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The Case against Chase – Villain or hero? Part II

The Case against Chase – Villain or hero? Part II

29th January 2021 By Chris Sadler 8 Comments

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I hate Robert Chase. 

I do. 

I really do.

You may find at this moment your larynx start to spasm as it begins to form some raucous shouts of agreement but, for the time being, put a sock in it and bear with me. Please. Allow me to present the Case against Chase…

Robert Chase – more like a laughable cast member from 70’s sitcom ‘Doctor in the House’ than Hugh Laurie’s suave sidekick in ‘House’ – joined Norwich City’s board in 1982. Three years later he took over as chairman from legendary old-schoolian Sir Arthur South. Although not a majority shareholder, Chase effectively ‘owned’ and ran the club for more than a decade – and during his tenure wasted more chances of major City success that at any time in the clubs history.

In 1987 Norwich City finished fifth in the top division (now the Premier League). Despite minimal investment. 

Two years later he got lucky again, this time finishing fourth. A first class journey on a third class ticket.

And in 1993 he finished third, despite selling the club’s best player and moaning about the ancient but influential midfielder Walker barely managed to get on a free-transfer! Incredible. 

It wasn’t only the political repercussions of the Heysel tragedy in 1985, and England-wide European football ban that followed, that prevented Norwich from failing to create their own European legacy during this period.

City suffered because Chase ‘sold all the best players’ and failed to commit to any potential success. Missing opportunity after opportunity to support the management and playing staff on their quest for trophies. No other chairman or owner has got so close and missed by so much. Not. Even. Close.

Player sales were frequent and unnecessary (see list below) and failed to create a secure financial base for the club, certainly not in the way that successful TV money would have done. Hopefully the current incumbents have better luck at maintaining a self-funding model.

Added to Chase’s financial short-termism was the misplaced notion to wastefully splash out on a parcel of expensive wasteland rather than invest in another Mike Phelan, Kevin Drinkell, or Robert Fleck. The pitiful toy stand he built to replace the burned-down Main Stand continues to embarrass the club with its inadequacies even 35 years later. I doubt he’d have got round to building a proper one even if he’d stayed.

So, lack of financial acuity, sabotaging any potential club success, destroying the club’s profile, and diminishing the club’s facilities, and making City a worse club to support… There can only be one conclusion to draw…

I hate Robert Chase.

I do.

I really do.

(PS. A massive shout out to the inestimable Geoffrey Watling who magnanimously and bravely stepped into the mire to plug the serious financial gap left when Mr Chase removed himself from the club. Without Mr Watling’s efforts at that time there would be no club left to support.)

The list of significant transfer transactions during Robert Chase’s tenure 

(NB. To give you a better idea what these figures would be equivalent to in today’s inflated transfer market, try multiplying the amounts by somewhere between 10 and 20 times. That’s the sort of money we’d be talking nowadays.)

THOSE THAT GOT AWAY:

Dave Watson 

SOLD: £900,000 to Everton in 1986

BOUGHT: £50,000 from Liverpool in 1980

Chris Woods 

SOLD: £600,000 to Rangers in 1986

BOUGHT: £225,000 from Nottingham Forest in 1981

Steve Bruce

SOLD: £800,000 to Manchester United in 1987

BOUGHT: £125,000 from Gillingham in 1984

Kevin Drinkell

SOLD: £600,000 to Rangers in 1988

BOUGHT: £90,000 from Grimsby Town in 1985

Wayne Biggins

SOLD: £150,000 to Manchester City in 1988

BOUGHT: £35,000 from Burnley in 1985

Mike Phelan

SOLD: £750,000 to Manchester United in 1989

BOUGHT: £60,000 from Burnley in 1985

Malcolm Allen

SOLD: £400,000 to Millwall in 1990

BOUGHT: £175,000 from Watford in 1988

Andy Townsend

SOLD: £1,200,000 to Chelsea in 1990

BOUGHT: £300,000 from Southampton in 1988

Andy Linighan

SOLD: £1.2million to Arsenal in 1990

BOUGHT: £350,000 from Oldham in 1988

Dale Gordon

SOLD: £1.2M to Rangers in 1991

BOUGHT: Nominal sign-on fee (first professional contract) in 1984

Robert Fleck

SOLD: £2.1M to Chelsea in 1991 

BOUGHT: £580,000 from Rangers in 1987

Tim Sherwood

SOLD: £650,000 to Tottenham Hotspur in 1992

BOUGHT: £325,000 from Watford in 1989 

Robert Rosario

SOLD: £600,000 to Coventry City in 1994

BOUGHT: Nominal sign-on fee (from non-league) in 1983

Ruel Fox

SOLD: £2.25M to Newcastle United in 1994

BOUGHT: Nominal sign-on fee (first professional contract) in 1986

Efan Ekoku

SOLD: £1M to Wimbledon in 1994

BOUGHT: £500,000 from AFC Bournemouth in 1993

Chris Sutton

SOLD: £5M to Blackburn Rovers in 1994 (a record British fee at the time)

BOUGHT: Nominal sign-on fee (first professional contract) in 1991

Mark Robins

SOLD: £1.1M to Leicester City in 1995

BOUGHT: £800,000 from Manchester United in 1992

Ashley Ward

SOLD: £1.2M to Derby County in 1996

BOUGHT: £350,000 from Crewe Alexandra in 1994

Jon Newsome

SOLD: £1.6M to Sheffield Wednesday in 1996

BOUGHT: £1M from Leeds United in 1994

TRANSFER FAILURES:

Dean Coney

SOLD: Retired injured in 1990

BOUGHT: £333,000 from Queens Park Rangers in 1989

Henrik Mortensen

SOLD: Free transfer to Aarhus in 1992

BOUGHT: £350,000 from Aarhus in 1989

Paul Blades

SOLD: £325,000 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1992

BOUGHT: £700,000 from Derby County in 1990

Darren Beckford

SOLD: £300,000 to Oldham Athletic in 1993

BOUGHT: £925,000 from Port Vale in 1991

Mike Sheron

SOLD: £550,000 to Stoke City in 1995 (where he scored a stack of goals! Bless ‘im)

BOUGHT: £1.2M from Manchester City in 1994 (banjo and cow’s a*se, for us)

Dion Dublin

SOLD: Free transfer Cambridge United in 1988 (Later went to Man Utd, Coventry City, Aston Villa, & Celtic for combined fees around £10M, before finally returning to City in 2006 for a welcome and classy two-year swansong. Ta muchly, DD)

BOUGHT: Nominal sign-on fee (first professional contract) in 1985


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Filed Under: Chris Sadler, Column

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Comments

  1. Tim Ball says

    29th January 2021 at 2:40 pm

    Well done Chris, nothing like sequel 😉 My mate Marty has been waiting for Shame 2 for years 😂

    I will say two things, one thank god as you say Chris for Geoffrey Watling. A man whose love for this club can never be in doubt AND Delia Smith. Tin Hat time but I totally stand by that. I really do wonder were we would be now without her and Michael. There are 3 former Premier League clubs in the bottom half of what I still call the 4th division.

    I certainly haven’t agreed with all her decisions, appointing Gunny as manager once was foolish to do it twice was bordering on lunacy. But never doubt she loves this club.

    And two, I have to be careful here. If we thought the early Delia years were a struggle just be so grateful Mr Chase had gone. The players he would have tried to push out, allegedly, would have shocked supporters to the core.

    All just to save himself.

    5
    Reply
    • martin penney says

      29th January 2021 at 4:19 pm

      Hi Tim

      I said a lot about Mr Chase last time so I’ll limit this to a single observation:

      The players he [Chase] would have pushed out to save himself: Ashley Ward and Jon Newsome in his firesale would have been just the precursor to many, many more.

      Anyway I’m cheerfully optimistic for tomorrow after Daniel F’s press conference.

      COYY

      3
      Reply
      • Tim Ball says

        29th January 2021 at 5:35 pm

        Spot on Martin, the precursor to many, many more is my “understanding” allegedly.

        The speech from Daniel was brilliant, despite last season the Webber/ Farke era is one that will be remembered as a great one when we look back and the said gentleman will have moved on.

        As you say C’mon you Yellas !

        1
        Reply
  2. Don Harold says

    29th January 2021 at 3:01 pm

    Ha, revisionism and u-turns. Johnson’s leadership has not been in vain.

    1
    Reply
  3. JohnF says

    29th January 2021 at 4:53 pm

    One things for sure, nothing Chase did was as embarrassing as what happened last year.
    It seems that Delia is bomb proof but God knows why as she’s produced nothing like the success that he did. If he’d had tv money he’d have been laughing.

    5
    Reply
  4. Jim Davies says

    30th January 2021 at 11:10 am

    I wouldn’t normally have anything favourable to say about the fat man of Haddiscoe, but in the interests of fair play, he couldn’t have done anything other than rebuild he main stand as he did. To put a decent size stand there would have meant either closing Carrow Road or building a cantilevered stand that would have over-hung the road, neither of which was a solution acceptable to the local authorities. It should be remembered that this was before the land was acquired that allowed the building of Koblenz Avenue to accommodate the inner ring Road. As the layout is now, either of those two rebuilding options would be viable, but that wasn’t the case at the time. I know those two options were considered.

    2
    Reply
  5. Martin MacBlain says

    31st January 2021 at 9:06 am

    Interesting and very well written articles. I enjoyed them both.

    Martin P or Gary G – if you have the ear of Ed Couzens-Lake or Mick Dennis, I’ve long thought there’s a book in here somewhere (or chapter in tales from the city).

    I’d find it a fascinating read to hear his version of events in, whichever way you dress it up, the most successful period the club has ever known.

    We’ve heard it all from the players end….

    Might mean a fairly nauseating afternoon (or weeks?) spent with him though.

    1
    Reply
  6. Eddie ncfc ivens says

    2nd February 2021 at 4:15 pm

    I dont think that Robert chase was as bad as people say yes we miss the chance to push on in Europe but I think he did a good job the man was ahead of his time sadly had he had the money we have had recently he would of kept us in the top tier no I am not against delia and Michael they are doing what they can with what we have I just think Robert chase could have done more he made us a lot of money plus buying the waste land paid off later on as we sold it and brought in money just when we needed it

    1
    Reply

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