Season Predictions: ACN writers predict the future

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AlongComeNorwich

·8 August 2025

Season Predictions: ACN writers predict the future

New manager, new(ish) owner, new line-up: will it work?

Ben Stokes: Having got exactly what I thought we needed after last season, a head coach with some Championship/English football experience, I immediately got cold feet about Liam Manning. There was definitely some football-hipster snobbishness on my part but the more I’ve seen and heard from him, the more I’ve liked. It’s hard not to be impressed with the number of new signings and the determined way we’ve gone about bringing them in. Based on the first 20 minutes of a pre-season friendly (always a highly accurate measure), I was impressed with how we got the ball forward with purpose – who’d have thought that would work?! We looked like a side that will get forward and defend in numbers and be capable of some independence of thought on the pitch, rather than being shackled by a particular philosophy.

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Paul Buller: I really can’t fathom if everything’s going to come together or if it’ll be a total disaster. Norwich haven’t been on a shopping spree this comprehensive in quite some time, and they mostly haven’t gone well. But I have my fingers crossed that new owners and new methods will be a significant upgrade on previous attempts. Either that or none of the players will gel and Manning gets sacked in November.

Clare Thomas: There’s been so many changes, the only thing still recognisable from last season is the stadium, and even that’s had its dear old leaky roofs fixed. Hitting the ground running would be some achievement, so the good people of Carrow Road will need to exercise a little patience. That said, I have season 2018/19 vibes. A slow, possibly painful, start and the inevitable grumbles, while a few things get figured out. Then, building gradually as the players start to click and we gain that glorious thing called momemtum, before a storming post-Christmas period and inevitable promotion. Ah, that pre-season optimism, I’m all in. The squad suddenly looks undeniably strong. Competition/back up in every position. The players on the bench would walk into most first teams. So, yes, it will work. But maybe from October onwards. Have faith.

Jon Punt: Mebbe. It seems like an astute appointment, but also about as safe as it gets. Proven Championship experience and an ability to improve teams/players. Might not be as fun finding out as some other experiments, but it’s a really solid step.

Matthew McGregor: It’s hard to not get caught up in the excitement of some decisive and eye-catching transfer work from big Ben. But my knowledge and understanding of football is not enough to be sure that this is a team that can do the business, and having made the fatal mistake of having had hope in the past, I am going to stick with this as A Rebuilding Year.

Nathan Hill: It’ll certainly look a hell lot better, more structured and more adaptable, than any of the other fundamentally flawed and poorly-coached versions of Norwich City since the last relegation. We might show more than a passing interest in protecting our goal now – the two new centre halves and ‘keeper look like excellent additions. Inevitably, we’ll probably end up scoring fewer ourselves, especially in a (potentially) post-Josh Sargent world, but we likely won’t need as many to win games. The gap between the team’s ‘floor’ and ‘ceiling’ should be a lot narrower, and we should be able to compete with most teams in the league, while still dispatching the lesser lights, and be able to negotiate the many three-game weeks without running out of steam. Striking that balance will be worth a jump of at least five places in the table, for me.

Cameron Huggett: I certainly hope so. We’ve had an impressive summer all things considered, and I’m genuinely excited to see how the new signings turn out. Yes, the NAC Breda match was not the most exhilarating affair (on the pitch at least), and you should never draw too many conclusions from pre-season, but there seems to be some exciting potential in this squad.

Nick Hayhoe: I am not sure what size font the matchday programme is going to go for this season (and isn’t that what we are all wondering all summer), but it will need to be fairly small to accommodate the amount of players we now seem to have. Everyone is here! There’s the Balkans Crew; the absolute units in defence; Jeffrey Schlupp(!), a Dane who’s name sounds a lot like “Chrisgoreham”… I mean, throw a brick out of any window in Norfolk right now and you’ll hit a Norwich City goalkeeper. It’s a season of checking Wikipedia to see exactly who is the number 15 taking a throw-in, and who that is about to come on. All the while, headed by a man who more than likely, like you and me, also went on a school trip to Dunwich to study coastal erosion for geography. What a time to be alive! I’ve got no idea how any of this work, and therein lies the fun.

Who are you most looking forward to playing in a yellow (or pink) shirt this season?

BS: Josh Sargent? I have allowed naivety to take over and I currently believe that Josh and his family are so settled in Norfolk, and he doesn’t fancy being immediately relegated with the calibre of Premier League team who’ve shown interest so far, paired with a pre-season that has convinced him we’re going in the right direction. When all of this inevitably proves to be bollocks, I’d say that the Croatian wardrobe, Jakov Medic, has the look of a cult hero if he can head a few in from corners and kick people up in the air.

PB: We haven’t had a good centre back partnership in a long time but Medic and Darling are already exciting the defender in me. Phwoar.

CT: I’m definitely excited to see Mathias Krisgoreham. Energy, goals, salmon-like leaping ability. A real crowd pleaser. I love him already, so much so that I’m considering getting his name on my shirt. For context of the gravity of this, the last player’s name I had on my shirt was Ashley Ward, in 1994. However, given the cost of this, due to how many letters are in Mathias’ surname, I’m waiting to see if he’s actually any good. I’m also looking forward to seeing the man in a purple shirt, Big Vlad. I sit right in the middle of the front of the upper Barclay, so the goalie plays a pretty big part in my match experience. He seems like he’s going to be a whole load of fun, with a few additional elevated heart rates for good measure.

JP: Darling looks every inch the centre back we’ve been calling out for since *insert Malky Mackay or Craig Fleming here*, no nonsense but the lad looks like he can play a bit. Given the armbands for bits of pre-season too, which bodes well.

McG: Matěj Jurásek, simply because I have high expectations of the ACN merch if he becomes a club legend in short order.

Nath: I’ll get even more granular. Every Norwich fan should be manifesting the sight of Josh Sargent in yellow, or pink, with his foot on the ball, about to kick off the Coventry away fixture in September (if we’ve won the toss). On a more realistic note, I cannot quite put into words how elated I am at the prospect of watching two new centre-backs on Saturday, and every week thereafter. Bookmark this for when one of them scores an own goal, or when we ship five.

CH: There’s certainly plenty to choose from, but I’ll say Jeffery Schlupp. He was impressive at Palace and I hope he’ll be an important point of leadership on the pitch.

Nick H: What is that I see? Well, it’s finally a proper Defensive Midfielder! Mirko Topić arrives with us all hoping he doesn’t notice the state we have let the Novi Sad Bridge get into, and with my expectation that he will be the first one to barge an Ipswich player (hopefully Conor Chaplin) into the sponsorship boards while chasing a ball out of play and earn the derby game’s booking.

How will the club fare off the field?

BS: It’s a big season for Ben Knapper: if Manning doesn’t work out, there will inevitably be some questions. But he is still at the beginning of his career, and the efficient way we’ve gone about things this summer, whilst also tantalisingly throwing a modest amount of Attanasio coin around, is all quietly exciting. The bungled release of spoilers for player announcement videos and the away kit have been very funny and actually shown more humanity than the usual football industry marketing toss.

PB: I can’t be arsed with being patient any more, so I’m going to say it’ll go really well, with everyone having a mega Attanasio love-in with the finances looking rosy as we achieve our stated goals ahead of schedule.

CT: Wonderfully. We have no financial worries, a fabulous swimming pool, an outstanding allotment full of award-winning courgettes, and a squad that can flip their own omelettes. We are living the yellow and green dream.

JP: Tremendously. There will be no controversies or missteps. Nope, not here.

McG: The Attanasios are saying and doing the right things, which is giving me a dangerous bout of hope. It’ll end in tears.

Nath: New owner, who dis? We’re now signing players for reasonable chunks of money, outside the Premier League, without parachute payments, and before – or without – selling our own top assets first. This really is uncharted territory. Generally, we no longer feel like a club teetering on the brink of oblivion if we don’t produce a £20m player every season. And if Mark Attanasio is talking about stadium expansion, which has been on the back burner for decades, well…We certainly appear to be on solid ground (pun intended). This while (hopefully) being competitive on the pitch – we’re already seeing the beginnings of Attanasio delivering upon the four pledges he made when initially taking the reins in Milwaukee. This is very much a new era.

CH: Attanasio certainly says all the right things, and so far he hasn’t really put a foot wrong. At a point in time where so many clubs are facing uncertainty, it’s reassuring to be in such a relatively stable position. Moreover, the promise not to sell the naming rights to Carrow Road, or the decision to have a local company as our front of shirt sponsor, shows this can be done with integrity.

Nick H: With news coming out of Sheffield Wednesday getting more and more dire by the hour, I am reminded as to the reasons why Delia and Michael were so careful about who they sold the club to. Performing a real fit and proper persons test that the league otherwise cannot do. No matter what you thought they were like when owning the club themselves, we must be thankful that they were never, ever, ever going to put the club in any sort of danger when selling it on.

What is your Andrew Lawn Crazy Prediction™ of the Season?

BS: Ipswich to do a Luton and be relegated back to their true level. Sunderland and Wolves have also done the double in recent memory, so it is possible!

PB: Ipswich to go into administration on New Year’s Day

CT: Amankwah Forson will a win Championship player of the month award in October, although he will have it revoked for accidentally revealing it on his social media a day earlier than the EFL. And, Josh Sargent will still be a Norwich player on 2nd September and will stay fit for almost the whole season (note, not all. That would be a foolish thing to say, even in a crazy prediction category).

JP: Sheffield United will implode and it’ll turn out Chris Wilder might have been right all along.

McG: Watford will earn a Europa League spot via an FA Cup win.

Nath: Kellen Fisher 30-yard screamer to win it at Portman Road and Big Vlad saves a penalty. His clean sheet celebration in front of the ever-classy home fans goes down as one of the iconic derby day images, along with the James Maddison shush and Daniel Farke wink.

CH: Manchester United to be relegated. Misery compounded by a loss to us in the third round of the FA Cup.

Nick H: Manchester City will be let off every single one of the charges against them, Manchester United will get a new tax funded stadium off the ground, Enzo Maresca will complain about too many games being played before an FA Cup tie, a top European league fixture will be confirmed to be played in Saudi Arabia, … and no less than five Football League clubs will get points deductions for things related to finances. (No one said crazy doesn’t need to be pessimistic.)

Where will we finish?

BS: 2nd (also an Andrew Lawn Crazy Prediction).

PB: 5th

CT: 4th. (I really, really want to say top 2, but can’t possibly bring myself to be that confident).

JP: 8th, but finish with a flourish

McG: 10th

Nath: Either just inside or just outside the play-offs but either way, let’s just try to enjoy the ride? Please?

CH: 6th

Nick H: 2nd

Top scorer and their number?

BS: Josh Sargent (let a man dream!) with 24.

PB: Kvistgaarden – 30.