NewNestCarrow

Both Connor and Paddy at Old Trafford today, watching the U21s. Yes, it's a handy pitstop en route to Liverpool, but at least they are there. So 👍

We lost Matos because he is a Chelsea fan and because he fancied the Big Time (like Glenn Middleton and like Ruben Shakpoke). Going on loan to Huddersfield really is not much of a step up, is it? As for "delivering consistently ...." ? Alex Matos 2021/2022: debut for U21s, one start and four subs Alex Matos 2022/23: seven starts & six off the bench. Ben Godfrey was quite happy to spend a year out on loan at Shrewsbury, learning his craft. This was sweetened by a four-year deal contract. If Matos chose to turn down this kind of offer then what could we do?

Jeez. This one again. Those elderly NCFC starting elevens were down to injury. Replace Hwang with Sargent, Long with Gunn & Fassnacht with Rowe and your average age plummets. Meanwhile, look at the bench for one of those games - Reyes, Warner, Fisher, Gibbs, Springett & Idah - and tell me that our pathway isn't working? A side pushing for play-offs - because that is what we are - does not have the luxury of dumping green youngsters into Championship starting line-ups. Next June NCFC will welcome back three CBs, two FBs and a STR from successful loan spells. If none of those make it to a senior squad in the Champs then your argument might hold water. As for the Leeds pathway you seem so keen to praise, their youngest starting XI featured just two from the Academy system (Shackleton & Gray), with just two more on the bench. The other nine starters were purchased from other clubs &, while young-ish, were pretty much first-team ready.

To do their job they really need to be there, watching. I think that is why football grounds have those things called Press Boxes! To my understanding local journalists have only watched the U18s once this season (in the FAYC), and have only watched a couple of U21 matches (again, at Carrow Road). And I do not believe they attend regular training at Colney for the Academy group. On the basis of the above I do not expect them to have much expert / objective opinion on players outside the senior squad. As Exhibit A, look at Pink Un's coverage of Elliot Myles' contract-signing. They have copy-pasted most of the NCFC story, adding only the skimpiest of detail that anyone could have written.

Based on the number of occasions that Davitt/Southwell/Seaman have actually watched NCFC U21s/U18s play I really doubt they have much of an idea about anything.

As transfermarkt takes data from anyone who is a Registered User then I wouldn't be overly trusting of it as a source of confidential information. That site also believes that (21 year-old) Matt Richardson is still representing NCFC U18s ....

That's what Fulham had for the LC SF, so that's 2,950

Splitting the gate is a holdover when it was the norm for all match-receipts - even for League games - to be divided between the Home & Away clubs. In 1983 this 50/50 split was reduced because, obviously, the big clubs felt they deserved it more. And now all League receipts are kept by the home team. Great for Spurs & Liverpool, but not so much for Luton or Bournemouth.

The Ordinary shares were sold as a way to support your club, and it was made very clear that profits (either through dividends or resale) were very unlikely. Real fans put their hands in their pockets without a second thought about what was in it for them. If you coughed £25k you got to call yourself an Associate Director, and you got official extras, like direct comms with the Board and a seat for life at CR. There were also hush-hush extras, like queue-jumping for away tickets. I can't see the club making another public offering, so buying from an existing shareholder is prob your best bet.

it is easy to shout "subsidise us" but what about these considerations? If wages of NCFC employees are rising then shouldn't ticket prices also go up? The state pension, national minimum wages & average UK wages are all increasing by more than 3% If cup income is used to subsidise ticket prices then are you happy that NCFC's budget for transfer fees, contract renewals & player-wages will decrease? Food for thought, not my actual position.

Some back of Fag Packet numbers for NCFC: Rd 3 - £120,000 (gate) + £105,000 (prize) Rd 4 - £800,000 (gate) + £110,000 TV Which will be nice ....

Fulham were allocated 2,900 for the recent Lge cup tie, and they had one more block than we are selling. Hence my est of 2,500. Being on normal telly will, IMO, discourage large numbers of ST holders making the trip..

When I checked yesterday the earliest Nat Express service from Norwich (on the 28th) doesn't reach Liverpool until after the final whistle will have blown.

Full opening of the new stand has been delayed, but some of the new upper tier was open just before Christmas & gate was mid 57000s. Looks like we've taken roughly 2,500 tickets, across three lower-tier blocks.

And another thing to consider, the FAC cash may not be all profit. If players get a bonus for winning cup ties - the kind of results-based scheme that most would agree is a good thing - there may not be much left over for wacky schemes to keep the peasants quiet!

Our last match at Anfield (a FAC tie, funnily enough) was a narrow 1-2 defeat. But that doesn’t suit the prevailing opinion, so we’ll ignore it!

Yes, the club could do this, but then some fans might moan that income wasn't being spent on players!

And if you met a Bury fan today and told them how much you disliked your club's ownership & how your "... football club has slipped so alarmingly in such a short space of time ... " they would probably - after recovering from gales of laughter - sit you down and give you an objective view of the football world, and Norwich City's place in it.

You know this is from 2019, right? You know that, in the period since 2019, there have been a number of significant changes in both share structure & share ownership at NCFC PLC, right? You know that there is a website where you can review information that is released by publicly-listed companies, right? Give It A Rest.

I found this one of Paul Kent, but it doesn't help much! https://www.facebook.com/KayleighatPaulKentHairStudio/photos/a.1092332250841407/1624322497642377/

Nope!

If you buy South Stand Area K, Row Y 117 & 119 then you'll have a pretty good view, and if you ask the person in seat 118 nicely then you may get to sit with your better half!!

Gibbins is a good spot. Minus the tache & perm he looks very different! Davids is another thumbs up. And I'm now certain that is Fleeting next to him.

Thanks for the contribution. The pic is from 1976/77 and so it can't be Livermore (though it does look like him).

The trouble is that development from ages 13-20 is so hit-and-miss, and anyone making bold predictions is likely to come unstuck! Man Utd - who probably have the best Youth>First Team pathway in British football - famously invested tens of thousands of pounds in our Kalam Mooniaruck, and his ceiling ended up being the Isthmian League [note also that KM got an Eng U20 cap, thus demonstrating that selection for representative sides is often based on Who You Play for rather than How You Play] Chris Sutton was released by NCFC at, I believe, age 14, but his Dad pushed his physical development and, a couple of years later, NCFC wanted him back. Max Aarons was just Mr Reliable (a la Lewis Blois) before his break-through, while our splashy purchases of Daniel Adshead & Aidan Fitzpatrick (both already playing first-team football) came to naught. Toffolo is proving that he had the potential, but how long do you keep a player waiting for his chance? (look at the Lambert side, filled with players from Big Clubs' who had to take a step down in order to develop) Personally, I find it disappointing that the 9-man subs' bench doesn't see more of our prospects on it, but I do understand that the gap between youth and men's football is now much greater than it was. And finally, while a manager is feeling the heat (and many fans are making unrealistic demands for success) the blooding of youngsters will hardly be a priority. In short, who knows?