New Belgian coach may find Norwich a home-from-home

Philippe Clement was manager at Rangers, until his sacking in February

Philippe Clement has been a surprise appointment as head coach of the Norwich City, but the Belgian might find himself quite at home in the city.

Norfolk's county town has long been intertwined with Belgian history, after welcoming 30 households in 1565 from the Low Countries, which included parts of Belgium and the Netherlands.

The immigrant group, known as the Elizabethan Strangers, numbered about 300 initially, but soon grew to 4,000 as more people fled religious persecution, and they helped revive Norwich's troubled textile industry.

The immigrants brought canaries with them and a new breed, called the Norwich canary, soon appeared, leading to the bird featuring on Norwich City's crest and Canaries becoming the club's nickname.

The Adam and Eve pub, with its Dutch-style end gables, was influenced by traditional buildings the other side of the North Sea

During his first tenure managing an English club, Clement might notice other pointers to the past while wandering around.

Strangers Hall, a museum in the heart of Norwich, was named as such because its former owner Thomas Sotherton invited the Strangers to Norwich.

The name Stranger has also been adopted by local businesses, while wealthy merchants and weavers built traditional Dutch gable-end properties and influenced property styles, such as Norwich's Adam and Eve pub.

Speaking to BBC Look East, people outside the Belgian Monk pub in Norwich generally welcomed Clement's arrival.

The 51-year-old won 38 caps for Belgium and his playing career also included Premier League appearances for Coventry City during the 1998-99 season.

He then went on to manage a series of Belgian clubs before finding success at AS Monaco. He took the top job at Rangers in October 2023, but was sacked by the Glasgow giants in February this year.

"Anything has got to be better than what we've got at the moment - we're season ticket holders and it's been very disappointing," said one Norwich City fan.

"If he's managed Rangers, he must be able to hold his own with a team and I think the team need pulling into shape."

Another fan said: "I didn't see it coming, but if he can get the guys a bit of confidence, especially at the back — a bit of creativity — it could be quite an interesting appointment.

"I did see he got a run of 16 games at Rangers — what a start that would be."

Flagging industry

In the same way that Norwich's trade dipped as a prolific producer of woollen and worsted textiles in the face of competition from Flanders, a region in the Low Countries, Clement has been brought in with the intention of lifting the side out of the Championship relegation zone.

The Strangers taught local workers new techniques and how to produce different types of cloth, breathing new life into the flagging industry.

Their products were exported to Europe and beyond, and were such demand that by 1600 Norwich weavers were said to be unable to secure enough supply of yarn and labour.

At one point the Elizabethan Strangers made up a quarter of the city's population.

Norwich was able to thrive again due to its reinvigorated textile industry — and once more, the city is looking to a Belgian to lift its fortunes.