Stuart Webber

[Alex Moss 2,165]

No surprise but David Wagner has moved from 25/1 to 6/1 in today''s betting.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,589]

Someone probably put a tenner on in.

Really, I wouldn''t get your hopes up about Wagner. If Huddesfield don''t go up I''m pretty sure he''ll end up in the Premier League anyway - or back in Germany.

[Greavsy 2,424]

Or stay at Huddersfield to carry on what he''s started there?

[shefcanary 2,446]

It''s good this init. Nicking him from ''uddersfield will unsettle them as he has organised the contractual elements of the team whilst Wagner does the coaching; watch them drop form especially if Webber has tapped Wagner up as he left the building. Could finish as high as 3rd at this rate .........

It''s the hope that kills you ........

[Rogue Baboon 0]

Tuchel to Arsenal, Wagner to Dortmund?

[Horse Renoir 1]

Wanted him and got him, pretty quickly as well. What great news!

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,589]

Well, they have been planning this since Moxey left so not THAT quickly.

Not even 100% sure this was their first choice, but it could be a very good appointment (not that Webber has a faultless CV).

[ZLF 274]

A progressive sign for the club, very few perfect signings but this is encouraging and despite the angst ridden proclamations of many just shows the club and it''s board are not yet a laughing stock.

Just coach, then squad shuffling and finally team building left for the next five months, but a great first step.

[Crafty Canary 497]

PurpleCanary wrote the following post at 24/03/2017 8:45 AM:

This looks like a real coup. A few points. There was scoffing over Balls'' announcement, after he became chairman, of drawing up a long-term strategy, but this is plainly part of that. Whether it will work is another matter, but Balls has obviously not been idle.

Was the sacking of Neal a fundamental part of this strategy? If not then it seems unlikely that the current situation was intended as this stage. More likely is that following the deterioration in the fans'' attitude towards Neal and the board that the change was made and the new structure decided on and the search for a SD begun. It may well be that a new operational structure was developed following the resignation of Moxey but I doubt its implementation was envisaged so early given the love in for Neal.

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

[quote user="Crafty Canary"]PurpleCanary wrote the following post at 24/03/2017 8:45 AM:

This looks like a real coup. A few points. There was scoffing over Balls'' announcement, after he became chairman, of drawing up a long-term strategy, but this is plainly part of that. Whether it will work is another matter, but Balls has obviously not been idle.

Was the sacking of Neal a fundamental part of this strategy? If not then it seems unlikely that the current situation was intended as this stage. More likely is that following the deterioration in the fans'' attitude towards Neal and the board that the change was made and the new structure decided on and the search for a SD begun. It may well be that a new operational structure was developed following the resignation of Moxey but I doubt its implementation was envisaged so early given the love in for Neal.[/quote]The loudest sound on this message-board over the last week or so has been that of foxes being shot. On his first day as chairman Balls said he intended to draw up a 10-year plan to secure Norwich City''s future, with the clear implication that might involve significant changes in the way the club was run. We now get just that kind of wide-ranging and well-thought-out restructuring.Of course that won''t do. We can''t have sensible strategic decision-making from a tap-dancing failed politician (and a failed SOCIALIST politician at that). So this wide-ranging and well-thought-out restructuring that Balls foreshadowed when he joined the board was actually all just thrown together in a panic in the last few weeks. Yeah, right.

[Crafty Canary 497]

Oh, I see. When Balls explained that the reason for not sacking Neil in January was the hope he would achieve the run of results that he did when first appointed, this was part of his master strategy for the development of the club. Presumably Neil was to become head coach as part of this master plan. I wonder why the recruitment of a SD wasn''t actioned then rather than now following Neil'' sacking. A wide ranging and well thought out re-structuring? Yeah, right.

[Bill 1,788]

"We can''t have sensible strategic decision-making

from a tap-dancing failed politician (and a failed SOCIALIST politician

at that).or any reasoned comment in regard to what a Chairman is responsible for either, it would appear

[City 2nd 191]

Balls is the non exc. Chairman. The owners are Smith and Jones!

Balls was brought in by the latter two after Foulger departed. He was brought in to advise the wise ones in a non paid role. Hasn''t he now done that? No one can ever be sure that he didn''t want Neil gone, but the owners, reknowned for their allegiance to managers, didn''t! So all in all I would suggest that his drawn up long term strategy was finally listened too! Maybe we can all thank God for that come the end of this, or next season!

[......and Smith must score. 1,359]

[quote user="City 2nd"]Balls is the non exc. Chairman. The owners are Smith and Jones!

Balls was brought in by the latter two after Foulger departed. [/quote]I think you must mean Bowkett ?Foulger - what a great name for somebody into chickens - is still there.

[Rock The Boat 1,332]

[quote user="Crafty Canary"]Oh, I see. When Balls explained that the reason for not sacking Neil in January was the hope he would achieve the run of results that he did when first appointed, this was part of his master strategy for the development of the club. Presumably Neil was to become head coach as part of this master plan. I wonder why the recruitment of a SD wasn''t actioned then rather than now following Neil'' sacking. A wide ranging and well thought out re-structuring? Yeah, right.[/quote]

You seem not to know the difference between a strategy and tactics.

[Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd 0]

This Is not part of a long term strategy formed before Moxey came in that''s for certain ,but formed since he left and the subsequent sacking of AN . To claim anything different is ignoring facts , and given positions , Unless of course Moxey was only supposed to be here for six months ?? Because it''s not what he said when he arrived .

Hastily thought up ,, with the outright aim of saving money , that''s not to say it won''t work , hopefully with the right personnel it will.

[Nuff Said 5,175]

Give us some of these ''facts'' that back up what you''re saying then.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Maybe Moxey didn''t want to be reunited with Webber...

[Hairy Canary 707]

Having a Chief Exec and a Director of Football seems a bit unlikely!

[PurpleCanary 5,580]

[quote user="Rock The Boat"][quote user="Crafty Canary"]Oh, I see. When Balls explained that the reason for not sacking Neil in January was the hope he would achieve the run of results that he did when first appointed, this was part of his master strategy for the development of the club. Presumably Neil was to become head coach as part of this master plan. I wonder why the recruitment of a SD wasn''t actioned then rather than now following Neil'' sacking. A wide ranging and well thought out re-structuring? Yeah, right.[/quote]

You seem not to know the difference between a strategy and tactics.[/quote]That is exactly right, RTB. The strategy is the long-term plan, which is the new structure. Who at any one time fills the positions in the new structure counts as the tactics (no-one ever said they envisaged Neil being manager for 10 years, and I doubt the directors are assuming Webber, if it is him, will stay that long either). Which is why attempts now to paint this whole strategic process as something cobbled together in the wake of recent events are wrong.I know it must be annoying for some, but Balls plainly was working on a strategic vision for the next decade or so, even if it is possible the timing of its implementation/position-filling has been influenced by events, such as Moxey departing, for something unrelated to the football side of the business. Equally the board may have been about to install a Sporting Director with Moxey and Neil still in place.

[Feedthewolf 4,871]

[quote user="Nuff Said"]Give us some of these ''facts'' that back up what you''re saying then.[/quote]Thought not [:D]

[Icecream Snow 762]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]That is exactly right, RTB. The strategy is the long-term plan, which is the new structure. Who at any one time fills the positions in the new structure counts as the tactics (no-one ever said they envisaged Neil being manager for 10 years, and I doubt the directors are assuming Webber, if it is him, will stay that long either). Which is why attempts now to paint this whole strategic process as something cobbled together in the wake of recent events are wrong

I know it must be annoying for some, but Balls plainly was working on a strategic vision for the next decade or so, even if it is possible the timing of its implementation/position-filling has been influenced by events, such as Moxey departing, for something unrelated to the football side of the business. Equally the board may have been about to install a Sporting Director with Moxey and Neil still in place[/quote]

I think there''s a couple a factors at play. Firstly Steve Stone has been interim Chief Executive twice, and the board seemed to be impressed with his acumen and leadership, but there''s a gap on the footballing side. Hence the MD role, with the footballing side delivered by the Sporting Director, seems tailor made for him.

The Head Coach role. When McNally created his ill-fated football board, one of the examples he''d used was Chris Hughton phoning him up at 11pm on a Thursday trying to organize a loan of Cameron McGeehan to Luton, and McNally wanting him to focus on the first team and the game on Saturday. Certainly the modern managers role has changed dramatically. I was watching Larry Lloyd on a Forest DVD, and Clough won two European cups and the league, with 4-4-2 and not caring about the opposition, and barely any coaching.

We''ll have to see exactly how much power the Sporting Director has. From Balls'' comments, it seems far removed from the days of Gunn as "Head of Recruitment" as a glorified secretary . As Iwan Roberts points out on the front page, our scouting has been sub-par for many years now. With Tony Xia and his £10million+ for Scott Hogan, Ross McCormack and Kodija, there''s no value in the Championship any more, so if we''re going to go back up, we need to improve our foreign scouting.

[It's Character Forming 1,165]

Football does strike me as very out-moded in its approach to management and we have to remember that the turnover of football clubs was really pretty small until not that long ago.

 

Also, the point was made on another thread that where a club wants to improve things in the short term, the main choices are to change the manager, and/or to change some of the players.  Everything else is medium/long term.  So the average tenure of a manager is incredibly short, as Purple has pointed out.  This means managers tend to take a very short-term view - they don''t really need to worry about long-term financial stability of the club or building for several seasons down the line, because it''s unlikely they''ll be around.

 

The appeal of the DoF role is the idea that it is long term appointment of someone with football expertise.

 

Plus there must be more involved in managing the whole football side of things than just one person can deal with, I know the idea of having a loan manager seems a bit laughable, but that''s a good point, if you have the first team manager having to deal with all of that sort of BS, it must get in the way of more important things.

[Diane 500]

Thought this was interesting, explains the role of a Sporting Director

http://trainingground.guru/articles/sporting-director-footballs-most-misunderstood-job

Could someone make it clicky please

[dibbler 0]

http://trainingground.guru/articles/sporting-director-footballs-most-misunderstood-job

[westcoastcanary 173]

"Recently, Norwich outlined a clear expectation of what their Sporting Director would be tasked with. This transparent approach is welcomed, and no-doubt many will be hoping to see Stuart Webber lead the Canaries on to success."

Presumably this refers to whatever job advert was put out? Or has there been a club statement I''ve missed? 

[Lessingham Canary 99]

@Diane;

Thought this was interesting, explains the role of a Sporting Director

A good read Diane, hopefully gives some comfort to any who are afraid of change.

[Sussexyellow 55]

[quote user="westcoastcanary"]"Recently, Norwich outlined a clear expectation of what their Sporting Director would be tasked with. This transparent approach is welcomed, and no-doubt many will be hoping to see Stuart Webber lead the Canaries on to success."

Presumably this refers to whatever job advert was put out? Or has there been a club statement I''ve missed? 

[/quote]

Possibly the job advert, possibly the job description - who knows?

However the way the author quotes Norwich does suggest he has a very good knowledge of our situation. Makes me wonder if he was used as a consultant or even an advisor on establishing the post and making the appointment.

Interesting article though - thanks for putting it up Diane.

[westcoastcanary 173]

@Sussexyellow

"However the way the author quotes Norwich does suggest he has a very good knowledge of our situation. Makes me wonder if he was used as a consultant or even an advisor on establishing the post and making the appointment."

Very possibly, especially as Lee Darnborough is among those listed as having been on the course.

[westcoastcanary 173]

The key priorities for the Sporting Director are:

Support the first team and head coach

Maintain and manage a positive working relationship with the owner

Employ the best people within budget as department heads

Oversee the implementation of the club’s DNA and identity a suitable playing philosophy across all teams, from first team to Academy.

Implement and maintain a scouting network

Manage the movement of players in and out of the club

Oversee the academy and development teams (extending to community foundations for talent identification)

Oversee the performance departments including medical and sport science

Oversee the training ground

The Sporting Director is the custodian of the club’s sporting performance and must have:

Football industry knowledge

Business and financial acumen

Ability to lead and develop a high performance culture

Ability to develop and deliver a strategy both strategically and operationally

Understanding of - and the ability to deliver - good governance

Ability to manage change and innovation

Ability to manage research (monitor and evaluate) on relevant performance measures

Can''t understand why so many people are pooh-poohing this whole restructuring idea. It''s exactly what was needed.