Delia's naivety means that this will end "ugly"

[Tumbleweed 106]

So we have owners who after 20 years seem not to have learnt a single thing. I fear that the na�ve emotional attachments which Delia forms with her favoured managers has become a major limitation on this club''s ability to move ahead and most notably, consolidate in the PL. Not just letting the Worthington and Hughton fiascos continue for far too long but the ludicrous appointments of Adams, Gunn and others. TV riches appear again to be evading us.

Not only that but she somehow thinks that Canute-like we, a flea in the world of football, can stand alone against the big money business it has become. Times change Delia, and just as your position at the top of the media cookery tree has passed to others, so you need to see what everyone else knows- that football has changed forever and there is no going back.

She and MWJ are well matched with a manager who also shows no signs of learning any lessons and who seems also to have a very loose grasp on reality.

After 4 good months in early 2015, he now sadly seems to be a lame duck.

From what I can see he has clearly "lost the dressing room". I don''t see how he can come back from that, if it is so. Some scratchy wins earlier in the season over poor sides have papered over some pretty large cracks. The players do not seem to be well organised, prepared or fit enough.

The charge list is extensive and damning.

He moved quickly to sign Tony Andreu- why, where is he now? What about Canos- has he been abducted by aliens? Oliveira gets a few kicks here and there, but we have a guy who was on fire at international level yet cast out by Neil. Until yesterday. For a few minutes.

Failure to sort the defence, an accident waiting to happen.

Bizarre tactics, strange substitutions (or sometime slack thereof), playing players out of position, mysterious "wholesale changes" which don''t materialise, none of this is conducive to success.

Neil looks like a man lost and bereft of ideas. It has been a woeful time since that memorable day in May 2015.

And others seems to be going backwards. Klose, Naismith, Olsson, even Brady all look a shadow of the players we know they can be. I think we have a great collection of players right now. In the right hands we could be an fluid, entertaining and successful team.

Our owners think Neil is one of the country''s best young managers. Based on what exactly? His inexperience is clear for all to see. He may be young and likeable but so are my kids and I wouldn''t have them in charge of NCFC.

Yesterday was monumentally depressing, the abject failure to see any signs that Neil is able to turn this around combined with the owners digging in to repeat the same old mistakes.

I can only see that the decline will have to be so monumental that we''ll either face relegation again or fan objections before anything will be done. I have been a staunch supporter of Delia over the years but now believe there her time has passed and the club needs to move on. But it is her plaything and like Mr Tan, the Venkys, Glazers et al we know that owners see it exactly that way. She appears as dogmatic and detached from reality as her darling manager.

May 2015 could mark the high water mark for us for quite a while. I am sorry to say that I don''t see this ending well.

[Chesney Hawkes 0]

Nice of you to discount January 2015 to May 2015 inclusive.

And it will end with a change of manager, as it always does. For all the loudmouths on this forum and elsewhere, there will never be a popular uprising against this board and majority shareholders. It didn''t happen when we went down to League One and it won''t happen in my lifetime.

[ricardo 8,034]

[quote user="King Crimson"] there will never be a popular uprising against this board and majority shareholders. It didn''t happen when we went down to League One and it won''t happen in my lifetime.[/quote]

[Y]

Agreed, but a bit of mild booing and a kick at the garage door when you get home is all part of the rich pageant of life as an NCFC supporter.

[Iwans Big Toe 382]

Sadly I think you are right. A combination of factors, topped off by the Times interview, means I can see the potential for this to rapidly deteriorate into a Chase-esque situation, which would be a shame as, although I think they are inept as owners, the Smiths are apparently nice people and definitely Norwich City fans.

[Buh 0]

Tl;dr

[TIL 1010 5,246]

[quote user="King Crimson"]Nice of you to discount January 2015 to May 2015 inclusive.[/quote]No he didn''t KC.After 4 good months in early 2015, he now sadly seems to be a lame duck.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

King Crimson is spot on. Its not going to happen. At least not while the keeper of the keys to st Andrews hall spends his time faffing about with online polls....

[Indy 3,471]

IBT that will never happen, our hardest core supporters sit and applauded our relegation to the third division and made excuses about the state of modern football being the reason for our fall.

This season is a big one for our finances, fail to go up and it will be goodbye to Klose, Olsson, Pinto etc. all the high earners, then any decent players will be sold to balance the books.

Back to old ways, me thinks.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

You don''t have any gumltion of your own Indy? If us old men don''t do it it doesn''t get done?

[canarycop 232]

Can''t you see ????? Godfrey,Jayeseimi, Cantwell , Murphy boys, Crowe, Killip Maddison etc etc. These are our future. Sell everyone else use youth in div 2 and start again. Why would ANYONE bring in youngsters if that wasn''t his brief from above. This is all about the board and Delias vision nothing else !!!!!!!

[Indy 3,471]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]You don''t have any gumltion of your own Indy? If us old men don''t do it it doesn''t get done?[/quote]

No nutty I don''t have the fight as its not 1995/96 anymore, you''d be arrested and banned before you could get a crowd together.

I''m afraid those days are gone customers have no influence anymore unlike the supporters of the old days.....:-)

[Iwans Big Toe 382]

Indy, I was chatting to a mate who is a season ticket holder this afternoon. He agreed with what several who were there yesterday have said, that there was an air of apathy amongst the supporters. However he also agreed with me that when you''re paying £1000+ a year for you and your family to go to the football you expect to see them win more often than not. So apathy can soon make way to anger if people start thinking that they are being taken for mugs by the owners.I guess though only time will tell, but I don''t like the Smith''s chances if they dig their heels in.

[Tumbleweed 106]

Thx Til.

Re the "ugly", I am including the possibility of decline in league position as "ugly", not marches and protests etc as I tend to agree that they are unlikely. I think more worrying is a slow steady decline as we saw in the late noughties. The good players leave, youngsters move on and we find it harder to attract the best talent. Pretty much what is happening at a host of ex Pl sides. The real danger is the long term squandering of May 2015 through dogmatic emotional attachment. This unappealing scenario seems a lot closer to me after yesterday''s double whammy.

[Indy 3,471]

Fair point IwanBT, but I think if we fail to get back up this year and the fire sale which will take place there will be a lot more empty seats next season.

[Chesney Hawkes 0]

A meaningful and coordinated march on Carrow Road in protest at the board will not happen in my lifetime, mostly because all of the whining fannies are full of hot air and have no actual desire to organise change.

No matter who owns us, manages us or plays for us, there will always be a whining bunch of old farts who think things could be better.

[Crafty Canary 547]

What may force the owners hands is club finances. If the club goes into a long Ipswich style decline attendances will gradually start to fall. ST holders will start to realise that with match day tickets becoming more and more available on an ad-hoc basis it might not be necessary to keep a ST but buy tickets as required. This would result in a further decline in attendances and the consequent decline in the club''s finances. Hopefully such a decline does not occur.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,035]

nature will inevitably takes it course on this one....and it is probably the only way it will come to a conclusion. Delia Smith is 75, she and her husband wont be around this for ever, they''ll either decide that they''re too old for this caper and step out....or father time will make the decision for them..

[Coq au vin 0]

I read this thread as Nativity. Gave me a little chuckle anyway