Those of you who don’t frequent social media and are able to resist the dubious delights of talkSPORT may be unaware that said radio station has been less than complimentary about our beloved Norwich City over the last couple of months. Not just the once, but consistently… on what feels like a weekly basis.
Some have even accused the talkSPORT hierarchy of an orchestrated campaign to besmirch the previously good name of the Canaries, as we attempt to negotiate the murky waters of the Premier League. I’m not sure.
It could simply be that they see City as easy prey (they have to talk about something) and that we as a fanbase, as we prove time and time again, are super-quick to ‘bite’ if anyone, other than ourselves, dares to mock our club’s attempt at staying in the Premier League. Either way, whether it’s purely intended to generate views and clicks or not, it is REALLY starting to irk.
It shouldn’t, of course, and by reacting as we do – as I am now – it generates the type of noise and discussion they are looking for but. equally, by not reacting it feels like the club becomes nothing more than a sitting duck for their ill-judged attempts to kick us when we’re already down (not literally… yet).
I wrote about it back in August.
It just all seems so odd. Since when did it become cool to punch down on the little guy?
The latest in a very long line of derogatory comments came on Tuesday night when Jamie O’Hara – he who made the gigantic leap from average footballer to gobby pundit – declared that so poor are City, the Premier League would benefit from being reduced to 18 teams, which negates the need to have “dross” like Norwich City in it.
I’ll not post a link because that is what they want (they think they’re really clever in garnering a reaction, even though it’s easier than shelling peas) but to give you a flavour of O’Hara’s latest salvo…
O’Hara’s comment followed less than two days on from another talkSPORT NCFC broadside, this time from another unknown called Ben Fletcher whose particular brand of derision was based around comparing Brentford’s flying start to our own.
Quote:
But it’s not just talkSPORT’s trainee presenters who they use to stoke up the anti-City City rhetoric. They’re quite happy to offer a platform to fans of other Premier League teams whose Norwich bashing then offers them an alternative angle for tweeting links that are guaranteed to rile us.
To quote a West Ham fan:
Quite why they have chosen to go in so hard on City with the season just seven games old is still up for debate (although do have more than their fair share of ex-Ipswich players on their pundit roster) but their not-so-subtle continued assault on City tends to follow a familiar pattern:
- City lose.
- TS pundit accuses City of being embarrassing/shameful/pathetic/ridiculous/pitiful/dross (*delete as appropriate).
- TS social media admin posts a Twitter link to trigger City fans.
- City fans get triggered.
- TS pundit defends his comment
And repeat.
O’Hara’s latest missive around the Premier League being reduced to 18 teams to shed deadwood like “useless” City worked made perfect sense in Jamie’s head until it was pointed out to said not-sharpest tool that in fact we actually won the Championship and so would have been the 18th team.
And it takes quite a leap of faith to suggest that the team that last season won the Championship by six points is undeserving of a crack at the Premier League, regardless of any preconceived (and wrong) perceptions around their long-term ambitions.
The TS brains trust is quick to deride us for not splashing the cash in an attempt to stay up while ignoring the fact we spent circa £50million this summer. Quite how wisely that money has been spent will only be revealed next May – another argument altogether – but to be accused of having no ambition by virtue of spending so little when we have spent, in City terms, record-breaking sums is just a bit nonsensical – something in which O’Hara and Jason Cundy specialize.
This is all based on the lazy formula: chances of survival = money spent.
The trust also accuses us of lacking ambition – presumably the same type of ambition shown by the likes of Derby, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday – and seems to believe that our whole club, from top to bottom, is geared up solely with the intention of soaking up Premier League prize money for one season with a view to scuttling back to the Championship as fast as our tiny legs will carry us.
To be fair, some of our own supporters are of a similar view, but while it’s never 100 per cent clear that our owners are totally enamoured with life in the Premier League, there is no way that Stuart Webber and Daniel Farke would be anything like content with that approach. Both have professional reputations to protect if nothing else.
And Messrs Cundy and co are taking us for fools if they believe that we, as City fans, would be happy to accept that our club’s ambitions do not extend beyond the yo-yo cycle.
We may get frustrated at times that our club struggles to be competitive at this level but, equally, we understand that our business model, as it stands, makes this extremely difficult – again, another conversation for another day. But our attempt at Premier League longevity using the Good Life principle doesn’t mean we don’t want to survive or are not trying to survive.
It means we understand that our club, through necessity, is doing its best to live within its means without huge injections of cash from external sources. Quite why we should be mocked for trying to do that says more about the mockers than it does us. I assume talkSPORT’s finest would prefer us to ‘go for it’ Derby County style and then worry about the consequences later.
So, yes, of course we should ignore the noise but it feels like this constant punching down on a club that is simply trying to do what feels like the impossible on a budget that is, in comparative terms, minimal feels akin to the small kid getting picked on by the playground bully.
We don’t love the fact we’re bottom of the league, neither do we love we have been pretty woeful so far, but for this club to be accused of being worthless and unworthy of its place at the top table absolutely stinks; especially when some of the accusations levelled at it are merely the product of ignorance.
We accept we’re not very good at the moment, but the season is seven games old. We’re not done yet. And to prod and mock us because we live within our means is, if you think about it, just a little bit ridiculous. Right?
To paraphase Kevin Keegan, I would love it if we survive and prove those wags at talkSPORT wrong… love it!
The comments aren’t pleasant to read but are not to be unexpected.
I think the rest of the country are now getting as fed up with our self funding experiment as many of us fans.
It’s plainly not going to work and our performances this season are an embarrassment to both the club and the premiership.
For the sake of our reputation it’s time for Delia to go.
I really envy Newcastle fans and wonder why is it them and not us who apparently deserve new wealthy owners prepared to invest heavily in the club.
It’s not a lazy approach to the premiership, it’s an essential one.
To dismiss what has been an amazing last few years at Carrow Rd – win & lose – in this manner is farcical. Delia every time over Saudi funds. NCFC are on the frontline of a fight for a thriving national game. Its the Premiership that’s the joke.
I would be only too happy to see Norwich established in the premiership under Delia’s ownership but the reality is that this will never happen.
Money decides everything in football nowadays and you’ll have great difficulty finding morally untainted funding of the size we require in this world.
Gary as much as it irks us all ,you have to also say that ATM there is an element of truth about it especially when you look at Brentford and Sheff Utd last time we came up .
So until we change our fortunes with results you have to understand that its not far from the truth unfortunately as hard as it is to take .
The truth hurts as they say .
All true, mate. Don’t let facts get in the way of what total @rseholes they have become at TS. 😊
Feckless halfwits, after listening to a talk sport morning show sometime ago I decided I had far better things to do. To summarise the offering they made was to gush about what a bloke Alan Brazil is and how much drink he is able to swill.
The latest jolly these idiots had been invited too. Gambling, And then they tried a quiz between themselves. ( as thick as two short planks the lot of them) all accompanied by braying laughter at their witty repartee. Don’t waste a second of your valuable time on this rubbish. Rant over no more TS for me.
And perhaps we should cut down the FA Cup to 8 teams?
O’hara says he doesn’t agree with a super league whilst laying down all the principles for one. What he says goes against the values of sport, it is elitism and snobbery in a game that allowed uneducated and untalented people like O’Hara and Cundy to earn a good living. Perhaps now that job should be terminated for lack or respect. Lawrenson too.
Any City fan who jumps on board this ridiculousness to have a cheap shot at the club should look up the meaning of supporter.
Living up here in Blackpool and I see how many club’s are struggling some older than city and would enjoy the yo yo tag if it ment they stay in business.
Gary Neville said club’s are the heart of a community like Bury the club his family supported and worked for plus he rants on about going there in his youth to watch games but he bought Salford when they could have saved Bury and laughs at how City are surviving next or maybe he has said that the government should support these clubs with money to help irresponsible owners.
O’Hara is a failed footballer at best, also a failed Manager at Billericay Town and now found his level of success on a radio station talking BS and like Cundy like to find easy targets.
Great piece Gary.
I do not think self-funding can work but that isn’t the issue here with Talkshi*te.
Their argument is that we get promoted and lack ambition to stay in the Premier League whatever our financial situation. Absolute rubbish.
This time we have spent money, more than many other EPL Clubs. Our previous promotion to the EPL came after a season of financial turmoil. Which was caused in itself by being too ambitious to be honest with the income we had.
Basically we spent more money than we could really afford. If it wasn’t for the Maddison & Murphy sales we really would have been in trouble. The fact we relied on that Championship winning squad with a few additions I felt was reasonable.
Yes I would like to have seen a couple of 26- 28 year old players with EPL experience, but personally I don’t think it was that that caused our demise. It was the worse injury crisis I have seen in decades and for whatever reason not being ready for Project Restart.
Close games against Leicester, Spurs, Arsenal, Manchester City and even Liverpool proved on occasions we could compete with the top teams. Our problem was with the the bottom six.
TS is like Facebook it wants to cause debate, which is fine and unlike FB it doesn’t kill people !! but it must start a debate with all the facts. People like O’Hara/Cundy don’t do their homework before they make ridiculous statements like are Norwich the worse club/team in the country ?
We are, whatever your views on the ownership, a pretty well run club who as I have said have spent too much in the past (taking into account their income at the time) and a team who on Saturday got a very good point at Burnley.
At the same time Cundy’s beloved Ipswich were losing 2-1 to Accrington Stanley. Which makes a mockery of the statement that we are the worst team in the country. Had they said in the Premier League then the answer at the moment is definitely yes. That’s a completely different discussion, and a totally fair one.
Basically O’Hara is saying spend the money, risk your entire future so if it all goes wrong will it worry him, not one jot.
He should also come to see the fantastic work done and being done at Colney training ground which are not the plans of an unambitious club.
You are right to highlight Derby, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday as clubs who have over reached Gary, and here is another one Oldham Athletic, a founder member of the EPL at this moment second bottom of League 2 and in danger of going out of League football.
And Leeds United spent years in the Championship wilderness due to their mad spending decades earlier.
Just like Icarus a lesson to us all.
Don’t have a problem with the media criticising our performances so far this season – let’s be brutally honest here, six losses and two goals scored is always going to lead to finger pointing.
But having a pop at the club for lacking ambition is bizarre and just comes across as journalists having not done any homework.
Having just seen the club’s plans to further re-develop Colney, it is clear to see how much progress we are making on and off the field.
As someone said in one of the comments, if O’Hara was to spend a day with Webber/Farke, I’m sure he would change his view.
It’s a pity that journalism has descended into this ‘click bait’ bile, because there’s scope here for an interesting debate on whether a self funding club can survive in the Prem – now that’s something I would happily tune in to.
Sorry but when if ever was an exfootballer pundit classed as a hack even that Wally in the Daily Mail Martin Samuel sometimes does research before his articles but the TS calling them a journalist is insulting to others that are in that profession
I agree that it’s mean to beat up on the plucky little guy, but Norwich aren’t the plucky little guy. They are demonstrating very little pluck at all. 1 point from 7 games. They stunk the PL out last time with performances beyond dismal, all but breaking a string a negative records while doing so. This season – extrapolated from results so far – is even worse! I think the critics are embarrassed on the club’s behalf. And rightly so, it’s been a shambolic series of displays – one-dimensional, pedestrian, and hopeless.
If you want a ‘plucky little guy’ look at Brentford. They didn’t go mad budget-wise and at least look as though they want to be in the PL, are competing and offer some kind of threat. I want them to do well because they’ve earned my respect. I do not respect Norwich because they offer nothing positive. Just tell me one thing about Norwich’s performance on the pitch in one and a quarter seasons in the Premier League which is exemplary? Nice kit, maybe. Apart from that they are bottom of the class in every category. Disastrous team and – sorry, but – definitely going down.
First season in the Premier League for Brentford, and yes, they are doing well, but wait till “second season syndrome” kicks in. We’ve been there, done that, and so have Sheffield United. Fulham spent £100M last time they got promoted, and went straight back down. Spending certainly doesn’t equal safety.
The only way Mr O’Hara will keep the “dross” out of the Premier League is for his beloved elite to swan off and form their Super League, but a closed shop would get pretty boring. Talksh!te would just have to concentrate on the unmentionable’s favourite publican and his drinking capability. (Does he still run a pub down there?)
Hi Jim
Brazil had the Blackadder in central 1p5wich for some years back in the 1990s – near the old Willis Faber building.
Me and an 1p5wich mate from work went in there one dinner time and while we were in the bar he came back from a round of golf with John Wark, who both took the juice unmercifully. I had a City tie on so you can imagine although my pal Colin had outed me to them anyway.
However they were both thoroughly pleasant and not remotely out of order and I really enjoyed speaking with them.
Whether Brazil still owns premises in East Anglia I do not know but the best I can say is I would be surprised if he doesn’t.
Check out the MFW Brighton preview on Friday – it’s got a strong contribution from Harlow 🙂
Your appraisal of O’Hara’s career omitted the bit when the job of manager of Billericay proved too tricky for this bloomin’ thicky. My contempt for him is not new; for reasons too libellous to go into, I know of no one in Wolverhampton who has a good word to say about him after his spectacular failure which included 2 successive relegations in his 3 years and 41 matches with Wolves.
I don’t take a lot of notice of these twerps. At least Robbie Savage was honest in saying that he didn’t want us in the Prem because it would take him too long to drive to Carrow Road. I honestly feel that our geography makes these spoilt men/children wish we weren’t there.
I just hope we can make them choke on next season’s fixture list.
Hi Gary. I watched a talk sport clip last night from the Jim White show and those comments made by O’hara were discussed. Jim, along with Trevor Sinclair and Simon Jordan did not agree and went as far as to accuse JOH of struggling for content and calling him a ‘click baiter’. It’s not just canary fans, even his fellow presenters disagree with him.
Hi Gary,
I don’t worry about anything Jamie O’Hara says, I think the best way to respond to him is – don’t respond to him at all – in point of fact an Ipswich fan actually defended us against O’Hara’s words yesterday – good on him!
We’re talking about a 35yo former player who had a ‘small’ career and uprooted no trees. He was at Spurs for six years from late in his youth career. Spurs got him from Arsenal who dispensed with his … talents.
Spurs sent him out on loans, their view on him seeming to coincide with Arsenal’s after six years. He moved to Wolves who again released him a few seasons later. Thereafter his career slalomed downhill at a steady rate of knots.
His last football gig, Billericay Town, then of the Isthmian League, who parted company with him as a failed non-League manager in 2020, That couple of years is probably the end of O’Hara’s professional career.
At 35 with no substantial talent, punditry is probably all thats left to him. To be ‘good’ at that, he needs to be loud – every time we respond he must breathe a heartfelt sigh of relief.
Personally, I think the Premier League needs to grow back to 24 teams – its a squad game, they could easily handle it, and the Prem would become four clubs more competitive for fans and tv viewers around the globe.
Eighteen clubs is far too insular and restrictive and could result in stagnation in the best league in the world, and if apparently under-performing, upstart teams like NCFC were not in the Premier League, those grandees Arsenal would still be bottom, it was our bad start to the season which fuelled their present recovery.
If the entire Premier League thinks like Jamie O’Hara I am disappointed as I would view that lack of respect for smaller clubs aspiring to grow, to be corrupt and morally bankrupt.
This season, NCFC had a nightmare start – Covid, reduced pre-season, late signings, a horrendous first four matches against premiership grandees – which nobody has been able to confirm for me whether those fixtures were picked by hand, or by computer – I must redouble my own efforts to find out!
i still believe we will stay up!
COYY !!
In reality there’s only 3 out of City, Southampton, Watford, Burnley, Brentford that will be relegated come next May and we are red hot favourites. The five teams I selected in July and it wasn’t hard then and isn’t now.
I expect Brentford’s bubble to burst after a fantastic start but I hope not for footballs sake.
We carried zero momentum as our return to the top flight was played out to empty stadiums, no noise, no celebration whereas for Brentford it is a brand new experience. We also carried the baggage of a miserable time after lockdown, I believe the reverse will happen this season and our momentum and belief will build.
As you write Gary, for all those ‘intelligent’ football folk from TS, if Keegan’s words came true come May it will be our finest achievement.
I know this is off topic – but what do folks think of EPL players who are not vaccinated? Does Pat Nevin have a point? should they be banned from playing?
We have made a disappointing start totally true and it is bloody annoying seeing Brentford making such a great start.
But we should totally ignore the trolls at Talk Sport. Like all the national press BBC included we are an irrelevance making up the numbers in the EPL. When we bought newspapers we were lucky to get a match report of a couple of paragraphs several pages in from the backpage nothing has changed.
We don’t sell national newspapers, or attract millions of viewers / listeners or attract advertisers that’s why 95% of their coverage concentrates on the top 4/ 6/ 8 clubs.
The BS from TS is we should mortgage the farm to buy star players because it creates copy because they don’t bother a bean if we go bust in 2 or 3 years time.
Don’t confuse the bigoted bile from that sleazy muck raking commercial radio station and it’s moronic employees with their tawdry past records and a genuine growing feeling from within that this “self funding” claptrap is self destructive.
The spiteful crap from Ohara and the other idiot come from a different standpoint to the concerns of genuine supporters of the club.
Just reading the sports news, sad day for football, Mr Ashley must be gutted but at least he can buy us then sell on. In the meantime I’m thumbing through the Forbes 400 list and inviting bids, are you listening Misters Musk and Zuckerberg ?
What will be funny is that only one club can win the PL and one the Champions League, (other cups do exist but have little significance it seems). There will be a large number of extraordinarily wealthy clubs that win sweet FA, (excuse the pun). I wonder how Mr O’Hara will deal with those ‘losers’?
Hi Colin,
I could live with either model if Delia and Michael wanted to sell but the time-worn method of running up massive debts is not an acceptable alternative, in sport any more than it is in the business world and there doesn’t seem to be a middle-ground method – someone tell me if I’ve missed one!
As for Mr Ashley – if I was putting a fortune into a football club and getting massively boo’d at every weekend by the fans of a club I was staking big time, I doubt if I’d be that gutted at all I’d be sipping cold ones in the sunshine right now!
Quite agree, smaller leagues don’t necessarily synthesise greater football, which even these days, requires ‘Every Kinda People’, to borrow a phrase from the late great Robert Palmer.
Mike Ashley has made almost £200m from his 14 years of ownership. That’s probably worth taking a bit of flak for.
Don’t worry about Jamie O’Hara his record of relegations stank out the league’s he played in .
The damage was done two seasons ago when we spent very little indeed and got relegated with ease. Plus you can add Delia’s less than savoury comments regarding the EPL in the mix. Ever since then, some of the critics have been baying for blood and we’ve given them plenty of ammunition so far.
We have spent money this season – though by the time you factor in Buendia’s fee it is still not a huge sum – and my thoughts are we’ve bought too many players who are probably not quite up to it instead of ‘buying less, but buying better’ as John Lewis would say. Or was that M&S?
The best way of shutting the likes of Talksport up is not so much by spending money, but getting results, which is very much in our hands – again.
How can clubs like Norwich compete in the PL? The European super league may have died before it even was born. However, the PL is turning into the English super league. Spurs, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and lord knows who many other clubs with $$$$$$ coming out of their ears. The Smiths would never have sold the club to Saudi owners no matter how much money was on the table. Football is creating its own dot.com bubble and it will all come crashing down some day. The inflationary pressure on the whole football pyramid must be creaking at the seams. There are only so many top top players. It will be a bidding war with no limit in site. Imagine the next Messi/Ronaldo on the scene. The above clubs plus PSG offering hundreds of millions (will we get our first billion $ player?) and the ridiculous salary on top of that. I love football and will always support Norwich but I can’t see them ever being a stable of the PL. The odd season here and there and if we are lucky we might survive for a handful of seasons back to back. We are at the point where we are lucky if they just stay in business let alone argue what division they are in. Perhaps one day Norwich will attract a big money owner who loves football and comes with no political or human rights baggage. It could be though that this will only happen when all the more fashionable clubs have been taken over. It will be like when you were at school being picked for a team in games lesson. Norwich will be one of the last ones!
I don’t recall them saying the same things about Shef U last season despite the fact they got their first win on 21st January.
They are shock jocks and worse than that several are incredibly thick (and in a couple of cases ex Ipswich) shock jocks.
O’Hara got relegated 4 times in 7 years as a player. Twice from the prem and then twice to league 1. He is the embodiment of footballing “dross.”