Chris Sutton: I'm backing Adam Idah to take his City chance

It's been a never-ending cycle for Idah - he doesn't play, finds a way into the team, doesn't take his opportunity, gets injured and repeat. That has been his story in recent seasons. 

The major source of the frustration with him is that we have seen him do it before. There was a spell in the Premier League when he showed it. He's just given Virgil van Dijk the run around for portions of an international fixture. There is no debate about his quality. 

I have always watched him as someone who is capable. For the first time, it feels as though the debate has shifted from 'when is his time' to 'this has to be his time'. With Josh Sargent sidelined and Hwang Ui-jo waiting in the wings, Idah has to own the moment. 

It's about time Idah came to the fore in the view of supporters, and it's hard to argue with that. Hwang has been brought into challenge him, he has to use that as further fuel to find an extra gear. 

Idah should come back with vigour and an oomph at the opportunity in front of him after his Ireland outing. For the first time, he has a chance at a really good run of games. There is a real need for him to take it. He cannot keep letting these moments just pass him by, or they won't continue to pop up. 

If he cannot take confidence in giving van Dijk the runaround, then where is that ever going to come from? He should come back thinking he can make light work of the Championship. 

Defenders should be bouncing off him. He should be relishing the opportunity, knowing there is a vacancy there. In my view, there is an argument that he should be playing at a higher level - but he needs to prove it at Championship level first. 

Idah needs to look at Jon Rowe. He had a moment, he grasped it, and he's flourishing. If he can replicate that then he has the ability to explode. But everyone knows we have been here before with him. 

He is not a kid anymore. This is his time to shine. Norwich need him to step up in a similar way to Sargent. Only he can make the most of it. 

Norwich City signed Hwang Ui-jo from Nottingham Forest on Deadline Day. (Image: PA Images)

If you're a Stoke or Leicester defender, you're not expecting an easy game with Idah and Barnes. I couldn't think of much worse than having to take one in the chops off Barnes. There is still work to do on their partnership. 

Against Rotherham, both strikers got caught coming too deep to receive the ball. They didn't stretch the play, which prevented Norwich from playing through an intelligent press from the hosts. 

It is basic football sense that you need at least one of your forwards to make those movements in behind, whether it comes from the wide areas or one of the strikers, it has to happen. 

Barnes, at 33,  is not going to be that player. He wasn't at Burnley and he won't be at Norwich - he has always been a foil, so it falls on Idah's shoulders, as the younger option, to assume that responsibility and he's got the tools to execute it.

He is old enough to recognise that now. You don't play for the Republic of Ireland at international level without that awareness. 

That is what Sargent mastered so expertly and why that early partnership was so strong. Idah has the physical profile to fulfil that role. It's easier for central defenders to face strikers when they drop deeper and play in front of them. 

Hwang is the latest Norwich player to join who is over 30 - there were five in total in the last window; Barnes, Adam Forshaw, Danny Batth and Shane Duffy. 

Adam Idah impressed for Ireland against the Netherlands in midweek. (Image: PA Images)

It is a shift in policy for a club who have long been recognised as one that emphasises youth recruitment and development.

The mindset has changed in how they have acted in the transfer market. There has been a short-termism about what they need in the here and now to try and get themselves back up. Who is to say that is wrong? The justification will ultimately come at the end of the season.

After last season, Wagner and the powers that be assessed a need to change the mentality. You only have to look at the impact Barnes and Duffy have made so far to realise they are in better place on that behalf. 

What I am sure of is that, come the end of the season, nobody will be questioning the character and determination of those two. Only time will provide the answer in terms of quality and whether it will be enough. 

Norwich have a better balance to their squad now. Rowe's early season impact and Gabriel Sara are providing real quality. 

The fact Norwich have that wider structure may well allow Idah to find a level of consistency and rhythm that have evaded him so far. 

I'm backing him to make the best of his latest opportunity and break the cycle he has been stuck in at Norwich. Prove me right, Adam. 

Norwich City have work to do to rebuild trust with supporters - even after such a positive start. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

SUTTON EXTRA

Norwich City have reached a really important juncture in their season, if only for the narrative and feeling from supporters towards the team. 

The Rotherham defeat was a real momentum killer after such an impressive start that had made everyone begin to believe again. My hope is that one result doesn't derail everything - the evidence of the season so far suggests it is just a bump in the road.  

There are always odd results in the Championship. Teams do lose games but the best ones are able to respond quickly. 

As good as the start has been, even after that Rotherham loss, I saw some of the fragility that still exists within the fanbase resurface. 

Suddenly, if Norwich fail to record victories in their Carrow Road double header against Stoke and Leicester, I fear that some supporters may get the jitters that it was only a good start and not the start of something. 

In this day and age, there is such an overreaction week to week - I am urging the fans to go with it regardless of what happens in the next games. There would still be a hell of a lot to be positive about. 

I always think you have to go back to a sensible thought process. After the start that Norwich have had, with the Carabao Cup victories, it has given everyone a real lift. We need to keep the perspective. 

That fragility perhaps underpins the work that everyone has to do to still come together and repair that trust. 

Supporters are still looking at the team, thinking it could go wrong. Some of the team are probably wondering if the fans will be with them if another bump or two appears. 

You've got a wariness on both sides - we aren't fully repaired to the extent when anything felt possible under Daniel Farke in that 2018-19 campaign. A few more performances and run of results will help create that. Momentum and belief are powerful things in sport. 

Norwich could do with more Jonny Rowe's to help with that process - players to come to the fore who have that eye-opening effect. People get heart from what they see, ultimately - that is why supporters have been positive so far. 

Games against Stoke and Leicester serve as a real litmus test for Norwich's progress and future direction. It feels like a week where we will learn a lot more about their prospects under David Wagner.