Jack Flash

"...This could well be a part of an orchestrated PR stunt from the club to prop up Roeder  The Club might take this seriously if it wasn''t for the fact that the hysteria on this site is not backed by the wholly unimpressive number of votes for the OFFICIAL ROEDER OUT PETITION standing at less than 100 I see. Of course supporters are unhappy at the state of things at our Club, but for Norwich City you could type Charlton, Southampton, and many others - look at Sheff Wed, unable to fill two of the Subs spots at the weekend, due to such a small squad and Blackpool who sent back more than half a team of Loan Players, then lost at Torquay.  To get rid of the Manager now, without an adequate replacement will be suicidal and preparation for League 1 followed quite probably by Admin. I say lets see this season out, back the Team, and leave the vitriol for Roeder until the end of the season, if needed at all. Of course the serial moaners will continue to bombard this message board, as is their right, but to slag a journalist because his opinions differ from theirs is a bit rich!

Agree entirely that Roeder is not the answer, but what we can''t do is eject the Manager without a suitable replacement, as that would only see the same old process repeated in 12/18 months time. And what about the cost - if there is any money at all in the pot, shouldn''t it be directed towards improving our wafer thin squad. And just who is available - Boothroyd (long ball - is that Norwich style?); Curbs (not interested in Champs Clubs); Ince (under pressure he looks to be way short of what we need). Any others?  And are the Norwich fans really up for a serious protest - I see the thread labelled the Official Roeder Out Petition has got stuck in the mid 70s - pretty unimpressive really!

And to back up this thread, reading the latest stories about Lita going to West Brom, it seems that West Brom are also skint, and can onlt afford to loan players in January, with no money to spend. And aren''t they in the promised land where ambitious, loadsa money clubs play?

Or should we give Roeder some credit for at last getting some success with the Youth section - lets face it, we have been starved of any quality at all to come out of the Youths for years! A club like ours will only survive in the New Climate by developing our own players, as we wil never have the cash to spend our way to success. Thats the exclusive way for a small number of elite Clubs. When you see what our Suffolk neighbours have done with their smallish pot of cash (because thats what £12M quid is now) - e.g. Campo on a 2 year deal - anything less than a Mult-Billionaire with an open purse is not going to work. Lets hope GR can keep us up, and bring through some decent youngsters in time for next season.

In a way. what PC appears to be doing is to give us a fall back position if Keith Harris fails to find a buyer. Thats a new angle, and is mildly encouraging.

Agreed. Why not back to Daydream Believer - wasn''t that the promotion song? Also seems appropriate somehow.

It strikes me as odd, or is it just not what people want to read on this board, that there is so little reaction to the Reading Chairman''s article. It tells it as it is, but is clearly not the message that the anti Delia/Doncaster brigade want to hear.

Interesting article which we should all take heed of, especially this extract - "I think there is a lot to admire in a chairman running his club with a very definite eye on the bottom line. Football is littered with tales of boom and bust, ridiculous overspending and chronic mismanagement. Fans want to hear about exciting new arrivals, though surely not as much as they don''t want to hear about their club entering administration".

So, true to form, another injury and the deal is delayed again. Perhaps thats why he''s not on GR''s shopping list?

As I''ve stated on other threads, throwing money at it does not offer a realistic and sustainable solution. Just look at the Ipswich scenario this season - the Debt started at circa £35M and taking on board Interest Costs, plus this seasons transfer money, wages, signing on fees etc, say min £10M, looks like a potentail debt well over £40M, hoping for promotion to the promised land. If it doesn''t come off, then IMHO they are in a serious mess. Is that what we want?

There are countless examples of Clubs finances deteriorating AFTER takeovers - the latest seems to be Man City, as suggested in this article:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/12/manchestercity.premierleague?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront If the Cullum offer was genuine, then of course its a great opportunity, but if its yet another rich-kid wanting to promote his business brands, as per Marcus Evans perhaps, then not such a good idea after all. We don''t know anywhere near enough about the detail of the offer to justify the current anti Delia campaign. Just headlines and guesswork.  Anyway throwing money at a problem rarely cures it other than very short term. We need long term reality decisions not knee jerk reactions to 2 disappointing away games, and I want to see a home performance on Saturday against Blackpool to make me feel better and provide a distraction from this persistant bitterness and negativity which is a plague on our Club.

"Btw just so you don''t fool yourself mate, Hull and Stoke invested money these last couple of seasons - where are they now?"  And not forgetting Leicester City of course!

Leicester City are the perfect role model to show how money badly spent gets you nowhere - they were oft quoted at the beginning of last season on this board as they went about spending a huge sum of money (£10M I seem to recall). And they have just sold their CH to Ipswich for £1M, which isn''t exactly showing ambition IMHO.

.....Well I bloody well believe its club employee''s acting under Furher Smiths orders.....its blown up in their face big time, and they need to try and talk the fans around again. Am I alone or does anyone else feel embarrassed by that sort of appalling bad taste remark and after more than 50 years of watching my Team through the good times and the bad times, its not the Smiths or the Board that are making me angry, it is this sort of comment.

And this is of course the same Taylor considered nowhere near good enough by his Club last season even though they were relegated. I''m sorry, but I thought he was OK, but not a £1M player thats for sure. More like £250K, then would have been a fair price for him.

Well, this ST Holder has just struggled to get two seats together for the Spurs Friendly - Jarrold is sold out and City Stand has a few Singles. So funny enough there are still thousands out there looking forward to the new season, and who are happy to back the Manager, the Team, and oh yes, The Board, so lets get the Moaning Brigade into perspective - they are a Minority Group!  And some admit they do not even go to the matches - that speaks for itself.

Hang on - we sign a player from Notts Forest (correct, a Championship Club) and your lot sign a player from Leicester (correct again, a Lower League Club). Either get your facts right Jedi, or post the same accurate message on your own Club''s site.

This Post on a Blackpool Message board makes interesting comments on the Wes deal. The scribe makes the point later in the thread that the Norwich offer is the best to date, but his brother/agent is still looking to see if there is a better deal. The site is AVFTT.co.uk. weststandcentre Posted on 20/06/2008 22:44   Wes nothing like that.............he is (or his brother / agent) holding out for a better deal...Norwich have offered hom 250k signing on fee and 12k a week (hes on 8k at Pool)....he''s gone, best move on, the only person who will benefit by not making his move is the weeee man as other clubs have the chance to improve this package .....good look to him, but I must admit if he had gone to improved league rather than a competitor it would have been a easier pill to swallow

Re Wings query "Just Frankly, City Devil, I wonder whether you are an NCFC fan or a Darren Huckerby fan" - it also occured to me a bit odd that someone with such strong views as City Devil only joins this discussion board at the end of April. Especially as Roeder has just performed a minor miracle in getting us away from the dreaded Relegation position we were in when he arrived. I for one am reasonably confident that he''ll get us some decent new players this Summer. Of course we''ll miss Huckerby, but its the right time for him to move on and for us to rebuild this squad.  

Agree that we need massive improvements in the squad, but money doesn''t guarantee success, as Leicester City demonstrate and they had £10M to spend this season! And Ipswich''s £12M investment was when they were in the Top 6, and they finish outside the POs. The key is getting the right people in and to trust Roeder''s judgement. If its further Loan players, then so be it.

Worth revisiting the PKF article, link below, which hits the spot as far as Championship finances are concerned, and should remind us that we actually do have a well run Club, not like many - just how much did Leicester City spend this season to end up at the wrong end of the Table? http://www.pkf.co.uk/pkf/news/press_release/coventry_city_footballs_first_victim&goto=5  

I think the defence would be just about OK if they had a better/stronger Midfield in front of them. The Midfield has been ineffective in all three key departments - so many times there is a huge gap in front of the defence for opposition forwards to exploit; the creativity is just not there to set up more than half chances; and how many goals do they contribute - all great midfields can find 10 to 20 goals in a season. A good Midfield is the catalyst for a good Team and we do not have one, thats for sure. Doc and Shacks are solid enough, but its no surprise to see them under pressure, with the inadequacies of our Midfield, and those who criticise Doc for holding, and making it difficult for forwards to get passed him, by fair means or otherwise, should watch a few of the so-called super star defenders in the Prem - its perhaps an unacceptable part of the modern game, but the "though shall not pass" attitude is prevalent.

Don''t know what they''ve spent on Loans since Jan 1, but interesting to see that Stoke spent £931,900 on Agents Fees in last 6 months of 2007, only topped by Leicester at £1,067,000 in Championship, and we spent £155,200 in same period. Just goes to prove, comparing Stoke to Leicester that its not how much you spend but how...

How much have they paid for Nugent for 12 games - my guess is around £500K. Will be well spent if it works, but IMHO would not be wise for us to use that sort of money now rather than the Summer. Heres the quote from Portsmouth, and knowing how Harry works, Pompey will have squeezed as much money out of Ipswich as possible   -   It''s a good deal for us financially too which is important. "Chief executive Peter Storrie has been dealing with their chairman (David Sheepshanks) and they have made a good offer. "Lots of clubs have asked about taking David, but Ipswich are the only ones to come forward with a decent offer.

What would be the real test of if Smudger et al are real City fans, would be a post celebrating another 3 points, and further progress UP the Table.