Philippe Clement has now managed Norwich City for nearly as many games as Liam Manning – and the results are remarkably different.
Back in the start of November, the Canaries sat 23rd in the Championship table after suffering a second-half-comeback home defeat to Leicester City. That was the last straw as the board sacked Liam Manning.
The young English coach – who just took over at Huddersfield Town – showed promise last season. He took an overachieving Bristol City side into the playoffs, losing to Sheffield United in the semi finals. There were positive signs that pointed towards a good spell at Carrow Road.
But it was quite the opposite: two wins, three draws and 10 losses in the first 15 league games. Luckily for them, Philippe Clement – who left Rangers in February 2025 – was still available in the market. The first impression is that he was overqualified for the job – and what has followed since confirms that.
Dabble sign-up offer: Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets
Not signed up to Dabble yet? Here's how to claim the Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets welcome offer:
- Sign up to Dabble through this link
- Register your account with accurate personal details
- Place your first bet of £10 or more
- Receive your £10 in free bets when your qualifying bet has setted
- Use your Free Bet on any eligible sportsbook market within 7 days
#AD 18+ 7-day free bet expiry. Stake not returned. Promotional Terms Apply. GambleAware.org
Norwich have won three straight in the Championship, a feat they hadn’t achieved in nearly two years. The last time had been in March 2024, under David Wagner. Now it’s them who perform convincing second-half comebacks against leaders Coventry City.
Under Clement, the Canaries have won the fifth most points and scored the second most goals in the league. The fact that they are only 18th now shows how big the damage was before he arrived.
What has changed for Norwich City under Philippe Clement?
Slightly more direct approach
Clement’s main attacking strategy is a positional sort of 2-4-4 in-possession. Although he likes his teams to work with short passes under pressure and play out from the back, he never dismisses an opportunity to attack the backline with deep runs from his frontmen.
Their bodies are always positioned forward, indicating that a run is imminent. The idea is to stretch the opponent as much as possible and present midfielders with through ball passing options.
That hadn’t always been the case under Liam Manning. Norwich used to be a more patient side in build-ups but lacked the top-end creativity to find strikers in good positions. It also didn’t help that they always seemed to be trailing, which made opponents comfortable sitting deep and denying space.
Now, it’s the opposite. The game-state scenarios are more favourable to the Canaries, which opens up more room to operate. Still, they seem to manage leads better now and do that by trying to keep the ball. Under Manning, they retracted in the few instances in which they led.
| Norwich City Stats (Championship – per game) | Liam Manning | Philippe Clement |
|---|---|---|
| W-D-L | 2-3-10 | 7-3-4 |
| Possession | 53% | 50% |
| Goals scored | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| Goals conceded | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Shot attempts | 11.9 | 12.3 |
| Shots faced | 14.6 | 12.7 |
| Big chances | 1.9 | 2.4 |
| Big chances conceded | 3.1 | 2.4 |
They still allow a little more shots than they take and concede as many big chances as they create. It’s not the best and most sustainable picture going forward, but their current squad doesn’t offer a lot more.
But recruitment has gotten better lately. Sporting director Ben Knapper made questionable decisions over the summer in terms of signings and exits and was facing a lot of pressure. But recent moves seem to have gone well, such as Clement himself and Ali Ahmed, who joined earlier this month.
Harry Amass also enjoyed a successful loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday for the first half of the season and should take over at left-back in the Canaries’ starting XI in no time.
With more and better signings over the next windows, Norwich will likely go back to fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
The Josh Sargent dilemma
The 51-year-old has done great not only with his tactics and on-the-pitch work, but also behind the scenes. Josh Sargent, who turned himself into one of the best strikers in the Championship in recent years, handed in a transfer request amid interest from Toronto FC.
He then made himself unavailable for an FA Cup tie and Clement dropped him from first-team training. The manager did not hesitate and treated him as any other, despite him being their key player and main goalscorer.
And that has actually paid off. Norwich are unbeaten without Sargent under Philippe Clement, winning five games and drawing one.
The USMNT striker went from being their top goalscorer and saviour to an outcast who they don’t seem to miss all that much. This brings us to the next point.
Individual performances
Clement has favoured players who are focused on Norwich City and all of them seem to be buying into his ideas.
The Canaries’ current main striker options are Josh Sargent and Jovon Makama. Before Clement arrived, Sargent had five league goals and Makama three. Under the Belgian, it’s now just two goals for Sargent and seven for Makama.
Despite Makama’s efforts and his overall step up as a player, they are still chasing Bodo/Glimt target-man Kasper Hogh. Though his value may have gone up since scoring a brace against Manchester City in the Champions League.
As we mentioned before, Ali Ahmed joined from the Vancouver Whitecaps after balling out in the MLS all year. He wasted no time and picked up right where he left off, bagging at least one goal involvement in each of his three matches for Norwich.
Even at 34 years of age, Kenny McLean is still bossing the midfield. He put in a solid performance in the win over Coventry last time around and provided an assist in each of the two previous games, against West Bromwich Albion and Wrexham.
Anis Ben Slimane looks completely reborn under Clement after returning from injury compared to last season. It’s four goal involvements in five matches for him so far in the league, the same as in all of the 2024-25 campaign across 36 games.
The Norwich squad is still young and lacking experience, so this current iteration of the Canaries should not be enough to fire them back into playoff contention.
But considering the manager’s pedigree, having coached in European competitions for most of his career across stints with Rangers, AS Monaco, Club Brugge and Genk, backing him might be the only way to retain his services going forward. Good thing that Ben Knapper has already started making some moves.