If Norwich’s City’s season is to be prevented from its seemingly perpetual spiral into Championship oblivion, Delia Smith, Michael Wyn-Jones, Jez Moxey and co must be bold.
They must acknowledge and come to terms with the fact that this incompetent City side were so comprehensively outplayed by David Wagner’s Huddersfield team on Friday night, visibly manifesting defensive ineptitude, a lack of creativity and movement and a midfield as overrun as Norwich’s streets for Christmas shopping during the festive period.
But they won’t.
The increasingly lost-looking Alex Neil was assured of his position as Norwich City manager prior to this week’s two pivotal games regardless of his team’s performances, further evidence of the board’s perplexing and unwavering loyalty to a manager who each week appears to be becoming more and more incapable of inspiring this underachieving team.
Farcical.
I may have only just turned 20, but Friday night was as poor a City performance as I have seen for a long time. Our side dithered going forward, appeared static off the ball and all too frequently delineating profligacy in possession.
Our build-up play was too lateral, posing no real threat and failing to penetrate what was an excellent, permanently-pressing Huddersfield team. City – for a full 90 minutes – were fundamentally inferior to their Yorkshire visitors.
Huddersfield looked fitter, hungrier, more organised than this ageing and declining Norwich City side. Their Wagner-inspired press hurried our players, leading to the conspicuous mediocrity of Graham Dorrans and Yousouff Mulumbu at the base of our midfield.
City’s holding players were completely absent in what was a chaotic first half, unforgivingly failing to cope with the away side’s terrific ball-retention and quicker, superior movement.
The problems continued. The uninspiring and unstimulating duo of Robbie Brady and Jacob Murphy were fundamentally oblivious to their important defensive duties, steadfastly refusing to track back and therefore leaving City exposed.
Huddersfield’s first came from Tom Smith being allowed such an alarming amount of room on the right hand side.
This team lacks an identity. Throughout all of our unconvincing 22 games this season, what principles and ideals have characterised City? The only ones that spring to my mind are incompetence, defensive fragility and such a visible lack of creativity and spark.
Our absence of ideas going forward was so striking. Once again, City’s build up play was slow and sideways, resembling something of a turning Indian cricket pitch that our country’s batsmen are struggling on so significantly this winter. But even at 3-0 down in Asia, England’s cricketers have probably performed better than City in recent weeks.
And then there’s Alex Neil. City’s manager has come to constitute an isolated figure in his dugout, vociferously yet futilely commanding orders at his failing team. The Neil of late has demonstrated such considerable conservatism in his approach, lacking pragmatism and flexibility in the way he sets up his team.
Carrow Road’s fervent and audible response to the departure of the tenacious Nelson Oliviera on Friday evening said it all. Having scored three excellent goals in three less than excellent City performances, Neil’s bizarre decision to deploy the returning Cameron Jerome for the Portuguese international when in fact the two needed to play together was as perplexing as it was frustrating. Like at Trafalgar in 1805, Nelson was needed to inspire victory.
Neil’s concerning lack of pragmatism and instead his ardent maintenance of his 4-2-3-1 system remains a fundamental issue for this team. Losing 2-1 at home and in desperate need of a result to at least seek to trigger some sort of form, it doesn’t take a tactical genius to be aware of the vitality of employing two strikers.
Yet Neil’s uncompromising and stubborn mentality prevailed.
City fans could ask for no better Christmas present than Neil out and the young, impressive and hungry Gary Rowett in. Whilst such a notion dominated the post-match phone-in late on Friday night, those endorsing the case of Rowett are right: he is a superb young manager who possesses the ability to rejuvenate this ineffective Norwich side.
It won’t happen though. The fact that the increasingly divisive Jez Moxey has never taken a club out of this league as a Chief Executive is so telling, whilst his unreasoned and directionless words of ‘promotion, promotion, promotion’ at this year’s AGM confused fans.
His and the board’s unremitting persistence with the failing Neil could see City confined to the Championship wilderness.
They must be aware of our frustration. On few occasions has Carrow Road responded so toxically to the sound of a full-time whistle as on Friday, whilst the response to Neil’s overtly conservative change on 65 minutes was justifiably hostile. To slightly distort the lyrics of a chant that echoed round Carrow Road in the second-half, Delia needs to sort it out.
Manager and board aside, City looked unfit, undynamic, uncreative and fundamentally inferior to this developing Huddersfield side. Whilst our squad may not possess the level of talent we once perceived it did, these players are underperforming under the hapless Alex Neil.
Defensive issues remain – City do not possess one dependable centre-half – but the most alarming thing that emerged on Friday was our lack of direction, purpose and creativity going forward. Laterality, slowness and disorganisation in the final third championed over notions of innovation, enterprise and penetration.
So change is vital. Indeed, it is now almost universally desired. Two points from our eight games against top ten teams represents grim reading for City fans, and under Alex Neil, such an unpleasant run of form appears unlikely to be terminated.
So, whilst I write my Christmas list this year, a new item – albeit a hopeful one given the board’s steadfastness – emerges. Forget books, clothes and the rest: all I want for Christmas is a new manager.
Where are the facts to back up your theory on Gary Rowett? Looks exactly like AN when he first came here to me….
I wonder if our growing frustration is made worse because social media and sites such as this give us an outlet for our views. I certainly remember feeling like this in the past (Worthy, Houghton) but this time the Board’s inactivity is really irking me because it seems supporters are giving them the clearest ever indication of our feelings.
The facts, as outlined in this article, are so utterly damning -particularly regarding defensive ineptitude- that leaving Neil in post almost amounts to Board negligence. And so many people don’t even mention how bad we were last season, too.
We shouldn’t really be that surprised, having taken a punt on a fledgling manager and his even less experienced assistant. It might have been a master stroke, it’s turned out to be a mistake which is now being compounded by his stubbornness.
The Board’s loyalty is a special, lovely thing in a cut-throat world but I’m afraid it is laughable and, combined with Delia and Michael’s recent article outlining their equally sweet, admirable but prehistoric attitude to the club, leaves me boiling.
Alex Neil might well go on to be a decent manager one day but I’m not so sure. He has presided over a couple of years which have seen a squad become ridiculously unbalanced, is tactically inflexible, doesn’t have any idea who to pick, appears to have favourites, signs players then abandons them, leaves out senior successes (Wes),. There may well have been other influences partly responsible (recruitment team?) but he has to be considered primarily responsible.
It is now blatantly obvious that he has run out of ideas. Completely.
Interesting how quiet Mr. Dennis has been. This impasse could be testing he s special relationship with the owners.
Many good points here.
While we’re on facts, though, people should be aware that Wolves were promoted twice to the Premier League while Jez was Chief Executive.
We didn’t play that badly. We weren’t in the first half because Huddersfield were excellent. I agree we looked unfit – badly unfit. We didn’t get thrashed. We had most of the second half. We couldn’t score. Neil made a poor sub in bringing off Aloevera. We didn’t have much imagination going forwards – Wes on for Dorrans would have been better.
Fans should stop talking about Gary Rowett because he’s the cheap, like for like option and that’s what the board will go for if there’s enough clamour for him. We don’t need him. We need experience. Proper experience.
Agree with much apart from two issues. Firstly I don’t blame the players this is all of the fault of a manager who is not up to the job. The only blame I can lay beyond Alex Neil is the Board. Why oh why do they want to keep him? He’s failed so put him and us out of our misery and move on. But this is all so typical NCFC. Bit of success, hope then failure and failure to act to prevent the failure! It’s a viscous repeating circle. Surely (surely??) AN admitting defeat on automatic promotion means Moxey has to act doesn’t it? Secondly, I’d be very cautious regarding Gary Rowett. Seen it all before. If we’re to progress we need a coach with a clear footballing philosophy such as DW at Huddersfield. Not only are they likely to get you promoted but they have more chance of helping you stay there.
Realistic choices for Norwich are Rowett, Jackett or Hodgson.
I would take Rowett every time.He seems the right fit for Norwich to me, has something to prove and a good man manager.
What is most frustrating is that so much off this could have been written months ago. So many of these issues have been long standing ones, so many of the failures so very well documented. Nothing appears to have been done. For me that’s the really damning thing about it.
I agree with Cityfan, proper experience is needed, we have any number of young players with potential we need a manager who really knows his stuff.
OTBC
This is clearly the time to change not only the manager but the whole back room team – the players are directionless and not fit to last the 9o minutes.
We must not jump in for the first available manager. I agree that Mr Rowatt is of the same ilk as Mr Neal – the far better choice is Kenny Jacket a manager who knows his craft and who is at the top in this league – who better to steady the ship and who wouldn’t cost the owners a fortune.
Good read, sums feelings. but as to new manager if that will ever happen. I fear that Rowett may be a case of frying pan to fire. I think we have had enough inexperienced managers for a while.
Someone experienced needs to brought in to not only settle the squad, getting them believing and playing. There needs to be some solid foundations laid, think we can forget any promotion this season so use the time to consolidate nd sort the squad out, there are some players who have seen better days, whose playing days lay lower down. Uncle Wroy is far too close to the Smiths to be viable, I don’t think either would want to ruin a friendship. I would go for Warburton at Rangers, he is managing in a flaming hot bed of trouble, under him Brentford were a good side.
But with this senile board we know nothing will happen.
It has to be the Board where the problems lie.Not one of them seems to be qualified to run a business in the modern ruthless world. Football is racing ahead corporately and we are left with a park club philosophy.
Whichever way you look at it, when a director is chosen because of his family ties or because he is an out of work MP and not for their qualifications to run a business, or a football club there is no hope for the fans.
D and WJ are resting on their laurels and clinging on to faded glory. They indulge themselves in what limelight comes their way. Protected by a press regime that only publishes “good”.
We need a complete change throughout the club at operational levels.
The way things are going we will struggle to be a mediocre Championship club.
I’m off to the ballet this aftrnoon and at least I will see a properly co-ordinated, committed, honest performance
The fault lies with the board and the manager. Delia & Co have lead us a merry dance for many years and their ineptitude and lack of understanding of what is required is staggering.
AN must go, then the club should be sold. Smith and Jones have outstayed their welcome and David McNally’s departure emphasises how amateur they really are.
It is utterly underwhelming being a NCFC fan. We are treated like fools.
The usual good read Will, hard to argue with most of it. I do share the doubts of Andy and Gary in terms of Rowett. Why must we always have a young manager? Why not an old head with a long cv and some standing I think he game?
The bottom line is the stink of incompetence leaks down like a noxious foul gas from the decaying boardroom, through the management team and its cosy job for life mentality into the players who clearly don’t give a monkeys.
How on earth a team with eight defeats in ten games cannot find. Place for the likes of Klose, Pritchard, hoolahan and others is totally beyond me. If the fiddler can’t get a tune out of that sort of quality he needs sacking. Better still, if the chef can’t turn the truffles, fine wine, pate de fo is gras, lobsters and fine meats into a great feast, he should be binned.
It appears the villa win will sustain Neil until well into the new year, measured as it is against Delia smith and moxeys low standards. Neil, Irvine and the other hangers on are truly incompetent and not fit to manage the club but the real problem lies in the boardroom. Recognise it, acknowledge it and maybe we can start to get our club back from this hell.
They played link a team that is young and wants to work to get their dream of playing in the prem. We played like a team that’s been there, proved we’re not good enough twice and have the stench of losing in our nostrils. Funny that when you retain the least effective players we have ever had based on price. We’d rather take the cheap option to reinforce failure. The board are the problem and need to go.
I would like to see us go for Wagner and his coaches from Huddersfield but we won’t. McNally would have. Rowett is a decent shout but even Brum fans acknowledge that he messed up the last transfer window through his inexperience. We are currently on course to become the next Birmingham/Sheffield United as our owners do not seem to care that we have almost as many defeats now as Burton Albion but it’s OK AN is a nice man. I cannot see things improving soon as Nepotism Tom was clapping away afterwards while the real fans were booing. In the culture of failure at Carrow Rd it seems to be OK to lose the game in the first half but try hard when the opposition have settled. I have to say I dislike our owners and several of our players at the moment. There is a smug complacency at the club which doesn’t sit well with the club I have supported for so many years. Did anyone else hear of an interview with Delia where she turned down a takeover from China to give the club to NT?
Huddersfield on Friday appeared to me to be a decent copy of NCFC under a certain Mr. Lambert…although I doubt Mr Lambert’s charges ever came up against such uncoordinated opposition. Surely we must be going for some sort of record as to how many “top” performers have had their careers destroyed by our coaching team?
When one considers the huge sums spent (wasted??) by Mr. Neil on players with decent reputations such as Brady, Klose, Naismith and now Pritchard, it’s crazy that with the exception of Brady, the others are merely benchwarmers – for a struggling team.
To me, that defies all logic, particularly when he quotes post-match that some of his players were “leggy” due to 3 games in a week.
Huddersfield’s squad was assembled for a fraction of the cost of ours; I suspect that their wage bill is somewhat less as well. However, they were able to make 5 changes from their previous game (which they won!), and proceeded to give our over-paid and under performing stars a lesson in how football should be played in 2016.
How sad that with the undoubted talent within the Norwich squad, today we find ourselves closer to automatic relegation rather than promotion….
OTBC
Looking at Moxey’s recent form guide, he was the CEO at Wolves when they sacked Mick McCarthy in 2012. After he said the job was not one for a novice, the search for a new permanent manager failed and the job was given to the assistant Terry Connor. They failed to win any remaining games and were relegated. They have never fully recovered. It doesn’t give me much confidence in his ability to handle the current situation !
We need another Ron Saunders type to get them fit. Run them up Mousehold at dawn and “sort out” the slackers. For the benefit of our younger fans, Ron got us into the top flight for the first time in our history. He only left because of a boardroom row, not because of results. Can you imagine a boardroom row at CR now with Mr and Mrs Nice and cuddly Tom shouting at Neil? No, nor can I. Saunders went on to manage all 3 of the big Brum teams, building an Aston Villa side which, like us, won promotion and then moulding them into European champions, albeit after he’d just resigned.(after a wage dispute.)He’s 85 now and how we could do with another of his ilk at this time. Nobody p****d about under HIS stewardship.
The visit of wolves should prove an uncomfortable day for moxey. He is well on the way to replicating his unpopularity at Norwich and both sets of supporters will probably use the opportunity to give him some love.
Given the rhino hide he displayed during many years of mediocrity at Wolves I suspect he won’t lose much sleep. One of his prime functions is to deflect the flak from smith and Jones and Lucky Tom. Running a serious football club is not in the remit.
I had a look at the recording of Friday’s match and several members of the board appeared to find the frustration and anger of the clubs support rather amusing. They are finding it increasingly difficult to disguise their apparent contempt for the paying customer with their pronouncements, their actions and their deeds. Completely at odds with what’s needed to run a modern professional football club. Continuing support for a manager who needs a ladder to reach the heights of mediocrity is proof.
Nigel Pearson is the manager we need.
Oh no thanks Robin. The guy is unstable. Although part of me would like to see him march on to the pitch and strangle dorrans for that pass on Friday night I think we need better than him. Look at what happened at Derby under his management and what has transpired since he was sacked. A good advert for changing a railing manager if ever there was one. Unfortunately smith has her own weird agenda.
Remember the Saunders days Jon. My first days as a fan. As I recall he was sacked after a home defeat to Everton where he played Clive Payne at centre forward. A square peg in the round hole situation that would resonate with Alex Neil. We were struggling though. After he retired a routine medical examination revealed he had been walking around with a broken neck since his playing days.
A fine article from Will and some excellent comments thereafter.
#11 darren: “It is utterly underwhelming being a NCFC fan. We are treated like fools.”
#18 Chris: “One of his (Moxey’s) prime functions is to deflect the flak from Smith and Jones and Lucky Tom.”
Great stuff darren and Chris, you are both bang on the button.
No comment of substance from me right now – I’ll have my say tomorrow.
Just a quick response to Frank (2) about Mick Dennis. In fairness, Mick is retired from writing (other than editing Tales from the City). Because he’s the most interesting and best-informed writer on the books of this site, Gary or I occasionally prevail on him to do a piece. We try not to exploit his goodwill.
Mick has plenty to occupy him, including several grandchildren and the recent celebration of his 40th Anniversary. Whether you agree with him or not, that’s cause for good wishes.
Stewart, I wasn’t having a go at Mick. I think he’s a tremendous writer and I have huge respect for him as a City stalwart. I realise, though, that he does have something of a rapport with Delia and MWJ so things might be awkward at times like this.
Christ we’ve got to that point haven’t we. Some fans see it for what it is – just another episode in the topsy turvey world of a club not quite big enough for the PL, a bit too big for the Champ; others see it as a chance to offer up unfounded, nasty
convective about people at or associated with the club they know nothing about but wish to blame all their worldly ills upon.
It’s football.
This is people’s lives we’re talking about.
It’s not Syria, where people really can be blamed for atrocities.
This is a game, where things go well, badly, or middle of the road-ly.
I hope the board do the decent thing this week and save us all from another shameful period of fans feasting on the corpse of Alex Neil. Enough is enough. From everyone.
Excellent article & comments though only 1 above suggesting Wagner for City – I thought thered be more.
More from Will please!
There are many clubs currently thriving ( or not) in the premier league that could not ever be described as bigger than Norwich City. Clubs with far smaller supporter bases and recent pedigree. We are not “too small” for the premier league. Unless of course you see us as “little old Norwich”.
Yes, it’s football. This is a football board. Football is a rough and tumble business. Football raises the passions. It’s always been that way. People do not get involved in football expecting it to be fluffy and nicey nicey, although to be honest Norwich city have those qualities in abundance,
We know it’s not Syria, nobody on here has accused Delia smith of bombing Aleppo. We are not discussing Syria though are we? As frustration grows, so will the ire.
Back on football matters, it’s noted the manager has given up on automatic promotion for us this season. Pre season joint favourites out of the running before Santa has dusted down his sleigh. As an admission of complete failure, that is a damning one. Surely if the aim is “promotion, promotion, promotion” that would be cause for action from the boardroom. Unless of course the sentiments weren’t entirely honest.