David Hannant: I'll wish David Wagner well when he is let go

While the City boss is still almost certainly going to be in the dugout against Cardiff at the weekend, the winds of change do appear to be blowing.

At risk of falling foul of the curse of the commentator, the uncertainty has certainly got me thinking about the inevitable end of his doomed tenure at the club.

With a new sporting director arriving on Monday, City's form in a tailspin and an international break looming, for me it would be more surprising if Wagner is in the dugout when QPR come to town than if he isn't.

All logic points to Saturday being the former Huddersfield man's final game as Norwich City head coach - whatever happens in Cardiff.

Admittedly, logic doesn't appear to always play a huge role in thinking at Carrow Road...

However, assuming it does on this occasion, it would absolutely be the right decision as it is clear to see Wagner is not getting a tune out of his squad and a refresh is needed.

It is a woefully similar situation to a year ago, when Dean Smith's team found itself in the same type of tailspin.

But while I do desire the same outcome - a change in the dugout - something feels very different about the end of their respective tenures.

When Dean Smith was sacked - far too late for me - my overwhelming feeling was relief.

When David Wagner leaves, I will feel some of the same relief, but in a different way.

Part of me will be relieved for him - it is plain to see the experience has broken him.

The way he spoke after Sunday's match was clearly that of a person who is hurting deeply, cares about the club and desperately wants things to be better.

Dean Smith, on the other hand, gave off a completely different - and much less likeable - impression.

His post-match interviews were quite often comparative and spiteful - and not in a fiery, passionate way. 

It always felt as though we, as supporters, were seen as the problem to him.

As a consequence, I have nothing but ill wishes for Smith in his future career and I felt real schadenfreude when he failed to keep Leicester up last year - even at the expense of the frankly hilarious possibility of Everton going down.

But, with Wagner, I will wish him nothing but well in the future, unless he is obviously lining up against us.

Don't get me wrong, the football in recent weeks has been turgid and clearly Wagner's management is a big part of this.

As I commented in my last column, he truly seems to have lost his way and his ability to change games with substitutions seems to have completely diminished. 

At the same time, though, when things have clicked under him, they have really clicked.

If his tenure does end short of a year, there have been periods of hope under him. 

There have been swashbuckling wins, high-scoring affairs and bursts of brilliant football - none of which we saw under Dean Smith.

There is also a real element of misfortune in the wheels coming off - most notably the injuries to Josh Sargent and Ashley Barnes.

That is not to say his time shouldn't soon come to an end - I've never known any manager to be able to turn around such a capitulation.

But equally, I don't feel the same anger towards Wagner that I did towards Smith at the end of his time in charge.

The way things have become on the field is reminding me of the way Peter Grant's time in charge came to an end all those years ago.

In the Scot's case, he ended up falling on his sword after finding himself well out of his depth.

It wasn't for want of trying and clearly Grant cared desperately, just like you can see Wagner does - but was left a husk.

Sadly, in the world of football, merely wanting to succeed will never be enough.

It is plain to see that we are in desperate need of a reset and with Stuart Webber's departure that is about to happen.

But for it to be fully wholesale, Ben Knapper needs to be able to bring in his own man, rather than have Wagner linger.

When he does leave, I will wish him well.

The weirdness of Webber's legacy

So it's official, as of this weekend Stuart Webber is confined to the history books of Norwich City.

Between now and then, I'm sure plenty will be said about the legacy he leaves as fans eulogise about his time at the club - which is the very reason I didn't devote this entire column to that.

I've had a lot to say about Webber over the years, the vast majority of which has been positive.

But the simple fact of the matter is, he is leaving on a sour note.

It's difficult to quite pinpoint where things went wrong for the Welshman, whether there is a single moment or time or a combination of things.

This is what is so weird about it - there is no doubt whatsoever that his time at the club has produced some success.

Those two promotion seasons were two of the best campaigns we have ever had and for these, Webber deserves credit.

Likewise, under his stewardship (Stuartship?) wholesale improvements have been made to Colney, which will prove an asset for years to come, and our international scouting system is exponentially better.

But equally, he leaves having obliterated positive links with the fans he created, many of his gambles didn't pay off and the club is in the same sense of disarray as when he arrived.

This is what makes the idea of his legacy so weird.

Am I grateful for those two fantastic league title wins? Of course  - and his achievements should not be forgotten.

Chances are, had he left when he originally intended to a few years ago he may well have ridden into the sunset and hailed as one of the best things to happen to the club.

But, the way things have gone since cast a foreboding shadow over all this. Which is just weird.