The project in full swing

[lake district canary 4,531]

Is there anyone now still in doubt that the project is not working as it was intended?  The reputation our club has been developing since Webber/Farke arrived has now reached the stage where we can attract AND afford not just good young players, but the best young players.  The two go hand in hand - attract and afford. Ya da ya da, I know we've not kicked a ball yet this season, I know we haven't got super rich owners, I know we hint bought a CB etc etc - but to say the project is not working would be a bit churlish imo. 

Yes, we could still get relegated, but yes, we could stay up and yes we could even do a lot better than just stay up, but to me this transfer window has been a vindication of the policies adopted by the club - to make us the club to go to if you are young and want to develop your career. 

It started even before Farke/Webber with attracting Maddison to the club and the bringing through of the Murphy twins so it is not a new idea and we were already recognised as a good club to go to, but in four years we have gone from being on a one way road to nowhere financially with an aging squad with huge contracts to pay, to a club totally at ease with itself financially, playing great football and attracting the best young players available from around the world. 

Beautiful football, stable and effective management, togetherness on and off  the pitch, improving finances with getting the best young talent that will get more big money transfers later on to improve finances to be able to do even more......

I mean - what's not to like??

 

[crispeduk 282]

Spot on Lakey.

But ...

I mean - what's not to like??

... I'm sure there'll be someone along in a moment to put you straight.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Nailed it.

Or, as I like to put it in shorter terms, progress isn't linear.

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

Completely agree Lakey.

For me we just need a couple of units to add a bit of bite, one as a defensive minded midfielder and a centre half.

Then it's the cutting from the squad stage so fully expect to see Zimmerman, Hugill and Placheta go unless with the latter they see him as wingback material.

Others will go but mainly the younger ones on loans.

[ncfcstar 291]

I completely agree with the sentiment of the post, and it's undeniable that the 'project' is working.  I do feel that it can only be deemed a success if the club establish themselves in the Premier League (and this is a stated ambition of the club now, no longer is it the top 26 club mantra). 

If the project leads us to bounce between the two divisions then it's only one misstep away from failure, and I do now genuinely feel that being a 'yo-yo' club is actually a failure for the project long term. 

We will never be a contender for the title, or in reality the top 6. You only need to look at the amount of money that Leicester's owners have pumped into the club over the past few years to understand how they are continuing to compete at the top of the table. There should be nothing stopping us having an extended period of Premier League football a la Stoke, Burnley, Crystal Palace - and I think the club would agree that at that point the project can be deemed a complete success.

[horsefly 4,300]

But surely we would be much better off with a billionaire, say like a Marcus Evans, or a muti-million pound pensions company?

[Thirsty Lizard 3,163]

56 minutes ago, crispeduk said:

Spot on Lakey.

But ...

I mean - what's not to like??

... I'm sure there'll be someone along in a moment to put you straight.

I give it exactly 30 seconds after if/when Liverpool score their first goal on Saturday. 

[Uncle Fred 526]

Nonsense thread we haven’t kicked a ball in anger yet 

let’s see where we are at Xmas if we are battling for Europe then I would agree if we are in the usual relegation dog fight nothing has fundamentally changed since the Mcnasty era 

[hogesar 9,669]

It's quite clear that Webber is delivering what he outlined he would. As @TheGunnShow rightly says, progress isn't linear but some fans struggle to cope with that. Any slight setback and they see things falling apart.

There's no guarantee these players 'make it' at Premier League level but the fact we can, as Lakey says, attract and afford these young players is a fantastic compliment to the work the entire club has done over the past few seasons.

[AJ 1,218]

If we manage to get Skipp back this window would have been near perfect. Sensible spending on sensible targets all with big futures ahead of them. The hard times were worth it to see the talents we are fortunate enough to able to bring in now. Really keen to see what Tzolis and Sargent can offer us!

[sgncfc 1,227]

We only actually need one of Rashica, Sargent or Tzolis to make it for the "project" to stay on track financially. Add in an Idah, Omobamidele, Adshead etc and we are comfy.

Results however, are the interesting bit. If they all click then who knows? Will we get enough points to stay up or will we just have another awesome team in the Championship next season? To be honest, I don't really mind either.

[Petriix 2,835]

17 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

Nonsense thread we haven’t kicked a ball in anger yet 

let’s see where we are at Xmas if we are battling for Europe then I would agree if we are in the usual relegation dog fight nothing has fundamentally changed since the Mcnasty era 

Seriously? Are you even a Norwich supporter?

Obviously the club was pretty successful for a period under McNally. And it only really fell apart when we started trying to sign 'better' players on bigger wages under Hughton. But there has been a fundamental change in philosophy both on and off the pitch. Even if we get relegated again in 20th place, we have paid off all the debts and have enough guaranteed income to cover the committed expenditure for the medium term.

We have a category 1 academy with a proven production line of top calibre young players. We've signed a bunch of young players with potential to build a team for the future and have managed to shift almost all of the dead wood from the squad. We have just experienced the best (points and win ratio) season in the club's history. We've smashed the club record by selling a player for more than 20 times his initial cost.

The club is in the best position it's been in since Chase destroyed it. These are exciting times to be a Norwich fan.

[crispeduk 282]

33 minutes ago, Thirsty Lizard said:

I give it exactly 30 seconds after if/when Liverpool score their first goal on Saturday. 

Agreed in principle,  but then again there's always the odd troll and the attention seekers anxious to beat the rush don't you think?

[All the Germans 1,075]

9 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

We only actually need one of Rashica, Sargent or Tzolis to make it for the "project" to stay on track financially. Add in an Idah, Omobamidele, Adshead etc and we are comfy.

Results however, are the interesting bit. If they all click then who knows? Will we get enough points to stay up or will we just have another awesome team in the Championship next season? To be honest, I don't really mind either.

It depends by what you mean as "make it". For Rashica, Sargent and Tzolis, we have spent good money (not huge but large for us). For the model of making decent money, they would need to be sold for huge money, the others obviously not as much.

Back on topic. I agree entirely with the sentiment of the original post. I am immensely proud and happy with the way our club is being run. I have more man love for Farke than I should. One problem we (all) face is over reaction. If for example Sargent comes on and scores a goal on Saturday, he will be the next big thing, if he misses a sitter he won't be any good. It's not that simple and the truth probably is somewhere in the middle. Let's wait for a few games before we declare that we're doomed or going to qualify for champions league for a change?

[CDMullins 436]

The infrastructure is clearly top class,

Our philosophy is awesome.

And our project is super exciting.

But, I feel like this is the biggest season yet - Now there's pressure on, we have to start showing continued and solid progress. 

[Commonsense 623]

1 hour ago, horsefly said:

But surely we would be much better off with a billionaire, say like a Marcus Evans, or a muti-million pound pensions company?

Yes,

I’m told the Derby County model is particularly effective. Although the Sheffield Wednesday model runs it a close second!!

[Commonsense 623]

49 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

Nonsense thread we haven’t kicked a ball in anger yet 

let’s see where we are at Xmas if we are battling for Europe then I would agree if we are in the usual relegation dog fight nothing has fundamentally changed since the Mcnasty era 

Don’t join it then!!

[Uncle Fred 526]

28 minutes ago, Petriix said:

Seriously? Are you even a Norwich supporter?

Obviously the club was pretty successful for a period under McNally. And it only really fell apart when we started trying to sign 'better' players on bigger wages under Hughton. But there has been a fundamental change in philosophy both on and off the pitch. Even if we get relegated again in 20th place, we have paid off all the debts and have enough guaranteed income to cover the committed expenditure for the medium term.

We have a category 1 academy with a proven production line of top calibre young players. We've signed a bunch of young players with potential to build a team for the future and have managed to shift almost all of the dead wood from the squad. We have just experienced the best (points and win ratio) season in the club's history. We've smashed the club record by selling a player for more than 20 times his initial cost.

The club is in the best position it's been in since Chase destroyed it. These are exciting times to be a Norwich fan.

Not if we continue to be a yo yo club it will be business as usual. Proof of the pudding is in the eating, results rather than spin is what counts 

let’s see what happens 

[Chip20 69]

3 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

let’s see what happens 

Here's hoping you do!!

[Petriix 2,835]

1 minute ago, Uncle Fred said:

Not if we continue to be a yo yo club it will be business as usual. Proof of the pudding is in the eating, results rather than spin is what counts 

let’s see what happens 

If we continue to be a yo-yo club then we'll be more successful than the vast majority of other clubs in the country. We'll continue to be financially stable. And we'll continue to enjoy success on the pitch, albeit only every other season. But I'm convinced we'll do better than a lot of people expect.

I gather from your refusal to answer my question that you are indeed not actually a Norwich supporter. 

[CDMullins 436]

2 minutes ago, Petriix said:

If we continue to be a yo-yo club then we'll be more successful than the vast majority of other clubs in the country. We'll continue to be financially stable. And we'll continue to enjoy success on the pitch, albeit only every other season. But I'm convinced we'll do better than a lot of people expect.

I gather from your refusal to answer my question that you are indeed not actually a Norwich supporter. 

Success is relative.

I'm sure Man City fans wouldn't define winning the Championship as success.

Classing getting back into a division we all believe we should be in as successful, is well a little bit, 'lil old Norwich.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

If we have recruited successfully and the players can make a difference, in that the 1st team is successful in staying up, then it will have been successful yes... if we are as uncompetitive as last time, no it won't have worked.

Can any true Norwich fan be happy with being a yo yo club?

[Uncle Fred 526]

9 minutes ago, Petriix said:

If we continue to be a yo-yo club then we'll be more successful than the vast majority of other clubs in the country. We'll continue to be financially stable. And we'll continue to enjoy success on the pitch, albeit only every other season. But I'm convinced we'll do better than a lot of people expect.

I gather from your refusal to answer my question that you are indeed not actually a Norwich supporter. 

Season ticket holder and do every away game, more of a fan than you ever will be 

[Midlands Yellow 3,980]

If we stay up it’s then working, it’s really that simple. 

[Petriix 2,835]

Just now, Uncle Fred said:

Season ticket holder and do every away game, more of a fan than you ever will be 

Going to games, but showing minimal appreciation of what the club actually stands for doesn't make you a fan. You seem like you don't actually like the club at all.

[Midlands Yellow 3,980]

21 minutes ago, Petriix said:

If we continue to be a yo-yo club then we'll be more successful than the vast majority of other clubs in the country. We'll continue to be financially stable. And we'll continue to enjoy success on the pitch, albeit only every other season. But I'm convinced we'll do better than a lot of people expect.

I gather from your refusal to answer my question that you are indeed not actually a Norwich supporter. 

Norwich won’t continue to be a Yo-Yo club. They’ll either consolidate in the Premier or get stuck indefinitely in the Championship again. History teaches us all that. 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Midlands Yellow

[Thirsty Lizard 3,163]

18 minutes ago, Kenny Foggo said:

If we have recruited successfully and the players can make a difference, in that the 1st team is successful in staying up, then it will have been successful yes... if we are as uncompetitive as last time, no it won't have worked.

Can any true Norwich fan be happy with being a yo yo club?

Why the hell not? When I first started supporting us in 1971 (and your namesake was tearing it up down the wing) we had NEVER even played in the top Division. Strikes me as odd to now be complaining if we are 'only' in the top Division for 50% of the time. 

[CDMullins 436]

3 minutes ago, Petriix said:

Going to games, but showing minimal appreciation of what the club actually stands for doesn't make you a fan. You seem like you don't actually like the club at all.

Doesn't actually like the club but still goes home and away - some committed fan I'd say.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

3 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Norwich won’t continue to be Yo-Yo club. They’ll either consolidate in the Premier or get stuck indefinitely in the Championship again. History teaches us all that. 

100% Lets hope its the former and we can persuade Webber to stay or at least find a better replacement to help Farke.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

4 minutes ago, Thirsty Lizard said:

Why the hell not? When I first started supporting us in 1971 (and your namesake was tearing it up down the wing) we had NEVER even played in the top Division. Strikes me as odd to now be complaining if we are 'only' in the top Division for 50% of the time. 

What seems odd to me is fellow fans questioning other fans loyalty, just because they may have a higher ambitions and expectations for their club. We got to 3rd in the top division once why not aim for that.... Top 26? Do me a favour. 

If you are happy being a yo-yo club good for you and I wont question your support for the club. Would be good if others had the same respect.

Same thing over and over from the usual people.... oh well.