David Wagner has been appointed to rescue Norwich City’s season, which has been struggling. The team’s starting XI against QPR had an average age of 30, which is considered old in the context of the Championship. However, it is important to remember that age should not be the sole determinant of a player’s abilities. The team’s self-funding model means that they need to lower the age profile in order to compete effectively in the transfer market.
Football’s transfer market is dominated by young players, and Norwich City struggles to compete financially with other clubs. It is important for the team to strike a balance between experienced older players and talented youngsters in order to develop as a club. David Wagner’s comments after the win against QPR about sacrificing entertainment for solidity were quickly seized upon by fans, and it remains to be seen whether he will have the opportunity to work on the balance of the team during the next transfer window.
The 1-0 win over QPR was decided by a moment of genuine quality, with Hwang Ui-Jo scoring the winning goal with a neat finish. Gabriel Sara, who provided the assist for the goal, has been impressive this season and has already achieved six assists in 17 games. This is a better rate than the previous playmaker, Emi Buendia, achieved in the past two promotion campaigns. However, the reliance on another player taking the chance means that the assist statistic is not the fairest metric to judge a player by, as it depends on other players doing their jobs too. Overall, Norwich City still has a lot of room for improvement and needs to find a way to grow and develop as a team.
