The Webberlution... It's time to buy into this.

[kick it off 2,062]

This isn''t a one season job.

Webber said he''d need four transfer windows to sort us out.

So far he has cleared the decks of the high earners, Jerome, Naismith and Martin being the latest casualties (fair play to them btw for not sitting on their ar5e collecting their pay checks like Lafferty did). We''re only in window 2 of Webber''s 4. Jerome is a great bit of business - we got our money back on a player that looked to be declining if we''re being honest, was on big-ish wages etc. Yes, I love Cam and think he is an absolute model pro, and will never forget some  of the memories he gave us, but this isn''t about the here and now, or the sentimental bit - there is a bigger picture here.

Suddenly, we''re starting to see things come together. 

I posted in December when there was a lot of dissent on here about Webber and Farke, that Jamal Lewis was the missing link to this team as Farke wanted to play 3-5-2 but was forced to play 4 at the back because Husband and Stiepermann weren''t capable of playing LWB. Seems that was quite prescient as that''s exactly what has happened, and let''s be honest, we look like a decent team playing it. OK - it''s not perfect but our results and performances are much improved, and the players will get better within the system as they bed into it, and we can start getting personnel to fit the system, rather than trying to shoehorn the wrong players into the system which I think is what Farke was trying to do in August.

It''s not always going to be rainbows and unicorns, we are going to lose games to $h1t teams we should beat once in a while (although hopefully not the scum - I''m desperate for us to take that run to a decade and we''re only 2 or 3 games from doing that!) but we took Arsenal right to the wire at the Emirates. We held the champions home and away and went out bravely on pens. 

We have culled a HUGE amount of deadwood and high earners from the squad and we have now got a really solid core group of players that we can build around.

Zimmermann is a colossus - best CB we have got.. What a signing that has been. Trybull equally so. Vrancic is starting to show signs of emerging into quite a decent player after a trickey adaptation period. Stiepermann hasn''t really played in his correct position so hard to judge but certainly looks like a competent footballer at worst. Hanley is nothing massively special, and was at fault for the goal tonight but looks like a decent top end Champs CB on the balance of his performances so far.

The only ones Webber has signed who look a bit clueless have been Franke (who may still come good or we will at least make some of the money back from - not every player works out) and Husband who I don''t think was signed to be anything more than back up anyway - it was clear in pre-season Jamal Lewis was breaking through and with hindsight, that''s an awful lot of money we saved by not signing Mitchell Dijks (who I think is a great player by the way).

We are still going to lose players, and it will be players we all like I''m afraid. Tettey won''t be here next season unless he accepts a large pay cut because he really wants to stay. Oliviera will be gone either this window or next (starting to think that''s not a bad thing though - on his day he is unplayable but his days are few and far between this season and he looks disinterested and uninspired). Maddison is destined for bigger things than us - best case scenario with him is Tottenham or Liverpool buy him for 25+ mill in the summer and loan him back to us for a year.  If anyone thinks we''re keeping any of those 3, they''re likely to be disappointed.... this is a massive period of transition for us - we''re rebuilding essentially the whole squad. Klose is probably another high earner that won''t be here next season.

But, we no longer have overpaid primadonna tw**s like Lafferty, Whittaker etc - we have a team that fights with passion and heart. Ivo was in the Portugese press the other day saying how proud he was to be given the captain''s armband. You could see what the goal tonight meant to Jamal Lewis. Trybull and Zimmermann are warriors.

I can''t speak for anyone else, but I finally feel like we''re getting our club back. There''s going to be some growing pains, and we need to get some new faces in before we can really judge, but it''s time to shut up the whinging, stop the knee-jerk ractionism every time we get a bad result, and get behind the lads, regardless of where we finish this season. Give Webber and Farke the time they need to do this job right, and see what happens.

This is football - there are no guarantees but ultimately the club has rarely seen a rebuild of this magnitude. It isn''t going to happen over night. It''s time we bought in and pulled in the same direction, because the signs are positive that actually, Webber and Farke may just be able to pull this off sooner or later.

[Van wink 2,994]

good report, work in progress but moving in the right direction

[Tired 112]

Completely agree, well said KIO

[super dave 0]

Careful. You''ll get told off for posting sense!

Great post and I agree with every word 🖒

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

Nice to read - this time yesterday you would have been forgiven for thinking we were all going to hell in a handcart!

[kick it off 2,062]

[quote user="Branston Pickle"]Nice to read - this time yesterday you would have been forgiven for thinking we were all going to hell in a handcart![/quote]

Haha, not me - I got told off for making a sensible post the other day too [;)]

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

(I will just say that getting rid of a lot of the deadwood that went in the summer was planned-for and would have happened anyway)

[super dave 0]

A lot of what you say is in agreement with the recent Jake Humphrey podcast I watched.

It''s good to see fans talking sense. Here''s the link for anyone wanting to watch.

https://youtu.be/zATolh1awBs

No idea how to make a clicky I''m afraid.

[Tetteys Jig 851]

It looks promising, I must say!

We do seem to still lack that cutting edge up top though. It''ll be interesting to see who we bring in to compete with Nelson up top as it''s painfully obvious he needs someone to take the burden off him for a few games at least.

The only slight thing i''d say was wrong was calling Whittaker a prima donna. The guy was part of some excellent times for us and it was only his ability (lack of pace) that became a problem.

Hopefully our scouting team are on it RE sorting a new striker out and a player capable of playing right back and RWB to cover Pinto. It might be a utility player we need to get though, so he''s not constantly sitting around waiting for Pinto to get knackered.

[Monty13 2,736]

I pretty much agree with everything you''ve said.

I''m more than happy to give Farke and Webber the time they need based on the initial evidence.

[kick it off 2,062]

[quote user="Branston Pickle"](I will just say that getting rid of a lot of the deadwood that went in the summer was planned-for and would have happened anyway)[/quote]

I don''t disagree but  the flip side to that is Whittaker was out of contract the year before and got a new 1 year deal. We did have chances to clear some of that deadwood before last summer, and we didn''t take it.

[Guest]

Careful KIO, I agree with most of that you idealistic socialist ;)

Surely early days, and lets not get too carried away, but the strategy is starting to bear fruit.

[kick it off 2,062]

[quote user="Tetteys Jig"]It looks promising, I must say!

We do seem to still lack that cutting edge up top though. It''ll be interesting to see who we bring in to compete with Nelson up top as it''s painfully obvious he needs someone to take the burden off him for a few games at least.

The only slight thing i''d say was wrong was calling Whittaker a prima donna. The guy was part of some excellent times for us and it was only his ability (lack of pace) that became a problem.

Hopefully our scouting team are on it RE sorting a new striker out and a player capable of playing right back and RWB to cover Pinto. It might be a utility player we need to get though, so he''s not constantly sitting around waiting for Pinto to get knackered.[/quote]

Disagree re: Whittaker. That season where our defence was almost infallible under AN and we went up at Wembley - if you watch it back, of the few goals we did concede that season, almost all of them were Whittaker''s fault. It''s all water under the bridge, and primadonna is the wrong word for him, as he wasn''t to be fair, but he was/is a carp footballer [:D] ... it''s not just the lack of pace, he had little positional sense either which exposed his lack of pace far more often that it needed to be, but that''s the past, and we''re looking toward a brighter future now.

Agree on the other fronts. I''d be stunned if we don''t have a new striker this time next week after letting Cam go. Webber has installed his own recruitment team and they''ve had plenty of time to get it together by now. 

Re: Pinto - He''s just turned 28, and is captain. Presuming we''re not interested in selling (doubt he''s a massive earner, although probably towards top end of what we can now afford). I doubt we''ll get a specialist RB to sit in the reserves - Godfrey has played RB several times and can fill in from the summer. If Godfrey replaces Tettey in the team, which I presume is the plan, then we''ll need to bring some level of cover in, or see what the academy cupboard has.

[Herman 11,136]

My rational head knows KIO is spot on. Unfortunately my irrational, football fan head has taken over a couple of times this season. Nobody said it would be easy and it has been a hard slog at times, but last night was some way to prove that we are heading in the right way.

[hogesar 10,770]

I think some of us have been behind it from the start and despite poor runs and stuff haven''t called for Farke, Webber or whoever to be sacked. There''ll still be bad periods throughout the rest of the season i''m sure and the challenge is buying into it through those times, too.

[ROBFLECK 134]

Good post, makes sense...but I might still be posting some negative remarks when we lose (a good player or a game)... I''m only human

[Bradwell canary 112]

A realist post, which sums up our position far more clearly than the professional journalists seems to be able to do.

Fact is we are where we are, DF seems also to be able to give realistic summary of our position at present. He seems to know that sacrifices in losing some players he would prefer to keep have to be made.

Just have to hope we are able to recruit some more Maddison’s, or give youngsters like Lewis a run. (And what a star he is already)

[king canary 8,759]

I''ve been solidly behind Webber since he joined, although I''ve had some ups and downs with Farke.

I can''t help but wonder how much they could achieve if they actually had some money to spend though.

[Len 74]

It''s maybe time for ex-Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins to buy into this Webberlution. Here''s what he said back in May when Farke was appointed....“He was Dortmund’s reserve manager, which I find a little bit strange,” he said, speaking last week on the Alan Brazil breakfast show. “It tells us we are not getting a lot of respect from the clubs, to be perfectly honest. When you think of Ryan Giggs sitting out there, Tim Sherwood. Garry Monk, now without a job. This is very sad that we are bringing in a reserve coach. We are bringing in coaches we don’t know about and it is a tough old league.”[url=http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/i-was-ignorant-to-it-as-well-stuart-webber-on-new-norwich-city-head-coach-daniel-farke-s-background-1-5038733]http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/i-was-ignorant-to-it-as-well-stuart-webber-on-new-norwich-city-head-coach-daniel-farke-s-background-1-5038733[/url].

[lake district canary 4,831]

That''s a good piece Len and shows a different view to the popular "oh he was only a reserve coach" stuff.  Good to see the reality of what he was doing in Germany spelled out.

[king canary 8,759]

Wilkins is a moron, one of the ''proper football men'' brigade who don''t like thse fancy young foreign types taking jobs from their mates.

[Jim Smith 2,610]

Despite what some might think I have always been behind the new strategy of bringing through younger players, developing our own players better and reverting to trying ti find "hidden gems." There is a lot to like about it but more than anything we have to be behind it and supportive of it because we have no other choice if the owners are going to maintain their stance on ownership. This is the only way the club can function effectively and compete but we should be under no illusions that to compete we are going to have to do it extremely well because we are up against others with a significant financial advantage. I also think Farke is a good coach who has learnt a lot from his first 6 months in English football.

The "webberlution" is not an issue for me but the two areas where i do have concerns are:

1. Retaining the balance between shipping out all high earners at all costs and maintaining a team/squad string enough to challenge. If you look at what we had out there last night and in recent league games i think we still have just about enough (supplemented by another striker) but its borderline and if we flog any more players at this stage then I think that the balance has gone too far and we are sacrificing this season prematurely.

2. The owners not being prepared to consider any other ownership. Even with new owners this strategy would still appear prudent but there may be others out there who could give us that extra finanncial muscle that makes all the difference.

[Mike 68]

You speak some sense but if we continue to sell our assets such as Maddison & Lewis we will always go back to square one.

There is a work ethic in the team, no doubt, but we are woefully lacking in striking options and cover for right back etc. The player of the season (Gunn) will go to bigger things next season.

Whilst I am willing to give a bit of time and it''s great to see the kids getting a chance, we currently sit 13th in the league and have gone from top scorers to 4 worst in the league.

A couple of decent games against a badly performing Chelsea team should not have us wetting ourselves about Webber.

I think Farke is a decent coach, I need to be convinced that Webber actually knows what he is doing (lets see how we perform next year without Tetty / Maddison / Gunn etc) and imagine what Farke could do with owners willing to invest.

A glimmer of hope nothing more nothing less...

Ps Thought we were magnificent last night

[Bill 1,788]

I wonder when the work will not ''be in progress'' ?Will there be a time when the club is satisfied with the all the squad and the youth players /Perhaps someone could announce this so that we know.

[Indy 3,471]

Definitely the right head coach with the right mindset and tactics, said this set up is the correct one.

I’m still waiting to see Webber deliver, this restructuring of running costs was going to be done whatever and whoever was in that type of position.

As for the players, once we’ve finally got rid of the sick notes and journeymen on mega bucks, we can see the fruits of Cat1 come into the squad, the more like Godfrey, Lewis and Toffolo join our first team the bigger the spend on fewer we need to buy in the summer.

I said before, if we can get shot of Naismith, Jarvis, and with Tettey & Wes out of contract, then probably see a Klose & Oliveira sold.

But off the back of that Raggett, Godfrey, Toffolo. Morrison, Lewis & Cantwell, Thompson back to fitness and that’s some very good young quality to add to a core.

I’m sure we’d only need a few minor additions one being Gunn for another season and a decent striker.

Webber is still on trial, this next summer will go a long way to see just how good he is, having seen Huddersfield fans dismissive of him makes me still question his real ability.

Farke is in no doubt a far better man manager, tactician and nicer guy than the little Scott who put us in this position with his over spend on utter tripe!

[Jim Smith 2,610]

have to say if he doesn;t go now I would be tempted to keep Klose if we can get rid of naismith and jarvis (appreciated the latter is unlikely).

This three man central defence is as good as we''ve had for a long, long time and Klose seems to be enjoying himself and revelling in being a senior pro.

I think its important we retain a certain number of senior pros next season to give the squad balance. we can afford a couple of higher earners if others have departedand i think probably Hanley, Klose and Pinto fit the bill.

[Indy 3,471]

Who actually targets the players in? Is it Farke and his team who then put the targets into a list for Webber?

[Guest]

I am going against the grain here when I say it is way too early to say and this decent topic is on the backof a totally different Norwich performance against the PL Champions.

While I do appreciate that DF is trying to form aside that keeps possession above else all, we cannot really judge whether it will be good enough and pleasing enough to supporters until at least another summer window when, finances dictating, we will have to be bringing in players from a different background to the ones over the last four years or so.

If DF can send teams out from now on with the same desire, pace and intensity to the one that played last night then I think we can succeed.

I just hope we don''t return to the slow build up we been used to for so much of the season.

I want to see moves and passes like Vranicic''s to Murphy in the 1st half and Maddison''s to Murphy in the 2nd. Top notch flowing football that catches defenses out and gives encouragement for the rest to go forward.

A few more of them and we probably can make a realistic bid for the play offs.

[cornish sam 1,040]

Indy - I believe that Farke and Webber will decide what we need, Webber and the scouts will then provide a range of options to Farke and they then decide who to get between them... Or at least that''s how it''s meant to work...

I think it''s also worth pointing out the obvious; even if it doesn''t work all the time it is being built on a self sustaining model. So we don''t get promoted we sell some assets and start again, if we do get promoted we keep the assets and push on.

Also, for those that say this clearing out of deadwood and reduction of costs/targets would have had to happen anyway and so give Webber little to no credit. Yes, it would but it would have been achieved in a different, possibly less successful (possibly more successful too, I''ll grant you) way, I personally think that Webber is doing a good job at it and needs crediting for that.

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="keelansgrandad"]I am going against the grain here when I say it is way too early to say and this decent topic is on the backof a totally different Norwich performance against the PL Champions.

While I do appreciate that DF is trying to form aside that keeps possession above else all, we cannot really judge whether it will be good enough and pleasing enough to supporters until at least another summer window when, finances dictating, we will have to be bringing in players from a different background to the ones over the last four years or so.

If DF can send teams out from now on with the same desire, pace and intensity to the one that played last night then I think we can succeed.

I just hope we don''t return to the slow build up we been used to for so much of the season.

I want to see moves and passes like Vranicic''s to Murphy in the 1st half and Maddison''s to Murphy in the 2nd. Top notch flowing football that catches defenses out and gives encouragement for the rest to go forward.

A few more of them and we probably can make a realistic bid for the play offs.[/quote] DF has had to teach (a lot of) the team to walk before teaching them to run. You (along with others) have simply been mistaking a stage in the learning process for what the process is aiming at. We are now seeing real progress towards what has always been the intended style of play.