Six things you might have missed from Stoke 1-1 Norwich City

1 - Mitigation

By the time the full-time whistle sounded in Zapopan, Mexico, it was 2am on Wednesday morning in the UK.

Josh Sargent had just played 63 minutes for the USA in a friendly and was then required to travel 14 hours back to England, changing time zones and then being thrust straight into a trip to Stoke.

Ante Crnac featured for Croatia U21s against Portugal on Tuesday whilst Kellen Fisher, Ben Chrisene and Kaide Gordon also played matches on Wednesday evening for England’s U20. Others only returned to Norfolk earlier that day.

Johannes Hoff Thorup recounted that only four City players were training for the first portion of the opening week of the break, while the rest of the squad joined up late on Thursday.

Inevitably, that hampered preparations in the build-up to this contest and explains why City were leggy in the second period of this contest. Given Thorup’s game model is dependent on intensity and energy, it goes some way to diagnosing their struggles in Staffordshire.

There are comparisons to be made with City’s last Championship defeat away at Swansea, which also came off the back of an international break.

In that context, a point is an outcome that Thorup can live with, even after a second-half performance in which City dropped their levels significantly.

2 - Five minutes of madness

Ante Crnac’s goal on the brink of half-time capped off an impressive opening 45 minutes for City that saw Viktor Johansson’s saves keep the hosts in the contest.

What should have been a gentle period heading into the half-time interval turned into a fraught five minutes of madness that invited Stoke back into the contest to undo a lot of their endeavours in the opening period.

Million Manhoef’s curling strike eventually came in the sixth minute of added time. Crnac’s strike was dispatched in the 45th minute.

City lost all structure, composure and opened the door to Narcis Pelach’s men during that period. Manhoef’s shot for the equaliser was the third in just a 60 second period, encapsulating the lack of control Norwich had during that period after their opener.

In eight of their 10 Championship matches, City have taken the lead but have failed to win in four of them. Thorup will need to uncover whether that is a game management forming within his young group or down to other factors.

Other contributing factors, especially on their travels, could be an inability to take opportunities. City did lose control of the contest after Marcelino Nunez’s withdrawal through injury, with the game becoming significantly more open thereafter.

It is a trend that Thorup will be keen to reverse quickly as he plots further progress.

3 - Steady hands

Angus Gunn’s absence is always felt by Norwich City given his qualities respective to the rest of the Championship.

The Scottish international’s side strain sustained after a catch that led to Marcelino Nunez’s opening strike against Hull is expected to rule him out of this week’s fixtures, handing an opportunity to deputy George Long.

City’s number two has been rewarded for his character and professionalism with a new three-year contract earlier this month and displayed some of the improvement Johannes Hoff Thorup alluded to in recent interviews on this outing.

Whenever Long is between the sticks, there does seem to be a heightened sense of analysis and rapid desire from some to highlight him as the root cause of every strike.

His position wasn’t the best for Manhoef’s strike, but neither was the defending from Callum Doyle, who got drawn into Wout Burger instead of shifting across. That granted the Stoke winger the time and space to use the City defender as a shield before firing in.

Long made four saves, faced 15 crosses and recorded an post-shot Expected Goals, a metric that considers shot placement and goalkeeper positioning to assign a value between 0 (off-target) and 1 to every shot, of 1.1. A positive number is deemed to be an overperformance.

Most improved was his sweeper capabilities. Long completed five defensive actions outside of his penalty area, halting two promising attacks in particular.

Marcelino Nunez's injury throws up a midfield conundrum for Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) 4 - Midfield conundrum

Johannes Hoff Thorup confirmed post-match that Marcelino Nunez’s aggravation of a hamstring issue was likely to keep him sidelined for City’s trip to Preston North End on Tuesday.

The noises around the Chilean’s injury in the opening week of the international break were concerning. Scans later proved it was better than first thought.

Thorup opted to risk him for this encounter, perhaps understandably given the level of importance he has established both to this team and the successful implementation of the Dane’s style.

City did score after he was replaced, but their possession dropped in the second period, but so too did the connection between spells of possession and chance creation. They mustered just 0.21xg in the second period compared to 1.30xg in the first – speaking to the lack of control after Nunez’s withdrawal.

The challenge for Thorup is now to find a solution to manage Nunez’s absence. That is no easy feat.

Oscar Schwartau is perhaps the most obvious contender given Thorup’s trust in him, but the teenager is yet to consistently convert bright moments into full performances. Amankwah Forson has struggled for form after his shoulder injury against Crystal Palace.

Emi Marcondes could be an outside contender but is still building his fitness reserves after signing of a free transfer earlier this month.

City may need to tweak Anis Ben Slimane’s role in that midfield machine, whilst Kenny McLean is improving after a slow start to his campaign. Thorup will need to find a solution for the trip to Preston in midweek.

Norwich City are now 10 games into the Johannes Hoff Thorup era. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

5 - Taking stock 

This result marked game 10 for Norwich City in the Johannes Hoff Thorup era, the first milestone at which encouragement is given to begin to glance cautiously at the league table.

Norwich sit seventh having taken 16 points from ten matches. Only Sunderland and Leeds top their 17 goals whilst they boast the seventh best defensive record in the division.

If City’s 1.6 points per game rate is extrapolated over 46 games, they would end the campaign on 74 points – one more than David Wagner’s side managed to record a sixth placed finish last term.

The underlying numbers are offering encouragement as well. Only three sides, Millwall, Leeds and Middlesbrough, better their expected goals difference of +6.2. Only Blackburn are scoring more goals per shot than City and they rank amongst the best in the league on most possession-based statistics.

City have only lost two of their opening 10 Championship matches. They’ve lost once in their last seven. Only Sheffield United and Burnley have taken more points than their 14 in that period, and no side have scored more goals.

There is growth to come in this Norwich side, but for a team that is transitioning to a new style of play with a young core, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

It is set to be a week of change off the pitch at Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

6 - Big week ahead 

Saturday’s draw kickstarts a significant week on and off the pitch for the Canaries, beginning with a long midweek trip to Preston on Tuesday night.

City will be hoping to record a victory to ensure a productive return from their away double header – but Paul Heckingbottom has stabilised the Lilywhites after a poor start to the campaign.

The following day, City will host an emergency general meeting for shareholders at Carrow Road to vote on the motions that could lead to a historic transfer of power to allow Mark Attanasio-led Norfolk FB Holdings to become the majority shareholders.

If passed, Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones are expected to step down from the board of directors 24 hours later, but will remain visible inside Carrow Road and around the club.

City are also expecting to finalise the appointment of Jack Wilshere as first-team coach after that midweek trip to Preston, ending a month-long hunt for a successor after Narcis Pelach left for Stoke.

Wilshere took charge of Arsenal U18s in their 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon – the Gunners youngsters play City’s U18s in Norfolk next weekend.

Middlesbrough are then the visitors to Carrow Road next Sunday to conclude a manic eight days for the Canaries.