Transfer Rumours New Manager

Read your first line again. What you said is not fact. I am not on this forum to give you or anyone else English lessons.

 

Cuesta was only ever a blog rumour cut and pasted many times. The same is true of all the other rumours that have been churned out by the blogs. This is why I said that Thorup is getting the attention now from both blogs and bookies. It was Will Still before that and Cuesta before that. We won't know anything for sure until the appointment is announced, hopefully next week so we can get on with meaningless rumours about players.

 

And I am not on this forum to give you or anyone else lessons on how organisations arrive at major decisions. Before any Board meeting they require a full up to date report from the Finance people on the full financial implications of all decisions under consideration. In this case they would also require a full up to date report from Knapper covering all aspects of the playing side including strengths, weaknesses player morale etc etc. They would also require a full report from the PR team covering such aspects as media reaction, sponsor reaction, fan reaction etc etc. That would be the minimum requirement and it would not have been possible to do this between the Leeds game and the sacking of Wagner. Quite clearly the reports were compiled, the meeting held and the decision was made before the Leeds game under the assumption that next season City would be in the Championship with the proviso that the decision could be revisited if City got promotion.

 

As I said before read your line again. It is opinion not fact.

 

Most Ipswich fans only recently discovered football 18months (their glory days) or have only just started supporting them again

 

Their situation is similar to ours after Lambert arrived to take us out of League One and then to finish 2nd in the Championship a year later. The PL has changed dramatically since then as Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United found out the hard way last season.

As for us, the club's treatment of Wagner has left a bad taste for me. Knapper said some kind words but did nothing to support our push for the playoffs, which we managed in spite of him. I'll support the new manager and hope for the best, but I'll reserve judgement on Knapper.

 

"Norwich set to complete the appointment of FC Nordsjælland manager Johannes Hoff Thorup this week. Thorup expected to finalise contract in the next 48 hours, with Norwich also paying compensation. Has always been the #1 choice for sporting director Ben Knapper #ncfc#otbc"

Tweeted on X this evening by The Telegraph's John Percy, after Nordsjælland's 1:1 draw with Copenhagen today meant they came up short in their quest for European qualification.

 

And for those who are interested in Ben Lee-type analysis, here is an early season take on Thorup's playing style and tactical approach:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tris...rdsjaelland-activity-7098048365451505665-Dq8u

How about, not a single, not even a double, but a triple pivot?

 

"Thorup is understood to want to make the move to Carrow Road and is excited about the challenge. Norwich have already obtained a work permit for the 35-year-old. Conversations are expected to advance in the next 48 hours with City hoping to name the Dane as David Wagner’s successor later this week. Norwich have also spoken to Will Still and Pascal Jansen as part of their process, but Ben Knapper identified Thorup as his first choice early on and conversations with the Dane’s camp stretches back months."

https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...-city-set-make-johannes-hoff-thorup-approach/

 

Interesting to think about who in our squad would naturally suit that style. Stacey, McLean, Nunez, Sainz... Barnes?

That's not to say others can't work of course.

 

The difference between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 is nuanced. Does the central pivot (say Sara) in a 4-3-3 push forward when in possession to create a 4-2-1-3 in attack? Or if it's Núñez, does he drop back into a deep playmaker/DM role to create a 4-1-2-3 shape? Do the wide players tuck in going forward to allow room for the FBs to push forward in a 4-2-3-1 shape with the FBs pushing forward to various degrees? Formations are seldom static, especially if movement up front is a key. Barnes could well be the one to find it hard to fit such a blend of shapes.



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I just hope that Tzollis is at least in the mix in pre season. The loanees, him, Kamara, Hills, Adeboyega in particular all excelled in their loan stints last season. Time to see who has the ability to take a step, or more, forward in our first team squad. We will surely have a much younger, and I hope much faster, back line next season. The only defender I think we should have kept, and I hope we at least offered him a decent new contract, is Sam McCullam.

 

Seems compensation has been sorted out for Thorup, with City having to pay £400k for him according to The Pinkun

 

Nordsjælland's stadium has a capacity of 10,300, and the town of Farum a population of just over 20,000 (though it's only about 15 miles from Copenhagen). Thorup's going to have to cope with a lot more than just English Championship football. Farke had never managed at a high level when he came to us, but he'd seen how Klopp and Tuchel worked in the environment of a much bigger club. It's going to be an interesting ride.

 

Apparently a new LB could follow his manager:

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/n...nterest-in-nordsjaelland-talent-martin-frese/

 

It does seem to be a big gamble on based on little more than Knapper's judgement, given that he's never played the game or coached it either. It's a huge gamble for him and obviously we all hope it works but I for one won't be surprised if it doesn't. Thorup's views on the game are enticing, but I can't help feeling the similarity to a player's compilation video, showing the best moments in his play. What happens when things go wrong is more of a concern.

https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...ch-city-johannes-hoff-thorup-coaching-tenets/

 

New owners, Inexperience Head of Football, Inexperience Head Coach, Plan to rely on developing youth & Impatient fan base.

What could possibly go wrong ?

 

Ask our friends down the road - they had the same sort of plan a couple of years ago.

 

Having originally feared that, as usual, the Club had no real plan I suppose I am delighted that I have been proven wrong. We couldn't carry on as we were. Webber had gone leaving us with 4 central defenders over the age of 30 and a 'runner' up front who is even older. The last two Managers have been experienced but with a high failure rate. Something had to change and as Rick says the biggest gamble of the lot was appointing Knapper with his youth based philosophy. The Board were obviously prepared to take that risk and Knapper was quick out of the blocks getting Thorup in discussions and getting him a work permit. I had little time for Wagner but I have to admire his professionalism in carrying on regardless when he must have realised his days were numbered. Two of the oldies have gone and a lot of youngsters now see a path ahead but as well as looking for new talent the next major job is getting the remaining experienced players signed up to the new plan.

 

That's a rather over-simplified view of the basis on which such decisions are made. It's not Knapper's decision to make. Knapper's job is to draw up a short-list based on a brief given him by the board; that's where his "judgement" comes in, not in deciding who actually gets the job. The board may well ask him which candidate he would recommend; but he'd have to give his reasons for favouring one rather than the other. Do you think the board would have simply accepted his recommendation if his preferred candidate were to be Tony Pulis?