What a day. A car crash of epic proportions – both on and off the pitch.
In a season essentially made up of a collection of dark days, Saturday 23rd April made a compelling case to be the darkest.
It started of course with the oddly-timed Stuart Webber interview with Henry Winter in The Times, in which he explained the reasoning for his part-sabbatical – namely, that he wanted to quit but our owners were so desperate to keep him they granted him time off during this season and next – and also found time to have a sly pop at the fans.
But so keen was Webber to continue the latter theme, he decided to engage some protesters outside Carrow Road after yesterday’s game, which as we know was a horror show in its own right.
It really is a mess… an unholy one that starts at the top and has now filtered down through the club’s various layers. The disconnect was already tangible but Webber’s actions have only served to further divide what was becoming an increasingly fractious relationship.
It’s hard to see how he comes back from this and, quite frankly, I’m not sure he even wants to. He’s alleged to have told the protesters, “I can leave whenever I want“, which offers a fairly clear insight into his current thinking.
But how the hell have we managed to get here? How have we managed to become so reliant on Stuart Webber that he’s able to draft his own set of rules with the owners?
All in all, a right old to-do, and I’m afraid it comes down again to how this club is being governed. While Webber is at the heart of this season’s recruitment failure, it’s still a ridiculously tough gig – to keep this club in the Premier League mainly on fresh air and goodwill is proving, time and time again, impossible.
And so we have to look at how and why we are in this position yet again. While it’s a topic I’ll get told off for revisiting, I’m going to anyway…
I’ll also get mocked online by those who consider the questioning of the club’s ownership to be immature, ill-thought through, overly simplistic and off-limits. In fact, the pre-emptive strikes are already underway, but I’ll plough on regardless.
I’ll plough on because it remains a valid question; one that comes to the fore every time we lose Premier League games in which we’re uncompetitive and second-best by a mile.
Why are our Club’s owners so reluctant to allow someone – or something – into the club to help make it more robust and competitive? Why will they not even contemplate it?
As things stand, we’re marooned in the hinterland betwixt Premier League and Championship – good enough to compete successfully in one while being hopelessly out of our depth in the other.
There will naturally come a time when we’re unable to bulldoze our way out of the Championship thanks to the comfort blanket of parachute payments, but those for whom Delia is Queen pretend this will never be a thing because our innovative recruitment and our academy’s reliable production line will always pull us through.
But one day it won’t. That time could be next season.
As paupers of the second tier as well as the top tier, who knows where it will take us.
Under Daniel Farke we had two wonderful Championship campaigns – the stuff of dreams. Two titles, both wrapped up by playing football the like of which we’d not seen since the Dave Stringer and Mike Walker years. Some argued it was the best football by a City side they’d *ever* seen.
Either way, it was truly wonderful.
But, even with a prevailing wind, with the planets aligned, and with four-leaf clovers replacing Webber’s motivational messages in the Carrow Road dressing room, there is no guarantee of 2022-23 being of a similar ilk for us.
Fulham have managed to ‘bounce’ three times out of three, albeit twice via the Playoffs, but to blindly assume the same is going to happen to us next season just because we have what could be very loosely described as a Premier League squad, ignores the vagaries and unpredictability of the Championship.
It doesn’t need much to go awry to end up getting subsumed in the Championship midtable scrap, not least because the division will likely contain Watford and Burnley or Everton, plus some big clubs who, in the next few weeks, will just miss out on promotion this season.
We may discover that Dean Smith doesn’t possess the magical qualities of Farke when it comes to successfully putting together a team to waltz through the Championship.
And, let’s face it, any remodelling of the squad this summer will be done via the usual shoestring budget because we have no choice.
The parachute payment will, as I understand it, be used as intended – IE. to honour contracts signed on Premier League terms – and so essentially, if there are decent phone signals up Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, there will be more of the wheeling and dealing that, admittedly, served us so well in the summers of 2018 and 2020. (Or maybe the phone signals of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo will by then be irrelevant).
Incidentally, Webber, or whoever, can wheel and deal to their heart’s content but if, as part of said dealing, Teemu Pukki departs for pastures new – which is still possible despite current noises to the contrary – that mid-table Championship obscurity edges ever closer.
Of course, there are those who’d be happy with that and I guarantee in the comments below this piece there’ll be folk reminding us how lucky we are to have such sensible, reliable owners and how our rightful place in the natural order of English football is the Championship.
And fair enough.
Those same people will also reel off the clubs generally regarded as ‘bigger’ than Norwich City but who are currently below us in the pyramid, and I get it. Since the McNally/Lambert years shook the club from its slumbers, it’s been a really fun ride – of the type some of those clubs could only dream of right now.
For that, we should be (and we are) grateful and, of course, we have no divine right to be in the Premier League.
But I see nothing wrong with wanting this club to go one better – and by that, I mean spending more than one season in the Premier League. Or, perhaps, even to not go one better but to at least be competitive in the relegation battle. These opportunities are going to eventually run out if they haven’t already.
At the moment we’re not remotely competitive and if (very big if) under our current guise we do manage to go up again at the end of next season, we’ll continue to remain uncompetitive.
If nothing changes; if the model remains the same; if the owners sit tight and declare the toy theirs and no one else’s, then the same thing will happen.
It’s hard to picture any other scenario. Another season of abject misery just like this one.
Which is why I’ve become that broken record – the one that pleads with Delia and Michael to least take seriously the notion of new money coming into the Club, and by taking seriously I don’t mean this crazy idea of Delia’s of putting any prospective bids to a supporters’ vote. That would be pure carnage.
Interestingly, as I understand it, in order for there to be a change in control at the top of our football club there is no direct necessity for Delia and Michael to sell.
Back in 2010, the board granted, through a special resolution at the AGM, the ability to allocate, without the need for shareholder approval, a maximum of 1,000,000 new shares. Initially, these shares were allocated at a price of £30.00 per share but were increased to £100.00 upon the club making it back to the Premier League.
This arrangement was initially in place for a five year period and has since been renewed in 2015 and 2020, via special resolutions approved by shareholders at those AGMs.
Now, by my rudimentary maths, given that the Club currently has just under 617,000 ordinary shares – a figure unchanged since around 2010 – if someone, or something, came in and purchased all of the new shares, this would immediately give them a controlling interest.
This would of course mean we would have a new majority shareholder – something that Delia has always warned against – but given that she and Michael have, between them, been just that, they would be on a sticky wicket if they were to contest this.
I guess, in an ideal world, they would prefer the shares, if they were to be taken up, to be done so by more than one individual, thus then retaining their largest share of the Club’s equity, but it all hinges on them wanting the new shares to be taken up in the first place.
I suspect they don’t.
It appears though that the mechanism at least is there for them to retain their current seats on the board while also allowing someone with deeper pockets to come in and inject additional cash into the Club with the aim of taking it forward.
Like I said, this all assumes that Delia and Michael are open to change.
It also assumes there are people out there who would be interested in putting their money into Norwich City Football Club – a club that at the moment isn’t a basket case, which is often the point at which new owners take control.
And, as an expert on these things recently reminded me, in order for any deal to take place you need three things – a willing buyer, a willing seller and a sensible price. With two of these three within the gift of Delia and Michael, if a willing, suitable buyer were to appear, would they even give consideration to the other two?
At this juncture, I’ll be reminded that there are no billionaires drifting around Norfolk looking for ways to part with their hard-earned cash. I’ll also be reminded that most ultra-wealthy individuals have become so by means that are not always legitimate, while being asked ‘do we really want to bring in owners from overseas who have no affiliation to our football club?’
And then, when a club in the top two tiers does announce new ownership, the satire begins again…
*Broad Norfolk accent* “How come they attract investment when no one is interested in Norwich?” *smiley face emoji*
Every single time.
But no one is suggesting that every owner who takes on a football club could have taken on Norwich City; nor are they suggesting that every new owner would have been right or suitable for Norwich City.
That’s not the point.
No one wants us to be in the thralls of a very dodgy oil-rich Middle Eastern state with an appalling human rights record. Of course we don’t, who would want that?
The point is, there are people out there who, for a whole variety of reasons, are willing to throw their time, weight and money behind football clubs. And I refuse to believe they’re all bad or dodgy folk who we shouldn’t be touching with a bargepole.
Some are, without doubt, but I don’t believe that every single enquiry that’s made – and the Club’s finance director Anthony Richens confirmed at the AGM that there are some – is unworthy of even a second glance, although I suppose every enquiry can be construed as unsuitable if you don’t wish to take it seriously in the first place.
I understand totally Delia and Michael’s desire to keep the Club in what they deem safe hands but if that means their criteria for being suitable prospective owners is a list of impossibilities, then they risk also holding the Club back and stifling any potential growth.
With some robust due diligence, the notion that any new ownership model would be no more than ‘rolling the dice’ is at least partly mitigated. Because we’re not yet one of the aforementioned basket cases, we do retain the ability to pick and choose very carefully.
There’s always risk. Just as there is a risk in Delia and Michael keeping their vice-like, white-knuckle grip on the Club and us then becoming Championship regulars with a diminishing number of family jewels of which to dispose.
Then what happens?
So, yeah, the tin hat is ready yet again and I’m braced for more ridicule on Twitter but I’ll keep on asking the question because I believe it to be a valid one.
The notion that Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones are literally the only two people capable of owning and controlling this football club is wearing a little thin.
The problem goes beyond Stuart Webber.
I agree completely with your view. Stuart Webber has done a decent job until recently but his recent personal reinvention as a business guru has done the club no favours. From what I saw on the brief clip yesterday it was Zoe who was in control of that situation. In business parlance SW wasn’t reading the room. There is a lot of discontent out there. I know we should be very ‘umble to our esteemed owners but we are not. We want the club to compete at a higher level. NCFC work best when things are aligned. There is a staleness about the leadership at all levels. Delia and MWJ hold onto their toy knowing the club can’t go any further. SW thinks he is the messiah but always tries to be too clever. Where are the more physical players promised? Skipp replacement? Dean Smith talks a good game but has has a bag full of excuses. He got a nice pay off from Villa so where is his motivation? He is passing through. West Brom would be a good fit for him. Near his beloved Villa.
We need more young and hungry about the club. It is too cosy. I would welcome investment. As for SW. We know there isn’t much money to play with but stop being an a**e and concentrate on what you are good at and what you are paid for.
But he’s not the Messiah, however in the view of many, he IS a very naughty boy.
A good well balanced article if I may say so. In the short term however I think there is a requirement, like Man U, for a root and branch clear out of personnel. In order for that to happen Webber must go first. Then I suggest he is followed by some of his purchases, Lees Melou, Rashica, Sargeant, and the list goes on. Players who all have some talent but lack the spine required in English football.
This option was first granted in 2010, when the Club was in League One and in a financial mess. The World was a different place back then, still in recovery mode from the financial banking crisis in 2008.
The fact that there were no takers then doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be today, if there was a genuine intention to raise additional share capital. That’s the real question.
OTBC
Good well argued piece but you answered your own question. Where I’d the big investment coming from? Why would an 9l7farch/oil billionaire invest in a small city club with a low profile and limited resources? I’m really content with things as they are. Webber can stay or go. A new D of F is unlikly to radically change anything and Smith and Wynn Jones have kept the club afloat. Loyalty is sadly lacking in modern football. Perhaps we can lead the way
Hi Chris
I can understand where you are coming from but please think about these points.
1) Delia and Michael have without doubt worked extremely hard to keep the club going, but who made the decisions on appointing Paul Lambert and Daniel Farke ? David McNally and Stuart Webber respectively. Delia appointed Gunny … Norwich 0 Colchester 7 need I say more.
2) It was through Stuart Webber that Delia promised this season would be a drastic improvement than two seasons ago. It has been in my view worse.
3) It is obvious that Delia hates the “new” money in football. She wasn’t as anti when she was one of the more wealthy owners in the English game was she ? She uses the Club as a stick to beat the EPL with.
4) You talk of loyalty but that is a two way street. Think of the regular away supporters who fork out over £100 for an away match. They have seen us come back from 1-0 to get a point once in about 60 EPL games. That is dreadful.
5) She feels the club is her toy and one that will be past down to her nephew Tom. And then on to his children. Now ask yourself …Is that in the interests of Norwich City Football Club ?
6) What good, successful business ignores proper, well intentioned investment ?
7) I agree even with a wealthy investor there is no guarantee of becoming an established EPL club. Portsmouth are owned by a guy worth £2.3 billion and are still stuck in League One. But this yo-yoing between the EPL and Championship under Delia and Michael is doomed to end one day.
And League One could be our destination under their stewardship again.
Yes look at Everton £500m spent and still shite in big trouble if relegated money isn’t the answer how to spend wisely is !
I disagree almost entirely with your point of view Tim. These are emotional viewpoints not based on anything very much. It is a horrible feeling to lose regularly and be uncompetitive on the field and in the financial market but there are lots more clubs in this country looking enviously at us compared to the few super rich looking down on us. Even moderate new investment isn’t going to make a significant enough difference to our standing. It will take big money and it would need a special individual to see what NCFC is and understand it and want to be a part of it. For the faults he haas, Webber (snd Farke) gets this and that is why he and we had success. Maybe that investor exists and, I would wager, Delia and Michael would welcome them too.
That’s the great thing about this blog Spudgunnercanary, we can all have different opinions.
There is no right or wrong opinion just differing viewpoints.
I truly believe everything I say as no doubt you do.
One of the big problems we had last summer with recruitment was struggling to meet the wages that other clubs like even Brentford could pay.
I agree with you as I said above, that new investment does not guarantee EPL/Back to Europe success. I get quite annoyed when some city fans say this, because it is not wise to raise supporters hopes to that degree.
However investment would help us to compete with wages.
I also think a downward trend to League One is entirely possible if we keep on this road. Why ? Because we have been there before in the dark days of Roeder and Gunny.
If you are happy to be in any league ( as Delia would to survive as owner) as time goes on your fate could be that of Oldham. Teams like Burnley, Fulham and Wolves have been in the 4th division of the football league over the years so it isn’t as far fetched as it sounds.
Also I think even Delia’s most ardent fans must see that she hates the EPL with a vengeance. And she and the club as a whole treats the fans, especially the away fans with contempt.
Surely in anything you must have ambition to achieve getting to the highest level.
Nice to debate with you.
Well said and I agree re the ownership.
Webber needs reigning in perhaps it’s time for him to leave. He seems to hold the fans in contempt and I do not believe his heart is fully in it any more. If we had better checks and balances on the Webbers at executive level then this situation may not have been allowed to arise. As it is, they seem to have pretty much free reign and also to have the owners in their pockets.
You have not explained why they pass the special resolution and renew it when thy don’t want the new shares to be taken up.
Dave, the option exists a bit like an insurance policy, in case you need it. It gives flexibility for a one off capital injection, should someone ever come along who ‘ticks enough boxes’ to get D&M interested in having a conversation.
Sadly they dismiss anyone with ambition of taking the club forward as it will show how badly they have run the club for 25yrs
At this stage we don’t even need new majority owners with more wealth than the current ones; we simply need one that has more drive, ambition and fresh ideas. Delia and Michael do not seem too angry at this poor season, and indeed, in Delia’s recent media appearances she almost laughs it off as one of those things. They should be angry and upset. Instead, they drive a small club mentality that says we are just lucky to be here.
We earnt our place in the Premier League but from the top show little desire to want to remain there. I think its this mentality that seeps through the club right down to the fans. We are not expecting a Champions League place but it would be nice to stay up for one season at least or look as though we are giving it a go. Inevitably the Brentfords and Brightons of this world might get relegated, but in the meantime they show a competitiveness to stay there and produce some memorable moments along the way. We are nearly the complete opposite. Why would any player wish to join a club with such an inferiority complex in the top flight?
The Webber debacle just sums us up. He has shown contempt and with this mountain project cannot be fully focused on his role. By saying he is 90% here is just not acceptable. What other employee would accept a statement like that? Instead they are bending over backwards to keep a possibly disinterested employee. He is accountable for the horrific recruitment and should be addressing this, instead of his arrogant attitude towards the supporters. He is quite rightly facing backlash and should show more humility towards the fans that have this club’s best interests in their hearts and purely want a side that looks competitive in this division.
The board are again accepting second best and are just so complacent. It’s too comfy in the board room and surely the addition of Mrs Ward adds a conflict of interest. We desperately need new blood in there, hunger and fresh ideas, or we will be stuck in this cycle, or worse, for years to come.
Please Delia and Michael, give someone else a go.
Hi [H]HS – great username btw!
I’ve taken the liberty of robbing a quote from yourself for my post-match MFW article tomorrow – I’m sure you won’t mind 🙂
It’s this section:
*The Webber debacle just sums us up. He has shown contempt and with this mountain project cannot be fully focused on his role. By saying he is 90% here is just not acceptable. What other employee would accept a statement like that? Instead they are bending over backwards to keep a possibly disinterested employee. He is accountable for the horrific recruitment and should be addressing this, instead of his arrogant attitude towards the supporters. He is quite rightly facing backlash and should show more humility towards the fans that have this club’s best interests in their hearts and purely want a side that looks competitive in this division.*
Cheers
I rather like the idea of putting ownership to a vote. But then I’ve always rather liked the idea of democracy. Of course Archant journos will mock this subversive thinking.
Onecitystrong
From his appointment in 2017 to the pandemic SW changed many things one of the main ones was to improve communication and involve the fan base to build a cohesive community were everyone felt valued and we were all pulling together in the same direction. This was aided by success on the pitch and Farke’s idiosyncratic openness in pre and post match conferences and the fan engagement borne from the German fan culture where managers and players thank and interact with the crowd after the final whistle. (The pangs seeing Klopps post match fan celebrations with Liverpool fans)
Communication between the club and the fan base though was damaged by the BK8 debacle caused by a complete lack of basic due diligence, a massive own goal that derailed much of the goodwill from promotion, but some of SWs comments at the time implied the fans sensitivity cost the club £5 million and had contributed to Kensells departure. Since then SW seems to have retreated behind closed doors straining the links between club and fan base.
Yesterday’s article implied he was doing Delia and Michael a favour by staying which is the wrong mindset, if you feel you have outgrown the club then like a player go before you poison the club.
This Summer The CEO needs to oversee the bounce back, overhauling the squad giving Smith the tools to build a successful team but also embracing and reconnecting the Canary Nation and using the local media to do it. Like it or not we are a local provincial club and Norfolk is our fish bowl.
Well said Gary,agree with every word.I cannot understand the city fans who dont want change at the top,surely we want our club to play at the highest level for as long as possible?.Smith &Jones have taken ncfc as far as they can,now they need to step aside and let somebody with more ambition and money to take control,otherwise there is only one way we are heading again,(league 1).No doubt Aarons and Cantwell will be sold to help with player recruitment,but then who after those 2?Andrew O?,Tzolis,?Idah,?Sargent?Cant see anyone of those being sold off for £millions to help with the self funding model.Everything comes to an end and now’s the time the model has run its cause.As for Webber i think he should leave immediately!
The ownership needs to change. However, you should not need a billionaire upstairs to be able to give Watford, Brentford and Newcastle a game at home. This is a garbage Norwich team with spineless players about whom the fans no longer care. Whole club needs a new broom.
Very true JW, Dan Burn and Guimares Rodriguez were Newcastle’s only new January signings playing on Saturday. The other nine were the players that had had them bottom earlier in the season.
Interesting how two very good players could improve a team though. 🤬 Food for thought ?
Equally, how the loss of two good players can ruin a team (Burundi’s/Skipp)!
An excellent read Gary.
I consider the main problem is that Delia owns a business she cannot afford to run in the top divisions of football.
In order to meet the shortfall we don’t steer a safe course but actually take a gamble that we can find a Maddison every season to subsidise the financial shortfall.
We’ve been either very good or very lucky in the past that a Maddison has turned up to save the day. However it is plain to everybody the gamble does not appear to have come up trumps this season.
The hunt for young talent also makes Webber’s job almost impossible because this year we sold Buendia for £38M and spent about a further £20M. However, Webber is prevented from buying in two or three player of proven quality and experience because he needs to unearth a Maddison. This dilutes our ability to field a team capable of competing in the premiership.
Judging by Webber’s recent statements and the way the team has played Delia is now the only person who believes in the self funding model. Webber needs to sit her down and explain that the party is over.
I think a lot of what you there is valid. I would say that for every Leicester Palace and Brighton there’s a Charlton, Wigan and Sunderland even Portsmouth, so the phrase “be careful what you wish for springs to mind”. However when you look at finances there are probably richer clubs in league 1 than us. If we want our club to be challenging and that’s what we all want, then the owners do need to step out of the comfort zone, take a risk (with all due diligence checks carried out of course) and aim to move the club forwards. Money dictates as Newcastle and Man C can demonstrate and no one can expect us to compete at the top level without the necessary investment. It’s a business and any business that wants to grow and be successful in whatever market they’re in require investment. So that time has now come for us to look at where we are and where we want to be. I’m afraid the self funding model whilst sensible isn’t the way forward if we want to remain in the premier league.
I believe that at onetime Delia told us we were following the Charlton model!
They also said that WBA was the model to follow so are they looking for a Chinese investor and get Steve Bruce as manager
And the Parma model. And the Auxerre model. And Prudence with Ambition.
And the 5 year plan before the current 5 year plan. Endless.
Prudence with ambition 🤢
I don’t feel Smith is the man to take us up kept failing at Brentford got villa up through playoffs against a team with no forwards and if var been working would have come straight back down , he’s achieved no more than Alex Neill in football not impressed me one bit since he’s been here what exactly is he trying to do . Cannot see a identity to way we play
l’ll give the ownership question a swerve for now and focus on what l think are two more immediate issues. I must have taken my eye off the ball because l hadn’t picked up on SW’s sabbatical. As good as he’s been for the club l can’t see how combining his SD role with an Everest expedition makes good business sense for the club. We’re about to be relegated, there’s a decision to be made about Dean Smith, transfers in and out will be crucial and next season could be a defining one for the club’s long term future. Seems to me that requires a fully focussed and committed SD. If that’s not SW then we need to look urgently for a new SD. I think the jury’s still out on DS. Just when we think we’re on the up we regress back to the same old with an unclear playing style, poor defending and decision making and basic errors. Will DS be able to fashion a squad capable of getting us out of a very competitive Championship ? I’m not sure which is why we need a fully switched on SD to make this and other big calls. Not a great time to be a NCFC fan. #OTBC
Think everything you say is spot on m8 know we had this chat a few weeks ago and it has to be the right person investing in this club.
Would never want to sell out to X or Y because we would lose what identity we have left with a game that is dying or most probably in its last throws before it dies.
Do we go because we enjoy football like you and I in the 80s or is it something we due out of duty because we long for the past?
What would the fans do if a consortium comes in sells Carrow Rd for houses (prime building land) and builds a soulless 45000 stadium off the southern bypass somewhere?
Is that the type of thing we all really want?
As for yesterday embarrassing but not just us the idiots in black again or what ever colour it was you know the decision I’m talking about just on half time m8? And the Tzolis pen might be 3 nil down but rules are rules unless it’s little old Norwich the side the Premier league hates!!!!
Hi Gary.
A great Sunday morning read.
It was said the club or at least the owners had a couple of offers that were from the unwashed brigade and that at another time they put out feelers and no one took a bite.
Why don’t they go the route that Chelsea have gone get a professional bank that deals it takeovers and investments to test the water they would also do a complete du diligence on all prospective investors and only recommend those that are suitable.
Like you I am sad to see the slow demise of our club and it’s worse that our owners are blind to it.
Yesterday via a streaming service I got to watch the game and as each goal went in the zoomed in on Smith and Jones and their was no emotion from either sadly after panning in on them the same camera zoomed into the Geordie supporters and there was about 20 big fat hairy lads shirtless cheering on the Saudi financed team.
They say you get what you pay for well we paid out lots and got tripe or was SW planning on another relegation battle and pre building for a promotion push.
Huddersfield survived another season in the premiership after SW left and the owner said it was a team that made the club success not one man.
Maybe back in November the wrong person left the club and DF could have turned it around without someone looking over his shoulder all the time.
Alias Smith and Jones need a buffer and SW is that wall and if he had gone then who would front the club.
We wonder how we can compete with the big spenders of Newcastle but it’s worth noting that one of their team yesterday is a product of our youth development – once dismissed as “lightweight” I believe. Also at their club is an international player developed at our club.
We got good money for both and then wasted it .We have spent big money on training facilities but now we seem to loan promising players out where they usually lose their way. We need to develop our young players,buy and sell sensibly. The satisfaction that we got from beating Bayern Munich and Manchester City is greater than any achievements that have been bought. It’s difficult to be so annoyed at people we were so proud of so recently. This season we have been unwise with our money and we can’t get the best out of our players.
Great article Gary.
Where do we begin ?
After 2 and a half decent performances (Brighton the defending was decent) we are back to the true awfulness of this season.
I came off the fence over the ownership of the club a few years ago when I saw the futility of it all. It really has became doing the same thing over and over again with the same outcome, expecting another. The definition of insanity.
Alex Neil, Daniel Farke and now Dean Smith have all taken us down after one season in the EPL in recent years.
I do not blame Smith one bit, Neil had money spent Daniel did not, until this season which has just not worked for him or Smith. Because the signings are just not good enough.
Stuart Webber has done a very good job along with Daniel Farke in the Championship, that is without doubt, but just like his signings they haven’t come up to the level required for the Premier League.
Both Michael Bailey and Connor Southwell yesterday on their blogs echoed your thoughts as well Gary. I feel any criticism you get for questioning the status quo of our owners to be completely unfair and unrealistic. Even Mick Dennis sounded downbeat in his last column on here.
The trouble is Stuart Webber promised us a much better effort this time around, a huge mistake perhaps, but nevertheless it was said. That increases optimism among the Canary faithful understandably but also the anger as it has turned out to be patently untrue.
Now that is not all SW’s fault many others have contributed to this debacle. But the buck stops with him. And it was also crazy to allow this Times article to go out just before the Newcastle game.
The scenes outside Carrow Road yesterday did not look good at all, from Stuart as you say ” not reading the room” and the language used by one city supporter with children around, but I’m afraid things will get heated over the next few weeks with anymore performances like Saturdays..
Both Stuart and Delia seem to antagonize the fans on purpose, either by inferring that this job is only part-time or in Delia’s case that “Mother Knows Best”.
Personally I applaud Stuart for the work he is doing with the youngsters and his mountain climbing efforts and with Neil Adams in the building I agree that Stuart does not need to be there 24/7. But it is the perception, just like Delia when she treats the supporters like recalcitrant school children. She comes across as so superior some time touching on megalomania.
Anyone who is seen not to be giving 100% to their job when things are going as badly as this is going to come in for scrutiny.
Perhaps it is time for Stuart to depart, he does seem to have lost a lot of his enthusiasm which I will say is infectious. He will go like David McNally before him knowing he tried his hardest.
I am just a humble supporter but I questioned our summer recruitment in September/October of last year. Even that early on I could see there was too much emphasis on youth (at least 5 incoming players 21 or under) and a patent lack of physicality.
How for instance have Brentford got nearly double our points tally ? We say you cannot stay up these days it is just too difficult. Well Brentford will and Sheffield United did albeit for a season.
Brentford have beaten Chelsea, West Ham, Arsenal and drawn with Liverpool so these results are possible.
Our planning was flawed from the beginning, We needed players with physicality, players bought in with a good level of experience and knowing if we would be playing primarily 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 or 5-4-1 so the players brought in would fit our preferred system.
Brentford brought in less players than us but were more selective. That I feel was huge mistake in not going for 2-3 better players than what we had and not this kind of muck spreading approach we went for.
Changing ownership is fraught with danger that is obvious, but if the club keep on with this top 17 EPL mantra surely they realise by now that with the present model this is an impossible dream ?
And finally here is a warning to all those supporters who love The Championship (including me😂)
When the parachute money runs out in two years time there will be no guarantee that we will be a top six club. We will need player sales of £20-30million per season to sustain this level of finances.
I was disappointed to read Gary that the parachute money will be used to honour existing contracts. Does that mean there is no relegation clause in the players present contracts ?
Very worrying indeed.
Very well made article. I believe that Norwich problem is that it lacks interest outside your living area. International investor surely looks those figures carefully. Also if your home games attendances would be regularly something like over 50 000.
Im 100% sure that your owners had no plans to get to premier league, but Pukki surprised them completely and made it happen. No matter what he do or tries to do he is not able to keep Norwich in premier league. It obviously does not matter to your owners, parachute payments have destroyed championship and majority of clubs there are basically in bankrupt so they are not able to make competitive squad. To Watford that systems works also well. Pozzo family would sell Watford without parachute payments security. Now there comes again Fulham and Bournemouth, they know its not a problem at all to get relegated again after 1 season.
Norwich bought couple of young players, those players are not bought to play in premier league successfully. If promoted team wants to stay in league, they invest to experience. Its same thing in every football league.
Smells like the last days of McNally. Except McNally loved the club too much, Webber barely wants to be here.
Wonder what happened to that “no egos” policy.
She also said that WBA was a model to follow so are they looking for a Chinese owner and bring in Steve Bruce
Great article Gary.
I’ve been saying for some time now that Webber should walk. I don’t really care what he’s done in the past – this is about what happens now and he sounds like an increasingly belligerent, arrogant, puffed up individual who believes he is untouchable but has completely lost focus of the job in hand.
Unfortunately, the other problem of our two majority shareholders is a much more difficult one to solve. Something has to change, even if it means bringing Tom in earlier than they had planned,. They look tired, are out of their depth, plus are out of touch (and thats being kind).
“The notion that Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones are literally the only two people capable of owning and controlling this football club is wearing a little thin.”
Great piece Gary, but your above quote is a massive understatement!
I’ve never felt that Delia & Michael were right for Norwich City from Day One. All the effort from fans to put pressure on Robert Chase to depart from Carrow Road to get, what I believed then and especially now, the most unsuitable owners in a footballing context that any club could ever have.
Delia is an opportunist and to be fair, played a blinder on getting de facto control and Carrow Road that lasts till this day. A fading personality and the light of a new bred of full blown, T’V chefs in the 1990s, Norwich City gave Delia a continual spotlight in the media and the club become a Hobby Horse and glorified Social Club to those close to her and MWJ.
In publicly terms, the money she put in the club – even if you don’t include the loan she has been paid back – is minor in compared to what ‘value’ she has received. Nobody ever seems to look at that. It’s all about the club – really?
After the events of yesterday, things are unravelling.
I’m not a Webber fan, but he has not all been bad. The Times article was ill judged – sounds familiar? – and the arrogant nature of it did not surprise me. He is fortunate that the Chummy nature of the board allows that sort of copy, as many would not. However, I think he had a hit a point where he can go no further with Norwich City and I believe with every passing hour he remains at Carrow Road, he stock diminishes. Maybe Everest will be easier.
What more can he do?
Every time we get promoted, he has not only failed to keep us there, but not got even close. He has had limited funds, but the Emi money was completely wasted. Would you give him your last fiver to invest? Quite.
What doesn’t help is the complete lack of desire of the majority shareholders to at least try to keep Norwich City and a EPL outfit. Their distain for the league is clear and that league and how it is run is not going to change because of two out of their depth pensioners from Suffolk who want football to go back to how it was 40 years ago in some virtual TARDIS.
You don’t need Alexander Armstrong to tell you we have – arguably – the most Pointless owners in competition football.. They don’t invest. The don’t attract outside investment. They don’t like the EPL and I’m not sure they even like football in general, at least anything beyond 1983. How the club is sold to prospective players would make interesting reading.
The club needs a complete overhaul, but the nearest we will get is Webber leaving – possibly outside football – and Neil Adams taking the role he in part, is already doing. That isn’t enough and never will be enough, especially as Webber’s wife is on the board meaning he is a back seat driver if he chooses to go behind the wheel.
Who would want to support Norwich City?
Failing to learn lessons costs people their jobs, or should do. Repeating the same mistakes is the most frustrating thing in all walks of life. I think Webber’s time is up simply because he has lost the fans – it’s almost impossible to recover. Once you admit you’re not into something 100% you really should move on.
Success in football is about players. Having better ones than the teams you are playing against will generally mean you win the game; not always, but over a 38 game season you’ll win more than you lose. In the PL we never face a team where we have better players. Not one of our players (including Pukki) would be a regular starter in any other PL team.
The mistake in recruitment was there for all to see – too many cheap, not good enough players. We spent £50m but we should have spent it on two or three, not eleven. Our wageroll is huge because of the numbers not because of the quality, which is completely wrong. It’s like paying 10 mediocre sales people £30k a year instead of two bangers getting £150k each. Bite that bullet.
PLM is a great example. For the first 20 minutes yesterday he was excellent; for the other 70 he did almost nothing. That’s why he cost £5m, not £25m. That’s why he doesn’t earn £70k a week.
We needed our players this year to play at 9 out of 10 90% of the time to have a chance. It was never possible. That’s down to Webber.
An excellent read Gary, if slightly depressing
I note the lack of content regarding the mismatch but that’s already been covered adequately.
City are in desperate need of some tlc. The total lack of competitive edge runs through the club like a stick of rock and starts from the very top. The owners are happy just to exist. The results have become irrelevant and that has led to webber basically taking the piss. The elevation of his wife to strengthen the status quo in the boardroom does nothing to stem the decay and gives webber an extra layer of protection.
The whole thing resembles a social club being run for the benefit of the few.
The disdain clearly felt by the owners board and Webber seeps out of his interview with renowned Norwich basher Winter. He actually appears to be spoiling for a confrontation. I think he might get his wish granted a week next Sunday.
The stale air from the boardroom is so bad itatched the stubk from our conduct of the season. Its a question of how bad will the cook and her other half allow things to get before releasing her grip.
releasing her grip? Sadly Chris I am not that will happen, this is Delia’s swan song she won’t go no matter how bad. Heads rolled when we down to L1 but not there. Poor old Munby he was a city man through and through met him several times, a few in the red lodge having a late evening breakfast. They will sack release anyone except themselves. Even L1 didn’t do it
The whole vibe from the club at the moment is that we’re lucky to have them. We’re fortunate to have owners like Delia and Michael, a sporting director like Stuart Webber. Even a football club to support. Careful what you wish for, could be a Bury fan, etc…
You know what – we’re not! It’s not like it’s free to watch Norwich City. It’s relatively expensive.. For that fans expect a little better..
Interesting that we were playing Newcastle yesterday. There was that image of a silly fan waving wads if cash, but before the takeover, that fanbase were like ours. They were realistic, they weren’t asking to be taken over by a country, but just for their club to give them a bit of hope that things will get better. As Gary says more than one season in the Premier League. At this stage, I’d even take being relegated with a bit of a fight as progress. That’s not too much to ask is it?
I don’t doubt that Delia and Michael care more about their club than Mike Ashley did about his, but the end result is similar. At some point we need to take that risk. There will be other investors who can help us progress a little. Just as there are other sporting directors who could take over when ours decides he’d rather climb Everest than devote 100% of his working time to Norwich City.
Sorry, to use this forum once again to comment on the Webber saga and also (a slight cheat) repeat a comment on today’s earlier article by James Colman.
Today’s earlier article by James said at one point, “if he (Webber) needs time off to fulfil a life goal then so be it…” This was an astonishing remark. Would he have commented in a similar fashion if Dean Smith, for example, had said, “I’d like to take some time off in January, February, September and November/December to complete a life time ambition”? (I’ve omitted June since that’s the off-season.)
Stuart Webber, like anyone, merits his own private time outside his working life but not at the expense of NCFC. He is paid a handsome six figure salary and if he could not commit to working full-time in a key position at the club he should have left.
It is quite incredible that he spent one third of his time during the January 2022 transfer window fulfilling ‘a life goal’ in Tanzania because he says the club were not in a position to sign anyone. Really? He says that fans who question his absence are being unfair to the expertise of others. No, we are not, but we are questioning the need for TWO sporting directors.
It beggars belief that Delia and Michael agreed to this arrangement and followed that up by appointing Webber’s wife to the board. One role of the board is to have independent oversight of how its employees at the club are managing club affairs; so how is this not a huge conflict of interest?
Thus Gary, you will have gathered, I wholly agree with your article questioning the way the club at present is being controlled and run.
Maybe the appointment of zoe ward to the board of directors was an additional inducement to make sure webber stayed at the club.
I don’t think there was any *maybe* about that appointment mate.
Thanks, Gary, As to Webber, when success was riding high he possibly had offers but they would not allow the Mountain sabbatical. Now he is assured of doing both keeping his job and following the Hillary’s footsteps. Such was The Stowmarket duo’s short-sightedness.
His first season was heralded by allowing those who got us to have a go. Surely the man should have seen they weren’t up to it either. (Although would prefer them to this shower) His 2nd clearly shows he had little or no clue what makes a premiership footballer A businessman not a football man.
That theme runs through the off-pitch personnel. a cook and publisher with a vice grip and baby Tom to add to the family dictatorship. Yes, Delia has done a lot for the club, now facing the 6th relegation from the Prem, still, nothing appears to be learned. The only way I can see any changes ever being (and that isn’t guaranteed) made is Chase style protests and bugger what the rest say.
When I saw a solitary magpie in my garden I knew it wasn’t going to be our day.
I still think that we got rid of the wrong person in the autumn – I don’t remember Farke asking for any sabbaticals and can anyone seriously say that Smith has been an improvement. We have only recently looked better by returning to Farkeball-esque play so maybe the problem has not been all the other stuff.
As for new owners, surely the time has come to approach Steve Coogan?
I’m not as sure that the ownership is the problem. The self-funded model makes things difficult, certainly, but look back the start of the year, we bought a large number of players, most with a decent reputation, some internationals, some with plenty of suitors. Frankly, not one has been a success, whether in terms of consistent performance, enhancing their value, developing or helping us win. The only successes of SW’s recruitment policies? Teemu and Emi, and he just got lucky with them. How many games has Sinani played for us? What about Soto after we chased for a work permit. What does Sorensen have to do to get into the team? Why has Rowe not been given a start? How has Tzolis gone so far backwards? Will Placheta ever show more than just pace? When will Sargent perform (in more than just one game)? Why have Hernandez, Klose, Hugill and Vrancic been unwanted and sent on loan
when their “replacements” are not as good? Why do we have such a minuscule shot conversion rate??
Yes, ownership is a part, but these are failures in recruitment, in player management, in selection, in development and coaching, in building team resilience, cohesive as and confidence, in belief and in tactics.
Of course, SW is a genius when it comes to recruitment and building the footballing structure? Or are the Emperor’s new clothes shining through?
My prediction: we will have a small fire sale in the summer, we will recruit a couple of kids to the Academy, buy some nobodies from footballing backwaters, pay off a number of contracts or just give players extended leave (Drmic?), we will be stuck in 16th come February, sack DS and hope the new man in can work miracles a la Farke. And SW will be down to giving 70% and still inexplicably have a job.
And the cycle starts again.