Norwich City: Ben Knapper's first press interview analysed

The Norwich City sporting director has met most of these people before, but this is his first chance to speak to his new public en masse, to deliver the message he wants them to understand.

The unvarying mundanity of such situations never fails to surprise, even with a who's who of Canaries personality milling about the Lotus Training Centre. Ashley Barnes pokes his head out of a first-team window on the way to the academy building, where under-21s boss Alan Neilson and head of football development Steve Weaver are deep in conversation.

Barnes jokes that the press should only be allowed in if they're positive about the club, but his recent performances probably mean he knows he's safe in that department.

The mood around Colney is clearly a positive one, but it might not have been just a few weeks ago. Around the turn of the year the pressure was on, with results declining and frustrations growing amongst a supporter base fearful of sleepwalking into Championship mediocrity.

But City side have turned things around, and cautious optimism is the feeling proliferating in conversations at Carrow Road. That's the atmosphere that frames Knapper's address; the key questions are asked, but they're more easily answerable than they might have been.

It takes less than three minutes for David Wagner's position to be discussed, but the topic lacks the underlying venom it would have contained upon the new man's arrival. Tactical talk is largely off the agenda after impressive performances matched wins over Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion.

In that sense Knapper's task has been made easier, but Norwich fans are waiting still to be impressed. The former Arsenal loans manager has faced plenty of criticism already, and those fans have been keen to hear the master plan for months.

The details of that plan are left in the football audit he supplied the club's board with last year, but the themes already in the open come up again on Wednesday morning. Lowering the age profile, establishing an academy pathway and improving player trading are the main pillars, even if the route to them is left vague.

Knapper loosely outlined his plan for the future at Colney (Image: Daniel Hambury/Focus Images Ltd)

Inclusion of a preference for youth will be music to the ears of fans frustrated by the present lack of it, but again Knapper's ideals appear to diverge from Wagner's. If a pathway is being forged for the stars of tomorrow, why isn't the German making use of it?

That's one of a few topics left with more questions than answers, with that query on calls for Wagner's head answered diplomatically and no update provided on the future of Ken Aboh. Even after a positive run of results, there's a feeling that the 36-year-old is precariously balanced on a PR tightrope for 21 minutes.

There's no comparing his style with predecessor Stuart Webber; the Welshman was far more swashbuckling and far less analytical than the man who replaced him. But there's a place for Knapper's data-driven process, and it may just have been what Webber lacked at times.

In any case, the former will be judged on actions rather than words, but this is an important step in taking fans on that journey with him. Quite how well they understand the roadmap is questionable after such a complex Q&A session, and there will undoubtedly be supporters on both sides of the fence.

The future will decide the key soundbites taken from this interview, their context likely abandoned if things go wrong. That's the issue that Knapper will always face, but it was key for him to do so for the first time.

With time up and cameras off, talk turns to Josh Sargent (is he the best number nine in the league?), Coventry (and how they fared in NR1) and the potency of City's attack (with Jonathan Rowe still to return to the mix).

It felt like back to normal, but this was no minor side note in the history of Norwich City.