Six things you might have missed from Cardiff 2-1 City

1 – Threadbare

Since the start of last season, Norwich City have won just seven of the 21 matches where Josh Sargent has been unavailable.

By contrast, when the American has featured, the Canaries have lost seven from 38 matches within that same period. The impact Sargent has on their performance from an attacking perspective is indisputable.

Throw in Marcelino Nunez, who has emerged as a key player or goalkeeper Angus Gunn. Add Onel Hernandez and Ashley Barnes into the mix. Throw Liam Gibbs and Anis Ben Slimane in for good measure. A suspension for Kenny McLean? Why not?

It is not unreasonable to suggest all eight of those absent players would ordinarily make Thorup’s matchday squad when fit and available. Since the start of last season, they have made a collective 308 Championship appearances between them.

In the rest of the division, only Burnley (nine) currently have more players out injured than Norwich.

Sargent and Slimane are both muscular issues that require further investigation – but Thorup’s decision to make so few changes over the course of the last three-game week, especially given Norwich plays the highest intensity football in the division, is one that raises questions.

Ante Crnac will be tasked with leading the line in Sargent’s absence, which will require adaptation given that the Croat is an entirely different profile of player than the American international.

2 – Excellent Emi

Few were expecting Emiliano Marcondes to make such an immediate impact at Carrow Road after his emergency arrival last month.

It was only 30 days ago that the Dane was unveiled as a new Norwich player after a summer of speculation. City recruited him as a player familiar to Thorup who would help ease the load after attacking injuries.

Less than a month later, Marcondes has made three starts and is beginning to grow into life at Norwich.

Perhaps, given the 29-year-old has two Championship promotions with Brentford and Bournemouth on his CV, his quality shouldn’t have come as any surprise, but it is more the speed at which Marcondes has put his best foot forward.

His technical proficiency and footballing intelligence has been visible from the moment he stepped out in yellow and green. His willingness to drift into the left channels allows Borja Sainz to float into central areas.

Marcondes’ energy and endless running is an asset out of possession, but he is constantly showing for the ball or moving into positions to receive it. His composure and quality has been a welcome addition to City’s midfield.

It’s hard not to be impressed with his early impact at Carrow Road. That will only increase as he continues to get up to speed after his delayed search for a new employer and a turbulent summer.

3 – Woes in Wales

Norwich have now lost more games in Wales this season than England – with defeat to Swansea their last in the Championship prior to Saturday’s sucker punch.

But the nature of both defeats will be particularly irksome to Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The one at Swansea was born from their own performance levels, and frustrations in front of goal; the one at Cardiff was wrapped in mitigation but still littered with errors.  

The positive is that in both cases, City fashioned opportunities and played in a consistent structure—but both evidence the need for further improvement on a journey towards progress.

City fielded their youngest starting of the Championship season in the Welsh capital on Saturday with an average age of 24.2. That included two teenagers, three between 20 and 21 and only two over the age of 30 in George Long and Shane Duffy.

That points to the vulnerability within this City squad – especially with key players out and the need for those to assume responsibility by stepping into the void.

City will need to extract more from the likes of Oscar Schwartau, Ante Crnac, Kaide Gordon, and Gabe Forsyth in the coming weeks.

That presents a major test of their credentials but also offers an opportunity to stake a claim for a starting berth beyond those key performers returning.

Norwich City moved to a back three for the final portion of the match at Cardiff. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

4 – Formation change

Johannes Hoff Thorup’s decision in the 63rd minute to change to a 3-5-2 formation is one that has been placed under the microscope by supporters in the aftermath of the contest.

With City leading 1-0, that was a decision made to try to drag Cardiff out of a narrow 4-4-2, and in the immediate minutes after the change did yield results with both Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac going close to adding a second goal.

It allowed Norwich to create overloads through their positioning and utilise the extra space, but then it was quickly penned in by Cardiff and saw them concede too much territory.

Hindsight suggests it was implemented too early – but with several players' tanks running on empty, Thorup had to attempt to inject some energy into their efforts.

It has been a formation shift the Dane has sought to utilise at various times with mixed success.

On some occasions, the extra width has made the pitch bigger and tempted opponents out of a deep block, but in others, like this time out and in the closing stages of their victory at Derby, it has invited unnecessary pressure and seen City lose momentum.

Thorup wants City to be more seamless in their changes of formation, but this was one change that didn’t prove effective in the final analysis, albeit with limited options from the bench.   

Amankwah Forson is lacking confidence for Norwich City currently. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

5 – In a rut

Amankwah Forson’s early Norwich City performances were impressive and displayed flashes of creativity that provided excitement about what he could offer.

Time moves fast in football. Skip to game 13, and the Ghana international was arguably at fault for both of City’s concessions – firstly being skipped past by Callum O’Dowda with ease before a cutback that Callum Robinson converted courtesy of a deflection.

The second was even more inexcusable. Forson was caught in possession inside his own penalty area when attempting to dribble the ball through a sea of bodies as the clock ticked towards the 93rd minute.

Forson is struggling for form at present. He looks a shadow of the player who made that bright early-season impact at Oxford or against Stevenage.

He hasn’t performed well for a considerable period and his efforts in training aren’t helping his cause in trying to push himself back into Johannes Hoff Thorup’s thoughts.

There are clearly raw materials in terms of his technical quality, but the defensive fragilities are evidence of the work needed to improve.

After 13 games, there should not be any desire to write Forson off. This is a young player who won the title in Austria, has played Champions League football and is a fully fledged international, but he is in a real rut at Norwich.

He may be better utilised as a link player higher up the pitch, where his concessions wouldn’t be as costly – but his performances are playing him out of contention rather than into it.

The issues seem to stem back from his shoulder dislocation at Crystal Palace. He needs to find some performances and quickly.

There is plenty for Johannes Hoff Thorup to ponder ahead of Tuesday's trip to Sheffield Wednesday. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

6 – Wednesday Tuesday

Norwich’s injury list is substantial and won’t ease before Tuesday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

Angus Gunn, Onel Hernandez, Marcelino Nunez, Ashley Barnes, Liam Gibbs, Josh Sargent and Anis Ben Slimane are all sidelined through injury, while Kenny McLean’s suspension has two more games to run.

This is a Norwich side in desperate need of an international break to allow some of their injured bodies back into the fold – but a chastening trip to Hillsborough to face Danny Rohl’s side will push further adversity in their direction.

With a threadbare squad and players being pushed to their limit, City will need to find further solutions from a shallow group of players.

Wednesday were beaten 6-2 by Watford on Saturday, and Rohl will be desperate for a response. Under the floodlights, it is a daunting task, as City were shown last season after racing into a two-nil lead.

Thorup will be hoping to cling to the positive aspects of their defeat in South Wales, which included first-half control and some promising attacking situations, as evidence that they can run towards that adversity rather than cower upon its arrival.

City will need to avoid making excuses and prove they can roll with the punches. A victory would be an excellent way to regain some optimism.