Connor Southwell: What City can learn from Mark Robins' exit

If any manager should be under pressure, it surely shouldn't be the former Norwich City striker after the job he's done to rebuild and reunite the Sky Blues after a spell of homelessness, civil war and uncertainty. 

For Coventry to decide that Robins, with seven years, four trips to Wembley, two promotions, a Football League Trophy winners medal, a play-off final and a VAR decision from an FA Cup final, didn't have the necessary qualities to overturn a slow start to the season is bonkers. 

After 387 games in charge, Robins' fate has been decided by 14. This is the third season in succession that Coventry have started slowly - but had recovered to finish inside the top 10. They are seven points from the top six and have won two of their last three. Madness. 

Robins has done the best job in the EFL in the last decade. To breathe life into a club in freefall amid financial struggles, ownership challenges and temporary grounds is utterly remarkable. That ability to consistently coach a team to perform above its weight is a stunning achievement. 

He has done that by tweaking the style of play, building different squads and connecting with the fanbase. Robins has been the stability and often the one positive throughout the chaos prior to Doug King's arrival as owner. 

There is little evidence that sacking Robins was necessary for Coventry to achieve their goals. They may go on to get promotion to the Premier League, but that could have been achieved with the former Norwich striker in charge anyway. 

It is a warning shot that no manager or head coach can ever truly rest thinking their job is safe and casts a new light on long-term footballing projects. For all the want of identities and projects, those desires are often more desirable in theory than reality. 

There is no quick route to success or an ability to cut corners. 

Norwich have seen it in recent years. It is all well and good having a game model, a recruitment set-up, a desire to play in a certain way, and an academy pathway, but the real test is when teams get smacked on the chin.

Can they be strong enough to stick to the plan? Can they cut through the noise to retain belief in their ideas? Can they retain support and manage expectations? 

Often, the answer is no. Perhaps a parallel can be drawn, albeit very different to Robins' exit, to City's decision to sack Daniel Farke after Premier League woes. It wasn't just the German they removed, but it marked the conclusion of a four-year building process. 

Daniel Farke was sacked as Norwich City boss three years ago this month. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) It took City a significant period to recover. Dean Smith and David Wagner provided short-term sticking plasters, but were never part of a more substantial strategy. They represented a chase of outcomes rather the construction of something long-term and meaningful.

That spoke to why supporters failed to be convinced or connected to either, in Wagner's case, despite some positive results and a decent campaign on paper last term. 

In many ways, Johannes Hoff Thorup and Ben Knapper are back at the same point as in 2017, trying to redefine the Canaries' future. It has been discourse containing building structures, embedding a game model, developing young talent, connecting the academy and recruiting smartly. 

The hope is that Mark Attanasio's Norfolk FB Holdings group can provide more financial support to make that leap to the Premier League, but there is no guarantee and testing times will appear down the track. 

Thorup has already experienced adversity at Carrow Road, and this current injury crisis has already brought the short- versus long-term debate into focus after back-to-back defeats to Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday. 

Do Norwich opt for more pragmatism? Do they compromise on their long-term objectives to find three points by changing how they play? The answer for Thorup on both has to be no, even with the core of his team missing. 

The Dane is still 14 games into this Norwich project. The squad is still learning his game model, and changing tack now could be detrimental. It also sends the wrong message to the group he is attempting to achieve buy-in from. 

The football world trades in a currency of extremes. Everything is either broken or brilliant. Every coach is either a masterful magician or a clown. There is little room for nuance or context. 

Sometimes, the answer is change. But not every answer is change. Change for change's sake can often be more damaging. 

To relate that to Norwich, it is why Thorup must hold his nerve and continue to play his way even amid the core of his team being sidelined. Defeats ramp up internal and external pressure and criticism, but to see past the league table, scorelines, and emotions is an important quality. 

Norwich are doing okay. They are transitioning to something new and playing in a certain way. That was always going to contain bumps and setbacks, but Thorup has done well to take it in his stride and roll with the punches. 

Johannes Hoff Thorup and Ben Knapper are attempting to build their own football project at Carrow Road. (Image: Denise Bradley/Newsquest) If City wants to enjoy success, they have to remain on the current path irrespective of obstacles or challenges. If you believe that your idea will prosper, then prove it. It is not tested when winning games; it's tried when injuries are piling up, and back-to-back defeats happen. 

The cure for City's current run of form is time. They need key players back to restore confidence. The fanbase has been willing to join them on the journey so far. 

Thorup is in the early phase of his Norwich journey. The challenge for him is to continue to prove its success. As for Robins, it'll be a shock if he doesn't return to a Championship dug-out as soon as he desires.