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Tick, tick, tick… and so we all sit and wait; instant judgements at the ready.

29th October 2007 By Rick Waghorn Leave a Comment

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At some stage in the next 48 hours, the phone will ring. And we will all troop off down to Carrow Road to meet the new man in charge.

There will be the traditional bun-fight over who 'broke' the story first; in reality, the name of Peter Grant's successor will have crossed most people's lips already. He will, in every likelihood, be one of the dozen or so names that have done the rounds in the last three weeks.

Each and everyone of us will, therefore, claim that we had the name; we knew it was him all along. We said so last Thursday. Ah, no, I had his name 24 hours after Grant went…

But such is the instant nature of the Internet beast these days, that being 'first' is an experience that lasts for minutes, not hours. After that expect to get trampled under-foot by the rest of the Internet hordes and 'Who got what when..?' will, similarly, then get lost beneath the impending avalanche of message-board judgement.

Good, bad or indifferent, everyone will have their opinion. And why not? Ten years ago and we'd all be heading down the nearest boozer to throw in our two penny-worth; now you don't have to move from the comfort of your own office chair to vent the spleen. Or offer warm congratulations on a job well done.

Given that there is never, ever a sure thing in football, offering an instant opinion on anyone is fraught with peril. Few ever gave Nigel Worthington a hope when he battered down the boardroom door to demand the full-time gig; 18 months later and City were a couple of penalties away from the Premiership.

Likewise, you'd have bet your house on Bruce Rioch being a bigger success – only for all manner of factors to conspire against him. And where had Mike Walker's magic touch gone when he returned for his second spell at the helm?

So what, may, initially look like a sure-fire hit may be anything but; what, may, initially look like an: 'Oh my God, not him…' type appointment may, be an act of boardroom genius. May.

But given Norwich's wretched predicament at the foot of the Championship table – and, equally, the nature of the performances being posted – one thing is certain. There are no half-measures to this appointment.

Success or failure will be black or white. Either Norwich stay up (success). Or they carry on plummeting down (failure).

This appointment – arguably more than any other in the history of the football club – will be judged on results. Get a result this Sunday and your man can be an instant hit; go horribly wrong against the neighbours and the mood of the Norfolk nation is such that instant judgements will come thick and fast.

And this board will sink or swim with their man; with the decision that they deliver in the course of the next 48 hours.

Look around your football club and in all but the one area that matters above all others, they are a Premiership club – albeit in the same way that a West Bromwich Albion, a Watford and a Sheffield United are a 'Premiership club'. Have another, say, 14 points on the board and while there would still be the odd mutter, by and large, all would be OK-ish with the world. Not great, but something you kind of grow accustomed to… safe in the knowledge that it would be Norwich's 'turn' to have a pop at this top flight thing again in a season or so.

That scenario has clearly gone out of the window of late and for that, the board doesn't have to look too far to find a culprit. As much as it might question their own decision-making skills this time last year, the bottom line is simple.

Results-wise, their last appointment bombed. Period. End of.

Why is almost an irrelevance; it's results, results, results. And part of the reason, I suspect, that Peter Grant went to the board with his tail between his legs three weeks ago was because he couldn't see where the next result was coming from.

Results were killing him; just as they will leave the board's reputation in tatters should they not improve over the course of the next seven months.

Which would be a tragedy. Collectively and individually they do so much good; despite the common perception, there really aren't that many people out there willing to see their hard-earned millions being splashed up a wall on the Prince of Wales Road every Saturday night.

Likewise, there aren't that many boards that would head to Brewer's Green Lane on a midweek evening to meet the fans' fury and frustrations head on. Most would just ask their driver to 'Step on it!' as the great unwashed pressed their noses against the windows of the Bentley.

Tick, tick, tick. But as much as for them as for the manager, it's results, results, results.

And if 11 years at the helm resulted in Norwich City Football Club disappearing into League One, that would be the only result that mattered. At the end of a long and windy road, they'd bombed. They'd meant oh-so-well, but results, results, results ripped all that good will and all that good work apart.

That's why this appointment matters so much. It has to deliver the right results. Starting on Sunday, ideally.


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