Fans Forum with Alex Neil, Frankie McAvoy, Gary Holt

[hogesar 10,999]

Gutted I couldn''t make it in the end, by all accounts sounds like it was brilliant. Hopefully make the next one!

[Prince of Darkness 0]

[quote user="Herman "]Ie there a report up anywhere yet. Judging by a few twitter comments, it sounded like a good affair.[/quote]

Herman in I didn''t go to Carra rud shocker

[......and Smith must score. 1,646]

Was a great evening and thanks must go to Diane and the committee for organising it. Can''t be certain how many were there but a couple of hundred at least ?Top table comprised AN, Frank McAvoy, Gary Holt and Dean Keilly ably compered by MC Adrian Forbes with David McNally in the audience.AN clearly knows his stuff. A good speaker with an encyclopaedic knowledge of opposition players.Only downside was winning nothing in the raffle.Well done to the Supporters Club and thanks to NCFC for their co-operation too. These evenings are well worth supporting.

[Herman 11,187]

Maybe you could give us a report Waveney. It would be most appreciated by us exiles.

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="Herman "]Maybe you could give us a report Waveney. It would be most appreciated by us exiles.[/quote]I''d prefer a report from someone who was there Herman wouldn''t you?[;)]

[Herman 11,187]

I''m sure he must have gone Robert. Front and centre.

[Jacko 0]

I''m not going to pretend to be Ricardo but in summary (these aren''t direct quotes I am paraphrasing and giving my interpretation) I would say the key points were:

- Hooper doesn''t work hard enough and hence he''s on loan.

-Lafferty isn''t as good as Jerome, Mbokani and Grabban. Neil gets on with him but he''s formed that opinion from here and in Scotland.

-He tried to sign Nathan Dyer but he didn''t want to live in Norwich (yet now lives in Leicester!)

- Redmond doesn''t work hard enough against the top teams but Neil said he''s improving every day and was full of praise for him

-Howson is a unique player who combines the tenacity of Tettey/Mulumbu with the technical ability of Dorrans. He just needs to impose himself on games like he can.

-Jerome he describes as a thoroughbred and it''s his decision making which stops him being a top class player.

-Robbie Brady is our signing of the summer (shock, horror).

-We tried to tweak the system and go more defensive. We haven''t improved and are still making individual errors so it looks like he''s going to play more expansive football from now on.

-We are in advanced talks to hopefully sign a couple of players. He wants those deals done immeadiately in time for the start of the window.

-Neil had prepped for a question about Johnson''s departure but nobody actually cared enough to ask about him.

-Neil was very impressive and articulate answering everything that was thrown at him very well.

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="Herman "]I''m sure he must have gone Robert. Front and centre.[/quote]Judging by Jacko''s excellent synopsis, there''s no way he went, let alone any ''front and centre'' behaviour.  He''d never have been able to keep stum with all that going on![:)]

[ricardo 8,137]

[quote user="Jacko"]I''m not going to pretend to be Ricardo but in summary (these aren''t direct quotes I am paraphrasing and giving my interpretation) I would say the key points were:

- Hooper doesn''t work hard enough and hence he''s on loan.

-Lafferty isn''t as good as Jerome, Mbokani and Grabban. Neil gets on with him but he''s formed that opinion from here and in Scotland.

-He tried to sign Nathan Dyer but he didn''t want to live in Norwich (yet now lives in Leicester!)

- Redmond doesn''t work hard enough against the top teams but Neil said he''s improving every day and was full of praise for him

-Howson is a unique player who combines the tenacity of Tettey/Mulumbu with the technical ability of Dorrans. He just needs to impose himself on games like he can.

-Jerome he describes as a thoroughbred and it''s his decision making which stops him being a top class player.

-Robbie Brady is our signing of the summer (shock, horror).

-We tried to tweak the system and go more defensive. We haven''t improved and are still making individual errors so it looks like he''s going to play more expansive football from now on.

-We are in advanced talks to hopefully sign a couple of players. He wants those deals done immeadiately in time for the start of the window.

-Neil had prepped for a question about Johnson''s departure but nobody actually cared enough to ask about him.

-Neil was very impressive and articulate answering everything that was thrown at him very well.[/quote]Thank you Jacko, I''ve been waiting all day for someone to give me the lowdown. I''ve been too ill to go myself and several other posters live quite a distance away, so it''s nice of you to take the trouble. Seems like you were just as impressed with AN as I was at the AGM.[Y]

[nutty nigel 7,968]

Great report Jacko. Far better than I could have done. Wish you''d introduced yourself.

 

Most of the questions were well asked and answered. Dean Kieley also spoke well and handled the question with aplomb that seemed to be suggesting he wasn''t any good as a goalkeeper coach because our keepers couldn''t kick. His answer was honest and fair. He said that unlike some places Norwich was a coaching club. They aim to make the players the best they can be.

 

But, just as at the AGM, the over riding thing for me was how Alex Neil took every question seriously and answered them fully, honestly and with authority. It''s hard to believe how young he is. We have a gem and I''m sure we''ll hold on to him.

 

 

[Jacko 0]

He''s excellent Ricardo and a very impressive individual. Everything he said was clear and made complete sense. He clearly communicates his ideas through to the players in this vein as well. With the notable exceptions of Watford and Newcastle the plans laid down have been carried out exceptionally well in the last 12 months.

The only thing I might have picked him up on (if I was brave enough) was his criticism that sometimes Howson doesn''t take games by the scruff of the neck like he can. Arguably, that''s very difficult when he''s been played left wing, right wing, No.10 and central midfield this year. Although, I''d imagine Neil would have countered me with the assertion he hasn''t quite made any of those positions his own this term.

He speaks with such maturity and authority that you actually sometimes forget he has only managed for 43 matches in English football and 113 overall in professional football. He''s now facing the first slightly sticky spell (form wise) of his managerial career and it''s vital we support and help coax him through it in any way possible.

[ricardo 8,137]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

 

But, just as at the AGM, the over riding thing for me was how Alex Neil took every question seriously and answered them fully, honestly and with authority. It''s hard to believe how young he is. We have a gem and I''m sure we''ll hold on to him.

 

 

[/quote]Nigel, he immediately struck me as the kind of man that automatically commands your respect. I can remember thinking to myself at the AGM, "this guy knows what he is doing" and it gave me great confidence.We all know how quickly it can wrong and a managers job will always be precarious. I only hope that he can get the results that will earn him the time to do the job properly.

[Jacko 0]

It was an enjoyable evening Nigel and many thanks/congratulations to all who arranged it. It was worth the trip down from Suffolk. However, it was a long day at the office beforehand, so I wasn''t in terribly sociable mood when I arrived.

I was particularly impressed with Neil''s lack of ego and willingness to take criticism/scrutiny. You contrast this to the arrogance of a man like Roeder and it is genuinely quite striking.

He''s man constantly look to evolve, improve and do everything he can to get that edge. And let''s face it, with our budget and relatively modest resources, we need that ''edge'' by the spadeful.

[lowlyfendweller 0]

Yes, thanks Jacko.

[......and Smith must score. 1,646]

Agree with Nutty in that you forget that he''s only 34. There was no arrogance there at all. He handled any player criticism very well and there was none of the Glenn '' I must have missed your tenure as England manager '' Roeder antics. He did admit that he really missed playing but was honest enough to say he wasn''t good enough to play in the Premier League. A class act and out of all the managers I''ve seen at these sort of forums he''s been by far the most impressive.

[nutty nigel 7,968]

We''ve got another great night lined up for February with a Legends forum : -

 

[TIL 1010 5,314]

Looks like you will have to wait until the New Year to see if i am on the panel of Leg ends. [:D]

[Duncan Edwards 2,428]

I can exclusively confirm that Til1010 will NOT be on a panel of legends.

He''d struggle to make a panel of legends selected from his own house. 😉

[Jacko 0]

Is the legends panel going to be similar to the Tales From The City cast by any chance? ;)

[ca 1]

On behalf of our volunteers team thanks again to those who came, those who spread the word, those who wished us good luck.

It was a great night and the best thing is that we''ve now raised over £1000 for the CSF charity.

Feedback we''ve had today has been brilliant and we''re getting more at each event so are growing nicely after such a short time.

As Nutty said our next event is on Feb 10th, which is a legends night with 3/4 ex -players I know you ll want to chat to, so put the date in your diary.

Thanks again everyone, your nice comments are much appreciated.

[lappinitup 629]

Easily the best forum I''ve ever attended. Alex Neil came over as extremely knowledgeable about his own and other players, very honest, deadly serious and yet funny too.We''re lucky to have him.I would like to thank Dianne and all the other volunteers for all their hard work and it''s great to see the club giving them their full support. These events show how connected Norwich City Football Club are with their fans.  Long may it continue. [Y]

[hogesar 10,999]

Sounds like Alex Neil certainly knows what he''s talking about, despite what others on here tend to suggest.

[westcoastcanary 173]

Just a pity that more detail, perhaps in the form of a listing of questions and the nub of each answer, couldn''t be published on the web site for the benefit of the many exiles like myself. Or even better, what about taking advantage of the technology available to stream events like this, or at least provide live text coverage? You never know, it might even offer an opening to a media career for nutty, rather than wasting his talents on the door ....  

[Jacko 0]

That wouldn''t have been possible here as we were specifically told there shouldn''t be live tweeting etc.

[nutty nigel 7,968]

Burst my balloon why don''t you!

The door is the bestest career Ive ever had. Previously I wasn''t allowed out the WCs WCC...

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Jacko"]That wouldn''t have been possible here as we were specifically told there shouldn''t be live tweeting etc.[/quote]

Yeah, I wondered about that Jacko. I understand the caution but maybe some thought could be given to it going forward. Or is the only technology  us exiles are expected to be interested in is online shopping from the Canary Shop?

[Jacko 0]

I must admit, I don''t really know what the reasons are behind no live tweeting etc of an event like that. But the club don''t have to assist with these events as they do have the potential to be somewhat troublesome, so we have to respect those wishes.

However, from a purely selfish point of view I am going to an event like that to enjoy it and I doubt I would if I was chained to my phone, typing in everything that was said. I think I got most of the key points from the other day and as Nutty said there was also criticism of Keily for Ruddy''s poor form of late, which Keily took well and in his stride.

I''d imagine like everything they do, Neil and his staff had prepared for most of these questions and answered accordingly.

[Prince of Darkness 0]

Good event organised by good people credit to the club that they support

Neil is a great orator his abilities just don''t match his capabilities

[GenerationA47 868]

westcoastcanary: "I understand the caution but maybe some thought could be given to it going forward. Or is the only technology  us exiles are expected to be interested in is online shopping from the Canary Shop?"

It''s a nice thought and I for one would tune in to watch.

Well, for as long as I could stand staring at a full-screen rum advert obscuring the picture...as apparently that''s what free internet content requires these days

[TCCANARY 263]

[quote user="Prince of Darkness "]Good event organised by good people credit to the club that they support Neil is a great orator his abilities just don''t match his capabilities[/quote]

 

It''s obvious that your connection dropped and what you meant to say was "Neil is a great orator his abilities just don''t match his capabilities, they exceed them".