In this, I wrote about how glad I was that City had opted against dropping the axe on one Daniel Farke following relegation from the Premier League.
The coffee-loving German then went on to lead the club to its best ever second-tier points tally before a year later finding himself jobless after a slow start to life back in the top flight.
In that column, which I daren't read back in full for fear of inevitably spotting a litany of errors which are too late to correct, I lauded our patient approach to managerial changes when compared to the Hornets, who seem to change boss almost as much as David Beckham changed hairstyles in the late 90s.
Since I wrote that piece, in December 2020, Norwich City have shown the door to five permanent managers.
Admittedly, that is still half of the TEN that Watford have had in situ, remarkably, but Liam Manning's dismissal completing a full handful (or one short of, in Suffolk) is certainly a far cry from the stability and patience we once boasted.
That is to not to say that I disagree with the decision to move City's first Norfolk-born manager this century on.
I genuinely do feel a degree of sympathy for Manning, who has gone through some incredibly difficult times in the past year, both on the field and off of it.
I also don't doubt his commitment, how hard he wanted to succeed for the county he was born in and how good his intention were.
But for reasons few can adequately explain (though I've seen some incredibly valiant attempts) he just was not the right fit and it didn't work out.
He may well feel he was dealt a tough hand, but football is a results business and there is simply little coming back from a record in his first seven home games that matches the code name of a certain James Bond.
So here we find ourselves again, searching for a replacement for Daniel Farke.
I realise technically we're not, we're looking for [Manning's](https://www.pinkun.com/sport/opinion/25612699.norwich-city-legend-chris-sutton-next-canaries-head-coach/?ref=ed_direct) replacement. But for me, it feels like we're looking for Farke's.
Ever since the reportedly fantastic smelling head coach was unceremoniously sent packing in the changing room at Brentford, his absence has been felt in NR1.
Dean Smith was the anti-Farke in every single way. He was charmless, tactically devoid and rigid - everything Farke wasn't.
David Wagner seemed to have some of Farke's warmth, but something was still missing. And who would prove the architect of his downfall in the play-offs? Who else!
Johannes Hoff-Thorup was a funny one. I personally found him to have similar levels of charms as Farke, played similar attacking football but did see his fair share of frustration too. But then again, so did Farke in his first season.
He did, however, appear to lose the dressing room and did end his tenure in disastrous form. It would be fascinating to see where we'd be in the parallel universe where he kept his job, however I would wager it wouldn't be in the bottom three.
And we've obviously addressed [Manning](https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwich-city/25615585.norwich-city-jon-dahl-tomasson-contention-head-coach/?ref=ed_direct).
Four times we've tried to fill Farke's shoes and four times we've ultimately been found wanting.
Frankly, Farke was the right person at the right time with the right set of circumstance and support around him.
So here's the billion dollar question - how do we capture lightning in a bottle again?
With that in mind, much like the children in Mary Poppins, I've pulled together a few suggestions for attributes the new boss could hopefully have. I've drawn some inspiration from fellow supporters on social media to help things tick along.
The new manager needs to be somebody who wants to play intense, attacking football, but without being defensively frail.
They need to have experience of English football, but have fresh ideas and be "fashionable".
They need to be defensively sound, but not negative.
They need to have deep set connections with Norwich City and understand the Norwich City way, but not just any old ex-player, that's just lazy and never works.
They need to be a strong character, an inspirational leader and well respected in the game - but can't have an ego.
What is plain for all to see, is that since Daniel Farke left, we've never been able to find somebody who ticks all the boxes he did - we've always had people who have ticked a few of them, but not all.
Clearly one person who ticks all the Farke boxes is Farke, but going back only very occasionally recaptures the same magic. And he's in a job.
We very much starting to feel like a poisoned chalice - though perhaps not quite as much of one as the one you find at the end of the M4.
It clearly isn't an easy find, but Farke has surely got to have a replacement out there somewhere - he just has to tick all the aforementioned boxes.
So just where do you find an attack-minded, defensively sound, tactically astute, fancy Dan foreigner with experience of English football and the ability to inspire and motivate without any hint of an ego, who can build players into greater than the sum of their parts?
Ted Lasso it is then...