Norwich City

Norwich City assistant coach Christoph Buhler has been speaking to the media ahead of the Canaries' trip to Stoke in the Championship on Saturday.

Here are some of the key points:

• On head coach David Wagner's absence due to a 'personal family issue': "David is doing OK. We've followed our routines in the week, and our preparations have been the same. He will be back with us tomorrow [Saturday] for the game"

• Buhler confirmed that left-back Dimitris Giannoulis will be out until the end of April with a hamstring injury

• Defender Shane Duffy should be back following the upcoming international break

• On the Stoke game: "It'll be a lot tighter. They've found a way to be hard to break down. They're energetic and have quick runners, we will face a team who have to collect points because of their situation"

• Josh Sargent and Grant Hanley have been eased back into action recently following long term injuries, Buhler had this to say about their international calls: "The best case scenario - they both come back with no injuries. Both sides are aware of their conditions"

Opinion: 'A giant game of - Would You Rather?'

Matthew Soakell, North East Canary

I know for a fact that I’m not the only Norwich fan who’s been plotting a potential route to the play-off final. Whether or not that happens doesn’t stop us keeping an eye out for which team is third in the league after every round of fixtures, meaning that - should we finish in sixth place - we’d have two legs against whoever misses out on the automatic places.

Prior to the Canaries’ trip to Stoke, Norwich currently occupy the final play-off spot on goal difference. In third place are that lot down the road, which got me thinking of all sorts of (potentially-never-going-to-happen) hypothetical scenarios. The one I’ve decided to indulge you in is the current state of play…

The table finishes as it is right now; Norwich face Ipswich over two legs in a play-off semi-final. Could your heart take that, given how well they’ve done this season? Love them or loathe them, you can’t deny the fact they’ve had an incredible season thus far. How would we cope over two legs? Whilst our home form is fantastic, our away form leaves a little to be desired. I guess we’ll see what the outcome of 6 April is and then decide how optimistic we are!

But this got me thinking: would you prefer to face Ipswich over two legs - knowing there’s a possibility we lose that unbeaten streak and they get to Wembley instead of us? Or would you rather avoid another East Anglian derby and all of the possible outcomes and us finish 7th and miss out on the excitement and fun of the play-offs, leaving it up to another team to see off Ipswich — should they finish third?

It could all work out pleasantly for Norwich, of course; we beat Ipswich over two legs and get to a second play-off final at the home of English football. We then beat whoever wins the other play-off semi-final and have another glorious day out in north west London. However, before any big day out on the 26th May, I’m intrigued to know what the general consensus amongst us fans is regarding the risk and reward of two further games against Kieran McKenna’s side in May.

Get in touch with your thoughts here.

Image source, Walsall Football Club

Norwich City defender Emmanuel Adegboyega has been named EFL Young Player of the Month for February 2024.

Adegboyega is on loan at League Two Walsall. He scored three goals in February and was part of the side who managed two clean sheets.

He told the EFL website: “I’m absolutely delighted, I was also nominated for Player of the Month and I didn’t get it, but to hear that I got the Young Player of the Month award across the whole of the EFL, I was buzzing.

“It feels a bit scripted, but everything went how I wanted it to go. As a centre-back, scoring three goals – two of which were winners – and keeping clean sheets, it was perfect in a sense."

He continued: "To score on my debut, after coming on at half time, it was a sensational feeling. After the game, I was like, ‘this is not real’.”

Walsall are currently 8th in the table and one place outside the play-off places.

The 20-year-old Irishman joined the Canaries from Drogheda United in August 2023, he was sent out on loan to The Saddlers in January 2023.

Norwich City have announced that head coach David Wagner will not be attending Friday's press conference ahead of the game against Stoke City on Saturday.

The club say he is away dealing with a 'personal family matter'.

It's expected that Wagner will be with the team for Saturday's game at the bet365 Stadium.

Assistant coach Christoph Buhler will speak to the media at 14.45 GMT.

Image source, Getty Images

'McCallum needs a good run of games to give him some confidence'

Norwich are set to be without left-back Dimitris Giannoulis for the next few weeks.

The club haven't confirmed how long he will be out for with a hamstring problem, but he will definitely miss Saturday's trip to Stoke.

He could be replaced by Sam McCallum.

Here are some of your thoughts on the Canaries latest injury issue:

Tulsa - Aside from his initial loan period here this has been, by far, Dimi's best spell at Norwich. He will be a miss but the international break is coming up, so that should hopefully give Dimi ample time to recover. Plus, Sam McCallum is a very useful squad player who has been quite effective when called upon this season and there's always Lungi too!

Shaun - Sam (McCallum) is better going forward. He will score more often and will assist more but will get caught out putting in silly challenges. I don't think Giannoulis has scored in over 100 games!

Stephen - I’m very happy with Sam. Super in the air, puts in great crosses and good defensively.

Simon - Sam McCallum needs a good run of games to give him some confidence.

Mark - Giannoulis won't be missed. Totally overrated.

Nick Mashiter
Senior football news reporter

Stoke have held talks with former Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber as they look to replace Ricky Martin.

The Potters are looking for a new technical director after Martin was sacked in February, just 15 months into the role.

Joint-Chairman John Coates has been speaking to a number of candidates, with Webber a contender to take the job at the bet365 Stadium.

Webber is available after leaving Norwich in November, although he has served a 12-month notice period which expires this month.

Stoke are looking for a replacement for Martin despite him helping oversee a recruitment drive last summer with 18 players arriving at the club, including Ki-Jana Hoever on loan from Wolves and Enda Stevens from Sheffield United.

But the Potters have struggled this season with Alex Neil sacked in December and replaced by Steven Schumacher.

The ex-Plymouth boss has won five of his 16 games and Stoke sit 19th in the Championship – three points above the relegation zone - ahead of Saturday’s visit of Norwich.

Webber, Huddersfield’s former head of football operations, oversaw two Championship title-winning campaigns at Carrow Road but two awful seasons in the Premier League saw the Canaries finish bottom.

After handing his notice in last March he was eventually replaced by Ben Knapper, Arsenal’s loan manager, in November.

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 14 March 1996

Norwich City captain Jon Newsome was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £1.6m.

Newsome had become the Canaries' first ever seven-figure signing when then manager John Deehan decided to pay £1m to Leeds United in 1994.

The central defender was named fans' player of the season at the end of the 1994/95 season, but Norwich were relegated from the Premier League to Division One at the end of that campaign.

Two days following the sale of Newsome, striker Ashley Ward left for Derby. The two departures were a surprise to manager Gary Megson.

He told the Independent newspaper: "I didn't sanction the moves and I am not party to either transfer.

"Every team below us is doing its utmost to ensure its survival. The team and I are getting no help from the boardroom and we don't expect them to be a hindrance. The last person out of the 32 professionals I would ever recommend us to sell is Ashley Ward."

Chairman Robert Chase had this to say about the transfers: "We must be prepared to reduce our borrowing to a level we can afford and which the bank is comfortable with.

"It is probably [the] most painful decision I have had to make since being chairman of the football club."

Chase left the club the following month in April 1996.

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City will have to do without left-back Dimitris Giannoulis for the next few weeks. The severity of his hamstring injury has not been revealed by the club, but he will definitely miss Saturday's match at Stoke City.

How much will the Canaries miss the Greek international?

Will Sam McCallum be a good replacement in defence?

Get in touch with your views here.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport understands that Canaries' left-back Dimitris Giannoulis is likely to miss several weeks of action with a hamstring injury.

The Greek international picked up the knock in training ahead of Saturday's win against Rotherham and was absent for that game.

Norwich City are yet to confirm the severity of the injury, but Giannoulis is definitely out of Saturday's trip to Stoke.

David Wagner will hold his pre-match press conference on Friday at 14.45 GMT.

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 13 March 2022

The Canaries were beaten 2-1 in a relegation scrap at Leeds United.

Rodrigo gave the home side the lead on 14 minutes and it stayed at 1-0 until the first minute of stoppage time when Kenny McLean equalised for City.

The point would have kept City's faint hopes of staying in the Premier League ticking over but it wasn't to be, Joe Gelhardt scored three minutes after McLean's strike to send Elland Road wild.

It was Jesse Marsch's first win as Leeds boss.

Dean Smith's Norwich ended up being relegated from the Premier League in the following weeks.

You can read the full match report of the game here.

Image source, Getty Images

Your views on Jacob Sorensen's future

Jacob Sorensen was one of the star players for the Canaries as they thrashed Rotherham 5-0 at Carrow Road on Saturday.

The Dane is out of contract in summer 2024, we asked for your views on his future:

Mick - Must keep him.

Mike - Sorensen is a classy and adaptable player. His injuries have been costly to Norwich, as he quietly goes about his duties in an efficient and unshowy manner. He is exactly what the club needs to underpin it's first eleven.

Nick - Sorensen is a top, top player. Gets on with the job and plays wherever you ask. Apart from a dodgy medical past he is so dependable and a fans favourite amongst my neighbours in the South Stand.

Richard - Stick with Wagner. Give a new contract to Jacob, he’s never let the side down.

Robert - Only one answer in my opinion... yes (keep him). A good versatile player who has given good service when available. How much to replace him?

Freddie - I think we should keep Sorensen because when we have a corner he will always try to header the ball and sometimes he scores, that's what happened against Rotherham.

Image source, Getty Images

Opinion: Kudos to Wagner for the Carrow Road turnaround. For his next trick... the away form?

Gary Gowers, My Football Writer - Norwich City, external

Say what you like about David Wagner – and plenty has been – there’s no denying the job he has done to fix City’s home form.

In truth, for some time it has not been about the results in NR1. Despite losing four of their opening eight home games, City haven’t lost at Carrow Road since 5 November, when Blackburn beat them on an especially grim afternoon.

Instead, it was more around performance and entertainment levels – or rather, the lack of.

Even as recently as New Year’s Day, when City drew at home with then high-flying Southampton, there was unrest among many of the Carrow Road faithful who derived precious little enjoyment from a negative performance in which City had just 25 percent possession.

Little did we know at the time, but that day also signalled the start of our upturn in fortunes… at home. Little did we know Josh Sargent’s 78th minute equaliser was a prelude to brighter times… at home.

It was only the American’s second game back after missing almost four months due to damaged ankle ligaments, but that goal was priceless – and not just because of the point it earned.

Given it's lowly starting point, what has happened at Carrow Road since that day has been little short of extraordinary. Six games, six wins. Goals scored, 18. Goals conceded, 4. And in those six games, Sargent has scored seven. At least one in each.

Better still, the football has gone from soul-destroying to, sometimes, beautiful.

The type of football over which we used to drool when under the charge of Daniel Farke is occasionally back, albeit with a Wagner twist. When it clicks, it has an ebb and flow that many of us thought impossible under this head coach and his caution-first tendencies.

And fair play to the German. The quality of football we are currently seeing at Carrow Road was merely a pipe dream for over half the season.

But this is Norwich City and there’s always a sting in the tail, and this season it has come away from home. Only four wins on the road and eighteenth in the away league table compared to third in the home one. Famine and feast.

But maybe it’s one thing at a time with Wagner.

Maybe that same magic wand used, with the help of Sargent, to fix the home form can be used to do the same away from home in the remaining five games?

If it can be fixed, then sixth is still doable. Without it, Ben Knapper can start prepping for 2024-25 Championship-style.

No pressure, lads.

Norwich City supporter Anna Say was the guest fan on The Scrimmage podcast this week. She had her say on the Canaries next game, which is at Stoke on Saturday (15.00 GMT).

Rob Butler and Chris Reeve also welcomed Darren Hunter from the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation. He's the coach of the club's Cerebral Palsy team who have made it to the Disability Cup final.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Norwich City Women play an important league game against QPR at Carrow Road on Sunday 24 March.

City are currently second in the National League Divison One South East, five points behind leaders AFC Wimbledon but they do have a game in hand.

Captain Anna Larkins and midfielder Katie Knights were studio guests on The Scrimmage podcast this week.

Knights said, "At the previous game at Carrow Road we had seven and a half thousand there, but when we scored a goal it felt like that stadium was completely full. It was so loud.

"That will stick with me forever."

You can listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds here.

Image source, Norfolk FA

Norwich City under-21s are through to the semi-finals of the Norfolk Senior Cup.

The young Canaries beat King's Lynn Town under-23s 2-0 at The Walks to make it into the final four of the tournament.

Gabriel Forsyth and Adam Manning scored City's goals.

Norwich will now play Diss Town or Gorleston in the semi-final, those two play their quarter-final on Tuesday (19.45 GMT).

Watton United await the winners of the last-eight game between Wroxham and Downham Town.

'Reevo Reacts' to Rotherham romp

Scrimmage co-host Chris Reeve gives his first thoughts on the Canaries thrashing of Rotherham at Carrow Road.

Reevo will join Rob Butler for The Scrimmage on BBC Radio Norfolk from 18.00 GMT on Monday.

The podcast will be available here shortly after transmission.

Image source, Getty Images

Opinion: Five goals, five stats, and a five-star weekend

Steve Sanders, NCFC Numbers, external

Every so often, Norwich City put on a goalscoring display in the midst of a great run, which throws up a glut of subplots, talking points and stats. Think 4-0 vs QPR in 2018/19, or 7-1 vs Huddersfield in 2020/21. Now think 5-0 vs Rotherham in 2023/24.

And if you think that intro is teeing up a list of stats from the weekend…then you’d be absolutely right. Here are five you might not have known about:

1. The away form may still be patchy but it’s 12 unbeaten at Carrow Road, a feat they’ve only matched twice before since 1994. Of the 11 league games in that run, Norwich City have picked up 29 points, and you have to go back to the Nigel Worthington era in 2003 to find an 11-game spell as good or better in the Championship.

2. Josh Sargent’s at it again, and has achieved something that eluded Pukki, Roberts, Holt, Bellamy, in fact any Norwich City striker in the past 60 years: scoring in seven consecutive games at Carrow Road. No other player in English football has managed the feat this season either.

Sargent’s transformation from awkward youngster into deadly marksman now appears to be complete. Remarkably his only two shots on target (out of 24) two seasons ago were those two goals at Watford. This year, no-one in the Championship with more than 25 shots on goal can better his ratio of 54% of shots-on-target.

3. Sarge’s purple patch is nearly all his own work, but if he owes anyone a debt of gratitude in the Canaries’ squad, it’s Jack Stacey. The full-back has set up Sargent for more goals (3) than any other Norwich City player, and appears back to his best form. He’s their only defender this century to average an assist less than every seven games (minimum 40 games) and on Saturday he became the first Norwich City defender to get two assists and a clean sheet in a game since Darren Kenton in 2001.

4. About time we addressed the elephant in the room: Rotherham were bad. Really bad. Only Reading in 2017 and that Huddersfield side in 2021 have been four goals or more down to Norwich City at half-time in a league game since 1992, and don’t forget that Saturday’s visitors were on the wrong end of the same half-time scoreline earlier in the week at Coventry.

They’re also the first team to play the Canaries this century to concede more than twice and fail to register a shot on target. Norwich City didn’t beat any of the bottom three at Carrow Road last season – but this was about as easy a test as they could have hoped for.

5. Let’s finish with the 'S Factor'. Maybe the biggest oddity from Saturday was that all five goals were scored and set-up (allowing a little leeway for City’s fifth) by players whose surname begins with an ‘S’. That has, unsurprisingly, never happened before – but fans of alliterative quirks read on…

The last four-goal Norwich salvo was brought to you by the letter H (Howson x2, Hoolahan & Hooper v Millwall in 2015), while G provides the last time letter to provide five goalscorers in the same game (Johnny Gavin x4 and Peter Gordon in 1955). For four different goalscorers with the same starting letter, you have to go back as far as 1932 vs Coventry – Cecil Blakemore, Sam Bell, Ken Burditt and Oliver Brown.

And that…is the real quiz.

Norwich City utility player Jacob Sorensen has been speaking about his future at Carrow Road.

The Dane can play in midfield or anywhere across the defence, on Saturday he played at centre-back and scored as the Canaries beat Rotherham 5-0 to move into the Championship top six.

Sorensen is out of contract in the summer of 2024.

Do you think City should keep Sorensen? Get in touch with your thoughts.

Image source, PA Media

Your views on Norwich City's 5-0 win over Rotherham

Here are some of your views on the Canaries' big win against Rotherham which saw them move back into the Championship play-off places:

Sophie - What more to say than - INCREDIBLE! Fully deserved that win, although we could have been more ruthless in the second half (but that's just me being picky!) Great win, five superb goals - Sara's second was my favourite - and we're in the play-offs! What a brilliant day! There's no better way to start my weekend! OTBC 💛 💚

Freddie - Outstanding performance. We needed a big response after Wednesday night and that was simply perfect. Of course, results going our way helps massively, but we’re not up in the top six due to luck. This team has serious talent and they showcased that today. Our home form could be the difference between us getting in and missing out. Dare to dream!

Nikki - Brilliant game with great atmosphere! Sunshine in our faces, watching the goals smashing into the back of the net.

Jon - Had we not got a dodgy red card at the Riverside on Wednesday we would probably now be fifth in the table. Every point is vital now - there can be no let up until after Wembley.

Darren - It was lovely to see NCFC playing with a midfield in the first half today. Sadly, in the second half we decided to revert to type. This squad has the ability to do well, but it felt like the first half formation was forced through availability but worked so much better. So, worries about tactical maturity persist.

Big Sigh - Hi, from South Wales! I think Gunny, Stacey, Kenny (McLean), Gabby (Sara) and Josh (Sargent) are all key in the next (hopefully more) games. Comparing Max Aarons and Jack Stacey as maruading full-backs - right now, I’d favour Jack, as his crosses are great and he doesn’t turn his back all the time.

Image source, Getty Images

Time to give you the answer for our regular quiz now.

A reminder of the question:

After Borja Sainz's second red card this season, can you name the three other players in the EFL who have been on Norwich City's books and have been sent off twice this season?

The answers:

Daniel Ayala - Rotherham United

Cameron McGeehan - Colchester United

Brad Hills - Accrington Stanley

Well done if you got it right, there will be another question before the next Canaries' match.

Cedric Anselin's view on Norwich City thrashing Rotherham

The Canaries beat struggling Rotherham 5-0 at Carrow Road on Saturday in the Championship.

With nine games left, City moved into the top six play-off places.

Cedric Anselin was BBC Radio Norfolk's summariser, here are some of his thoughts at full-time:

"Very comfortable afternoon from a Norwich City point of view.

"Obviously (David) Wagner will be pleased with that after Wednesday night. We saw some unbelievable goals this afternoon, Wagner will love the clean-sheet as well."

He continued, "He (Wagner) had the luxury of rotation too. To give McLean a break, Sargent as well and to throw in some young lads. It was nice for the fans to see a young lad from the Academy (Ken Aboh).

"It was a long afternoon for Rotherham, you can see that they don't really have the pace of the Championship."

You can hear more from Cedric Anselin on Canary Call with Rob Butler here.