Norwich City confirm sacking of head coach

Norwich City confirm that they have parted company with head coach David Wagner, despite the club reaching the Championship playoffs.

The 52-year-old successfully led the Canaries to the Championship playoffs this season, a big improvement from their 13th-place finish in 2022–23.

Norwich, on the other hand, were eliminated from the final after losing 4-0 on aggregate to Leeds United, who lost by the same score at Elland Road in the second leg on Thursday night.

Rather than continue under the German, the club’s hierarchy has decided to pursue a new route.

In a statement on the club’s official website, sporting director Ben Knapper has addressed the situation, praising Wagner for the “class” that he had shown in the role

Knapper stated: “David has operated with class and dignity throughout his period as Norwich City head coach, but we now feel that the time is right for us to move in a different direction.”We remain committed to growing our football club in both the short and long term, employing a diligent and comprehensive plan.
The selection of a new head coach is crucial. We will now work and conduct our due diligence with the goal of scheduling an appointment in the near future.”

Wagner has won 31 of 75 matches since taking over in January 2023. However, there were 27 defeats.

If Norwich had lost to Cardiff City before the November international break, Wagner would almost certainly have been fired.

Instead, Norwich triumphed 3-2 in South Wales and went on to score 17 points in eight games, keeping Wagner in his job.

Automatic promotion was never a realistic possibility given the top four’s form, but Norwich did not lose a single home game from November 5 onwards on their way to sixth place in the table.

However, Norwich failed to win any of their final three games regular fixtures, and losing heavily in Yorkshire on Thursday night marked the third successive game without a goal.