Norwich City startled everyone when they selected Philippe Clement as their new head coach, but statements made earlier this year by a great boss may serve as a caution to Canaries supporters.
Following the dismissal of head coach Liam Manning earlier this month, Norwich City planned a surprise. Earlier this week, the Canaries revealed that Philippe Clement would replace Manning, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract at Carrow Road.
The new manager faces a significant challenge. Norwich are currently 23rd in the Championship, trailing only the crisis-hit Sheffield Wednesday. They haven’t won a league game since the end of August, and they’ve lost all seven home Championship matches this season.
Clement’s most recent position was with Rangers in Scotland, however he was fired in February after a dismal run of performances, including elimination from the Scottish Cup by underdogs Queens Park.
And statements made by the renowned Jose Mourinho a few weeks after Clement’s dismissal have raised an issue that may make Norwich fans reconsider if the club made the correct decision in appointing him.
Jose Mourinho criticized now-Norwich City manager Philippe Clement shortly after Rangers’ exit.
Rangers lined up for a tough Europa League quarter-final match against Turkish giants Fenerbahce a week after Philllipe Clement was fired at Ibrox, and at a press conference prior to the first leg of this tie, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho made a comment about Clement that raises a few questions about the new Norwich manager.
In an excerpt posted to the Sky Sports account on the social media platform X, Mourinho was asked about his feelings about facing Clement’s replacement, Barry Ferguson, in their upcoming cup match.
Mourinho claimed that he knew little about Ferguson’s coaching style, but went on to say, “I think it’s going to be much more difficult with him than with the previous coach because the former coach was more concerned with theory than on the pitch. You win matches on the pitch, not via thinking.”
Returning to the subject at issue, Mourinho stated, “And for sure, Ferguson will be more pragmatic and objective, which will be difficult for us, but also for them.”
Rangers won the tie in a penalty shootout after the two sides were tied 3-3 on aggregate. Mourinho was fired after his team was knocked out of the Champions League play-offs by Benfica in late August.
Rangers’ tactical inflexibility was a problem during Philippe Clement’s tenure, so Norwich City should proceed with caution.
Tempting as it may be to dismiss these statements as ‘Jose Mourinho doing Jose Mourinho things’, his comments concerning Philippe Clement’s apparent tactical inflexibility had been a known issue at Ibrox in the months leading up to his dismissal.
This was emphasized in a November 2024 piece by Rangers Review, which spoke with various of his former colleagues in an attempt to answer the riddle of why Clement did not change formation on the pitch when things weren’t going well.
The feedback they received was insightful. A source stated to them that “at Club Brugge, Clement’s team did have the option of playing two different tactical systems – a 4-3-3 and a 5-3-2” whereas “Clement only introduced the option of a second system a year into his tenure at Brugge.”
Tactical flexibility has gained importance in coaching in recent years. The ability to change formations in response to situations has become an essential aspect of a coach’s toolkit.
Philippe Clement’s mentality is direct, aggressive, and reliant on wing play, but one of the most pressing problems for him will be how he reacts to teams that are content to sit back and defend against them. He finally failed to make his system work in Scotland.
But it’s also worth noting that Clement was successful in Belgium. He won the Belgian league three years in a row with two separate clubs: Genk in 2019 and Club Brugge in 2020 and 2021.
However, Norwich fans will be hopeful that Clement has learned from his largely failed experience in Scotland and will not wait until the second season to offer more flexibility to their club.
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