While walking back to the car after Wednesday night’s game, I bumped into a friend; a more passionate City supporter you’re never likely to meet.
The general mood of the departing hoards had gone beyond defiant and was bordering on celebratory. For most anyway – not him. He was angry. Actually he was borderline apoplectic. “I just don’t understand Norwich supporters sometimes”.
His gist was that just a few minutes earlier we’d witnessed City being consigned to the second tier, yet Carrow Road had been rocking in a way rarely seen this season and now folk were happily strolling home content that they’d seen a win and were already looking forward to next season.
He didn’t get it.
I typically (and boringly the other half informs me) slipped on the Kofi Annan cape and did my best to avoid a full-on row by offering my two-penneth on why we ended up going down – it was like a MFW political broadcast.
It worked to a point and we departed still friends – he even suggested for my next change of career I become a therapist – but on the drive home, with Canary Call offering up its usual array of crackpots in the background, I transported myself back to May 25, 2015 and something else that Glen (yep, that’s his name) had said.
“It just feels as though all of the effort to get to Wembley and then win at Wembley has been wasted”.
And I started to agree with him. And then myself questioned why 26,500 of us (minus one) were taking relegation so well, so maturely. After all, of all the positive traits of being a football fan, maturity is most certainly not one of them.
Alex Neil and Gary O’Neil both spoke of their surprise at the crowd reaction; each no doubt expecting rather more in the way of pointed-fingers and questions being asked. But no, the players and management were given a standing ovation at they walked on their lap of… something, their names being sung passionately and defiantly into the Norwich night sky.
It was actually quite emotional. But Glen was right; in virtually every other Premier League ground, especially those who perceive themselves as bona fide top tier clubs, the players would be thanking empty stands and would be subject to a few awkward moments as they face fans who could justifiably feel let down.
But no. We stand. We applaud. We sing.
(Do we think the Newcastle players and staff will get a standing ovation this afternoon?)
I do wonder if the mood would have been a little different if they hadn’t offered up such a thoroughly decent performance on the pitch – it would have been more than a little awkward ‘celebrating’ after a 4-2 defeat – but fickleness and football supporting are so closely entwined the short-term boost of a vibrant display and a few goals was enough to ensure the mood was as far removed from ugly as humanly possible.
But – and I’m sure Glen is fuming again – it didn’t end there. Since relegation has been confirmed it feels almost as though the recriminations have ceased and the questions have stopped being asked.
Social media was flooded on Wednesday night – and has been since – with defiant messages of loyalty to the cause and some fine articles have been written proclaiming pride in being a member of the Yellow Army.
Even the nationals got in on the act, the Telegraph issuing a battle-cry on our behalf: “Norwich’s fans reminded everyone that the best thing about supporting a football team is not winning, but belonging.”
There is certainly no denying each sentiment was heartfelt and genuine, and for that we should be proud, but it does offer up an air of acceptance; a feeling of ‘oh well, we’re Norwich, what do we expect’ (and I’m probably more guilty of that than most).
But are we not better than that? In fact, having spent four out of the last five seasons in the Premier League I’d suggest we’re definitely better than that. And questions can justifiably be asked.
Alex Neil is asking questions of himself; it’s therefore only right we, the club’s lifeblood, should do the same.
The platitudes about learning from our mistakes have typically done the rounds and would be more worthy if they hadn’t been trotted out so many times before. But we have heard them before, loads of times. And yet here we are.
And I think it’s only right to question the direction in which owners wish to take us. Clearly it’s a bigger discussion for another day but a club owned my ‘poor millionaires’ needs to do something extraordinary to avoid being the yo-yo club as described nicely yesterday by Paul Armstrong.
Yet, right now, nothing extraordinary is happening. Neither on or off the pitch.
If given the choice I’d rather like to get to the Premier League and stay there. Always of course with the proviso that we’d be unlikely to do ‘a Leicester’ but nevertheless with a robust plan to hang around. I don’t consider that unreasonable.
But, in truth, for the medium term, while we plod along in our current state, it’s highly unlikely.
While no detail is known, constant rumours of foreign investors having slapped offers on the table but having been shown the door suggests the club is a little more appealing to those with deep pockets than I had perhaps given it credit for.
Again, another argument for another day, but how badly do we, or did we, wish to be an established Premier League club? I’m positive the answer is a big, fat affirmative but it’s no good relying on crossed fingers, magic dust and a prevailing wind to make it happen.
Alex himself has alluded to the finances being a limiting factor – and in fairness accepts it – but if offered the choice, would he prefer to bring in an £8 million striker or one worth £15 m? Daft question.
He has to stay, despite the excrement-stirring of the national media, but what of Frankie McAvoy and Gary Holt? Did they offer him the depth of support needed in a Premier League technical area? More questions.
And while we will likely start next season among the favourites to bounce back, ours is a squad soon to be in a state of transition.
I’d be amazed if we see Nathan Redmond, Timm Klose, Robbie Brady and Dieumerci Mbokani in yellow and green ever again after today and so to assume we’ll be there or thereabouts in the bear-pit of the Championship, assumes those players will be adequately replaced and some.
Again more questions.
And if the answer is to offer the floor to James Maddison, the Murphys, Carlton Morris et al, then we end up putting our faith in a learning curve of Alex Neil/Premier League proportions. And we know how that ended.
But I digress.
The purpose of the piece was to laud the general reaction on Wednesday night (and no doubt this afternoon) but also to question if, in doing so, we adhere to the ‘little Norwich’ theory and, in turn, allow those accountable for the current malaise just a little bit off the hook.
We certainly acted like grown ups. I just can’t decide if it helped.
I’ll have to ask Glen.
I said the same thing. I am feeling a mixture of pride and bemusement. I’m a big supporter of Neil, but the results against the poor sides were his doing, not a lack of recruitment. We still had enough to get results in the games we offered a no show. All of a sudden everyone seems happy to let that slide, giving Neil and the board a free ride. I believe it will have a positive effect on Neil as he looked genuinely hurt after the game, it’s the board I fear the most in terms of acceptance. I worry they will now think what they are achieving is ok, which is far from the case. I want to see a football club run as a football club should be…i.e. Supporting Neil with funds to remove the tainted souls, such as Ruddy, Martin and Bassong for starters. The board must show an intent that they aren’t as stale as most of our players, but the reaction after Watford means they wont be having sleepless nights to make big changes from the top down.
Brilliant article article Gary and totally sums up the mood of the vast majority of the fans I’ve chatted to over the last week or so. I especially liked the reference to May 25th last year and had the players actually turned up against Villa away, Sunderland at home etc, we’d be looking forward to t least another season of PL football.
Good reply too Jeff and we DO need to new blood to replace those players who’ve now seen 2 relegations. Let’s hope at least some of the youngsters impress enough in pre season to warrant a place in the squad or maybe even a regular space in the starting 11.
One thing I sincerely hoped AN has learnt is to take a leaf out of Ranieri’s book and keep a settled starting 11 wherever possible. As I was on my way to the Liverpool game, nearly every fan I spoke to winced when they saw that Martin was starting the game!!!!
It really is time to at least freshen up the board, but not to the detriment of the club as has happened at QPR, Leeds and Blackburn to name but a few. I’d love to see the board accept some of the flak for us going down so meekly, but will it happen?????
Leicester’s experiences this season have caused the expectations of all “smaller” clubs to be massively increased but for every Leicester there is a Blackburn and a Leeds – clubs with foreign owners who are feed up of spending money and have no emotional tie to the club and therefore no problem in letting a club wither and die.
Delia and Michael care about our fans and the club and we should never take that for granted.
The Norfolk breed are a strange race. It’s always difficult knowing which way they will swing, but on Wednesday we were lifted by the coup de grace releasing us from the month of agony knowing we would go down following the defeats to Palace and Sunderland over a month ago. It was a long lingering painful death.
Agreed Jeff. Ruddy, Martin and Bassong (and a couple of others) must be thanked for services rendered. Our club’s intentions will be signposted very soon by use of the pruning shears. If we are serious about building a sustainable Premier League side there can be no room for charity towards the playing staff – their salaries are big enough not to need to rely upon it.
My biggest fear remains the loss of DMcN. Looking at the surviving members of the board I’m not sure we have a footballing brain left at that level. It would be nice for our young trainee, Little Alex, to have a boss who could at least understand what he’s on about, and I don’t mean linguistically. The main priority is to appoint a proper CX – not necessarily a friend or family of the Stowmarket Two. (Sometimes I really do wonder why Davy Mac walked away from a job he was obsessed with and which paid him a 7 figure salary………) The next priority is to encourage Neil’s onward development by funding replacements of his weak links. Then we’ll see what happens come August. But I wouldn’t expect The Carra to be so warm and fuzzy if we’re not right up there come the autumn.
Bravo, Win or Die
Agreed Ben and therein lies the balancing act. IMO, I’d rather we remain a ‘yoyo club’ than become the next QPR, Blackburn etc!!!
I think McNally’s departure satisfied most fan’s desire for blood.
Would be good to hear more from the board apart from the standard ‘coporate’ speak. Is impossible to believe they have not been approached by foreign investors.
Yes you have to wonder how hungry players like Ruddy and Martin are to get back to the Premier after a couple of painful relegations.
Normally I pretty well agree with Gary. So today’s a rarity.
The thesis seems to be this: by not booing, screaming ad walking out on Wednesday night, we’re somehow showing complacency and thereby letting our club off the hook.
Well, hold that thought if you like, but I beg to differ. We were looking for pride on Wednesday and we saw it. Having given the club and players bags of unmistakeable criticism during the season (anyone listened to Canarycall or seen the message boards?), we took the opportunity to acknowledge the pride we’d seen and show Alex Neil, Jonny Howson, Gary O’Neil and one or two others that they’re wanted.
If the result was to encourage those people to stay at Carrow Road, I’m nothing but pleased. The players that Villa and Newcastle would like to keep may, I suspect, be less inclined to stick around the poisonous atmosphere of Villa and St James’s Parks.
Rather than showing submission, I’d say we showed some (perhaps unusual) maturity on Wednesday. The club knows full well our disappointment – and clearly shares it. They’re trying to get a head start on mounting a promotion challenge next season. And we’re already helping.
OTBC
Im with Glen
Good points made in this article and the board have survived because of the fans, shall we say, lack of ambition equal to their own.
For me, NCFC is a club that is falling apart because it cannot cope with the PL. We had a shambolic transfer window, the resignation of the Chairman two weeks after their AGM, increasingly poor form, New Chairman with no football experience, resignation of Chief Executive on his drunken Saturday night out in Tombland after a game and then subsequent relegation with the manager questioning the club as well as himself.
Does this sound like a club that can cope at the top Gary? I think not.
I’m also with Glen on this one, I couldn’t believe it on Wednesday when the news of another Sunderland goal filtered through and this seemed to switch on ‘party mood’ all around me. I’m not suggesting for one minute that we should be displaying the old ‘you’ve let us down banners’ but the reaction of the crowd was very much ‘little old Norwich’ as far as I’m concerned. My mood was more in line with what AN said after the match in that he didn’t feel that they had done their job and for that reason I left the ground about a minute before the final whistle.
If that’s considered to be immature, so be it. I didn’t feel too inclined to hang around and applaud failure.
We accept mediocrity like few other fans. Gives the board, manager and players a free pass. We got what we deserved this season and I’m afraid I remain massively unconvinced that Alex Neil is the right man for the job.
“(Do we think the Newcastle players and staff will get a standing ovation this afternoon?)”
Oops
I too applauded after Watford (must have been the beer and the relief of being put out of my misery at last, coupled with the fact I think Alex Neil deserves a chance) but I am truly glad there was little venom on display. Moving on, I cannot understand why we have lost Bowkett and McNally while acquiring Balls and, oh, you know, the nepotistic appointment. If the latter isn’t the death-knell to outside investment, nothing is.