Six men have managed Norwich City Football Club in the Premier League since 2000:
– Nigel Worthington
– Paul Lambert
– Chris Hughton
– Neil Adams
– Alex Neil
– Daniel Farke
Taking into account all competitive league and cup matches while they were in charge, how do you think they compare on:
– Percentage of games won
– Percentage of games lost
– Average number of goals scored per game
– Average number of goals conceded per game
– Net transfer spend during the manager’s tenure
Let’s have a look…
Conclusion: The Premier League is one tough division.
But, what else may we take from the data? Well, each incumbent achieved what they achieved. Some good, some not so good; some had money, some had not; the panning and praise equally distributed.
But whoever was in charge and the circumstances in which they operated no longer matter; the current declared club priorities are very much:
– Pence not points
– Wonga not wins
– Gelt not glory
And, under current funding levels this is entirely the sensible approach.
Unarguably so.
It’s also important to congratulate the owners, board, and management team for ensuring we still have a club to support. There have been troubled times (officially documented and referenced in the club annals as SNOTS, ie. the Steven Naismith Overspend Tw*t Syndrome) but, sadly, fans of other clubs have been not so lucky.
In the coming weeks and months there may be more supporters here and abroad dealing with an impossibly unimaginable football loss. My heart goes out to them. It should never be allowed to happen.
But… – I wonder if you’re the same? – is there a small obdurate part of you that thinks such limited ambition is a pity? Do you ever ask the question, ‘Will there ever be more to hope for?’
I remember large chunks of time in the 1980s and 1990s when Norwich not only competed but prospered in the top division. A glorious time when we would travel to places like Spurs, Villa, and Chelsea and expect to win. Manchester United? We could beat them, couldn’t we? Yes. And we did. At their place.
We even threatened to win the whole damned thing. The Premier League that is. The billionaire’s playground. Imagine that?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to feel that freedom again? To once again pursue glamour over survival, ambition over prudence, winning over… losing?
But there is hope. A little pool of positivity within. Perhaps, just perhaps, hard work, luck, acumen, and ingenuity will be enough? And with the little bit of spending that’s happening currently perhaps Mr Farke may be feeling a little more optimistic too.
We can but dream.
Best wishes all.
OTBC!
(NB. Data sourced from across the internet.)
The Uk ain’t nothing like the GB of yesteryear and the Prem ain’t nothing like the old Division One. It’s a different world and we’ve got what we’ve got. And City haven’t got billionaire owners so every time we enter that playground the rich kids are going to laugh at our bike as they drift bye in their limousines. We’re going to concede more goals than we score, lose more games than we win, never mind the percentages there’s precious little joy. Winning the Chumpship is the best bit, plus I suppose making some dosh. So let’s cry all the way to the bank and look foreword to winning more games than we lose and scoring more goals, that’s what it’s suppose to be about. Would like to see ‘em win the FA Cup before I shuffle off this mortal coil.
Full agree with all your sentiments about winning the FA cup but that is a pipe dream at 70 I will not attempt to hold my remaining breath.
Bournemouth will be hit hard by the EFL for their overspend last time in the champions and Charlton taking the EFL to court for not taking 12 points away from Sheff Wed this season so that relegation could all change and city might get Rhodes on the cheap at last
Totally agree herr cutz i loved the old division one when football was football and norwich were a good side . The problem with that list is all of those managers were and are very one dimensional i don’t think we have had a very adaptable manager or squad .
There speaks the voice of ambition: Cutty, I hope you live till you’re at least 100
Thanks Chris, interesting stats which lead me to consider what is success for NCFC and how do you measure it
Agreed, Dave B. Perhaps the game has changed more than we have. As for what could redress that and put us in the ascendancy again I don’t know.
We might find our destiny in the short term is to be less poor relations among the very poor. But while we are, and the longer this pandemic goes on, the gap with the very top gets rapidly wider to the point where even the very wealthy can’t compete. Every season is simply a competition to increase the limit on the credit card, and the consequences under current conditions are worrying. Merit and organic player production only gets you so far
Wondering why all stats are from the PL, except the last part?
Good point David Bowers. It was a deliberate decision to include the whole manager terms as ‘enjoying’ a spell in the premiership is based on spending during previous seasons to achieve promotion as much as what you spend when you get there. Having tossed up that with the alternative I thought that was a fairer overall assessment of what the manager achieved. Of course the amounts are estimated (from transfermarkt.com) but I hope they are at least mildly representative. Happy to be corrected though.
Ahh Chris. But I’m not sure it’s as clear cut as you show.
If you also look at his purchases they raised vast sums of money and continue to do so (I.e Godfrey), that Farke has nicely assigned to him. Yet Farke has yet to sell anyone of worth bought in under him.
That may obviously change, soon, at the start of his fourth season!
Specifically talking about Alex Neil here, to be clear.
That’s a good point. Many of the eventual successes could have been bought years before by another manager. Decisions often take years before the impact occurs. Remember when Kevin Keegan disbanded the reserve team at Newcastle in preference for just buying players? Presumably the third or fourth manager down the line was the one who wouldn’t have had any youth prospects breaking through into the first team. I believe Lambert did something similar at Norwich btw. Not widely reported at the time.
The trouble is, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics, as someone once said. The stats obviously point at Lambert being the most successful manager this century, but he had his own agenda, and jumped ship. It might be interesting to compare his stats at Norwich with his stats at his subsequent clubs, which might then point to some other factor being the reason for his success here. Ian Culverhouse? McNally? The board?
Pining for the great days of the 80’s and 90’s puts us in the same club as the binners. Please don’t go there! An awful lot has changed since those days, with the money from Sky, BT, and now Amazon, and a raft of billionaire owners that we will never be able to attract, despite the wishes of some. I’m grateful for the periods of success, and glad that we still have a viable club.
Agreed Jim. Looking at any stats, however bald, is like looking through a distorted window. It’s still a window though and may ask more questions than it answers.
On another subject, Bournemouth lost their manager by ‘mutual consent’ last night after losing their way this year. They still have a better squad than NCFC on money spent and he obviously doesn’t fancy trying to get them out of the Championship. Suspect more is afoot than the bare story so far…
Maybe Howe is being lined up for the Watford job! I’m always a bit uneasy about these “mutual consent” departures. Someone must start it off by either “you’re on your bike” or “I’ve had enough. I’m out of here”. On balance I think it was probably a sacking, with a bit of face-saving for Howe to keep the fans happy.
Interesting stats, Chris.
The most glaring (and damning) one that jumped out at me….?
That we’ve only had one manager who managed consecutive seasons in the prem.
Don’t get me wrong, I certainly wouldn’t trade 6 seasons of 17th place finishes for the ride we’ve had….but it still shows that we are simply unable to facilitate a foothold in the top division any more.
Thanks Martin. Yep, that’s been the problem. Lambert took us up and (had he stayed) he would have had at least a couple of seasons there. As it turned out, Chris Hughton inherited that mantle and survived one season before things went bad next time round. Apart from that, we’ve never looked like staying in the division. Again, I must mention Eddie Howe at Bournemouth who’s left ‘by mutual consent’ after the shame of only keeping a Third/Fourth division team (for most of my life) in the Premier league for a decade or so. Go figure! (Best wises to Eddie H too, btw)
I saw that as very bizarre…however I’m wondering if Howe knows something we dont? I’ve heard rumblings about FFP penalties coming – and the speed in which they sold Ake might suggest there’s something in that. Did Howe see a possible points deduction and transfer decimation of his squad coming over the horizon?
Hamilton for me , but as our main shareholder said, but he was such a nice man. That’s a great criteria for selection of a football manager then.
Wonder if anyone ever said that about ALEX FERGUSON?