Are we attractive anymore ?

[CANARYKING 646]

With the German striker probably not coming and Palmer looking elsewhere I wonder if, as everybody seems to think, we are just an ordinary Championship club going nowhere. Yes we get the crowds but for how long and as we''re flat broke we can''t pay decent wages anymore. The Academy will have to cough up some decent players and quick.

[king canary 7,800]

We''re no more attractive than most other midtable Championship teams. We can''t pay great wages but we have a full ground most weeks.

The German striker seems to be headed to the Bundesliga so that isn''t really anything we can compensate for- top flight football in a big country will always trump second tier football.

My concern is are we capable of attracting the players from the level below us that want to make the step up?

[BroadstairsR 2,263]

The biggest incentive an employer can offer is usually connected with money.

If the club is short of this and it encourages failure, or at least mediocrity, then changes need to be made especially when considering the nature of the modern game.

Financial considerations have always been a necessity for professional football clubs as it is a scary business. The current and seemingly constant influx of big money has exacerbated this to a point where the ''have nots'' face terminal decline.

I feel that the club has come to a crossroads in as much as we are slap bang in the middle of investing in quite revolutionary changes that need time to be realised, one way or the other.

The self-funding model is fine upto a point but realistically it can only take you so far even if functioning to the point of perfection. All clubs will always need to invest in the market to a greater or lesser extent, usually with related rewards.

I was beginning to warm to this German striker. That we seem to have fallen at the first hurdle by not bidding enough for him is a pity and forebodes badly for the Summer dealings. There may, of course, be other factors in this case but big enough money will usually talk.

The club has a great deal going for it, and we can all list the things that make us an attractive proposition to most at our level.

If financial restraints have created a glass ceiling that condemns us to mediocrity then the present set-up will surely not survive the clamour of discontent from the support.

One''s sense of entitlement with regards one''s football team has to be tempered of course, but I feel that we should aim better than being a mid-table Championship outfit .... if it only means competing for the prize or even yo-yoing, with the cash-flow and excitement that that status involves.

So many clubs these days seem to get a chance to dip their finger in the pie and many perceived "smaller" clubs than us sit in the Premier League at this moment in time. It would be unthinkable to have to accept that we will be denied our chance for the foreseeable future.

[River End Canary 18]

Having looked at the people who sit next to me at the ground they have always been unattractive so really don''t see any change now compares to say 5 years ago

I am the only stunning human in a sea of munters

[BroadstairsR 2,263]

They say botox helps.

Delia might know as she does look good for her age.

Let''s hope that Webber is capable of injecting some rejuvenating serum into the club over the course of the Summer as his time, and our patience, is not unlimited.

With regard to his tactics perhaps a full rhytidectomy is needed for DF in readiness for next season, whilst I would recommend a tummy tuck for Mr. Ed and a new No 7 from the transfer market.

[AJ 1,238]

We have always struggled to be attractive. We''re miles from most places such as London etc. and there''s not a lot going on in Norfolk is there. Add to that the fact Colney is terribly outdated and convincing players to move here over more established teams is always a challenge.

That said, the right type of player can settle here and having a few players from the continent will help convince others to join from abroad I''m sure.

Bit worried about that home grown rule being a problem next season though...

[hogesar 9,901]

We''re going to be mid-table in our ability to pay wages. Our support is top 6 size. The ground and facilities are probably top 6 too. We always have the locality issue but that also works in our favour for young families etc as it''s a great, safe place to bring up children.

[BroadstairsR 2,263]

Norfolk has attractions by the bucket load.

We wouldn''t want everywhere to be the same.

Remoteness has it''s own charm and benefits. The county and Norwich it''self are to be prized.

Besides, lots of ex-City stars have remained in the area once they hang their boots up. I envy them sometimes.

[River End Canary 18]

[quote user="hogesar"]We''re going to be mid-table in our ability to pay wages. Our support is top 6 size. The ground and facilities are probably top 6 too. We always have the locality issue but that also works in our favour for young families etc as it''s a great, safe place to bring up children.[/quote]

Typical happy clapper view you didn''t even mention our passion for inbreding 😁

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="Windy MIller "]

Typical happy clapper view you didn''t even mention our passion for inbreding 😁[/quote]

I should imagine it was thought best to leave it to someone with first hand knowledge

and up you pop

(so to speak)

[king canary 7,800]

@Hoegsar

I''m not sure our facilities are top 6, with all the reports of porta cabins, asking fans for money for upgrades and players turning us down when they see Colney.

[hogesar 9,901]

[quote user="king canary"]@Hoegsar

I''m not sure our facilities are top 6, with all the reports of porta cabins, asking fans for money for upgrades and players turning us down when they see Colney.[/quote]

I think the porta-kabin bit was a little overplayed by Webber. Go down Colney yourself - the indoor dome etc is great and if you compare our facilities to much of the championship its generally seen as better. There''s pictures of other teams training centres etc online that make it quite easy to compare. 

[Mello Yello 2,328]

Beauty, is only ''skint'' deep......[:D]

[Big Vince 339]

If we are not attractive anymore then that is entirely the fault of the Suffolk Socialists.

McNasty and Bowkett guided us to a point where we were attractive for some years, but now that the SS are pretty much left to their own devices, the club is reverting to type.

The SS are everything that McNasty and Bowkett were not.

[ZLF 288]

League position always drive attractiveness in this context. Our budget slashing will affect this too.

As for top 6 team for support? I suggest we need a stock take on that. For a side with the highest % capacity in the league the noise far too often is non existent - predating the webberlution too - I remain to be convinced that safe standing will help (the "vocal area" already mainly stands. Personally, like Roy Keane, I blame the scampi eating fraternity with their tuts and sighs.

Secondly 15 teams took more fans to away games than us - yes only 8 took fewer - last season and we had the 8th highest home attendance.

None of that suggests a top 6 fan based team to me.

We need a clear statement of intent as to what the clubs prime aim is for this season - more transition, play off push, status quo - that may boost who we can bring in.

If we dont have a successful 12 months the attractiveness will make us as attractive as Tahn... The warning signs are there.

[Lewis DW 11]

If you were a footballer would you want to play for Norwich City?

Personally, I would not - the club at the moment stinks of mediocrity. Dress it up how you like ''transition this, transition that'' - the fact is Norwich City''s nucleus is now made up of average homegrown and average foreign imports, that were clearly acquired because they cost less then the UK counterparts.

Assuming Maddison goes, NCFC will have clearly cleared out most of there attacking talent and replaced it with some sideways passing specialists.

[Tetteys Jig 831]

I think most of the championship has now had some decent Premier League money at some time or other now.

We used to be able to beat the likes of Bournemouth, Burnley and Swansea for some players etc simply because their grounds and training fields were basically sheds.

I think there''s just Preston, Millwall, Brentford, 1p5wich and Bristol City who haven''t had Premiership footy for ages or don''t have a big stadium from "glory years" of the early 90s (like Leeds, Forest and Sheff Weds) can fall back on a bit with their massive grounds and big fan base/ catchment areas.

We don''t have that advantage anymore against "tinpot teams" and our Premiership money has dried up so the likes of the Pritchard deal won''t be happening.

It''s a bitter pill to swallow but I think we''re back to square 1, back to that mediocre Championship team we were in the late 90''s/early 2000''s.

It''s been painstakingly clear for years that we have needed fresh investment to drive this club forward but it has yet to really materialise. Relying on a fan base to invest in the youth academy isn''t something they can rely on long term and the same with the playing budget. We can''t all do what Cardiff did last year and magically sign a load of outcasts and form a promotion winning side out of them.

Saying that, the Championship is an absolute lottery. Think of the teams below Cardiff and what they have spent on players or some of the players Sunderland and Hull had in their squads and where they finished.

I''m pretty concerned for us once Maddison goes. It''s not like we can go out and then spend it on 2 strikers for £10m each and we magically start scoring again and get promoted £10m gets you what £1m would have a decade ago at this level (remember when we plucked Leon McKenzie or Simeon Jackson from league 1).

I think we''ll have enough to stay up next season but then what? It''s hard to see us improving a squad when anyone decent is sold and we are at the back of the queue for any prospective talent brought in. I guess all that money invested in the youth is for periods like this, hopefully there''s some ready made, championship standard players ready to step up so we don''t even have to gamble in the transfer window (think this may be happening already with Matthews next year)

[JF 694]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The level of players that we are now in for will find us “attractive” but you can forget the promising youngsters signing like Pritchard and Maddison.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="JF"]Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The level of players that we are now in for will find us “attractive” but you can forget the promising youngsters signing like Pritchard and Maddison.[/quote]

Adam Idah

[JF 694]

Completely different signing. Pritchard was signed from a PL team with matches at PL level and Championship level under his belt. Maddison was a highly wanted player with first team experience. Both were signed for millions of pounds. There is literally no comparison to be made.

[Bill 1,788]

Exactly !

We don''t have miilions to spend on single players - what a surprise !

So we have adopted a strategy of developing players.

Adam Idah is part of that strategy, along with many others.

It is working, even though the club has faced a situation that it has never faced before - a massive drop income whilst still having a massive outgoing in wages.

We have had to lose an almost complete squad as we adapt to the reduced budget, yet far from recognising what has been achieved we are bombarded with constant whines about how bad it all is. Tell that to Hull and Sunderland fans, to Reading who were in the play offs the season before. QPR who went up ahead of us in 2015.

European Cup Winners.finalists such as Leeds, Fores and possibly still, Villa. Boro and Derby will still be up against us next season

If there is this magic solution I would suggest you don''t tell me, but them. You''ll be a millionaire overnight.

[norfolkngood 1,105]

Money is the only thing that is Attractive

a few players have lived away london / kent etc rented / bought flats up here stayed here when training then go straight after the match back to family home away from Norfolk so this Norfolk is to far away is a bit far fetched

The thing that worries me is by the time Delia has passed the club on to Tom with the self funding model how many other clubs would have been taken on by Rich Investors ?

say 5 years time we might have a owner with less money than anyone in the top 4 divisions !

[nutty nigel 7,716]

The misery on here is plummeting to record depths. Do you guys look at your whole lives through the lens of other people''s money?

What is it about our club, if anything, that you find joy in?

[Bill 1,788]

us losing games

as that is what usually has them on here

[norfolkngood 1,105]

That is just pointing out Nutty that when Tom takes over instead of getting a rich investor we are getting one with less money than we have now

that will effect our football club in the days of money

the more Rich investors that come in will make our job harder each season

[River End Canary 18]

It''s a good point around nepotism Tom

The thought of that waste of space leading the club makes us even more unattractive

A foreign investor with loads of cash would be much more appealing

Delia out stinking rich Chinese owner in

[CDMullins 463]

When exactly were we ''attractive''?

[lake district canary 4,589]

I think some of you have such an inferiority about the club, maybe you just have inferiority complexes about Norfolk, I don''t know, but rest assured the club is as attractive as it ever was.   There will always be players who want come to a club where they think the coaching set up, the ethos and the lifestyle suits what they want.  Money will be part of the equation, but thankfully, money isn''t everything and the more savvy footballers will be more motivated by other stuff than money.  Maddison for one - and there will be others ot there. 

An example?  Ok, player wants to move on from the club he is at and he sees two clubs that are in for him - say Birmingham - and Norwich.  Brimingham can offer more money, but Norwich still can offer a good wage, just not a much as the other club.  The player visits both clubs, looks around at the area, looks at the facilities, talks to other players at the club, sees the academy and that it is developing, sees that we are well run and debt free, likes the fact that the club seems friendly and gets nearly full houses every week - and compares all that with Birmingham and thinks ok, on balance Norwich looks a better bet.   And frankly if a player looks at the two clubs (whichever the other one maybe) and makes his decision based just on money, then we are probably better off without him.

Money is a factor, but not the only factor.  Maddison has been a terrific asset for us in many ways - players from elsewhere will see a player who has chosen us over probably richer and better placed clubs than us and benefited from it and can think, yes, Norwich is a great place to go and play and develop my career.

[king canary 7,800]

"but rest assured the club is as attractive as it ever was. "

No. No it isn''t.

[king canary 7,800]

''Do you guys look at your whole lives through the lens of other people''s money?''

No, and the idea peoples attitude to the club on here reflects anything else in their life is a very shallow view of people.

For instance I''m feeling very positive about the future of my NFL team...