3:14 pm, Saturday November 8th, 2008
Norwich were hosting Preston North End in a Championship match.
Glenn Roeder fielded a side that included current Premier League players David Marshall and Ryan Bertrand and also featured the loanee strike pairing of Leroy Lita and Antoine Sibierski. Darren Huckerby’s replacement, Wes Hoolahan, was an unused substitute.
Former City striker Chris Brown had already opened the scoring for Preston after just two minutes, capitalising on a defensive mix-up between Marshall and Jon Otsemobor and tapping into an empty net. In doing so, he achieved something that he never managed in a City shirt – scoring at Carrow Road.
However in the 14th minute, down at the River End, David Bell’s inswinging corner was met by the head of Lita and City had equalised.
But I felt nothing.
I didn’t even get up from my seat.
I genuinely didn’t care.
Unlike the majority of matches I’ve been to over the years I remember that game and, more specifically, that moment with absolute clarity, because for the first and only time in my life I couldn’t muster the effort or enthusiasm to celebrate a Norwich goal.
At the time, Norwich City was a club in stagnating decline; a team of loanees and journeymen without a leader or talisman; a team who failed to get the pulse racing or give the impression that they cared.
And as little as they cared, I cared even less.
The previous season, City had escaped relegation to League One by only three points, finishing in a lowly 17th place. Prior to the Preston match, they had won just four of the opening fifteen fixtures and once again languished at the wrong end of the Championship.
Manager Glenn Roeder had arrived just over a year previously but had never endeared himself to the Norwich fans, and nor did he appear intent on doing so. His persona – or at least that which he portrayed through the media – was one of arrogance and disdain.
In contrast Neil Doncaster had been at the club since 1997, first as company secretary and solicitor, before he was promoted internally to Head of Operations and finally being awarded the role of Chief Executive in 2001.
He was the voice of the Board and whilst his legal background meant that his delivery was polished, the messaging itself was uninspiring, littered with rhetoric and lacking in substance.
Over-seeing it all, as they do now, were the majority shareholders and owners.
It’s not hard to draw parallels between the ‘Class of 2008’ and the present incarnation.
A poor series of results on the back of a season of perceived failure will always create a certain prevailing mood around a club.
But now, as in 2008, we have a team lacking both character and characters. The repeated failings of the recruitment process have created a disjointed squad of players. A squad with ‘big-money’ signings who are unable to force their way into the team and others who are surplus to requirements but who are tied to the club due to their inflated salaries.
The quotes emanating from the dressing room about a collective desire to work harder and turn it round seem entirely at odds with the displays on the pitch; displays that are littered with individual mistakes and which suggest a general lack of conviction and endeavour.
The manager refuses to deviate from his chosen formation and has become increasingly belligerent. His team selections and tactical substitutions are unable to effect a reversal in results or fortune.
Even more worrying is his apparent willingness to pass accountability on to his players as highlighted in my previous column. The post-match comments following the Reading defeat merely confirming the point when he referred to ‘they (his team) went down to ten men’ rather than ‘we’.
At board level, for Neil Doncaster’s infamous “prudent ambition” soundbite, we now have Jez Moxey’s equally hollow “promotion, promotion, promotion”.
Moxey’s carefully staged ‘interview’ offered little beyond clichéd responses and served as cold comfort for those wanting an insight into the masterplan.
If indeed such a thing exists.
It’s little wonder therefore that eight years on, I find myself sliding towards the same genuine sense of apathy.
In early December, I decided against going to the home game against Aston Villa. I often work away during the week and going to the match would have meant a long trip to Norwich on the Tuesday evening before heading back again early the next morning.
Journeys that in days gone by I would have undertaken without question and journeys which many of the Yellow Army experience for each and every ‘home’ game.
But I simply couldn’t be bothered.
And that for me is the most worrying aspect of the current situation.
We’ve all experienced the intensity of emotion that comes from supporting a football team – from delirium to abject despair.
And there are those amongst us who are currently very angry with events, both on and off the pitch, and who talk of voicing that anger through orchestrated protests or through boycotting matches.
As a season ticket holder who lives in the city centre, I will continue to go to those matches that don’t cost me anything extra or where it doesn’t inconvenience me to do so.
But when I go, I won’t join in any booing or protests because I feel no anger – just a genuine sense of detachment and indifference.
And that’s the most truly damning indictment of how far the club has fallen in my emotions and estimations.
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Steve posts on Twitter @stevocook – when he can be bothered.
Steve -I can identify with all that.
Have a read of the Sun today-if the story is true its a good cure for indifference!
If that’s the case, you shouldn’t be going to any games until things change. I agree it’s simply turned into bemusement, but this feels like an excuse as to why you’re still going as opposed to a genuine detachment. Missing a couple of dreadful games to make a point and attempt to halt the slide won’t hurt. This way, your disillusionment smacks of acceptance to the board.
Personally, I think comparisons between this season and 2008-09 are wide of the mark. Things today are nowhere near as bad as they were at that time. I’ve heard a few people make these wild claims (“this is the worst time to be a Norwich fan”, “Neil is worse than Roeder”, and the like) and I just don’t agree. However this kind of passion does at least show far expectations have risen in a relatively short space of time.
McNally was a big loss and it seems only now are a number of fans fully appreciating just how crucial his role and experience was. Our current board has some business and political acumen, but it seems to me that it really lacks expertise in the business of football itself (which is somewhat different than just about any other business…)
Personally I am not indifferent. I am frustrated. And I intend to continue voicing that frustration in the hope for change and improvement.
This is still a good squad that we have now. A hell of a lot better than the 08-09 “vintage” that, whilst containing a future champions league winner in Bertrans, also contained a dozen players whose careers sank without a trace after that season (having been elevated to a level far, far beyond their abilities warranted).
If only the board could take decisive action now, however late it might be, we still have a crack at the playoffs.
Don’t understand the comparison, we were top on 15th October. Yes things certainly have gone pear shaped but its completely different and can be rectified.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and their fans will not like it at all. It all boils down to Delia & Michael and their atrocious record of managers in their time here. Mike Walker: resigned. Bruch Rioch: resigned. They also got lucky with Bryan Hamilton resigning. Nigel Worthington stayed on a season too long and was never going to resign, so they had to sack him, a season too late. Peter Grant: resigned. Glenn Roeder nearly destroyed the club before they sacked him. Bryan Gunn was a truly astonishing appointment and relegation was inevitable under him. They then offered him a new deal! Thankfully McNally realised what an absolutely ludicrous situation this was and found Paul Lambert and the good times were back. When it appeared his ambition was greater than that of the board, he left and a reasonable replacement was found. Things were ok under Chris Hughton and his performances for Birmingham and now Brighton show that he is a very competent manager but things weren’t working and they fired him too late and replaced him with a far inferior manager. A poor appointment with 5 games to go. An absolutely shocking appointment permanently for the next season. If we are to believe that Neil Adams did resign, then they got lucky there again because there is no way we would have had a day out at Wembley with him in charge. And now we have Alex Neil. Incredible start to his managerial career and nobody can take Wembley away from us. He is also a far better manager than most of the previous appointments and when the dust is settled, I think the majority of people will accept that. However, he’s not learning, he has never recovered from Newcastle 6-2 Norwich and I’m not sure of another club who would do nothing after 9 defeats in 11 competitive games. Read all the managerial names above again. I am absolutely dreading the next appointment they will make.
Now we are set for a toxic atmosphere on Monday, a half empty stadium the Saturday after due to ticket prices which shows how out of touch the club is with their supporters, players not wanting to be here, full internationals who cannot get into a side that keeps losing, a Chief Exec who asks and then answers his own questions, but most importantly, supporters losing their love for their Football Club.
I agree with Colin. There has certainly been a loss of form but I’m not convinced that changing the manager is the solution. For me the long-term development is the key, not quick fixes. The Board is convinced that AN is capable of that long-term development, which is why they’re sticking with him. I had hoped that Hughton would achieve that here but we went for management change and now Hughton is building long-term development at Brighton.
An interesting article…..I am more frustrated than indifferent though. I just cant understand why our best players are warming the bench, our hungry youngsters are out on loan or don’t feature at all, and regular under-performers seem to get picked however they play. But we City fans are just too nice though, aren’t we ? If we voted with our feet by boycotting games, refusing to renew our season tickets, or actually staging a protest outside the ground, perhaps the board would listen, but will we ???????
Ian S, I think you hit the nail on the head with Alex Neil- he’s just not learning. I also think he could be a very good manager but with every single fan calling for a change, Neil could revert to his previously favoured 4-4-1-1 formation, something he’s obviously familiar with, but doesn’t. For me that’s the biggest problem of all. Flexibility does not equal weakness, an acceptance that what has is being tried has failed is grounds to do something different, not pig headedly stick to it.
In any event I can’t see him ever turning the crowd back to his side short of a full on Leicester championship. His position is untenable.
For me I still do feel lots of emotion for Norwich, for a while now that emotion is frustration. Nevertheless this is still some way from as bad as Roeder time in charge. It’s desperate, that’s for sure, but back then I genuinely wondered if the club would survive at all. Even then I still cheered.
OTBC
Just a short note about the story in The Sun today.
I worked on their sportsdesk many moons ago and have a good mate who works there still.
He stands by the story, freely admits the paper is happy to make Ed Balls look an idiot because of its Murdoch politics but nonetheless insists the details are true.
Oh ye Gods and little fishes…
Thanks all for the comments
Jeff (2) – we’ve spoken before about my principal reason for going to City matches. It’s a chance / excuse for my son and I to see my Dad and have a regular catch-up. It’s part of our family tradition / routine. The matches are increasingly becoming a less significant part of the day itself.
Paul, Colin (3,4) – the article was a reflection of my personal feelings towards the club and football in general right now. Appreciate that many will feel differently and there are obvious differences to the 2008 season and Roeder era. But what is the same – albeit just from a personal perspective – is that I’m losing the passion I’ve had for our club. I don’t want to and I don’t like it but I’m past frustration and anger. I’m watching events with a sense of bemused detachment. The alleged revelations of a new contract and bumper pay-off for AN simply adds to that.
Why the hell did we appoint Moxey? He seems a totally inadequate and rather useless replacement for McNally. It’s hard to see how almost anyone else would not have been better… he just seems smug and self-satisfied… and incapable of any effective decision making.
I’m quite a mild mannered bloke, not much winds me up, as in my opinion life generally is too short.
However there are a couple of triggers which will raise the hackles.
Blind ignorance is one and the other is being treated like a fool. The owners of this club have displayed both and not just recently. The club seems to lurch from one self made problem to another. Mismanagement seems to be endemic and anyone with any nouse is only encouraged and backed when the chips are seriously down. I’m surprised the present owners haven’t displayed some of their business acumen which works well for shifting large numbers of cook books. However my fear is these are as dated as prawn cocktail or pineapple and cheese on sticks.
I shouldn’t let it upset me but it does. Change will invariably come but I can see it getting very nasty and painful first..
How much do the Police charge for deploying horses these days?
Michael D why .. because he was friends with Alas Smith & Jones .. same as our Dancing star. Tom a relative. another running her web site business and still has a finger into Archant.. then of course Foulger as old an senile as they are.
There you have our exciting board, running or should we say ruining our club
Really these articles are becoming relentless, repetitive, and futile. Although they certainly show the extent of the dissatisfaction amongst NCFC folk, does anyone really expect the board to lose face, by backing down, especially after the latest couple of public statements. Delia, when she moves on, will hand over her shareholding to nephew Tom, and Alex Neil is here for the foreseeable. They may not be very appetising prospects, but people need to get their heads around them, because having come this far, I can´t see the board suddenly putting the ship into reverse.
But(contrary to some popular views)they´re not stupid, and at some point, if results keep scraping rock bottom, the situation will become too fragile and desperate to NOT do something, and they will have to sack Neil. If however, as they hope, results should just pick up, then we´re by no means a million miles away from the play-offs.
Planned protests at the Derby game will have little or no effect, except to add fuel to the fire. By now, the board know exactly how the majority of fans feel, and they are sticking with the course they have mapped out. That´s their prerogative, and I´m sure they also know what the consequences might be, if they get it wrong.
If George finds the articles relentless, repetitive and futile why does he feel the need to read them and comment? What should the writers be focussing on? The current disastrous slump and all the associated stories of mismanagement at ether talk of Norwich. This is a Norwich city board after all!
Smith and her cronies will not sack Neil without concerted dissent from supporters. Speak to people, read these boards, look at Twitter, this isn’t just going to blow over and go away.
I don´t need to read that many of them Chris (#15), the headline tells me all I want to know.
Fair enough, George. I myself haven’t gotten past the anger stage yet. The sad thing is at 5.30 tomorrow night my family and I will be baying t the tv begging for any kind of win to help Old years night go with a swing.
Perhaps a match report on a victory would make a good read for everybody.
Yes, it would at least be nice to START 2017 with a Happy New Year! 🙂