Norwich City

Rob Butler
BBC Radio Norfolk Canary Call presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has been speaking to the media ahead of the Canaries' home game against Oxford United on Friday (20:00 GMT).

It is the first time since 1998 that City have played Oxford at Carrow Road.

In August, on the opening day of the season, the U's beat Norwich 2-0 at The Kassam Stadium.

Here are some of the key points from the press conference:

• Thorup says winger Lewis Dobbin is likely to miss the rest of the season with a calf injury. Dobbin limped off during Saturday's draw at Blackburn.

• Dobbin will rehab the injury at Norwich, he is currently on loan from Aston Villa.

• Defender Ben Chrisene has also played his last minutes of the season, he has an ankle injury.

• Czech Republic winger Matej Jurasek's absence continues, Thorup explained that the club are building him up for the "Championship intensity".

• Captain Kenny Mclean should be back for the game against Oxford, Thorup said: "He is back in training and will be in the squad".

• Midfielder Amankwah Forson is close to a return too. He should be back in training on Sunday.

You can listen to full live coverage of Norwich City v Oxford United with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 19:00 GMT on Friday.

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Plymouth forward Ryan Hardie, Leeds United winger Dan James, Portsmouth wide man Josh Murphy and Norwich City striker Josh Sargent are the four nominees for February's Championship player of the month award.

Hardie only played 101 minutes across three league games for Argyle last month but still netted four goals, scoring twice from the bench late on in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion and another double in the 5-1 thrashing of Millwall.

James was in scintillating form for the Whites, scoring three goals and providing four assists in five games in February.

The 27-year-old netted one, set-up two and won a penalty in the 7-0 hammering of Cardiff, scored twice in the 4-0 win at Watford and laid on both goals in the vital 2-1 victory at title rivals Sheffield United.

Murphy provided four assists and scored one goal in five games for Portsmouth as they pulled further clear of the relegation zone in February with a draw and three wins, including a 2-1 victory against QPR in which the winger curled in a wonderful effort.

Sargent was prolific throughout February, scoring five goals in five games for Norwich City to take his overall tally for the league season to 11 in 21 appearances.

The weekend Championship action kicks-off at Carrow Road on Friday night (20:00 GMT) as Norwich entertain Oxford United.

A win for the Canaries would make it four unbeaten and take them up to ninth, within a point of the play-off places.

The U's are 18th, with a seven point cushion over the relegation zone, despite having suffered three straight defeats.

• Norwich City have lost just one of their 10 home league games against Oxford United (W6 D3), though that sole defeat did come in their last clash with the U's at Carrow Road in November 1998 (3-1).

• After winning the reverse fixture 2-0 in August, Oxford United will be looking to record a first ever league double over Norwich City in the EFL.

• Norwich City have scored the fewest set piece goals in the Championship this season (7), while it is also the lowest percentage of goals from set pieces of any side (12.5%, 7/56).

• Oxford United have suffered defeat in their past three league games, their third run of three losses in a row of the season. The U's last had a longer losing league run in February and March 2023 (five), while Gary Rowett has never lost four league games in a row in his entire managerial career, which has spanned 501 league games for six different clubs.

• Emiliano Marcondes has been involved in 10 goals in his past 17 Championship games for Norwich City (4 goals, 6 assists), assisting a goal in three of his last four appearances.

"Regardless of who we put in defence, we should - key word, should - be beating Oxford at home."

Rob Butler and Chris Reeve are joined by Canaries fan Leigh Woodrow to talk heartache at Ewood Park, high expectations against Oxford United and say farewell to Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones era.

There's also a blast from the past as BBC Radio Norfolk revisit Malcolm Robertson's commentary of the Highbury brawl in 1989.

You can listen to the full episode and more on The Scrimmage podcast.

Norwich City defender Jose Cordoba says the team were unhappy with their 1-1 draw against 10-man Blackburn Rovers as they had plenty of opportunities to kill the game off.

Ante Crnac scored in the 90th minute, five minutes after the dismissal of Rovers striker Emmanuel Dennis, but the Canaries went on to concede victory when Andi Weimann headed in a equaliser six minutes into stoppage time.

A win would have left Norwich two points off a play-off spot but they now trail the top six by four with Oxford United next up at Carrow Road on Friday night.

"It's ugly. I think right now, we are feeling like it's a lost game," Cordoba told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"We control all the game in the first half and we had so many options to kill the game. We should have scored in the first half but we didn't."

The attacking threat came from the Canaries throughout the game, with multiple chances created for Josh Sargent, Kellan Fisher and Anis Ben Slimane, none of which were taken.

"It's a big frustration to not win the games. Even when you draw, you don't want to start and finish the games with a draw," Cordoba added.

"We have to keep fighting, to not give up. We have to be better."

Image source, Rex Features

Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup said his side's failure to take maximum points from their trip to fellow play-off contenders Blackburn Rovers was his main frustration - not any controversy over refereeing decisions.

The Canaries scored in the 90th-minute against a side who had just been reduced to 10 men, but conceded a 96th-minute equaliser.

"It's the approach in the last two, three minutes of the game which I'm frustrated about," the 36-year-old Dane said. "I let the players know it's not acceptable because, up until the goal, we played such a professional game away from home.

"It's a top-six team and we go here, we take the ball and we dominate and we try to open them, create the flow of the game, try to create the chances.

"We get ourselves in front at the end and then last two, three minutes, we dribble around and we lose the ball a couple of times instead of just passing the ball to the final whistle.

"There are so many decisions in the last two, three minutes that simply need to be better."

The Valerien Ismael era begins at Ewood Park with a big match in the race for the Championship play-offs.

The 49-year-old Frenchman succeeded John Eustace at the Rovers helm this week and is pitted against a side four places, and four points behind sixth-placed Blackburn in his first game on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Rovers have won three of their past four at home, while Johannes Hoff Thorup's Canaries have picked up four points from their past two on the road.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost just one of their past six league games against Norwich City (W2 D3), after losing six of their prior seven meetings with the Canaries between 2014 and 2020 (D1).

• Norwich City are unbeaten across their past six away league games against Blackburn Rovers (W5 D1), since a 2-0 defeat at Ewood Park in April 2012 in the Premier League.

• Blackburn drew three of their first six league games this season (W3), but have since drawn just three of their subsequent 28 in the Championship (W12 L13).

• Norwich have won just two of their past 13 away league games (D5 L6), scoring more than one goal in just two of those matches.

• Norwich's Josh Sargent has been involved in 13 goals in his last 12 starts in the Championship, scoring nine and assisting four.

The Canaries are still in the Championship play-off hunt with 12 games to play, starting at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

City's sporting director Ben Knapper recently sat down with BBC Radio Norfolk's Phil Daley and Rob Butler.

He spoke about the future of the club, the pending change in ownership and also answered questions from supporters.

You can watch the full interview here:

There is also an audio version of the interview which is available on BBC Sounds here.

Phil Daley
Radio Norfolk sports editor

Image source, Rex Features

On Saturday, the Canaries travel to Blackburn Rovers in an early Championship kick off (12:30 GMT) having returned to winning ways in style last weekend with victory over Stoke.

Ahead of the match at Ewood Park, Canaries head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup spoke to the media and here are some of the key points from his press conference:

• Midfielder Kenny McLean remains out of the squad with an illness. They are targeting the following game against Oxford for his return.

• Forward Lewis Dobbin will be part of the squad despite coming off at half-time on Saturday.

• Reflecting on thee three points against Stoke, Thorup said he remains frustrated by some of the decision-making, despite the win. "We were just too loose at times."

• "What we have to get rid of is our inconsistency and the unforced errors," said Thorup.

• On striker Josh Sargent: "He can be out of the game for periods and we want him to push a bit more to always be involved. When he is involved, he's such a big threat."

• On Blackburn and new manager Valerien Ismael. "I'm sorry to my analysis department as we needed to watch lots of his games. If we play to our best it should be about us."

• "Everything is an opportunity for us at the moment. Saturday is another game in the league and we have to do our best. No games are more important than others - our approach should remain the same."

You can listen to full live commentary of Blackburn Rovers v Norwich City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB. Coverage begins at 12:00 GMT on Saturday.

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On the most recent Scrimmage podcast, Rob Butler and Chris Reeve invited Norwich fans to nominate the best headed goal they have seen for the Canaries.

Steve Bruce's effort in the Milk Cup semi-final second leg against Ipswich Town proved to be popular, but there was plenty of debate.

There was also a chance for supporters to show off their Canary tattoos after Tottenham's James Maddison revealed his own, following Spurs' win at Ipswich Town.

You can listen to The Scrimmage podcast by clicking below:

Norwich City forward Josh Sargent claimed a double to help the Canaries to a 4-2 victory over Stoke City on the weekend but while scoring seems second nature to the Norfolk side, the game did highlight some of the on-going concerns in defence.

Stoke were able to slip past the Norwich defence to equalise twice before Sargent and Junior Tchamadeu were able to take the game out of reach of the visitors.

The USA international admits letting standards slip after scoring themselves has become a frustrating habit for the Canaries who are 10th in the Championship.

"There's so many games that we just shoot ourselves in the foot and end up conceding in a really bad way. We just need to be a bit smarter," Sargent told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"After the first goal, I pulled all the guys together in the corner and huddled up and said, 'we always let off now, let's stay focused, keep pushing, go for the second, play good football'.

"It seemed like we just got sloppy with the ball, they end up creating more pressure and that leads to that goal. So I think it's a mentality thing we need to fix within ourselves."

Sargent scored his seventh goal in his last six games to take his tally to 11 for the season, continuing what's been a profitable campaign on a personal level.

"I'm very happy, obviously," he added. "Even happier that the team won the game.

"I want us to keep putting together results and make a good push for play-offs because I do think we are good enough, I do think we have the quality.

"We just need to limit those mistakes, those bad games and stay consistent with what we are good at."

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup was not entirely happy with his team's performance in their 4-2 win against Stoke City.

The Dane told BBC Radio Norfolk: "We have some offensive stuff going on that really gives us good opportunities and puts us in so many good situations. We could have scored more, that's the positive thing.

"I'm not that satisfied with our defensive performance because we should never concede two goals in a game like this."

After it was pointed out the Canaries have just one clean sheet at home this season, he added: "That's a problem for us going forwards. Scoring four goals is more than OK but we conceded two, and was it an even game? No, 100% no.

"Our first 45 minutes was outstanding in many ways, we completely controlled the game, with full dominance and everything, and created chances, and it only takes one mistake to concede a goal. We were about to do it after our second goal as well."

Phil Daley
Radio Norfolk sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

On Saturday, the Canaries take on Stoke City at Carrow Road in the Championship (15:00 GMT). They're looking for their first win in four games, following draws with Derby and Hull and defeat by Preston.

Ahead of the match, Canaries head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup spoke to the media and here are some of the key points from his press conference:

• Midfielder Marcelino Nunez is fit to play this weekend after missing the last two games.

• Emi Marcondes and Kenny McLean remain sidelined.

• Matej Jurasek will miss the game with a thigh problem.

• Callum Doyle is suspended after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season at Hull.

• On Stoke, Thorup says: "They will be another team that are difficult to break down, they are high pressing and will make our life difficult.

• "There are no easy games in this league and we have to be at our maximum to get a good result."

You can listen to full live commentary of Norwich City v Stoke with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB. Coverage begins at 14:00 GMT on Saturday.

Norwich City will look to keep their play-off hopes alive when they welcome Stoke City to Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon (15:00).

The Canaries are 12th, four points off the top six, and without a win in their past three games (D2 L1).

The Potters have won two of their past three and are seven points above the bottom three in 19th as they look to pull away from the relegation zone.

• Norwich City are unbeaten across their past eight league games against Stoke City (W5 D3), scoring 3+ goals in four of those matches.

• Stoke City have lost each of their past three away league games against Norwich City, last enduring a longer losing run against the Canaries between 1960 and 1974 (five games).

• Norwich City lost their previous home Championship match against Preston North End but haven't lost consecutively at Carrow Road since losing to Leeds, Middlesbrough and Blackburn in October and November last season.

• Stoke City have won two of their past three Championship matches (L1), more than they'd managed in their previous 15 games combined (W1 D8 L6).

• Norwich City forward Josh Sargent has had a hand in 14 goals in his past 16 Championship starts (9 goals, 5 assists), scoring five in his past five for the Canaries.

Norwich City midfielder Anis Ben Slimane says he has previously turned down international duty due to prioritising fitness for his club.

The Tunisia international has struggled with injury for both the Canaries and previous club Sheffield United, last featuring for Tunisia in January 2024.

But he is eager to help his country reach the World Cup during their upcoming qualifiers in March, having already featured in the competition in 2022.

"I have been selected for other international camps but unfortunately, with the injuries, I haven't felt like it was the right moment to be with the national team when I've not been 100% for the club. I prefer to be 100% fit for the club.

"I tried it once and I really want to do it again, so yeah hopefully we will be back there."

Slimane made his loan move to Norwich a permanent one in January, with the city feeling "like home" to the Copenhagen-born Canary.

Though just his second club in English football, there was a familiar face to help him transition to life in Norfolk.

Slimane has history with Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, having worked together early in their respective careers for Danish side Akademisk Boldklub's youth team.

"He has always been that serious and really engaged, and also a very clever manager tactically. I could feel that from when I worked with him very young.

"He's the same guy with the same values but grew with the job as well."

You can listen to the full episode and more on The Scrimmage Podcast.