We asked the team for their thoughts on last nights news. Here we go…
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Rick Waghorn
I think the greatest need now is for hope.
Even if the current Board don’t believe there is any hope that Norwich City Football Club can compete with the vast riches various owners now bring to the Premier League, at least let your supporters dream. Hope.
To that end, this time be bold, be different, be imaginative with your next appointment. Don’t look north of the border; been there, done that. Ronald Koeman’s appointment at Southampton was inspired.
Surprise me.
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Mick Dennis
Delia and Michael wanted to change the standard behaviour in football – change your manager every couple of years – and genuinely thought, until very recently, that Neil would be able to lead a revised and revived squad to a competitive season next time out.
They thought that because, in their dealings with him, they found him to be an exceptionally strong and motivated character.
It would have been toxic at the Blackburn match if he’d been allowed to soldier on but I know board members found yesterday (Fri) a sad day and none of us should revel in a man’s sacking.
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Ed Couzens-Lake
Like so many other people, am struck by the timing. Alex Neil gave a full press conference, outlining, in particular, his plans for the weeks and months ahead, clearly and publicly. He must have had enough confidence in his durability at the club to feel able to say what he did – that, or maybe it was almost an application for his own job; a statement that declared he knew what needed doing and that he believed he was the best person to do it.
I’m wondering if the words spoken by Cameron Jerome last weekend didn’t resonate, somewhere, where it makes a difference, insinuations of a lack of respect or belief in someone and the ideas? In such instances you can’t so easily dispose of all of the mutineers, maybe you just throw Captain Bligh into a lifeboat with his followers and sail on without him, hoping you can make good what once went bad.
Like Bligh, Neil will come through this and return to the game, harder, wiser and maybe a little more cynical than he once was. I wish him well. As for who takes over, that’s another story for another day. But I don’t think that day, the story and the new debates that will come from it will be long in coming and that the news we finally get about the restructuring process next week will explain a lot.
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Martin Penney
This decision has been on the cards for some considerable time and I am grateful it has finally been made.
Thank you for that wonderful day at Wembley, Alex Neil. When the dust has settled, all us Canaries will remember you for it. CJ and Nathan scored the goals, but you were our manager that day. And let’s hope one or two of your younger signings benefit us in the future.
It’s probably in everybody’s interests that events have belatedly unfolded as they have. Vale (Spanish for cheers).
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James Finbow
Pleased to see action finally taken. Disappointed with the classless handling of it, just a couple of hours after Alex Neil spoke at a presser about his plans for the summer.
As for what should happen next, I’d appoint Roy Hodgson till the end of the season with a view to him becoming Director of Football. I’d wager he could sort the club out.
Let him assess how to restructure and allow him to find a suitable manager. He has a wealth of experience and contacts within the game. He knows our owners. I can’t see a downside.
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Craig Bailey
When he came I was gobsmacked, but he proved me wrong. Then all my fears came crashing home post-Newcastle away. And I was equally gobsmacked when the Barclay sang his name at the end of last season.
Then he finally made me believe again by getting us from the bottom to the top of the form table only for it to come crashing down.
And I’m gobsmacked (again) that the board has acted, but ultimately Alex probably earned the right to see if he could repeat his promotion success and the board waited until it was almost impossible before acting.
I’d have liked to have seen it sooner but now look forward to a new era in which the old guard are replaced. It will also be interesting to see the new structure; it screams director of football to me.
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Phil Daley
At 13:15 Ivo Pinto said it was down to the players to help him keep his job..
At 14:15 Alex Neil spoke as if he was keeping his job for the summer, and a player clear-out was on the way.. it didn’t feel like it was his last interview.
By 1730 we heard ‘something’ might be announced (perhaps about a new CEO)
By 1800 Neil was gone..
Football clubs are incredible at complicating even the most simply scenarios. If it was a competition, Norwich would be top of the table!
I hope the next Norwich boss is as honest and open as Alex Neil..
But I also hope they have the experience and contacts book get the Canaries back the Premier League.
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Peter Rogers
Crazy it took so long to happen. Clearly the right move albeit five months too late and arguably 15 months too late.
Glad a bitter and unsavoury demonstration at the Blackburn game has been avoided. I’ll forever be grateful to Alex Neil for Wembley in 2015 and being able to share that special day with my two sons – just as my father and I did back in 1985. Thank you Alex.
The removal of Alex Neil is not going to solve all that is wrong at Norwich City. The board must now be given time to reflect and ensure their planned restructure of the club is a positive one and the correct man is appointed as manager ahead of the final campaign with parachute finance.
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Rob Emery
In the end, inexperience told. Alex Neil was always a gamble given a season or so in the Scottish leagues, not matter how successful, does not a Premiership or Championship manager make.
That inspired start, based on a mixture of perspiration, inspiration but most importantly preparedness and tactical nous propelled us forward to the PL – but it was there that Neil came up against managers who also had that skill set, but with many years behind them. When Sunderland turned us over, it wasn’t because they had better players, but they did have a more savvy manager who knew how to win a crucial game more than Neil did. The board gambled that passion would overcome the lack of experience. It backfired.
When relegation happened, Neil faced a different challenge, another one he’d never come up against – motivating a group of players affected by relegation, with the millstone of being amongst the favourites for promotion hanging around their necks. That inexperience and consequent inability to deal with what lay in front of him surfaced again. It was obvious he was out of his depth, yet the board dithered and gambled again. They failed again, and left an honourable man adrift at the helm, unable to stop the inevitable tide which eventually engulfed the club. The result, no matter have difficult it was personally for some Board members, was inevitable and overdue.
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Steve Cook
His position had become untenable and if nothing else, the decision has spared us all from another round of hollow sound bites in a post-match presser.
Credit the board for finally putting us all out of our misery but the timing of the decision and the announcement is bizarre and once again suggests that the current issues extend way beyond replacement of a CEO and first-team manager.
The club is desperate need of leadership and direction and this whole sorry episode doesn’t suggest we’re any closer to finding it.
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Sam Jermy
A complete refresh is needed from top to bottom at Norwich City.
The board have, once again, failed to act decisively and their ham-fisted, outdated approach to modern day football management is painful to watch. We’ve witnessed the club get relegated from the Premier League in completely avoidable fashion for a second time, and then like the dribbling messes on Week 1 of The Apprentice, the board have failed to recognise their mistake until it’s too late and it’s all a bit pitiful.
I’ve gone past the supporter anger and frustration in recent weeks and have just started to feel sorry for Alex Neil; a man who ultimately found himself in a job too big for him. Do not try and convince yourself that a 25 game run in 2014-15 makes someone the right choice to be Norwich manager….it’s like trying to say van Wolfswinkel just needed another game or two to come good. Some things just don’t work out. Now time to pick through the rubble, I can only hope the next choice of manager will be able to build something great.
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Andy Head
With the ramshackle, uncoordinated approach that we’ve come to associate with all things Norwich City in the post-McNally era, Alex Neil departed just an hour or two after announcing his plans for next season.
As much as I feel for Neil, who despite results has been the one beacon of professionalism at the club in recent times, his departure was necessary for the club to move forward. Hopefully now a domino effect can take place and we can begin to right some wrongs behind the scenes and rebuild an organisation that has become increasingly dysfunctional.
I feel at this stage we need an experienced man to imprint his personality on the footballing side. We need a leader to take this club by the scruff of the neck.
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More to come as events unfold over the next week.
Mick – I’m sure he’ll be dandy. No one would be revelling if it wasn’t more drawn out than William Wallace. The board have done this to themselves and Neil by trying to operate outside of the norm. The norm exists for a reason and I for one am ecstatic to see Neil gone and put out of his misery. He’ll wake up one relieved human today, and he isn’t alone.
The timing was strange to say the least. Maybe the board were keen to avoid the fans’ backlash today. Neil has looked out of his depth for sometime, and I don’t think the egos of some of the players helped him. Time for an experienced ‘new broom’ to sort the mess out – then maybe we can begin to look forward to matches again!
Fair comments from all. I just hope the next incumbent has the nous to recognise the quality of the young guns that should be the next generation of heroes – they are AN’s legacy, not the Wembley day in the sun.
But this is ‘Vale’ and Neil had to go. The situation desperately calls for wisdom and experience to be added to youthful enthusiasm and talent. Hodgson as Director of Football. As for Head Coach (not Manager) perhaps Warburton is a little too old and I am not convinced by Rowett. Perhaps this is where the dilemma lies for the Board also. Certainly with this structure – which is what I expect will be announced next week – then we do not need a high profile/football CEO and Stone should be confirmed as the permanent appointment.
I’m very much with James on this. For once, somebody who is understood to be part of Delia’s social circle could prove a very useful acquisition, short-term or longer.
I also agree with everyone who says how bad and unprofessional the timing of the announcement was – I was off the radar yesterday evening so didn’t even know until GG told me:-)
While I’m sure Delia & Michael have their preferred candidate – and a deal may already have been done – how will the next manager fit into their parochial ideal of Norwich City Football Club?
The next manager should be his own man and stand up to the board – when required – as they are – and will continue to be the problem.
NCFC have not divine right to be in PL, but as long as we have a good manager who can work well with the resources we have and a pro-active board with nous, then we have a chance.
Trouble is, we have the current board and however well meaning they are, they are not what is required in the modern game. They have made many mistakes and wasted an awful lot of money. This cannot keep happening.
Football is hard, tough business – Not Camberwick (Yellow &) Green.
Mick, Alex Neil’s sacking is a lot easier with 2 million quid in his back pocket. Don’t equate that with the disaster it would be for the average man in the street. As to Delia and Michael trying to break the mould of how football clubs are run I would rather another club led the experiment.
I hope the restructuring includes handing over the reins to young Tom, bringing in Roy Hodgson as director of football, and Steve Stone as CEO of the club. Then get rid of Ed Balls who is using the club only to self promote. Whichever manager we get must be able to coach a defence. And finally us fans would love to see youth given a chance, we could really unite behind that.
The Club is damned inconsiderate.
Before going the Ed Balls event at Carrow Road last night – an interesting experience – I spent the afternoon writing my next MFW column. All about the Board’s decision to keep AN, of course….
Firing a manager that was almost unanimously considered past his sell by date should have been a simple task. Yet the board still manage to come out looking incompetent.
Andy (7). I wouldn’t be surprised if Balls left in the summer. After all he wanted Neil sacked last summer, but Delia would not have it. I suspect he has found working with them harder than he thought, though financially rewarding…
Yes I know it’s The Sun, but there’s an interesting little piece by Charlie Wyett on P64 today.
Charlie, I believe, is a supporter.
#8 Stewart: It’s happened to most of us, at some time or another. Bad luck mate!
Off to the game shortly and looking forward to hearing some comments from The Usual Suspects.
Darren #10: Your sources may be better than mine, but I believe you may be wrong on every point there
Typically pro Delia/MWJ comments from Mick Dennis as you would expect. Let it go Mick, they are heavily implemented in what has been an utter shambles during the last few weeks. This includes letting him outline his plans in morning press conference before dumping him at 6.00 pm. If that is showing admiration and respect for AN then it’s a strange way of showing it. I am not at all confident the board will make the right choice post NcNally, their judgement generally has been pretty appalling
This isn’t the only time we’ve sacked a manager on the eve of a game, and at least this time, he wasn’t 300 miles from home!
It must be painful for AN, as he certainly didn’t see it coming, but at the end of the day, it is in the best interests of the club. We need to move forward now, accepting that we have another season in the Championship coming, and install a new manager with time during the remainder of this season to assess the current squad and make the same sort of plans for a summer re-structuring as AN intended.
Good luck, Alex, and thanks for the (good) memories.
Michael and Delia wanted to change the standard behavior in football?
All of football? That’s quite an ambition.
Well, whether its true or not, the Sun is reporting that the real reason NCFC pulled the plug was AN’s desire to be rid of Wes. When the real reason the plug should have pulled -ahwile ago – is spelled out very clearly by Ray Emery above. While an inspired choice for the short-term mission of a late season Champo playoff push in 2015, clearly the young inexperienced AN – seemingly operating relatively unfettered and unchecked within a somewhat dysfunctional and toxic organizational structure – was out of his league when faced with the 2016 and 2017 missions NCFC faced. Avoiding relegation in the financially shark-infested waters of the modern PL, and then attempting to earn an automatic promotion spot in the rough-and-tumble Champo, are two very different missions requring a myriad of skill sets. These differences surround player obtainment in transfer windows, player motivation in the dressing room, and player selection and tactics on the pitch. And as Ray notes above, clearly the young AN had not the resume or experience to properly manage these tasks by himself (particularly with an aging squad) for either the 2016 PL mission or the 2017 Champo mission. In a well-run organization guided by proper experienced football men, it may have worked. But as that was not the situation at NCFC, AN was doomed to fail, and everyone should have seen it coming ahile ago. As to WHY the football organization did not establish the proper support system for AN that might have allowed him to progress and build on his 2015 success – was it AN’s youthful pigheadedness in wanting to do things his own way and the club simply letting him ? was it McNally’s and Moxley’s inability to reign him in or provide proper guidance ? Was it Delia’s iron hand behund the seasons allowing it to happen ? – we dont know, but to me that is ultimately the real reason the last two season have shaken out as they have. I think we all know the true reasons behind the odd depatures of McNally and Moxley (whatever they are) would shed some light on the answer as to why this football organization is clearly not operating as it need be , but doubtful that those real reasons are forthcoming. We can only hope that the new club structure with its new coach will be established to operate in a more symbiotic manner, and not in the way it did during the 2016 and 2017 portions of the Alex Neil era, which was doomed to fail.
Paul #13: Appreciate your passion, but your chronology is a bit awry.
By unfortunate coincidence, Alex Neil’s press conference and the Board meeting happened simultaneously in early afternoon. Alex was called in to the Board meeting to learn their decision, which Ed Balls tells us he accepted with dignity and professionalism.
Loving how so many people who wanted AN’s blood and called him god knows what for months are now accusing the club of a lack of respect. Unbelievable. You wanted the club to be ruthless and now it has, you don’t like it.
There are many, many fans of this club who need to take a look at themselves. The booing of Steven Whitaker today was shameful. So many fans accuse the players of having an overblown sense of entitlement yet the atmosphere in the ground is one of precisely that.
Happy to concede that Stewart but the fact that there was a strong possibility he would be sacked at the board meeting underlines that the board meeting and decision should have been made several days earlier. Certainly not on the eve of a game! This would have avoided the ridiculous and embarrassing press conference given by AN. Just another example of our clueless and unprofessional board.
The comments from Ed Balls over the timeline on Friday are interesting. Whereas after Sheffield Wednesday many of us were keeping an eye on Twitter on Saturday evening with the hope that the board may react, there seems to have been little chance of that because they were waiting for the pre-scheduled meeting to make that kind of decision, however inconveniently timed it was. The impression is definitely not of a dynamic, reactive decision-making team. It looks more akin to the monthly meeting of a small charity, meeting once a month with updates on how the bake sale went and what’s happening with the ordering of that filing cabinet we discussed last month.
Paul #19: Given that our Board members are geographically scattered, their meetings have to be planned. Of course decisions could be made by email etc, but in this case they wanted to talk through the AN issue (and talk to AN) face-to-face.
Clueless and unprofessional, or serious and responsible? Or maybe something in between? We’ll each have to decide.
Only Norwich City fans could be in total, unanimous agreement that our manager needs firing then the moment it happens start falling out over how it was done. Priceless.