“Match of the day” was interesting. (Martin) Olsson and (Nathan) Redmond having excellent games for their new clubs and attacking at pace, with free-flowing moves as opposed to (Alex) Neil’s tortuous slow build from the back, carpet slippers boring football. Leicester’s owners dispense with (Claudio) Ranieri as they dropped into the bottom three and they then win two matches on the spin and look to secure their Premier League spot. Norwich retain their hopeless manager after relegation and are warmly praised by Alan Curbishley and others and waste the first year of the parachute payments. AN is clueless and the players are not interested in what he has to say… the club is a shambles.
So wrote “NorwichAbs” on the Pink ‘Un site in the aftermath of the spineless display against Sheffield Wednesday.
Now I’m not prone to taking quotes from other websites, but in this case I’ll make a very honourable exception. I cannot disagree with a single word the poster has said. There are plenty of other comments floating around, but I’ve selected this one for a reason.
Anybody who hasn’t seen it yet should look at the Olsson goal. A cracking piece of pacy interplay down the Swansea left ends with a belter into the back of the net. Yes, he wanted out of City but most of us appreciated what he did for us while he was here. He very rarely let his head drop or gave less than100 per cent.
The Redmond goals were hardly bad either; Southampton’s style obviously suits him. Yes, he was happy enough to leave as well and of course, he could infuriate at times, but it’s wonderful to see him doing well.
And this is where “NorwichAbs” has it right again: attacking at pace. Yes we have a brace of Murphys and Ivo Pinto’s no slouch, but as a unit our build-up is so ponderous the intentions of those in yellow shirts are telegraphed and it becomes so easy for the opposition to read and counter.
Robbie Brady also swung in a couple of good-looking corners for Burnley, who look to have secured their Premier League future.
Alan Curbishley’s praise means nothing to me. Owen Coyle joined in the Alex Neil backing on the Channel 5 show. I’m not overwhelmed with his views either.
While I can understand the sentimentality surrounding the dismissal of Ranieri, it has indeed had an effect of the positive kind on the faltering Foxes. Do you think they’ll go down? I don’t, regardless of whether Craig Shakespeare is installed permanently as manager or not.
Following on from my website post of the year (and it’s only March) award going to “NorwichAbs”, I reckon a couple of other observations of that ilk are worthy.
Firstly – and we have to read between the lines – Cameron Jerome’s post-match comments point towards a warren full of extremely discontented bunnies.
If I heard: “We tried our rocks off but lost to a better side”, I would be disappointed, but understanding. But I wouldn’t be as disgruntled as I feel right now. Sure, CJ has his detractors but his application and effort are beyond question.
When a player like Cameron says things like that, you know things are seriously wrong.
Secondly, I notice the Pink ‘Un have changed the who was your man of the match? poll. It now asks – quite rightly – which player would you most like to get rid of?
There was a time quite a few weeks ago when some of the more prominent regional media wrote less than favourably about Alex Neil and certain other aspects of the club. For whatever reason, that position shifted back to the norm.
However, it looks like the pendulum is on the move again.
To paraphrase: “We’re not having an MotM poll this time because it’s pointless; instead let’s see who we’d like to get rid of”, the writing would be well and truly on the wall for most managers.
If – and it still has to be if, none of us are privy to what does or doesn’t happen at Colney – he has lost the dressing room, then the media and the majority of supporters are justified in saying he should go.
However in Delia’s world, it doesn’t work like that. But it’s about time it did.
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Bradley Johnson, Dani Ayala, Tom Adeyemi, Stuart Nelson, Rob Green, Matt Gilks, Lee Croft, Aaron Wilbraham, Simeon Jackson, Elliott Bennett, Sergi Canos, Chris Martin, Cody McDonald, Ian Henderson. All our old boys, and I saw every one of them on TV yesterday morning. Kory Smith? Maybe, I don’t actually remember seeing him. All playing for other teams, of course.
Although I wouldn’t actually want any of them back apart from BJ and possibly Canos and Ayala, it makes you realise just how high and rapid “staff turnover” can be in our beloved world of football.
I’m just hoping there will be an extremely high level of said staff turnover at NCFC in the close season.
What an appalling mess our beloved club is in. Let’s play the youngsters, the supporters will have something to back and enjoy. Watching the current side Is not very pleasurable and knowing the majority of them don’t care makes it hard to want to continue going to games. It is a very long time since I have seen a manager looking as disconsolate as Alex Neil, resign for gods sake man whilst you have some credit ability left. Delia I doubt you will read this but in the vain hope you do, tell us the plan, there must be one. If not you are presiding over the most inept management failure that I can remember at our club. We the supporters deserve better than this, you are very lucky to have such unerring support. Don’t take it for granted.
#1 Andy Delf – the plan, in regal terms, is simple; Delia is the Queen, reigning her subjects for many a year, while Tom is the equivalent of Prince Charles, waiting long and dutifully for his turn.
We are all running out of things to say. Neil should of been shown the door a long time ago, but he is the wrong target. if we are to have any power whatsoever, it has to be vented Delia and the board in the strongest terms.
They are ultimately responsible for this mess and severe underachievement of NCFC.
They are the problem and will continue to be for as long as they are here.
We’re not unerring, and they are taking us for granted. The worm is well and truly turning for many fans. Day by day, Delia is taking this club further and further down. She and the rest of the Smith clan need to go. It is the only way we’ll stand a chance of not ending up financially and positionally worse off than 20 years ago.
It’s a grim situation where we’re quoting and supporting posters from the Pink Un website.
Something has to change, that’s for sure.
Delia & Michael have shown before that they can step back and make hard professional decisions for the club – or at least allow someone else to. Now we need to see it again.
Owls fan,,,it amazes me how many clubs employ the wrong manager OR don’t see the obvious early on. Some managers just appear so inept but blind some club officials who interview. I could have told you this would happen to Norwich under AN
Paul (6), thank you for not gloating. What, pray tell, were the obvious signs that ‘this’ would happen under AN, and when did you see them?
A common phrase in these situations is that “The Manager’s lost the dressing room” (the words “confidence of” being implied in that phrase”)
Interestingly Cameron Jerome doesn’t seem to suggest that – just for once it seems to be the other way round. Trouble is, replacing a team takes a hell of a lot longer than replacing a manager.
It’s interesting that 8 of the top 10 in our division have not had parachute money for quite a while – indeed some have never had it at all. I guess it’s a big hint as to how we have to approach things.
Bring on the youngsters? Well yes, it sounds good, but are you prepared to let them struggle for a while? Do you mind if results actually get worse before they get better?
Many seem to assume that that “young” automatically means “hungry”. It doesn’t always follow (think David Bentley, and I suspect Serge Canos). I wonder how many of our youngsters stay behind to work for hours on their free-kicks a la Beckam, or weaker foot, as I believe Giggs did? That’s what being hungry means.
But the recruitment of McGrandles, Madison, Thompson, Godfrey and even Adams, suggests that in the long term that’s what we want to do, as long as the guys are ready. Had it not been for serious injury Thompson and McGrandles might well have had their chance by now.
Then there’s the Murphys. Much as I like them I think they are now as good as they will ever be. They are 22, and not defenders who have to learn their trade. If you think about it players of the ilk of Sterling, Lennon, Townsend and Redmond – fast, tricky, athletic and fearless – generally burst through in their late teens. Not mid-twenties.
The same goes for Carlton Morris. Just remind yourselves how old Craig Bellamy and Chris Sutton were when they made the grade.
And going back to Jerome, I can’t see how what he’s said is going to help team spirit in the slightest. Easy for him to speak up isn’t it? He isn’t getting the blame for our midfield and defence’s inability to control the game. I know he puts a shift in, but he shouldn’t be breaking ranks like that. I’ll bet his colleague will be desperate for Nelson to get fit again – would you want to be playing alongside CJ after that?
Darren # 3: I totally agree. We can complain about the manager and the players all we like, but the crux of the problem is indeed the current boardroom set-up and the clubs self-financing organic business model. Delia seems intent on surrounding herself with personal acquaintances that share her values. The truth is the board wouldn’t know what to do with a promotion even if it did happen – the two last spells in the PL bare witness to that.
#3 Darren: Yes, it does seem like we’re all running out of things to say. Largely because the situation remains the same with little apparent hope of change.
#5 Stewart: It is a grim situation, agreed. I saw Olsson and Redmond on MotD and felt exactly the same as “NorwichAbs”, who got his comments online before I began my article, so I felt a direct quote (ie credit) was appropriate:-)
Those hard professional decisions do indeed need to be made. Sooner rather than later, I feel. But by whom?
#6 Paul of SWFC: It is always good to hear from supporters of other Clubs and thank you for your comment.
I’m with #7 Ben K on this one: thank you for not rubbing our noses in the nasty stuff.
Just like Ben, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Alex Neil as well!