Norwich City: Zoe Webber interview on Daniel Farke and Dean Smith

Canaries fans have had to watch as their club have gone from dominant Championship champions to a 13th-placed finish in the second tier, via a dismal relegation from the Premier League.

They've seen three head coaches in charge of the team throughout that process, and witnessed a previously positive Carrow Road atmosphere turn toxic as talk of an uncomfortable disconnect grew.

Two games into the 2023-24 season, however, the fog appears to be clearing in NR1, with positive results and performances seeing excitement return to the City faithful.

Executive director Zoe Webber believes lessons have been learned from that difficult period, and the board's requirements more aligned with the fans' demands.

"With [former head coach] Dean (Smith), we probably learned a little bit more about what Norwich City supporters want from their head coach," she said. "That was very much a factor when we sat down and we were talking about replacing Dean.

"We had the conversation - it was like 'what do the supporters want from their head coach?' It's absolutely something that we're aware of.

"With hindsight, we would very much question bringing in a head coach again that was literally coming straight from another job.

"That's something that, if we were going on that journey again in the future, we'd be really aware of."

A significant part of that perceived disconnect came from the feeling that fans were not being listened to. Webber asserted that the club's 'ignore the noise' mantra does not stretch to their fanbase, however.

"'Ignore the noise' doesn't mean 'ignore the fans'," she continued. "It might mean the press, or the industry. The saying more comes out of 'we've got a plan - we have to not let [external factors influence it].

"'Noise doesn't correlate with noise in the stadium, for example. That's not how we view that.

"We always sit there and go: 'Do we feel like we're making this decision in the best interests of the football club?' That helps drive us to go: 'We appreciate that maybe supporters are not completely going to understand this, but we can't necessarily go into the nuances of why.'

"We just have to believe we're doing the right thing."

Webber says the City board learned from Dean Smith's time in charge of the team. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Smith's appointment came after the difficult decision to part with Daniel Farke, who led the club to two Championship titles and spearheaded a successful period for the club.

Webber told Talk Norwich City: "The big decision was getting rid of Daniel. There's a picture where we've just won, and we're in the directors' area looking like the most solemn group of people you've ever seen.

"We'd built something so big and amazing as a group, and we were having to make the decision to make that change. But we felt that we were just repeating the same thing over and over again.

"Losing 7-0 to Chelsea is just not acceptable, and we couldn't have an environment where that was deemed to be acceptable. So we had to make that decision, but it wasn't an easy one.

"Fans talk about it now - 'we should have stuck with him'. But we were driving to Brentford and listening to the radio, and fans were talking about taking 'Farke out' banners.

"Everyone just felt it was almost a bit Groundhog Day, and we were just repeating the mistakes of the previous Premier League season.

"I don't know whether I regret it, but I wish I had the benefit of being able to go back and play it out again, and see what happened if you didn't make that change. Would it have been different?"

The Canaries' fortunes appear to be turning round this season. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

David Wagner's Norwich side have impressed in their opening two fixtures of the 2023-24 season, however, and an air of positivity is returning in yellow and green.

Whether they can make another assault on Championship promotion remains to be seen but, after the tenures of Farke and Smith, many City supporters believe they've got the right man leading them forward.