Does anyone remember those heady, pre-covid days of 2018-19 when, almost from nowhere, our footballing world exploded into life in a frenzy of tiki-taka, fluid movement, goals, and flags?
Amazing wasn’t it?
Between them, Stuart Webber, Kieran Scott, and Daniel Farke pulled together a squad of youngsters and misfits who ended up taking the Championship by storm.
It was quite literally beautiful.
And we, the fans, were different then too. Then unscarred by seasons of top-tier brutality and heartache, we couldn’t wait to gulp in the refined air of the Premier League and see if Farkeball’s natural home was the elite level.
As it transpired, it wasn’t. But we didn’t know that in 2018-19. Even the old and grizzly, like me, were wide-eyed and bursting full of hope and dreams.
And not only was the football itself beautiful. So too the attitude of Farke’s squad who were either driven by the fearlessness and exuberance of youth or a desire to prove wrong a succession of other managers and clubs.
It was a combination that produced electricity. At times it was quite brilliant.
The synchronicity and timing of the passes. The patience and calmness. The thrust. It was intoxicating and not since the late 80s/early 90s had we had it so good.
There was, of course, the added bonus of Ipswich heading in an altogether different direction. That shouldn’t have mattered but it did. It was the cherry on top.
And to top it all, we were told that style of football was to be embedded in the culture of our re-born club. Even when things would either plateau or take a downturn, we were promised that that particular brand of play was there to stay and would survive any changes of head coach.
That was the new Norwich City. That was who we were.
Admittedly, even Daniel Farke himself had abandoned Farkeball by the time he was gently levered out of the door on that surreal afternoon in west London, but I was daft enough to believe that because it was to be the new Norwich way, it would be quickly resurrected upon any sojourns back to the Championship.
But no. Not judging by what we saw last night, which was as far removed from what we were promised as is humanly possible.
There was nothing remotely enjoyable about it. Or beautiful. It was football at its most unsophisticated and brutal.
There were brief flashes of skill and the odd nice move, and, as ever, I’m guilty of airbrushing from history the days under our last German manager when the football struggled to get beyond the bar marked ugly, but the differences in approach remain very stark.
MFW columnist Steve Cook summed it up perfectly in a tweet:
As ridiculous as it seems, last night’s Shepherd’s Bush death march still didn’t signal the end of our chances of making it into the top six and the playoffs. At least mathematically.
But you’d have to be the happiest clapper the world has ever seen to believe this group is good enough to grasp even one of the many opportunities that keep coming their way. And let’s not forget, we’re battling six other teams for one of the two remaining places, all of whom are in finer fettle than us.
Football is notoriously weird. But that weird?
Of course, all eyes at Colney will remain on the short-term goal until a place in the top six is a mathematical impossibility but if ever there was a club in need of a complete reset.
We know that there are individuals within the club who resent the supporters. Well, the feeling is mutual. The goodwill that flowed freely in both directions in 2018-19 is no more and has been replaced by bitterness, recrimination, and hostility.
The odd olive branch and the occasional display of harmony between players and supporters after the occasional win are no substitute for a deep mutual understanding and respect.
While this group of players may not have lacked effort last night, and in general to be fair, there’s also no suggestion – with one obvious exception – they are proud to wear the shirt.
Forgive me for the continued 2018-19 love-in, but that group’s pride in pulling on the yellow and green was clear. They got us. We got them.
Not so anymore.
It’s blatantly obvious that an industrial-scale clear-out is desperately needed. Less so how you go about it when you’re brassic after having already tied up the two years’ worth of parachute payments due after relegation last season.
And complicated further still by the head of the sporting operation – he who’s charged with said clear-out – appearing to have lost his 2018-19 mojo.
Therefore the refresh needs to stretch way beyond the playing staff. In an ideal world, it will stretch to the very top of the club’s hierarchy, but I have my doubts about the willingness for this to happen.
The two married couples who run our football club without challenge appear very keen to keep it that way.
Either way (and you can blame my first dose of good old Covid for the overly negative slant of this piece), what we witnessed last night can’t be allowed to become our norm. That was horrible. A point but still horrible.
And, yes, the fact that those from the other end of the A140 appear destined to join us next season does make it that little bit more painful.
Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Wagner said “we wanted to win this ” where in the 95mins did our players show that “” it was another 4/10 performance so casual and most seemed not bothered that we had a great chance yet again to be in top six one win in 8 only wanted one more win to be top six but we seem to be rudderless again and if wagner can’t motivate for a game like this perhaps he should go in summer to think pukki hadn’t been here we would be closer to qpr than we would like expect lacklustre again sat why should I expect different been 24months of mainly dross .
If ever a club was going to hell in a handcart this is it. What an absolute shambles. Delia and Michael please go. Mark Attanasio if you are taking over the club it needs sorting out from the top down. So first job is a new chief executive, our current one and her husband need to go. Then and only then will you have any chance of a meaningful rebuild. Of reconnecting the supporters, local press, players and football management team.
Mark , l hope someone in your group ismonitoring the mood music from the supporters. Finally if you aren’t going to takeover the club let us know sooner rather than later because we cannot put up with much more of this
Go on Delfie, lad. You tell ’em.
Spot on.
Hi Andy
Gary used the word love-in so I’m going to join this particular one on the ground floor.
Terrific post that really says it all.
Nice one 🙂
If you look at a wealth list of championship owners you will see why we are where we are.
Not only is Delia near the bottom but as Zoe Webber apparently stated in the Pink Un Delia will not be investing in the club. Even if she was prepared to invest it would have little consequence as she is a relatively poor millionaire in a league of billionaires.
The only rational conclusion to be drawn, if our club is to survive in the championship next year, is for a change of owner to one who can meet the financial demands of championship football. As the FD has admitted at the AGM there are interested parties out there.
Forget about blaming Wagner or Webber the problem is Delia and if she stubbornly clings on it’s time to verbally show our disapproval before we’re stuck in the lower leagues.
On a personal level as someone who buys two season tickets in the South Stand I’m sick and tired of subsidising a “poor millionaires” social club.
Good points, well made, John.
No,Webber is to blame also with his poor recruitment and wasting money,he wouldn’t know a decent footballer if one bit him on the a#se!!!
I couldn’t argue with that but it was Delia who appointed him and gives him free rein to buy all these duds!
2 Championship titles would argue otherwise.
I don’t disagree that he’s wasted a lot but he deserves credit where it’s due too.
I’d credit him with Farke but put the titles down to the talent Kieran Scott provided.
How much of an input did he have in those titles though?Wasn’t Kieran Scott still here then?
Since it now appears Buendia was NOT one of his, just who has he brought to our club who has improved it? The early ones were the work of Scott and company of course.
Skipp was the one loan (out of many) which worked as he wasn’t injured when he arrived…..and I admit that Sara may (may!!) come good.
But of course, we DO have a soccerbot, and we’ll have a swimming pool later this year.
O T B C
Lot of blame to go around such is the scale of underperformance on and off the pitch in the last 2 seasons
Gary, post the early 90s, I reckon Lambo in 2009-12 was the best period we’ve had. Being the underdog, getting great results across 3 leagues, with mainly League one & Chump players, last minute and Fergie-time points gained that was a fantastic era
Very good point, Dan. Hard to argue with that to be fair.
I’m beginning to think that Mr Attanasio is having second thoughts about investing any more in this club, having witnessed over the past few months just how poor the whole setup is. Rotten from top to toe.
My conclusion after watching last night’s headless chickens shambles (and I’ve seen better games played at Eaton Park) was either
1. Wagner just isn’t getting through to this lot
or
2. They’re too thick (or not interested) to put into practice what he’s teaching them.
Either way, there’s no hope – especially, as you say, when 2 married couples are ‘running’ the show……and the coffers are empty, thanks to them.
Can anyone imagine the CEO going to the Stowmarket duo and saying ‘I think you need to get rid of that Webber bloke?’ ….
But Gary, it seems that 20,000 plus supporters (club’s numbers not mine), are quite happy and have renewed. I no longer go, but am of course, still a fan and it hurts….boy it hurts!!
O T B C
Hi Gary
Someone said no news is good news, personally I prefer to know what’s around the corner.
As I said I James article earlier I’m not sure how much the odd city share costs on the open market but if we take the last share issue abd decide that into covering the debt the majority shareholders have accrued that means £340 each .
Not knowing how many shares are in circulation but times that number by £340 then that would give you the value of the club
My maths as my son tells me is very rudimentary but then I’m not I heavy debt.
Last night was a microcosm of our season in 95mins a good start, poor middle and a energetic last 15mins.
What ever happens after this season ends changes are needed from the board down to the players but does anyone have the heart and belief to do it again I’m not sure.
Smith and Jones, Mr and Mrs Webber plus Tim Smith and Wife all need to leave joined by the FD who has little if any respect for the supporters.
But like many I can’t see any of the above people admitting they have got things wrong big time
Interesting times, but if you’ve supported NCFC for a few decades then you’ll have seen those before and I for one struggle with the young un’s cries of this being the most critical point in our history!! Delia has made it clear that she is going to give her shares to her Nephew and so will not relinquish control to the Americans, so anyone expecting a change in ownership or an injection of $$$ will be disappointed. Similarly the Webbers are going nowhere unless they get a better offer elsewhere which seems unlikely given their track record. So whilst we can all gnash our teeth (quite rightly too), the status quo will continue “again, again, again, deeper and down” (did you see what I did there!). Sorry for the negative reality check but unless we get our home fan base to generate the sort of toxic atmosphere that saw of the other Smith, then we have to start thinking about the more likely scenarios for the summer. Firstly we have to raise some cash if we want to adjust the squad and unfortunately we can only sell players that other people actually want, rather than the dross we’d like too! So I guess Aarons (at last), Sara (unfortunately), Rashica (who?) and big Andy (scandalous but hey ho) will have to be sold to fund the purchase of a new striker, CDM (oh my god please) and Centre half. Hopefully the recruitment team have the capacity to learn from past mistakes 🤣 and bring in players with a backbone and some experience of high intensity Wagner-ball. Add that to the young talent we have in Rowe, Springett, Tzolis, Gibbs, Mumba, Tompkinson, Kamara, Halls etc. and give Wagner the summer to drill them in his methods and I would get behind that for another season. Don’t get me wrong, I dislike the current set up and ownership model as much as everyone else, but ranting about changes at the top without the means or the will to change it will just drive us all mad. It’s not “Little Norwich “ thinking, it’s just reality and as fans we have little real choice but to make our feelings known as loudly and frequently as we can whilst also keeping a dose of reality handy.
Some proper comms from the club wouldn’t go amiss. Like what’s happening to the newly allocated shares and can we look forward to a change of ownership and some fresh impotus. All we get from the club hierarchy is a family wall of silence !
After Farke’s first season many wanted him out. I’m not in favour of completely changing the side because what replaces it is likely to be worse.We need some bargain buys and hopefully more boys from Brazil. We don’t want another Jez Moxey or some the awful imports under the Roeder and Gunn years.
After Dean Smith’s dismissal this season was always going to be a challenge.
I genuinely believe that the players are still struggling with his level of coaching. It’s hard to get out of that mindset and fitness level regardless of who comes in in.
Let’s not forget Farke’s first full season was very much like what we’re experiencing now. Yes 18/19 was fantastic but in 17/18 we finished in 14th below Ipswich. That was a very poor season.
With a proper per-season and his own players, Wagner will have this team running through brick walls. Of that, I have no doubt.
Sure the setup at the top level of the club continues to be an issue, but I don’t think it has as big an impact as people like to think. Many fans have wanted Delia gone for well over a decade, yet we’ve had 5 promotions during that time.
Great Piece Gary.
That first Farke side that won the Championship played out of this world football as you say, the next winning Championship was perhaps more functional, in truth hardly any of us saw them live, but still a record breaking team.
But in those two championship winning seasons under Daniel Farke we lost a total of 13 games. Just this season that stands at 15.
That shows that the recruitment for 21/22 was not even good enough for the Championship let alone the EPL.
It also shows that Daniel Farke was unfairly sacked. As many of us thought at the time, that our problems went beyond the then Head Coach have been proven right.
Tin hat time….it wasn’t all Dean Smith’s fault either.
It is okay to say lets get rid of A, B, C, and E but who will that leave us with ? Okay anyone who wants away, let them go. Max will want to go I imagine and will do with out gratitude and best wishes.
But Onel, Kenny, Grant, Liam, Kieran, Angus, Sara, Sarge and perhaps one or two more I would keep, Ben Gibson has done a bit better lately and Nacho Nunez may improve next season now he has hopefully acclimatised to English football.
You are spot on Gary this club with the £66 loan against the parachute payments and awful long term recruitment efforts means we could well get out of the Championship next season.
All the way to League One.
For the love of God, someone stick a fork in delia Smith
She’s done.
It was inevitable we’d find ourselves in this situation. Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened earlier.
Being a yo-yo club (aka top 26 finish) is not a strategy. It ignores the simple truth, yo-yos don’t bounce forever without additional input.
Crap followed by more crap. how else I can explain, I need some help to do so. My take on the matter I have shared and shared for weeks on end. All except this remaining piece.
I only pose this as a question, have some players decided enough is enough. No contract forth coming, their current ones ending in a few weeks time. Do they know their time is up at Carrow Rd ? It looks to me some of them are not bloody bothered and do not want be here as witnessed by the displays, just pay me, my money a wave me good bye.
I have not seen this suggestion before (forgive me if I have missed one) we have covered just about every other reason under the sun.
. This players are professionals they should be able to do at the least the basics without really thinking too hard.. They are good enough to do those simple things but they are seemingly incapable or just cannot be arsed ? We have seen as a collective (in a team) they are not good enough.
Loss of form- really all 20 odd of them at the same time ? Loss of confidence more likely but by those early games under Wagner, and a different style of coaching and tactics, should have built that commodity in themselves.
Could they simply know they will be off, with a thought of why the hell should I bother.
Just a question not saying it is or it isn’t the case.
One thing I am more sure of is that the change that is desperately needed Will not happen. While our American cousins have enough money, are they prepared to shell mega bucks ? There is the debt and kitty for players is this just too great ? We will see.
Thanks Gary.
Much outpouring of grief above sprinkled with reference to the good times.
I know it’s going over old ground, but boy, if our finances are as tight as has been suggested right now, then talk about blowing your twice parachute payments and incoming transfer funds on failed inward transfers, salaries,bonuses, contract pay offs, Colney swimming pool and so on, criminal really.
Delia did invest in this club ,back in the day , but her original investment has been returned with interest.
An excellent piece again Gary, what a sorry mess. We all know where the real problem lies, that it remains so after 26 years is startling but at the same time understanding when we have 20 odd thousand rushing to renew their season tickets each year, most of which are “Happy clappers” and that I think is where the underlying problem is, the apathetic and passive supporters, those too frightened of change just plays into the cooks hand like dough, It’s time to stand up folks while it’s too late for this season remember next season could be worse.
I don’t see it quite like that.
The happy clappers often misinterpret the “rush” to renew season tickets as a tacit approval of the whole regime. For one, the tickets are automatically renewed, hence the apparent .
Of course, after years of kicking the can down thw Road regarding ground expansion seats are at a premium. There is always the prospect of losing your place forever.
Support for norwich city doesn’t necessarily come with approval for delia Smith and her crew. Don’t conflate the two, it simply isn’t the case.
The removal of Smith and Co this summer would be the best news for the future of the club.
I understand completely where you’re coming from Chris, my point is this, for too long the supporters have been passive which has played into the cooks hands, they need to voice their disapproval in any way possible including ” Chase like demo’s” because this club is falling apart, it’s no good pinning hopes on Attanasio because that’s not going to happen I fear.
I bet up and down the country on various forums fans are all saying similar things,about their clubs, indulging in exaggeration, catastrophic this is not. Pity though, because it halts genuine criticism.
Mike, none of us believe our travails are different to those of fans of other teams. But, equally, it would be very odd if, on a Norwich City website, we’d not examine the reasons why a supposed squad of quality players have so underperformed and looked at possible underlying causes. If you’re looking for happy clapping, then, I agree, MFW is probably not the place for you right now.
I don’t look at it much now, but a friend sends me certain articles. It’s a real pity that seemingly serious commentators have to resort to references like happy clapping, little old Norwich, which are merely tired insults, and infer that anyone with a different view to them are mere sheep. I’m a Londoner, from London, I don’t have any inbuilt deference to regimes and hierarchy at our club.