Delia & Michael

[Essjayess 307]

Its now almost 10 years since that momentous day, 3rd May 2009 to be precise, when City lost 4-2 to Charlton and the drop to L1 was confirmed. The fall out after that, with City on the pitch and City with its finances, was a desperate time indeed for all concerned  with NCFC, none more so than Delia and Michael who, along with the board, had to deal with the huge downfall and somehow turn it around. At this time, and other times when City have been under the weather, Delia and Michael come in for huge amounts of stick from us fans. Of course City did turn things around very quickly in the next season or two, the incoming Paul Lambert building a team that gained promotion thru 2 divisions.

 

A fair bit of that team survived thru the Hughton era well into the AN era, ironically its "well past its sell by date" tag being one of the contributing factors in seeing us relegated and in trouble back in the Champs. Once again Delia, Michael and the Board had to take pretty drastic action to stop the club sliding again, we all know the changes thats gone on the past couple years on and off the pitch.

So here we are, 10 years on, once again on the cusp of promotion to the Prem, but with added delight in seeing our southern neighbours taking the drop we had a decade ago, and ironically with the same manager who was instrumental in our recovery. And of Delia and Michael? Very very few topics or posts about them through this season, typically the silence is golden when City are on the up. So i would just like to say, well done Delia and Michael and the Board for yet again giving us a great season and  for having faith to put plans into action that are successful.

[BroadstairsR 2,137]

There's no black and white opinion on their role at NCFC though surely?

We like their passion and involvement in the club but at times get angry at the thought that it could be seen as Delia's toy, emphasised by her "like it or lump it"  stance when indicating nephew Tom's eventual accession.

We like it when the club bravely takes on a new direction and it comes of but no doubt will come to resent the fact that  we will be one of the poorest clubs in the Premier League.

We support her when a managerial appointment, such as Farke, comes off but rail about the lack of ambition and the concept of 'doing things on the cheap' when they appoint a Neil Adams (no criticism of that man intended there as he is proving to be a quality member of the Carrow Road staff in another more suited role.)

On the whole we cannot complain as we have have had a decent share of success since they took over, but being black and white the situation always lends it's self to criticism of those at the top of the hierarchy when things go badly on the field of play.  

For this reason now is probably not the time to evaluate their impact as things could not get much better and criticism becomes churlish. It's been a bit of a roller coaster but they always manage to avoid outright disaster one way or another and we do remain debt-free and self-sufficient, for the time being at least, both unusual in the modern game.

The Norwich model is alive and well, and I think that the world has run out of Russian Oligarchs, Oil Sheiks and Thai Go-Go bar owners, interested in losing their money in English football, for the time being.

Edited April 15, 2019 by BroadstairsR

[......and Smith must score. 1,331]

Would like to say thank you to Michael & Delia for not running us over outside the DW yesterday before KO 🙂

[nutty nigel 7,506]

You could also thank them for subsidising the tickets Smiffy...

[......and Smith must score. 1,331]

My apologies for my oversight re the ticket subsidy Nutty. No doubt that contributed to the excellent attendance including yours truly despite my ‘near death ‘ experience. 

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,506]

2 hours ago, ......and Smith must score. said:

My apologies for my oversight re the ticket subsidy Nutty. No doubt that contributed to the excellent attendance including yours truly despite my ‘near death ‘ experience. 

 

 

What near death experience Smiffy?

[Essjayess 307]

4 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

There's no black and white opinion on their role at NCFC though surely?

We like their passion and involvement in the club but at times get angry at the thought that it could be seen as Delia's toy, emphasised by her "like it or lump it"  stance when indicating nephew Tom's eventual accession.

We like it when the club bravely takes on a new direction and it comes of but no doubt will come to resent the fact that  we will be one of the poorest clubs in the Premier League.

We support her when a managerial appointment, such as Farke, comes off but rail about the lack of ambition and the concept of 'doing things on the cheap' when they appoint a Neil Adams (no criticism of that man intended there as he is proving to be a quality member of the Carrow Road staff in another more suited role.)

On the whole we cannot complain as we have have had a decent share of success since they took over, but being black and white the situation always lends it's self to criticism of those at the top of the hierarchy when things go badly on the field of play.  

For this reason now is probably not the time to evaluate their impact as things could not get much better and criticism becomes churlish. It's been a bit of a roller coaster but they always manage to avoid outright disaster one way or another and we do remain debt-free and self-sufficient, for the time being at least, both unusual in the modern game.

The Norwich model is alive and well, and I think that the world has run out of Russian Oligarchs, Oil Sheiks and Thai Go-Go bar owners, interested in losing their money in English football, for the time being.

Of course there is no black and white opinion, was wanting to merely point out the big difference in the downtimes Delia and Michael get more than enough criticism from fans but have a great season like  this one, where things have exceeded any fans expectations, that not a murmur is spoken about them. I know its human nature to hop on forums and moan and groan when things arent going right, but i for one just wanted to give them kudos and a bit of praise, after all the clubs had a massive overhaul the last couple years and we are on the up, whereas the Evans model is...well..who knows or cares where that is.

[Yellow and Green 334]

Delia and Michael aren't the perfect owners - mainly because they are really poor in the footballing world, meaning, bar a Leicester style miracle, we will be restricted to the lower reaches of the Premier League until they sell up to someone richer, as risky as that may be. 

There are so many examples of clubs who have been destroyed by poor ownership that we should be grateful for the fact that we have owners who:

Saved us from Chase

They're both Norwich fans

They genuinely care about the club

They are dedicated towards helping the community

They are strong advocates of promoting youth players

They don't interfere with SW/DF

Don't take money out of the club/screw us over financially

Delia is part of what makes NCFC unique

Being a TV chef, she was bound to make mistakes running a football club but, credit where credit's due, she had the courage to restructure the club at key points in our history (McNally 09/Webber 17).

Out of interest, is a there another club's owner out there that you would be happy to take over Delia's shares?

[......and Smith must score. 1,331]

22 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

What near death experience Smiffy?

That close shave with Delia's limo before the game.

At least I would've gone out in style.....😀

[Essjayess 307]

21 hours ago, Yellow and Green said:

Delia and Michael aren't the perfect owners - mainly because they are really poor in the footballing world, meaning, bar a Leicester style miracle, we will be restricted to the lower reaches of the Premier League until they sell up to someone richer, as risky as that may be. 

There are so many examples of clubs who have been destroyed by poor ownership that we should be grateful for the fact that we have owners who:

Saved us from Chase

They're both Norwich fans

They genuinely care about the club

They are dedicated towards helping the community

They are strong advocates of promoting youth players

They don't interfere with SW/DF

Don't take money out of the club/screw us over financially

Delia is part of what makes NCFC unique

Being a TV chef, she was bound to make mistakes running a football club but, credit where credit's due, she had the courage to restructure the club at key points in our history (McNally 09/Webber 17).

Out of interest, is a there another club's owner out there that you would be happy to take over Delia's shares?

Agree with most of this. One bit in your first paragraph though, about the lower reaches of the Prem.  Outside of the top 6 in the Prem, are there truly any teams, with or without rich owners, with or without huge investment, that have stayed in the Prem for any considerable amount of time? Seems to be  many  clubs  are lucky to have 2 to 4 seasons consecutively, 1 or 2 accomplish between 5 to 10, but above that hardly any. As to your last question, i dont know enough about most clubs owners to even give an answer, suffice to say ive always been satisfied to have her at the helm. "Happy" is a pretty tough word to appraise anyway when you're talking about football club owners.

[nutty nigel 7,506]

17 minutes ago, ......and Smith must score. said:

That close shave with Delia's limo before the game.

At least I would've gone out in style.....😀

Was Wynnie driving Prince Philipesque?

[TIL 1010 4,718]

Geoffrey Watling saved us from Chase. Delia & MWJ came along afterwards.

[nutty nigel 7,506]

1 minute ago, TIL 1010 said:

Geoffrey Watling saved us from Chase. Delia & MWJ came along afterwards.

This is true. And then Geoffrey Watling sold that shareholding to Delia and MWJ. And aren't we all glad he did🙃

[TIL 1010 4,718]

Not all no.

[nutty nigel 7,506]

I didn't think so...