Jacob Wright – winner

Perhaps the most obvious winner from previous head coach Liam Manning’s sacking, Jacob Wright will be feeling positive about his chances of increased game time as the Carrow Road dugout prepares to change hands yet again.

He’s made just two appearances in City’s last 12 Championship games – both as a substitute in consecutive defeats to Derby County and Swansea. He hasn’t started since the first red card of his career against Middlesbrough back in August, while fan frustration has grown over his lack of involvement.

Manning insisted that this was only a result of the quality of his midfield colleagues, stating in his final pre-match press conference that “I think it’s just the level of competition”. But after impressing Johannes Hoff Thorup as a Norwich loanee, the 20-year-old will back himself to prove his worth again under Manning’s replacement.

Oscar Schwartau – loser

A self-proclaimed loser after sporting director Ben Knapper’s latest wielding of the axe, Schwartau had just started to earn regular starter status under a man he clearly won round after failing to make the matchday squad last time Norwich were victorious at Blackburn.

He admitted that Manning’s departure was “frustrating” for him on a personal level, telling Bold: “It’s clear that it’s a bit annoying when you’ve just played your way into the starting 11 as a regular.”

After the sacking of a compatriot and admirer in spring, the 40-year-old’s exit comes as another block in the road for young Schwartau amid a chaotic start to life in England. But he added that “the focus is just on coming back and showing the new coach that I’m the one who’s going to play,” and he does have a more solid footing than he did when Thorup left.

Liam Manning (left) gave Oscar Schwartau plenty of game time (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Josh Sargent – winner

The last time Sargent faced the media, it was hard for City’s star striker to hide his exasperation. “There’s only so much I can do,” he said. “I can’t take the ball from the 18-yard box and dribble up the whole field and score a goal.”

His assessment is proven correct by a drought that stretches back to that Blackburn victory, with 11 games passed and no more goals for the American than the six he registered in the campaign’s first five games.

Manning was brought in partly to solidify a porous defence, and although he achieved that at times, it came at the expense of the consistent chance creation that was rarely an issue before his arrival. Sargent will surely be hopeful of increased service under a new boss.

Josh Sargent hasn’t scored in 11 games (Image: Matt Wilkinson)

Harry Darling – loser

Although the large majority of Knapper’s summer transfer business was at odds with Manning’s recruitment priorities at previous clubs, Darling was an arrival inextricably linked to the latter.

They’d worked together at MK Dons and reunited as more Championship experience was sought, Darling starting every one of his ally’s games in charge. The former Bristol City chief backed him through a poor recent run of form and made clear his belief that he’d return to his best before long, although he won’t now be around to see it when he is.

Perhaps a reset will suit the Norwich defender in that sense, but he’s unlikely to be able to count on as close a relationship with his next head coach.

Manning was key in Harry Darling’s decision to move to Norwich (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

Kellen Fisher – winner

Fisher filled in for the final few weeks of Manning’s tenure, but there’s no doubting who the first-choice right back was for the 17 games he had in charge.

Jack Stacey was always much more well-suited to the more rudimentary style wanted by Thorup’s successor, eschewing the principles that allowed his understudy to break through and earn City’s young player of the season award for 2024-25.

A move away from possession-based football was a blow to Fisher’s prospects of repeating the feat, his brand of defensive aggression and attacking calm always a square peg in a round hole. With Manning’s departure comes the chance of a new style of play, however, and one that could suit the English youth international a great deal better.

Kellen Fisher was an odd fit in his former boss’ setup (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Jack Stacey – loser

On the other side of that right back battle is Stacey, whose alignment with Manning’s preferences was clear as soon as he signed a contract extension in the summer.

He may not have been a stand-out, but he’s one of few Norwich players who can say they’ve given a reasonable account of themselves so far this term. If anything he brought the sort of “behaviours” dogmatically asked for by his boss in almost every pre- and post-match media engagement, embodying the sort of experienced professional desired.

But the shift from David Wagner to Thorup showed that age can quickly go from a strength to a weakness, and Stacey will have a nervy eye on who takes the mantle as the fourth head coach he’s worked with in yellow and green.