Johannes Hoff Thorup speaks of his ‘surprise’ as he reveals why he was sacked by Norwich City towards the end of the 2024/25 season.
He says whilst on the Second Tier Podcast that there was a reduced communication with sporting director Ben Knapper, with the sacking coming after a 3-1 defeat to Millwall, primarily due to poor recent form over the last five to seven games, which he admitted fell short of expectations.
He noted that while younger players adapted well to his playing style, some long-serving players struggled, impacting performance.
Thorup believed Norwich was on track for a long-term project, expecting improvement with planned summer changes, but acknowledged the influence of fan opinions and the club’s decision to seek a new coach.
He also mentioned talks with QPR post-sacking but couldn’t agree on terms, including contract details, and chose not to rush into a new role.
Johannes Hoff Thorup on if he lost the dressing room: “To be absolutely honest with you, then we were, again, about to make some big changes in the summer window.
“The ones that we got in, especially the young ones, fully believed in the way that we were playing.
“But some of the players who have been at the club for many years or have played different styles of play were still adapting to that and were probably not finding it suitable for their qualities, which is more than fair – then you just have to be very honest with each other. To be fair to them, they were trying so it’s not like they just gave up.
“I think it’s fair to say that some were really buying into the ideas that I & we had and some were struggling a bit
“When you find yourself in that position where you cannot really compete for play-offs and cannot really be relegated and you have about 5 games left of the season where you’re 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th in the table then what does it actually mean, what’s the difference really?
“Then especially the ones who can see their futures may be somewhere else after the season – they drop a little bit in performance level.”
“He came to us (Ben Knapper), we were surprised, I was surprised. We’d just had Johannes and Glen out to our facility in Arizona a few weeks before.”
#NCFC owner Mark Attanasio confirms that the decision to part ways with Johannes Hoff Thorup was Ben Knapper’s decision
… pic.twitter.com/KG44eIwz6E
— The Pink Un (@pinkun) July 17, 2025
On the reasoning for being dismissed, Thorup added: “I think it was the recent form. I think it was looking at the recent of the last five, six, seven games that we’ve played, where obviously the performance was not top.
“I always have to be honest and say we are far away from what I expected in terms of our level so it’s not like I cannot understand it, it’s just there’s there’s different ways of of working together in a moment like that and and of course some clubs they take the decision to to find a new coach and that’s more than fair,
“It’s always up to the owners and the board and the directors, and then some clubs they take the decision to stick together and make sure that you survive that tough period, and then on the back side of that, you can start succeed again.
“So, there’s many ways and there’s many approaches to that, but to give you a clear answer, I think it was the four, five, six, seven games leading up to that.”
Thorup said despite feeling the sacking coming amid a lack of communication from sporting director Ben Knapper, he was shocked at getting axe so early in a planned long-term project.
“I was still surprised, because where we were as a team was probably what I expected.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about whether we fought for promotion or not and I will not go too much into that discussion, but I know that to build something that can be successful over a longer period, you need to have some moments where you’re low and creating something.
“Then you make sure that you start performing on a high level. That could have been the case with a pre-season and the start of the season, but football is as it is. There’s also emotion and opinions from fans and stuff like that. In a big club like Norwich, I think the voice of the fans is also a big thing.”
Johannes Hoff Thorup on the long-term project: “Me and Glen expected to be there for a longer time. But I also fully understand that when results are not 100% there or the performance is not as expected then there can be all kinds of speculations and different decisions can be made.
“But (long-term) was the expectations to start with. It was one of the main reasons that I said yes to the job. I think there’s a big potential in a club and in a city like Norwich and that potential we were just about to unfold. I don’t think we were close enough to really do it but with the main purpose of promoting to the Premier League in season 2 or 3 and then to stay there.”
Johannes Hoff Thorup on Thomas Frank: “His first season (at Brentford) was even worse in the table than our season.
“Glen, my assistant, contacted Thomas Frank after our last game at Norwich just to hear from his perspective and their stats where we actually were in the Championship. Their stats predicted us to be in the play-offs, in terms of our performances that season so they were also surprised.”
Here’s how fans reacted as Johannes Hoff Thorup speaks of his ‘surprise’ as he reveals why he was sacked by Norwich City…
@SamJermy: Why is Thorup crying on a relatively obscure podcast? He got sacked because we would be in League One if it wasn’t for Sargent’s goals.. #ncfc
@ellhodx: The fact he agreed to this podcast tells you everything about his judgment 
@Brandonnn129: Great interview 
@canarynorwich: Good interview Guys shame it didn’t work out and none of us wish JHT any ill. But ultimately we had one of the better squads and were regressing under him .
@quietlifeplease: Time to build a bridge and get over it, mate. Your ex has moved on. #ncfc
@mattjohnson333: Some of the comments are very fair. But a lot of those comments have counters which many said for long periods… if there’s players that clearly don’t fit the changes #ncfc we’re making and wouldn’t be around past the summer… why persist with them… just because of age it seems?
@ReEdYmAnn: Anybody watching Shane Duffy “playing” against Pompey or Millwall before JHT’s sacking cannot tell me he hadn’t given up.
@DanieIEmery: Fair comment tbf
@art_mixer1: Maybe he should’ve played these younger ones he was going on about when his hand wasn’t forced by injuries.
@tomakeupnumbers: Duffy so needs to fuck off already
@tvtenterhooks: So maybe you dont start the players who wont be here and arent able to adept their game. Annoyed it didnt work out, really likeable guy.
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