Norwich City column: Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorup must find solution to poor performances away from Carrow Road

In the absence of a subscription to a certain TV service, I decided to tune in to the Talk Norwich City watchalong of Tuesday night’s trip to Portsmouth.

I’m sure most City fans will be well aware of the channel, and the great work of Jack and Chris Reeve to make it so successful.

I was particularly struck by something Jack said during the show: that it feels like we are watching two different Norwich teams at the moment.

There is the free-flowing Carrow Road side, capable of sweeping anyone aside and that scores goals for fun; a genuine promotion contender.

Then there is the side away from home, who in many aspects looks like relegation fodder. Turgid performances, littered with mistakes – and an inability to exercise any control over a game.

See last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at QPR as the prime example.

It’s not a new phenomenon for a team to be better at home than they are on the road, but the disparity in performance defies logic.

For this season to be successful, it’s a problem that Johannes Hoff Thorup needs to find a solution for.

His task has been made infinitely more difficult by the news Kenny McLean has been handed another four-game suspension. This time for an off-the-ball elbow against QPR.

I’ve seen the replay and all I can say is that the decision from the FA is an absolute joke. How they can look at the incident and decide it is worthy of a red card is beyond me. It’s innocuous at worst.

Rant over, but there’s no doubt it makes our festive run of fixtures more difficult, a run which starts with a visit from Burnley on Sunday.

With Marcelino Nunez and Anis Ben Slimane both nursing injuries, Hoff Thorup really needs Jacob Sorensen to step up.

I’ve always been a big fan of the Dane, but there is no doubt his performances this season have been lacking the required intensity.