Next Norwich City Manager Odds: Seven replacements for Johannes Hoff Thorup

EFL pundit Gab Sutton picks his best candidates from the next Norwich City manager odds following the exit of Johannes Hoff Thorup at Carrow Road, as Norwich look to bounce back from a season of mixed fortunes and be among the Championship Play-Off pack again next year.

1. Jack Wilshere 

Jack Wilshere has the opportunity to have the best possible job interview anybody could ask for, which is beating Middlesbrough and Cardiff in the two remaining games.

The 33-year-old didn’t get to hit the heights he was capable of in his playing days, largely due to injury, but still produced some delightful moments – including finishing off a stunning team goal in 2013 at Norwich’s expense!

So, that sense of unfulfilled potential may drive Wilshere to achieve something big in management, and having been entrusted with nurturing Arsenal’s youth for two years, he’s now been part of Norwich’s first-team staff.

Having played great football as a midfielder, with a graceful touch infused with vigour and gusto, Wilshere’s stylistic ideals almost certainly align with Sporting Director Ben Knapper’s – how good he is, and whether the Canaries can take the chance, is another matter.

2. Russell Martin 

Russell Martin’s playing career at Norwich suggests he’s somebody driven by values rather than by exactitude: for example, he would sometimes be late for team meetings on account of talking to staff and being approachable.

That suggests he’s probably an empathetic leader who will judge people based on the principles behind their actions, rather than the practical outcomes of them.

On the one hand, this makes him somebody players can connect with and come into work every day to enjoy the training sessions, which has the potential to cultivate a bright, nurturing environment.

On the other hand, it’s possible to be too process-driven sometimes: his final half-season at Southampton - in which he was heavily criticized for encouraging his team to continuously play out from the back when they were being punished for it time and again - suggested somebody who’s so close to the theory as to lose his grip on the practicality.

Martin has innovative in-possession ideas, which he’s demonstrated at MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton, and they fit nicely with the club’s vision.

At the same time, he can’t coach a team out-of-possession, which is partly why the only time he’s achieved tangible success – as opposed to merely respectable progress - has been when he’s managed a club with an enormous budgetary advantage due to parachute payments, with the Saints in 2023-24.

Norwich don’t have that same kind of head-start, so appointing Martin would have to come off the back of two things: 

1. A willingness from him to learn from his mistakes this season, and find ways of implementing his ideas in a more realistic format.
2. An acceptance from him to work with a specialist in-possession coach who can master defensive transitions and defending set pieces 

3. Liam Rosenior 

Inheriting a team battling against relegation in October 2022, Liam Rosenior had Hull on an upward curve for the next 18 months, stabilising things with six defeats in 28 that season, before delivering a 7th-place finish in 2023-24.

The Tigers had a clear identity under the former left-back, and almost certainly regret the decision to part company last summer, one they could yet pay for with their Championship status after a turbulent year.

It’s true, the Humbersiders had investment from owner Agun Illicali, perhaps more so than Rosenior would have at Norwich, but it wasn’t always invested wisely – for instance, he only had a proper centre-forward to work with for about a third of his tenure.

Since moving on, the 40-year-old has shown admirable adaptability to work in France successfully with Strasbourg, which suggests he has a growth mindset – his extremely youthful side are currently 7th in Ligue 1, which shows he can nurture talent whilst still delivering competitive results.

Whether Rosenior can be poached from Le Racing is a big question, but he’s certainly a manager on the incline. 

4. Robert Klauss

There was a perception of Thorup that his ideas were rather idealistic and in-possession oriented, whereas Robert Klauss might be able to implement similar principles but in a more realistic way.

For instance, Klauss likes one full-back to fly forward and the other to be more conservative, like Thorup; however, whereas under Thorup it was always Kellen Fisher on the attack and the left-back, sometimes Callum Doyle, being more disciplined, under Klauss, the identity of the more attacking full-back will depend on the side of the pitch the ball’s on.

That way, you don’t have one full-back who spends prolonged periods in the final third, and naturally gets caught out defensively in transitions.

Plus, Klauss has been well-schooled as an out-of-possession coach, having learned his craft at RB Leipzig.

5. Brian Priske

Noughties Premier League geeks might vaguely remember Brian Priske as a defender in a struggling Portsmouth side; since then, he’s tried his hand at management with FC Midtylland, Royal Antwerp, Sparta Prague, and Feyenoord.

Landing a job at a club with fair European pedigree suggests an impressive coaching journey - and some argue he was harshly sacked at De Kuip with a respectable record on paper - as Priske has built an identity as a 3-4-3 disciple with a man-to-man pressing game.

Simplistic critics would argue it’s hard to reconcile a back-three with a man-to-man press, especially at a high standard of football like the Championship and hopefully the Premier League, because in theory there’s fewer players who are able to engage high.

However, the fact Priske is able to be flexible with formation could be a big feather in his cap, in Ben Knapper’s eyes, along with the fact he’s out of work and therefore won’t require compensation.

6. Kim Hellberg

Coaches who have enjoyed a meteoric rise in their careers always carry a degree of curiosity and excitement – they almost appeal from a romantic perspective sometimes as much as a practical one.

In Kim Hellberg’s case, he began his journey at 23 in 2011 with Kimstad GoIF, winning the Division Five (Swedish 7th-tier) title in his first season, and the rest stemmed from there.

One huge advantage of appointing a coach who has worked with nearly every level of footballer, presumably down to the amateur game, is that they’ve already demonstrated outstanding adaptability.

They can improve anyone, they know how to implement their ideas in a realistic way, and there’s no challenge you can throw at them that would faze them, because they’ve been a dogsbody at other clubs.

Plus, Danny Rohl has got Sheffield Wednesday challenging for the top six with a bottom six squad on paper, with a 2-3-5 in-possession system, similar principles to what Jack Hancock described in his feature last year. 

However, Hellberg’s side are top of the Allsvenskan, after a 2nd-placed finish last year, and he may be keen to see out the title bid.

7. Eder Sarabia

If Sporting Director Ben Knapper is keen to go for an extreme, possession-based coach, then Eder Sarabia of Segunda División side Elche could fit the bill.

Surprisingly, Sarabia actually likes a ‘teamsheet 4-4-2’, but with one attacking full-back and one more conservative, the former corresponding with a winger who cuts inside, the latter, with a winger who stays wide, and one of the strikers dropping deeper – thus creating an in-possession shape something like a 3-2-4-1.

The idea is for the defenders to be very patient on the ball and invite the press, and use those gaps between the lines to create clear cut chances, or alternatively to accept the control and progress the ball into a technically gifted midfield.

Sarabia is believed to have a meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to command respect, which is a nice ‘unique pairing’ that you don’t always see in one person.

The 44-year-old also has experience in being assisted to Quique Setien at various clubs including Barcelona, and while some say he caused a breakdown in relationship with the players at that time, some of that can probably be put down elite player egos and them only wanting to listen to people of a certain profile.

And, dealing with that kind of situation could be a valuable growth experience for Sarabia, in terms of learning how to manage difficult dynamics.  

Next Norwich City Manager Betting Offers