Upon watching the FA Cup final yesterday, the commentator (goodness knows who) remarked that Jurgen Klopp had remarkably been in charge since 2015.
I was taken aback at this, as it just feels like a lot shorter. Furthermore, I was then subjected to watching him address and ‘pseudo-olé’ the crowd basking in his respectable FA Cup win. His second trophy of this season.
I was struck by a hybrid sense of emotion. Something betwixt anger and frustration.
The parallels with Farke/Dortmund are of course, lazy but the point remains that we had someone with which we could build a dynasty. Someone who cared about the club. The fans, the infrastructure. Someone who generally wanted to build and cultivate a long-lasting legacy. A man who developed a cult of personality. A man who believed in his methodology. A man who knew his means and how to live within them. A nurturer and embracer of youth.
Of course, we and Liverpool cut our cloth from very different tables, but notwithstanding, they are two undeniably gifted managers who led their respective clubs to great things.
Watching Klopp embrace the crowd and whip them into a frenzy just brought such a feeling of sadness. A feeling that we had this, and it’s now gone.
Dean Smith is a nice fellow, but I doubt very much whether he has any vested interest in the club. To him, a job is a job. And that’s it. With Farke it just felt like so much more. It felt like such a natural fit. Yet the fickle nature of the disgraceful sport that football has become, chewed him up and spat him out. Parka and all.
I doubt there are many managers who could’ve got a tune out of the squad we have. I think the recruitment tried hard. They know the limitations the club is under. And any new signing is always a gamble.
These gambles didn’t pay off. That’s life. But to debase yourself and knee-jerk into sacking someone who has built the club up from mid-table Championship mediocrity was disgraceful. Particularly so when the man in charge of that decision has little empathy with those who do bleed yellow and green.
We are now stuck with a rebuild and a manager whom I suspect will be off, either as soon as a better offer comes along, or he fails to break into the top six. Such is the short-sighted nature of the modern game, seeking the next ‘fix’ or hit, that there is no time anymore to build a legacy.
Yet we had someone who could have done that. And gladly.
We’ll never know how this season would have panned out under Farke. Yet, what I can say with complete certainty, is it couldn’t have been any worse. Akin with Liverpool fans for their smiling rock n roll gegen pressing manager, there’ll always be a place in my heart for a certain long-haired, articulate, smiling, parka-wearing German.
What a dynasty you could have created. Like Derby after Clough.
There are those of us who want you back.
I agree with every word. I would welcome Farke back in a heartbeat. This season was never his fault. As nice as Smith might be, and I am sure he is, and I don’t blame him for this season either, he will never replace DF. I don’t think Webber and the recruitment team got it right, but it is always a gamble – even when you have big money to spend. What I will never forgive Webber for is the way he used Farke as a scapegoat.
Typical, pointing the finger at someone else…..
Without looking at where the other three fingers are pointing.
Daniel gave us some of the best football by a city team in the 60 years I’ve been going.
First season in PL, even Webber admitted he sent him to war without a Gun.
Well this season all the bullets he bought for his gun this year we’re blanks.
Who knows, two games left. Two 6-0 defeats, (possible), and Smith could be on his way out. Could Farke return? Would Farke return? I for one would welcome him back.
Ask a City fan, today, what they think about how our last two games will go and the shoulders would probably shrug and the words probably would be, “I don’t care”. That’s not happened before in my lifetime so something is fundamentally wrong and we all know what it is.
Couldn’t agree more with you Martin. Still believed he was sacked as a roll of the dice to try and find someone who, by some miracle, could get a tune out of this squad. It was a diabolical decision and we now know, if evidence was needed, it was poor recruitment, not Daniel. It’s not too late to get him back. His record on promotion is quite remarkable but as you point out, his record on pulling the whole club together is even better.
With the greatest respect to a man I thought would be with us for years….you have actually summed it up perfectly “Still believed he was sacked as a roll of the dice to try and find someone who, by some miracle, could get a tune out of this squad. ”
The fact is DF couldn’t do it either.
All of the great football we had played had disappeared, the structure was gone, and I still worry about how much of the Cantwell problem is as much to do with mishandling of the lad as it was his own sense of self-worth. Not one player was improving and we had not seen any of the younger players coming through (unless Rowe has already made an appearance – I didn’t check)
I am not convinced that Daniel knew what to do next and while I was deeply saddened to see him go for many of the reasons mentioned above I would suggest that “But to debase yourself and knee-jerk into sacking someone who has built the club up from mid-table Championship mediocrity was disgraceful.” is a wonderfully phrased healing grabbing line that is totally over the top.
100% agree. Only way his sacking was justifiable is if we’d improved markedly as a result. Have we? Which players have improved since the manager-change?
Would we have witnessed worse? I doubt it. Could it have been? Smith has worked with the squad longer than Farke had with the new players, yet we look far worse than we did pre sacking.
One of the things I see as missing is Identity, we look like a team of nothingness, what are we known for losing, gutless Not the fast-paced, passing, a good footballing side, some of that has its foundation in seasons gone by. Now it is hard to see just what we are.
There is an underlying issue at Norwich, which isn’t only about the quality on the pitch, it’s the attitude of the players, the staff and the football club as a whole.
This has its roots from a few years ago with the Little Norwich attitude, which I first heard on Worthington’s promotion. The mindset of a small fish in a big pond is still believed and acted out no matter what or who the club gets in a player or coach.
This forms something akin to a mental block, whatever this block is, it is a constant in preventing the team from performing in the top flight. Different players, different coaches but still this block is prevalent.
Farke knitted players, supporters and clubs together. Whether Farke changed his style and belief of how he wanted the game played, or he was told to ? One thing is for sure we will never know.
I was of the opinion, that before the win at Brentford, he may have lost his way, he stepped away from his belief, of how he wanted his teams to play, but with the win then the gun should have been uncocked and placed in the draw. Another 5 or so games should have been given, the man and his coaching team had earned that right in my eyes.
As you rightly point out Dean Smith may be a nice enough chap, but something is crystal clear, he is not one for charisma or repartee with the fans. I would hazard a guess he sees this as just another job, not unlike the boss whose he answers too. I have never read or heard so many fans repeat how numb, isolated and apathetic they have become.
As for next season, we face a mighty challenge without a coach who has walked that path before. Just a little thoughtful fact, Smith, who has finished no higher than 5th in his four seasons as manager of a championship club. Smithy’s one promotion came with Villa, who at the time had far greater riches than the rest of the division, That came from what some call the lottery of the Play-offs.
I am unsure if I would welcome Mr Farke back, this returning to a club seldom works (Mike Walker anyone another of Delia’s desperation mistakes) But I know we had an identity, and with facing the championship once again, I know who I would rather havein my corner.
But Mike Walker was sacked at the wrong time too. He had just lost his wife for goodness sake.
This article came up in my newsnow feed as it mentions LFC. As a scouser and 60 years supporting my club I agreed with everything you say about Farke.
Looking from afar I had him down as Klopp clone with great potential.
Sorry you lost him. See you in two years.
“See you in two years.”
Blimey, I know things can turn around very quickly in this funny old game but you’re surely not expecting LFC to get relegated next season are you?
I could not agree more i was devastated when they sacked DanielFarke such short sightedness on behalf of the people who run our club. No these are not Dean Smiths players but i have not seen any improvement in them at all under him. Daniel Farke had this club at heart and had said he would never break his contract a man with a high moral standard. There was such a togetherness win or lose between him and the supporters now it is so bland and run of the mill with Smith. We had a good repoir with Paul Lambert but nothing like it was with Daniel he really did have the club and supporters at heart. Sadly this board and sporting director blew that all apart.
Hi Martin
I agree with all the comments above and very many of us feel the same way right now.
A very good read.
I think it’s unfair to say Farke “cared about the club” and Dean Smith doesn’t have “any vested interest” to the point he would leave “if a better offer comes along”. I just don’t understand what that’s based on beyond an affinity towards Farke that isn’t present with Smith.
The truth is, Farke would have left for the right role just as much as Smith would if the opportunity came calling, irrespective of any perceived affection we may hope he would have had for the club. To find Smith lacking in his commitment I think is really unfair on a guy who could have very easily taken his pay off from Villa and waited for the aforementioned better offer to come along.
I have no reason to question Smith’s commitment, but Farke said he would always honour his contract and I, for one, have absolute faith that he meant that and would have kept to it. You have no evidence otherwise and cannot judge the man according to other people’s standards.
Interesting article Martin.
I am a big Daniel Farke fan as well Martin. Me and my wife actually both said the moment Jurgen Klopp went to the Liverpool fans yesterday how much we miss him.
But we are all looking at this with rose coloured glasses to a large extent.
I was furious how and when Daniel was sacked. And he has been proven correct in the obvious disagreement with Stuart Webber over whether the squad was good enough, I think Daniel was far more right than even he realised and that is for sure.
But Daniel’s teams did struggle in the EPL, just cast our minds back to Project Restart. And even he had lost some confidence in his methods. He had lost total faith in the players.
I still would have him back though but only if we had investment commensurate with the EPL because I think if he was given the “tools” to work with he would make a very good EPL manager.
And I said on here long ago the Daniel Farke era will be remembered for the 2 Championship titles and the brilliant football played at that level. A great era with Farke as a legend.
The great Liverpool dynasty was started by Bill Shankly and then passed on within the club, Paisley then Fagan.Players had usually had a spell in the reserves before breaking into the team. Without this system the fortunes dwindled.
Similar thing here, Bond started passed on to assistant Brown,then to assistant Stringer who was succeeded by Walker who was able to upgrade most of his Football Combination side. The result of this gradual growth was the most successful side ever. Dave Stringer decided at the end of his reign that he was “past his sell by date” and had lost the ability to motivate.
Farke was the beginning of a new era with the influx of players from Germany and reliance on German sports philosophy and training.. Stuart Webber has had thee successive promotion s with German coaches.
This season Farke lost his mojo and had to go but Webber abandoned the system that had been successful.
We have never,had any success from a sacked manager and one who knows so little about our team. We have never had any success by spending big on transfers. It’s not going to change.
We need bold decisions and a focused development plan. Dean Smith must go before he turns into Glen Roeder.
Paul Lambert?
Everyone loved Farke, but the results under him were abysmal and he had to go. Especially as it was the second time around. But, you’re right, Smith has improved nothing since he arrived and it’s reasonable to think if Farke had stayed it couldn’t have been any worse. IT would still have been a dismal season though. But the question we are left with is ‘has Dean Smith done enough to stay?’ And the answer to that is a resounding ‘no’. Results haven’t improved, the feeling around the club hasn’t improved, the fans disposition has deteriorated, the sense of belonging has evaporated – and now we have a self-confessed Villa-and-no-one-else man in charge. It feels much worse.
I believe Webber once said that while he had a job at the club, so did Daniel.
Wow, rarely do you see an article with the responses so in tune with each other but I feel exactly the same. I was gutted when they sacked Farke and still am, I no longer enjoy what I’m watching week in week out and feel that there’s a complete disconnect between the club and supporters.
Not going to happen I know but Webber should go and then perhaps Delia and Michael could crawl on their hands and knees and beg Daniel and his staff to return.
Oh this column leaves me in tears, as I am listening to Pukki playing Wolves on his own. Pukki is DF as a player. Gifted, with a heart of a lion, always, always doing his best. Farke was Norwich. He created a team, unity, warmth and excitement. He was betrayed and those who did the deed are now hiding and leaving Dean Smith alone to speak. I don’t dislike Smith but I fail to see what talents or attributes he has that Farke lacked.
We need to start again they say. No, we needed the board to own up to their failure to firstly prepare for the premier league, and once in trouble realise why. It’s not Farke’s fault. Maybe it’s not Webber, but our DOF should never have sacked Daniel to appease the board who, yet again see us promoted but will not seek investment. I’d like to ask them, why do we bother getting promoted? The point is not to fail and sack another manager.
I miss Daniel snd like you Martin watched Klopp yesterday and saw DF. The warmth with his players and bond with the fans. We threw that away. For what? I’d love an answer please Webber and the board.
“our DOF should never have sacked Daniel to appease the board”
They didn’t, he sacked him to appease the fans.
And why would he need to appease the Board by trying to keep us up? If you believe many posters they don’t care for the PL and have no ambition.
Im not gutted for Farke great in championship but no wins in 20 how could you possibly leave him in charge we as now we’re not competive Smith not the answer either spent 200 mil and still got sacked get people in who care about the club would be good .
This idea that nothing has improved since Smith replaced Farke is not borne out by the facts.
Farke’s record at the time the decision to replace him seems to have actually been taken was:
P 11 W 0 D 2 L 9 For 3 Ag 25 Points 2
He then added 3 points in a 2-1 win on his final day.
Since that day we have had
P 25 W 4 D 5 L 16 F 18 Ag 53
In crude terms Farke took points from 25% of his games, Smith has managed it in 36%, with largely the same squad except for losing 2 or 3 players to injury, but getting Byram back in the fold. Neither percentage is good enough.
It’s totally fair to say that current performances are from acceptable, especially the tendency to crumble under pressure. We haven’t been thumped as hard and as often as in those early games, but we’ve still failed to create enough to turn promising attacks into goals. It’s true that compared to Farke’s style there’s no clear identity emerged – but that is partly down to the permanent fire-fighting that happens in a relegation season
Farke was brilliant for us but I cannot see any reason why he would have suddenly produced a better record over those 25 games than Dean Smith has, and certainly not enough to gain another 15 points.
Can you seriously imagine what people would be saying now if they hadn’t tried something different?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc
Farke lost 9 of his first 12 games this season and knew there was no money to spend in January so realistically we knew we would go down if he stayed.
There would be nothing more “Little Old Norwich” than to allow that to continue for another 26 games just sitting back and doing nothing to try and arrest the decline.
Will always love Farke for what he’s done but there’s a lot of revisionist history in these comments (less so an excellent article).
Sorry to spoil the Farke love fest but he had to go, lovely chap but he was leading us down the same garden path. His partner in crime Web should now do the honourable thing and also go. As to Smith & Shakespeare they inherited a bag of nails with no dosh to make any meaningful changes, I reserve judgement on them for next season. Our owners created a dream which turned into a nightmare and aren’t going to throw billions at the club to buy their way to glory. Not sure how that part of the tale will end, guess we‘ve got pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and start all over again, could be worse we could be Ipswitch.
If we don’t change things at the top it won’t be long before we are playing Ipswich.