After reading Mick’s piece I thought, “Go on then, I’ll comment”. However, my response was long enough to put together a piece of my own.
So here goes…
Firstly, Mick was right to say his piece. We expected it and, to be fair, the one-way traffic was… well, one way. But I’m sure he’ll understand if I pick up on a few points.
I certainly understand why Dean Smith felt relieved that Norwich’s next game is away from home. But for him to articulate that when it is followed by three straight home games is, to be frank, a bit laughable. It’s almost as if Smith wants to get the sack.
Surely he should be thinking, “How do I get the supporters back with me when we come back to our front room?”
Mick accepts in his piece that every single person who supports our great Club has an unconditional right to express a strident opinion, and this is so true. However, supporters on both sides appear unable to accept the alternative narrative (for the want of a better word). Perhaps it’s a reflection of the wider world these days.
The claim is that our club is exceptionally well run by good folk. Again, I don’t disagree with the sentiment but the addition of the word ‘usually’ would perhaps have helped.
To make that claim when the Club has been close to administration on several occasions, and with the prospect of severe cost-cutting if we don’t get promoted in the next couple of seasons due to the money already having been spent, leads many to believe the Club is not being run as well as is being claimed.
Too many clubs have done exactly what City are doing at the moment – spending money they don’t yet have – and then have regretted it further down the line.
Most City supporters acknowledge that Delia and Michael are not in it for the money but they do appear to be content with mediocrity. Football is all about money these days, whether you like it or not, and mediocrity is what we have put up with for the past couple of seasons, particularly at home.
Without additional funding, we will only ever experience mediocrity.
As has been the case down the road, little investment led to stagnation and mediocrity until their new investors came in and offered them hope.
“At every single club; winning football matches makes other issues seem much less important – and losing matches magnifies every other complaint, real or imagined.”
I totally agree. But while City are not winning matches and putting in performances like we have seen this season, supporters will pick up on every little detail particularly when the Club’s media and people within the Club act as if everything is rosy, both on and off the pitch.
There may not be a complete disconnect but refusing to acknowledge any issues will only end up creating a chasm that will be very difficult to bridge.
Regarding staff leaving the Club, there is an acknowledgment that Ipswich came poaching, but should it really be perceived as a tribute to the work done by the current regime in order to improve things? For me, this point is irrelevant. NCFC should be reacting to its competition.
It appears the Club is happy to trundle along losing staff to other clubs and then praise the changes being made elsewhere without anything being done at Carrow Road.
When Mick talks of the regular, structured meetings with the Supporters’ Trust, all members of the Trust will have seen the minutes from meetings. While I accept that most points are discussed in detail, I know from the communication from the Trust, as well as conversations with members, there are still significant frustrations in the way the Club handle points raised and perceived issues.
And with regard to the new Fans’ Consultation Group and much-improved in-house media content (“easily among the best in the Championship”), I raise two points. The Fans Consultation group is, quite frankly, laughable judging by the minutes of the meeting posted recently. Several points raised by the group had been ignored by the Club, and all the points raised regarding the atmosphere have not been acted upon.
So it begs the question, what is the point of it?
The in-house media is predominantly very good, however, and the perception of it being a North Korean-style operation that ignores anything negative is usually one pounced upon by people seeking to bash the Club.
The Community Sports Foundation is, without doubt, this is one of the best things the current NCFC regime has been part of. But providing those necessary links to the community only emphasises the failures elsewhere within the Club in terms of its external communication.
Newsquest and The Athletic are not banned. “They attend every media conference where they can ask any question they wish.” But we know it’s only limited access compared to before.
“What’s happened is just that private briefings have stopped and so the situation is much like it is at most clubs in the land.”
So, what happened to NCFC doing things differently? Why does the top brass suddenly want to run City like every other club in the land, when they have always wanted to be the ones setting the pace? Obviously, with the lack of independent media scrutiny, we will never know the answer to this.
Talking of other media that Mr. Webber has done, while I applaud the efforts by Mick to promote his friend’s podcast, I consume my City content from the usual suspects. Personally, I don’t want to go searching for stuff that should appear in the local media – whether that be Pink Un, Radio Norfolk, or good old MFW. All of these outlets are manned by die-hard City supporters who I would like to think will ask the questions most are thinking.
“Anyway, as I said was always the case 25 years ago, I believe it is this season’s performances and results which are the real cause of all the current angst. The performances, particularly at home, have led to widespread frustration which has fermented into anger.”
Those of a certain mindset appear unable to separate performances and results. During the height of the pandemic, I realised that my reason for going to football was not all about results, and indeed it wasn’t about just watching football – we could all do that at home. Instead, it was about community, entertainment, and seeing friends and family.
While results do a great deal to alleviate frustrations, the performances of the team and the individual skills that appear to be no longer there contribute to the current angst in the stands and across the City support.
We want to see a team that competes. Not one of us thinks City will ever be the best team in the land but we do want to see a team that puts in 100 percent effort and utilises the skills they have to the best of their ability.
Even Mick will, I’m sure, admit this is not happening this season and it didn’t under Dean Smith last season either. Most supporters realised it wouldn’t be easy, but to have capitulated with poor football and negative tactics was never going to the supporters on side.
And then there are the parachute payments. As mentioned earlier in the piece, the Club has already admitted to having borrowed and committed those sums for this season and next, and so if we don’t go up, we really are in the financial do-do.
It’s also widely recognised that Smith has not coached the best out of the players, yet this is at odds with his reputation as a widely respected coach within the game. He has had more than a year to make a difference.
And the argument around it taking time to integrate new players into the squad… 10 out of the 17 on duty on Saturday were here for the previous Championship-winning campaigns.
Also, Angus Gunn has also been here before and Sam McCallum and Danil Sinani both know the league well. This is not a much-changed squad and, in fact, in many people’s opinion should have been changed more to eradicate some of the dead-wood
Mick also refers to Smith’s biggest failing being that he is not Daniel Farke but this, to me, is also irrelevant. If we were playing well, people wouldn’t care who was in charge.
And with regard to the jeering of the passing to the goalkeeper, and passing along the backline, which was the basis of Farkeball. Gunn to Gibson to Hanley to Gibson to Gunn then lumped forward, with no thought to actually play through midfield, is not Farkeball.
These players can do better, so I can only assume this is how they are instructed to play at the moment.
Finally, I want to point to the avalanche of articles and content from die-hard City supporters, all of whom want Smith to succeed. But they just don’t see this happening anytime soon.
But, to conclude, Mick’s piece was an important one; one that offered the opposing view to almost all of those appearing on MFW.
It showed, again, the value of local supporter-based websites and media.
Imagine Smith wanted to be sacked-a nice pay off and a chance to retire and support his beloved Villa. I can’t think he would have acted any differently.
He got a reported £3-4 million pay-off when sacked by Villa. Another £2-3 million when he inevitably gets sacked by us will set him up nicely for the rest of his life and he won’t have to worry about the pressures of managing a football club and pleasing the fans.
I said: “ …. many different football clubs, that ours is exceptionally well run by good folk.
Of course, they make mistakes. Sometimes they are undone by their good intentions. Sometimes they are defeated by the unmanageable vagaries of the beautiful game..”
Or, if you wish to paraphrase it your way “usually well run.”
Hi James
Another good read on what has been an exceptionally good week here on MFW.
*The in-house media is predominantly very good, however, and the perception of it being a North Korean-style operation that ignores anything negative is usually one pounced upon by people seeking to bash the Club.*
It’s funny how perceptions are different!
To me the in-house media are NOT predominantly very good.
The North Korean reference was made tongue-in-cheek by Don H on my article yesterday and the equally chuckaway comment comparing them to PRAVDA in the original article was not to be taken seriously – I said as much too.
Maybe you haven’t noticed changes to the PR operation over the last 18 months but I sure have and if I remark upon it it’s as much about expressing a view as *bashing the club*.
I don’t want to read [today] about a change in format to our partnership with Imprint Signs & Graphics. I couldn’t give a to$$ about it tbh and nor could most of us.
We are interested in what they are ordered to embargo, as in all football news bar some vague injury updates at a pre-match press conference with… Dean Smith.
And that ain’t predominantly very good.
A good article James. I made a comment a couple of days ago to Mick D’s usual defence of all those wonderful people now running our club into the mire, which was heavily censored, so I expect the same again but here goes.
When Farka was dismissed I was amazed that Smith was his replacement, it was a terrible move by Webber, for one Smith wasn’t in the right head space, having just been sacked from his dream job of managing the club he loved and supported all his life, and secondly, I never bought all the media hype of how good a Manager/coach Smith was, he took over at Brentford a squad already assembled by his predecessor and a club clearly (as has since been proved) going places. At Villa any success was clearly off the back of Britain’s most expensive player, Smith is NOT and has never been a top coach and never will be.
Now for our well-run club! Well, what can I say that hasn’t already been said by many more eloquent than myself but I’ll try anyway. Delia and Michael may well be very nice people, I wouldn’t know I can only pass an opinion on how I perceive their benefit to Norwich City Football Club on and off the football field since their reign began 25 years ago, and that’s a resounding 0/10 – we are in no better a position now than the one vacated by Robert Chase all those years ago.
Delia’s disdain towards the fans is not a new trait – it manifested as long ago as her infamous rant to the supporters of “Where are you, Lets be have’n you” not to mention (but I will) her continued criticism of everything premier league during the last two premier league outings by the club. Did us the world of good didn’t it?, as proved when Dean Smith sought a postponement through covid illness that was very smartly rejected. I refer to Delia as the cook, and a successful one at that, but that was where she should have remained.
As a supporter for for over 65 years I’ve always been of the opinion that the Norfolk people are too accepting of the ‘status quo’, putting themselves down so to speak, but they deserve better owners of THEIR football club, NOT Delia’s football club. Norwich City Football Club has a supporter base good enough and large enough to support a premier league team. Finance should have been sought years ago to increase the ground capacity – City could easily have attendances of around 40,000, the support is not in question. Remember the ground record is over 43,000 and there has been a huge population growth since those days.
We supporters are not asking for the moon, we don’t expect to be top six, we just want a competitive team to support in the premier league. We DON’T have a god given right to it but we do have a god given right to have owners with ambition for it. That’s all we want, to see a realistic aim, and like sheep we’ll be as happy as pigs in shite (my little sense of humour).
As for the Webber’s influence over -it seems- Delia and her decisions regarding everything Norwich City. What a tragedy. Whilst I acknowledge at Colney he has done some good but the rest, WOW what a mess. His reputation is in tatters, at least as far as his stated ambitions of advancing his career with a big club overseas. I think this is about as big a club as Stuart is likely to get, and don’t get me on those rumours of Chelsea’s interest in him! What a joke.
For the record, Dave, I rarely ‘”heavily censor” or even touch upon comments, and only do so only when I feel it necessary. IE when I consider an inappropriate word or language has been used. Simple as that. It’s possible to vehemently disagree with someone’s viewpoint while also being respectful.
Taken on board Gary, I’ll admit when I posted my comments I was expecting you to take the scissors to them but you did at least leave the pertinent part there, good on ya and a happy xmas to you and all your readers.
Cheers, Dave, and the same to you and yours.
Top comment .. I have repeatedly said the Media has made Dean Smith a better coach/manager than what is reality. When after 13 or so months I read exactly the same comments as we are seeing on Villa sites just before their board grew some gonads and did the right thing. Their next step was one doomed to be a miss but that was their outlook, recent events Villa has stepped up and done very good.
The Cook should have remained firmly in the kitchen and I wonder how many messes has she made before the final edit. Something very akin to running this club. There has been success but not one was built on or learned from.
When a gamble was needed with a decent coaching team in place, who had risen two divisions to keep us in the Prem which is only what we fans want. Not the title. This was refused, and the Villa link cropped up again. In comes a name Hughton, who was seen a nice all round guy, but if I could find out that his actual record and style of play was never going to go down well in gods county. Why the hell didn’t someone at the board level. ?
This is the same with Smith, his cv is media hype. The highlights being a 10 game run and seeking into play-off, plus a last day survival the next season. Jack Grealish being about the only success of his tenure, he was nothing after the sold him.
I and many others saw , read and posted about it. Many saw this, in truth we are just the same as those running or miss managing the club Just Fans..
My biggest gripe is what we were told by our own Edmund Hillary, that Farke was the first in line of coaches who would build the style and identity of this club, when he moved on, others of the same ilk would be brought in to continue what was started. (not exact wording but that is the gist) We can see at the first hurdle Webber departs the plan goes for a media hyped coach. Why because Webber doesn’t really want the bloody job,his sights are set on higher things and I don’t mean large lump of rock. Now his Missus has her feet firmly under the table, with far too much of a voice. Another husband and wife team . Who the hell will vote against the other. ? Family benefits may be denied as well. lolol
Smith has almost destroyed what went on before him Smudged the lines into a nothingness of football. Farke’s time was not all good, but the hell the football was and we could see it and hugged into it 100% Now Webber has screwed that blue print up, while Alas Smith & Jones sit and allowed him to do it. A bloody ship without a rudder or wheel hardly describes. Yet others still applaud and defend .
beggars belief . Thank gawd for MFW
Merry Christmas and Improved New Year. and what happens Boxing Day to be honest I am almost past caring
Is NCFC a well run club? My wife used to work there and no evidence that is was – at least at that time.
Managed by good people? I’m sure Delia & Michael mean well and have what they think are the best intentions of the club at heart, but I think they are just ill equipped to run a football club now as there were in the late ’90’s. I thought they were the wrong fit then and I’ve never charged my view. Who is the club really for, if the fans are ostracised?
Money isn’t always the answer – especially in the Championship – but how the club is being run is just swimming against the tide. Sooner or later the sheer perversity of what the board are trying to do must stop and they need to get serious. Our American friends please take note.