Yitzhak Rabin was a tough soldier, rising through the ranks to become Israel’s Chief of the General Staff. When he became Prime Minister, though, he devoted much of his time to exploring a peace deal with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Though ultimately unsuccessful, their efforts won them the Nobel Peace Prize.
Asked why he was spending so much time with the other side, Rabin’s answer was simple: “You don’t make peace with your friends. You make peace with your enemies”.
In a similar way, our ethical principles only count when they’re under challenge. It’s easy to hold moral beliefs when everything’s fine. But our ideas of how to treat people are only really tested when others behave badly towards us. Do those beliefs stand, or do we abandon them?
At a more mundane level, this applies to our beliefs about Norwich City too. It was easy to preach patience and giving time to the new regime before the season started, or after the QPR win.
It’s put to the test, though, by days like Saturday. Some who were sagely saying “we know there’ll be ups and downs” three days earlier are now tweeting and shouting their impatience for all to hear.
Even when we disagree, I like and admire almost all my fellow Canary supporters. There was genuine dismay in reaction to the news that one of our fans had abused disabled QPR supporters, and I understand some of our fans helped to identify the culprit and allow the club to take action. That’s the way it should be.
Having said that, I can’t always be diplomatic. Those now saying “let’s give Farke ten games” are simply idiots.
Some words are horribly over-used, including ‘revolution’. In the case of our club, though, it’s surely the only appropriate term.
We have a new team, for a start. If Russ had failed his fitness test before the Fulham game – where he played well, by the way – then not a single player who began our final game of 2016-17 would have begun the first one of 2017-18.
Together with a completely new structure, coaching staff and football philosophy, this was change on a grand scale. Of course it’s going to take time.
How much time?
Many, understandably, point to the comparison with David Wagner and Huddersfield. But I wonder how many of them have actually looked at the record. Wagner at Huddersfield is a story of success, but not a story of instant success.
Wagner took over as Head Coach at Huddersfield on 5 November 2015. His first 15 league games produced 5 wins, 2 draws and 8 defeats. The full season record from the point he took over was won 10, drew 6, lost 15.
Huddersfield’s success only began from the start of the following season.
The comparison is complicated, of course, by the fact that Wagner joined Huddersfield mid-season. It’s true that he didn’t have the immediate influx of players that Stuart Webber has facilitated for Daniel Farke at Norwich.
However, there are special downsides and challenges facing Daniel Farke. Going into Huddersfield’s promotion campaign, Wagner had the huge benefit of two-thirds of a season’s experience in the Championship. Just as important, he’d had that time to work with Stuart Webber in planning the summer transfer window.
We know that Stuart is a planner. Right now he’ll be working on the January 2018 window for us, at the same time as trying to squeeze whatever we can out of the current one. With Daniel Farke only arriving at the end of May, this summer’s window was a scramble – something Stuart can cope with, but not his real style.
It has to be, and it is clearly is, a work in progress. Of course the concerns are understandable, especially at those times when our defence looks as porous as last season. And as Gary pointed out on Sunday, the clock is not our friend. The playing budget had to be cut this season, and if we don’t go up it will have to be cut again.
The impatience would be more understandable, though, if there weren’t positive signs – if it all looked just like last year. But it doesn’t. At Fulham and against QPR, the signs of a better philosophy and stronger character were clear.
We can’t play as we did against Sunderland or Villa and hope to succeed, of course. On the other hand, Huddersfield’s form in Wagner’s first few months was at least as patchy, and less worthy of confidence than Farke’s start.
I fully understand and respect if others aren’t as convinced as I am that Daniel Farke – with the backing of Stuart Webber and Steve Stone – will lead us to success. But it’s surely a change that demands some patience and understanding from us.
And not just when we win.
Good article Stuart
With regards to giving Daniel Farke and the Webberlution the suitable amount of time I think that the majority of supporters I speak to are prepared for the long haul. However as in all walks of life some people cannot comprehend the bigger picture and so in our fan base we have people who only want instantaneous success. Looking back over a long career as a city fan the football has been very cyclical with the bad, bang average, disappointing and bland football far outweighing the odd season here and there, where expectations have been achieved and surpassed. We should enjoy those great times as they come along and dig in to help the team, club through the more difficult times. That’s what being a true supporter is all about.
So I would say to our fan base if you don’t want to get behind this team and management then please buy a Man Utd shirt or a Chelsea one and moan at the telly.
Well said Stuart.
Surely the feelings of all true Canary fans are pretty much the same as you’ve described given the huge changes we have (and are still likely) to be going through.
O T B C
I think the word to use instead of revolution ( which reminds me of Russia) would be transition … we wanted change and we have got it As you pointed out the team is completely new and if you understand the basics of football it can be seen the new system is working up to a point ..instead of players running around like the proverbial blue fly the ball has got to do the work and at times we could see short sharp and quickness in our play the system is new and once learned fully we will
See the benefits in future games
I fall into the I’m patient but do not have endless patience camp. This is our last year of parachute payments. The reality of us having a Wagner’s first season at Huddersfield and finishing near the bottom – or worse is that the club will be forced to sell off their best assets. Sunderland was not great. Villa was a bad team selection. If we go to our neighbours in October and get thumped I suspect patience will be in short supply, I love this club and have supported them since 1971 so there is no danger of me buying another club shirt. I can see what they are trying to do with the likes of Raggott but if the window closes and we have still not addressed the obvious problems at centre half or covered an injury to Oliveira at CF then I for one will have my doubts. Perhaps it is easier to be relaxed when you do not have to work in Suffolk!
Just as each of us have different degrees of patience, I’m sure we also have differing ideas of what we consider is a “successful” season ………
.
Success is promotion!! Failure to achieve that has dire consequences.
Just for arguments sake…
Times we didn’t practice patience:
– Sacking Gunn
– Sacking Adams
Both ended in promotion.
Times we did practice patience:
– Chris Hughton
– Alex Neil
Both ended in relegation.
Four games is too early to call for a manger’s head, but we also have to be realistic, Sometimes a lack of patience gets results too.
We also, of course, practised patience with Ron Saunders and Mike Walker – thank goodness.
Might it be fair to say that the current change in our club is more fundamental than any in living memory, and therefore deserves some special patience?
I’m with you Stewart. It is difficult when the team is losing but we have to stick with it aka Man Utd and Alex Ferguson. A lot of our younger fans who use social media have only really known the ups and downs of recent years. I as you have had to endure endless seasons of mid table mediocrity and worse losing to Ipswich every season. So come on City fans rally behind the team win or lose.
As per my MFW piece this morning, I am not expecting anything this season. I’m really not.
Recent experience leads me not to trust in the Board. I never have done. But at least they’re trying something innovative. So I’ll give the project some time to breath.
Patience is indeed the word, and mine will last until Christmas 2019. I think Stuart Webber, Daniel Farke and his staff deserve that length of time to sink or swim.
But if things aren’t considerably better by then hopefully the “majority shareholders” will give Tom Smith a crack at it.
He seems to be the Prince Charles of NCFC.
The trouble is we have signed a load of cheap players who just are nowhere good enough to get a club promoted from the Championship . Only one place this revolution is going to end and that’s League One .
Are you including the loan players (Gunn and Reed) in your judgement, or just Vrancic, Watkins and so on?
Clearly it is far too early to be making any meaningful judgements on whether Farke will be a successful appointment. There have been several positives and negatives already. There is no point putting 10 game deadlines any more than those of Christmas 2019. The simple truth will be bourne out on the pitch. If we lose the next 10 games looking increasingly at sea with the players lost, does that not make Farke’s position untenable? And even with a less extreme run, Christmas 2019? Patience is fine but the wrong man will still be the wrong man, Hughton looked that long before we fired him. I trust in Webber to take necessary action long before our previous decision makers would have if it comes to it.
I’m still thinking relatively positively, I don’t think any such things will happen, but hypothetically speaking we have no idea what’s to come, so any predictions of time frames seem mute to me.
Lets take it a game at a time, comment as we all do, share our concerns (We still can’t defend!) and hope for the best. It could just be possible that Farke is the real deal, he may get us promoted this season or next, With that said my overriding concern is that in pinching the pennies like we are now, will he be given the tools of the requisit quality to do so? Maybe Franke, Husband and Zimmerman will all improve and become a good defensive unit and a rock on which to build, but that is still very much an unknown with some bad early signs. But like Farke, Webber et al, they need and deserve some time to adjust to; the championship, to Farke’s ideas and to each other.
Bah!
Well said General – I set my deadline of Christmas 2019 simply because the whole of this season and almost half-way through the next should truly show us which way the wind is blowing.
But as for those moaning after four games? Give me strength.
Wouldn’t that be Christmas 2018?
How many £1m plus players did Lambert/Gunn buy in our Div 1 year and subsequenf double promotion? The main criteria is recruiting players on an upward curve, ones who have a point to prove. Not Whitts, Turner, Bassong clones.
Exactly the point made by Steve Stone and Stuart Webber. Players for whom the move to Norwich is a big opportunity; hungry players.
That is fair to say, we want players on an upward curve, but how about players ready and experienced at this or upper lge1 level and still on an upward curve? They are certainly likely to transition better to the rough and tumble of the championship.
I’m not saying that any or all of the signings we’ve made are not potentialy ready or on an upwards trajectory, but player prices are often indicative of quality, so a young hungry £3m player is at least a little more likely to succeed than a £300,000 young hungry player. The price reflects the esteem his current employers hold him and the appreciated market value.
Pay peanuts and your probability of getting monkeys is much higher.
Bah!
Totally agree. As for the fans already up in arms and moaning they need to get a reality check-it’s going to take time and patience. They also need to get behind the team instead of putting them down every time we have a poor result. I believe it was Bill Shankly that said: ‘If you can’t support us when we draw or lose, then don’t bother when we win!’ I think a minority of City fans would do well to take heed of those words.
I wonder how long it will take before the penny drops? Simply hoping against hope that the Germans would perform a miracle on a shoestring while ignoring the mounting evidence does the club no favours.
What has happened at Norwich city this summer wasn’t a “webberlution” it was a downsizing, cost cutting exercise. Designed to stockpile cash for the purpose of meeting the ordinary running costs of the football club next season.
The only beneficiaries of ‘patience’ will be the smiths, deflecting the heat away for a few months more while they busily turn the club into a joke. Again.
Fur coat and no knickers. Poor players, cheap rubbish. Shameful.
What will it take for some people to remove their heads from their asses? Forget patience. We need action and proper change. Investment or relegation. Or should that be webbergation ?
Absolutely right. Look at the goals against total. Are Husband, Franke, Zimmermann better than what we had last season? We are lightweight, clueless and at the moment we are relegation fodder. Where are the signs of improvement? Beating Charlton’s academy team? Sorry this is looking like a disaster even at this early stage. If DF can’t cut it we will have to get rid and get an experienced manager in.