To Ipswich slayer Grant Holt striding across the halfway to escort the abseiling duo, and the matchball.

The football allegiance of at least one of the soldiers became clear as he implored the Lower Barclay to turn up the volume as he walked the width of the away section.

From the raucous rendition of the City anthem to the Along Come Norwich organised giant banner unfurled across the Lower Barclay.

A game to savour, a day to be thankful you are alive to experience the quickening pulse that only this type of sporting occasion can induce.

Imagine doing it all again with the jeopardy a place in the Premier League on the line?

‘I don’t call them supporters’ – Wagner hits back at boo boys

David Wagner urged the boo boys to stay away rather than hit Norwich City’s Championship play-off charge after Tuesday’s 4-2 win against Watford at Carrow Road.

City moved back into the top six after an eighth unbeaten home game in the league but Wagner’s second half substitutions sparked a furious response from a section of the home support.

The Canaries were 2-1 up after Ashley Barnes and Josh Sargent’s first half goals, but the removal of Sargent and Onel Hernandez for Marcelino Nunez and Christian Fassnacht was greeted with boos.

Nunez sparked the third goal slotted by Gabby Sara before Fassnacht was credited with the match-sealing fourth.

Wagner insisted him and his players deserve more respect.

“I don’t call them supporters. I don’t know what the right word for them is,” said Wagner, who also confirmed after the win top scorer Jon Rowe will be out for two months with a serious hamstring injury. “We have to clarify, this is a very small group here in the stadium. To be fair, I think the players who come on the pitch deserve respect.

“It’s not okay to boo if the players come on. And maybe I deserve a little bit of respect as well if I take players off. Josh and Onel said at half-time they were struggling but wanted to give it a try. They gave us the sign they couldn’t continue and this is why they came off.

“They are not supporters, because supporters, and we have a large group here in the stadium, support the team when they need help when it doesn’t go in their favour. It’s easy to support if everything goes well.

“And this small group, from my point of view, should stay at home because this doesn’t help. It affects players on the pitch. I think you’ve seen this how one or other got affected by this atmosphere, because they had no clue what was going on.

“Obviously, it’s a theme in the dressing room as well with the players who feel consistently they have performed and got results, and they get this reward from a small group. But it is how it is. I’m not sure if I will change them.

“Maybe the one who sits beside them in the stands can change it. Because if we like to achieve something extraordinary in the season, we need everyone on board. We have to make sure that the small group calms down, or don’t have the voice and the noise which they had in this game, which from my point of view was just unacceptable.

“We all together now have to look forward to these 15 games, try to get a proper unit, try to see the targets, try to see the opportunity, the chance, which we have. And for this, we have to stick together and support each other. And, again, support means if someone has a low, to be there to give a shoulder to help.

“And this is what we have to have. We have this in this dressing room. This is why this win makes it even bigger for me and I’m so proud, because they supported each other this season, myself included when it was needed.

“And this is what they’ve done. And hopefully, we create this here in the stadium at Carrow Road consistently as well. Again, we speak about a small group, but the bigger group has to be louder and keep them quiet.”

Wagner defends City set up in Saints stalemate

David Wagner defended Norwich City’s ‘brave’ approach to grinding out a 1-1 Championship draw against Russell Martin’s Southampton at Carrow Road on New Year’s Day.

The Canaries deployed a defensive five shape and carved out only 25% possession but Josh Sargent levelled to cancel out Adam Armstrong’s close range second half finish.

Armstrong’s strike sparked frustration among some home fans directed at Wagner’s tactical set-up, but the German insisted it was the right call after limited time at Colney to prepare during a congested festive spell.

“I can’t do what the fans would like me to do. I have to do what I am convinced is the best way to win a football match,” he said. “We were convinced that this is the shape and the formation which can bring us success.

“If you now look back at when they had the most clear-cut chances it was in the last 15 minutes, where we played with the four in the backline. If someone has a tactical view of this game it is quite easy to make sense of what we had to do to get a result.

 

“You shouldn’t be scared about making brave decisions and the biggest bravery was we were only able to work for six minutes on it on the training pitch. This was the only thing where I had a headache with. Not if this will be the right decision. We all, together, were always sure that this was the right decision. It was only can we do it with so limited time?

“You have to do the right things against certain opponents and obviously against the in form team in the league who play a certain style you have to adapt, and you have to make sure to set your team up in the right way.

“In the last nine days there is more or less no time for training, it is more about recovery. Our training session on Sunday was 45 minutes, there was a warm up and there was some unit work, one part of individual training, and the proper tactical work on the grass, where you were able to work intensely on what we could face with Southampton, was two three minute spells.

“Obviously we worked a little bit longer in the tactical walk through and in the video analysis.

“it was pretty clear and easily decided that we like to go with the 5-4-1 to limit the spaces in the pockets and obviously to limit the space in behind as well. This means, automatically, then you have less possession, and you have to be strong to keep some passes together to be good in the transition.

“From my point of view, it was a fantastic performance. Very good what the players have shown and this is why I can say it was a tough point and a solid point.”

Webber on recruitment barbs, City notice period and staying too long

Former Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has backed Ben Knapper to drive the Canaries forward in a revealing interview on his Carrow Road tenure.

Webber is still under contract until March 2024, but officially handed over the reigns to Knapper in November.

That brought to an end a six-year spell which delivered two Championship titles, two Premier League relegations and a transformation of the club’s Colney training facility, but criticism over his overall recruitment strategy and strained relationship with the fan base.

Webber sat down for 75 minutes on the latest episode of the VSI Sporting Director’s podcast to discuss his Norwich City legacy, the fall out from his decision to climb Mount Everest next year and whether he should have departed after those promotion successes.

 

No-one can argue the difference in how the club now looks, the training ground, the staffing structures, a data department. Through my lens of how I see the role you are there to grow the culture of an organisation. There are days you make mistakes, especially if you take risks, and I do, but I also know we only tried to grow the club around a set of people, not just me, willing to take chances.

 

Look at the training ground, look at 21 academy debuts. We thought outside the box and kept pushing the boundaries. I don’t see it as just player recruitment. That is how you appear to be judged. I understand it as that is a key pillar of the job. But people don’t know how hard it is to recruit staff.

You can have the data that tells you this is going to be a really good fit for our team and then he turns up and maybe he doesn’t settle, or his partner or his children don’t settle. Now in a world of social media you get judged so quickly on Snapchat or whatever, this player is c***.

I remember when Dennis Bergkamp first came to Arsenal and the first six months he was average but we now remember him as one of the Premier League greats. It is not all down to one person. We have 300 staff so when we sign a player there are a lot of people involved in that process. Even when we get praise for signings I was always quick to deflect it.

Notice period back story

I handed in my notice on March 29 2003 because I am climbing Everest in April 2024. So a year’s notice, I need to do it now because I have to be out of here to do that. I was always clear I wanted to climb Everest not as a Norwich City employee.

People didn’t want to hear or listen and thought I was off climbing Everest every day. No, but if a headline and a narrative gets set it is easy to beat you with that stick.

That was my own fault for talking about it and bringing it on myself. I should have kept quiet. The only reason I spoke about it was to try and raise money for charity. So there is a lesson there. But then we didn’t want to announce it immediately as we were well and truly in the play-off race and didn’t want to disrupt the players or staff.

Then at the end of the season I am getting a lot of stick and the owners or Mark Attanasio are making the point we can’t announce it now as it will look like it is a reaction to the abuse. So that is why we did it in June and had to keep it so tight.

My son at that point is only six and he didn’t know. I didn’t tell my mum until the day it was announced. We didn’t want to risk any leaks. But the owners and Mark, in fairness, agreed this can’t look like you have been chucked out of the back door.

I was incredibly grateful for that as it would have been easier to make it look like I had been pushed out. They could have got some bonus points for that. The first period was easy but as it got closer it became harder and once the club brought in Ben Knapper and we had a start date for him that is the hardest part.

You are still trying to do your job professionally but you are getting criticised for hanging around. I wanted to do the handover professionally to give Ben and the club the best chance to succeed. The easiest thing would have been to toss it off.

But Ben starting when he did gave me the opportunity to go. The club have got a great appointment in Ben, in my opinion, and they can move forward and I can get on with my life and look forward to watching them from afar.

Leaving earlier

Did I stay too long? I had opportunities to leave after the second promotion, I had opportunities after the first promotion and I didn’t even entertain it. No, I am happy here. I was conscious I had left Huddersfield after two years, so if I leave here after two years you start to get a reputation.

I wanted more longevity but after the second promotion I had a really, really good opportunity but I had given my word to Delia and Michael that I would see my contract through. I did that and we had just been relegated and then I agreed to help the club through this transition period.

I don’t regret that because you learn so much from these experiences but all the abuse and how it affects your life, that wouldn’t have happened, because I would have left. Can you stay too long? That shouldn’t be the case but maybe it is.

Maybe the fans got bored of me. Not in the inside. At no point did I feel that from the people inside the club. If I had made a selfish call maybe my career might have been further ahead, and just gone ‘stuff Norwich’. Whereas I definitely wasn’t selfish.

City in ‘full control’ of Rowe future amid Premier League links

David Wagner insisted Norwich City are in ‘full control’ of what happens to Jon Rowe in the January transfer window – with no further talks planned until the end of the season.

Wagner delivered a clear response on Thursday at Colney to fresh speculation in recent days linking the freescoring 20-year-old with Premier League clubs next month.

Crystal Palace are believed to be long time admirers, while Wolves reportedly made a £15m approach in the summer.

Rowe is under contract at Carrow Road until 2025, with the club holding a further one year option, and Wagner revealed sporting director Ben Knapper has reached a common position with Rowe’s camp.

“The truth is Ben is in conversation with his parties. The truth is as well, he is happy with his contract, we are happy with his performance and we agreed, because he has two-and-a-half years left and we are in total control, we agreed to sit together at the end of the season,” said Wagner. “Let’s try to perform the second part of this season like the first part of the season, let’s be only focused on this, then everyone will be very happy at the end of the season.

 

“Then it makes sense to speak about anything else in terms of contracts. Anything else now is not the right thing to do, because Jonny should do what he has done so far – be focused on the pitch and on performances. We will try everything to support him as best as we can. This is what I said after Ipswich, that he can do this.

“Yes, he scored a lot of goals. Yes, he is very young, but at the end of the day, and this is very, very good, he’s very clever in his head. He knows exactly that some of the recent performances were not on his level – he is better than what he has shown – and this is what we have to make sure that he performs consistently on his highest level.

“He’s a player who can be very important without ball possession as well, because he’s football intelligent, and obviously in ball possession, with his attacking threat he’s always dangerous for goals.”

Both Wagner and finance and operations director, Anthony Richens, had already publicly stated City do not need to cash in on the likes of Rowe or Gabby Sara in January.

“For me, the most important thing is that everyone is in conversation with everybody. And then it’s important that you have a clear picture of how you like to progress,” said the City head coach. “And we said very clearly we will progress this at the end of the season. Until then focus on your performance and try to do in the second half of the season what you did in the first.

“As I said, we have full control and this is exactly I think the right thing to do. And this is what Ben agreed with Jonny’s party.

“We have to make sure that Jonny stays healthy so that he can perform on a very high level consistently. And then more goals for him will come, because he’s a natural goal scorer and quite calm front of the goal.”

Paddy’s Pointers: Four observations after a titanic Ipswich derby tussle

Paddy Davitt delivers his Portman Road verdict after Norwich City’s spirited Championship draw at arch rivals Ipswich Town.

1. ’14 years, 14 years, Norwich City’

That was the chant that rang out around this corner of Suffolk at the final whistle from an away support determined to savour every last sweet moment.

The Ipswich stadium announcer chirped at the end it was ‘another valuable point for our promotion bid’. He might be technically correct in such an assertion, but this day was all about ending the green and yellow hegemony in a neighbourly tussle.

Both team buses were greeted by a pre-planned throng of thousands of home fans, blue smoke, and one or two unsavoury scenes and objects launched in the direction of the car carrying Delia Smith that followed behind.

A line crossed from what David Wagner labelled afterwards ‘idiots’, but that told you all about the passion and the fury and desperation on the blue half of the divide.

Kieran McKenna has transformed the mood in these parts. Ipswich look a club reborn, observing from a distance. A team that swept to League One promotion and had won nine from 10 home league games this season, scoring 30 goals into the bargain.

But they could not beat their arch rivals – 21 points separated the teams at kick-off, 21 points it remained. And 15 years and counting when the foes renew acquaintances at Carrow Road in 2024.

Make no mistake, the body language of the two sets of players spoke volumes at the end. This was a pyrrhic victory for the Canaries.

2. Spiky

McKenna was not sitting on the fence when he raced into the media room for his post-match briefing.

The highly-rated young coach was adamant the hosts were the best side ‘by a considerable margin’ and furthermore had they played the same way in 10 attempts ‘would have won a lot more times’.

There was even a side swipe in the direction of the travelling support, who ‘celebrated a draw when they were a club operating in the Premier League 18 months ago’.

Maybe the words were tinged with frustration. Ipswich certainly dominated the ball and territory but carved out only two more shots on target than the visitors.

Surely McKenna did not expect Norwich to pitch up and make life easy for a team who already looked nailed on for a top-six spot?

That view merely reinforced the sense around the home stands, and his players on their lap of appreciation, this was a missed opportunity.

Ipswich certainly look well-equipped to fight it out with Leicester, Southampton and Leeds for that top two scrap. The Blues now face Daniel Farke’s Whites and the Foxes over a ‘clutch looking’ festive spell.

McKenna has Paul Lambert’s achievement of back-to-back promotions from his Carrow Road time in his grasp over these coming months. But he will have to get used to handling a new-found respect around his club from league rivals, and the noisy neighbours.

3. Rocket Rowe

A third Championship goal of the week for Jon Rowe, his 10th and 11th goals for Norwich City this season. Quite the breakthrough for the 20-year-old. Throw in an England Under-21 cap, and goal, and no wonder the youngster is seen along with Gabby Sara as the two jewels in this Wagner squad.

So with the January transfer window around the corner those recent sound bites from the likes of Wagner and finance and operations director, Anthony Richens, that City do not need to sell next month should provide fans with a layer of reassurance.

It will do nothing to stop the Premier League links. Crystal Palace are believed to be long time admirers. Rowe’s showreel will no doubt attract other suitors. But he is a difference maker at this level in this Norwich squad.

In truth, he had struggled in the midst of Ipswich’s territorial dominance in that first half at Portman Road. But he is a player who makes things happen. When Jack Stacey’s hanging cross veered to the back post he hauled himself off the floor from the previous passage of play and attempted an instinctive bicycle kick.

When that rebounded in the box he was the first to react, cushioning a clever finish on the half-volley past Vaclav Hladky before the Blue shirts could converge. Hladky was beaten again by the power in his shot just five minutes after the restart.

Ben Knapper’s predecessor, Stuart Webber, remarked once in discussions around James Maddison’s next career move there would come a point where the trajectory of a talented player perhaps moved ahead of a club in transition.

With Rowe, and Sara, that may prove the case again. But given 16his pre-match derby rallying cry on social media, Rowe must surely feel at this stage he is in the perfect place with the perfect platform.

He is responding to the love from those supporters who serenaded one-of-their-own after the final whistle.

4. Thumbs up for Sam

Some game to start your first Championship tour since October 7. You could forgive Sam McCallum for struggling for breath in that first half, up against the impressive Wes Burns down the Ipswich right.

Dimi Giannoulis’ hamstring injury – which is only expected to sideline the Greek a matter of days – thrust McCallum back into frontline duty.

At times in that opening stanza he looked off the pace, albeit his gorgeous cross for the diving Rowe did lead indirectly to City’s equaliser.

Burns slammed a fearsome shot past Angus Gunn to level for Town, with McCallum unable to get to the wide player after Ashley Barnes coughed up possession in midfield.

But Burns’ influence waned in that second period. McCallum seemed to lock on a lot quicker and get a lot tighter to halt the Ipswich attacker at source. A point made by Wagner in his post-match media.

He will sleep soundly tonight but it was another reminder Giannoulis’ understudy is a capable Championship performer.

He clearly does not possess the Greek’s natural attacking instincts, but his athleticism and his professionalism got him through an exacting derby test.

Paddy Davitt: Big data and why Knapper’s City appointment added up

Replacing Stuart Webber with Ben Knapper might in truth offer more of the same rather than a break out moment for Norwich City.

Time will tell in terms of style and personality whether Knapper is more back foot counter puncher than the front-foot, in-your-face delivery of his predecessor.

But in the manner Webber’s appointment to this mythical role of a ‘sporting director’ back in 2017 was viewed as innovative and forward-thinking, so too is the selection of Knapper.

The pedigree is impeccable. 14 years emerging through the ranks at a powerhouse club in English football, even if Arsenal are still on a mission to recapture the lustre of their best years under Arsene Wenger.

The unheralded Frenchman was a similarly leftfield appointment in the mid-1990s, but his impact reverberated around the top end of the national game.

Knapper’s formative footballing background, as he mapped out in his introductory club interview, was in data analytics. But in recent years his astute work as the Gunners’ loans manager exposed him to many of the challenges he must now conquer in Norfolk to refresh and renew, and set this version of Norwich City on a path which puts them ahead of direct rivals.

 

That is why his growing reputation as one of the sharpish exponents of harnessing data at the highest level of the game, and Norwich’s identification of his skill set, is potentially every bit as innovative as Webber’s transformative early impact.

As an aside, Knapper’s appointment also marks the most visible sign yet of the growing influence from across the pond.

We already know about the on going evolution in the City boardroom with regards to the shareholder mix, while the last set of published accounts framed the refinancing of debt within that relationship.

But in Knapper you detect a clear direction of travel with parallels to how Mark Attanasio and his group have guided the Milwaukee Brewers for the past 18 years or so.

A major league US baseball outfit who continue to punch considerably above their weight against foes with deeper pockets, richer reserves of commercial revenue, and access to much larger media rights markets.

But what is data? What does it mean in the context of professional football? And how do you make sense of it all when you struggle to decipher your xG from your PPDA, or any other alphabet soup of letters and acronyms?

Let us go back to Knapper’s predecessor, talking at the start of this current season on the growing prevalence of data to inform recruitment at the football club.

“(It is) definitely going to be more data-led (in the future). At Norwich we have a team that is seven or eight full-time people and, with respect, we’re Norwich – imagine what it’s like at Liverpool, Tottenham,” said Webber, in a Sky Sports report on the changing data landscape. “The day of the scout going out to games is getting close to being redundant.

“I think it will be someone going to the game because they’re then meeting the player after, as opposed to going to the game to watch them.

“With modern owners, new chief executives and so on, especially with the massive US influence within our country now, I think they will believe a 25-year-old maths genius over a 60-year-old scout.

“We’re at the tipping point and we’re very close to going over it.

“I get it – if you can run a simulation of a million different seasons where you take out Teemu Pukki and put in Ashley Barnes and you’ve got a predictor model which can tell you you’ll be six points better off for doing that and you’re sat in the US, why wouldn’t you believe it?”

Knapper’s recent arrival, and his previous work in this field, would appear to be an accelerant to a process initiated by Webber that had already seen Norwich start to explore the potential of data.

Be it the appointment of Dr John Iga in 2021, to head up strategy and innovation, or the continuing shift to the bespoke scouting system credited with Brighton’s recruitment success in recent seasons.

Or even in the brand new multi-million pound recovery hub at Colney to aid rehab and management of injury to the most prized assets on the books.

Knapper sits atop the entire structure. His remit is vast and, from the outside looking in, daunting. Data is everywhere in football but only a few clubs have thus far embraced its full potential to inform decision making across the entire footballing operation.

Whether it is finding untapped markets to sign players, from leagues where the quality and value for money align, to rebalancing an aging squad. Or the practical application of coaching a side and addressing some of the enduring technical deficiencies that have sucked Norwich down the Championship standings at present under David Wagner.

This was Knapper, in his own words, on the use of data at Arsenal in an interview towards the end of 2022.

“We’ve got a huge internal infrastructure of developers, of data scientists, of programmers, literally they are so vital now in the modern game, because there’s so much data available and it’s about trying to use that in a smart way.

“We’re fortunate because a lot of the challenges that clubs have is that there’s almost too much data, and you don’t have enough resources in the clubs to leverage it in a smart way.

“We’re well-resourced in that area. We have a data processing centre in south-east Asia, where we find lots of games from all over the world that generate data for us, that we use to drive all of our player recruitment processes, all of our opposition analysis, all of the work I do in loans and player trading. All of that is really underpinned by advanced analytics.”

Norwich do not possess Arsenal’s data resources, despite some astute existing external partnerships in this area, but in Knapper they do possess a new sporting director with the nous and aptitude to get the Canaries working smarter in an area that might define success and failure in the future of the professional game.

In so doing Knapper can now begin to position the Canaries at the forefront of this data frontier.