After a one-year hiatus from the top flight, Norwich City are back in the big time. And after beating local rivals Ipswich Town and then Middlesbrough in the final of the playoffs, the Canaries have returned to the Premier League in the most desirable way possible.

They’ll fancy their chances of making a much better fist of things this time too. There is a nice balance in squad, with experienced heads and burgeoning young players, plus, in Alex Neil, they have a commanding young manager that possesses a quiet authority.

The manner in which he guided Norwich to within touching distance of automatic promotion was very impressive, but the style in which the team bounced back after falling just short was exceptional. Their 2-0 win in the Championship playoff final under the Wembley arch was a tantalizing indication of what we could be treated to in the Premier League.

Norwich have been up and down the top three tiers throughout the last decade and Neil faces a tough task to stabilise them in the Premier League. They may be the least fancied of all the promoted sides, but the steely Scot seems unfazed by anything and will be relishing a crack at English football’s elite.

 

Best XI

 

Reasons to be Positive

The Canaries may have been in receipt of the lucrative sums that go to the winners of the playoff final, but at the time of writing Neil has not invested too much in the playing squad. Hull City’s Robbie Brady is the most exciting purchase for the the Carrow Road faithful, while Graham Dorrans and Youssouf Mulumbu will add critical Premier League experience.

The likely first XI is full of players that know all about English football’s top flight too. Neil has a squad that is familiar, hungry and his obvious tactical acumen will make the Canaries very hard to beat. If they begin this season at the same levels they ended the last—Norwich have won 17 games from 25 since Neil took over—they can spring some surprises.

 

Reasons to be Negative

Although the relationships struck up by this solid squad can be considered a positive, there are also a lot of players that have struggled with the demands of top flight football in the past. John Ruddy, Martin Olsson, Wes Hoolahan and Cameron Jerome were all key figures in the promotion push, but they’ve never convinced at Premier League level.

As for Neil, while he took the Championship by storm with his management style, the top division is extremely ruthless. It remains to be seen whether the eminently unflustered Scot will be finally be ruffled by the demands and pressures of the most high-profile football league in the world.

 

Key Player – Bradley Johnson

Another Norwich player who really upped his levels last season was inspiration midfielder Bradley Johnson. The ex-Leeds man may be a little heavy in the tackle—he picked up 14 yellow cards last term—but he’s been the driving force behind this Canaries renaissance. Now he needs to show he’s capable of replicating those efforts at a higher standard.

Getting a foothold in matches will be crucial for Norwich if they are to keep pace in the division and Johnson’s influence will be so important to them doing exactly that. The 28-year-old’s tenacity, defensive instincts and ability to surge forward with the ball are all attributes to watch out for at Carrow Road in 2015-16.

 

Prediction – 19th

It’d be wonderful to see Norwich’s nearly-men finally settle into the Premier League and revel under their popular young manager. But a lot of these players have been handed numerous opportunities to star on the biggest stage already and failed; there’s little to suggest will change this time round.

Expect Norwich to be diligent in their play and tough to beat on home soil. But the Canaries don’t have enough star quality to survive in a division which looks exceptionally strong on the cusp of the 2015-16 term.

 

Expert Opinion – James Ferrier (World Soccer Talk)

Norwich are back and hopefully learned the lessons of the 2013-14 season. Their manager Alex Neil will be entering the league as a newbie and also the youngest manager in the division; at just 34 years old this will be a massive learning curve for the Scotsman.

Their signings have shown indication they are learning from their mistakes with Youssouf Mulumbu and Graham Dorrans both formally of West Brom joining the Canaries, both strong signings which add Premier League quality they will need. The squad was fortunate to keep a lot of the same players who were relegated last season and as a result, will be the coming from the Championship able to handling the top flight a lot better.

With such a young manager the club may struggle, but with the large amount of Premier league experience they have in the squad I believe they just might stay up.

 

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattJFootball