When Dean Smith was shown the door, I worried that any new coach would not know the intricate complexities of this squad. 

I really hoped we could employ somebody closer to home, someone who knew this team inside out.

Remember the demise of Chris Hughton? Neil Adams took over and rebuilt that squad from the ground up, and I'm sure Alex Neil would acknowledge he subsequently only needed to fine tune what NA had set in motion.

We, the fans, know that on a training pitch Kieran Dowell will ping a ball around like Mario Vrancic, and a coach will like what he sees. Whilst a new coach will see Adam Idah at full sprint, banging them in at Colney, when many fans know we don’t have a tactical template to suit his brand of football. 

A new coach would see Marcelino Nunez in a 5-a-side drill looking untouchable, he'd see the sprint speeds of Dimi Giannoulis. He'll see the qualities of Andy O but the fans know a bias towards two right footed centre backs can present issues with beating a high press.

The list goes on and the list is why, in my opinion, NCFC could have benefited from someone 'closer to home'.

Against Bristol, I also doubt that any Norwich fan would propose a 4-2-3-1 with the (sarcasm) raw pace of Nunez and Dowell wide of a central 10 who, in my opinion, is not capable of linking front to back, integrating width, or releasing a high full back through a channel, although I do agree that Josh Sargent should be played through the middle.

Succinctly, what I am really worried about after just five games in charge, is that David Wagner is trying to re-invent the wheel because he doesn’t know what we long suffering fans know…. our best players are best on a training pitch and not in the heat of a match day. 

I’m excited about the attacking concept that goes behind appointing Wagner but I’m apprehensive that he has had little exposure to our squad, and that he is chasing a tactical philosophy that may appear obvious, but in fact after the detail is revealed, Wagner will realise the players are not as adaptable as initially he might have thought.

It is precisely the oversight that Smith made when he jumped from being dismissed at Aston Villa to Carrow Road, and perhaps made assumptions that the DF era was underpinned by Premier League standard players, when in fact it never was.

I’m looking forward to DW football, but this squad has diverged from a 4-2-3-1 footprint in recent years and I don’t think we have the ideal players for that formation, but what the recruitment team has concocted isn’t suited to any tactical template at all.

Dowell, for example, has completed 90 minutes in only four games of his City career.  That is a staggering statistic, yet was he a factor in the final decision to see the departure of ‘Dereham Deco’?  Burnley and then Bristol was a reminder of how absent Dowell, in my opinion, can become due to his lack of athleticism.

As for Liam Gibbs and Jacob Sorensen those two, in particular, are players that NCFC need to ensure are not on the margins come the end of the season.

Wagner must identify a specific tactical plan as he learns about this squad and thereafter decide if niche players are appropriate, starting with the first potential consideration from next season we will likely no longer have Teemu Pukki.

Therefore Sargent or Idah will be the attacking mainstay. Will that be the correct system for Dowell to thrive under, or will we require a significant tactical switch away from a player of his specific talents?

I look forward to seeing how Wagner's philosophy emerges, but early showings suggest to me that he’s prioritising technique and 4-2-3-1, but in my opinion he’s choosing the wrong players for that base formation in this league, or he certainly isn’t playing them in their optimum roles if they play at all.

Hand on heart, would Ben Gibson and Sorensen not be equally as capable as Grant Hanley and Omabamidele?  Bali Mumba looked far better than either Giannoullis or Sam McCallum. 

Sargent started this season looking every part of the 25 goal a season striker. Gibbs is the best central midfield option available to us, but Gabby Sara starts ahead of him, and Nunez is a better playmaker than Sara too. 

There are more questions than answers at this early stage, which is surprising after the wins at Coventry and Preston.

This is just food for thought, but how do you think a behind-closed-doors friendly at Colney would play out with these two mix and match sides?

Idah

Placheta Nunez Hernandez

Sorensen Gibbs

McCallum Gibson Shipley Mumba

Gunn

Versus

Pukki

Tzolis Sargent Dowell

Sara McLean

Giannoulis Hanley Omabamidele Aarons

Krul

My bet is there wouldn’t be much between them, which really does say it all.

I truly wish the very best for Wagner and he’ll have my support on every matchday, but I really, really hope he starts to experiment with Sorensen and Gibbs in the spine of his team before he settles on his personal preferences.

I think he's missing some pretty obvious issues at the moment, and his version of 4-2-3-1 looks a million miles from the tag we have as 'one of the best teams in the league'.

OTBC