Yelverton Yella

I''m flattered that you think I have the rhino hide  [:^)]  but I don''t think I could put up with the inevitable negativity that would accompany the role. I find it hard enough sometimes to keep my temper when reading the posts on here without putting up with personal abuse on a daily basis- because I am 99% sure that would be the outcome.The idea of someone like Dion (or Hux?) as a proxy for the fans is interesting though. Most of us are only interested in the commercial aspects of the club to the extent that it continues to fund the playing side to an adequate level and, arguably, without a very large investment in the club, a Fan''s Director is only going to have a peripheral impact on the real business decisions. To have a genuine football person contributing around the Board table on the fan''s behalf might just stop the more nonsensical decisions on Manager and player recruitment and peripheral activities that have brought us to where we are now. It reminds me of a CEO I had once who would relate any requests for cash investment back to basics..''.Yes, but how many extra boxes of crisps will you have to sell to pay for your fancy  brochure?'' and he would actually make the proposer go away and work it out....a salutary lesson that!

LQ, whilst there must be, among the fanbase, people who would fit the criteria, I think we would steuggle to flush them out!It might be fun to put together the required attributes and see who is prepared to claim they possess them!!!Here''s a starter:Experience of sitting on a Company BoardBusiness/ financial acumenPreferably experienced in football management/administration (no, not that sort!)Hide like a rhinocerousSilver tongued excellent communicatorDynamic and forcefulAble to straddle fences with alacrity (painful [:''(] ).......Possess no skeletons in the cupboard Feel free to add to the list!! 

/quoteTo clarify the point on where such a director may come from, if you reread the press release you will see that it says: “With such a large number of members in the Trust, the board would find it impossible to ignore the voice of fans. Almost certainly, from that size of membership, there should emerge suitable candidates with the necessary business experience to become a valuable member of the football club board and an important spokesperson for grass roots fans"   so the director would be a member of the Trust, and as such would presumably have to attend the Trust Board''s meetings to maintain the link. Whether it is an existing member of the Trust or a future one probably depends on how soon they get their way.   /quoteThe trouble is, however good and experienced the ''fan''s Director'' was, they would be on a hiding to nothing.Anyone who has ever sat on a Board (or even certain Committees) will know that, by the nature of things, 90% or more of what is being discussed will be confidential and therefore any reporting back to the sponsoring organisation will be a repeat of bland press statements agreed by ''The Management''.After all, Board discussions about investment, management accounts, strategic planning or potential transfer targets could not be passed on to the public without running the risk of either mass panic (''we''ve had a bad month for cash flow..''.) or compromising other actions(''oh, Norwich are after Smith, we had better jump in quickly with an offer...''). Additionally, as a Plc, you are bound by certain rules about what may be disclosed to whom and when.Don''t forget, also, that if it comes to the crunch, the majority shareholders have the ultimate voting power....The upshot is that, whilst it would be great to think that we, as fans, could have an influence on the crucial decisions affecting our club, anybody, however good and well meaning, accepting a fan''s directorship would, I suspect, be accused of selling out, not representing their electorate etc etc.I don''t mean to pour cold water on the principle because I believe it is something that we should aim for- I am just saying that, for it to work, there would have to be a huge amount of goodwill and trust towards the nominee and I just wonder whether, as a body, we fans are mature enough to grant this.Anybody care to guess who would be the first keyboard warriors to start slinging mud?

I don''t think anyone can argue with your conclusion Deb. ''The Board '' are the decision makers and must take responsibility for their decisions- good or bad.The positive signs, for me, are that change is under way; Two Directors have (almost!) gone and new blood will be brought in (judgement reserved at the moment!)A new, seemingly clued-up CEO has been appointed who appears to be refocusing priorities back to football and away from peripheral activities Mr Foulger appears to be adopting a more high profile role which may well result in more investmentDS appears to be adopting a less high profile role....The Management Team appear to be making some astute signings (judgement reserved again!)We appear to have ''some'' money left to invest in the teamAll in all, I am happy with (and somewhat surprised by!) speed and nature of progress made to date. No, I wouldn''t have chosen Gunn as Manager but there were many people at the time calling for Crook and Butterworth to be involved and nobody will be more pleased than me if Team Gunn prove successful. Truth, is, whoever the Manager was there would have been those for and against...I just hope my new found optimism doesn''t evaporate in the autumn mists....

[quote user="TIL 1010"][quote user="LQ"]I feel sick.[+o(] [/quote] And i suppose if i respond i will be described as "scary".I get the picture now Lisa, you can post away on here saying what you like about who you like because it is only your thoughts,views and opinions that count. [/quote]TIL, I don''t know what history there is between you and LQ but, for the most part, you both seem like reasonable people often expressing differing points of view (which is, after all, the point of a messageboard!) in your own styles.It does seem though as if a red mist of unreasonableness descends when you see an LQ post. Nobody is saying you don''t have a perfect right to respond to any post in your own way (as long as it''s legal and decent of course [:D] ) just that the impact and objectivity of what you are saying is diminished by your apparent feud with this poster...

I have no axe to grind with anyone on here and, as far as I know, have met neither of the two protagonists. For what it is worth and without knowing any background history, if you are looking for a neutral opinion, it does seem to me that TIL comes across as unreasonably harsh on LQ''s posts and opinions.TIL, just trying to offer some perspective about which you might like to reflect- whether you take it on board or not is, of course, entirely up to you [:D]By the way, I am sure I saw a small article in the EDP the other day that said Banham Poultry had sold a peripheral business (fertiliser?) for £1m or so. Could this be where MF''s cash came from?

I don''t consider myself qualified to enter this debate since I am no longer able to purchase a season ticket but I would make the following points:Most clubs in this division and the Championship would be delighted to have over 11,000 season ticket holders (never mind18,000) at almost any price so I can''t criticise those who, for whatever reason, took the rebate.The offer from Michael Foulger was extremely generous. It seems hypocritical to me to say, ''I''m claiming my rebate as a matter of principle- they were the terms on which I purchased it'' and then to criticise MF for saying ''Here are the terms for my contribution, I am going to stand by them''.

[quote user="Tangible Fixed Assets anyone"] Metatron stated: ''by offering this matching donation'' Does anyone know of a document etc. where it states that Foulger is making a DONATION.  ------------------------------------------- Oops - I''ve just started reading this thread again and have noticed somebody state that Joe Ferrari has made a statement on the official ***** about this. BTW - to the mad dog that follows me around: WOOF! WOOF! BOARD OUT! [/quote] Damn! Another conspiracy theory bites the dust.....

An interesting thread... I am 58 now and have followed City since 1959 when I first started standing on the terraces at the River End with my parents and sister.I remember my Grandmother saying just before she died at 97 that she did not feel any different to when she was 20 - it was just that her body didn''t work as well! I found that difficult to understand at the time as when she spoke of her early life watching the cattle being driven through Magdalen St. where she lived and experiencing the Norwich floods in 1912 seemed an age away from where I was at the time! As I have got older, I do begin to understand what she meant though...I raged against the unfairness of the ''older generation'' when I was a teenager and was branded as a druggie and a layabout because I had long hair and a beard (peace man!). Yes, then, as now, there were drugs around everywhere- the Jacquard coffee Bar where Tesco metro is now and Backs Cellar are just two places that spring to mind but, despite what the oldies thought, we didn''t all indulge.There was violence too. Some quite vicious football related violence with bottles, knuckledusters, bricks and Stanley knives. I remember my parents being trapped in a coach at an away match in Leicester one midweek night and being forced to travel back to Norwich with hardly any glass left in the coach windows.So, what conclusion can be drawn from all this history? We should all try not to apply stereotypes! Us ''older ones'' should not be too quick to condemn the ''younger ones'' and, hopefully, the reverse will also apply...we are all united in supporting our team (although it doesn''t always seem that way!) and in any cross-section of society with such a loose affiliation, there will be the usual cross-section of heroes, villains, idiots and sages. All we can ask as individuals is that we are judged by our behaviour and expressed views and how we relate to others rather than our age, appearance, colour, religion or other arbitrary marker.

What a fantastic original post. Yellowhammer, if only the Board had understood and learned from what you were saying we might not have ended up where we are today!Actually, much of your post is still relevant and ought to be studied by our new CEO as part of his induction and lesson in not making the same mistakes again!

This is one area where I seriously hope our new CEO improves our performance. I can''t believe how much money we have lost over the last few years by poor negotiation when buying and selling players and drawing up contracts.

"Herb" My theory is he''s a plant from the powers that be at Carra Rud.His only purpose is to galvanise support for the current regime by making the alternative view appear so ridiculous.In that respect I would suggest he''s been very successful. Herb.I think you could be right! I only started posting on here again because I was so frustrated at the succession of poor decisions and mismanagement coming from Carrow Road but I find myself more and more defending the Board from some of the illogical and counter-productive rants demonstrated here.As I am sure other people have said, there is enough ammunition coming from the Board to shoot them with without having to resort to personal attacks or irrational arguments...

Smudger. A good thought provoking post. I happen to believe that we have been crying out for a good CEO; somebody that has experience of both management and football and can make sure that all the Club''s activities are focused on supporting the football on the pitch and not diverted by non-core interests. If he is any good, I would imagine he will be reviewing all the Club''s activities and functions and asking management to tell him how they contribute to on- field activities- if they can''t and they don''t, then axe them!Yes, he needs to be clever at generating funds to spend on players which means that sales and marketing (where he appears to be very well qualified) will be very important but I would hope that, with his football knowledge, he would also be asking the on-field management team to justify their proposed signings, tell him how they will fit in with the overall tactics and existing squad and agree a sensible figure we would be prepared to pay in terms of fees, wages etc. I would also hope he sorts out contracts so we are never left with a whole heap of players out of contract and holding us to ransom or stuck in the reserves drawing a nice wedge for doing very little.I could go on- PR needs to be sorted so that the club is seen to be aligned with the fan''s ambitions again, the Academy needs to be subject to a root and branch review and either start producing or face radical surgery,  admin. costs need to be trawled through with a fine toothcomb to cut out waste etc etc.In all these ways and others a CEO can have a huge impact on the footballing side and, personally, I hope he is on a very large success related bonus with promotion as his number 1 objective!

Smudger. I''m really interested in your analysis of McNally''s qualities. You obviously have some inside information that suggests he is unsuitable for the CEO role despite his experience in similar roles and favourable comments from Martin O''Neill and Roy Hodgson.Also, I thought this appointment to be of critical importance but, again, you obviously know differently as McNally is only going to be a pen pusher. I think you should let us have the benefit of your knowledge- a short exposé will do...

Judge. Yes, I agree that the appointment of the Gunn Team was hasty and ill-considered although maybe partially explained by the disclosure that Crook actually had a longer term contract! I can only speculate but I wonder if this appointment wasn''t a spectacular misjudgement of the way the fans really felt and she thought that they would ''come round'' to Club Legend Gunn as Manager if she threw Doncaster and Munby to the wolves. I suspect she has been somewhat chastened by the reaction and maybe she really is now prepared to take the back seat that has been waiting for her for a while!Having said that, I was quite staggered and very pleased to see the calibre of the new CEO- I expected another dry as dust solicitor or accountant who had pursued an unexciting but worthy career in the profession and who would be a ''safe pair of hands''. I am banking on the fact that a guy with McNally''s record would not have taken the position without being assured that he would be given some real decision making authority.My only slight concern is that McNally survived under Al Fayed at Fulham! I had a friend who was appointed to a Director level position at Harrods and lasted about three weeks before he walked out having had a major clash with the Man about how things were run.

I well remember that day and the utter shock that everybody felt- particularly as nobody had any inkling that there was a major financial problem.As I mentioned earlier, the other story at the time, was that that the first Megson who, as I remember, was the Manager , (having replaced MO''N who had walked after the failure to find funds for Windass) knew of the sales, was when Chase turned up at the training ground and took the two away to do the deal.

DEB/ Cluck. The point I was trying to make was that time lends perspective to events- not that the last n years have been wonderful.Yes, I can see my own children reminiscing fondly in a few year''s time about the time they went to the Playoff final in Cardiff and what a superb atmosphere there was or how they were there in front of the City Hall to see those legendary heroes Malky Mackay, Iwan Roberts and Darren Huckerby in the same way we remember some of the great nights from the European campaign or our time in the Premiership.The fact that we remember the good times with affection doesn''t excuse some of the daft and damaging decisions taken by both Chase and Smith- funnily enough, like most of us, neither are/ were completely good or completely bad so, while you defend the good bits of Chase''s regime and conveniently forget the bad, at least have the good grace to recognise that those who try to add some balance to the poison spouted against the current administration may actually not be completely stupid.

TC- that''s why I posted the link. It seems some people have short memories.I do wonder whether, in another 15 years, some of the younger posters of today will be all misty eyed about how wonderful things were under the lovely Delia...The funny thing is that, by and large, I see myself as a fierce critic of the current regime but find myself more and more trying to add some perspective to the diatribes that appear on here. I really find it quite bizarre that, given what we all went through at the time, anybody would even half seriously suggest the return of Robert Chase.

Lest we forget...I too lived through Chase''s era and well remember the anger, frustration and puzzlement at some of his decisions. How could we forget two of our best players being sold by Chase without even telling the Manager at the time?Strangely enough, I also remember a tremendous sense of unity amongst the fans- united by a common hatred of and wish to see Chase removed- and I do sometimes wonder if some of the vitriol on this site is spawned by a hankering after another such unifying campaign.To those who complain about too much money going on off-field activities in the recent past (I agree BTW!), let''s not forget that the same complaint was made against Chase. Some of you might be interested in this http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/chase-sells-out-as-norwich-chairman-1345523.html   as a reminder of what was going on at the time.

Til. I think the point being made is that Delia would not allow the Club to go into administration because it would ruin her reputation.Of course she can prevent the club going into administration. She just has to put more money into the coffers- either her own money(as she has several times before)  or new external investment  and make sure the Club sticks to its payment terms. QED, creditors are happy and no administration.

Be very careful of what you wish for....I really can''t believe that any true fan could possibly wish to see us go down the administration route. In fairness, there was a time, before points deductions etc. when a few clubs (some quite close to home) appeared to lose their debt burden for very little consequence- apart from the plethora of small local creditors sent to the wall or forced to hang on by their fingertips of course-. Funnily enough, the effect can be worse if you own your ground as you then have a realisable asset which could, in theory, be sold on for other purposes to maximise return for the creditors. The consequences now, with deductions, transfer bans etc. are far worse and I believe it will not be long before we see at least one League club forced into liquidation.At the risk of attracting the usual insults, I don''t actually care who owns the club providing they understand that football has to be the main focus and everything else is peripheral. I think DS and MW-J have learned a painful lesson over the last few years but the signs now, with the CEO appointment and the noises coming out of CR are that they HAVE learnt it. If McNally is given the power to do what needs to be done and, if as promised, we get new directors and new investment then I for one will be reasonably optimistic that we can turn round our fortunes on the field.Yes, DS and MW-J and co. have made mistakes and need to take a back seat now but, despite all the encouragement, I find it difficult to hate them or wish to see them ground into the dirt for their sins which largely amount to being too amateurish for their own or the club''s good.PS No, I don''t work for the club, am not related to the shareholders or a binner.

It seems inconceivable that a businessman like McNally would join an organisation about to go into administration. Apart from anything else, the first person to get fired on entering administration is the CEO as the Administrator takes over running  the business and saves the biggest wage cost.I realise it doesn''t fit in with the conspiracy theory but is it possible McNally wasn''t talking about Administration in terms of the legal process but rather saying, we have to make sure we sort out our administrative processes. After all, the club''s administration in terms of contracts, investments etc. has not exactly been great over the recent past and must have wasted a considerable amount of money. Just ask Tangy- apparently the club can''t even fill in forms on time!!i also seem to remember MW-J saying something about looking for a good administrator (no, not the legal sense- he wouldn''t have anything to do with appointing one of those!) when conducting the selection process. Thought it was rather odd and old fashioned actually- certainly wouldn''t be top of my list of requirements for a CEO!

YY retreats gibbering down the A146 pausing only to pick up a form B226 C(1) from the verge and reflect that 99% of the local population would agree that there have been serious shortcomings in the management of affairs at CR......

Please, please can we leave this thread to die now.The facts are clear (and have been for a couple of days) and you can make up your own mind whether the effort to ascertain them was worthwhile or not or indeed whether or not there was a hidden agenda but I really can''t understand the need to go over and over the same ground ad infinitum....

You''re showing your age! What memories, Tropical Linda (from exotic Swaffham, wasn''t she?) and what she did with the hose in the swimming pool.....ahh memories!!