What's the deal with Colney?

[Rogue Baboon 0]

A few years ago it was a fantastic facility that was the envy of lots of other clubs

Now it''s apparently it''s dated and putting players off?

Having never actually been, did we get it to a certain point in time then just reduce all funding?

[daly 553]

Wait till you see the Barrett''s helicopter circling Colney

[morty 0]

Absolute slum.Players literally poised to sign on the line, then cancelling when they see it.

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

The sad reality is, this wouldn''t have happened under ''Big Bad Bob''!

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

.......I know my old memory is not that good, but what happened to updating Colney for Category One Academy status?

[Herman 11,136]

It''s quite picturesque. Footballers are just soft.

[Coq au vin 0]

:D

[Van wink 2,994]

It''s a bit windy and can also be cold outdoors when the weather is cold so you have to run around to keep warm. Also it''s near a hospital so you might catch ebola or leprosy.

[Jim Smith 2,611]

I see its now being spun that the Colney Facilities are making it hard to sign players. Utter garbage.

I very much doubt the Colney facilities (which may need a bit of updating but are really still quite pleasant) would be an issue were we paying enough, top two with genuine promotion prospects or if we had a decent manager players want to play for.

Why are we again in this window targeting players from big clubs like Sporting Lisbon and Ajax who are unlikely to see Norwich as a step up or even possibly a sideways step. if you go for such players then you need to be able to pay them enough to get deals over the line but we are trying to sign them whilst also presumably trying to reduce our wage bill. It does not make sense and once again th strategy appears flawed. If we are moving to this "self sufficient" sustainable model that has been mentioned surely we need to be targeting young, hungry players for whom Norwich is seen as a good move.

[TCCANARY 263]

It is interesting that there are posters on here who seem to be ITK as to what goes on at traaaynin but none of them has mentioned how poor the facilities are.

[TCCANARY 263]

[quote user="Herman"]It''s quite picturesque. Footballers are just soft.[/quote]

Trowse had a good slope but not as good as that one!

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Nothing to do with colney we are a club on the slide no money and a plank for a manager that''s why players don''t want to come

[Coq au vin 0]

Do you get invited to a lot of parties Yorkshire?

[Herman 11,136]

[quote user="Morgan"]Do you get invited to a lot of parties Yorkshire?[/quote]He''s a funeral moocher.

[norfolkngood 1,174]

It is not that bad !

yes the changing rooms need updating but it is not a slum by any means

the indoor pitch is ok little tired on the outside but still ok

when you go to chelsea and arsenal yes it is million miles different but we are not those clubs

so yes a bit tired in places but nothing a few bricks would not update to get rid of the portakabins

should or would it put players off i doubt it pinto klose naismith have all be at better training grounds and they didn''t mind

Players might be more put off by a unknown manager out of his depth and coaches that can not get the best out of players than a training ground

[Indy 3,477]

I''m not sure why so many need to be so defensive about the quality of Colney, wasn''t it Baily who said it was the reason.

I''m with Norfolk, we can''t be too attractive at present to the likes of Zeegelaar as a club, AN under pressure from the fans, sitting mid table, lack of clout compared to other clubs who are linked with these players.

I think the club is doing its best to try to bat above their league with these signings but our budget and attractiveness will limit who we can sign.

It might be prudent to keep Brady for the time being as I don''t think we can get a replacement anywhere near his quality this January.

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

I remember McNally speaking about it in that Little Yellow Bird Project interview.Essentially it''s middle of the road in the Championship. It wasn''t upgraded as soon as we were promoted to the Premier League as all available funds went into the squad. There were plans in place for upgrades but who knows if they''re actually happening now.Would suggest not listening to that interview, it''ll only make you miss him more.

[daly 553]

Realise now Colney is the reason why we dropped out of TP and are where we are now

[Indy 3,477]

As much as some are taking the piss out of Colney, it does have a big bearing on players, they spend most their working life at these facilities, training, eating and getting treatments, so if it has been neglected as Baily adheres to then I can see it being a major pert of these guys not to sign.

These guys aren''t coming from Burton or Yeovil so won''t be wowed by Colney!

[TheEarlyMilkman 0]

While being on a tour of the training facilities last

season, they stated that they need to upgrade it to make it better for players

to relax and spend their downtime at the training ground. It once was state of

the art, was it 2002 when they last spent money on it? Nothing has changed

since then.

 

I understand a player like Klose coming in who knows no one

and his family won’t have moved across with him, will want some private

downtime, he doesn’t want to be mixing at the regular gyms around Norwich. They

want to train have some lunch and chill out at colney.

 

The gym is dated and not modern enough, they should have a

swimming pool with sauna facilities and a general area where players can chill

in private.

this is a massive reason why we can’t recruit players IMO,

[Paul Spector 0]

Indy - I certainly don''t think any players coming from Burton would be wowed by Colney anyway!!!

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Colney offers little temptation

[Jim Smith 2,611]

@Indy - the point is surely that we should have adapted the strategy to target players who do want to join us. When you are in the prem, you can get players who wouldn''t otherwise join a club like ours simply because they want prem football or because you chuck enough money at them. We can''t promise either at the moment so we should be recruiting more smartly.

[Jim Smith 2,611]

Sorry I don''t buy that its a major factor. May have a bearing if a player is already unsure about joining us but some very big clubs until relatively recently had very sh*t training facilities and it made no difference.

Prospects

Money

Manager

Those will be the three main reasons we are struggling to recruit the players we are currently targeting. Colney probably comes somewhere below location on the list.

[Matt Juler 211]

I drive past the Wycombe Wanderers training ground on the way to work every day. I can guarantee that any Wycombe player would be fall in love with Colney looking at the state of the building and the outside pitches... anyone for Adebayo Akinfenwa?

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Maybe we need a new order in charge at Colney?

[Guest]

I think I''ve heard it all now.

Someone doesn''t want to sign for us because the changing rooms aren''t what they expected?

And their dining room isn''t brand new every day?

Why would we want softies like that playing for us anyway?

I''m all for progress but you go to training to get or keep fit, practice what ever skill needs working on and listen to what the coaching team want you to do.

[Syteanric 1]

Colney was state of the art when it was built... but lack on investment (surely not..!!) Has meant it''s now showing it''s age

Spend in the right areas and facilities and we''ll attract players

[TCCANARY 263]

[quote user="Syteanric"]Colney was state of the art when it was built... but lack on investment (surely not..!!) Has meant it''s now showing it''s age

Spend in the right areas and facilities and we''ll attract players[/quote]

Yes good idea. When the players are being shown around Colney they should be allowed to demand something that they''d want upgraded before they sign.

[jb 0]

Built on an old pet cemetery apparently.