This piece presupposes two things.
Firstly, that you are a Norwich supporter (we do get the occasional ‘tourist’ from other clubs).
Secondly, and as a direct result, that you have a deep-rooted emotional attachment to our football club.
An attachment which is often tested by events both on and off the pitch and which is also wholly irrational when you consider that it’s fundamentally based upon 22 blokes kicking a ball around a pitch.
But assuming all that’s true, what exactly do you expect from being a supporter of Norwich City Football Club?
For me, it boils down to three things:
1) I want us to be successful
2) I want to be entertained
3) I want to feel valued
Whilst I can only speak for myself, in the midst of all the arguments, the talk of protests and the subsequent condemnation of those protests, I suspect that basically we all want those same things?
The contention comes from our own personal definitions of success, entertainment and value and more importantly the extent to which we feel the club is delivering against them.
So let’s explore each one…
Success
It’s been said that ‘life is not a game that you can win’ because there will always be someone with more.
More success – more happiness – more possessions.
Football on the other hand is a game you definitely can win – each time you go out on the pitch in fact. After all, theoretically you could win every match, every season and the world would be a better place.
However just like life, there will always be those with more. More money, more points, more trophies, more supporters, more seats in their stadium or even more stars over their badge (for what that’s worth).
All these things get cited during the endless arguments between rival fans about who supports the bigger and better club.
We all create our own criteria for what constitutes success and inevitably it tends to be based on comparison – either comparison to previous years or comparison to other clubs – but ultimately comparison to what we as individuals expect.
That’s what lies at the heart of most disagreements and leads to all those discussions that are aimed at altering each other’s perspectives and expectations.
You know the ones:
“It’s unrealistic for a club like City to pay those wages”
“There’s no way we should settle for just the play-offs”
All just a reflection of different expectations, backed up by different viewpoints.
But most importantly, neither side is wrong. It’s simply a matter of opinion and perspective and we would all do well to remember that.
Entertainment
Let’s assume that we all agreed (now there’s a thought) that success for City is to become an ‘established’ Premier League side; consistently finishing mid-table; neither flirting with relegation nor challenging for a place in Europe.
What price would you put on that success in terms of sacrificing entertainment?
Would you be willing to watch City grind out results in the manner served up by West Brom and Tony Pulis?
Maybe for a couple of seasons – but year after year?
It’s been a long time since City have had the supposed comfort of closing out a season without either a promotion or relegation battle and facing those ‘six-pointers’ that bring with them moments of sheer ecstasy or abject misery.
But surely that’s why we go to matches; to experience those emotions and moments of high drama and to share that experience and atmosphere with 27,000 others?
However that atmosphere can only be created by events on the pitch and their wider context. If you start watching week after week of meaningless fixtures with drab football, you may quickly find yourself sat amid a bank of empty seats.
Just ask any Ipswich fan.
Valued
As a supporter, I have never really considered myself to be a customer of the football club – not in the traditional sense of the word.
It’s true that over the years, I have spent a small fortune on tickets, travel and all sorts of yellow and green merchandise but the investment we make with the club goes way beyond time and money. It’s the emotional investment that lies at the heart of that deep-rooted attachment highlighted at the start of this piece.
Simply put, we love our club.
And we need to feel that it’s not unrequited; that the club recognises our true value as fans rather than just merely customers or simply another source of income.
Because as fans, we don’t really have the option of exercising the ultimate consumer right of taking our custom elsewhere and looking for a better deal.
So if you don’t feel you are getting value or being valued, what else can you do apart from getting frustrated?
And there is a lot of frustration amongst the supporters right now.
Frustration due to being relegated; frustration over not signing strikers; frustration at what we’re seeing on the pitch, and even frustration aimed at other fan’s frustration.
Who knows how all of that will manifest itself, or whether we’ll see protests outside the ground over the coming weeks?
Personally, I have no issue with those who may choose to do so.
After all, we all have our own expectations and perspectives. If you felt that the club was not delivering against your own criteria for success, entertainment or value, then surely it’s right to express that rather than merely accept it?
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Steve won’t be part of the angry mob wielding a pitchfork and burning torch but will be posting on Twitter @stevocook
Well argued and eminently reasonable, Steve.
And yet. Certain expectations (in lots of clubs, not just Norwich) are beyond reasonable. Some of our fans expected us to add substantially to the squad this summer while not selling anyone. A frequent commenter on this site thinks it’s completely fair to demand that City finish in the top ten of the Premier League, year after year. Those expectations simply aren’t realistic.
However, there’s a grey area that you’re right to highlight. Some may have higher thoughts than I do about what constitutes success for Norwich City. It’s a legitimate debate with arguments, but no right answer.
I have a friend who supports West Brom as passionately as we do Norwich. While fully recognising the privilege of having Premier League football, he can hardly bring himself to go and watch them under Pulis. Success, yes; entertainment and being valued, no.
I agree completely with the article above, and it’s very true that being a football fan (of NCFC) means you cannot take your custom elsewhere if dissatisfied with the ‘product’ which causes irrational frustration.
And yes the reasons are poor performances on the pitch due to lack of ambition by the board in particular to sign another striker and centre back, which in my mind simply makes no sense with the financial rewards for promotion to the premier league.
And I do feel undervalued and taken for granted just like thousands of fans who travel to every game including on a freezing day in February to places like Aston Villa to see a pathetic performance.
Again I blame the board with lack of ambition as clearly Alex Neil is not up to it and a more experienced manager should be in charge.
Further to previous comments I would like to add that the thought has crossed my mind several times that I wished I could tear up my season ticket and take my support elsewhere, but I know in my heart I cannot do this. And where would I go? Ipswich ? Perish the thought.
And what is the point of a football club but to try and win things and compete! Which is where the frustration manifests itself, because the board of directors don’t seem to comprehend this fact , and that this is what the supporters want, to see the club competing not just existing which what is happening at the moment.
Oddly, I just sat next to Delia, michael and jez moxey at dinner. She speaks as though completely disconnected from these shenanigans. Anyway, as you say, everyone wants the same outcome. Protests won’t do anything, but let people do what they like. Personally, I do feel sad at just how lame we look at the moment. We just need a spark, something to bring us back together. Only then will the team succeed, but we are where we are and its never a simple path back to cohesion, but the board have to find a way. A marquee striker brings risks, but would be sure to do it if it worked. She who dares…
Jeff, can I just say after reading your comments these past few weeks, the image of you sat next to those three has made me chuckle!
While it is true that as a fan, you can’t just go and support another club, you can still go and get enjoyment from going to other matches. I haven’t been local to Norwich for 30 years but I’ve still wanted to go and watch football and have been able to do so where I’ve lived and seen various levels; non league (Chelmsford), Conference (Forest Green), League 2 (Cheltenham), League 1 (Crewe) and I’ve managed to enjoy all of it as just a football match. I don’t have the same connection with the teams, I’m not fussed about the result, I just want to enjoy the game. When I do get to watch Norwich it now means a lot more to me. Perhaps it’s worth going elsewhere for a bit so you know what you’re missing when you come back?
It’s always important to consider the ‘facts’ or the basis on which opinions are formed.
Aside from the club’s accounts, everything else to do with the financial position is based on hearsay and supposition. We may pick up snippets from the media and the headline figures for transfer fees and wages but none of us know how the deals have been structured and the true position.
My personal view is that the club splashed out big time last January (due to failings the previous summer). It was a throw of the dice that ultimately failed. Consider the rumoured bid from Sunderland for Naismith. Half of what we allegedly paid Everton but ultimately they couldn’t agree personal terms. A Prem side not being willing / able to match his current deal suggests that he’s on a very lucrative package here.
But again… Only an opinion and supposition on my part
I think many fans expected Redmond to be sold for a decent sum and most seem happy with that. I think fans expected players like Whittaker and Turner to come off the payroll, instead their contracts were refreshed. Likewise, we have a plethora of midfielders but the one to go out on loan is the promising Maddison. Plus we’ve given Andreu to Dundee for the season. Given, it seems… The manager admits he had higher hopes of strengthening at striker, but… Lafferty still lingers. Our natural cover for Olsson @ LB might’ve been Toffolo, but he was packed off to Scúnthorpe. Irish International forward, Brady fills in (and was injured in so doing yesterday). The fear is that Klose, Olsson and Brady will be off in January, leaving the club woefully weak in defence, reliant on last season’s exiles, Whittaker & Turner.. Supporters protest? The average attendance @ Carrow Rd for first 3 games is about 26,000. Around 800 below last season’s average. Could be down to reduced away support?