Who Will Be The Next Manager of Norwich City?
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Just hours after guiding Norwich City to their first Premier League win of the season, Daniel Farke was relieved of his duties as the club’s manager and football betting sites continue to take bets on who will fill the vacancy. The timing might have seemed odd, but the hierarchy had clearly decided to act regardless of the outcome at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Moreover, Norwich were a little fortunate to escape from west London with all three points, as their fellow promoted side created chance after chance against them in the second half.
That victory over Brentford gives Norwich a glimmer of hope in their bid for survival. The Canaries are desperate to cease being known as a yo-yo club and they will feel they still have a chance of staying up this season. A five-point margin at this early stage of the campaign is far from insurmountable, but they must make the right appointment in the coming days. If Norwich get this decision wrong, the Championship beckons once more.
We have taken a look at the latest odds and run the rule over the main contenders to take charge in East Anglia.
Norwich City Next Permanent Manager Odds
| Manger | Odds |
|---|---|
| Dean Smith | 1/2 |
| Kjetil Knutsen | 4/1 |
| Luis Boa Morte | 20/1 |
| Russell Martin | 20/1 |
| Roy Hodgson | 22/1 |
| Neil Lennon | 33/1 |
| Sam Allardyce | 33/1 |
| Frank Lampard | 33/1 |
Lampard Ruled Out of the Equation
Various reports earlier this week stated that Frank Lampard had held talks with key figures at Norwich. Such is his standing within the English game and his relationship with the press, Lampard was always likely to be linked with the job – just as he was when Crystal Palace, Celtic and Newcastle United were looking for new head coaches. Norwich’s interest appeared to be genuine, though, and the former Chelsea boss traded as the odds-on favourite for the role at one point.
However, fresh reports by the end of the week seem to suggest that Lampard has in fact now ruled himself out of contention for the role, for reasons unknown as yet.
Regardless, it is still hard to work out how good a manager Lampard actually is. He did well to guide Derby to the play-off final in 2018/19, but the Rams actually won more points the year before his arrival. Lampard then steered Chelsea into the top four and reached an FA Cup final, but things went sour pretty quickly in his second season so the jury remains out.
Would Smith jump at the chance to get back in?
Less than 24 hours after Farke was dismissed, Dean Smith got the boot at Aston Villa. It was a sad day for the club from the second city, who bade farewell to a boyhood fan who had returned them to the Premier League in 2019. Villa have since installed Steven Gerrard as his replacement.
Smith could be offered an opportunity to get straight back in with Norwich. In some ways, that might appeal to him. He did not expect to be out of work this early in the season and would no doubt back himself to do a good job at Norwich. Even if the Canaries were to go down this season, the club’s patience with Farke suggests Smith, who is now the favourite since Lampard pulled out, would retain the faith of the board to bring them straight back up.
On the other hand the 50-year-old might prefer to take some time out after losing his dream job, and he may not deem the role at Carrow Road sufficiently attractive to tempt him back in immediately.
Knutsen a left-field but intriguing candidate
Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber is the man tasked with finding the club a new manager. He was the man responsible for the appointment of Farke back in 2017, and his decision to pluck the relatively unknown German from Borussia Dortmund’s reserve team paid off as Norwich won promotion in his second season. In his previous job at Huddersfield, Webber handed the reins to David Wagner, another former Borussia Dortmund II boss.
It is fair to say the Norwich honcho tends to look beyond the usual names on the managerial merry-go-round. That explains Kjetil Knutsen’s position as the second-favourite at 4/1 with Paddy Power. The Norwegian has been making waves at Bodo/Glimt of late. He guided the club to their first ever league title last term and recently oversaw a spectacular 6-1 thrashing of Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
There is no smoke without fire and Knutsen’s name would not be on this list unless there was some substance to the rumours. The only doubt is whether he would abandon Bodo/Glimt in the middle of their maiden Europa League campaign.
Martin and Boa Morte are outside bets
Luis Boa Morte has no managerial experience to speak of, yet he is nevertheless available at 20/1 with Boylesports to replace Farke. The former Fulham attacker is currently working as Marco Silva’s first-team coach at Craven Cottage, and we can only presume he is well thought of in coaching circles. Still, it is hard to see him making the leap to Premier League manager this quickly, and it would be a huge gamble on Norwich’s part to hand him the reins at such a delicate moment.
Russell Martin spent eight years at Norwich as a player and could well end up in the Carrow Road dugout one day. Odds of 20/1 show that he is a long shot right now, though. Martin’s MK Dons side earned numerous plaudits for their stylish football, and the former defender was rewarded by landing the Swansea job in the summer. He is unlikely to turn his back on the Welsh side three months after taking over.
Betting sites have found room for Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce on their list of contenders. Both managers have a track record of keeping teams in the Premier League (although Allardyce failed to guide West Brom to safety last season) and they would no doubt make this Norwich team harder to beat. However, neither appears to be in the market for a job right now and Webber will not want to rip up the club’s entire philosophy just because Farke has departed.
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