The ups and downs of being a City supporter are supposed to pertain to events that occur on the pitch – not when we’re ‘between managers’.
Yet rarely has there been a week when a ball has not been kicked when the emotions have so fluctuated.
First, it was Knutsen, definitely Kjetil Knutsen, the number one target, the hipster choice, a Norwegian man of mystery whose biggest claim to fame was embarrassing Jose Mourinho.
Then it wasn’t.
The pendulum swung in favour of Frank Lampard and the buttocks clenched. Surely a superstar son of the establishment and friend of the rich and famous wouldn’t be a natural bedfellow for little old Norwich City?
But yes, it was Frank.
A long since discredited radio station that talks a lot of nonsense about sport insisted it was all but done. Henry Winter and Gary Lineker were the first to go big on the Gerrard vs Lampard narrative. Those of us not naturally aligned to Project Lampard scratched around for reasons as to why it might work. We found a few.
And then it wasn’t Frank.
The thought of even being muttered in the same breath as Norwich City became too much for our Lamps. The risk of the p1ss being taken out of by his peers and celebrity friends and the prospect of a relegation battle (once he’d Googled it) were not for him.
So much so, Frank decided to turn down a job he hadn’t even been offered. The PR machine clicked into gear. How dare Norwich City even associate themselves with the Lampard name.
The radio station that talks sh1te breathed a huge sigh of relief. The ‘how do we back-track and suddenly start being nice about Norwich?’ meeting was cancelled. Uncle Harry was briefed and told to keep his gob shut.
And then the nice bloke, the outsider who only a few had perceived as a serious contender, entered the fray.
Not the cool choice, nor the media luvvy, but maybe the solid choice?
More research was needed from those of us who needed convincing, but this time it appeared more than a rumour. Michael Bailey was on board with it; so too the lads at Archant.
Even then I was sceptical, especially given the tumultuous week it had been for us Canary foot soldiers. I mean, the reports said he’d been offered the job… there was nothing there about him having accepted it. And we are Norwich City after all. No one can screw things up quite like us.
And then Michael Bailey’s mate from The Athletic tweeted:
For the first time in seven days, the buttocks unclenched. Luckily the process of getting behind a new name has been well-honed over the last week and by the time we reached number three, it was a breeze.
Especially when you closely examine Dean Smith’s credentials.
For our journey to have taken us from the fjords to Belgravia was entertaining, magical even, in its own way, but for it to have (hopefully) concluded in the land of Peaky Blinders is probably a good thing.
But let’s not run with the Smith being the safe choice narrative, even if that’s how it appears. I think by now we all understand how Stuart Webber works, and nothing in his career so far has been achieved by making safe choices.
He arrived at Dean Smith because after talking to him he felt he was the best person available right now to take over the reins of Norwich City.
Knutsen may or may not have been his first choice, we’ll probably never know, but it is clear that Webber’s ears pricked up when the news broke from Villa Park of Smith’s dismissal.
Of course he wasn’t on the shortlist that had been drafted at the back-end of the week leading up to the Brentford game – he had a job – but it’s pretty clear he was added to it the second he became unemployed. It also became pretty clear pretty quickly that Knutsen wasn’t going to be available in the timeframe to which Webber was working.
The Norwegian, according to those famous reports, never made it to the interview stage but Frankie and Deano did.
One was well-prepared, knowledgeable, understood the club’s ethos and aims, and came across as someone who wanted the job. The other was Frank.
I suspect the Lampster felt as if it was him doing Norwich City the favour.
From thereon in it sounds as if it was a case of Smith taking a few days off to see family in New York and perhaps clear his head from the events of the week before (hopefully) arriving back and making his way to the Fine City to put pen to paper.
Crucially, those same reports are suggesting he is bringing Craig Shakespeare with him as his assistant; the same Craig Shakespeare who recently assisted him at Villa and who so successfully assisted Claudio Ranieri in Leicester City’s title triumph of 2015-16.
So, barring the mother of all Norwich City c*ck ups, the big reveal should only be a day away and a new era begins.
What is clear is that, should he choose to accept it, Dean Smith now has before him the biggest challenge of his managerial career. At Brentford the expectations were modest and he delivered within a similar model to that which he inherits at City.
At Villa, the club he supports, the expectations were greater, as was the budget, but he delivered them a promotion, a successful relegation battle and an 11th place finish, all while playing a brand of football with which we will be familiar.
Despite his recent sacking, he garnered the respect of the Holte End faithful and many have spoken of their fondness and admiration since his departure, some even going as far as agreeing that he and Norwich City are a good fit.
As ever, only time will tell but now is not the time for looking too far forward nor too far back. It all starts again with a clean slate on Saturday and if it is Dean Smith in the City dugout, he deserves our wholehearted support.
And I know he’ll get it.
Big sigh of relief Gary. The Lampard circus would have taken some getting used to. I’m not sure if I could have got behind that at all. Probably a decent bloke but my god you’ve nailed it with the Uncle Harry and Talksport buffoons. What this has ruthlessly exposed is the lack of quality journalism that drives public perception.
Onto Dean Smith seems solid enough and results will ultimately tell if it’s the right appointment. However I think he is someone the fan base in general will support. Three points against Southampton would be a fabulous way to start.
Delighted that NCFC have (probably) secured the services of Dean Smith. As he wasn’t available when the axe fell on Farke it would be interesting to know who Webber had in mind as the new manager, as presumably Knutsen wouldn’t have been available until we were practically relegated. Full marks to Webber for reacting quickly when presumably a better candidate became available but I sense he got lucky. A little investigative journalism is called for – come in Michael Bailey!
A good summing up Gary. I like the thought of having a Shakespeare at Carrow Rud, and hopefully’ Deano’ will be echoing round the stadium as the lads finally get into gear.
Hi Gary
An excellent read on a cold Sunny Sunday in Blackpool
Fat Frank according to the press was a success at Derby but he took a team that finished 6th the season before he joined to finishing 6th again with all his loans from Chelsea and lost in the final to Villa.
A season without transfers at Chelsea then a £200m spent and sacked for under preforming, also 3 times richer than alias Smith and Jones now that would have been an uncomfortable fit at boardroom meeting.
Dean Smith not on the original short list I would call it a wish list of potentials for the short list.
We will never know when the wish list was compiled but I would think half of it would have had German and Norwegian candidates that were possibilities and yes Sunday evening a quick addition to it with Dean Smith’s name.
Ralph H at Southampton was never going to happen others like Bug Sam, Bruce , Howe, Houghton or a few other colourful characters put forward by the press were not starters.
City had just paid out the small end of €10m in compensation to Team Farke so looking to pay another big slice out to a club wasn’t on the cards so the cheap option was the pragmatic one and it helped having Premiership experience too.
Fat Frank wouldn’t want a relegation on his CV and being media savvy wouldn’t want to been seen as not good enough for city to not have been offered the job so got the news out first that it wasn’t for him.
So far he has missed out on Newcastle, Norwich, Villa, Watford, Fulham possibly Celtic maybe Leicester if Rodgers goes to ManU.
As a supporter I am pleased Fat Frank isn’t the man I would have liked Knutsen but will give Smith a chance to prove himself at city.
Hi Alex. I like your list of the opportunities(?) Frankie boy has missed out on. It’ll be interesting to see if he goes for the Rangers job – or would it be too embarrassing to fail where Stevie G succeeded?
Like you, I’m willing to give Smith my support (at least for the immediate future) and see where he gets us. His record at Brentford was good, and he hasn’t done too badly at Villa, so here’s hoping.
“but it is clear that Webber’s ears pricked up when the news broke from Villa Park of Smith’s dismissal.
Of course he wasn’t on the shortlist that had been drafted at the back-end of the week leading up to the Brentford game – he had a job ”
I wouldn’t be so sure about this. After Farke was sacked I looked at the odds on his successor, and whilst Frank L was at that point odds-on I was surprised to see Smith was in the list despite still then having a job. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if both Webber and the bookies had picked up vibes that week that Smith was going to be out very shortly. It might even explain the odd-seeming timing of Farke’s removal.
However it seems to be far from a done deal. Keeping us up is a long shot for anyone. Smith knows that realistically he is the only manager out there with experience of turning an existing squad round quickly (he has at least 10 games with the current players before he can register anyone new). There may be others who would be better in the long term, but as we clearly haven’t written this season off then we have to have someone with at least a chance of making a quick impact.
So Dean Smith is in a strong bargaining position. He knows that if we don’t snap him up someone else will. His Villa salary will surely have been way above Farke’s and he will undoubtedly want some assurances about recruitment in January and in the summer – whichever way things turn out.
But, whatever some people think of Webber right now (“useless” was what someone called him the other day – LOL!) he’s obviously a capable, but realistic, negotiator. I think he’s highly respected within the game for what he’s done with both Huddersfield and us, and someone managers are willing to work with/for.
But it would be good for the nerves if Mr Smith would give us some indication that he’s planning to accept the job….
Hmm, not sure the character assassination of Lampard is called for and I for one liked the idea of little old Norwich having a bit of stardust sprinkled on our ‘community’ club,for all of his perceived faults the guy has achieved more in the game than most and deserves a bit more respect.
Anyway onto Smith who I really thought was a last resort poor choice , after reading what most of the Villa fans have to say my mind is changing big time and it seems that Webber has by default struck lucky and maybe gotten out of jail? ,I agree completely that Shakespeare as his assistant is a major plus and the two together seem an upgrade on Farke and his coaching team, as always results will tell us but I’m now looking forward to the rest of the season.
Sorry mate… possibly undeserved, but am pretty sure Frank will not be an MFW regular 🙂
I don’t think I’ve been too kind towards Frank either [have a shufti tomorrow] but you have to say it as you feel it. It’s not character assassination, more a personal dislike of a profile that in my opinion in no way suited NCFC.
I was hard on Frank because this was not a good fit. It would have been a stepping stone that would have lasted until the summer, (likely either way).
Lampard will be a fine coach, but very pragmatically, he needs to work with better technical players that he would ever have at Norwich. Some fans briefly lived a fallacy whereby they assumed Equivalent players to Mason Mount would appear en masse in January. Sadly, that cannot happen because of summer spending and the subsequent age / first team (im)balance within our squad.
And I doubt very much that guys paddling like hell to stay afloat would
Warm to someone with tactical expectations well beyond their realistic, grounded level. It was a bad fit.
I suspect Fat Frank was never offered the job –
And I bet that SW was on the phone within the hour of news breaking that Smith had been sacked.
I think relegation is likely but I don’t think DF has engineered a team capable of a second bounce and a rebuild will be required and if it comes to it, I’m 100% certain that Smith is the man to carry us forward.
Hi Gary, hope you are well!
If and when Dean Smith pitches up at Carrow Road I’m sure it will be to good effect, and for me, despite all the negativity the club is currently surrounded by, I honestly still don’t think we’ll be relegated this season. Smith will be a fresh pair of eyes, so lets hope the lads come back from Europe with fresh legs to go with his ideas!
With an assistant called Shakespeare there will no doubt be some dramatic games ahead of us, with thrills, spills, and hopefully successful curtain calls!
COYY !!
He got the best out of Grealish why not Cantwell or Gillmore?
Grealish carries the ball. That is what Todd does too. I agree with you. Smith was also after Rashica previously. And although Smith knows he can’t afford McGinn, for example, he knows he can achieve a similar overall output with guys like Hourihane, so I think there is a new lease of life likely in January
Well written and expressed Gary, agree with your words and reasoning.
Lampard is a shoo-in at Southampton once Hasenhuttl moves on.
Smith has the character to get the players onside and quickly. They’ll enjoy training as well, Shakespeare is a quality coach, hugely respected and liked wherever he has been whilst Smith will be hands-on as well – Farke was more of an observer at Colney, Smith won’t be.
Southampton game could, should, be a pivotal one. Smith has been playing 5-3-2 at Villa this season, not sure we have the centre-backs available for that yet!
Not impressed by Smiths appointment or Webbers lack of research .
Kjetil Knutsen just screamed out US our identity, not Frank or the kneejerk reaction to appoint Smith.
But time will tell. I can at least tolerate Smith as opposed to Frank.
The problem is, Knutsen isn’t going to be available till the Norwegian season finishes, by which time we could be well and truly doomed. This gives us a competent coach, with a decent record, and a chance of pulling off a miracle which would stick in the craw of the sh1te talking radio station and the MOTD pundits.
Knutson would have been a huge risk though
Thank heavens it’s not Lampard! Done absolutely nothing as a manager. You only have to look at Jack and Bobby Charlton to realise the better players don’t necessarily make the best managers.
Under the circumstances Villa dismissing Smith was a bit of luck for us. I can’t think of a better choice at this moment in time.
I most didn’t want a Frank Lampard’s Norwich City. Just Norwich City for me. In my view he wasn’t that serious, perhaps using the interview as publicity for what a few hours later became the vacancy in Scotland. His old England mate did ok, ok out that one.
Norwich wasn’t big enough for the ego, and in truth, I think the thought of a possible relegation was more than enough to deter.
I rather liked Knutsen a relatively unknown. A bit like Farke. But now after reading and listening to D Smith (D for Dean) I am more than happy with the choice. a great video on some of his work in building culture was a clincher for me.
Only thing I am not cracking the brown ale open just yet until that realm of paper is signed by the man himself. a verbal agreement is not a lot, only an I expect to sign.
Any manager or player signed by a club is a gamble, I think over the years I have seen a few gambles go down the pan in managers and players alike, that just at City. Smith looks to have enough experience of English football to be the right choice. It is ok having a player’s experience, but there is so much more to deal with than having a bath and going home to the Mrs after a game.
I am happy at the moment, happy it hasn’t gone to an old has been, we don’t have to warn aircraft of footballs, as Big Sam is in town. The only proof is time and I feel we as supporters have our own views but we must be prepared to get behind the team & manager. (There has been one manager in my time I could not get behind. only to push out) but will not speak ill of the dead.
Is there a chance that some people are not seeing a more tactical play from SW? Perhaps he did hold back on some of the purse strings this summer, because he wanted a second hand to play in January if it’s didn’t work out with DF…. I certainly thought the summer was a circus and when I saw the early tactical templates, I really doubted DF to the point I’d lost confidence before a ball had been kicked…. And I LOVE DF, never wanted anyone to succeed more. But maybe, perhaps maybe, word was out within the players’ ranks that DF, instead of NCFC, wasn’t an ideal place to always be? Todd joins a list of other player whose personalities were at odds with management, and for the genuine wonders of some of our football, there were times where an experienced player would be shaking his head….. it’s just the hysteria washed over our doubts. Even in the Championship, teams COULD easily stifle us. Our out of possession shape was terrible at times. Maybe, just maybe, SW was knocking on the door of players like Kris Ajer or Hourihane and perhaps, maybe, these guys were actually thinking “I’ve got tactical doubts about going to DF, although I’d happily accept NCFC otherwise”. Just a thought.
I suspect professionals players will have a different view about playing under Smith. For all the money spent, he did keep Villa up, he did convince an oftentimes edgy and disgruntled Buendia to join him (and I’m sure Emi could have gotten a different move for the same wages).
I will always love DF but I personally wanted This exact change twice before in the last 4-5 seasons and I’ve no doubt that Smith will incorporate Todd and or Gilmour appropriately but I also think, in January, you’ll see far more APPROPRIATE signings to a club of this stature in January, and although nobody else will say it….. I expect a breath of fresh air in the changing room, especially amongst the old guard.
Good luck to him and thanks Gary for the best article I’ve read for a couple of weeks on here.
I hope you do get Smith. He turned some mediocre players at Villa in to more than passable premier league standard. Ok some of them seem to have reverted in the last weeks but in my opinion, and that of a lot of other fellow Villa fans he was let go too soon. I wish him and Norwich every success. He is a thoroughly decent man. I really think he can do a great job for you.
I hope Dean Smith does get the position. He is not an exciting or sexy appointment. However, we just need someone to come in and keep us up. I think Dean and Craig have what it takes to do that. The first game will be vital. If they can get a win then the new manager bounce will surely swing into action for the important run up to and through Xmas.
Villa fan. Smith was harshly treated at Villa and will always be loved by (the vast majority of) Villa fans. You’re getting a decent proper football man, and I’m glad Smith is joining a decent proper football club. Good luck for the rest of the season and I hope you can avoid the drop. Safety is only 2 wins away. Keep the faith!