Let’s start with the facts, not least because too many folk have rushed to glib condemnations without any.
The Norwich City board had a meeting scheduled for Friday. Yet again, they would be discussing Alex Neil’s continued employment.
So, on Wednesday — the day after a dismal draw at struggling Bristol City — Tom Smith, the newest and, at 36, youngest board member, went to the Colney training complex to ask Neil for a debrief about the Ashton Gate game.
If that match was going to be picked over by the directors, it was important to know what the manager’s detailed plan had been, what he sought to achieve by changes during the match, and if there was anything else to report about the events and circumstances.
Later on Wednesday, and also the following day, other directors spoke privately to players and Colney staff to gauge the mood and the attitude to the manager — something the Norwich board do regularly.
On Friday, local media representatives mustered at Colney for the regular pre-match press conferences. By then, there had been a sea-change in the directors’ position on Neil. But there was still a possibility that when they thrashed out the issues, a majority might want to keep him in post, for the short, medium or perhaps even long-term.
So what were they supposed to do? Ring Neil and say, “Don’t hold the press conferences because we’re discussing your job later”?
In the event, Neil gave a bullish performance for broadcasters and reporters, threatening a mass disposal of players.
But some of the proposals for the summer sort-out were a bone of contention for the board. None of the details was sufficient to prompt a sacking, but when Neil belligerently maintained that those details were not up for discussion, he added another pebble to the landslide of evidence against him.
That evidence included the obvious unhappiness of many supporters, probably the majority of them.
Yet I would hope that, by now, the Supporters Trust (of which I am a member) understand that their intervention was grievously ill-considered.
On Wednesday, Trust chairman Robin Sainty announced on Twitter, “Just for information @canariestrust have emailed the club requesting a justification statement if AN is to continue in post.”
Twenty-four hours later, Robin was so outraged that the board hadn’t dropped everything to reply to him that he Tweeted: “By way of an update to@canariestrust request yesterday we have no response whatsoever from the Club. We’ll let you know if that changes.”
Of course Robin couldn’t have known what the directors were busy doing, but think it all through. How could any board of any football club conduct a public discussion about the contract of any employee?
Whatever their plans, any response at all by the board to that first Tweet would have caused a feeding frenzy of reporting. Was it the dreaded vote of confidence? Or was the manager operating with the sword of Damocles dangling above him?
And Robin’s second Tweet made it clear that there was no possibility of a discreet conversation.
Robin is a friend of mine and was supported in his actions by a Trust committee member who has been my pal since we played football together at the dawn of time, Stewart Lewis of this parish. Guys, I’m going to assume you acted with such a precipitous lack of judgement because you care so much about our great club, and not because you saw an opportunity to grandstand.
But why do some of our fans always think the worst of our board? I can answer that one. There are two reasons.
The first is about human nature. We want someone to blame when Norwich aren’t able to win as many games as we think we “should” — because if there’s an easily identifiable scapegoat, we can convince ourselves that the problems can be easily solved. Sadly, football, like life, is more complicated than that.
The other reason is that, like every other board, ours goes about its business without giving a running commentary. So some folk think the directors are doing nothing. They could not be more wrong.
Let me tell you about the unreported role one director, Stephan Phillips, played in the departure of chief executive Jez Moxey. Phillips won’t thank me for writing about him, because the former Archant MD goes about his Norwich City duties quietly, without the wish or need for self-aggrandisement.
But, alarmed by something he had been told, Phillips spoke in strict secrecy to some senior club staff. He reported back to Delia Smith. She then spoke to other trusted club employees. Those discussions led to the conclusion that Moxey didn’t “get” Norwich and that led, in turn, to his departure.
Delia’s role in that episode should be instructive to anyone who is such an abysmal judge of character as to think she is doesn’t care any more.
Doesn’t care? Does anyone with a functioning brain think she enjoys sucking up a 5-1 defeat and then having to exchange platitudes with representatives of the club that has just stuffed us?
She has never been able to settle for mediocrity. Her career was built on demanding that the minutiae of everything she was involved in were as good as was possible, and she is still driven by the same ceaseless and restless passion to get things right.
So, Moxey’s exit was not a symptom of a club in chaos from top to bottom, as some were in a rash rush to believe. It has been the catalyst for a reboot.
After 20 years as majority shareholders, Delia and Michael are among the most experienced in the country at running a football club. And they are determined to “give us our Norwich back” — to ensure that once again it is a club rooted in its community, is a good employer and achieves as much on the pitch as is possible.
You probably all know there has been a review of the way the club is structured. I don’t know the details of planned changes, but it is logical to assume two things.
Firstly, the plans must include a revamp of the football part of the business, and so, secondly, that will be completed before anyone takes over first team duties.
So don’t expect a hurried managerial appointment and ignore all reports that Alan Pardew is a shoo-in. Rumours about him began doing the rounds a fortnight ago. But at that stage the board planned to give Alex Neil longer to convince them he could reconstruct the playing squad and make it competitive next season.
The Pardew rumours were simply untrue when they began and are still tosh.
I wouldn’t expect a new CEO soon either — if at all. Football is over-fond of hierarchical systems, and I know that Delia and Michael want to empower the good people already at the club. So I believe there will be a new role created to co-ordinate the work of the senior managers, but there might not be a despotic CEO overseeing both the football part of the business and the business part of the business.
The structural review was an admission that things had gone wrong. But identifying, acknowledging and addressing flaws is not itself a flaw. It is a rare strength.
Ours is not a club in chaos or a failing club. We own our own ground and it’s in good nick. We are one of only 21 clubs with a category one academy. We have an under-23 team bristling with outstanding prospects and successful teams further down the youth system. We have the innovative arrangement with Langley School. Famously, we are debt-free and, importantly, we have a depth of support that other clubs, especially the nearest one, gawk at with bitter envy.
All that’s happened is that we’ve had a miserable season — the sort of season most relegated clubs endure. What happened in 2014-15 was the anomaly, not the norm.
Of course I am familiar with, and weary of, the accusation that I’m some sort of patsy for the board. But I haven’t spoken to Delia before writing this column. None of the directors I have mentioned told me about the actions I have reported. This has not been written at anyone’s request. It comes from my heart.
I believe that our board do not deserve barmy chants when our battling ten-men concede a goal to a team scrapping for survival. And I think our board deserve better than the constant but unthinking assumption that they’re useless. God forbid that we ever find out what an incompetent or uncaring board really looks like.
Please allow me to give a slightly different view:
I think it goes much,much deeper than the “need” to get rid of our manager.In Delia we have someone who does not have the money to get us and establish us in the Premier League. Like every household and business in the country you need investment/mortgage to improve and progress. She will not sell to allow investment. She is condemning us to a life in the Championship (at best). What is even worse is that they foster this cosy, happy, comfortable,debt-free, safe culture everywhere in the club. This must permeate to Colney , the players and all those areas that need to be ruthless, decisive and focussed; everything Delia and our Board isn’t. The only real professional position – that of CEO is vacant. The fact that Delia helped us out when we needed it is both recognised and appreciated. However, unless and until a REAL root and branch surgery is carried out our gradual decline seems inevitable. Having supported City since 1959 (one of the original glory hunters!!) this is such a sad and unnecessary position to be put in. And we can’t do anything about it.
Nonesensr all of it board out of their depth and out of touch. Delia out
Ha ha ha “empower the good people already at the club”! The same people who failed to establish us in the Premier League, unlike clubs like Swansea, and who thought AN was the right man months after his many failings had ruined any chance even of the play offs. God help us if they are so deluded they don’t realise new, non related, football savvy blood is needed on the board.
Whenever Delia thinks us dreadful (paying) fans are getting above our station out comes Mick obediently to tell us how stupid and misguided we are and how wonderfully the Board are running the club.
Oh give me strength, here we go again. You are an excellent journalist Mick, why you feel the necessity to constantly defend the utter incompetence of the last 18 months goodness only knows. The article in the Times let the cat out of the bag with regards to the outdated mentality of the owners and there really is no getting away from the fact
An informed, considered and valuable piece from Mick, as ever. Like Robin Sainty and myself, he writes because he cares about the club rather than seeing an opportunity to grandstand.
His argument about the Trust is thoughtful, of course. In this case, though, an alternative view might be possible.
In my work I advised companies on their communications, including how to handle a crisis. Often it was difficult to see what the company could say – yet saying something was always better than saying nothing. The absence of communication leaves a clear field for malicious rumour and made-up bullshit to gain currency.
That was happening before our eyes last week. Robin’s plea to the Board was intended, in keeping with the Trust’s position, as a constructive step to help the Board.
Anyway, we now have a new start. The Board has acted on AN, Ed Balls provided helpful background explanation, and there’s a fresh path before us. I hope we can all play a positive part in assisting and supporting our beloved club.
I fully respect your opinion Mick and we all want what is best for the team we love. However, under Delia’s reign we have been relegated on 4 separate occasions and each occasion huge errors have been made. Fortunately in 2009/10 & 2014/15 a couple of those errors (extending Gunn & Adams’ contracts) were rectified in time & competent managers were replaced who galvanised the club & led us to instant promotion. There’s only so many times that fans can tolerate errors constantly made I’m afraid.
Oh, Mick’s back to tell us how ill-informed we are when we’re entirely uninformed. The proof is in the pudding. I care about my son’s guinea pig, but I certainly wouldn’t give it my all when push came to shove.
Years of being under the stewardship of young Tom doesn’t exactly fill my heart with joy. I’m knocking on a bit now and if the thought that he may well still be at the helm when I peg it, makes me feel like I should really consider finding something else to do on matchday.
Delia and MWJ are so expert at running a football club….
that we found ourselves on the verge of Admin only a few short years ago when they publically admitted they “DID NOT” know how to run a football club and faced protests and meetings at St Andrews Hall.
To be fair ,wisely they brought in some quality people (McNally and Bowkett)
Shockingly this lead to an upturn in our fortunes.
Now we have lost that quality it seems to have coincided with a large downturn in fortunes.
This smells just like the Worthy/Grant era post relegation where we pissed away the para payments.
Do we learn anything from History?
Personally I’m not one of those calling for Delia/MWJ to go.
Its clear we need to add more robust quality on the board that has been lost.
I also don’t think Robin Sainty was grandstanding.
The irony is he did exactly what Bowkett did.
He is questioning the direction of the club.
He is questioning the quality of leadership and its decision making.
On a personal level I feel we should have a more hands on full time chairman even if we have to pay them a decent salary.
Ed Balls seems very distracted. Seems in a bit of a mid life crisis. Every interview he does, mentions every job he wants to do but being Chairman of Norwich.
I think the board have a lot to answer for on our currents state.
The biggest one is clearly our inability to move on players who are surplus to requirements.
Mick a footballer has a shelf life as has a manager. The time lines may differ! Is it not true of a football board also? Even us fans that demonstrated against Chase can only demonstrate for so long.
This board have made mistakes, but a mistake is only a mistake if you learn from it! Unfortunately, our board continue to make the same mistakes time after time!
We all hope they get it right this time but I am not convinced. I believe the board has served their time, theirs views are now dated and life moves on. Please speak to Delia and tell her to go before her legacy is ruined.
Times article told the fans everything we needed to know…
I fully understand the frustration amongst the supporters, I think however I’ll judged the 2 episodes of booing and calling for the boards head were just the venting of some very fed up, frustrated and passionate supportes.
The lack of a CEO coupled with AN being in post 4mintha too long for most has given the perception of a club drifting…
I encouraged by the sounds I’m hearing on a restructure and there are some potentially exciting names out there to be our new manager.
I had feared AN would be allowed to rebuild this Summer, I applaud the board for the decision made on friday, this gives us a very good chance of getting ahead on our Summer rebuild…
I’m excited and looking forward for the first time in a while. OTBC
Great read and great job Mick on putting together a refreshing view with good insight. The comment from Claire above claiming you to have called anyone stupid is sadly way too common whenever another opinion is expressed. You did nothing of the kind.
For me, MFW isn’t great because the views and opinions always line up with my own, but rather because it offers food for thought and insight from many different perspectives.
Thank you.
Very interesting stuff from Mick – as always. Certainly paints Tom Smith in a very positive light and reading between the lines one is clearly guided to believe it was he who has nudged Delia and MWJ down the correct path of sacking AN.
Can’t help but feel Tom is going to become increasingly involved within the new structure.
An interesting week awaits…
Littlefinger and Varys are back to give us the “facts”.
Here’s the facts Mick: http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/championship/table
Few people are saying that Delia doesn’t care, it is more to the point that the board are not fit for purpose and don’t have the acumen or hard edged nous that is required for a modern day football club, which is a ruthless business.
Balls’ interview with Michael Bailey talked about ‘values’ which has nothing to do with football. We want a well run football club on and off the pitch that achieves near the maximum of its potential, not a holy communion.
The board have made lots of mistakes and wasted lots of money. That is not acceptable. I believe the restructure will be underwhelming with no CEO and Stone getting the M.D job. How can we look forward to that?
There is pro-active, there is reactive and there is Norwich City. This season has proved that adage more than ever.
This all comes from a bloke who did not Glenn Rodent to be sacked.
I guess Delia has had no appetite for giving interviews or statements since those rather bizarre and unpopular comments in The Times.
I think there has been a “landslide of evidence” against Alex Neil since November. This may explain the lack of patience by the Supporters Trust and others toward the Board who have given no indication of anything but blind optimism.
You say we’ve had a miserable season – last season wasn’t much fun either.
Being Debt free and jibes at Ipswich – enjoy them while you can …. (for as long as the parachute payments last).
Quick Mick tell everyone Tom knows what he is doing….
At last a balanced and well reasoned view of the position. Hopefully certain local journalists will now put away their stirring spoons, stop embellishing the latest garbage riddled rumour and reacting to fake social media comments.
Well written and well said Mick. Sanity at last.
Mick must wonder why he bothers. I wonder why he bothered though I’m glad he did. So MFW commenters join the PinkUn forums and Carnary Call as the home of the sneerers who just want to think the worst of the club and everyone there (except Lafferty and Canos of course) and sensible debate is gone.
The age of reason is finished. People really do seem to have had enough of experts even those who understand the football industry, how club’s work and have inside knowledge of the people and workings of my club.
After a lifetime as a sports journalist Mick has genuinely good sources. What he writes is based on knowledge, whereas comments by posters on this site are often opinion – and uninformed opinion at that.
So Paul 4 and others, I don’t think he’s trying to defend the board’s incompetence – he’s trying to give a clearer picture of the state of affairs, which as a decent reporter, he should.
How many of us have a clue what goes on in the club? How many can go past the stage of, ‘a bloke at the pub told me….’
And while we’re discussing facts, usacanary infers that DS and MJW took the club to the verge of administration. My recollection is that the club was knocking on the door of bankruptcy BEFORE Geoffrey Watling, DS and MWJ stepped in to bail us out.
But let’s not let facts get in the way of a chance to knock the hierarchy.
Club needs to get rid of the Smiths asap , failure to do so will see us behind Ipswich , no football knowledge and not enough money to run the club we cannot continue to be Delia’s plaything .
Most are not asking for a blow-by-blow account of all that happens at the club, most are asking for some communication other than an enlightening piece in The Times. If the comments in The Times were incorrect why has no legal action been taken? When there is complete and utter silence for more than 4 months during poor performances and growing unrest, it is natural for conspiracy theories to abound. The trouble is, all of us care TOO much – Delia, Robin, Stewart, Mick and 26,000 others. Just wish some would “lower themselves” to discussing alternative views……
“The age of reason is finished.” Luckily Andrew (21) it hasn’t as Richard (20) pointed out, and the article itself makes very clear.
OK, to be fair Henry (2) did hint at that with his insightful analysis
“Nonesensr all of it board out of their depth and out of touch. Delia out”
and several others who probably couldn’t run a bath, let alone a football club, have followed suit.
Look, we all accept that our league position is not what we expect it to be. That doesn’t make the whole club a shambles, as many like to think. Even when things aren’t going to plan, we retain the vast majority of our support, and that reflects that the club gets a hell of a lot of things right.
I’m disappointed Neil has gone because as I posted yesterday I do not see him as a Worthy One-hit Wonder. Watch where he goes next and have a flutter on him.
But I’m surprised that nobody has picked up on this:
“But some of the proposals for the summer sort-out were a bone of contention for the board. None of the details was sufficient to prompt a sacking, but when Neil belligerently maintained that those details were not up for discussion, he added another pebble to the landslide of evidence against him”
Mick Dennis clearly has his sources and that is not the kind of information you can make up. It may of course be one-sided – “belligerently?”, says who? Even a placid Glaswegian can sound as though he’s being belligerent to some of us!
But it certainly makes me wonder how his vision for the summer – which he had expressed publicly 2 hours earlier – differed from the Board’s. Did he want a clear out of players that would cost money to pay off, not just those out of contract, and they don’t want to fund it?
I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the moaners are remainers so insensed they didn’t get their own way over brexit they are taking it out on Delia, the Board, AN,MD, the Murphy’s, Stephen Whitaker or anyone else who dare question their blinkered views….
I know I’ve just posted but in the meanwhile Phill (23) has helpfully told us:
“Club needs to get rid of the Smiths asap ”
OK Phill, let’s start from the top. The club is owned by the Smiths, and I don’t mean Morrissey and his mates, who decide what to do with it ….
“Robin is a friend of mine and was supported in his actions by a Trust committee member who has been my pal since we played football together at the dawn of time, Stewart Lewis of this parish. Guys, I’m going to assume you acted with such a precipitous lack of judgement because you care so much about our great club, and not because you saw an opportunity to grandstand.”
Sadly I think you know that’s not true… same old, same old. Any supporters trust seems to be full of self-promoters who think they are the mouthpiece for everyone who follows the club.
Mick, I respect what you have to say. I just wish you’d sometimes acknowledge that Delia makes mistakes, some very big. We all know she cares. That is all.
I normally like your pieces Mick but I think you invite criticism with your first sentence which can easily be perceived as being aggressive to a large proportions of fans.
Thank you for pointing out the facts. However it does nothing to change my view that sacking a manager the night before a match following him conducting a pre-match press conference is shoddy to say the very least. That situation should have been avoided at all costs as yet again it makes the board look amateurish.
As for the actions from the Trust, that’s what happens whey our hear nothing but a wall of silence. As you like to imply most fans don’t have the insight you do. I think it was reasonable to try & find out what the boards vision was because at that point I had absolutely no clue.
26. Andy. I’d wager my live savings on the opposite beine true!
Lots of the fan base, whilst understandably disappointed, have lost their grasp on reality. Classic mob mentality. It’s sad to see but many are stuck in such deep negativity that they’re making something they love a thoroughly miserable experience. It’s that which is making me question whether to cancel. It’s stopped being fun and that is what it is supposed to be.
I have no doubt about DS + MWJ caring but their time is up. The Times article told us everything we need to know. It is time for change at the very top. Anyone who cares for the Smiths should be telling them that unless they want to be vilified that they should step aside. Whatever comes next be it better or worse, I for one would take it over the current malaise.
PMC #28: You may be a little harsh there on the Trust, which is careful not to make spurious claims about representing everyone who follows the club.
As often with these things, it’s worth checking the facts. The Trust statement in question went out of its way to acknowledge and respect the Board and its rights – a far cry from the “let’s batter the Board till they hear what we say” (ie till they do what we want) mood we’ve heard a lot in recent weeks.
Mick, would you agree that while there is clearly a need for confidentiality in much of the board’s work, that in recent months they have not been getting the balance of communication right? In the absence of any information from the board, fans are left only with results on the pitch by which to form an opinion on how the club is being run. We do not know the members of the board like you do, we do not have inside information to give us confidence in what they are doing, we simply and only have the results on the pitch.
I am not a “sack the board” chanter by any means (in fact my heart sank when I heard that on Sat), but I do find myself, right at this moment, feeling unsure of their ability to make the correct decisions about my club. And this is almost entirely because of their inability to speak to me, to let me have an inkling of their vision, to let me get to know them enough to have confidence that the club is in the right hands. You are quite correct that the board couldn’t provide a “running commentary”, and this is nothing to do with “self-aggrandisement” – the board just desperately let us get to know them and understand them, and this I would suggest is the main reason why, given our failures this season, many fans are choosing now to “blame the board”.
One of the roles of the board is surely to maintain a relationship between themselves and the fans, but they simply haven’t been doing that and it is having a seriously damaging effect.
I have supported this club for many years now. And to be honest I no longer ‘get’ NCFC either…..
A good summary from Mick. People tend to forget that we nearly went to the wall, when in League 1. I do wonder if the Smiths are up for less control and some outside investment, which could be the ideal solution if we get promoted again and want to maintain ourselves in the Premiership (or even to get back up again). I think this is the way forward. Those people who want to sack the board and get rid of the Smiths seem to forget what has happened to clubs like Blackburn with the alleged Venky millions and Coventry with their hedgefund owners and even Forest – chaos seems to reign at these clubs. Some outside investment would mean an anchor of local know-how and hopefully the luxury of outside money to invest, both in the team and in ground improvements. It’s a great shame that it’s so hard for casual supporters to get to games (tho’ a few more seasons in the championship might make it easier).
This piece is very troubling.
1. A journalist should know better than to stifle free speech.
2. As someone who appears to be in the inner-circle and who talks like a representative (even if a disclaimer suggest otherwise) should know better than to try and hush a supporter’s trust for asking a simple question.
3. The position the Supporter’s trust is in, who you appear to be blaming is down to the board and a complete absence of communication. Your blame game should focus your attention there.
You won’t of course.
4. The will they/ won’t they sack him situation you outline fills me with dread. Our board is really so fickle that they have no idea if they’re going to sack someone until a few hours before and only after a press conference is there enough evidence to sack him? Dear god. We were bottom of the form table just a few weeks back, what more do you need?
5. The timelines add up. People like Stewart have suggested ‘geographical issues’ meant the board couldn’t come together until the period Alex happened to be giving his conference. Yet you suggest the conference swung the balance. There’s a timing error here. Also, for what it’s worth, they’ve had weeks to talk. Yet they wait until a press conference. Sure.
6. “But why do some of our fans always think the worst of our board? I can answer that one. There are two reasons. The first is about human nature. ”
How about the fact that we’ve done nothing but decline and play terrible football for 4.5 of the last 5 years? How about a lack of decent recruitment? How about bank accounts that were predicted to go back into the red? How about being unable to beat any team above us? How about an inability to act until it’s too late (Hughton, Neil). How about two relegation in three seasons? How about diminishing parachute payments? How about playing a regional select side in our pre-season warm ups? How about going into a PL season without a fit-for-purpose recruitment team? I could go on and on and on.
The flip of this is why do you Mick always think the best of the board? Perhaps it’s because they’re your buddies?
7. “She has never been able to settle for mediocrity. ”
Demonstrably false.
8. Let’s look at your record Mick of being wrong. Since I’ve been reading this site (~5 years) you have consistently told the fans they are wrong. That the board are doing an excellent job. We’re heading in the right direction. Every time there’s a major screw up at the club up you pop to tell us “you’re wrong”.
You are either ill informed, ignorant, or less than truthful in your opinions, because I’ve seen little but failure (barring Neil’s first few months) for the vast majority of those five years. From the board, to the managers, to the football played.
So now you’re not just telling the fans they’re wrong, you’re telling the supporter’s trust too. Who should we trust Mick? The fans and The supporter’s trust or Delia’s friendm you?
Hmmm.
Dave B #38, and others: Without going through points line-by-line (which would be tedious in the extreme), just to mention a couple of things.
1. Mick is not trying, nor has he ever tried, to stifle free speech. He and I have a friendly disagreement over whether the Trust statement was helpful (as it was intended to be) or not.
His concern – which I share – is the negative prejudice some fans have about Delia, Michael and the Board.
2. Another who doesn’t want to stifle free speech, but would ask for an open mind from fans, is Tom Smith. As we actually sit close to each other (me outside the Directors Box, he inside it), we had a brief chat on Saturday. We both emphasised that justified criticism – and there’s certainly some this season – has an important place in dialogue and debate about the club. Ignorant abuse doesn’t help the club in any way, though
#Dave B . I doff my cap sir.
I doff mine too! The Board are so ‘right’ that we failed to establish ourselves in the Premier League and we are clearly sliding into mediocrity.
Whilst I agree with some of Mick’s thoughts, it’s hardly a balanced piece, and despite his protestations, he’ll always side with and defend the owners.
Also, the pure arrogance in the way he tried to shoot down Rob Butler wasn’t good to hear, whatever your thoughts on Rob.
#26. Oh how wrong you are. I suspect all the non-moaners are all the remainers wanting to hang onto the last bastion of bureaucracy.
Excellent piece written by someone who knows a lot more than most people who write garbage comments on sites like these and message boards about sack the board. I completely agree that results have not been what we wanted over the past season and a half but overall this is a club with real potential. A great club to support. Excellent values. Loyal employees and supporters. Some people just are jealous of the clubs that buy success. Simple answer for those people. Move to London or Manchester and start a new life. In Norwich we have a club to be proud of.