STOKE SET TO APPOINT YOUNG NORWICH COACH

Norwich City’s First Team Coach Narcis Pelach looks set to be joining fellow Championship side Stoke City as their new first team manager, following the departure of Steven Schumacher earlier this week. The deal has been widely reported on, with both Sky Sports Rob Dorsett and Pete O’Rourke of the Football Insider having broke news on the agreement.

36-year-old Pelach looks set to sign a 3-year deal with the Potters to secure his first role in senior management in England, following several coaching stints in the EFL and managerial roles in the lower leagues of Spain. The appointment is now set to be announced imminently by Stoke, with the Spaniard in attendance at the Bet 365 stadium during their eventual penalty shootout victory over League Two Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening. A compensation package for the former defender has been agreed between the two Championship clubs, as well as Norwich Goalkeeper Coach Paul Clements and former Potters midfielder and current Barnsley first team coach Dean Whitehead, said to be making up Pelach’s new-look Stoke City backroom team.

Who is Narcis Pelach?

Narcis Pelach is a young, Spanish coach more commonly known due to his years serving as current West Brom manager Carlos Corberan’s assistant coach during his time at Huddersfield Town. The Spaniard spent a total of 150 games as the Terriers assistant manager under the likes of the previously mentioned Corberan, as well as Mark Fotheringham, Neil Warnock, and Danny Schofield.

As a player, the Girona-born man spent 13 years with his boyhood club before spending the majority of his playing days in the Spanish fourth division with the likes of UD Cassa, AEC Manlleu, Palamos, and Figueres. Pelach then retired in 2016, aged only 25, and was immediately made first team manager of Figueres, where he spent 2 seasons, before eventually working his way up to his role as Juan Carlos Unzue’s assistant manager at Girona in 2019, still only 28 years old!

After his time with Huddersfield, which even included spells as interim first team manager, Pelach joined David Wagner’s coaching staff at Norwich City ahead of the club’s 2023/24 Championship campaign. Despite Wagner’s departure at the end of the season, new manager Johannes Thorup continued to keep Pelach as the Canaries first team coach.

Is Pelach the correct appointment for Stoke City?

Since the departure of Michael O’Neill in August 2022, following nearly 3 years and 142 games as Potters manager, Narcis Pelach is set to be the third permanent managerial appointment in only two years, after Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher, who could only manage 16th and 17th place finishes in the Championship despite a transfer expenditure of in excess of £30 million since the beginning of 2023/24, the majority purchased under Neil and primarily used by Schumacher.

After another average start to the season, beating Coventry and Plymouth and winning all three cup matches so far, losses against Watford, West Brom, and Oxford eventually saw sporting director Jonathan Walters decide that change was needed. Pelach hosts the experience of a near promotion-winning campaign with Huddersfield in 2021/22, as they finished third across the league campaign, eventually losing in the Championship play-off final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley.

Summary:

As an inexperienced manager, however proven capable coach, Narcis Pelach may seem a risky appointment for Stoke, though after recent seasons Pelach can afford a season of development with an exciting young side, where his coaching abilities can shine through. Following a similar path to the likes of Kieran McKenna at now Premier League Ipswich Town and Carlos Corberan, who both began coaching at a younger age and have developed through working as assistants and youth team coaches, Pelach could prove to be an exciting appointment for Stoke fans, should he be given time to implement his tactical ideas.

2024-09-18T12:09:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd