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Board offer a united front as they usher in round two of Gunn's control of the Norfolk club

13th May 2009 By Latest News Leave a Comment

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City's principal shareholders – and their last surviving director – tonight put on a robust and united front as they officially unveiled their third, full-time manager in little more than 18 months.

Bryan Gunn's re-appointment for his first, full season at the helm will not, of course, be met with universal approval.

The mood of the Norfolk footballing nation remains uneasy and suspicious after the club's plunge into League One; yesterday's exit of club chairman Roger Munby and chief executive Neil Doncaster merely confirming the impression that this was a club in the throes of some serious soul-searching – not to mention blood-letting as the two men who usually preside over events of today's ilk were to be found falling on their Canary swords.

But as Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones and Banham Poultry chief Michael Foulger did the re-introductions at this afternoon's Carrow Road Press conference, so they insisted that they were still fully in charge of events; that the three-person board was functioning just fine without the two men usually charged with executive power and responsibility.

“We're all actually equal,” said Wynn Jones this afternoon, quizzed as to who was actually doing what; was he now acting chairman in the wake of Munby's exit?

“If there's a problem one of us will sort it; if there's an approach one of us will take it. It'll work – I promise.”

Foulger's commitment to the cause remains unswerving.

“We have worked with Michael for ten years now and he has always shown that sort of commitment – including dipping into his pocket. Whether he does now is entirely a decision for him, but knowing Michael he will want to do everything he can for the club,” said Wynn Jones.

But, yes, they would be seeking for fresh boardroom faces “with vigour”, but the people needed to be right. “We're not going for knee-jerk reactions here,” said Delia's husband.

“And take the first person that offers themselves or comes along or whatever,” he added, a prospect that would appear to rule out Jade Goody's uncle and his plans for dog agility shows.

“We're looking for specifics. Whether its business sense, footballing knowledge, commercial nous, dedication, Norwich through and through – all those things. And we hope we find one. Or two. Or three.”

A stance that was supported by Delia. “Our ambition for the future is to become a really strong team – on and off the pitch,” she said, now looking forward to three months without the need to reflect on the Saturday before.

“It has been awful,” she admitted. “And I am looking forward to having three months of Sunday mornings; of waking up and thinking: 'Oh my God, we lost again…'

“But it has been very painful. And there have been some very long journeys home.”

Interestingly, the saw the physical and geographical gap between Carrow Road and the training HQ at Colney as a bridge that needed to be rebuilt; that the 'football department' needed to be nearer to hand; under a rather more watchful gaze.

“We want to try and be more united with Colney; we want to try and get everybody pulling in the same direction – and that's what we're going to work very hard now to create. A team that's all pulling together on and off the pitch.”

How much the board decides it needs to poke its nose right into Gunn's affairs is another big question for them to answer; letting the manager manage is fine as a mantra as long as the manager is managing to manage well. When he's not, then someone needs to manage the manager.

And that, possibly, doesn't come easy to those of a more 'Hands off…' nature.

“There is this philosophy if you like that you let managers manage; you pick them on your own gut feeling, admittedly. But once you interfere – and we've seen this so often – the club and the team is doomed. The manager is on his way.

“And I'm not sure at what point you would suggest the intervention,” said Wynn Jones, clearly wrestling with where and what could have been done with the whole, flawed loan philosophy of the Roeder regime.

That's gone. That was part of the Gunn 'pitch' to the board last Wednesday. From now on he will be working with the Academy kids that Messrs Butterworth and Crook have honed on the playing fields of Colney before ever going in search of whatever is left at the back of Harry Redknapp's locker.

“We weren't a good enough squad [last season], but if you want a contributory factor – and I used the phrase revolving doors earlier – but I didn't just mean of managers, I meant of players as well. It can't be good for the club.

“I would accept from this the year's loan – I think that's time for someone to get into the culture of a club and actually have some ambition for it.”

Among the other promises was one from Wynn Jones – that Gunn's playing budget would be “at least appropriate to League One”. It will, one suspects, be nowhere near the ?8.5 million set aside for Glenn Roeder to play with last season. Cuts, there will be. Redundancies? “It's not what we want, but in the end the good of the football club is more important than any individual.”

As for his ambitions for next season, Wynn Jones wasn't going down the 'We'll be back!' line.

“I just hope the squad shows a true fighting spirit, plays football that is competitive with the best in the league, aims to get as high as possible – and, obviously, I'm not going to give you a hostage to fortune and give you a position – but those are the qualities [I'll be looking for].”

And the qualities they saw in their latest manager?

“I think he has gained quite a bit of experience from being relegated,” said Delia. “But every manager has to start somewhere and we just feel that he didn't have enough time.

“He needs to get in there and do his own thing. He did inherit quite a lot of what was there and we saw some very good football under Bryan – the game against Cardiff was outstanding – so we're looking on the bright side.

“We're looking for the positives. And maybe if we get a few players with heart, who are not looking at the end of the season and thinking: 'Well, I'm not going to be here, so what…' it might work for him.”


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