Upon his arrival in Norfolk, Daniel Farke was supposed to replicate the success of his compatriot, David Wagner, who propelled Huddersfield Town from underdogs to promotion contenders.
This was the beginning of a brighter, bolder and braver approach at Carrow Road. Many expected Farke’s football to resemble ‘heavy metal’ – high in the press and intense on the ball. Football played at 100mph both on and off the ball, the same formula that saw Wagner transforms Huddersfield from underdogs to contenders. But Farke’s football is more classical, than rock and roll.
The comparison with the Terriers is over-exhausted; this is like comparing the two aforementioned musical genres. Heavy metal is exhilarating, brutal and often deafening. Classical is quieter, more technical and takes longer to construct.
Huddersfield Town used to celebrate guaranteeing their survival in this division – breaking into the top half of the Championship would have seen Wagner’s cult status rise. Yet he made them winners.
It’s a simplistic and all-encompassing approach, and he did so on limited resources.
City were licking their wounds after a season of expensive underwhelm under Alex Neil.
The respective narratives couldn’t contrast more. The expectation at Norwich was considerably higher and after a sustained period in the Premier League, that was always going to be expected.
Those who tire the ‘work in progress’ slogan sit on a more optimistic side of the fence; those people are fully invested in the operation that is undergoing at Norwich under Webber and Farke. Those who reject that mantra feel the club aren’t progressing at high enough rate of knots.
They crave a leap forward; the patience is wearing thin.
In truth, there is no black and white answer, the future is unknown, and these waters haven’t been explored in NR1 before.
Not only has the club elected to embark on an entirely new direction, but in doing so they are attempting to reprogram the way in which supporters view football. This cultural change epitomises ambition, any claims of acceptance surrounding the current situation can be discounted.
An emphasis on youth development, a younger scouting focus and a mass reduction of the wage bill; there is evidence to suggest this season has been angled to construct a contingency plan once the parachute payments become extinct. This isn’t sexy, but is intrinsic to the long-term security of the club.
Norwich was a club with no strategy both on and off the pitch.
They were purchasing players with little to nil sell-on value and playing without a clear philosophy. Neil was an abrasive figure who galvanised an underperforming squad in the short-term. After his failure to maintain that much craved Premier League status, he resembled a shadow of his former self. He was out of ideas but towed the line for longer than many felt necessary.
This season has been a mass repair job.
It won’t sell season tickets, nor is it the new tagline for the club’s marketing campaign, but it is the reality. With an inflated wage bill and an over-aged and under-motivated squad, Farke arrived with reputable credentials having arrived from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
A rebuilt squad, an emphasis of culture and completely new on-pitch philosophy; in hindsight, this season should have always been about putting frameworks in place.
Ultimately while the club clearly wants to push for promotion, there needs to be realism – they are trying to manage the disappearance of parachute payments without getting relegated. A lot of clubs who were in the Premier League and dropped out have really struggled to adjust; you only need to look at Sunderland and Hull to see how difficult it can be.
To expect Norwich to be a well-polished and consistent outfit come next season is naive. The idea that this season is a transitional season leaves many feeling uncertain, but those expecting a devastating and perfected City will simply be disappointed.
The financial constraints mean any degree of transfer budget will be reduced – even with the sale of key protagonists. Money is hard to come by, and those preaching for new owners will also be left disappointed.
Farke has developed a more pragmatic streak, and between the boxes City display clear quality, but they need improvement in both boxes. Admittedly, a striker is required, that is plain for all to see, but that won’t be a consistent goalscorer or a household name – it’ll be one in a similar mould to Dennis Srbeny with regards to carrying the ‘potential’ tag.
This is not designed to be a downer, but perhaps a dose of realism. Time is a quality that escapes most football supporters. They want success and if the team loses on the pitch, all work at the club is tarnished.
Will it work? That is the million-dollar question, but it came after a proclamation for change and evolution that would make the club fit for purpose for contemporary football. Gone are the days of 4-4-2 and a physical emphasis.
Supporters shouldn’t accept mediocrity, but they should recognise the need to sustain and develop. This is a club rebuilding, and that isn’t a process that’s going to happen overnight.
Patience is far easier if you are convinced that the direction is the right one, with the right people at the helm. I believe the direction is right and in webber we have some one as good as anyone to try to orchestrate this path. But Farke I still have doubts about, I’m not calling for his head, not yet anyway, but so far he has not really impressed me. People will point to all those clean sheets and how he has sorted out our defence, but what I saw was an unbalanced side that was overly defensive and would always struggle for goals and to entertain. Since attempting to address the lack of goals, we suddenly look porous at the back again.
So this season, we have had some good halves of football, but rarely have we looked as good as we had done under Irvine with all those players over aged and under motivated.
I’ll cut Farke some slack for now, he was learning in a new environment, But is he really the right Coach? For me the evidence is minimal so far. People point at Maddison and how he’s come on leaps and bounds, Lewis too, both under Farke’s coaching. But the flip side to that is; Murphy who may well have gone backwards, Jerome and Oliviera who both look like they had any footballing ability surgically removed. Do they fit his system, perhaps not,
Will this summer give us a squad that he should be more happy with? taylored more to his footballing needs? absolutely! However, will the newbies need a period of adjustment given they are likely to be predominantly cheap and foreign? Yes and no, he needs to be getting players with Webber that can not only impact next season but this one too. So how long should his grace period be to get things going in the right direction?
I saw someone suggest 15 games. not unreasonable in many senses. he has had a season to learn, will hopefully if not totally decimated by sales have a squad and team that have had a season and 1 or 2 pre-seasons under his philosophy. I think a little longer but we need to be brutal,, if he isn’t improving things by Christmas then we must get rid before January in my opinion. If we are not progressing and many similar issues remain from this season, I think part of the beauty of having a DoF is that the direction can remain, but maybe a better coaching team can pick things up more easily.
By improving, that is not to say we must be top 6 and regularly putting teams to the sword (Though both would be nice) I mean seeing tangible progress in the way we play. If we continue to move the ball so slowly up the pitch, if we continue to not score or show a better balance in the team to at least look like we will score more than we concede then he will be failing. I don’t get to every game, home or away, but those I have seen and the rest that I have spoken about with ever presents, have far more often than the ticket sales team should be comfortable with, been poor and difficult to watch. so Irrespective of progress that might be being made off the pitch, no manager can survive too long if the fans get: bored, angry, or even worse indifferent to their team. to that end, has he shown enough at home this season to survive a slow or worse very bad start next season?
Rightly or wrongly, even Webber and the board might flinch if ticket sales drop and the atmosphere, which is currently as prozaic as the football turns poisonous.
Bah!
Some really good points in there General and a completely different outlook to the one within the article, for sure.
What I will say is that the uncertainty isn’t a comfortable position to be in and a lot hinges on next season, is Farke the right coach? That’s the million dollar question! He was recruited due to his ability to work with younger players- in line with the clubs preferred model- and is seen as being progressive.
I agree on your talk of progression, whilst results and entertainment are lacking in this football, it’ll be hard to get supporters buying into it.
You should write an article pal!
Ha – in terms of writing an article the General has already been offered a much-warranted opportunity to do just that:-)
I am thinking about it, so far a topic has eluded me, maybe I will try something in the slow horrible post season mid-summer.
The Ed would be most grateful General 😉
General – reading this, I thought you may be making a pitch for a guest blog spot.
Many a point worthy of debate there!
See reply to Connor above. If we keep badgering him I’m sure he’ll oblige:-)
You question the patience of a number of the support and say at the end:
“Supporters shouldn’t accept mediocrity, but they should recognise the need to sustain and develop. This is a club rebuilding, and that isn’t a process that’s going to happen overnight.”
So how long must we accept medicrity or worse? Is a season and a half, with 3 transfer windows and 1.5 seasons overnight? Can we make judgment then? how about next summer? Lge1 next season? 15 years into the future having still not seen the PL again? Preaching patience with no end date is never acceptable in an industry heavily reliant on entertaining its customers.
Bah!
I think, personally, let’s see where Norwich lie next season and pass judgement then, but that is entirely subjective and I don’t speak for every Norwich fan.
Part of the lottery of following a football team is going through peaks and troughs. I wouldn’t categorise this season as either, some aspects have been pleasing and others not so. There is no god given right to be entertained at football, as there isn’t when you buy a cinema or theatre ticket but as you quite rightly say, if people aren’t enjoying it, they will stop consuming.
Many people wanted change Connor, but some not in the way that has taken place.
Whilst the club had to get their finances sorted after years of mismanagement, that does not mean that what we have in place now is the vision for a brighter future.
You suggest that the days have gone of 4-4-2 and a physical emphasis – I couldn’t disagree more. Farke’s style has its moments, but it lightweight, ineffective and technically beyond the majority of the team. Is that progress? No sir.
NCFC is all about consolidation and realignment. Promotion doesn’t seem to get mentioned anymore for good reason. There is no desire from the majority shareholders to glance the EPL again and the club will not move forward while they are still here, It is very hard to see what purpose they serve in 2018, other than the art of self promotion.
Whilst any new owners would not guarantee anything, at least there would be a possibility of moving forward where one no longer exists.
Archant’s Sports Writers are suggesting that mid table will be considered ‘success’ going forward. While Mid Table is an accurate forecast, judging it as ‘success’ shows how far our club has fallen in both its stature and aspiration. Whether fans will enjoy the continued supply of footballing equivalent of a bowl of rice will only lead to tension, anger and division.
Welcome to the future of Mid Table Mediocrity – where fun will be in limited supply.
For every Pep Guardiola there’s a Tony Pulis, and so naturally there is a place, but the game has moved on from this physically focused style and simplistic formation, I’m not saying that is right, but the game is evolving to have a greater emphasis on the midfield and how that be used to win games. It’s not kick and run.
The off-field stuff is a huge factor of this new philosophy, and so getting sorted in itself was a piece of the jigsaw that needed completion.
As for style, yes, Norwich are too lightweight, that’s plain for anyone to see. On the contrary, this is a side that kept a club record of back to back clean sheets and has one of the tallest centre back pairings/trios in the division. Now, if you’re talking leadership and a clear spine, that’s another debate entirely. Sheffield United was a fine example of how Norwich possess the skill set to be nasty but in regards to behaviour off the ball, agree entirely.
Steve Stone and Stuart Webber have reiterated their desire to stabilise Norwich as a PL club once again, the whole repayment idea on the academy bond was designed with the PL in mind. Everyone is in football to win and achieve, so there is absolutely no way the head honchos at Carrow Road are content with the current position but they content with the current process. I’m not saying I agree with that, but its a train of thought.
I think it defines progress more than success. You only need to observe the current plights of Sunderland and Hull to see how a life with or without parachute payments can cause difficulties. Everyone wants promotion, naturally, but within that ambition needs to be realism and pragmatism, realistically, Norwich could be in this division for a while.
Cheers for reading and taking the time to comment mate. I really appreciate it. Enjoy the weather!
It hasn’t been “fun” from the day Stuart Webber arrived and of course the word “promotion” is never bandied about.
As supporters we were spoiled by the last few weeks under Irvine – it was enjoyable to watch.
Although they would doubtless deny it to your face, our major shareholders do not want PL and I doubt Tom Smith (with all the caveats to his shareholding to eventually be imposed upon him) would be able to correct that course even in the unlikely event that he wanted to.
Maybe NCFC can sustain mediocrity. Maybe we can’t.
But to me, with the Smiths in situ, it’s a bit like jumping on your pushbike because you don’t like all those greedy, flashy successful people with cars. Especially foreign ones (not a reference to Farke and coaching team plus players; but to outside investment).
While the upper-class matchday social club remains we less elevated individuals are stuffed.
I have often wondered in the past and certainly consider now: do they really care what happens on the pitch while the old vino is flowing?
Something tells me that members of that little cartel don’t know a football from their collective elbow.
However I’m not giving up on Farke just yet.
You never know so we must surely see what the summer brings..
Fun it isn’t, Martin! I suspect we will see a rash of articles, tweets and the like from friends of Delia urging yet more patience, telling us about work in progress, doubling and trebling the amount of transfer windows Webber will need and telling us all what we “should” and indeed shouldn’t do or think.
Having awarded themselves a gap year this season, it now appears that the promise of jam tomorrow is in fact, jam next year. In twelve months if the status quo remains I fully expect the same line will be peddled.
The whole fiasco is surely just a device to stall and play for time, writing off another season before the fixture list drops through the letterbox.
The pet journalists at Archant have been busy as well I see, soon we will be conditioned to celebrate the narrow avoidance of relegation to the third tier as a major achievement.
Not sure ‘fiasco’ is quite how I’d describe it, Chris. I too have my reservations, and genuinely still can’t decide if we’re on the verge of something great or disastrous, but I see little evidence of a fiasco. There’s a plan; the big one is obviously if they can execute it on the shoestring they’ve been handed, but there is a definite plan in place
It’s a case of hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Gary,
Before the season started I attended a function at carrow road where the farke, Webber, stone trio were given a microphone and the floor.
I didn’t see anything to engender too much optimism at the time, despite bumping into a former colleague, active in citizen journalism and social media poo-pooing my reservations. He was convinced and apparently remains so that this will work.
Evidence however, is decidedly thin on the ground.
Given the free rein to effectively write off last season, Webber appears by some to be given a repeat pass this year. The tone of this article and other comments I have seen recently are setting the tone for another “work in progress”
Just how much stomach the support has for more of the same medicine come August is a moot point.
Not sure the same level of leeway will be granted next season tbh. The longer the period of work-in-progress the shorter the fuse of the faithful – that’s football. Not sure if Webber is the right man at whom to aim your ire … seems to me he’s working within some fairly restrictive parameters.
To be fair, Chris, Webber has always said it was likely to take two to three transfer windows to get the squad how he wants – probably meaning at least two summer transfer windows, given that’s when the majority of business gets done, but I may be wrong.
True, Gary. But in doing so he is buying himself time. The two transfer windows thus far have left us considerably weaker in terms of playing staff and I simply can’t reconcile the theory that more of those transfer windows will equate to a better team.
The club were buying players with little to no sell on value?
Yes, always makes me chuckle when people only remember the bad buys – and there have been a few, as we know – but forget that in recent years we have sold Pritchard, Howson, Redmond, Olsson, Brady and Johnson, in most cases at a decent profit, or at least after they had given us good service.
And didn’t we buy some bloke called Maddison? I suppose we were just “lucky” on that one.
Even Naismith – the archetypical bad buy – was welcomed by most fans as the sort of player we ought to be buying. In fact many berated the board for not making it happen in the previous transfer window That he’s worthless now is not something that most supporters foresaw any more than the Board did.
Yep, in regards to age.
Let’s take Seb Bassong as an example, signed for Spurs for around 3m, released a few years later. Kyle Lafferty, purchased for Palermo for 1m, released, the list could go on.
These are players who are too old to resell for any degree of value, whereas Redmond, Brady etc they got what they paid plus more.
So from a business prospect, its not smart. The trend is that clubs spend bigger money on younger players which is the oldest player brought under SW is Mario Vrancic (28) for 650,000k, less risk, lower wages.
Bassong when he joined Norwich – 26 years old
Grant Hanley – 26 years old.
Transfer fees ~3M for each.
Hanley is, of course, a glaring exception within our current pattern of buying younger, relatively cheap, players.
Bassong was not.
Lafferty joined age 24.
Sergie Canos joined age 19, younger than any player signed under Farke
James Maddison joined age 19, younger than any player signed under Farke
Robbie Brady joined age 23.
Alex Pritchard joined age 23.
Nelson joined age 25.
The Bassong example doesn’t even make sense. 3M for a player you keep for five seasons (not “released a few years later”) is a bargain. Franke cost 3M and he lasted 6(?) games.
Sorry Connor, but that statement is just wrong. The only reason the club stayed debt free the past few years is due to players we’ve sold on.
So it wasn’t smart signing Wes, for example, because we’re likely to release him for nothing? Ditto Alex Tettey?
Anyway we signed Bassong when he was 26, and at that time he was probably as good as were likely to get on our budget.
Any player signed mid-career who stays with us a few years is going to lose value towards the end. What do you want us to do? Only ever sign 20-year-olds?
Wes and Alex Tettey have been exceptional for us over proven periods of time.
To expect any resale value on either of these stalwarts would be ridiculous.
Just enjoy what they gave to us – we will not see their like again.
This build em up, hope for the best and sell em on thing will prevent that.
Tetts and Wesley: I salute you both. The last of the Titans.
Exactly!
Good writer is young Connor, but he’s got a lot to learn about how things pan out over a few years rather than a few months.
But then, one season’s a bigger proportion of his life than mine….
Connor, trust me, Laffs cost considerably more than £1m to sign.
Hi Connor
A very interesting read.
Over the years I have had no ill feeling towards the Smiths and Board in general but of late that is gradually changing. We all thank the Smiths for helping the club and getting Chase, South and Jones out but it is now time for a clean and trouble free break, but Delia must think she is the equivalent to Maggie Thatcher(this lady not for turning) and she was ousted with no dignity left to her.
Team Farke have had a slow and unspectacular start to their first season in the Championship – some good results and some extremely poor results; a very dramatic learning curve.
We have all harped on about future outside investment and Delia’s last interview has muddied the waters even more. No investment will be becoming if the open signs are not displayed and, as others have mentioned, an investor will no guarantee success. The question is twist or stick.
Twist has its risks but it also renews hope for a better future – is it a gamble we want?
Stick and we all know the answer to this one – more of the same
Delia and Co have their cohorts that can’t see anything wrong in how they run the club; she has admitted a few times they are poor millionaires in the football world. Well get out of it then. She reminds me of a child that has a favourite toy and will not let anyone else play with it because she is scared they might get more enjoyment/ success out of it than they have.
To me, I just wonder what might have been this season if the board had offered up some interest-free loans to get better players in and not bargain basement ones all the time.
The General has offered Xmas as the time for Team Farke to go if the club hasn’t progressed, but to me he will possibly need another full season, or we will see another coach with a different style and he will need a settling in period, different players, and the process starts all over again.
Onwards up upwards OTBC
Hi Alex
I’m just wondering why that when you say: “We all thank the Smiths for helping the club and getting Chase, South and Jones out”, leaves me with a big hmm…
I had the thought that the Smiths came in after Chase and Jones had been forced to walk largely via fan power, although at that time there was something of a falling out between themselves as the darkness grew around them.
Not too sure how Sir Arthur fitted into that scenario.
I always had the impression that we were basically “stateless” until Delia and MWJ rapidly came along. They did a lot of good at that time but please consider they got quite a bit back from their actions – no bad thing if you’re a TV cook and your husband/partner runs a publishing company. Publicity is the keyword and Sainsbury’s magazine hardly went downhill because of the Smiths’ involvement with NCFC. Anything but.
Some folks forget because they don’t remember – or are too young to have been through those times.
The man who saved this football club was indeed Geoffrey Watling.
Hi Martin, It’s me getting old – 68 this year.
Geoff Watling save the club twice and if I think back far enough.
Yes, my timing slightly out in recollection. South was prior to Chase. Chase, when ousted, was replaced by Jones. Watling then came to the rescue for the Smiths to buy in.
Delia is, I think with hubby, the longest owners of the club and my Maggie comment stands.
Hey Alex – I’m only six years behind you!
As I always say I don’t do politics, but I understand your Thatcher-Delia comparison. One from the far right of the Tories and the other a left-wing clinger-on complete with all the ideology that bog-standardly boring people with those beliefs tend to bring with them.
Within my very limited capacity to understand Government and stuff I’ll only say this: there is no room for a Dictator in my life. And that includes the Jack Russell!
I think Delia considers herself more Mother Teresa than Thatcher.
Beyond reproach.
Martin – you didn’t mention the big boost she also got from Waitrose until Hessental came along.
Since taking over at City her profile has climbed and her books have been good financially for her.
Dunno about that.
I just remember that massive connection with Sainburys mag.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but blimey it did make me wonder!!!
She did all the festive adverts for waitrose using all her recipes and books
A lot of interesting points and discussion.
There’s one thing that’s very striking to me. Living where I do, most of my friends support teams other than Norwich. Looking at the scale of change we’ve made, their view is unanimous: it has to be given at least two years (maybe three) before it’s judged.
Living within a family that has three Spurs and one Man U supporter, I am continually the butt of jokes and they all respect my choice and reasons.
The one thing we all agree on is that City need a minimum two years to settle into this new system.
Wagner at Huddersfield looks to have kept them in the Premiership this year but if you ask him or his chairman, they would both agree success came sooner than expected. To many City supporters, we’re expecting or wanting the same success in a similar time frame and have started to lose patience with it and would like to return to the old ways
It’s not about a return to the old ways, it’s about confidence that we are heading in the right direction, home form in particular being a compelling case that our head coach may not be the right one. He may still be, but there is little obvious evidence he can or will take us forwards to the PL. Ironically he might be more capable than many to keep us there. But as I say so far I’m not convinced he has the minimals to get us there.
Bah!
There’s a comment above from Dave Bowers which, despite its 20 likes, needs some qualification if we’re interested in the truth.
He cites Canos and Maddison, signed at 19, as younger than anyone signed under Farke. I think we’ll find that Savvas Mourgos, Tristan Abrahams and Pierre Fonkeu (at least) contradict that claim.
Dave suggests that Stuart Webber’s signings are not systematically younger than before. I believe the facts say that the first XI is on average 4 years younger this season following last summer’s transfer business (in addition to the players quoted above, who’ve yet to make their first-team debuts), a straight reflection of his policy to recruit younger.
Dave also states that Franke cost us £3m. The maximum reliable figure I’ve heard is £1.2m, less than half Dave’s claim. In this case I’m open to be corrected, if anyone can help (or Dave can substantiate his claim, of course).
Canos cost £2.5 million, Maddison the same. The combined total of the three, mourgos, Abrahams and fonkeu was £250,000. They are different types of signing.
Thinking about it you can add Phillips to the list as well. Released from his club and picked up with a view to restoring his form to what it once was.
Canos and Maddison were both first teamers, with a number of clubs prepared to pay serious amounts of cash for their services.
With regard to picking up young players, it’s not a new idea. Off the top of my head I can think of Thompson, Godfrey, Mcgrandles, Adams, even Middleton being picked up from other clubs at an early stage of their careers.
“Dave suggests that Stuart Webber’s signings are not systematically younger than before. ”
No I didn’t. Try reading. I’m countering Connors incorrect assertion that we used to buy old players and not saleable ones. I list both young players and saleable players. I never said anything about average age.
As for the players you name. Let’s wait to see if they actually play a first team game.
As for Frankes cost. I got that from Transfermarkt which, while not entirely accurate, usually gets the ballpark right. The point remains, 1M or 3M, 6 games is a ripoff compared to Bassong’s 3M for 5 seasons.
There’s also the fact that we remain a quarter of the league lower than last season and have yet to make any profit off of Webber’s signings.. So I wouldn’t start trumpeting them yet.
Thanks, Dave. Glad you seem to recognise the point about Abrahams etc; I guess that’s as close as we’ll ever get to an apology from you for making a false statement.
I’d also point out that a younger starting XI was always going to happen with lots of older player contracts expiring, whether Webber and Farke were here or not. You’re also incorrect earlier saying that Hanley is the glaring exception, Vrancic is 28.
And while I’m at it…
Webber extended 32 year old Russell Martin’s contract.
Kenny McLean, Watkins, and Stiepermann all signed at 26.
So when you say Hanley was the glaring exception, what did you mean?
We were talking about the ages and fees of Webber’s signings. He’s made 18 of them, average age 23. Hanley is 26, and cost more than a million (probably closer to 2 million) more than any other.
So, a glaring exception.
All signings are a gamble if it be £1 or millions.
Age is the factor in prices
18 to 20 year old players are inexperienced generally cheaper but a greater gamble, Bigger profit when sold on if they prove themselves.
21 to 24 will have had time to prove themselves more expensive and not such a greater gamble, again bigger profit.
25 to 30 lots of experience more expensive to buy not so much profit due to the purchase price
30 plus lots of experience cheaper due to their age but little or know profit again age will count.
Not club can get it right 100% of the time just look at the ones that Ferggie purchased at Man U and the money lost on them.
So lets hope Webber/Farke has a lot better record that the last incumbents had at city