How long has Alex Neil got left before he gets the push?

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

He has many good attributes but experience is not one of them and now we are in the bottom 3 it is inevitable that the speculation as to his future will gather pace.

The board failed to back him in the summer when it really mattered but will the board back him now or cut and run and allow a new man to spend the cash. They will have to make their minds up in the next few weeks it would be folly to allow Neil to spend £20m plus and potentially get rid of him before the end of the season.

His managerial stock has gone down this season and his lack of experience at this level has been exposed. Brady apart his small number of signings do not seem to feature, his team tinkering and about turn with tactics do not help either.

If we stick with him and go down he probably would continue to do a good job for us at championship level but as Gary Monk has found patience and desperation at PL means managers can afford few bad runs unless they have track records to suggest they can turn it around.

To be honest i am not sure he is good enough to keep us up but there again i am not sure that this board would appoint someone who is capable of saving us either.

On balance i would probably keep him and allow him to spend some cash in January but with half an eye on keeping a squad that is capable of bouncing back. The season to date has been very disappointing, i did not expect dizzy heights but i did expect a lot better than what we have done already.

Lose at Spurs and Man Utd which is probable then Villa is a must win, fail on that fixture and the momentum for change may be unstoppable

[Prince of Darkness 0]

Good post I just don''t think he has the experience or the talent to keep us up

[Wiz 0]

He should go NOW..............like TODAY!

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

At the moment, I''d give him the whole season.1) The 2nd half showing against Everton - for me - showed the togetherness of the squad. Despite results and rotation, the players are still up for the fight and playing for the manager. The main problem isn''t the management. The main problem is the quality of the squad - especially at the back where we failed to recruit properly in the summer.2) Take worst case scenario and we do go down. Given his performance in managing us in the 2nd half of last season, there is no better manager to get us straight back up.It''s unfortunate that Neil is inexperienced and has to learn fast in such a cut-throat league. But despite the recent run, I think he will go on to be a very good manager. We''ll regret it if his successes are not with us.

[priceyrice 133]

I agree with the Ghost and would back him until the end of the season. The board needs to take a major bulk of the blame for the disasterours summer.

I have issues with AN''s team selections and the exclusion of certain players such as Bennett, Mulumbu and Mbokani for the majority of the season but he does have the players backing and we seriously lack quality. I also think he''s got it wrong with Hooper, although he obviously doesn''t train well he has proven he can score at any level, unlike the rest of our strikers. We are also missing Johnson''s tenacity but I don''t know who is responsible for that sale.

[The Great Drinkell 51]

Is this a serious post? he should be given time to "build" a team around this time last year we were tenth in the Championship remember.

His interviews are always honest and frank and I''m sure the players respect this. we have no given right to be in this league and if we can build for the future with the investment in the academy (like Southampton have done) then I''m looking forward to seeing AN bringing these players through.

it''s posts like this that prevent managers taking risks.

[TCCANARY 263]

4 years, 11 months and 21 days is my guess. I''ll be back then to say ''I told you so'' and you''ll all hail me as the genius that I am and I''ll call you all deluded.

[Thetford Yellow 0]

In his last two post match interviews he has appeared confused and unsure about what has been going on the pitch. For his own sanity it would be best if he took a long holiday as soon as possible

[TCCANARY 263]

You have a very ''special'' view of the world, don''t you?

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

He will be here until his retirement at 65 years of age.

[ricardo 8,043]

Even if we are relegated I expect him to be here next season.

[Jim Smith 2,611]

I''m really torn on this to be honest. I like the idea of persisting with him and trying to build something long term and I do feel; he has been massively let down by the board but by the same token I feel that if we go down this season then it may prove harder to get back up than it did last time and we could see a much bigger "rebuilding job" needed so i am desperate for us to do all we can to stay up and if that means recruiting a manager who does not need to "learn" on the job (of one is available) then we may have to do it if wins do not start coming soon.

Realistically if we were to lose the next two away games and then lose to Villa on the 28th then that would be a run of form which would see the vast majority of clubs part with their manager and I think Neil would have to consider himself fortunate to still be in the job come the New Year.

[NCFCgardener 0]

We wont sack him even if we get relegated, which I also dont think will happen. Yes, he is inexperienced at this level, and has made mistakes, but will be better for it.

Fair play to him for trying to keep faith in the players that got us promoted, it doesn''t always work out and some players will be found wanting, but they deserve the chance to prove themselves.

Some players will come in and some will leave, we will be fine, stop panicking.

[Tumbleweed 106]

I think he should stay unless or until things go totally pear shaped even if we get relegated. I do think we need a longer term manager and not some more knee jerk reaction. And pear shaped does NOT equal relegation to me, the former means limp and insipid football with heavy defeats and repeats of the Watford fiasco. But we could still be relegated with pride, good performances but poor/unlucky results.

But unlike TGoMT I don''t believe AN is blameless and there have been some strange selection decisions. Against both Chelsea and Everton I was thinking it was a shame we couldn''t bring on Bradley J to get a bit of oomph in midfield. There seems an obsession with Grabban and an almost malevolent snubbing of Lafferty and Hooper. Lafferty could have been an ideal replacement for Redmond who just kept stuffing things up on Sat, complementing Jerome up front a bit more. And Mulumbu should have played on Saturday in my view instead of Tettey, the latter just slowing down play and often choosing the wrong ball forward at the wrong time.

We have just as good players as Watford but we aren''t getting the most out of them. The experiment with Alex Neil will take time, I am sure he will get there but it may well be at the expense of survival. if we have the stomach for that then he should be given it, but learning on the job in the PL when just a handful of games going either way can mean joy or despair it is very hard to become the finished product by osmosis overnight.

[Feedthewolf 5,885]

I''m of the opinion that we have to back him come what may. However, if we lose at United and Spurs and then fail to beat Villa at home, the board may well make a snap decision. I hope that doesn''t happen, because I genuinely believe he will go on to be a great success as a manager. The main problem Neil faces is inexperience in the transfer market, and

our management team (Neil, McAvoy, Holt, plus the ubiquitous Lee

Darnbrough being our head of recruitment) doesn''t bode well for making

signings of the quality required to develop the squad. Tactically and motivationally, though, we have to have faith that he will continue his steep learning curve.Oh, and I''m genuinely interested to know who the ''Neil outers'' think would be the right fit to get the best out of this squad and make the right additions to it in January to secure our survival. Come on, name names.

[......and Smith must score. 1,600]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]I''m really torn on this to be honest. I like the idea of persisting with him and trying to build something long term and I do feel; he has been massively let down by the board but by the same token I feel that if we go down this season then it may prove harder to get back up than it did last time and we could see a much bigger "rebuilding job" needed so i am desperate for us to do all we can to stay up and if that means recruiting a manager who does not need to "learn" on the job (of one is available) then we may have to do it if wins do not start coming soon.

Realistically if we were to lose the next two away games and then lose to Villa on the 28th then that would be a run of form which would see the vast majority of clubs part with their manager and I think Neil would have to consider himself fortunate to still be in the job come the New Year.[/quote]I''m surprised to see this knee-jerk post Jim. You''re one of the sensible posters on here - unlike that bitter sadsack from Lowestoft and his cohorts. Any manager needs to be given time. Norwich will always be punching above their weight in the top division but we''re solvent and a relegation would hardly be the end of the world.Despite what AN says publicly ( obviously ) I think the Board haven''t backed him 100% financially as they still have that '' prudence with ambition''  obsession. In football manageable debt is normal so I would hope that they stick with AN and give him a decent amount of cash in January to re-inforce the squad.No one would ever accuse me of being a '' happy clapper '' but a sense of perspective wouldn''t do any harm.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,533]

Why sack the manager? It is so obviously not where the buck stops regarding our position.

The transfer window last summer is the reason we are 18th. And, in fact, AN has ensured we have competed a bit with a woeful side by Prem standards.

[GJP 79]

Would be disappointed if the minimum requirement was anything less than 1 win out of the next 4.

[Jim Smith 2,611]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Jim Smith"]I''m really torn on this to be honest. I like the idea of persisting with him and trying to build something long term and I do feel; he has been massively let down by the board but by the same token I feel that if we go down this season then it may prove harder to get back up than it did last time and we could see a much bigger "rebuilding job" needed so i am desperate for us to do all we can to stay up and if that means recruiting a manager who does not need to "learn" on the job (of one is available) then we may have to do it if wins do not start coming soon.

Realistically if we were to lose the next two away games and then lose to Villa on the 28th then that would be a run of form which would see the vast majority of clubs part with their manager and I think Neil would have to consider himself fortunate to still be in the job come the New Year.[/quote]I''m surprised to see this knee-jerk post Jim. You''re one of the sensible posters on here - unlike that bitter sadsack from Lowestoft and his cohorts. Any manager needs to be given time. Norwich will always be punching above their weight in the top division but we''re solvent and a relegation would hardly be the end of the world.Despite what AN says publicly ( obviously ) I think the Board haven''t backed him 100% financially as they still have that '' prudence with ambition''  obsession. In football manageable debt is normal so I would hope that they stick with AN and give him a decent amount of cash in January to re-inforce the squad.No one would ever accuse me of being a '' happy clapper '' but a sense of perspective wouldn''t do any harm. [/quote]

I''m not being knee-jerk Smithy, you will note i''ve not said I think he should be sacked and I also am not sure, if push comes to shove, how I will feel about it. I''m merely saying that faced with a run of 1 win in 14, most premier league clubs would sack their manager and therefore if we were in that scenario and he kept his job he could consider himself fortunate.

In terms of where i stand with Neil I think he has talent. Do i think he''s got the touch of "genius" that Lambert displayed at times, perhaps not. Has he made mistakes this season, yes. I also think that by championship standards we had such a good squad last season that achieving promotion with it (even from where we were when he took over) is not necessarily evidence that someone is destined for managerial greatness. I am still not 100% convinced he is quite as amazing as some make him out to be but i sincerely hope the remainder of this season and the rest of his career as our manager show that he is.

That said I do think he''s an intelligent and competent manager and one who given time and resources will do well. As an inexperienced manager, it was crucial he was given every support by the board and I don;t think that happened in the summer. As I have said previously, he certainly won;t be the person at the top of my "blame list" if we go down and I won;t be calling for his head in the way I have done with some other managers who were clearly not up to it.. What i don;t really have a feel for, however, is how much of a risk/problem it will be for us if we do go down this season. Are plans in place that leave us confident in our ability to bounce back or will it see a major player and financial overhaul that means relegation is a major risk to the long term health of the club. With the tv money on offer next season my perception is that this (like when we went down under Chase) would be one of the worst seasons to find yourself relegated from the premier league so for it to happen to us this season would be a crying shame.

[Guest]

While Norwich stay within a point or two of safety and the players continue to work hard for Alex Neil I can''t see the board contemplating a change.

The January transfer dealings will probably make or break the season.

[Jacko 0]

Sack the manager? I assumed it was a silly poster, then saw it was Yorkshire, who''s very sensible and was disappointed.

It''s not his fault that we''re in this mess. The club have let him down by not getting the players he needed to make us more competitive at this level. How the hell are you meant to bridge the gap between the Championship and Premier League with a total net spend of £3 million in transfer fees?

Lets be honest, he performed a miracle getting us back up last year and it''s just as well he did, because we''d absolutely shafted he hadn''t. It would be a greater miracle still if we survived because our football budget must easily sit in 20th place in this division.

Sacking him would just be utterly crazy and I cant believe it is even being mooted. He should be here whatever happens next season. He''s doing brilliantly but even the best poker player in the world can only do so much if he''s dealt consistently shoddy hands.

[Capt. Pants 5,018]

I''m not sure Guardiola could get more out of our squad. Some of AN''s ''strategic decisions'' seem a bit random at times but overall the players are playing for him, the standard of play is more attractive than when CH was here and the fans seem generally on his side. We lack quality all over the pitch though, too many individual defensive errors, poor final ball and woeful finishing. I think the board will keep the faith.

[AJ 1,359]

I agree with Ricardo if we go down I''d still like him here. He did a good job last year and deserves a fair chance. A lot is to do with personnel rather than his management. As others have said it''s hard to think of anyone better who would want to come here. And more to the point whether they could REALLY do better than we are with what we have. We lack Premiership quality in a number of areas unfortunately.

[grefstad 0]

AN will not get the push, nor does he deserve it.

He has been let down by shit player, and poor backing from the board wanting to do it on the cheap. Admittedly some poor decisions, making Martin captain "undroppable", and always playing out-of-form Howson being a few.

Needs 2 transfer windiws to get rid of dead wood and bring in his own type of player.

Will stay if we go down too. Thats why he was brought in, ffs. Young, hungry, loyal, working on a budget. McNally''s wet dream. More money for McNally''s bonuses.

[hogesar 10,775]

Sometimes the braver decision is to stick with the manager you chose and plucked from Hamilton as the man to take you forward.

People are reactionary and I get that, the fact a lot of posters waited till we were confirmed in the bottom 3 however smacks a bit of wanting your team to fail.

[93vintage 16]

The problem isn''t the manager, so why sack him? The problem is clearly a weak board which hasn''t been following a long term strategy. It''s been one short term decision after another, soundbites and hot air, with little sign of a long term direction.The board needs to stop implementing short term fixes in a futile attempt to escape from reality. They need to swallow some bitter pills for the long term health of the club. Our strategy hasn''t delivered, so we need a rethink rather than carrying on as before.We''re in this mess largely because of spending big money in the past, hence more of the same doesn''t look like a convincing solution.

[curious yellow 184]

Brilliant negative post - rubbish board, rubbish manager and rubbish players.

Why don''t we give up on next season too and plan for avoiding relegation from Div1?

A draw against Everton - the final straw!

[Grant Holts Moustache 113]

Even if we go down I would keep him. He is talented, has a vision for the club and the style of play he wants for his team. I want to see how his squad looks after a few more transfer windows as clearly the building he is doing has been hamstrung by a number of high earners we need to get off the books. When the likes of Ricky, Hooper, Turner, Lafferty ate gone we will see more players in the mould of Alex Neil as we will have room in the budget for them. I was also interested to hear his comments on youth when he said he knows the players who will come through and be in his future teams.

This all takes time and like many clubs a few seasons of yo yoing will occur before we can potentially establish ourselves in the premier league and maintain a squad of the quality needed to compete.

[Prince of Darkness 0]

With the complete breakdown re the discipline of the players you have to think are they playing for the manager

Whether it is grabban going awol, ruddy doing his Rocky impression or lafferty going to the press about how unhappy he is with his situation it clearly isn''t a happy dressing room.

This and the results means only a change can save us now and with such a wealth of suitable candidates why wouldn''t we?

[Grant Holts Moustache 113]

PoD you are clutching at straws me thinks. Lafferty was asked questions in interviews whilst away with Northern Ireland, would be worse if he said he was happy to have days off on a Saturday and pick up his wage. Not sure what you expect him to say when asked if he would like to be playing. Whatever has happened with Ruddy in the night has nothing to do with Alex Neil and losing the players.

If you want to know whether the players are playing for him I suggest watching the games. Everton second half you could see they were playing for him.