Norwich City column: David Wagner still at Carrow Road because of spineless leadership

I would go as far as labelling Norwich City’s decision to leave David Wagner in charge for Sunday’s visit of Blackburn Rovers as a disgrace.

You feel even Wagner himself was expecting to be relieved of his duties following the 3-1 defeat at Sunderland, the latest in an ever-growing line of dismal displays by his side.

Whichever way you look at it, Wagner is a man living on borrowed time. His departure from Carrow Road in inevitable – his position, untenable.

The results and performances speak for themselves. Simply not good enough.

There is so much you could point your finger at, but the fact we have conceded 27 goals in 14 games this season is nothing short of abysmal.

What’s worse is that, despite that record, Ben Gibson and Shane Duffy have started every game at centre back. Given the quality of their performances, that is neglectful at best.

But for all the criticism of Wagner, I also believe everyone sees that the issues run deeper than the head coach.

The longer Stuart Webber stays in post, the more he undoes the good work that made his first few years as sporting director so successful.

Likewise, the longer it takes for Ben Knapper to physically walk through the door, the more difficult his job becomes.

Let Knapper come in and get on with the job of giving us a refresh from top to bottom – something that has been desperately needed for some time.

Given the strength of feeling among our supporters, I think we are heading for a pretty toxic atmosphere on Sunday.

While Wagner will come in for his fair share of criticism, I hope the real anger will be directed at those above.

After all, it feels that by leaving him in charge, they are feeding Wanger to the lions in an attempt to deflect from their own shortcomings.

Spineless leadership.