Six things you might have missed from Norwich 0-2 Bristol C

1 - Punctured 

370 days and 24 matches since their last Carrow Road defeat to Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City were finally beaten by Bristol City on their home patch.

The manner of that defeat and the context behind it will provoke frustration, but the ease at which the Robins punctured that proud and lengthy run will disappoint City supporters and Johannes Hoff Thorup.

It falls just one game short of the unbeaten home record in all competitions – 25 matches which has stood since 1958/59. That run began after a 1-0 defeat to Hull in November 1958, and saw them undefeated in 19 league and six FA Cup matches before losing to Bournemouth in October 1959.

City have historically done longer in terms of purely league matches – with the record set in 1971/72 when they went 31 unbeaten, but that run contained cup defeats.

This run, lasting over the year, is their first unbeaten 12 months at Carrow Road since 1960. The record reads: P24, W14, D10, L0, GS: 50, GC: 22 and Pts: 47. By any stretch, it’s been a magnificent body of work including League Cup, FA Cup and a play-off match.

David Wagner and his squad deserve credit for the work to construct it, and City’s home record this year hasn’t been as strong in terms of wins – recording just three including the 4-3 victory over Stevenage.  

2 - Toothlessness

The frustration and lack of entertainment on offer at Carrow Road was in real contrast to the Carrow Road offerings under Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side so far in this Championship campaign.

At their free-flowing best, Norwich have put four past both Watford and Hull. With Josh Sargent missing and a lengthy injury list, they could only muster three shots on target. They had two efforts on goal throughout the entire second half.

Their expected goals rate, a metric that ranks the quality of chances created, was 0.26. That is the lowest at Carrow Road since a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United under David Wagner in April 2023.

In terms of expected goals, the best quality chance City had was through a blocked Ante Crnac effort in the fifth minute at a value of 0.08 out of 1. The closest they came was Emiliano Marcondes’ header striking the post from Callum Doyle’s precise ball in behind.

What will worry Thorup is the lack of threat City have carried in the last two matches. With teams placing a greater emphasis on halting Borja Sainz, Norwich need to unlock another route to scoring goals.

The experiment with Emiliano Marcondes as a false nine fell flat, but much of City’s problems were down to a lack of ball progression.

Both Shane Duffy (120) and Doyle (109) had more touches than City's front three of Crnac, Marcondes and Sainz combined (106). Therein speaks to their problems in possession.

As a team, just 89 of Norwich’s 744 touches were inside Bristol City’s final third, with only 13 in the opposing penalty area.

3 - Inexperience

Norwich City’s injury troubles have asked big questions of an inexperienced and youthful-looking squad in recent weeks.

City’s starting XI consisted of players who have made a total of 645 Championship matches. That is, on average, 59 per member of the line-up named by Johannes Hoff Thorup.

In comparison, Bristol City’s team have recorded more than double the amount of second tier matches at 1,341 – an average of 122 per player.

Only George Long (100), Shane Duffy (183) and Emiliano Marcondes (105) have played more than 100 times in the Championship. Bristol City boasted six players in their starting line-up with the same number.

On the other end of the spectrum, five of City’s players have made fewer than 20 Championship appearances (Fisher, Schwartau, Slimane, Crnac and Cordoba) compared to two in their opposition.

Those numbers speak to the reliance on players adapting to life in the Championship without the seniority to help provide that stability.

Prior to their absences, City were able to carry those inexperienced operators in a team that contained more know-how and nous, but now it is asking those projects to carry the side.

That is the conundrum facing Thorup and his coaching team, and why Kenny McLean’s self-inflicted absence is hurtful, with City left relying on an inexperienced and unfit midfield to get them playing.

Johannes Hoff Thorup has never lost three games in a row as a head coach. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

4 - Uncharted waters

This is the first time in Johannes Hoff Thorup’s managerial career that he has experienced losing three games in succession.

During his time at Nordsjaelland, the 35-year-old only suffered back-to-back losses on one occasion in his 67 matches in charge between April and May 2023 after a 1-0 defeat to Aarhus in the Superliga was followed by a 5-3 defeat to FC Copenhagen in the Oddset Pokalen semi-final.

Thorup hadn’t experienced losing successive league matches before that defeat at Hillsborough on Tuesday. Defeat again this weekend has pushed him into uncharted territory as a head coach.

After that midweek defeat, he admitted that it was the first time as a boss that he’d experienced an injury crisis as severe as the one City is in the midst of—finding solutions has posed significant challenges.

As well as City’s squad being young and inexperienced, Thorup will also be navigating a period and slump like this for the first time.

The City boss feels that the Championship has been a different experience from the Superliga, one that is less tactical but where momentum switches frequently, and games can run away, unlike any level he’s previously coached.

Finding answers while pushing players to the limit has been testing. The solution may well be the return of key players, hopefully as early as after the upcoming break.

Kellen Fisher has joined the four bookings group at Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

5 - Walking a tightrope

Kellen Fisher’s booking against Bristol City has seen him join three Norwich City teammates in walking a disciplinary tightrope.

Fisher’s yellow card was his fourth of the campaign and his third in the last four Championship matches.

The right-back has joined fellow defender Callum Doyle and midfield duo Marcelino Nunez and Kenny McLean on four bookings, which leaves them one caution short of a one-match suspension.

City’s cohort have four more matches to survive against West Brom, Plymouth, Luton, and QPR to avoid that suspension. The Championship cut-off point arrives after matchday 19 when the threshold for a ban is raised to 10 yellow cards.

Shane Duffy is the only Norwich player currently occupying three yellows, with Anis Ben Slimane, Amankwah Forson, Borja Sainz, Jack Stacey, Jose Cordoba and Josh Sargent all on two.

Given City’s current situation, with eight players sidelined, Johannes Hoff Thorup will stress the importance of discipline ahead of the next three matches.

Norwich City have two weeks to find solutions to their Championship slump. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

6 - Timely pause

The last international break arrived at an unwelcome time for Norwich City, who had just beaten Hull 4-0 and were purring with confidence and rhythm.

There was even extremely premature chatter about a potential two top charge and questions over whether expectations could be raised given the quality of the football being played and goals scored.

Johannes Hoff Thorup’s response when asked a similar question in the wake of this defeat was uttered almost with relief, but after a crushing period of results and injuries, this period comes as a chance to reset.

The Dane and his coaching team are set for an extensive period of analysis to unpick the shortcomings in the last six games and plot a way forward, while crossing their fingers for players to return.

Angus Gunn should be back for West Brom. Marcelino Nunez could be. Onel Hernandez and Ashley Barnes have a chance of making the matchday squad. Kenny McLean will be back for the next Carrow Road outing against Plymouth. The picture begins to look improved, but not entirely resolved.

The Championship can flip and change so rapidly. City hope a fast start to the next block of matches ahead of a congested Christmas schedule will allow them to return to the form that initially sparked that optimism.

It’s a break that comes at a welcome point for the Canaries. It is down to Thorup to make the most of it.