Norwich City announce £20.7m loss amid on-pitch struggles

Last season was a disappointment for Norwich, who finished 13th, 11 points outside the play-offs, and cost then head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup his job.

The club recruited Norwich-born Liam Manning as his replacement but they have lost every home game so far this season and only taken nine points from the 14 they have played in the Championship.

Manning was recently given public backing by majority shareholder Attanasio during a BBC Radio Norfolk Canary Call special.

In the report, sporting director Ben Knapper, who has also come in for criticism from some supporters, said Manning was “the best candidate to help us achieve our primary target of promotion to the Premier League”.

He continued: “We know that’s not going to be easy or come quickly with the strategic approach we have taken, but we have conviction in the direction in which we are moving and will work relentlessly until we get there.”

Reiterating a mission statement to become an “established Premier League club” may further antagonise some fans, unhappy with the quality of some of the players signed over the summer, and are more concerned about the club dropping into League One for the first time since 2009-10.

Knapper acknowledged “an extremely challenging and disappointing start to the current campaign”, and said he strongly believed changes to the squad in the summer would stand the club “in good stead for many years to come”.

“That said, the importance of results in the short term is not lost on any of us,” he added.

“We often talk around long term visions and strategies, but we are very aware of the need to deliver results in the here and now, and, at the time of writing, we are not doing that.

“We are all convinced that we will turn this around over the coming months.”

Knapper concluded his statement by saying: “We have not got every decision correct, but the hunger and desire to improve and move our club forward is stronger than ever, even in the face of challenge, and we will continue to do everything possible to give you all a club you can be truly proud of.”

Despite the team’s moderate form, the report shows average home attendance last season was 26,316 last season, a small increase of just over 200 on the previous campaign.

The number of season tickets sold was 20,339, compared to 20,020 in 2023-24, but total wage costs as a percentage of turnover rose from 71% to 122%.