After a disappointing and occasionally divisive period at Norwich City, the appointment of Johannes Hoff Thorup feels like the beginning of a new era.
There’s a sense of excitement returning. A fresh project, a new vision, a break from an underwhelming past – it’s a feeling so many fans have craved.
Ben is a City season ticket holder and author of the NCFC Analysis social media account, who unpicks games with an analytical report highlighting tactical strengths and weaknesses.
Ahead of the Dane's opening pre-season friendly bow at Northampton on Saturday, Ben has analysed Thorup’s time at Nordsjælland and broken down key phases of the new City head coach's tactical system.
From deep build-up to high pressing, find out what you could expect from Norwich’s head coach below.
What was Thorup’s preferred base formation?
During his time in the Danish Superliga, Thorup tended to favour a 4-3-3 formation, demonstrating a high level of player-profile understanding, with players often transitioning into their optimal positions in Nordsjælland’s settled-play structure.
How did Thorup’s side play out from the back?
Deep build-up play is often a significant feature of teams hoping to dominate the ball, and this is no different for Johannes Hoff Thorup.
Typically, Thorup’s Nordsjælland played out through a 4-3-3 shape, with the centre-backs splitting on either side of the goalkeeper while the full-backs moved wide.
Perhaps unusually, in a tactical landscape dominated by single and double pivots, Thorup’s side built up with three deep-lying midfielders, while the front three stretched the opponent’s back line.
This structure created a gap between the midfield and front line, which Nordsjælland frequently attempted to access after the goalkeeper, centre-backs, and deep-lying midfielders combined with bounce passes.
These combinations allowed the Danish side to draw the second line of their opponent’s press towards the penalty area before escaping via a player advancing or dropping into the space behind.
How did Nordsælland set up in settled phases of possession?
Beyond their deepest build-up phases, Thorup’s side transitioned into a variety of structures depending on the profiles in the team and the quality or formation of their opponent. Their most common rotations saw the Danish side create a 3-2-5 structure.
To create this shape, Martin Frese – recently linked with a move to Norwich – often performed a hybrid left-back/left centre-back role, typically shifting infield to create a situational back three.
On the opposite side, the right-back advanced while the right-winger inverted into the right half-space. Ahead of the back three, the left-sided centre-midfielder advanced into the opposite half-space, while the left-winger remained wide on the left.
Variations of this structure included a minor adjustment when Nordsjælland’s right winger Marcus Ingvartsen – a natural striker – inverted to become the centre-forward, while Ibrahim Osman – a natural left-winger – shifted to the left from centre-forward.
Within this variation, the right-sided centre-midfielder advanced into the right half-space, leaving a double pivot ahead of the back three to create their usual 3-2-5.
A more notable variation saw Thorup’s side adjust this settled-play shape, typically when facing an opponent defending with a back five instead of a back four.
In such situations, the 5v4 last-line overload, created by the 3-2-5, was no longer present. As such, Nordsjælland often created a 3-1-4-2 structure, with two centre-midfielders advancing while the right-winger created a front two.
This variation allowed Thorup’s men to maintain a last-line numerical advantage, frequently creating a 6v5 overload when attacking the final third.
What does Thorup mean by creating a “clear positional structure”?
In Throup’s first interview following his appointment at Norwich, the Dane stated his desire to create a side with a “clear positional structure.” To understand what he meant by this, it’s important to first explore the notion of ‘positional play’.
By specifying his intention for “positional” organisation, Thorup made clear his alignment with the logic that zones should be the reference point for player positions, with players required to maintain the occupation of certain spaces.
In offensive phases, these spaces are often categorised by dividing the pitch into five vertical corridors, with at least one player occupying each channel. While players are given the freedom to interchange positions, the basic structure should remain constant.
A secure positional system should also provide a solid rest defence, an element David Wagner’s Norwich often lacked. By providing protection against counter-attacks, a secure rest defence facilitates control.
What was Thorup’s high-pressing structure at Nordsjælland?
In high pressing phases, Thorup’s side set up in a narrow 4-3-3 – comparable with that of Jurgen Klopp’s former Liverpool side or Eddie Howe’s Newcastle – as the initial line of pressure created a 3v3 in the opponent’s penalty area.
Once their opponent played out to one side, Nordsjælland’s ball-side winger pressed the receiving centre-back while the centre-midfielder on the same side jumped out wide to press the full-back.
Behind these initial lines of pressure, the remaining midfielders would shift across to the ball side while the back line supported the press with the nearest full-back tracking the opponent’s winger.
How did Thorup’s side set up with their opponent in settled possession?
Typically, when their opponent advanced into settled phases of possession, Nordsjælland’s 4-3-3 pressing structure continued with similar patterns in their mid-press.
Against opponents building up with a back three, the winger would press the wide centre-back, while the nearest centre-midfielder backed up the press on the wing-back, and Nordsjælland’s full-back tracked the attacking midfielder on the same side.
If their opponent built up with a back four, Nordsjælland’s ball-side winger pressed the full-back, while the centre-midfielder on the same side tracked his counterpart, and the full-back occupied the opponent’s winger.
How did Thorup’s side transition from their mid-press to a deeper mid-block?
If their opponent advanced towards the final third, Nordsjælland’s wingers would typically drop alongside the wide centre-midfielders to create a 4-5-1 mid-block.
To prevent a last-line numerical disadvantage, one or both of the wingers were also prepared to drop alongside the full-backs. This occasionally created a situational 6-3-1 low-block deep in Nordsjælland’s half.
How could Norwich set up in the Premier League if Thorup achieves promotion?
Despite Thorup’s clear ideology, Norwich’s new head coach has not been strictly wedded to a 4-3-3 base formation.
In games where his side could be considered more of an underdog – particularly in the Europa Conference League, for example – Thorup’s side occasionally set up in a 3-5-2 base formation before dropping into a 5-3-2 out of possession.
Despite these adjustments, Thorup’s side continued to punch above their weight while maintaining control in build-up phases and persisting in high pressing moments.
This ability to adjust to dangerous opponents without totally abandoning key principles could be crucial if Thorup achieves promotion with the Canaries.
But, for now at least, his appointment makes a lot of sense, particularly when measured against Knapper’s vision of “attacking, proactive football where teams try [to] control the game with the ball [and] they want to go and win the ball back high.”
Thorup is also heavily associated with youth player development, with the Dane currently ranked by TransferRoom as the top coach in Europe for ‘Trust in Youth’.
Given this record of player development, support for youth pathways, control with the ball, and intensity without it, Hoff Thorup fits the bill for Knapper. A new era begins here.
You can read all Ben's previous analysis of Norwich City games via his social media accounts.
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