Norwich City's fans

[Cobain18 0]

There are a minority of fans who are inadvertently creating a division and bad feeling around the club.

It''s being suggested we sack Alex Neil. This is a man who took us to Wembley 18 games ago. One of our best moments as a footbll club. Some people have very short memories. Alex Neil isn''t suddenly a bad manager. Surely taking us to Wembley from the position we were in when he took over buys him a bit of time? What were your expectations? Is he dramatically under performing? I haven''t seen any suggestions about who we would bring in that''s better than Neil?

The board are getting a hammering for not spending enough. Again, does anyone actually know that there wasn''t more money available? If we had 80 million, we couldn''t buy Ronaldo due to wages and our current position as a club, you have to build that reputation. Even Man City weren''t transformed over 1 season! Additionally, I haven''t seen too many suggestions as to who we missed out on that would make a massive difference to our current team?

Maybe, the best chance we have as a club is to get behind the club and players. Sticking together as a club makes a huge difference to the confidence of the players as opposed to booing them once every two weeks. For those of you who aren''t, give it a go... It feels good to support your team and support players and a management team who are giving 100 percent.

[king canary 7,606]

Your point about the board makes no sense- nobody is asking for us to sign Ronaldo or spend like Man City but it is not unreasonable to expect more than £3m net spend to improve the squad.

It is not the fans job to identify players who can improve the team but if you genuinely don''t think any of the players who moved to the clubs around us would have improved us I''d be surprised.

[Cobain18 0]

Neil admitted he found it tough first time in PL with less time (due to playoffs) to buy players. We know we were close to a few. Sacking Neil or blaming the board doesn''t seem altogether rational to me.

Again I notice, no suggestion around who you think would have improved the team. That possibly proves it''s harder than people are suggesting. There are players who moved to other teams who would have improved our team but generally those teams were better propositions as they will offer better wages and have been in the PL for more than one season.

As RVW, Fer, Hooper etc proved - money spent doesn''t equal success. I think we''ve improved our squad, I''d rather have 3 mil net spend and have identified improvements than double or triple that with the same or no improvement at all.

[king canary 7,606]

Yes but those two things aren''t mutually exclusive. We improved the squad but at the moment it doesn''t look like we''ve improved it enough.

Here is a few examples of players who moved to clubs around us that would have possibly improved us for you...

Etiene Capoue- Watford

Rudy Gestede- Villa

Robert Huth- Leicester

Nathan Dyer- Leicester

James Chester- West Brom

Bakary Sako- Palace

This isn''t even touching on the players that didn''t move but could have possibly be tempted- people like Charlie Austin, Jordan Rhodes or Lewis Dunk from the Championship for instance, let alone the hundreds of players all over the world our club should be scouting.

Spending money doesn''t guarantee success but I''d argue it gives you a much better chance of it. We spend considerably less than the other two teams who came up with us and it shows right now. You have to spend money well, which we didn''t do two seasons ago but that doesn''t mean you never spend again.

[Cobain18 0]

Maybe that''s where we differ as I don''t think all of those would improve our squad at all. Gestede isn''t an upgrade in my view, Dyer can''t make Swansea''s side and they''re no better than us.

I won''t go through every one as maybe we just have a different opinion on a lot of those players which is fine; different people see different things I guess.

I don''t disagree that spending money should improve your chances provided its spent well; I just wouldn''t want another 5 players having spent another 7 mil with no improvement to the squad. That drains wages and makes life harder if we do go down. Alex Neil now has a second bite of the cherry in Jan having had experience of what it''s like trying to recruit in the summer. I trust the guy to get it right, I just really hope he''s not driven out of our club.

[FCC 76]

Spot on with the original post. Much of last season we were being told Alex should get us promoted as he had a Premier League squad in the Championship.

By the time the transfer window closed we were doomed as we hadn''t bought enough and the squad wasn''t good enough for the Premier.

Hope the usually good away following make some noise on Saturday and get behind the team - I''m looking forward to it!

[nutty nigel 7,534]

The season before we were being told we had a PL squad being ruined by Hughton. But it''s the same old story that disappointment will always find a scapegoat.

 

 

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]The season before we were being told we had a PL squad being ruined by Hughton. But it''s the same old story that disappointment will always find a scapegoat.[/quote]

Such is life. If people could only stop trying to find someone to blame and just accept the difficulties of  being where we are as a club, things would be a lot easier.    You can still be frustrated and wish things were better without having to blame anyone.   We all know the club tried to buy players and we all know that the transfer merry go round is fraught with difficulties.  You can''t always have what you want, when you want it - and people have to get used to it and accept it.   If the fans remain positive then we are much more likely to succeed with what we''ve got than if they start shouting and crying for resignations and sackings. There are some who will never understand that, again, that is life, but for most of us we can see that the blame game is pointless and will do nothing to help our chances this season.

[Cobain18 0]

I also wish people would stop with the Hughton comparisons. He managed us in our second and third season in the premier league which brings with it a slightly bigger reputation and more money, hence the bigger spending.

Additionally, we were a completely different team under Hughton. Hughton had had a whole season to prove himself and got most of the second season. Alex Neil and the board (who contributed to keeping us up 2 seasons in row last time by the way) have had 18 games.

As someone just said, we stand a much better chance of staying up if we all vocally back the team instead of trying to cause divisions in the club with unsubstantiated claims. Sacking the manager doesn''t equal success, blaming the board doesn''t equal success. Understanding that we were always going to be in a relegation battle and supporting the team won''t necessarily equal success but it will definitely improve our chances!

[lowlyfendweller 0]

I''m pretty sure that if we had spent money this season and were in a similar position many would say that we should have given the boys who got us promoted a go!

If you fail to win you''re damned if you do and damned if you don''t.

[Buh 0]

The lack of emotional control from some of our fans is hilarious.

It''s proper "one flew over the cuckoos nest" at times

[Katie Borkins 1]

We tried to sign Nathan Dyer and he said no, no, no.

[Canary World 0]

I think the biggest issue we have are the happy clappers who are grateful for the mediocrity our Board serve up

We see other clubs get promoted and flourish but our board are wholly incapable on delivering

No one is asking for champions league qualification but regular mid table finishes should be achievable

[Thetford Yellow 0]

The real problem is the clappers who put up with this cr@p! And to keep dribbling on about Wembley is, frankly, pathetic. We the fact that we needed the play-offs to get out of the championship is testament to how we blew our automatic promotion chances in the run-in.

Noone expected us to win the league this year but with some sensible investment in players over the summer and a decent manager we could have at least been competitive. I doubt there has ever been such a p1ss poor performance in EPL history than our first half display against Everton. The 2nd half improvement only papered over the cracks.

[morty 0]

So we''re downplaying Wembley now lol?Its not like we''re carping on about something that happened years ago, like some teams do.Jeez, some people are never happy.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

@canaryworld

I''m fairly confident the happy clappers are not necessarily satisfied with the mediocrity served up by the board, and quite frankly, it''s a stupid thing to suggest - the difference being is that many ''happy clappers'' have what is known as trust, a trust that when certain transfer targets don''t come through the door etc, that it''s not the deliberate action from the higher echelons at Carrow Rd that the miserablists/blatant trolls would have you believe. You can say what you like but there''s no conspiracy - there is no question everybody from top to bottom at NCFC wants to see us doing the best we can, so I don''t take any notice of those that suggest otherwise.

Do I think we could be doing better this season? Yes, and I think some players are really not hitting the heights they''re capable of, and they probably know that too. Whereas I get frustrated with performances, there is no way I''m going to come on here with anti club and/or player bile trying to stir sh1t - anyone with half a brain can see what the likes of Wiz are trying to acheive, and trust me, he is no supporter in any way, shape, or form - when was the last time he attended a game!. Decent supporters will work alongside the players loyally supporting them through the difficult patches rather than throwing a hissy fit and acting like some underprivilidged Rupert who''s only got an Aston Martin DB9 for Christmas.

Do I think the board are serving up mediocrity? What 4 seasons out of the last 5 in the Premier League???

Constructive but respectfully formed criticism is fine, this is a message board for debate on all things NCFC, but unfortunately there''s too many that lack that capability on here, and certainly regarding some of those, well, they aren''t City supporters - how can they possibly be?!.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Thetford Yellow"]The real problem is the clappers who put up with this cr@p! And to keep dribbling on about Wembley is, frankly, pathetic. We the fact that we needed the play-offs to get out of the championship is testament to how we blew our automatic promotion chances in the run-in.

Noone expected us to win the league this year but with some sensible investment in players over the summer and a decent manager we could have at least been competitive. I doubt there has ever been such a p1ss poor performance in EPL history than our first half display against Everton. The 2nd half improvement only papered over the cracks.[/quote]Do you honestly, honestly believe that, or are you just being a bit of a drama queen?

[Thetford Yellow 0]

Leicester, Palace, Watford, West Ham, Stoke, West Brom - even bloody Bournemouth, are all clubs of comparable size to us who manage to attract decent players - yet we are forced to put up with cr@p like Rudd, Martyn, Basssong, Jerome etc etc etc and an inexperienced unknown manager plucked from the bloody scottish league. Why?????

[morty 0]

[quote user="Thetford Yellow"]Leicester, Palace, Watford, West Ham, Stoke, West Brom - even bloody Bournemouth, are all clubs of comparable size to us who manage to attract decent players - yet we are forced to put up with cr@p like Rudd, Martyn, Basssong, Jerome etc etc etc and an inexperienced unknown manager plucked from the bloody scottish league. Why?????[/quote]What are you basing "size" on?Stadium size? Financial clout? Penis?

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

The only team we can compete with at the moment in terms of wages is Watford. That''s it.

The other clubs you mention can all offer far more money and that is why the players choose them over us.

[Thetford Yellow 0]

[quote user="Hairy Kenneth"]The only team we can compete with at the moment in terms of wages is Watford. That''s it.

The other clubs you mention can all offer far more money and that is why the players choose them over us.[/quote]

Given that we''ve spent 4 of the last 5 years in the EPL, why is that?

[TCCANARY 263]

[quote user="Thetford Yellow"]Leicester, Palace, Watford, West Ham, Stoke, West Brom - even bloody Bournemouth, are all clubs of comparable size to us who manage to attract decent players - yet we are forced to put up with cr@p like Rudd, Martyn, Basssong, Jerome etc etc etc and an inexperienced unknown manager plucked from the bloody scottish league. Why?????[/quote]

 

You not ''forced'' to do anything, the fact that you have a choice and what you do with it is your problem.

 

 

[Buh 0]

Lol

Let''s downplay the fact we tore Ipswich to pieces and roared our way to a convincing Wembley victory

Nah, your alright mate.

Wemberleyyyy, wemberleyyyy

[morty 0]

[quote user="Thetford Yellow"][quote user="Hairy Kenneth"]The only team we can compete with at the moment in terms of wages is Watford. That''s it.

The other clubs you mention can all offer far more money and that is why the players choose them over us.[/quote]

Given that we''ve spent 4 of the last 5 years in the EPL, why is that?[/quote]Because for the first two seasons we were paying off debt, third season we spent a lot, but it didn''t work out.And all those other clubs have external investment, we don''t.Surely this has been covered enough times here so it is no longer a mystery?

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

We are not bankrolled by very rich owners is one big factor. Paying off all debts in the first 2-3 years we came up to the PL as well. If we stay up this season we should hopefully push the boat out-it''s necessary if we are going to establish ourselves.

[Canary World 0]

Happy clappers will clap!

[norfolkngood 1,087]

the Wembley 18 games ago was wonderful but when you are in the form we are in its easily forgotten

one win in 11 games is not good enough and will not keep us up

other teams like Bournemouth have a lot of the same players that were in the championship due to injuries to new players but are playing better without fear and picking up points against teams they shouldn''t

something is wrong somewhere other teams can find gems of players teams from lower divisions who can not wait to play in the PL why cant we ?

also I would say my biggest worry is why cant are manager get more out of the players ?

like lambert did with the team he had players playing way above their level of ability through passion AN doesn''t seem to get that

Redmond has lost all form ruddy is shot to bits players not playing ( laffs ) players getting dropped ie Bennett

gary monk did wonders last season Swansea best season and he isn''t performing this year so gets sacked we can not let this be 15 games one win but Wembley was only 21 games ago so all is ok AN deserves to stay then what 2 wins in 25 games or what every it will be you have to draw a line under performance and its getting close to it now for me

[Mr Apples 1,320]

If we won the Champion''s League some of our fans would still find something to complain about. Unfortunately some of our fans are just miserable, bleating whinge-bags who gravitate on messageboards (after all "misery loves company").

When you look at the likes of Coventry, Portsmouth, Wimbledon, Wigan, Bolton, Sheffield United, et al. we should be thankful for our current position.

And before accusations of happy-clapping are thrown my way I''m not happy about everything that happens, but that''s football...ups, downs, good times, bad times. If people are really dissatisfied stop going, stop following the team, go and support one of the top four, the choice is yours.

Apples

[TIL 1010 4,746]

[quote user="Canary World "]Happy clappers will clap![/quote]And you will still be Waveney. [:D]

[Lord Horn (again) 131]

Can we create a new fan sub-genre ''Unhappy Clapper''?