It’s hard to decide who put on the braver face – Government ministers in the wake of the recent by-elections or David Wagner following yet another home defeat. Either way, the shared sentiment and insistence that “everything is fine”, appeared equally unconvincing and borderline delusional.
There is a temptation to draw further parallels between events at Westminster and Carrow Road.
The repeated changes in leadership that have failed to bring an upturn in fortunes. The growing feeling that those who have run the show for many years are out of ideas and lack direction. The sense that we’re simply drifting towards what seems like an inevitable handover of power.
Whether a change in ownership (or government) leads to better times, remains to be seen. But there is an increasing appetite for it and we’re all just killing time until it finally happens.
Some are hopeful that Ben Knapper’s arrival will provide the catalyst.
I fear they may be disappointed.
Because, at face value, this is not an appointment designed to change direction or address shortcomings. The club chose not to opt for an experienced Sporting Director with a proven track record but one who is currently being trained by his outgoing predecessor.
It screams continuity.
Evolution rather than Webberlution.
Stuart Webber is leaving on his own terms and, one suspects, against the wishes of all those on the Executive Board. Who among them would have sought, or advocated, a change of approach?
The majority shareholders, who had previously convinced him to stay, on the basis that 90% was good enough for them? His wife, whose remit and influence have grown significantly over the last few years, as one half of City’s new ‘power-couple’?
Like it or not, Webber delivered what the owners wanted him to and probably far exceeded their expectations. So the ‘Snakepit divorcees’ who believe that his departure signals victory in their war of words may find out that the real cause of their frustrations lay elsewhere.
He arrived at a club in a financial hole with owners who lacked the wealth or inclination to spend their way out of it. He overhauled a squad of overpaid and underperforming players into one that claimed two Championship titles. He oversaw the transformation of the training ground and supporting infrastructure – all achieved under the tight constraints of a self-funding model, exacerbated by the significant financial impacts of COVID-19.
Critics will point to the current league position and conclude that he leaves the club in much the same state as when he arrived.
It is a compelling argument when looking at a squad comprised of average and ageing Championship players, a handful of promising youngsters and Gabriel Sara taking the James Maddison mantle as the jewel in the crown.
But how can you build something, beyond fleeting success, when the premise of our self-funding model is to take repeated punts in the transfer market and bring through youth players in the hope that one or two will develop into the sellable assets needed to balance the books and negate the need for owner investment?
The short answer is you can’t.
The aim of the model is simply to survive and play the infinite game.
It requires the crowd to accept abject performances and home defeats on the basis we’re actually winning because we’ll still be around to do it again next week.
While it’s cathartic to chant, “We want [insert current Head Coach / Sporting Director’s name] out” from the stands, the fundamental problem is the model and you can’t blame Stuart Webber for that.
Equally, it would be disingenuous to completely ignore the progress made off the pitch.
It’s easy to fire cheap shots at vegetable patches and SoccerBots when results are poor. I’ll freely admit to doing it myself for cheap likes on social media.
However, the club has built a training centre that is the envy of many Premier League clubs and while those facilities are clearly not enough to turn average and ageing Championship players into world-beaters, they do help convince the likes of Gabriel Sara to leave his homeland and commit his immediate future to a club he hadn’t even heard of before the call from his agent.
It is a vital component of the model and the transformation is incredible. It deserves respect.
Perhaps, more importantly, the infrastructure that Webber has delivered was surely instrumental in attracting potential investors and creating the impression that Norwich City is a club with sound footings, rather than one that is instantly set to drain your bank accounts.
It’s hard to imagine that the Attanasios would have retained any interest had they been greeted in the portacabins that previously graced Colney.
While the process is excruciatingly slow, the indications are that the transition to new ownership is underway and perhaps, ultimately, that will prove to be Webber’s legacy.
We don’t know in what direction they will take the club but it remains the dimmest of lights in a very dark tunnel.
Until we find out the answer, we remain passengers on H.M.S. Limbo, lying dead in the water without paddles or a rudder.
On the Ball, City!
Right to emphasise the few positives that are around at the moment but to my mind the most important is that the Club continues to do the right things in the community. In this regard the recent mental health video that went viral says as much about the club as our current playing record. Just the views of a long suffering supporter.
You can give Webber all the credit you like, but in any other industry after 2 years of effectively getting the hump with his customer base, the local sports media (it’s an entertainment business after all) and deciding he’d rather be a mountaineer rather than a sporting director you’d think he’d be out on his ear after performing so badly.
With him and his missus running the show, reports that it’s a dictatorship behind the scenes are clearly close to the truth. Delia and Michael (bless them) have been blinded by him and that’s why a board should be way more aggressive in demanding better performance.
Football is based on chucking resources at a squad – we can kid ourselves about the work that got the 18′ – 19′ side promoted, but it was effectively a massive fluke. Webber’s success is built on that. What we’ve seen in more difficult times is a lack of nouse from the board trying not to go bust hoping we’ll all believe we can fluke it again and not notice their passive ineptitude.
I hope Attanasio hits the panic button before the 3 years of coma is complete, because the way things are going on the field we could be in a much deeper hole by then.
Nobody should think we aren’t heading for a relegation scrap – even with a fit Barnes and Sargent, this manager has been sussed by the opposition – and Ben Knapper has got a massive shock coming when he opens his chequebook in January.
It’s flabbergasting it’s been allowed to get this far.
I still would have preferred Webber to have gone not Farke. How many managers win two Championships in four years? Webber’s attempts at Premiership recruitment were shocking. What good came out of it? Instead we are now far worse off than in 2017.
We really should remember the positives when Stuart Webber leaves. There have been many. He did ride the crest of a wave for a while, and made some great decisions. Yes there were the Marley Watkins and James Husbands, Ben Marshalls etc but there were so many hits. His straight talking was also a breath of fresh air too. Colney, like you say, is transformed because of him. Tremendous successes.
Sadly, decision wise, having overachieved twice, I’ll always regret we went for the young unproven quantity (Tzolis, Rashica, Sargent etc) and not just a few more experienced nouse heads that summer. Fewer players, higher standard etc. Whether his hand was forced to sign for potential profit I don’t know, but it was a disaster.
Unfortunately the straight-talking lost its appeal with unwise comments about divorcees and womens football etc, like an edgy comedian losing their audience so going edgier. It didn’t work. Likewise his honesty evaded him when he ‘faced’ the media end of last season and didn’t mention his notice was being served. Was that F U to us or the local rag? Or both?
But overall, for me, many people in our past have succeeded far less, and left much more damage. On balance, a well done and thank you, no need for the stocks, or the statue.
* When mentioning damage being left I probably should have mentioned ‘future loans’ or whatever the previously 60 mill sized hole is now. (Half that? does anyone know?). It’s not a great attachment to any legacy.
Certainly counters the work done at the training ground, which in the end comes from the same pot of money.
One problem you missed is that HMS Limbo has sprung a leak and is settling slowly.
There’s not a word of your piece I can disagree with. However, rationality and patience goes out of the window when the first team’s performances are as absolutely abysmal as we saw on Tuesday night.
Looking at the squad we badly need defenders. LB, both CBs, DMF. McLean needs to be replaced by Sorensen who needs to stay beyond 2024 when his current contract expires. Sorry a good heart Kenny but not a midfield enforcer. Hope we can avoid relegation but current defensive performance makes it look very possible. Next season hopefully with Warner and Tomkinson coming through we can manage to avoid having to pick Duffy Hanley or Gibson (whose contract should not be extended after 2024). The other contract I would mention with a sad shake of the head is Idah’s, only recently extended and clearly not justified. I cannot see it ever will he is not a real baller unlike Rowe, Sargent and Barnes. He is lucky his tap in for 3-1 up against Leeds (skied over the bar from about 3 yards out) didn’t make the highlights reel. He must leave so that Abu Kamara can progress after a successful season on loan. And don’t start me on Giannoulis, a full back who doesn’t know how to defend!
Not once did I see you mentioning the debt we have. So however you look at the training ground which came out of the club funds , we ended up with 33 million plus , I am not sure if the 33 million included the 10 million which can be taken in shares. The squad is in the same state if not worse than when he arrived and the players aren’t going to be easy to get rid of.