City's majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones today continued their radical restructuring of the Norwich City boardroom with the appointment of a new chairman in Alan Bowkett and a new director in Archant Norfolk boss Stephan Phillips.
With chief executive David McNally little more than ten days into his own new role at the football club following the exit of Neil Doncaster this summer, the Canaries have gone right back to the drawing board in their search for a winning formula.
The fact that Bowkett comes to the party with a background in 'corporate recovery' should help.
Likewise, for a club in need of rebuilding a few bridges with its supporters after events of The Valley and beyond, so Phillips' experience in the realms of marketing and media might prove invaluable.
Whether either man actually brought any hard cash to the table was another matter; for now, two fresh faces and the promise of a new approach to the tricky business of running a Football League club might have to suffice.
Certainly Wynn Jones appeared delighted with Bowkett's arrival on the bridge following this summer's painful exit of former chairman Roger Munby.
Already an Associate Director at the club, the recently retired chairman of FTSE 250 builders Redrow was, said Wynn Jones, ideally suited for his new role.
“He's a very rare sort,” said Wynn Jones this afternoon.
“He is incredibly experienced and has run some of the biggest companies in the UK, probably Europe – and he's also a Norwich City supporter.
“And what we've needed as a board is clear direction and with all the qualities that Alan, Stephan and David bring obviously the board now has that.”
It also, of course, has some ?360,000 of Michael Foulger's cash to splash after the long-serving director matched the efforts of those season ticket holders who opted not to claim their rebate this summer.
Maximising such financial resources would, it appears, be the watchword of the in-coming chairman as he steps up to the plate ahead of Norwich's entry into League One.
“Clearly resources are going to be a key area in any football club going forward,” he said. “But I firmly believe we need to ensure we maximise efficiency and the utilisation of the resources we have.”
In that regard, Bowkett saw a ready ally in the newly-arrived McNally.
“Coming from Celtic and Fulham, he [McNally] knows how to work within a budget and how to maximise it,” added City's new chairman.
“Hopefully, with a little guidance from me and and a lot of hard work from David, we can see some results.”
For Phillips, today's elevation from season ticket holder to fully-fledged board member gave him the chance to help the club “in any shape or form that I can.”
Given the “challenging” times the whole media sector currently faces, Phillips can expect to have his hands full at either end of Rouen Road. He was, however, clearly a big supporter of Canary chief Bryan Gunn whose life story has prompted thousand upon thousand of column inches in Archant's local newspapers.
“I've been a fan for a long time,” Phillips, 54, told the club's official website this afternoon.
“And you can't be a fan and not have great admiration for Bryan Gunn after everything he's done for the club, with the difficulties that he's gone through and what he's done so far.
“Bryan is someone who can really motivate people well; I'm a great fan of him and I'm looking forward to helping him in any way that I can.”
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