Norwich City urged to consider dream Russell Martin reunion to...

Norwich City urged to consider dream Russell Martin reunion to replace Thorup

The Norwich City commentator for FLW offers his opinion on potential candidates for the Carrow Road managerial

position.

On Tuesday morning, Norwich City chose to fire Johannes Hoff Thorup following a ten-game losing streak.

The Canaries were in the running for a lot of the season, but a bad third of the season ultimately cost the Dane his

job.

While Bristol City, Coventry City, and Middlesbrough have been winning regularly, Norwich has been playing poorly

lately. They lost to Millwall at The Den after losing to Portsmouth 5-3 at home over the Easter weekend.

“While we made this appointment with a long-term focus and in line with our wider club strategy and direction,

unfortunately recent results and performances have deemed it necessary for us to make a change,” said Ben

Knapper, the club’s sporting director, in the statement confirming the Dane’s departure.

For the next two games of the season, Jack Wilshere has been appointed as the temporary head coach; however, it is

still unknown who will be the permanent addition at the helm.

Football League World chatted with resident Norwich commentator Zeke Downes to get a Carrow Road perspective

on who might take over at the Canaries. Downes thinks the team will consider a younger alternative once more.

“I would imagine that we will probably be going for another younger manager who is at the start of their career, who

can grow with the squad,” Downes stated to FLW.

We didn’t really know what a similar playstyle was by the conclusion of Thorup’s reign.

“They have got a lot of young players who are supposed to be suiting the system, but it will be interesting to see who we get.”

Speaking about possible options, Downes added: “I think Russell Martin will be up there.

“He did a passable job at Southampton and has ties to Norwich, but he wasn’t very good in the Premier League. I

don’t think Wilshere will be prepared for that just yet, but it may be him or Wilshere on a permanent. It can also be

an unfamiliar foreign name that we haven’t heard of yet.

In contrast to more seasoned stars like Steve Cooper, it will undoubtedly be a younger, up-and-coming one. That

would mean returning to David Wagner and Dean Smith.

As Downes suggested, it seems unlikely that Norwich would not consider Martin as a candidate.

Even though his Southampton team had a terrible Premier League season, he performed a fantastic job leading them

back to the top division in 2023–2024, defeating Leeds United in the play-off final.

The romantic idea of a reunion with Norwich City supporters is another. During his playing career, Martin played for

Carrow Road for nine years, making over 300 matches and contributing significantly to the team’s two Premier

League promotions.

He is intimately familiar with the team, so a reunion seems like a match made in heaven.