Chris Sutton: Why Norwich's approach against Saints was unacceptable

I understand managers tweaking their set-ups and adapting to opponents, but playing at home and having just 25 percent of possession, I cannot ever remember anything like it.

They are not playing Manchester City or Barcelona - they are playing Southampton in the Championship. 

You cannot show that lack of ambition at home in the Championship as Norwich manager. Especially considering the type of coach everyone thought David Wagner was - front foot, high pressing and plenty of energy. 

Yes, they've been on a good run, and Russell Martin has done an excellent job. But what on earth is going on? 

Playing that way and showing that lack of ambition is a no from me. People might say it's clever and that the ends justified the means - but it's Southampton. If they are retreating from them, they may as well wave the white flag if they get to the play-offs. 

That doesn't mean you have to be gun-ho - you can play three or five at the back and still want to press, or attack. There are no patterns of play or plans. It was a hope that one of their attacking players would produce something, thankfully, Josh Sargent delivered. 

If I'm a Norwich City season ticket holder and I've watched the last two attempts in the Premier League and now I'm watching the team show no desire to attack a Championship team at home - I am wondering whether I'm going to renew my season ticket. 

The club was good to me. I have a strong attachment to it, but I've never known anything like this. It shocked me to hear reports from Carrow Road and see the joyous nature of Wagner at getting a point. That says to me how far the club has gone back. They need to address that. 

If Norwich hope to get back in the Premier League, and I don't believe that is possible, is that how they're going to set up? It's not part of the ethos of the club I was brought up in. 

I played in the old First Division and the Premier League for Norwich, I can remember taking some beatings but never setting up at home to not carry a threat. It is not what the club is about. 

This is the club of Ken Brown, Dave Stringer, Mike Walker, Paul Lambert and Daniel Farke - attacking football has been woven into its very fabric. Shutting up shop shouldn't be in any Norwich manager's make-up. 

Is this how Norwich are going to go forwards? Having 25 percent of possession, showing no real intent and being in retreat against another Championship side isn't going to win fans back. Someone needs to wake up, smell the coffee and realise that. 

It cannot be the future, and it shouldn't be the present. Supporters want to see hope. Supporters want to see an expansive brand of football at home. That is not unreasonable.

Norwich City supporters have struggled for entertainment at Carrow Road this season. (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Luton have carried a greater threat against Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League than Norwich did against Southampton in the Championship. That's embarrassing, I'm afraid.

Maybe I'm wrong or away with the fairies, but I've always associated Norwich with a team that tries to play positive, attacking football, that tries to develop young talent and wants to go toe to toe with anybody. Where has that club gone?

I understand it's not been easy for Wagner. Norwich have been poor, they've struggled, but there is no excuse for parking the bus at home and then celebrating the point in the Championship. That is a no-no. 

What does it show? In the future, any half-decent team that comes to Carrow Road is going to be met with Norwich parking the bus. Are fans really willing to accept that? I don't think they are. 

What about next season when they're still in the Championship - who are they going to have a go against? 

I saw similar at Ipswich. We can talk about 14 years unbeaten. But had Jon Rowe not been absolutely ruthless, they would have been beaten comfortably and should have been. They are not reliant on patterns of play but on moments. We have to see a plan and a clear way forward. 

Wagner came in, and the circumstances were difficult, but there was an expectation about the brand of football he was bringing in. How far away is he and are Norwich from that right now? 

It feels like he is doubting himself and has gone away from the type of manager he once was. He's abandoned his principles.  

It is not unreasonable to expect that Norwich can compete in the Championship against any team. They have one of the biggest budgets in the division; they have spent serious money, relative to Norwich, on Josh Sargent and Gabriel Sara and big wages on others like Ashley Barnes and Shane Duffy. 

They are underperforming. When you start to put up the white flag against any Championship team, that is a terrible message to send. When does it stop? 12 teams are above Norwich at the moment - should they deploy this approach against all of them? 

They are acting like a side that has been playing Championship football for five years. They got relegated 18 months ago. They are still in possession of parachute payments. It is not acceptable. 

Ben Knapper is the man who holds the power at Carrow Road. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Monday documented it. There was one coach who had endured a tough spell, stuck to his principles, and is reaping the rewards of it, and another who has lost all sense of his coaching identity.

Ben Knapper should have made his mark when he came in and made the change. He wanted to let it breathe and assess the situation - I understand his thought process, I don't agree with it, but I get it. 

What was he thinking yesterday watching that? He has a decision to make. Norwich cannot go on like this. It's about the bigger message now. 

What is keeping Wagner in a job is that they are five points off the play-offs. You have to look beyond that. 

This was a performance and approach that has shows how far Norwich City have fallen. It cannot go on. So who is going to do something about it?