Norwich City: Latest news assessed on Pink Un Podcast

Watch the episode below, stream the audio on your favourite provider, or read some of the highlights further down the page.

AH: Sometimes in life you can be resistant to change, but if you look at last season there was criticism even when results were going well. Ultimately the product on the pitch wasn't what fans wanted to see.

So I think it's now about moving forward, and if they see something tangible to get behind in that initial period then most fans will willingly accept a difficult period. But they have to get the communication and the messaging right.

They'll be willing to accept that if on the other side there's going to be something really positive and something they really want to see from their football club, in terms of culture and fan mood and what they're seeing on the pitch. Those are the factors that make football good when it's good, and really, really bad when they aren't going well.

You look at when Daniel Farke arrived, everyone was really upbeat. In that first season there were some really tough runs, and even into the start of the second season. But Stuart Webber was coming out openly in the media and asking for time, explaining what was going on and what fans might see in the future.

They bought into that, and they reaped the rewards two years later when Norwich won the league at a canter.

Communication was a key part of Daniel Farke's and Stuart Webber's success in 2019 (Image: PA)

CS: It's pretty clear that there is going to be expectation management needed for all of this. Norwich finished sixth last year, they finished in the play-offs despite all the adversities and struggles and problems they has. It's not as simple as one head coach fixing everything, there are going to be other areas that need to develop and improve over time.

You look at the remit that Thorup's got, and it's very different to what David Wagner and Dean Smith had. He's having to implement a very clear style of play, he's going to have to play young players, and he's probably going to have to do that while losing at least one of his crown jewels in Gabriel Sara, Jonathan Rowe and Josh Sargent.

It's a very difficult situation that he's got, so I guess there is a case for patience. There are going to be difficult periods, there are going to be storms ahead during this journey. So a lot hinges on communication, the ability to navigate those, because even in the low moments people can identify with a team and an approach that they understand.

It feels like such a minute thing, and not everyone enjoys it, but that communication with supporters is so important to get you through the low periods, as well as to ride the waves of the high periods.

Johannes Hoff Thorup will attempt to bring fans along with him at Carrow Road (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

SS: Yeah definitely, and it will be a tough balance, because there are all those factors going against Thorup. Like you mentioned, probably a crown jewel or two will have to be sold this summer, he'll have to lean a lot on inexperienced young players, some of the more experienced players might not suit what he wants as much as he'd like.

There are a lot of things going against him, but it hasn't been a total admittance that this is a period of transition, as maybe it was in 2017. There are still discussions about the fact that Norwich are almost too big a club not to target promotion at this level every single season.

That was something Thorup said at his unveiling and reiterated at the recent fans' forum. He said that 15 teams would think they could be promoted from the Championship, and he guaranteed that Norwich would be one of them.

So it's clear that he doesn't want to look unambitious, he doesn't want to completely write it off. He wants fans to understand that he knows the size of this club and he knows that there is pressure on him to succeed in the Championship. But there will be tough times, and then it will be about acknowledging how important promotion is, but that there are reasons why it's going wrong.