Johannes Hoff Thorup doesn’t seem like the sort of bloke who is likely to have done much ‘basking’ over the course of the international break.   

There is no doubt though that his start to life as Norwich City’s head coach has been highly promising.  

It’s only nine league games which means comparisons with successful Canary managers of the past are premature, but fans are entitled to be optimistic after recent performances.  

One of the things that’s made Thorup’s start so impressive has been his tactical tweaks during games. His changes have made Norwich City better in a fair few of their opening fixtures.  

At 1-0 down against Blackburn in his first home league game he shuffled Callum Doyle from central defence to left back. Within seven minutes he’d won the ball high up the field and set up Josh Sargent for a goal.  

After a turgid goalless first half at Coventry the decision to remove Ante Crnac and Amankwah Forson at half-time despite their status as recent signings paid dividends. 

Anis Ben Slimane and Oscar Schwartau helped the Canaries to a vital first league win of the season.  

Daniel Farke had the luxury of bringing on two prolific Championship strikers in the shape of Patrick Bamford and Joel Piroe at Carrow Road.  

It was 1-1 with 19 minutes to go and it felt like the moment Farke had chosen to go for the jugular. Many managers would have responded by going on the defensive. Thorup had other ideas. Schwartau and Kaide Gordon, 18 and 19-year old attacking midfielders, were sent on. Norwich held on for a point and were arguably the team with more control in those closing stages.  

For the past few seasons, since Covid, teams have been able to make five substitutions per game. It’s taken for granted now but I don’t think enough has been made about what a big change this has been for football.   

Head coaches (or managers) have never had such a big opportunity to wield their influence during matches.  

It’s rare that goalkeepers get replaced so in most games there is an opportunity to replace half of the outfield players. Having a proactive presence on the touchline with the ability to spot a tactical opportunity has never been more valuable.  

Subs no longer need to be held in reserve for a hypothetical injury or time-wasting opportunity if you happen to be a goal up with five minutes to go.  

Players all still want to be in the starting XI of course but over time specialist substitutes might begin to revel in their roles.  

Look at Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran. He already has four Premier League goals and a Champions League winner against Bayern Munich this season and he hasn’t started any games at all in either competition. Ollie Watkins does the hard yards and is difficult to shift from a Villa team that tends to play one up front.  

Duran is revelling as the team’s ‘game changer’, ‘difference maker’ or ‘match winner’.  

It’s only a matter of time before substitutes start getting rebranded. If he keeps scoring these famous winners the name ‘John’ might start having the H before the O in certain parts of the West Midlands as well as South America.  

From a selfish commentary point of view, keeping on top of 10 changes per match is proving difficult. Trying to remember who is still on and who has gone off is a real test. Writing down the changes can take so long that play has often restarted by the time I’m finished. Maybe we need super subs in the commentary box too.  

Johannes Hoff Thorup is more likely to have spent the international break plotting some imaginative changes for the next 36 games rather than basking in the nine so far.  

 

Common ground... 

For two days last week we had no hot water at home.  

Not much makes you check your privilege or realise quite how much you take things for granted like a broken boiler.  

It’s all sorted now thanks to a nice man called Spencer who came to fix it on Saturday morning. I often say that in my world DIY stands for ‘Don’t Involve Yourself’ after several misguided attempts at home improvements over the years.  

It’s hard not to feel a bid inadequate when someone comes into your house, identifies the issue and fixes it within half an hour. 

People like Spencer actually have useful skills that are a far cry from this ‘la-di-da’ media bubble that I am fortunate enough to reside in. So how did we find common ground? Through Norwich City of course! He’s a season ticket holder.  

We probably spent more time comparing our Canary favourites over the years than he did correcting the problem that proved beyond me. Standing in my kitchen talking about Kevin Drinkell, Robert Fleck and Dale Gordon was a pleasure. I’m not sure whether the house felt warmer because of the mended boiler or the glow of Norwich City nostalgia that he left behind.  

It made me grateful, and not for the first time, of the ice breaking qualities (in this case a literally) and cultivator of common ground that football is. I hope I didn’t make him late for his next appointment. Someone should do a study on the psychological benefits of a bit of wistful football chat with a tradesman versus the working hours lost while you talk about Jeremy Goss.  

Those directories of plumbers, engineers and decorators should include by law a line about which football team they support and what their era is. Just to help price up a job accordingly.