Neil's comments in that Gary Johnson article on the Pinkun

[Jim Smith 2,612]

Wow. Breathtaking arrogance.

[lake district canary 4,837]

Where''s the arrogance?  

“You have to believe in what you are doing. The fact is you can’t

control what other people say. You have to be brave enough to make big decisions because sometimes you

make them and everyone else feels they are wrong. When you run a

football club I get all the information flowed into me. I see the

players and staff on a daily basis. I know everything that goes on -

whereas the guy who is criticising is the guy in the house who sees the

team on a Saturday. They don’t have all the facts at hand.”

Looks - as usual - as if AN is just saying things as they are. 

[Herman 11,136]

Good morning Jim. The sun is up.

[hogesar 10,779]

If that were the case LDC he shouldn''t get so much wrong. Although I understand why he dropped Klose and Wes...had to for him to be taken remotely seriously...

[Mister Chops 7]

Oh Jimmy Jim Jim, you''re more negative spinny than a negative spinny thing.

What would you rather he say? Because from where I''m sitting it sounds fine to me.

[Matt Juler 211]

I''d rather he didn''t offer an opinion.

[TCCANARY 263]

I think he''s required to do interviews or he''ll be fined by the EFL/FA.

[king canary 8,763]

Opened this fully expecting him to have mentioned being manager of the month once.

Disappointed.

[Matt Juler 211]

"It''s not for me to comment on Gary or the job he''s doing at Bristol City". That''s the sort of quote you hear week in, week out. However Alex Neil has used it as an opportunity to belittle the Norwich fans.

[lake district canary 4,837]

[quote user="Matt Juler"]"It''s not for me to comment on Gary or the job he''s doing at Bristol City". That''s the sort of quote you hear week in, week out. However Alex Neil has used it as an opportunity to belittle the Norwich fans.[/quote]Amazing what people will read into the simplest of statements.  He is just stating the truth - he sees what goes on day in day out, the rest of us don''t.

[Jim Smith 2,612]

He is saying we are not qualified to comment on what we see on the pitch because we don''t see what goes on behind the scenes day in day out. He knows best. I don''t need to see what goes on at Conley to see the obvious flaws on the pitch and with his tactical abilities.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

Those comments quote by LDC are true, as far as they go.  But there are several problems with this.  First, if one accepts that only a person in his position (with all the information flowing to him, etc) is in a position to judge his performance, then he - and every football manager - would be immune from criticism.  Including by the owners (who also wouldn''t see everything that is going on - they would have more information that you and I, but still much less than AN).  And that''s just unrealistic.

 

The second problem is that all that information flowing to him, and all the work he''s doing, only has one purpose - to produce a successful City team.  And success is measured solely by performances on the pitch, which we fans do see and are entitled to criticise.

 

Yes, specific management decisions (e.g. dropping a player) may be driven by issues off the pitch so we don''t see the reasons for them.  But most of the criticism of AN this season and last season has been about the poor performance of the team on the pitch, and he needs to understand that fans are entitled to call him to account for those failings.

[Jim Smith 2,612]

He is in fact running the argument Morty has advanced on here many times! ;-)

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

[quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="Matt Juler"]"It''s not for me to comment on Gary or the job he''s doing at Bristol City". That''s the sort of quote you hear week in, week out. However Alex Neil has used it as an opportunity to belittle the Norwich fans.[/quote]Amazing what people will read into the simplest of statements.  He is just stating the truth - he sees what goes on day in day out, the rest of us don''t.

[/quote]Assuming you agree with this, but still don''t agree that being at the game gives you a different perspective than listening to the radio and watching highlights? [:^)]

[TCCANARY 263]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]He is in fact running the argument Morty has advanced on here many times! ;-)[/quote]

Tremendous insight there Jim. Morty was AN, in his next press conference AN will use the expression ''bell end''.

[Mister Chops 7]

So morty was actually Alex Neil all along?

I think we all knew it really.

[Guest]

Just another "policy" remark from somebody under pressure.

If you haven''t got an answer, roll out the Thatcheresque "you don''t understand".

The supporters leave the day to day running to the club for obvious reasons. They just expect to see the end product on match day. And the question is why can the team thrash somebody 5-1 one week and then come under pressure from teams below them the next.

[CJ 1]

Most fans do not care what goes on all week with the players etc all week , it is the ninety mins week in week out that matter.

The players clearly lack confidence which shows so clearly away from home , they in my opinion are also not fit as noted by Gary Johnson himself .

I am honestly staggered that any fan believes AN can turn this around. He has made decisions over last two years that got us relegated and failed to get us even in the play offs this year.

Until the fans turn on the board , management nothing will change

[Guest]

"I am honestly staggered that any fan believes AN can turn this around. He has made decisions over last two years that got us relegated and failed to get us even in the play offs this year. "

That is it in a nutshell. Those of us who want him removed have presented the evidence that we believe means he should go.

I''m afraid those who don''t want him removed have not presented any clear evidence of why he should stay. "Good young manager" and "got us to the Prem" or "still mathematically possible to make the play offs" do not apply at all.

Two seasons of mediocrity with the biggest transfer kitty of any NCFC manager, apart from the odd good result, far outweigh 2015.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

Overpaid failure.

[Duncan Edwards 2,424]

I agree that he won''t turn it around but using the transfer kitty against him is a bit tight.

It''s all relative and he''s not at a specific advantage because everybody else in the Prem had that cash and more to spend. And when all said and done having "loadsamoney" is great, 10 years ago 7m bought you a striker on the verge of playing for England like Ashton, it now buys you Wildschut or half of Ross McCormack. Simplistic I know but let''s not pretend it''s somehow any easier for Neil than any of his predecessors that managed in the Prem.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

The problem for me is that we''re in the 2nd tier of English football, and if you look at the quality of the squad we have, it''s easily stronger than any squad that a City manager has had in the 2nd tier since at least 1995 (including the squads that won two automatic promotions and the squad AN took up through the playoffs).  And it''s also relatively one of the strongest squads in the division this season. Which is why failure to even make the playoffs is such a serious failure of management.

 

Also this is why I get sick of seeing comments by people about City fans having a sense of "entitlement".  I know we have no entitlement to be in the Prem, or to be a top team in the Champs.  And I''m fully aware that when the parachute payments have gone, the quality of our squad will decline dramatically.  So it''s vital we take advantage of our temporary strong position.  We''ve blown it this season, which was always going to be our best chance.  Next season, we''ll lose some more of our better players, but should still have a pretty strong squad.  If we fail again, we could be down here for a long stay...

 

Which is why I''m so utterly frustrated that we''re sticking with a manager who is failing to get the best out of our players.

[Guest]

Simplistic I know but let''s not pretend it''s somehow any easier for Neil than any of his predecessors that managed in the Prem.

But the fact remains, even allowing for inflation, he has spent a lot of money on players who aren''t regulars. The other managers spent money and played the people they bought.

Who is a definite starter from the players AN has bought?

Brady was probably the only one and now Pinto.

At the moment i believe:

Pinto-Hit

Dorrans-Miss

Jarvis-Miss

Klose-Miss

Naismith-Miss

Brady-Minor Hit

Widschut-?

Pritchard-?

Oliviera-?

I call them misses because they have yet to establish themselves in the team.

[Jim Smith 2,612]

In fairness I would say Oliveira has done well. I also think Pritchard will turn out to be a good signing for us although possibly not under this manager. Ditto Maddison.

[hogesar 10,779]

I''ve been practicing my BOOO''s on my girlfriend whilst she''s cooking us tea.

Hopefully it doesn''t hurt me as much on Saturday

[Guest]

In fairness I would say Oliveira has done well. I also think Pritchard will turn out to be a good signing for us although possibly not under this manager. Ditto Maddison.

You are probably right about the players but we just don''t know yet. And I fear for them under AN.

[Chesney Hawkes 0]

I''ve started leaving the dinner table halfway through my meal and throwing my wedding ring at my wife.

[Guest]

[quote user="Jamie Witherspoon"]I''ve started leaving the dinner table halfway through my meal and throwing my wedding ring at my wife.[/quote]

That is a strange place to keep a dinner table. I keep mine on the dining room floor.

[im spartacus canary 0]

Mr chops is back yay 🙌

[Chesney Hawkes 0]

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls

It''s a mixed up muddled up shook up world