In the current climate and with a divided fanbase, expressing an opinion on City’s plight is akin to painting a target on your forehead and shouting “come at me”, regardless of whether your glass is half-full or half-empty.
With that in mind, it’s worth starting this piece with two facts.
Firstly, I love my club. I really do, despite what follows.
Secondly, I genuinely respect those amongst us whose support of the club extends to a seemingly unwavering belief that it’s all going to be okay. Positivity and optimism are wonderful characteristics to have and shouldn’t be sneered at.
I just wish I could find some.
In football, as in life, there’s a balance to be had between appreciating the moment and looking forward; a trade-off between the ‘big picture’ and the ‘here and now’.
When City beat Middlesbrough to clinch promotion at Wembley, the balance was perfect. We had the sheer delirium of an amazing day to savour, alongside the prospect of exciting times ahead. A summer of expectation and the signings to come before we took our place in the Premier League’s spotlight.
The overwhelming sense on that walk back along Wembley Way was a blend of pure satisfaction and anticipation.
What followed was of course a lesson in harsh realities. A sobering reminder, if one was needed, that the ‘land of milk and honey’, is actually a ‘land of angst and money’. The top flight is, for all bar a privileged few, a continual grind to gather enough points to earn the right to do it all over again.
But it remains the place to be and for a club such as ours, it surely has to be the aspiration.
After relegation, I wasn’t one who expected or demanded an instant return. The Championship is littered with clubs who are chasing the same goal, and every season, all bar three of them will ultimately face disappointment regardless of the amount of money they spent, their history or their fans’ expectations.
What I hoped for was a sense of progression, an indication that the club was putting plans in place to give it another go.
The words ‘transition’ and ‘project’ have been regularly used to describe what is in effect a radical overhaul of the club’s structure and personnel. The size of that task can’t be understated and, in the circumstances, the calls for patience are warranted. After all, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.
But that assumes that we’re building Rome, rather than Romford.
Webber and Stone have been lauded by some for their efforts to rejuvenate the squad and reduce the wage bill by removing the club’s top earners and replacing them with cheaper alternatives.
A wholly necessary exercise given the stark financial challenge that lies ahead and the legacy of previous mismanagement.
The leap of faith is to assume that the process of balancing the books, will leave us with a playing squad that’s better placed to mount a promotion challenge, rather than a team of journeymen and youngsters whose salary demands and abilities are both more suited to mid-table in the Championship.
That’s the big picture that we’re being asked to buy into.
The potential light at the end of what is becoming a pretty dark tunnel.
The prize that awaits at the end of the transition, which warrants so much patience.
Maybe it will work out, maybe it won’t. None of us can know for sure.
But I’m amazed at how many are prepared to effectively write-off and excuse a season that has been so abject and lacking in entertainment, on the basis that it will all be alright in the end.
I’ve seen as many relegation seasons as promotion seasons and countless more in between, where in real terms, the club has achieved the square root of sod all. Perhaps that drives a short-term mentality.
I don’t demand or expect success and feel no sense of entitlement to it.
I’m simply a bloke who pays money to watch football matches and I do it to enjoy myself.
Or rather I used to, because it’s the enjoyment that’s sadly lacking.
Farke wants to implement a style of football with players who lack the quality to do it effectively. The result as we’ve all seen, is often slow, laboured and devoid of intensity or excitement.
Unable to strike a balance between defensive solidity and attacking intent, we flip-flop between formations and look either completely toothless or horribly exposed.
Sometimes both.
Contrary to some of the more sensationalist rhetoric, this is not the worst it’s ever been. Not by a long shot, but it makes for pretty hard viewing and worse still, there’s precious little on show to suggest that any pennies are dropping or signs of genuine progress.
Those of a more optimistic persuasion will tell you to remain patient; to wait until after the next transfer window and presumably the next one and the one after that before passing judgement.
After all, we’re in transition.
Those like myself are more concerned about what we’re watching now and what it is we’re transitioning towards.
Target painted… “come at me!”
This is a realistic assessment of where City are at. Its not as bad as when we had no strikers – remember when Darrel Russell was pressed into service or when we had to use players like Sibierski. But the biggest and most obvious failure of the Webber regime is that City have had to use a temperamental and often unfit striker to score goals and have miserably failed. How City are going to find a striker to improve the team next year without parachute money is a major concern. Even “No money”Ipswich brought in Waghorn and Garner who look more threatening than our options!
It’s probably the biggest challenge. Suspect we’ll see signings this summer from Continental leagues, where value for money is clearly better. Given the quality of Zimmermann, Trybull and others, I’ll be interested to see what they come up with.
Great column Steve.
I have a friend who due to work commitments has only been able to attend 3 matches so far this season. All have been away from Carrow Road, and unfortunately for him he has visited Villa Park; The New Den, and Loftus Road. He’s never been unkind to old ladies or animals, but sincerely wonders what (so far) he has done with his life to deserve this fate. He too struggles to see what progress is being achieved and is certain that to top it all off, we will also finish below those at the south end of the A140. However, he still is positive enough about things to say that promotion in the next couple of seasons is eminently possible. How I wish for some of that positivity – and sense of humour!!!
O T B C
He certainly picked his games!
For me I look at two indicators…
1) The direction we’ve been going in over a few seasons.
2) Our state right now.
Usually those two have been decent predictors of the future, with the unexpected blip of four months of Alex Neil’s initial impact.
Our direction has been on a general decline for some time. On the pitch, off the pitch, and in the bank. Our current state has shown no tangible improvement on the pitch since the start of the season. People can argue that, but in terms of points, position, performances, and entertainment, I see no improvement.
So for me to be positive about the future it would have to be faith based on evidence of things unseen. That of course doesn’t exclude a change in fortunes, it’s not to say it’s impossible.. The players ‘should’ be improved with more Championship experience for example. But we know that our bank accounts will continue to decline. We know that some of our best players are likely to leave.. We know that every other team’s players will become more experienced in the league too.
I’m happy for anyone to say they hope, believe, have faith that we’ll improve. But i think it’s hugely premature to say with certainty that we’re moving in the right direction, as we finish a season lower than last, with less goals, less points, and what sounds like fewer season tickets sold, .
Stevo you are a man of your word.
Yet another cracking article for us this week. Good stuff mate:-)
This is my first season as a season ticket holderI. I was in the summer full of anticipation and so looking forward as to what was to come a ,new German coach who I had never heard but who came with a glowing reputation and Stuart Webber with all his success behind him at Huddersfield,trying to emulate it all here at Norwich.So I took to my newly aquired seat against Sunderland full of hope but at the end of 90 minutes I left in despair and that unfortunately for the greater part of the season at Carrow Road has been my parting emotion,not always I might add at the way we have played but the fact we had not achieved the result I desired..This I feel for the main has been our efforts in the final third of the pitch the final ball lacking the quality needed to feed the strikers who have themselves have lacked the ability and attitude to be successful .The lack of goals has overworked what was earlier in the campaign( very evident after the Millwall disaster)a very solid unit especially when in a back three formation. It has now become very tired and laboured just like the season.
So as we approach the end of the season I still find myself in this hope and despair bubble unsure of which way the wind will take it. But I will remain on the hope side because I am like yourself Steve a thick and thin supporter who will follow city whatever league they are applying their trade in. I will back the current Farke,Webber project because I do believe it will bear fruit. , I desperately want it to work because if it doesn’t then I fear what will happen to the club financially and playing wise,but we are a way off that point and I shall reserve that judgment for at least a couple of seasons.Till then let’s back all concerned and if anyone can come up with a viable option for a progressive way forward I am all ears,negatively will not help of that I’m sure
I had a great time at the Emirates, had a grand time watching Norwich play Reading on TV surrounded by my mates in the Old Red NCFC pub in Angel, London and was beyond chuffed when I saw the d1ckhead that is Wilder rant and fume at the most ludicrous of reasoning why Sheff Utd lost the game. Alongside that I was at Millwall and Loftus Road. I’ve been unfortunate and lucky enough to witness capitulations and some hungry displays. It’s the life of a NCFC supporter. And given the complete change of infrastructure (dwell on the thought of that) this season has been entertaining, eye-opening and eye-watering in equal measure. I think to paint a bleaker picture and say it’s been consistently boring and the football has been terrible is completely far of the mark. It just serves to feed more negativity to fans already gorged on it spouting their BS on social media platforms. IF it’s like that in September/October in the coming season yeah I would agree things aren’t looking the way they should be. Farke is merely a component of a bigger machine and he can be replaced which is why the infrastructure was changed in the first place – imagine us not having introduced Webber’s ethos as a self sustaining club? Go on, think about it – with the expensive mistakes in Mulumbu, Naismith and so forth, we’d be staring down the barrel of the old regime with no parachute payments and a CAT 1 Academy not fit for purpose. We’d be looking like Ipswich or to a worse extent Sunderland. I also think Vrancic is a great player, so there!
Or under the old regime we might have got lucky and been promoted this year, we have enough talent in the squad, a number of our key players were already here and may have been used more effectively by an experienced manager.
As for the academy, what makes you so sure it will be anymore fit for purpose now or in 3, 5 or even 10 years time? Blind faith in Webber?
Progress if there has been any only shows itself so fleetingly in generally unbalanced sides picked with 3 CB’s and Tettey that have scrapped wins in tandem with a touch of Madders brilliance. So we’ve passed the ball well for a half here or 30mins there. We still have rarely been able to make it tell.
I don’t disagree with the DofF direction, but the way things are fizzling out this season and the generally poor football, I’m far from convinced Herr Farke has what it takes to take us to the PL, next season or ever. I hope to be proved wrong but struggle to see it.
Bah!
A great piece Steve. Also I suspect a widely held viewpoint.