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Yelverton Yella

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Everything posted by Yelverton Yella

  1. After yesterday, although it''s dangerous to base an opinion on one game, I''d go for Iverson as I think he would complement our (new found!) style of play.
  2. Yes I remember everyone being astonished that we went up that year. I was just trying to remember who was in that team...was it the Duncan Forbes, Dave Stringer era?
  3. FS, just to clarify as there seems to be some misunderstanding, I am not ''disgusted at people who have issues over funding''. I too have issues over funding and would love to give GR a war chest to go out and buy exactly the players he wants to bring into the club although I think a successful team is built with more than just money. In what is still supposed to be a free country, everybody is entitled to their opinion on the funding issue.The people I AM disgusted with are those who ;a) Criticise players before they have had a chance to prove themselves or otherwise in competitive matches or knock them on the basis of radio or press reports without seeing for themselves.b) Judge the worth of players purely by their price tag (I think GR has got some fantastic bargains by playing the ''Bosman'' / release clause game).c) Conduct vendettas against players who are doing their best for the team (if they''re not good enough, it''s the Manager''s job to sort it).d) Reduce every argument to ''black'' or ''white'' and resort to personally attacking anybody with the opposing view.e) Seem to want the team to fail to prove their point...As I said, or at least meant to say, I am neither for nor against the Board at the moment. If they and GR can produce a successful team playing football the ''Norwich Way'' on a shoestring then I will applaud them. If, on the other hand, we have another season like the last couple then I too would be looking for a change. Finally, I wasn''t particularly posting a match report, just a few thoughts that occurred to me 24 hours on from the match- Sorry, I didn''t realise that I was not allowed to comment if I posted a match report!OTBC
  4. You probably aren''t old enough to remember Ron Saunders regime....Had the players running up and down sand dunes at the coast until they were all sick! Funny thing is that, whilst I doubt this features in modern training manuals, he got us promoted....
  5. Not guilty m''lud! It wasn''t in my original post.....
  6. Having just got home from the match (stayed with my Norwich supporting mate who lives in Coventry!) I''ve been catching up on the message board and newspaper comments about yesterday''s performance.Firstly, I have seldom enjoyed a match so much despite losing 2-0.  Alright, some of you will say that I have no ambition, am easily satisfied and should only care about the result.... At the end of the season it is true that, to coin a phrase, it is ''points that mean prizes'' but for the first League game after the wholesale changes engineered by GR I thought there was a huge amount to be excited by!Cov fans pre-match were certain they were going to walk all over us- my mate ordered a cab from his Coventry address to the ground and the despatcher said cheerfully,'' You''ll enjoy today, we''re bound to win!''We turned up at the Ricoh with no idea of what to expect and very quickly revelled in the fact that for the first time for what seems like ages, we were playing football the ''Norwich Way''. Crisp passing, lots of movement, sharp in the tackle, not hoofing it out of defence and, frankly, playing Cov off the park despite the ref''s best endeavours to even it up..We worried, rightly as it turned out, that failure to convert superiority into goals would prove costly despite Coventry''s attacks being rare and impotent.A worrying moment when it seemed a red card was inevitable and then grateful to go into half time at 0-0 with 11 players on the pitch.Then, almost immediately after half-time, what looked from a pitch length away, a very soft penalty and the feeling that the ref perhaps reflected over half-time that he maybe should have sent off Stefanovic and thought he''d make amends to Cov.The rest of the game was perhaps predictable with Cov wasting time at every opportunity and disrupting our rhythm and a good penalty shout for us waved away. Fate decreed that McKenzie had to score against us from a ball that seemed to roll along the top of the crossbar. In truth, a rather limp ending to the game after OJ''s failure to convert a 1 on 1.Discussion in the bars of Cov. last night acknowledged that ''the best team lost'' and most were glad to have played us at the beginning of the season because they think we have the basis of a very good team .In some ways of course it was all so predictable. Everyone acknowledges that we need a good, big, striker- not to hoof the ball to but to get on the end of crosses, dead ball moves and to hold the ball up to play in the smaller men and, if we had that man yesterday I am certain we would have won. Do I blame GR / Delia or whoever for not having the guy in place yet? No. On yesterday''s showing I am so glad we didn''t go for Eastwood or Morrison and I wouldn''t want Howard either. I''d rather wait a couple more weeks if necessary and get the right ''missing link''- Iverson would be my choice to fit in with the style of football we played yesterday.In summary, despite the result, there were a lot of positives. The defence looked better than it has for a long time and, despite the criticism on here, Shackell surprised me by being a better than adequate stand in  at LB. Croft and Fozzy worry me with the ''headless chicken'' syndrome making an appearance again and I think Bell and Russell will stake their claims for these places.Hoolahan will be superb- a genuinely exciting creative player- and, for a vertically challenged guy, not afraid to go in with his head and put his foot in when tackling back. OK, he only has one foot but I''ll live with that for all the rest he brings!Lupoli looks good and will improve as he hones his fitness and will probably win the battle with Curo to play alongside the new ''big man'' although Curo will have an important role in the squad.I was obviously at a different match from some of the reporters- even Chris Coleman admitted that Norwich were unlucky.To finish on a sour note. Some of the posts on here have disgusted me. I am neither for nor against the Board- I support the football team and have done for almost (God help me!) 50 years. I don''t understand those who, despite all the evidence, believe that money buys instant success and that the only players worth watching are those who cost millions. All I know is that, whether from choice or necessity, (and I am surprised if it''s the latter,he hasn''t commented on it!) GR is building a team that I will enjoy watching and, what''s more, with the forthcoming additions, I strongly believe will be successful in this League.Please, let''s all leave aside the divisions and poisonous comments and get on with supporting our team!OTBC
  7. The only thing is, the article says:''The club have confirmed that Simpson and the company''s largest shareholder Lord Ashcroft would look to sell their shares if a buyer can be found."The two guys are prepared to SELL their shares if someone comes forward :"..who is prepared to invest in the club''s long-term future." Strongly suggests they want money for their shares and are looking for someone who is prepared to invest in the team/club as well......Please God we find someone who would do this for us (and soon)!
  8. [quote user="IncH-HigH"][quote user="The Butler"] Don''t get carried away. One person says he''s pulling out and off it all goes again! Called bargaining offer,move, counter offer, make them sweat and so on. It''s something that happens all the time and whatever is said on here will make NO difference to the outcome. Signings will happen regardless of what is going on it is not in either parties interests to make the club unviable for whoever wins. [/quote] I didn''t say he''d pulled out I said he has walked away for the moment. Anybody expecting anymore exciting transfers are going to be dissapointed,there is no pot of gold. When the season starts and the brown stuff hits the fan after a few months he will then step back in. [/quote]I don''t know where you are getting your information from but I really, really, hope that is not what he is planning to do.  I can''t believe anyone with half an ounce of integrity and feeling for their football club would deliberately ignite a firestorm and then be prepared to walk away and leave it to fail before snapping it up for peanuts.Anybody that would be prepared to do that would make the present lot look like angels.
  9. [quote user="WEEN_NASTY"]Why didn''t the EDP ask these questions at the interview? Surely the journo would have done some research and not probed further into Mr Cullum''s offer? It seems that PC has told the EDP only what he wanted. [/quote]That''s exactly what I''ve been saying since the story broke! BTW I haven''t seen anyone turning on Mr Cullum YET and most of us would welcome him taking over the Club, BUT we have yet to see evidence of a clear intention to do so.If PC wanted to he could table a formal offer to NCFC (subject to due diligence, audit etc, etc) and then announce that he had done so (without revealing the terms if he wanted to keep those confidential). At least that way we would know he was serious and the pressure would be on the current Directors to respond.As an aside, it still seems bizarre that the lad who was in my class at the CNS should hold all this power (and money!). Well done mate.
  10. You could well be right about the debt although I would imagine that the business could be organised in such a way that only a minute profit would be declared.I shall be furious if PC does walk away now. As blah says, it would smack of cynical manipulation of the media and fans and destabilisation of the club in an attempt to gain control of the club for less than its worth.Having gone this far he owes it to the supporters he claims to care about to at least try to do a deal. If he tries and it doesn''t happen because of the intransigence of the current owners, then we really will know where to direct our angerWith everything I have heard about PC I find it difficult to believe he would do this so I hope the information about him walking away is wrong.
  11. Couldn''t agree more, jbghost!Even if Delia insisted on the full £30, under this scenario, PC would only have to find something less than another £2m to do the deal.I guess the only unknown would be the reaction of the minority shareholders to the offer and whether they would exercise the option to bale out for £30 per share.In an ideal scenario, of course, PC would pay off the loans and leave the club debt free but I can''t really see this happening!
  12. My initial reaction was anger- especially as I fall into the ''newbie'' category as far as this board is concerned but, as I thought about the idiocy of 1st Wizard''s post, I had to laugh.Imagine the scene, Monday morning in FCR, telephones going mad, requests for statements and interviews from all quarters, transfer business to be done......''Right Delia, what''s our top priority for today?'' ''OK Neil, forget everything else, call all the staff together and order them to get onto the Pink''un board and defend our integrity. Oh, and make sure they all do their best to make 1st Wizard and Smudger look stupid- no, on second thoughts,don''t bother with the last bit, they don''t need any help...''
  13. As a ''newbie'' , I would just like to say that I am neither a binner nor a glory hunter!I''ve followed Norwich for 50 years and have lived the highs and lows over that time. I''ve lurked on here for years but never felt the need to contribute until now. Why now? Because the club we all love is at a crossroads and the direction it takes could determine future success or failure and I felt the need to contribute to the debate in some small way.I am neither a Delia lover nor an advocate of grabbing the first ''offer'' that comes along. I have considerable experience in my own career of takeovers and mergers and have tried, not very successfully, to pass on some of that knowledge to other posters who may not be familiar with these situations.I still do not understand why our independent local press has not put some fundamental searching questions to the two protagonists (see my topic yesterday afternoon); these are questions of principle and would not involve compromising negotiating positions. Until we have some answers to these or similar questions, the speculation and damaging accusations and counter accusations threaten to rip the heart out of our club.
  14. [quote user="bunny"]Had a quick trawl through the Members List here and can''t seem to find PC or Delia. You may wait a long time for an answer......[/quote]Formatting of my message was a bit weird (new user syndrome!) but what I said at the top was I would like to see a journalist ask each party those questions. I''m sure Archant must have some spare journalists somewhere who could be called into service for the task....
  15. It seems to me that much of the speculation and worrying could be addressed by a half- decent journalist asking each party a few telling questions. Feel free to add any suggestions to the list:   To Mr Cullum:   Are you prepared to negotiate a fair price to assume control of the Club IN ADDITION to providing a £20m transfer budget?   Assuming the answer above is ‘yes’, would the £20m be in the form of a cash injection, purchase of shares or a loan? If a loan, would you expect to receive interest on it? Would you be prepared/ keen to allow any of the existing Board to remain as minority shareholders?   Would you be prepared to repay the existing bank loans in order to leave the Club effectively debt free?   Would you seek further investment partners or be prepared to add to your investment in future?   To Delia:   Are you prepared to negotiate a fair price to allow Mr Cullum to assume control of the club?   Would you be prepared to sell a portion of your (and your husband’s) shares whilst retaining a minority shareholding and working with Mr Cullum?   If you would not be prepared to negotiate with Mr Cullum, could you explain the basis on which you would be prepared to a) receive investment in the Club or b) Cede control?   I think that the answers to these questions would allow us to make up our minds who we would rather support/trust.
  16. [quote user="Empty Mirror"]Cambridge Canary''s post stated the law accurately.  The Board have responded as one might expect any well advised Board to respond, and in accordance with their legal duties.   Over and above which, presumably even Delia''s greatest foe (provided they have our club''s best interests at heart) would rather Cullum paid off the debt, and complied with his legal obligation to make the offer to every shareholder and put £20 million on top of all that into Roeder''s budget (it''s not as if he can''t afford it, apparently).   That''s a better outcome for the club than him simply putting a grand total of £20 million in which, after buying out shareholders, would leave very much less for Roeder, and still leave the club in debt.  So, no criticism of the Board for their response – they can’t be blamed for asking.   The ball of course is now very firmly in Mr Cullum''s court.  Which makes it odd that all the pressure is being put on Delia on these forums.  Mr Cullum knew full well the size of Delia''s shareholding, he knew the rules about having to offer to every shareholder once he reaches 30%, he knew the amount of the borrowing.   These were all public knowledge and he''s no fool.   If he really meant to invest a total of £20 million and no more, then he was being, at best, disingenuous in allowing the story to be run as if this money was going to be available for players, and at worst was misleading the fans to further his own agenda.  Which wouldn’t be the best start.   If, however (and I would prefer to hope this is the case) he really meant £20 million for players, and the funding of the takeover is to come on top of that, then he only has to speak out and clarify the position.   As has been rightly said, it’s in his power to make the Board’s position untenable. Over to you, Mr Cullum.       [/quote]Empty Mirror, this post expresses absolutely how I feel about this. I, for one, would be delighted to hail Mr Cullum as our saviour IF he is prepared to buy the shareholding for a fair price AND put £20m into the transfer pot. The bank loans aren''t an issue because, as has been said already, he would have no trouble in having them assigned to him.If Delia and Co. refused an offer on those terms I would be marching on FCR with Smudger and 1st Wizard!Come on Mr Cullum, cut all this short, tell us you are prepared to negotiate on the above terms and let''s get on with building a team we can all enjoy watching...
  17. Worst Wizard you are absolutely right. The worry is that Mr Cullum, being a highly astute businessman, spotted an opportunistic play to gain control of the Club for considerably less than it was worth and invoked his PR machine to use Archant to whip up a frenzy amongst fans in his support....Now I really hope that is not the scenario and he is prepared to make a sensible offer which will leave a decent kitty to buy players but I would urge healthy scepticism until we see the real colour of his money or any alternatives that may be forthcoming.
  18. Exactly Jbghost. I reckon even I, a pauper, could raise finance to buy NCFC as a whole for £20m even in the middle of a credit crunch. Assets including Carrow Rd and Colney, goodwill (I imagine even the membership of the League would be worth something), virtually guaranteed annual income stream arising from 20,000 season tickets......the Business Plan would not be too hard to write!!If Mr Cullum is serious about buying the Club (and I really hope he is) he will be prepared to pay the going rate, if not, then he is guilty of some serious mischief making and I will think that we have had a lucky escape.Let''s sit back and watch the plot unfold, not jump in with crazy, biased statements in favour of either party until the facts are clear. Don''t undersell the club!!!
  19. Sorry, my last post was for the benefit of Salahuddin
  20. For your own good, I suggest you think very carefully about withdrawing the last line in your post before you end up in serious legal hot water!
  21. Thank Goodness there are some sane posters on here. Thank you Dylanisabaddog and Wight Yellow.I can''t believe the naivety and attitude of some people on this forum who apparently believe you can name a figure, release it to the press and expect to take control of a Company regardless of its asset value, goodwill or true worth- and, by the way, I''m sure Mr Cullum doesn''t either! The current Board has replied with their opening shot so, hopefully, middle ground can be found (it usually is!) Good business tactic though to release his statement and harness mass support for an offer that appears to be worth about 1/3 of the Club''s true value. By the way, I am neither a Binner nor a  Percy (or whatever the opposite is)- just a lifelong supporter who wants to see fresh investment in players with appropriate safeguards to ensure my children and future grandchildren still have a club they can be proud of supporting.
  22. I absolutely agree with Jameswallis on this.I am sure 1st Wizard has been involved in plenty of takeover battles in his career (as I have- oh and Mr Cullum has) and so will understand exactly how the process works- all the preamble, negotiation, valuation, due diligence, warranty documents, audits etc that have to take place before anything can be finalised...   it does therefore seem a little odd that he is advocating taking the first offer on the table without even trying to obtain the best possible price (i.e. from our perspective that which provides the most money for players) but I am sure he will have a good explanation for his tactics....
  23. At last a sensible thread on this whole subject- so sensible in fact that it has lured me out of years of lurking!Before I''m accused of being a Binner because this is my first post, I should point out that I first started actively supporting NCFC in 1959 when I was 8 although before that I used to stand at the top of Belvoir St and listen to the crowd cheering when we scored a goal!Incidentally, when at the CNS I was a classmate of Peter Cullum although I haven''t seen him since he left school and would never have guessed that he would have gone on to become so rich and powerful.I have been amazed at the vitriolic comments posted by some contributors on here over the last few months.Yes, I know there have been mistakes in both the playing and management sides of the Club but, frankly, if there is anyone who works in or runs a business that says they have not made a shedload of mistakes over the years they are either wearing halos or liars....The point is that, over the 50 odd years I have followed City, there have always been mistakes and there have always been moaners. Some of my earliest memories of standing in the River End with my family are the comments from fellow spectators- ''That boy (insert name- anybody remember Laurie Sheffield?) in''t narthing but a cart hoss. He in''t fit to play for City''. I also seem to remember equally derogatory comments about managers  and Directors (Arthur South in particular!)Enough of reminiscing, though, surely the thing is that you are born a supporter of your home town (or rather City) club and part of that support is going through the good times and the bad but still supporting whoever runs out in yellow and green on the day and desperately wanting them to win at all costs.I may be mistaken but there are people on this forum who almost seem to want Norwich to fail on the field or not to sign the best players so that their prophecies of doom can be vindicated and they can pursue their personal vendettas against ''The Board'', ''The Cook'', other posters etc. etc. Their refrain now is ''Take the money!!" or you are not acting in the best interests of the Club and we will insult you some more (shall we have a demonstration?).I''m not repeating the arguments about the projected investment from Mr Cullum because I think they are very well put in the opening post of this thread. I, like all supporters, am desperate to see investment in the Club to buy new players but not at the cost of increasing debt and our vulnerability to a hostile takeover by someone such as our neighbours down the A140 have ended up with. (Not that I am suggesting for one minute that PC is in that class)I think there is more going on behind the scenes than we can know and I can''t believe Mr Cullum seriously expected to buy control of the club for £20m. I think the £20m is an opening salvo to launch the PR battle and ensure the fans put pressure on the existing Board. Don''t fall for this- when did anyone accept the opening offer in a takeover? In my business career I am a veteran of several major takeovers and know all the weeks and months of negotiations, due diligence, warranties and legalities that go on before a deal is struck- it does not happen in 5 minutes! What is more I can never remember a deal being done for the opening offer price..Finally, I am as excited as everyone else by the developments but would urge everyone to stay calm and rational and not resort to ''slagging off '' fellow supporters (including Delia!) at least until matters become clearer. Let''s hope that the £20m can be leveraged into something approaching a decent price for the club while keeping control in the hands of people to whom it means something!OTBC!
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