It’s been a season to forget for Norwich City. Despite
finishing with a small flourish, placing outside the top two (let alone the top
six) would have been considered a disappointment after the 4-1 demolition of
Blackburn on the opening day last August. Big name players have and will
subsequently leave due to the failures of Alex Neil’s tenure since that day at
Wembley some two years ago and the rebuilding of Norwich City will begin with
the appointment of the Scot’s permanent successor. With this in mind here is
some background knowledge on the favourites to take over the hot seat at Carrow
Road…
Uwe Rosler:
Rosler is currently manager of League One outfit Fleetwood
Town and guided the Cod Army to a fourth placed finish this season, losing in
the play-off semi final to eventual runners up Bradford. Rosler is currently
the bookies favourite to take the helm at Carrow Road with Sky Bet giving 6/5
odds for the German. Rosler hasn’t spent much time at any club he’s managed in
English football prior to joining Fleetwood, having managed Brentford, Wigan
and Leeds over the course of four years, only completing one full season in
that time. During his time at Brentford he did manage to lead the Bees to third
place and to a play off final where they were beaten 2-1 by Yeovil Town. Because
of this, Rosler was offered the job at newly relegated Wigan Athletic. Rosler
was able to guide the Latics to fifth place having found them in fourteenth
place when he took over, yet it was more play off misery this time losing in
the semi final to QPR over two legs. Rosler was sacked by Wigan after just seventeen
games of the 2014-15 season, one in which ex Canary Malky Mackay couldn’t stop
Wigan from further relegation to League One. Rosler’s next job came at Elland
Road where he managed for just eleven games of the 2015-16 season recording two
wins before being sacked.
Jens Keller:
Keller is the next name on Sky Bet’s list of next Norwich
managers and the second German on the list too. Although Norwich seem to favour
young, “up and coming” British managers, the new structure at Norwich City
would suggest a buck in that trend. Keller is currently manager of FC Union
Berlin who finished the current season in fourth place of the German second
division, missing out on a play off spot by six points. Prior to this Keller
has only held two major managerial positions, the first of which was at
Stuttgart for short period between the thirteenth of October and the twelfth of
December 2010 where he was sacked after only thirteen games having won and lost
five and drawn three. Keller’s second job came as manager of FC Schalke where
he took over the German side in December 2012 with the side seventh in the
table. Keller was able to guide them to a fourth place finish that season and
in the following season to third in the league as well as the round of sixteen
in the Champions League where they were knocked out by Real Madrid. Keller was
sacked on the seventh of October 2014 after only two wins from seven games with
the side in eleventh place.
David Wagner
David Wagner is the third favourite for the Norwich job
according to Sky Bet and also the third German on the list. At 45 years old
Wagner’s first major managerial role has been at Huddersfield Town where he
took over from interim manager Mark Lillis after manger Chris Powell was
sacked. Wagner was able to finish nineteenth that season having taken over in
early November with Town sat one place above the drop zone. This season Wagner
has led the Terriers to a fifth place finish as well as defeating much fancied
Sheffield Wednesday over two legs to face Reading in Monday’s play-off final.
Due to the successes of this season with a relatively unknown club Wagner has
earned plaudits and is in the running for the Sky Bet Championship Manager of
the Season award. Wagner also has previous with current NCFC Sporting Director
Stuart Webber with whom he worked at Huddersfield before Webber joined the
Canaries earlier this year.
Paul Lambert
Lambert is a surprise candidate for the job having only left
the post five years earlier to look to pastures new, however at 7/1 the Canary
legend is being touted with a sensational return to Carrow Road. Prior to his
Norwich City days Lambert had managed a number of lower league clubs such as
Scottish side Livingston, Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester United. Lambert left
the Canaries for Aston Villa at the end of the 2011/12 campaign after having
guided Norwich to back-to-back promotions from the bottom of League One to twelfth
place in the Premier League. While at Villa Lambert lead the Villans to a
fifteenth place finish as well as a League Cup semi final in his first season,
while also completing the notable signing of top scorer Christian Benteke. It
was a repeat finish of fifteenth place for Lambert in the 2013-14 season before
he was ultimately sacked in February of 2015 with Villa in eighteenth place.
Having seen Villa’s demise since, under the ownership of Randy Lerner, it could
be considered a success for Lambert to have kept the Birmingham club in the
Premier League for those two seasons. Lambert went from one troublesome owner
to the next this time with ex Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers.
Lambert took over from sacked Gary Bowyer in November of 2015 with Rovers in
sixteenth place and Rovers finished the season much the same under Lambert in
fifteenth. Lambert walked away from the club at the end of the season sighting
the owners as a key reason for doing so. Currently Lambert is at his second
Birmingham club in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers having taken over from
the sacked Walter Zenga in early November and finished fifteenth this season
yet again.
