Ageing players on long term contracts. Wantaway midfielders refusing to play for the club. A new manager, new sporting director, new set up. Early results that leave fans wondering what percentage of the squad will still be there by the time the next season rolls around.

It’s a familiar tale, and I’ve found myself thinking back to those early months of the Webber/Farke reign since Johannes Hoff Thorup was announced as Norwich’s head coach. The parallels are numerous; it’s hard not to wonder if we’re in for a season mirroring 2017/18.

It was a campaign characterised by change from the very beginning, with eight players released at the start of July 2017 and a number deciding they didn’t feel like sticking around for what was clearly going to be the start of a large transition.

The start of the season then failed to live up to the billing, with results leaving many fans wondering if there’s such a thing as too much change. We were told to be patient, to trust the process, to believe that better times were coming – easier said than done when you’ve watched your team concede four goals for two matches in a row.

Still, there were few calls for a change of head coach, although a 14th place finish meant optimism for the season to come was lacking. We were patient. We trusted the process. Oh, how the better times came.

The messages from the club are not dissimilar this time around. Norwich is unmistakably, once again, a club facing significant transition.

Several senior players have left, the hierarchy of the club is undergoing the largest change since the 90s, and a new manager is faced with the challenge of implementing his own style of play on a group of players he’s inherited.

So far, so similar.

This time around, however, there’s a sense that we’ve done this before. The early Farke era was so special because it was so unexpected, because no one really knew if the gamble would pay off. Now there’s a voice in the back of many of our minds reminding us of how familiar this all feels, telling us what the outcome might be if we hold on through the tougher times.

There’s an ounce of negativity this time around if you consider that we’ve already done the transition, had the payoff, and failed to build on it; that’s why we’re back at that first step once more.

Still, the sense of trepidation is there. None of us know if this season will be the prelude to something wonderful, or if it will end up being the latest in an ever growing line of failed experiments, failed attempts to capture the magic that a well-executed transitional period can bring.

Even with that uncertainty it already feels as if we’re ready for it this time around.

Carrow Road felt changed on Saturday. The start of a new season always makes for an interesting matchday, the mixture of new and old faces you meet as you head to your seat, the sea of yellow basking in the sun, the first time you’ll see the latest summer signing.

Those around me remarked on how much busier it felt than this time last year – the attendance figures back this up. More than that, the mood was different. So many times over the last few years a Norwich goal has been greeted by a half-hearted reaction, the atmosphere largely unaffected.

Josh Sargent’s goal on Saturday elicited a clear change: what was originally a nervous, unsure crowd suddenly became frantic. I’ve not cheered and chanted so loudly in months.

We all know what can happen next. The beginning of Thorup’s reign has so many echoes of those that have come before, that it’s hard not to burden his Norwich squad with the weight of those expectations. Only time will tell if history can repeat itself.