‘He is very much in the mix’ - Time for Kvistgaarden to make his mark

The latest Pink Un podcast discussed how fresh injury concerns could present opportunities for others within Philippe Clement’s ranks, notably Mathias Kvistgaarden.

Host Connor Southwell was joined by Adam Harvey and Paddy Davitt for episode 680, recorded from the vicinity of the Canaries’ London training base in the aftermath of the goalless draw with AFC Wimbledon and ahead of a behind-closed-doors test against Premier League side Fulham.

Here is a flavour of the 56-minute long discussion below.

CS: We were speaking about injuries and the fact that Norwich, at this stage, are likely to head into the season without Jovan Makama. Mo Toure is obviously going to return a little later. It feels like a huge opportunity, and I know we’ve said this a lot for Mathias Kvistgaarden, who we probably all agree has come back looking a little fitter than he did last year, which is no surprise given the injuries he had to endure.

PD: Yes, that would seem to be the sense, having been here at the camp for the last few hours. In terms of the available options, it is an opportunity for him.

Mo should be back in the mix this coming weekend, returning to Colney and then being integrated thereafter. We’ll see how long it takes him to get back up to speed, but in the meantime, opportunity knocks for Mathias.

It is an interesting one. He has looked quite sharp. Against St Gallen, I thought he played well without getting on the scoresheet. I wouldn't read too much into the Wimbledon game, full stop.

Speaking to people here this afternoon, the feeling is that physically he's in the right place now to show why Norwich made such a commitment to bring him in from Brøndby last summer, where he had a prolific goalscoring record.

The Danish striker has impressed during pre-season after a tough first year in England (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Still, my sense is whether he is the type of striker Philippe Clement would naturally lean towards. But the reality is you're probably going to need different types of players in those forward areas because of the nature of a long, arduous Championship season. It's not going to be Plan A every week, is it? So it feels like there is a window of opportunity for him in a Norwich shirt this season.

If he can build on what he's done so far in pre-season, because I think, albeit from a small sample, just before he first came into the team last season, you could see that, in the right team and with the right level of service, he will score goals. He has that natural penalty-box awareness.

As Philippe has said about the strikers in his set-up, chances will be created – that's a given. Can you get yourself, as Mo did and as Jovan did, into the positions to take advantage of them?

So, yes, it does feel, as we stand here today with the Thames behind us, that Mathias Kvistgaarden will probably be a key figure in the early part of the season.

I don't think, at the end of last season, you necessarily felt that was going to be the case. It underlines how things have shifted, not just for him but for other players in the group over the course of the summer.

Jovon Makama is set for four weeks on the sidelines with a foot injury (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

You might start with the preconception that some players will be at the forefront and others won't and wonder what that means for their futures. But the sense we're getting is that Kvistgaarden is very much in the mix as the countdown to kick-off begins.

CS: I think, Adam, before we had to abruptly end part one, we were speaking about injuries, and obviously we’ll come on to Kellen Fisher in a moment, who is one of those sidelined. But if you’re looking for some solace, and I’m sure there will be some inside this place, you look back at last season and the number of injuries they suffered. I think they had 15 hamstring injuries last season, so there were a lot of soft tissue and muscular-related issues.

But actually, the players who are currently out, Lucien Mahovo for example, had a contact injury. We were there, we saw it, and he was on the receiving end of a firm but fair challenge.

Jovon Makama took a kick against Colchester; that was a contact injury as well. I think it’s only Errol Mundle-Smith, really, with the slight hamstring issue that he has, where it has been soft tissue. So, again, it’s very early days.

But if you’re going to take any comfort from it – not that anyone can because it’s not the position they wanted to be in – it’s the fact that they are at least injuries that we would maybe class as not unavoidable. There’s an argument that no injury is unavoidable, but these are perhaps not directly related to the type of issues they were dealing with last season.

Errol Mundle-Smith is the only player to miss pre-season action with a muscular problem (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

AH: Yes, and that speaks volumes, I think, to the work they’ve done, particularly with the arrival of Paul Ford. There are set to be further additions in that area as well, with the aim of helping them limit those problems moving into the season, given the demands of a 46-game campaign alongside the cup competitions.

It is going to be a struggle for some players. You know, physically, it puts a lot of load on their bodies. There is the mental side of it, but there is also the physical side as well.

And unfortunately, injuries are part and parcel of the game. They are going to happen, and contact injuries are something you simply cannot account for. They are just part of the nature of football.

But if you can try to limit the muscular ones, which were such a prominent problem last campaign, then that is kind of the recipe for having, hopefully, the majority of your squad available for most of the season. If Norwich are going to push themselves into that top-eight bracket, they are going to need availability, because that was their downfall for much of last season. They simply did not have enough players ready to come in, step up and play week in, week out. Philippe Clement spoke about that himself.

The fact he has sometimes had to make substitutions based on managing load rather than tactical tweaks sums up the issue. If Norwich are going to push themselves into a promotion bracket, they need the flexibility to make changes in games where they are against the tide and looking to shift momentum. Having certain players or profiles available from the bench to influence matches is vital, and that was something they did not see enough of last season.

Dr Paul Ford’s appointment was focused on reducing soft tissue and muscular injuries (Image: Justin Setterfield/British Olympic Association)

So, yeah, that’s where a lot of the work has been done. Hopefully, moving into the season, Norwich have had their bad bit of luck in pre-season, and things will be a little better once the campaign gets underway. But, of course, time will tell on that.

I don’t really think any frustration that has been aired on social media is unexpected. Fans are emotional, and unfortunately Norwich have been in this position for far too long and probably haven’t addressed it quickly enough. Now, they are trying to do that.

And, yeah, hopefully, over the piece, that work will start to show.

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