Why Norwich City are set for a unique pre-season campaign

The focus rightly hinges on fitness and shuffling the squad accordingly to ensure every member is exposed to the same intensity, minutes and workload. Games can be chopped up into quarters and extended, and thus, it is hard to extract any meaningful takeaways. 

That makes it very difficult to do this role when analysis and reflections are at the core of most pieces. But that is why pre-season is both so great and precarious in its nature. 

Many feel that it has little or no bearing on how a season unfolds. For Norwich City, this summer feels more significant than those that have gone before. 

Perhaps it is the extra gloss and intrigue that surrounds the arrival of Johannes Hoff Thorup's arrival as head coach and various strands to unpick around it, but there is a lot to do in the next six weeks before the Championship campaign begins. 

Thorup has a six-week period, which began officially on Monday, to implement his ideas into the squad. That takes on even more importance when considering the relentlessness a 46-game season offers. 

There will have to be an increased focus on the football. But, a balance will have to be struck between fitness and integrating his desired playing style through structures in and out of possession. 

Some of the work will revolve around video and replicating patterns before reinforcing those key themes on Colney's pitches. 

That delicate balance between fitness-orientated sessions and those dedicated to football is tough. There is no science behind hitting the sweet spot, and that is the challenge facing City's new boss and his support team this summer. 

Get it wrong on either, and the rest of the season is spent playing catch-up. It's a high stakes period, even without the intensity or spotlight of competitive games. 

Norwich City will be seeking the right balance in their Championship preparations. (Image: Adam Harvey/Newsquest)

Often, there is a split. The first half of preparations is geared towards fitness and conditioning, with more football being introduced as the preparations reach their crescendo.

Owing to the pivot to a new playing philosophy and different training methodology, Thorup may elect to dedicate more time to the details of his ideas. 

His premature arrival in Norfolk last month was, in part, to help him design the details of pre-season in intricate detail with every session implemented with a clear desired outcome.

Plenty of Thorup's former colleagues in Denmark note his ability to explain and communicate his playing style in great detail as a real strength. He will need to prove that over the next month or so. 

City's opening pre-season game against Stevenage in a week's time won't be the one that displays its success—it will be the Championship opener against Oxford United and those games that follow that determine it.

If that wasn't enough for Thorup to manage, add the difficulty of watching a whole new squad in for good measure.  

Thorup will also be conducting an assessment squad of the options at his disposal. Clearly, Norwich will need to sign just one left back, but the matches may expose other holes that require filling in the transfer market. 

Of course, Thorup will have done plenty of extensive research prior to this period, but it is just as important to get a feel for those players as individuals. 

Abu Kamara will be hoping to suitably impress the new Norwich boss. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Throw in the fact that several players will be playing for their futures and to showcase why they are worthy of a spot in the squad, and it should naturally be a preparation campaign that is full of competition and edge. 

The likes of Brad Hills, Jonathan Tomkinson, Emmanuel Adegboyega and Abu Kamara will be seeking to disrupt more experienced competitors in their respective positions after loan spells. 

Plus, there is the delicate balancing act of ensuring the likes of Jon Rowe, Gabriel Sara and Josh Sargent get minutes whilst also attempting to see alternatives in action in case of their exit. It becomes about spinning plates and hard graft. 

Even when it comes to managing those who have been away on international duty, Thorup—guided by his performance team—will need to pick the best moment to integrate them back into the squad. Often, it isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Thorup has never prepared for a 46-game league season before. There is a uniqueness and intensity it demands that is different to others in Europe. City's boss will have done plenty of research and the extensiveness of the club's performance team will help shape it correctly from a physical perspective. 

Pre-season matches will be key to the implementation of Johannes Hoff Thorup's playing ideas. (Image: Adam Harvey/Newsquest)

But this does feel like a different pre-season than previous ones. There will be a spotlight. Performances will be hyped if they show signs of positivity, with supporters excited about a new era. That has to be managed in equal measure. 

As ever, it will be about themes and ensuring City head into the campaign suitably prepared for what is ahead. 

The schedule contains a balance of opponents and even more Carrow Road matches than experienced in other campaigns. 

This is a pre-season with a difference. Norwich and Thorup will need to embrace that.