With all else going on, I barely get a chance to follow the daily comings and goings at Carrow Road and Colney – much less that of another club down the far end of the A14.
But as an air of distinct restlessness settles over Norfolk as the punters – rightly – wonder just where this season is going, events at Aston Villa over the last six months might be worth pondering.
Footballers aren’t that daft; nor are they much different from many other a profession.
Despite the number of noughts that festoon their pay cheques, they are just lads. Ordinary fellas earning an extraordinary wage for – certainly in the case of the Championship – doing a very ordinary job.
And like everyone else in the world of work, they like to know who is in charge. Who is running the show.
Some like to know that for a simple reason – they want to know just how much they can get away with. A lot or a little depending on who is calling the shots; who is looking out of the window on training.
For reasons I have never fathomed – other than there appeared to be some breach of club discipline – ‘Team Lambert’ of his golden years at Carrow Road split asunder towards the end of last season when Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa were shown the door. But Lambert stayed.
At the time, it didn’t strike me as much of a show of ‘All for one and for all!’ given that the three had been together at Wycombe, Colchester and then Norwich. Even if I struggled to work out what Karsa did, exactly.
Of course, who should then pop at Lambert’s side this summer but Roy Keane. Who promptly disappeared in a hurry last week citing his commitments to Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland set-up as the cause of his abrupt exit.
The Republic have, after all, got a game in three months. Villa, by contrast, only had a game the next day.
Through the course of this whole period, Villa’s form has been – at best – patchy. Christian Benteke has made four appearances this season; no goals; one red card. Darren Bent is out of the door and off on loan to Brighton.
You don’t sense a happy ship. And I’m not convinced that R Keane was ever designed to be anyone’s No2. The messages might have been mixed; confusion rife.
Coming on the back of the whole Culverhouse-Karsa episode, you wonder where Villa’s season is heading. Form and fortune don’t appear to have improved as a result of moving the back room deck-chairs.
Clearly it is way too early to point any fingers in the direction of new City coach Mike Phelan.
He has barely had a chance to catch his breath since his arrival on the back of Mark Robson’s sudden exit post-Forest.
‘Team Neil’ lost a former youth coach at Charlton and gained Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man.
What followed was wholly inevitable in terms of the supporters speculating that here was the managerial heir apparent; the boss-in-waiting.
That the City faithful would jump to such a conclusion should, surely, have been foreseen by all involved.
He hasn’t – yet – got to the level that Phelan has batted at.
The point being that if the supporters are thinking that; that it is crossing the mind of those that have long admired the man’s coaching instincts and abilities, let alone his musical accomplishments… It will have crossed the mind of every player in that Canary dressing room.
It would have put a question mark in their minds.
And that can be very dangerous. As this weekend’s performance and result might be in the process of bearing out.
Because the manner in which Norwich conceded their second goal smacks of a team not paying much attention to anyone right now.
The kid is six-foot four and has done you once. Don’t let him do you again. Particularly not in the 45th minute. You get back into the dressing room level.
If a rocket was delivered at the break, by every account it didn’t fire too many people into life in the second-half. And come the final whistle – as Norwich made it just the one win in the last ten – the reaction of the paying public was wholly predictable.
Adams was quite right to assert afterwards that it will all come down to winning games. As we all know, the Championship is such a fickle beast that two wins on the spin and you are everyone’s darling again.
But there is a point to management. Be it of football players, plumbers, plasterers, butchers, bakers and candle-stick makers.
Managing people is easy when times are good. Most people can do it. Lambert managed a Norwich side that couldn’t stop winning. Right now he is being asked to manage a Villa side that are struggling to start winning games again on a consistent basis.
Just as Adams is at Norwich.
But the challenge for both men becomes doubly difficult if everyone thinks you are doing it with one eye looking over your shoulder.
Whatever the reality, it’s the perception that counts. And if the players’ perceptions match those of the supporters, you have a fresh and serious mountain to climb.
At the end of the season we will look back at this ten game run and see exactly how much it cost. It may be we can still get promoted automatically, certainly the playoffs remain very possible, right now neither look within our grasp. Something needs to change at Carrow Road.
Yesterday was the first time I saw the players crack. The second half was dreadful. No two ways about it. In many previous matches I scratched my head and wondered how on earth we didn’t win, how we had dominated and yet failed to convert. Yesterday it was because we were plain rubbish, as was pointed out at the end, a load of rubbish.
My thought now turns to providing a dignified step down for Neil Adams, he is Norwich through and through, he’s given his heart and soul and he’s a good coach. But he has struggled badly and it’s getting much worse. He does not deserve an unceremonious dumping, but similarly a change is needed. I would appoint Phelan, which is surely why he has been bought in.
Which comes partly to the point of the article, a man who as assistant manager won everything there is to win at the top of the game, accustomed to working with the top elite level of the sport is simply another coach at norwich? No he’s not, the fans see it, the players must see it and regrettably for him, Neil must see it too.
OTBC all is not lost but goodness knows it’s close
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Three words…Soft, freefall & Wes
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Great article Rick and follow-up comment from Paul – many very valid points which I agree with. I think the appointment of Mike Phelan is a weird one. Obviously his track record at Man United is second to none but in the medium to long-run I just can’t see him being content to just be the First Team Coach. As pointed out, it surely would make Neil Adams and the players look over their shoulders and this can’t have a good effect.
But would Phelan (potentially) be a good replacement to Neil Adams if the eject button is ultimately pressed? I can’t help thinking you would be replacing one manager with little management experience with one who has none. Big risk if you ask me.
Onto yesterdays game and the first time this season we have really seen the crowd turn. Never nice to see and poor John Ruddy in the midst of some flack via Twitter too. Whilst I understand John’s reaction, some of the language and abuse directed at him really isn’t fair and quite frankly embarrassing to see as fan and a fellow human. That said fans do have a point (not to abuse though) – the team and many of the individuals in it are much better than they are showing and something fundamental really isn’t working.
In my humble opinion the team just don’t seem joined-up and lack real leadership both on and off the pitch. I’m a big fan of Russell Martin (although not as a CD) but can’t help feeling a Michael Nelson or Grant Holt type-character is desperately needed.
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Phelan is another coach with no managerial experience ,what we need is a tried and tested manager.
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If, as Toad suggests, that the solution to our problem is Wes then I can’t help but feel we’ve got a REAL problem!
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Is the king too busy counting his coffers to see his kingdom falling apart?
I fear three years of good work are being undone with three poor ones.
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Paul (1): until recently I’d have challenged your call for change. In fact, I might have challenged it at half-time yesterday – aside from the horribly-conceded goals, the first-half wasn’t bad and showed some variety of attacking ideas. But the second half was truly shocking. It’s been too long a poor run, and the second 45 yesterday stretched the imagination of even the greatest optimist that things can be turned round by the present management team.
More in sadness than in anger, I agree with every word you say.
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I understand why people are looking for conspiracy theories behind the appointment of Phelan, but it still may simpler than that. We needed a coach, he was the best available. From his point of he’s been out of work a long time (he may have had numerous offers that I’m unaware of) & had a chance to get a job at club he’d spent a lot of his career. He may well of thought there was a chance he could take over at some point but it doesn’t necessarily mean that was the his sole motivation.
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If putting some experience alonside Neyul was your original strategy and he’s struggling, Phelan would seem to me a means of buying time and making your original decision to go with a manager of no (meaningful) experience work.
The trouble is, at the moment getting the wheels back on is getting harder and harder and frustration in the stands and the looming January window might force a more radical change…
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Dave H.
May well be the case.
But for me the point is more about *perception* than necessarily the mundane reality of it being as straight-forward and as simple as you suggest…
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Far from being ‘mundane’, I found the appointment of Phelan exciting. I would have hoped the players perception would be about the opportunity to work with someone who has coached some of the best players in the world. Of course if we had replaced Robson with someone with less credentials or experience, I have no doubt the accusation would be about a perception of lack of ambition or being too scared to appoint someone more qualified. I must admit, I do prefer to keep things simple and for me it’s about what happens on the pitch rather than speculation of perception off it.
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I take your point Rick and you may well be right.
Now if you’d put Pulis on the football committee (whatever happened to that?) as Director of Football, that would engender a big fat ‘perception’.
Team Neyul with Phelan the coach replacing Robson and getting stuck-in at Colney might be viewed differently by the players if not in the Snakepit.
I may be missing the blindingly obvious, but for me, whilst he might find himself in the hot seat as caretaker I can’t see Phelan as the heir apparent.
Mind you, I still drink tea out of my Paul Lambert mug…
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