You’re stuck with me again I’m afraid. Our Martin’s still poorly and so, for now, the Monday stripes will be shared around.
I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing the ol’ boy all the best for a speedy recovery. MFW is not the same without him – that’s for sure.
But, while I’m no Martin P, and there’s not much scope right now for Monday mirth, it does give me the chance to respond to some of the brilliant comments that followed the piece I wrote yesterday.
***
Jane: “I feel very sorry for Wagner, being used as a pawn in a desperate game played in the ivory tower … We’re back to the Gunn and Grant years in terms of squad ability.”
Hard to contest on both counts. For all of Wagner’s all-too-obvious failings and inflexibility, he appears to have been handed a squad that just doesn’t deliver what it was supposed to.
In his six-and-a-bit seasons, Webber has failed to add physicality, muscle, and pace to this squad despite it being routinely one of the areas from which we suffer. Wagner-ball absolutely cries out for all of those things, yet despite the arrival of Shane Duffy and Ashley Barnes – who we initially believed to have gone some way to solving the problem – we still get outmuscled and out-run.
And the super-fitness, also a Wagner necessity, is nowhere to be seen with players being routinely out on their feet after the hour mark.
As for the Gunn-Grant years, I prefer to think of them as the Roeder-Grant years, but the point still stands. Over the last month, the dearth of overall quality has indeed a similar feel.
Gary F: “Farke was the scapegoat for the poor recruitment in the summer of 2021 … NCFC are still paying the price for these decisions nearly two years on.”
As above, impossible to contest. Farke was armed with a pop gun in 2019-20 but was not much better off in 2021-22 – maybe at a stretch a plastic toy rifle. What he wasn’t delivered was a squad that was capable of even competing for 17th place in the Premier League.
For that, I don’t just blame Webber, but also the owners who effectively demanded another Webber-Farke miracle. Their desire to retain ownership of the club has come at the expense of progress – which is, of course, their prerogative but Dean Smith demonstrated perfectly that the squad Daniel had been handed was wholly unfit for purpose.
Cyprus Canary: “This debacle of late was made probably by the poor decisions made in the past year and a half – primarily keeping a failed football director in place for too long. Even now we can’t get shot of him.”
The decision by the owners – presumably contractual – to allow someone who is clearly desperate to leave the club to continue making the big decisions when, on the playing side, he has failed to deliver, looks increasingly astounding.
We find ourselves in this incredulous situation of having a bloke who doesn’t want to be here, and who most of the fans don’t want here, overseeing a rebuild that hasn’t worked. I can’t think of another club (or business) in the country where such an arrangement would be deemed acceptable.
Jon B: “Our substitutes have little presence, whether that be physical, ability, or other.”
And…
Greg: “My concerns with the manager are that he seems to be unable to identify problems on the pitch.”
As I alluded to in yesterday’s piece, Wagner appears to favour substitutions by numbers – most of them apparently not based on the state of the game and how he wishes to impact it, but by a formula for minutes-per-player and who needs to be rested.
Very rarely does a Wagner substitution have a positive impact on a match – something that for him appears to be an Achilles heel. So too, his ability to make in-game tactical changes to neutralise threats caused by our opponents of the day. Saturday was a perfect example – he had no answer to Farke reverting to a 3-5-2.
Canarylad: “After years of under-investment, and seasons of poor recruitment, we have reached where we are… waiting for the January window to get a (cash) injection from the sales of Sara and Rowe.”
I was scolded for suggesting this last week, but given the club’s dire financial state, this has to be considered a very real possibility.
Financial black holes when you’re Norwich City either tend to get addressed by Premier League cash injections or player sales. And with there being, as things stand, little likelihood of a Premier League return anytime soon, I believe we should make the most of watching Messrs Sara and Rowe while we still can.
It goes without saying that I hope I’m wrong.
Riverender: “Only at Norwich could players like Idah and Springett be considered worth a place. I hope a positive change is made before the season has gone but everything is so stale now. Even a takeover takes forever and the previous incumbents are still there.”
I have tended to be more patient than some with Adam Idah – who I actually thought put in a decent shift on Saturday – but he clearly offers significantly less threat in front of goal than either Sargent or Barnes. The problem is, the gig is his for the foreseeable with Hwang Ui-jo (I’m sorry to say) currently looking like little more than a competition winner.
I refuse to believe the Korean is as poor as he appears (no one gets 60 international caps by being a poor player) but right now he and Idah are a million miles away from being the answer.
As for young Springett, I just think he looks a long way off being ready to contribute regularly to the first XI, yet he clearly remains high in the estimations of Wagner. Whether that’s because Wagner sees in training what he is capable of yet struggles to replicate it on a matchday, or whether it is a Wagner blind spot, I have no idea but to bring him on on Saturday ahead of a fit-at-last Borja Sainz seemed bizarre.
Tonyb: “There should have been a new SD in place straight after last season – a new start for a new season.”
Would indeed have made logical sense … but logic and common sense haven’t figured large in the decision-making at the club for some time now (in my opinion).
JohnF: “As Webber said he wouldn’t leave Delia in the lurch, it’ll be interesting to see all the activity between now and the end of November as he clears the £60 million deficit he’s created and moves out the deadwood he’s brought into the club.”
I dare not comment.
Chris: “We are regularly treated to the sight of opposing attackers tearing unchecked toward our goal with Gert and Daisy at the back frantically backpedalling like the Italian army at El Alamein.”
😀
Chris: “I’m sure Wagner is a decent guy and I’m also sure he knows it’s not going to work here for him. Like the man in the opposite dugout (on Saturday), he is set to be the next victim of those owning and running the club.”
As mentioned earlier in the piece, it appears Wagner has been handed a dud hand and his limitations as a coach have been exposed by the paucity of the squad he has at his disposal.
I do wonder if a coach in the young-and-hungry bracket would get more of a tune out of this group than Wagner but against the backdrop of it being not good enough to compete against the division’s elite teams.
What we’re seeing now is, for me, the end result of year-on-year of under-investment in the playing squad caused by those at the very top pursuing a self-funding ideology based on their believing that no one, other than themselves, is suitably qualified to run our club.
Peter P: “To get promoted twice and not invest in the team guarantees relegation sooner rather than later. Delia played safe, cleared debts, and settled for the mediocre.”
Agreed. As above.
Andrew H: “It’s just become a bit depressing and embarrassing and it really doesn’t help when Wagner comes out saying he thought the performance was good.”
It was indeed a bizarre comment. Deep down he must know that it takes more than some good moments in a game to constitute a good performance. I’d argue that any performance that results in a two-goal lead being thrown away isn’t a good one.
But we’ve seen this before and not very long ago. Dean Smith would routinely describe a game in his post-match interviews that was unlike anything we’d just witnessed. I fear Wagner is now heading down a similar path, and usually, the reason for those types of comments is self-preservation.
Wagner is clearly a clever and decent man, and I’m sure, deep down, he sees that without a dramatic turnaround – one I suspect this group of players is incapable of producing – the writing is on the wall for him.
***
Apologies to those whose comments I’ve not included but thanks to each and every one of you for taking the time to write them. Without the follow-up comments, MFW is nothing.
As it’s Monday, we’ll conclude with some music – a jaunty little number from the pipes of Michael Stipe, which, while a little overly dramatic, describes perfectly my mood last Saturday evening:
Good Monday morning read, good to see the comments of us readers. we all seem to be singing from the same page. But this is NCFC and nothing will happen for a long time yet. Don’t forget The ruddy cook likes this league more than the prem.
Thanks again Mr G. personally never see my comments that worthwhile
In argument I would say that Gary has selected a lot of comments which share his more critical viewpoint. I don’t disagree with the general sentiment but I think it is over critical in places.
Certainly don’t think this is the worst team we have had in Terms of individual talent, but collectively and coaching wise I think we are misaligned.
I mean look at the squad, a resurgent Scotland’s first choice keeper, in defence an Irish international, a Greek international and once he is back another Scottish international.
In midfield another Scottish international, one of the most creative midfielders in the league. Plus a player with champions league experience
In attack Rowe is one of the most promising forwards in the league, when he gets back Sargent who any other team in the championship would snap our hand off for
So there is quality there.
I’m less sure about the dugout….
Also did anyone notice how much earlier Farke made changes, seems he learnt from his Norwich time
That’s fair comment, BG. I should have searched harder for more sympathetic views but, to be honest, there weren’t many.
I tried to pick those that refelected the general consensus … but point taken. Fair.
The current team is shocking when you consider that we’ve had two recent seasons in the Premiership and parachute payments. These are assets most teams in this league could only dream about.
It will be a miracle if we finish the season with Rowe and Sara still in yellow and green. We are in limbo. How many of our players would get into another top six team in the Championship? Yes, we have Sarge to come back – which is great – but Webber and his team should’ve planned for able replacements should he be injured. Who do we have? Most of the goals in recent games have come from other players, not a dedicated striker.
Webber decided to focus this year on ‘experience’ which translated means cheap. He’s on the way out (hurray!!) and couldn’t give a damn about it anymore.
To get anywhere you need to focus ahead, plan, make contingencies, all of which Webber eluded to doing/wanting at the beginning of his tenure, Thankfully we have a new guy starting at the end of November, hopefully that’s not to late to start at the beginning again.
Jane; to crystallise it even more, look at the 1p5wich squad…..and then compare them with our shower……and furthermore compare the amount which they have spent over the past 5 seasons with the outlay at Delia’s social club (sorry, NCFC).
There really is no comparison; self-funding, pi** poor recruitment, poor management and even worse coaching has left us so far behind that I would not be at all surprised to have a two league difference between us and them next season.
O T B C
Some excellent writing and comments on here over the last few days.
If we keep hold of Sara and Rowe until the end of the season (a big if) then we’ll enough wins to compete for the top half. My worry is the thought of losing them both next summer and being left with an aging squad with very little quality.
Enough has been written about Idah already but I still think there just a player in Hwang. He made some good runs on Saturday but was let down by Forshaw in getting the ball quickly to him.
We’ve been down this road so many times with a manager who doesn’t have either the ability, the manpower or both, to turn things around. He has, almost certainly, entered the last days of his tenure and a new face might make the atmosphere in the crowd less toxic. However, without massive readjustments throughout the club, we’ll be in a perpetual spiral of replacing managers and sub standard players.
Spot on, Don (which rhymes!).
Farke should have stayed. Who cares that we got relegated? we were a good championship side without a pot to piss in. Farke could have made this team his own. He loved this club. Now look at us. No manager is going to come to Norwich and perform miracles. Ipswich Town, it pains me to say, will slaughter us. They have a great set up, and manager. Their players work as a team and work hard. Our players are overpaid and overrated. They believe they can win on past merits. It is shocking. Case in point, Look at Max Aron’s contribution to Bournemouth. Waste of money. Should have gone to Leeds. Lolol.
It never rains , but it pours. Just when you need a boost the FA announce Simon Hooper as the ref for our game against Middlesboro.
Whoop de doop.
Oh, deep joy! I’m not sure if he’s the worst referee in PGMOL, but he’s in the top two with Mr “I-was-watching-the-cricket. Did-I-miss-something?” England. Thanks FA, the weekend was bad enough, you certainly know how to rub it in.
Could City actually afford to turn down any rock-bottom, testing-the-water January offers for Sara and/or Rowe? If season-ticket prices are again released on February 1 that comes just 47 days after visiting Portman Road. If that game goes badly it’s a fair bet that some season-ticket holders decide enough is enough. If City actually fail to sell out of season tickets for a campaign with no parachute payments they’ll have to borrow more from the Bank of Attanasio or else the slow decline to League One could start all over again…
Good summary Gary and I don’t think you’ve been too critical.
I think it sums up Delia abilities when she allowed Farke to go and Webber remain.
We’re now heavily in debt with few assets. Indeed I agree with you that we now have one of our weakest teams since the days of Gunn.
Wagner appears to be a decent, intelligent guy and this maybe his handicap as I wonder if it diminishes his authority with the players.
I thought signing Duffy short term was a good idea but three years was too long. It now appears far too long as he seems to be getting slower by the week.
Delia and the Webbers need to depart as quickly as possible but I doubt it will happen and I’m not sure that Attanasio is the answer but at least he would be a change and a man with proven business acumen.
If it’s the same old same old next year I can’t see me renewing the ST as games like Saturdays just wind me up and at my age I can do without it.
Doubtless Delia would tell me to love everybody but the club means too much to me.
Hope you are back soon Martin.
I was happy, if not secure, at half-time but if that goal had been allowed and Gunn hadn’t been injured there might be a better atmosphere at the moment.
I thought Idah did ok but I’m sure Kenny used to play as a striker before joining us, we’ve got to look at the DM situation with Forshaw and Sorensen available.
Best wishes to Martin and let’s hope the team can do something to cheer him up.
I was coaching my boy’s game for the first half so missed anything positive. When I saw we were 2-0 up I almost skipped watching the 2nd half because I knew nothing good could come of it. Guess I’m a sucker for punishment.
Webber is steering the HMS Norwich City with an aggressive hand on the wheel. Changing direction from Germans, to the Americas, to older players, hoping each change of the rudder will solve his problems.
I’m worried he’s run us aground.
No need to comment really – everything I said 2 yrs ago rings true today.
I don’t understand why SW has got to take so long to show Ben Knapper the ropes – the last thing we want is another version of him ! You can imagine it.
Please let him be his own man, feel his own way into the job .
With regard to not being able/wanting to oust Webber. In most Industrie/businesses he’d have been marched to clear his desk of personal belongings before being further marched off site. But no, we allow him to lead another transfer window and cloud the judgement of his successor during a handover.
Didn’t REM have a song called ‘Down, Down, Down’? If Rowe is now our best player (?) what does that say about our recruitment over the last four years?
I think we are continuing to pay for awful recruitment in 2nd PL attempt. Poor Farke had no chance. But bringing in Smith made everything worse. Not sure what Webber was thinking.
But it doesn’t help having owners who can’t let go (though I feel guilty saying).
Its pretty clear that webber cant cut the mustard . He has failed in so many areas From the Recruitment of Managers to Players . Farke took the fall for Webbers inability to lead and build, yet he is still involved with this club . SHOCKING
The one this we dont want is his involvement in Knappers induction into the club . He is leaving this club in a mess just like he did Huddersfield