- Philippe Clement inherited a broken squad with only nine points from fifteen.
- The Belgian manager has averaged nearly two points per game since arriving.
- Clement’s rapid transformation of Norwich draws comparisons to Lambert and Neil.
Norwich City’s meteoric rise under Philippe Clement cannot be underplayed.
When the Belgian was appointed on November 18, 2025, the Canaries had accumulated a mere nine Championship points from 15 games.
Some fans would argue, given the alarming second-half drop-offs regularly seen under former boss Liam Manning, that they didn’t even deserve those nine points.
City fans won’t need reminding that Manning’s miserable tenure came to an end after an eighth straight loss in all competitions at Carrow Road – a club record.
The fact that Clement’s first win – at home to QPR in late November – marked the club’s first since August underlined the gravity of the situation.
But since then, the Canaries have flown up the table with 12 more league wins, reaching the all-important 50 points mark with a 2-0 win against Preston North End last weekend.
Under Clement, Norwich have a points-per-game average of 1.91 after winning 42 points.
The 51-year-old’s staggering impact has, understandably, drawn comparisons to former legendary managers Paul Lambert and Alex Neil, who also managed to galvanise underperforming squads.
We’ve dived into the numbers to see how Clement’s achievements in his first 22 league games compare to two of his predecessors.
Paul Lambert – 47 points from 22 league games (2.13 PPG)
It’s fair to say that Lambert made an instant impact with City after his appointment in August 2009.
Fresh from inflicting a 7-1 home defeat on the Canaries on the opening day of the season, Lambert took the hot seat at Carrow Road and oversaw a dramatic ascent up the table.
Lambert’s first game in the dug-out was a 5-2 home win over Wycombe Wanderers, and from there Norwich never looked back.
Accumulating 47 points from his first 22 league games, the Scot achieved a red-hot PPG average of 2.1.
That betters Clement by a slim margin, underlining Lambert’s unforgettable impact on the 2009/10 season.
Alex Neil – 48 points from 22 league games (2.18 PPG)
Neil, appointed from Scottish Premier League side Academical in January 2015, took over with exactly 22 games of the 2014/15 season remaining.
Tasked with guiding the Canaries back towards the play-off spots after a hit-and-miss season under Neil Adams, the 33-year-old wasted no time in getting to work.
Five wins out of five in February coupled with unbeaten away form saw City fly up the league towards the top two.
Neil ended the regular league season by taking 48 points from 22 games, resulting in a third place finish.
Norwich then brushed aside Ipswich Town in the play-off semi-finals, before coasting to a 2-0 win at Wembley to seal a place in the Premier League.
| Manager/Head Coach | Points (First 22 Games) | PPG Average |
| Alex Neil | 48 | 2.18 |
| Paul Lambert | 47 | 2.13 |
| Philippe Clement | 42 | 1.91 |
