Some stand elegantly besuited and booted with a look as inscrutable as that of Confucius sipping a squat cup of his favourite 龙井** on a balmy day back when Beijing was just plain old Peking and the Giant Panda was yet to appear in a Disney.
Others patrol the technical area in the manner of a would-be whirling Dervish, not even keeping still enough at half-time for a soothing Türk Kahvesi, as popular in Istanbul today as it was in the Constantinople of yore. These examples, and there are very many of them, will sport credibility-enhancing muddy white trainers and club tracksuits, a style that has become increasingly popular over the last 40 years or so.
There is a further tiny percentage who delight in breaking the mould, whether it be the long hair and leather jacket of that eternal rocker Gareth Ainsworth, the Nike baseball cap and outrageous dental enhancements of Jürgen Klopp or even the body-dwarfing XXXXXL parka of Daniel Farke.
And this group of worthies all have one thing in common, because where there’s a football manager there’s an excuse. However bad the performance of their side, blame must instead fall on injuries, the referee, bad luck, the paucity of the playing surface, and even the weather if the manager is feeling particularly uninspired. Some managers, occasionally backed or encouraged by executive management at their club, even feel that their own supporters constitute fair game to take the blame.***
But after witnessing Norwich City against Rotherham at Carrow Road yesterday I’m prepared to cut David Wagner a fair few yards of slack.
What he actually did say post-match had that whiff of frustrated honesty about it:
“It is important for me to judge the performance as well as the result. Obviously, this was a frustrating result but I was delighted with the way we played. If we had taken one of our early chances I think it would have been a very different game.
“For the first 20-25 minutes I really don’t think we could have played much better. We created a lot of good chances throughout the game but for a number of reasons – good defending, not staying calm and rushing it – we did not take them.
“We have had two good performances in a row now and we need to keep our heads and be ready for the next challenge.”
With 20 shots [admittedly only 20% of these were on target] and 68% possession, I think it’s a case of fair play to our Head Coach, I really do.
MFW’s Man in the Stands, Don Harold, opined:
“I guess we would all have settled for four points out of six over Easter, but this game left a sense of disappointment.
“We started brightly and had more shots in the first ten minutes than we’ve had in the entirety of many games. But for the remaining 80 we lacked guile and imagination and didn’t have the creative ability to break down a resilient but rudimentary Rotherham side. I get the feeling there are many of this squad who have the mindset that they’re passing through. Certainly, it didn’t feel that there was a massive desperation to get into the playoffs.
“Still, somehow we’re only a point off the pace, so things could still happen.“
Considering the excuses that often make up the managerial litany of choice, I think Wagner had the complete set at his beck and call this time around so I’ll just recap them, this time in some kind of context:
- A seemingly never-ending, overflowing injury list leading naturally to:
- Players in many cases having to cope with being out of their favoured position.
- Referee Jeremy Simpson giving the term “letting the game flow” a whole new meaning at times
- Profligacy in front of goal, sure, but with a fair bit of bad luck mixed in
- And yes, the weather. Bright sun, strong wind and the odd heavy shower were not an ideal mix.
Grant Hanley, Ben Gibson, Marcelino Nunez, Kenny McLean, and Kieran Dowell have all featured prominently and then some this season, but of these only Nunez realistically stands a chance of featuring again in 2022-23. Fringe players Jonathan Rowe and Przemysław Płacheta are in a similar position, as to all intents and purposes are Isaac Hayden and Sam Byram, although after adorning the bench on Sunday we have to say that these two are fit for selection, on paper anyway.
And that, dear readers, is one heck of bodies in the treatment room. There has been no real let-up in terms of injuries all season, regardless of whether it was Dean Smith*** or Wagner at the helm.
All this of course was played out against the backdrop of Teemu Pukki declaring that our intense, at times electric, five-year love affair is over. The pre-nup didn’t include the way in which Teemu would try so hard to get on Sunday’s scoresheet that all his customary cool would desert him when it mattered. I really feel the Pukki of old would have left Carrow Road with the matchball rather than cutting a bemused figure as he made way for Adam Idah halfway through the second period.
But he gave it a real good go, which in itself says shedloads about the man. Or more accurately, was yet another testimony to something we have previously known all along – with Teemu Pukki you get a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay and never anything less. That’s what you get if you’re a Norwich City supporter or a football-following Finn, anyway.
I’m not capable of being a football manager. The closest I got was captaining the school’s under-13 B team a few times when I was demoted from the First XI. That’s over 50 years ago now and I can still remember two things from that season. Firstly we never won any of the matches played with me as captain and, secondly, not every side’s leader bore the gift of an armband to indicate his mighty status among his teammates.
But at least I can wear what I like when I like, which is more than can be truly said for the modern manager.
*** Having promised in January that I would not refer to Dean Smith in my columns again, I have by and large kept my word. But I don’t feel I can simply ignore what follows, it’s more a case of my feeling duty-bound to share it with any MFW reader who hasn’t seen it already.
Smith originally said this on Sky Sports while guesting as a pundit on the televised Luton v Millwall match, starting by saying he felt he would have been able to get City promoted to the PL from the Championship had he remained in situ in NR1 back in January this year.
“The pivotal game for me was Blackburn. If we had won that game, then we would have gone third, three points behind Sheffield United.
“For whatever reason, the fans turned during that game, and it was very difficult to turn it around. They went after about 14 minutes. We scored an own goal in that time and Blackburn never had another shot, I don’t think. Their xG that day was about 0.3 or something – it was one of those games where it was difficult to turn the tide.
“But I was certainly believing that we would get promoted at the end of the season still.”
Speaking late on Sunday night, Deano said this about his new-found role at Leicester City – and surely as Norwich fans we’re entitled to a quick inner thought of “we’ve heard it all before?”
“The challenge in front of us is clear, but it’s one myself and my coaching team have experienced before and, with the quality in this squad and the number of games remaining, it’s very much achievable.
“Our [yes, he’s naturally got Craig Shakespeare working alongside him] first job is to rebuild confidence and instill belief in the team and supporters. I’m looking forward to getting to work with the players this week.”
**龙井 is Mandarin Chinese for Dragon Well Tea and thus offers me the tenuous connection to this, chosen in honour of hard rockers everywhere:
I’m happy with Wagner as our manager and under current circumstances he’s an ideal choice.
Wagner is intelligent and picks his words carefully and in this regard is streets ahead of the lamentable Smith.
In his short time in charge Wagner has improved fitness by some degree and made the team a more cohesive unit. There is far less finger pointing and glaring on the field.
Unfortunately for Wagner he has come to a club in rapid decline with a huge debt after two years of disastrous transfer windows.
He has inherited the weakest City team since Lambert and in my opinion is making the best of a bad hand.
Publicly criticising the team or individuals is the rapid road to disaster and he’s far too intelligent to fall into that trap but unfortunately a vociferous number of our supporters lack Wagner’s foresight.
We should also reflect on our last two appearances in the premiership and beware of what will inevitably happen if we overcome all the odds and end up back there next year with our current team and a debt in excess of £50 million excluding any additions to the squad.
The other downside to promotion would be the income generated from such an unlikely event subsidising our woeful owners continued reign!
The £50m “debt” is covered by our second and final parachute payment. Net we are debt free. The key point is any new transfer fees have to come from player sales, from season ticket sales, or, in the case of an increasingly unlikely promotion, from the associated £100+ EPL funding.
Like most fans I think promotion would be an embarrassment with this misfiring squad but financially better than being stuck in the Champs going nowhere totally reliant on Academy prospects and freebies .
Hi Nick
What you say is absolutely correct, of course it is, BUT…
A lot of this debt was completely avoidable and caused by the poor recruitment of players such as Rashica and Tzolis, to which we can add the unfortunate Hayden and to a lesser extent the enigma that was Ramsey. The jury is even out on whether Sarge is worth the alleged €10 million we paid Werder Bremen.
While Sara and Gunny Jnr are looking like the real deal, last year’s intake have otherwise failed to set the world on fire.
Your last point is spot on as well – you have described exactly where we are: caught between a rock and a hard place.
Cheers
Not sure the expenditure was avoidable. That time the club, in its own modest way, committed everything it could throw at the conundrum of getting some EPL ready players on board. Of course a huge risk given our rough ceiling on fees (£10m?) and salaries (£2.5m pa?) which in EPL terms are absolutely paltry. The results were predictably crap.
Basically as a peripheral county club, given the new trend of EPL clubs being funded by appalling regimes as State hand washing exercises, we haven’t a prayer…….
As starkly expressed as it is in your final sentence Nick it looks truly awful – the prospect of taking tainted money or accepting a free one-way ticket on the oblivion express.
But while clubs can – and do – influence the rule-makers they can also claim that they don’t make the rules. This influx of money from a certain type of foreign investor is unpalatable to most supporters but it’s a rare fan who will walk away from their club over such an issue.
So many clubs have had beer-related kit sponsors over the years [we had Fosters ourselves, Coors, Carlsberg and Holsten Pils come readily to mind elsewhere] but these are now verboten. Maybe betting companies will follow suit one day. Maybe not.
The whole issue is a moral minefield I’m afraid.
It’s still £50 million wasted and no longer available for recruitment in the event of promotion.
The parachute payments have been used to subsidise the club so we are either going to have an austerity drive or accrue debt sometime down the line.
Trouble here John is that I’m one of those people who doesn’t possess the ability to read a set of accounts and understand what is in front of me so I am immediately placed at a disadvantage compared to many MFW readers and indeed writers such as Gary F and Stew who have experience and understanding of this branch of the dark arts 🙂
From afar it could appear that *subsidising the club* is in this case about to force us into austerity with the debt already accrued. One thing I can grasp is that we surely cannot go on the way we have been for the last 25 years – the game has moved on since then and we haven’t moved with it.
You are partially correct.
The loans are most likely to ensure the club does not experience cash flow problems and theoretically should be paid back after two years.
However, as I’ve demonstrated time after time, Norwich at its leanest overspends at a rate of around 1M to 1.5M quid a month.
Therefore it’s very unlikely we’ll be debt free. I haven’t run the numbers but I suspect we’re closer to spending two years of parachute payments in one year.
That all changes with player sales. But I’m not seeing the players to sell, certainly not in the numbers or values that Webber inherited.
Hi David
Delia and MWJ must be in a tiny majority in the football world as, regardless of their assets as self-styled *poor millionaires* the per centage of their own money these owners actually put into the club make Marcus Evans appear like an avuncular benefactor.
Self funding may be a very noble concept to embrace, but it also costs the ownership next to nothing in contributions.
Which is kind of handy if you happen to be the owners, I guess.
Cheers
Hi John.
That’s a fine speech, particularly with regard to Wagner. I don’t think I’ve come across many nay-sayers, and those who do feel that way focus on him being a “cheap option” and a little too close to Stuart Webber for their liking.
I’ve had a word with myself and decided to pipe down on the ownership issue for now. Once NCFC decide to tell us plebs what is and isn’t going on with the share issue will be the time to resurrect that topic because until then our speculation would appear to be futile.
As I said to Nick [below] I honestly feel that much of this debt was avoidable. A mate said just before the Easter weekend he’d heard some of the debt went towards paying off Smith, Shakespeare and the other members of *Team Deano*.
This particular slice of speculation I would have dismissed at the turn of the decade with a big grin. Right now I can almost – but not entirely – take it seriously!
Cheers
Hi Martin as Don said had the easter results been other way round everyone would been happier performance was decent apart from finninshing . I think Rowe been a miss this season think he would have done well but to make progress we need to do it without hanley McLean Gibson otherwise it will be much the same too many mistakes those 3 .
Hi Kev
Yep the trio you have selected are pretty high on the *accident prone” list but kenny was only recently handed a three-year deal.
I seem to be one of an MFW minority in that I like the guy, but on no account can he really be thought of as much more than an accomplished Championship squad player. PL? You really are having a laugh which says a lot for poor old Scotland.
My memories of Rowe are fleeting really so I don’t feel I can make a judgement.
Cheers
Can’t fault his effort Martin but if he plays play him in attacking role not a defensive midfielder 👍
Too true. So many have suffered from being forced to play out of natural position and with Nunez I’m still struggling to work out what his favoured role would be!
Marty, it‘s a quandary, I want to see City win but not promoted,, not without a complete rebuild. So to see them play well yesterday but only draw didn‘t upset me, it’s unsettling yes. What really p‘s me off are the disjointed half hearted performances which Waggy seems to have overcome. How he rebuilds with little dosh I don‘t know neither do I know how the club‘s finances will work out without promotion, but what I do know is a next season in the Prem would be purgatory. Next season in the Chump could be good especially if we get the chance to beat the Binners a couple of times.
Hi Cutty
Yes it’s a right old conundrum isn’t it – but I wasn’t upset by yesterday either because at least some semblance of effort was there for all to see.
The youngest captain in our history is the guy to form up around imo. With the unfortunate Hanley looking doubtful for the start of next season and Gibson having always been susceptible to injury, it might be time to make a proven centre back a priority signing.
Financially we are in the doo-doo and I would guess that Mark Attanasio is trying to get on board to captain the journey and most definitely not to bail out the boat.
Cheers
I was disappointed that the opportunity to go fifth was lost. If players aren’t motivated by the chance of making the playoffs (and I’m not saying that this is the case) then what will motivate them? They will not improve at another club if that is their attitude. I’m 100% behind Wagner and his methods and we have to accept that he sees things in training and during the matches that none of us do. That is why he is a manager / coach and we are not.
Hi Richard
Yes the stars were aligned for us yesterday but we couldn’t take advantage.
Everybody likes to think of themselves as a barrack room manager sometimes – we all do it I’m afraid – but you’re right when you say that we are not privy to what the coaching team live with every single day and even if we were, would it enable us to make more informed comments? Yes, without a doubt.
Would it turn us into capable football managers? A resounding *No* to that one 🙂
Cheers
Morning Mr P yesterday came as no surprise at all, think I sort of forecast it as a possible outcome in my last comment after Blackburn.
2 steps forward 3 back use to it this season , cannot say I see much better for next season . only we all will be here saying the same things until a massive change happens. And not holding my breath on that.
The facts are clear we need players especially a striker as we are so light on goals. Add to that a creative midfielder, not a Emi as they are as rare as Unicorn poo. They come along once in a blue moon, we had that moon, not one again for a long while.
Still we all live in hope .
Hi Lad
Nero, the boy standing on the burning deck waiting for his father’s orders that never came, even the alleged – and proven unfounded by scientists and naturalists alike – habits of the ostrich come to mind.
It’s hard to see where we can go next tbh but time and tide wait for no man and NCFC are not exempt from this as we have surely gone beyond the point whereby dithering remains a viable option.
But I fear that dither we will, although in all fairness David Wagner must have known the situation when he signed with us so he at least must have some semblance of hope that things might change for the better somewhere along the line.
I’m sure we’d all love to see the names on our teamsheet on the first competitive Saturday of the 2023-24 season right now – where’s Dr Who when you need him?
Cheers
Hi Martin
2 games as different as Chalk and Cheese but it looks like Wagner’s get them into the shape of a team he wants.
The acid team will be on Friday against Middlesbrough get points there and we could still be in with a shout for the Devils League next season, lose and for me it’s should be the start of the rebuild.
Letting those that will not be around have an early exit.
Leicester has never been a team I have liked but my sympathy goes out to their supporters with Smith, Shakespeare and Terry coaching maybe afternoon golf I’ve been told there’s some good courses in the area
Hi Alex
I like the idea of your Acid Team. We could have the Carpets in defence, Ian Brown as the vocal midfield dynamo and Bez playing as striker with his maracas performing the #10 role on alternate matchdays 🙂 ***
Seriously I agree with you about the concept of early exits but the reality is a bit scuppered by the current numbers on the injury roster. Giving Abu Kamara 20 mins is a push in the right direction but Wagner would get slaughtered for overdoing it while we’re still mathematically in with a shout of involvement in the play-offs.
Boro will indeed be tough and I don’t think we have the personnel to drag us over the line which may not turn out to be a bad thing.
Aaron Ramsey, Jonny Howson and our Onel will make up the trio of *played for both* figures on Saturday although it’s long odds against all three of them starting.
*** Home fixtures to be played at the Hacienda, Hingham; all k/o’s 0200hrs UK time.
Cheers
The agony continues.
Now onto Friday night down by the river..
Hi Bernie
Sounds like the storyboard to a Springsteen song to me – but they don’t have rivers quite like the Tees and its hinterland in the USA, of course.
Agony? Yes, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. I can honestly say I’m struggling to think of a season like this in terms of wanting it to be over as it just seems to drag on and on.
Cheers
Not getting promoted mean we can lose the obligation to take Hayden who has always looked lame. His wages of 25k/week can go to a better cause. If we stay down, perhaps sell Aarons, I can see a decent team forming with returning/young players stepping up: Bali Mumba, Tomkinson, Rowe, Springett. Not having Hanley, Gibson, Mclean fit would open opportunities e.g. for Sorensen. The South American guys Sara, Nunez and Hernandez are a plus. I worry about Idah he seems to promise much but always needs a touch too many in front of goal, confidence? Sargent on the other hand needs to get cool and clinical. Kamara looks keen. Byram and Dowell need to stay fit …
Hi Roger
It looks like were always hog-tied by the terms of the Hayden deal. I didn’t realise obligation to purchase if we went up was part of it until autumn was on its way out!
I loosely agree with your ideas regarding next season’s squad and as I said earlier I think Andrew Omobamidele is the key figure to build around. I agree about Idah also.
What we will find ourselves needing the most are a striker and a defensive midfielder. The first is obviously to replace Pukki and the second to do the Tettey/Oliver Skipp job – you know, the role Recruitment has either ignored or signed injury-carrying players to do for two consecutive seasons now!
Cheers
Hi Martin, another great piece! Without being too gloom and doom, stepping outside of the box for a minute the dawn of realisation for every canary fan, that for this club to be successful it needs better ownership!
It’s no good every year all of us commenting on the same problems which don’t seem to be getting solved year in and year out for the last 25 years? The Elephant in the room is money! Norwich have owners with not enough for where this club needs to be and fans want it to be. We talk about player recruitment being poor, the recruitment is poor because we cannot afford a decent scouting network nor employ good scouts. It is the same with coaching staff, are we to believe that in 4 years under three different management teams we still can’t defend set pieces? The club has hit its ceiling and with the cost of wages rising each year and the fact the club never capitalised on expanding Carrow Road when we were in the Premier under Paul Lambert, no extra cash is now available?
I do not believe Mark Attansio is the answer to our prayers. It’s one thing to get Smith and Jones out, but we don’t want to be exactly where we are at now in another 20 years. Norwich City really needs over 100 million in investment to get it to be in the situation where it can survive on a self funding model or fan funding model i prefer to call it which hasn’t differed since Smith and Jones took over!
Hi Greg
Fan funding is a term I too have been using for some time now because as you and others say, that’s exactly what it is.
A friend said the other day that the fundamental difference between her and Delia is that she pays for her *matchday experience* and Delia, erm, well, doesn’t.
I have also been trumpeting for ages the thought that we should not be expecting too much in terms of investment from Mark Attanasio.
The £100 million you quote is probably a viable figure. If you were crazy enough to want to you could buy Jack Grealish for that with change left over for, say, Milot Rashica and Josh Sargent. But the key note here is that you could not persuade one of the Grealish’s of the footballing world to come here – even if we could compete in terms of wages, which we ostensibly can’t.
You’re right too when you say the club has hit the ceiling imo.
Thanks – good post.