After a seven month hiatus away from Norfolk, former boss Neil Adams slipped back into the Canaries fold at the end of last week. While his return didn’t exactly go under the radar, it was a decidedly low key homecoming – no fanfare, no bunting.
Adams has a brand new job description – loans manager – and presumably a new office through which a number of peripheral and higher profile squad members, plus agents, will shortly be passing to decide the whereabouts of their immediate futures.
Official club statements were made, with David McNally in rather chilling and unemotional language stating that, “… Neil will be responsible for helping us to maximise our efficiency in this area of our strategy.” A reminder as if it was needed that McNally is first and foremost a businessman with a passion for football… not the other way round.
Surely though it could have been rephrased more in fan-friendly fashion to show a little more warmth and a little less technocrat speak?
Maybe, ‘Neil’s experience will be ideally suited to getting the best for the club from incoming and outgoing player loans’?
While Adams’ status at the club tends to split those fans, who can remember his playing days on the wing at Carrow Road, between considering him a club legend or a significantly overrated presence, his passion for the Fine City and its football club is without question.
The role is certainly new in every sense – both for him and the club. Comments have already been circulating that it smacks of a rather contrived and maybe unnecessary position that was invented purely to honour the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’, which was met to allow Adams to leave with reputation intact at the end of last year when a black cloud had descended.
Whatever your take on it, it does seem a little strange for a former first-team boss to return to a much reduced role at the same club. Possibly a unique situation.
It seems equally strange that Adams is happy to swap the track suit for a pin-stripe one, the dug-out for the office. He is a football man through and through, and so to be restricted to arranging ins and outs at the behest of current boss and CEO must have been a slightly bitter pill to swallow.
Why not get back into coaching or as an assistant-manager with another club? Adams’ CV in that respect is a fine one and would surely be an attractive proposition to just about any club in the land or even abroad.
It appears that after experiencing the merciless spotlight of media and fan expectation last season, he decided that the frontline wasn’t for him after all. He gave it a crack, came up short and in the interests of all parties chose to take a back seat but still give his time and effort to the club closest to his heart.
I don’t think any of us begrudge him that.
What will possibly be contentious of course is the relationships that evolve between Adams and Alex Neil – presumably their paths never crossed before – and even more so Adams and some of his former charges who lie outside of Alex’s favoured band of first picks.
AN and CEO will shortly be passing on the names to Adams of those who will be coming under his ‘loan arranger’ jurisdiction. Adams’ essentially personnel position will be to then try and find the most suitable destinations for the respective player and the best deals for Norwich City.
In that latter category most likely lie the likes of Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Gary Hooper, Kyle Lafferty and Michael Turner at the top of Adams’s in-tray.
Oh to be a fly on the new boy’s office wall for those meetings, which seem destined to take place over the coming weeks.
With Pardew’s Palace due in town at the weekend for the season opener, there is still much to ponder behind the scenes of the club.
So far, there are no detectable cracks or bad vibes emerging, just plenty of disagreement and sweating amongst fans as to whether we can cut it this season, but amongst those who have the power to influence, we seem to be heading united on a steady course.
Rarely does a happy ship stay that way for too long though.
There’s still a sense of a warm, rosy glow from last season’s triumph but that will dissipate very quickly if Cabaye, Bamford and Bolasie expose too many weaknesses next Saturday.
If we do get off to a bad start in August, Neil Adams may well find himself busier than he might have imagined. If so, let’s hope he can “maximise his efficiency in his appointed area of club strategy.”
Wouldn’t read much into NA position just looking after one of our own ditto Hucks with youth set up I expect NA to be coaching before too long. He also takes credit for some great signings and start to last season when other teams were gunning for us. We’ve alot to thank him for.
It annoys me when Cabaye, Bamford etc are assumed great signings, Look at the ‘names’ QPR signed didn’t they do well!! Norwich can’t attract the big names and that’s good for us its about togetherness. Don’t mind too much what division we play in as City till I die. The PL millions mean nothing to supporters.
Neil Adams, great to see you back ‘home’ you ‘little beauty’ lets hope the place will ‘go bananas’once again.
It’s easy to get distracted by the sceptical comments directed towards Neil Adams over this appointment.
However, all clubs have a fundamental issue to address; namely bridging the huge gap between academy and first team football.
The Under 21 league may go some way towards addressing this, but it’s far from the only solution. Players crucially need game time and this move should go a long way towards assisting the process.
I think Adams can have a significant role to play here and I think the club should be praised for its foresight in trying to address the underlying problem.
Perhaps McNally recognised that NA though not successful in that managerial role of the players had an eye for bringing great signings such as Dorrans and Jerome , why allow a talent which is valuable be recognised by another club. Astute business by McNally I hope. I wish NA all the best a true legend in my eyes but not a manager
I find this appointment absolutely bizarre. I was pleased to hear that he was going to return to the club as he has demonstrated in the past he has a great deal to offer in a coaching capacity. Instead we appear to have created a role which doesn’t particularly play to the strengths that the club went to great lengths to stress when he was appointed as manager.
I would be surprised if he was still in post in 12 months time. I would be equally surprised if he was to be replaced in the role.
Colin/Gary – I can’t believe Adams will be happy to stay in that role for too long – I guess he’s hoping to get back into that track suit at some level at Carrow Road as you say.
To be fair, Cabaye was superb for the ‘Toon and Bamford wasn’t too shoddy last season until he got injured at Carrow Road and never got back to his best. Palace will be a massive test of our pace in defensive positions especially on the wings. I think that’s where all Canaries have the most worries.
Anita – good point. Whatever his failings last season, Adams made some very good signings up front who were pivotal in our eventual success – Dorrans though was an Alex Neil choice.
“He is a football man through and through, and so to be restricted to arranging ins and outs at the behest of current boss and CEO must have been a slightly bitter pill to swallow.”
Well for a start I would imagine he will be on the road a fair bit, at Burton this weekend for example, watching how Remi Matthews gets on.
We still haven’t really learnt how to get our developing players into the big time, and due to Adams’s previous success we have more who are capable of stepping up than for a long while. If that means proactively sending them out AND monitoring them closely whilst they are away, all the better.
Past criticism of our managers included taking loanees and being obliged to play them come what may. Now whilst I don’t totally believe that was the case you can certainly imagine at least some questions being asked by a parent club if their man isn’t playing. It won’t be the first team manager picking up the phone will it if we send guys out who finish up sitting on the bench?
Jacob Murphy got himself in to a pickle last season at Blackpool; was anyone at our end designated to help manage the fallout from that? Perhaps someone who knows the lad might have been able to help resolve it better than just telling him to point whatever flash motor he drives back down the M55.
A few years back Chris Martin had a few loan spells; he didn’t really shine in any of them, and nobody at NCFC saw enough to believe he might fulfil his long-term potential. So his contract wound down instead of us getting a fee with a nice sell-on clause. Maybe this role will at least reduce the chances of that happening if (probably when) it’s decided Loza, Morris, Hall-Johnson and co. aren’t quite good enough for the top flight.
No, it’s not a key job in the way that Physio is, or Coach. It’s probably relatively low paid in the scheme of things.
But Alex Neil, we know, is a big believer in being very thorough. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was asked if there was a role for Adams and came up with this – it sounds just like the sort of level of detail he would want dealing with.
Although at first glance the role is distanced from his previous experience (expertise?), there’s more than a little overlap.
Perhaps some of RvW, Hooper, Turner and Lafferty will be leaving on loan, but the greater number of people in that category will be our young players. Neil Adams knows them well, and they probably feel more confidence in him that the senior squad does.
Having said that, I’m with Russ in expecting him to be back in the tracksuit before long – if not at Carrow Road, then elsewhere. After fulfilling our side of the bargain, I’m sure we wouldn’t stand in his way.
PS Meant to congratulate you on the best headline of the MFW Summer (“This time it’s personnel”).
Stew (8) – All Russell’s own work that one!
@5 Russell – I have no idea whether Adams has any desire to manage elsewhere, although, I suspect he’s Norwich through and through, so, probably not.
I also think that he wouldn’t just take this role unless he genuinely believes he can add something for the benefit of the club.
I also think it will be more tracksuit than desk job.
In Gregg Broughton’s blog on the club website speaking about Neil Adams’ appointment, he says that ‘the average age of players breaking into Premier League first teams in now 23.2 years, so having a Loans Manager who can identify the best options for those within our Academy is vital for the Football Club.’
That’s an interesting comment. It suggests that the club is more serious about players like the Murphy twins, Loza, Toffolo etc playing for the club in the longer term, but believe that it will take time. Previously they just used to lose these players, so it does suggest a different attitude and approach, and overall a greater commitment to seeing Academy players come through.
Gary (9) – no disrespect to your wordsmithing powers, but I strongly suspected it was Russell’s!
Keith B – I’ve probably grossly underestimated the role and Neil is probably back doing what he’d rather be doing – out of the glare and heat of the spotlight. Good luck to him.
Will be an odd ‘dynamic’ though between Adams and some of the staff who were under him (i.e. Gary Holt) who now hold positions higher up the ladder.
Stewart – maybe there’s a job for me as headline writer at the Sun or Mirror? No mention of our favourite Italian-owned PL club either.
Stew (12) – Have already ‘fessed up’ to that one (9)… headline was all Russ’s own work!
Contrived position maybe,what worries me is will he be able to make a really positive contribution in not just loaning players out to gain experience but bringing in players that will make a contribution to the squad.It now seems that all of the players that were on the possible buy list have all been snapped up particularly by the other promoted teams.It’s anyone’s guess who’s out there now who is within the obvious outlay ceiling that city seem to be determined not to break.It’s too close for comfort now to bring players in & get them match fit & used to systems.
I would imagine most managers who get sacked half-way through a season can’t help but feel slightly bitter about it, and kid themselves they could have turned it around given time. But the instant and sustained upturn since he departed is inescapable, and must have been quite bruising for him, City fan or not.
So I’m glad Shoes is back, I’m glad his judgement has been proved sound with some of his signings being huge successes, and Gary Holt being kept on. He’s not a manager, but I’m sure the club will benefit from his skills and passion in his new capacity.
Prem Pedant (16) – True, our results improved in the second half of the season under Alex Neil.
But I hope Neil Adams’ tenure won’t be pigeonholed as a failure. Just one in four relegated teams bounces straight back. Despite their greater riches, Cardiff and Fulham were typical of those relegated sides – already in obscurity (or worse) by January. In contrast, Neil Adams left with City in seventh, just outside the playoffs.
He also left – as Alex Neil has gone out of his way to recognise – a strong squad bolstered by his signings of Jerome, Grabban and others.
Not a bad job.
17 Stewart .”Not a bad job”, reckon NA done great for us just a shame Chris H wasn’t relieved of his duties earlier. NA 34% win average better than many and comparable to John Bond. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s appointed by AN onto coaching staff before too long. He deserves so much credit and loves NCFC.
Just from vague memory I think we finished on 86 points, with Neil Adams responsible for about 37 of them, so credit where it’s due. Most fair-minded City fans would admit we owe him a lot of praise for his efforts.
But when Sir Alex came in it proved, to me at least, that NA isn’t a manager. Consistant back four and “everyone knowing their job” are basics which he failed at, and that Alex Neil immediately sought to achieve, and did achieve within days.
I agree Neil Adams shouldn’t be considered a failure, and I hope he has the confidence in the near future to come out in the media, maybe a column in the program, or an interview with his old mucker Chris Gorham, and talk about his tenure.