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Cantiaci Canary

'Cruel' to be kind

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It has taken me a long while to cool on Alex Neil ... his magical intervention at Bournemouth, outstanding set of results (especially the last one at CR!) to take us to the Playoff Final and the subsequent pinning of yellow and green ribbons on a Wembley trophy earns him a special corner of my heart.

I have no doubt that he works extremely hard and sets very ambitious targets for himself and his players.

But.

It''s actually sad looking at him and hearing him now. He is a shell of the confident, assured and dynamic young man who grabbed the club by the scruff of the neck 2 years ago. We''ve gone full circle and he''s well and truly lost his way. To admit, again, that he got things wrong with his line up just shouldn''t happen after all this time with a squad he''s built and coached.

I like Mr Neil. I wish him all the very best. But, because of this, I think the Board should relieve him of his duties. Force him to step back, recouperate, reflect, observe other coaches and come back with a new club revitalised, confident and wiser.

It''s torture watching him right now ... and pretty sad.

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Unless there is an unseeable upturn in fortune I fear this is going to finish in a Worthy/Hughton style end.

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And we could see it finish worthy/Hughton style on Tuesday night. Could end very ugly. Steve Bruce knows how to organise and set up a side so don''t be expecting any performance like we saw from Brentford.

Bottom of the form guide on last 6 games.

10 points from last 10 games.

I''m fearing the worst, especially if we''re gonna see a side with Bennett & Bassong at centre back.

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[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]This is what I don''t understand. Why do we always hold on to broken managers for so so long? And any decent ones we end up with won''t stay![/quote]

It''s the board. It''s taken people a while to realise it but the rot truly does start at the top.

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[quote user="Canary Wundaboy"][quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]This is what I don''t understand. Why do we always hold on to broken managers for so so long? And any decent ones we end up with won''t stay![/quote]

It''s the board. It''s taken people a while to realise it but the rot truly does start at the top.[/quote]^This with knobs on.

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1 win in 12 and a really poor average performance level this year. Nothing''s being learned on the tactical front and he can''t get a reaction from the players often enough.

It''s pretty incredible and ridiculous that he''s still in a job. I don''t think any other club our size in the same position would have kept him this long. You have to wonder what the hell the board are playing at right now.

Turning this round would require turning 12 months of generally poor performances, not a small blip this season as the board sees it.

Wouldn''t be surprised at all if they''ve gotten too friendly with Neil like they did with Worthington and are hanging on for his benefit instead of the clubs.

But then again I''m reminded of Jez Moxey and our board pre McNally''s past record of managerial appointments...Sigh

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The questin here isis it likely to get any better?I''m not sure what''s gone wrong but it has to be fixed. Against Brentford and yesterday''s second half proved that the team can perform as required, but that should be regularly not be in response to continuous failure.If expectations are high then it is because the quality f the squad is high.I don''t doubt AN''s motivational skills or enthusiasm, but his team selections do appear to be wrong... regularly.As above, nothing less than a convincing win (playing, not necessarily goals) against Villa will buy him time. Thankfully we have Alan Irvine to step into the breach if needed.But I doubt I am alone in feeling sad that it has come to this.

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[quote user="Hairy Canary"]Bit hit and miss Nutty but probably stands up well against the previous trio of Grant, Roeder and Gunn. IMO[/quote]But why only quote three when to be a fair comparison with McNally''s quartet Worthington, a success, has to be included?

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]Mcnallys record is

Lambert

Hughton

Adams

Neil.[/quote]

Lambert-many will think one of our best ever managers

Hughton-Kept us in Premiership-Boards lunacy to sack him when they did. Can''t be bad with what he did with Newcastle and now Brighton

Adams-Boards lunacy to appoint him with "no" managerial experience whatsoever!

Neil-Got us promoted in sensational style. However, his naivity started to show in Premiership, and very little has changed this season. Doesn''t seem to learn from mistakes-obsessed with one up front when it doesn''t work. Most difficult period of his career but have serious concerns his "youthfullness in managerial career" can turn this around

But....

With completely inept Board behind him, seriously worried whilst they''re at the helm, and would they back a new manager with any funds to strengthen?

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]Mcnallys record is

Lambert

Hughton

Adams

Neil.[/quote]Under Delia Smith''s majority shareholding:Mike Walker (2)Bruce RiochBryan HamiltonNigel WorthingtonPeter GrantGlen RoederBryan GunnMake up your own minds..................one reasonable success with Smith in my book............Worthington, the rest pretty disastrous imo.

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We''ve got a weak board, a weak squad and a weak manager. We''re doomed.

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]They''re all hit and miss Hairy. Not just here but at all clubs.[/quote]

Totally agree Nutty. They pretty much all get the push sooner or later.

It''s not that they suddenly become bad managers, it''s just that it''s the sort of post that is almost impossible to keep succeeding at. When things go wrong it takes a very special person to turn things around. It''s much easier in my opinion to keep riding the wave than starting a new one once the momentum has gone. Particularly so if the playing squad remains largely static for a long period.

The tough part is making the decision to change at the right time, not just for the good of the club but also for the manager himself. A fresh start somewhere else and all that. Hughton for instance.

All a matter of opinion of course but personally I haven''t seen anything like enough from AN to warrant his staying for as long as he has and both the club and Alex are getting the rough end at the moment because of it. Genuinely I don''t see he deserves the Worthington type exit which I fear is not far away.

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Why do some fans think in order to sack a manager that a replacement needs to be known? Were Norwich fans thinking Alex Neil when Adams was removed? Probably not. Did Norwich fans have Lambert in mind when Gunn was sacked? Probably not.

With our current run and underperforming manager, even a caretaker manager in the interim might be a better option.

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My thoughts exactly Mr Solo, though I am in no doubt that the club keeps a sort of updated list of vailable/suitable if only in case of any sudden departure, for whatever reason.At the moment we do have someone who has managerial experience, Alan irvine, ready to step in if needed. Though that is only a presumption on my part.Timewise it would make sense after Villa if things don''t improve if only for the time it allows, 12 days.However that will depend on a number of ther factors. How much they see AN as part of the club, developing the youth etc. If so could that mean the unexpected - he moves sideways.The time scale is not so much time to look for someone else, that can be done at any time - but time for a new manger to ''bed in'' so to speak.However I still very much want AN to work so, we will have to see.

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]When is the right time? And who is the right manager?

2 rolls of the dice Im afraid.[/quote]

Agree again Nutty. Someone has a couple of tough decisions to make.

Though I will say that we shouldn''t forget that making a decision not to change the manager is also a roll of the dice.

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It is. That was my point when people were berating the board for "being indecisive". So far they have been very decisive and certainly are not afraid of tough decisions...

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[quote user="Mary Poppins"]Thought we were playing Tuesday and Friday, so what''s the twelve days?[/quote]Alan Irvine takes over as stand in for HTFC (as stated)Weds 14th - Sun 25th 12 days

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What our inept board need to do is make the decision that is best for the club and do it quickly, not delay and cross their fingers out of some kind of misguided sentiment. The fact they''ve allowed him to drag us down so far already this season is practically negligent.

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[quote user="Herman"]Unless there is an unseeable upturn in fortune I fear this is going to finish in a Worthy/Hughton style end. [/quote]

I think when it goes it will be worse. The deal re Nepotism Tom, the fa cup ticket price thing and general unhappiness with the board I think we are looking at another end of chase event

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[quote user="Herman"]Will you be throwing your pie in their general direction?[/quote]

Scampi and chips in the gunn club then getting my pitchfork out for the fun and games

No doubt you will be booing at your illegal stream

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]It is. That was my point when people were berating the board for "being indecisive". So far they have been very decisive and certainly are not afraid of tough decisions...[/quote]With the greatest respect NN, I find it very difficult to believe that you actually believe that.  With the greatest stretch of my imagination, remembering the dithering over the end of the Hughton era for example, ''decisive'', and ''not afraid of tough decisions'', are not phrases I could associate with our BOD even taking into account that McNally was here at the time.  Who I don''t believe was a ditherer incidentally.

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Yes I do mean that. This idea that a decision is only a decision if you agree with it stinks of arrogance. I trust the board to get it right far more than i trust you and Jim Smith. You guys are always right. If we roll the dice and it gets worse you decree that it was left too long or the wrong replacement was made. If we roll the dice and it gets better then you were right alk along. The board don''t have that luxury of being able to be right all the time. Their decisions have consequences.

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It was only at the AGM on November 23rd that the Board gave the manager their full support and backing, their hardly likely to sack him after a mere three games later? I think they''ll just hang him out to dry like they did with Worthy and Hughton in the hope he might resign. Whilst it might be a roll of the dice, keeping Neil is a far greater risk than sacking him now, otherwise our better players will jump ship and whilst it might not be this season I can see us hurtling towards League One with him in control.

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