After Cardiff City triumph, David Wagner must make this Norwich City call ahead of QPR: View | OneFootball

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The international break has probably come at the right time for Norwich City Football Club.

The Canaries, as ever, were expected to be at the top end of the Championship by now, but the Norfolk side have struggled this season.

David Wagner’s men started the season off fairly well, winning four of their opening six league games.

Since beating Stoke City at the beginning of September, however, Norwich have won just two of the 10 Championship games they have played.

Their latest triumph came against Cardiff City on Saturday, but before that, they were on a run of six games without a win.

That resulted in Wagner coming under serious pressure, with speculation mounting on who could potentially replace him at Carrow Road. However, the German will hope he is given more breathing room after their latest win.

As mentioned, going into their game on Saturday against the Bluebirds, Norwich were on a run of six games without a win and only one win in their last nine games.

They were facing a Cardiff side that has surprised many this season, as they sit near the play-off places under new boss Erol Bulut.

The Canaries took the lead in the contest thanks to Christian Fassnacht’s tap-in from close range. However, the hosts quickly responded and equalised through Josh Bowler before Callum Robinson headed them in front before halftime.

With 10 minutes to go, it looked like Cardiff were going to pick up another three points and condemn Norwich to their ninth league defeat of the season but the contest was quickly changed in the space of two minutes, as Ryan Wintle first scored an own goal to get Norwich level before substitute Adam Idah slotted home from a rebound to seal the victory.

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins for the Canaries, but Wagner will be pleased to ease some of the pressure, and while he prepares his side for their game against QPR after the international break, he needs to make this selection decision when it comes to Idah.

David Wagner must start Adam Idah in Norwich City’s game against QPR

Idah has been at Carrow Road since 2017 when he joined the club as a youngster from Ireland.

The forward has represented the club in the under-18s, under-21s, and more recently, the first team. The 22-year-old has produced impressive numbers in the academy, so it was the 2019/20 season where he got his chance in the first team.

Ever since Idah has continued to be part of the squad under the various managers the club has had, but he has struggled to be a consistent presence in the starting XI.

Last season, Idah missed a chunk of the season, so of the 25 games he was available for, he only started 11 of them.

This season, he has been available for all 16 Championship games, appearing in all but one, and that was in the recent game against Blackburn Rovers.

But yet again, the forward has struggled for regular starts, as he’s been named in the starting XI on just seven occasions. He started three games in a row, against Coventry City, Leeds United, and Middlesbrough, but has been benched for the last three matches.

However, with Idah coming off the bench on the weekend and grabbing the winner, it seems about time that Wagner places more trust in the forward and lets him start a consistent run of games.

So far this season, Idah is averaging 1.3 shots per game, 0.3 key passes, 0.3 dribbles, and a pass competition rate of 80%, as per WhoScored.com.