Yet, here we are. Seven defeats in 10. Five successive Championship losses. Whatever the conjecture or feeling about the just nature of those outcomes, it is a position that this football club seems to find regularly.

Dean Smith had a run of three wins in 12 that cost him his position as boss. Then David Wagner oversaw seven defeats in nine which saw the Canaries drop to 17th. Johannes Hoff Thorup won one of his final 10 games. Liam Manning didn’t win any of his final 11 matches. Now Philippe Clement is the latest to endure a tough run.

Those statistics aren’t plucked out in order to criticise any particular head coach or individual – but to point out the wider trend. Norwich City keep finding themselves here. Perhaps then the natural question becomes ‘why?'

Norwich are in their fifth year of Championship football. Every year in this division becomes harder. It is like playing Monopoly against players getting double the amount every time they pass go. That makes the game increasingly stacked against those who spend longer playing.

Again, no excuses. That was Norwich once. From a position of strength, they failed to play the hand they were given. What has followed subsequently is confusion, drift and frustration. That cuts to the heart the weariness that many of the club’s supporters are feeling.

Not because they are losing. That, to an extent, is baked in as a City fan. Not even because they are struggling to compete, again. It is the sense that there is little to back, no wider sense of project to buy into and when combined with a sense of struggle on the pitch, it contributes to weariness many are experiencing.

Sure, Norwich can dispense with another head coach. They can spin the wheel again. But without filling that void that exists, they will be here again. History shows that to be true.

Norwich City fans are frustrated after another difficult run in the Championship. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

For some, going to Carrow Road has become part of a routine rather than something to enjoy.
Behind that is the sense it has stopped becoming a treat and more of a chore. It may feel small. There may even be just reasons, but decisions to charge for parking, raising the prices on hospitality, relocation plans, even selling a player to rivals – it has become a club asking for more while giving less. That is an equation which always tips the balance and feeds into that weariness.

There are reasons why those things are necessary. The new financial regulations being one. But where is the grander sense of message? Where is the will to bring people on a journey to help them understand, even without agreement, of those changes?

And who is providing that drive? Sure, Clement did expertly to bring that sense of drive to his role after arriving last November. But in tough moments, what is the bigger project that everyone can lean back on to guide them through the storm?

That feels more poignant today than ever. With Carrow Road set to celebrate and commemorate the legacy and life of Michael Wynn Jones, it would be wrong to paint a picture of perfection – but even in the tough moments, there was an identity and plan there as a safety net in difficult moments.

What is it now? That is bigger than one person. It is a collective responsibility to try and uncover.
Any route out of the Championship is not about spending dressed up as ambition. Just ask Stoke.

Philippe Clement is the latest Norwich City head coach to endure a tricky run of form in the Championship. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Norwich tried to build something under Thorup and Knapper, but when the difficult period arrived, Knapper chose not to stay the course. What followed has felt like chasing.

There may be some who feel this can all be overcome by winning football matches. As Smith once said, there isn’t a better sticking plaster in football. But Norwich have tried that. And here they are. Again.

Strip it all back and there is a void. The question now is who fills it. Many will feel that direction and narrative needs to come from ownership. That will likely need to be kickstarted with boots on the ground, if not from them, then by someone of their choosing.

It needs to involve a clear strategy. Fans need to be taken on that journey. The weariness needs to be met head on. It is not enough to think that wins is the answer. That hasn’t proven the case. Multiple head coaches have been chewed up and spat out by their current way of existing.

Norwich City now face a crucial run of Championship matches leading into the November international break. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Who can blame Norwich City fans for being fatigued? This is the same show being played on repeat. Since relegation, the only spells being enjoyed rather than endured were the march to the play-offs under Wagner, although many didn’t cherish that, plus the second half of last season.

This time it isn’t anger. It’s fatigue. That is what precedes disengagement and apathy.
The season is young. But this course being charted needs to change. This run to the November break is critical.