‘Whatever happens in the world is real, what one thinks should have happened is projection. We suffer more from our fictitious illusion and expectations of reality.’
– Jacque Fresco
Don’t let an obscure quote fool you into thinking that I’m passing myself off as some sort of well-read, intellectual colossus.
I grew up reading Shoot magazine and had to type ‘quotes on expectations’ into Google, to find those words from a bloke I’d never heard of.
But I’ve suffered this season; suffered because my expectations (or projections as Jacque might have called them) have repeatedly been on the wrong end of some pretty damning reality checks.
I expected that we’d finish runners-up to Newcastle and right up until the 93rd minute at St. James’ Park I was feeling pretty good about it.
But we won’t.
I expected that Alex Neil was going to be sacked after the humbling defeat at Brighton.
But he wasn’t.
I expected that we’d sign a striker and a centre-back in the January transfer window.
But we didn’t.
Football, much like life itself, is underpinned by expectations and our emotional state is often determined by whether events exceed or fall below them.
It’s why the unforeseen victory, the one against the odds, is so much sweeter than the routine win that we saw coming. Or why a defeat at The Emirates or The Etihad is easier to stomach than losing at places like Rotherham, Barnsley or Burton.
When our expectations aren’t met, it’s natural to go looking for answers or as Mick Dennis pointed out in his recent column:
‘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.’
Personally, I think we should have won more games this season and when looking for a scapegoat, there’s a natural hierarchy of blame that all stems from what we see happening on the pitch.
First the finger points at those players whose performances and individual mistakes may have cost us results.
You then look towards the manager and the coaching staff to put it right on the training field or through changes to tactics or the starting XI.
If that doesn’t deliver results, attention turns to those who are responsible for recruitment and bringing new players into the squad.
Finally you look to the very top. To the Board; those who have placed themselves in the ultimate position of power and responsibility.
It doesn’t matter if they are nice people and genuine fans with years of experience who are doing their best. Board members are in the privileged position of being able to shape and determine what happens at our football club and that makes them ultimately accountable for what happens on the pitch.
Sure, we don’t expect Delia to track a runner and head the ball clear at the back-post. But we do expect the Board to deliver a team capable of doing that.
And personally, I don’t see that as being an unrealistic expectation – a ‘fictitious illusion’ – especially considering recent history.
But of course I wouldn’t would I – because expectations are personal.
They are individual projections of what we deem to be reasonable; formed from different perspectives and with varying degrees of insight and knowledge.
The arguments that raged around the stadium last Saturday and the debates that take place every day on MyFootballWriter appear to stem from a desire to explain why our expectations are entirely justified and why any counter-argument is fundamentally flawed.
Social media and online forums are perhaps not the best yardstick with which to measure public opinion but even allowing for the fact that the views expressed on Twitter (or on this site) are not necessarily reflective of the ‘silent majority’, it seems we are living in an increasingly polarised society.
A society that is slowly rejecting the centre-ground in favour of more entrenched positions, from which to fire pot-shots at those on the ‘other side’.
We’ve seen it with Brexit:
‘Oh Britain, what the hell have you done?’
‘You lost the vote, deal with it’
With Trump:
‘Oh America, what the hell have you done?’
‘You lost the vote, deal with it’
And of course, with all things Norwich City.
From substitutions to share-holders, the supporters are increasingly divided and divisive. The only thing we all seem to agree on was that Jez Moxey leaving our club was a good thing.
(Well done Jez for bringing some unity and at least achieving something during your brief tenure).
But all of this leaves a naturally lazy liberal like me slightly bemused and caught in the cross-fire. Earlier this season, I wrote of my increasing apathy towards the club and I copped it from both sides;
‘Call yourself a supporter? You should be protesting outside the Boardroom to force a change. Shame on you.’
‘Call yourself a supporter? You should get behind the team and sing your heart out. Shame on you.’
But I don’t want to pick a side.
I just want my football team to live up to my expectations and don’t want to be told that I’m an idiot for thinking that we should be doing better.
Or is that too much to expect?
Excellent article – sums up my own position very well. Brave of you to label yourself a liberal these days! I think playing Delia at the back may have been an improvement at times this season.
Good work Steve. It’s going to be interesting to see what people perceive as the expectation for next season. For me, halting the downward spiral and getting some forward momentum would do it. Patience in the autumn while hopefully the new manager and players settle in, improve the squad in January and mount a playoff push by the end of the season. That would mark real progress for me. But as you say, that’s just my individual expectation.
Nice piece, Steve. Not for the first time, you get to the nub of the issue.
I guess there’s a spectrum of expectations. I’ll tend to challenge those at the extremes: some people seem to me to have unreasonably high expectations (“we should always be in the top ten of the Premier League”), others don’t expect as much as they ought to.
That leaves a wide space in the middle. We can debate the many possible positions in that space – something we’re pretty good at on this site – but no-one’s opinion is more valid than another’s.
At the start of the season I said I’d be okay with not going up if the squad was seriously revamped. So my expectation wasn’t to go up, although a challenge for promotion would have been nice.
My expectation is that a successful season would see us in a better position than the previous one. Showing we’re going in the right direction. Direction is key.
But rather than be in an improved position we are without a manager, without a CEO, our finances are in decline, we now have to sell players, we didn’t revamp the squad, many of our signings haven’t performed, our football has been poor, our league position is poor etc…
Clearly this isn’t a club going in the right direction, anyone suggesting otherwise isn’t looking at the most basic of facts.
So my most baseline expectation, move in the right direction, hasn’t been met.
Dave B #4: Can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have a fair point.
Ed Balls’ comments suggest he (and therefore the Board) largely agree with your summation of this season. Hence the structural review, Board changes and of course replacing AN.
I’ve no idea whether the new structure and people, including a new manager and substantial summer changes in the playing squad, will work. But surely fair to say “let’s give them a chance”?
Good shout Steve, and Dave B#4 sums up where many/most of us supporters hoped we would be by now I’m sure.
If only the hierarchy at the club were able to keep to their deadlines or at least explain to the masses why the hold up in announcing the new set up.
I seem to remember we were promised a statement in the next week – and that was last Friday….
The ghost of non-communication appears fit and well at NCFC.
O T B C
The very least I expect when I go to a game is to see some entertaining football, and players working their hardest for the team. Surely not too much to ask…
Sums up life!
Thank God it’s this way, hopes and dreams. Funny thing is with Wednesday losing again a win tomorrow and we will start dreaming about 6th place again….or is that to much to expect?
That’s why Mick Dennis’ piece was so unhelpful. It was straight out of the regressive left old school. ‘I’ll tell you why you’re an idiot, so you know how and why your opinions must stop’. Your piece is a simple breakdown with reasoning and obvious exasperation instead of telling everyone how uneducated they are, which also has its links to the current political landscape.
Good work Steve,
My expectations were to put in a strong promotion challenge, even if that ultimately resulted play-off disappointment.
Sadly, we haven’t come close and, if this season proves one thing, having bags of money (comparatively) doesn’t guarantee success, especially, if the on and off-field set up isn’t right.
11. I’m biased of course, but really nice piece Steve. Penultimate sentence, for me, says it all.
Colin (8) has it spot on – that’s life. Sometimes your expectations are met, sometimes they’re not. Which is healthier – moving on with a resolve to do what you can to change things, or stewing and regurgitating unhelpful negative opinions ad nauseum?(Hi Jeff)
If you ever go to cheer your kids on on a Sunday morning, do you start giving them grief if they’re not doing as well as you think they should be? If you think they could be doing things better, or trying harder? There is no difference between that and being at Carrow Road, in your role as someone who is supposed to be there to support.
If your argument to that is “Well I pay my money so I’m entitled to my opinion” – seriously??? Do you do boo and shout abuse at the cinema or the theatre? If your supermarket checkout girl has to swipe something 3-4 times to get the scanner to pick it up? If you ordered dessert with custard and it comes with ice cream?
If your argument is that they get paid to perform, don’t we all, in some way or another? And do you get a lot of people just waiting for you to slip up so they can bawl abuse at you?
Jill (7) – would you want to give your all in in front of these fans in their current state of mind? I don’t blame any current player with ambition and talent (TK) for looking for an opportunity out at the minute, or for anyone to turn us down / not want to come permanently (MD). Last Saturday, with the booing of the Pritchard sub, and then the “Sack the board” cries proved that most of our fans are…let’s be polite…simpletons.
Being quick to jump on player’s backs will leave us with expensive mercenaries who don’t care (SB/KL), or people not good enough elsewhere.
So if your team/club aren’t living up to your expectation, there’s two choices. You either lower it, or you do what you can to get raise the team’s levels to meet it.
As I believe that our natural par is yo-yoing as between upper Championship / lower Prem League, I’m with Gary (10) – I expected them to put in a promotion challenge. They haven’t. So what? It changes nothing long term. And if it does for you, or you’re not prepared to accept that just sometimes your expectations aren’t met, then maybe football (or at least Norwich City) isn’t the outlet for you.
Expectations – we’ve had a few. Its the relatively recent sense of entitlement that I quibble with, which ends up with thousands singing “sack the board” as a knee jerk reaction to a goal being scored against us. How dare little old Blackburn puncture our bubble!