Norwich looked doomed from the start . . .
IT STARTED with vows that lessons had been learned, promises that this time would be different. But here we are again, Norwich dumped out of the Premier League with a whimper. Six relegations in the Premier League era, an instant return to the second tier the last three times they have been promoted. So how do you assess the life of a perennial yo-yo club? It might seem as though Norwich and Fulham just keep each other’s seat warm for a year and swap divisions, but the Canaries’ model is worlds away. Norwich were never going to spend huge money last summer. The club know their place in the food chain and have a long-term goal to consistently be in the ‘top 25’ places of English football. Sporting director Stuart Webber is a realist and that has been demonstrated by the big-money sales in recent years of Emi Buendia, Ben Godfrey, James Maddison and Jamal Lewis. But how do Norwich break into the top 15 places in England, for example, as Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton have done, and Brentford might follow this season? Webber calls his long-term vision the ‘infinite game’ model. He prioritises long-term investments over short-term gain. They are spending £6million on training ground developments, including a state-of-the-art swimming pool, which will see their facilities rank among the best in England. Other clubs would have spent that money on new signings. Boss Dean Smith was recruited primarily to keep Norwich up but, failing that, Webber and the board pinpointed him as the man to bring them back next season. Herein lies the Norwich City paradox. This