Webber interview with the times

[Samwam27 531]

Hasn't he said he expects his next job to be outside of football. I'm of the opinion he's putting in a huge effort to launch his new charity, and that's what he'll leave to manage after this.

He's done a tremendous amount foe this club, and whilst his practice mountain climbs are out of season, and in "football breaks" the preparation must still come within time he's supposed to be focusing on his job with NCFC. Therefore he cannot be wholly commitment to that cause here

What gauls me most is statements saying I don't get upset if we get relegated. That should be a major cause of concern, as it means he, the manager and the players have failed, and preparations to redress that should be paramount

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

12 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

But it is denting our progress. His heart isn't in it. There is a saying, 'You are only as good as your last game'. By the same standard, Sporting Directors are only as good as their last season. 

You are assuming that his heart isn't in it ... he hasn't said that. Plenty of us can imagine still having our 'heart' in things (family, friendships, work, supporting NCFC) but temporarily redesigning our routine and putting new things in place to ensure that those things don't get neglected if we want do something unexpected - like travel the world for a year or hop on a space rocket if we won a bonkers prize.

If he feels that he can pursue this Everest challenge AND keep things purring at Carrow Road then good on him.

I've seen enough of the guy to trust in the fact that he's committed, hardworking and passionate about his job and if he feels that he CAN do this and he's convinced the rest of the board of his plan then that's good enough for me.

Perhaps he's just guilty of being 'too' honest ... do any of you give over 90% of your lives to your job??? That's what he means by the 90% ... no one should be giving that!

[hogesar 9,715]

1 hour ago, Jim Smith said:

Don’t even think “fair play” for what he’s doing. It’s an ego driven vanity project. And they’ve created a charity as a by product but he clearly would have done it anyway and it doesn’t actually do anything yet. 

How do you know its an ego driven vanity project? How do you know the charity was only ever a by product? 

Are you making things up because you don't like the bloke?

Maybe we should all stick to facts..

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,227]

This might be one to file under ‘events dear boy, events…’

If Webber moves on from Norwich fairly quickly after taking his snow shoes off, then I think we look like a vehicle…

…if on the other hand Webber comes back down the mountain rejuvenated, reinvigorated and mentally-ready to scale the tricky Premier peak for Norwich, then it looks like good, empathetic, long-term pastoral management. 

Let’s see.

Parma

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

3 hours ago, vlad666 said:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stuart-webber-if-we-lose-im-upset-but-my-life-isnt-to-appease-norwich-fans-dz97jfprq

A few quotes that stuck out to me. 
 

I sleep easy at night because ultimately as I said to Delia and Michael, ‘If 90 per cent of me isn’t enough, it’s fine because I’m already ready to walk out the door. I’m ready for the next stage of my life.’ But they wanted me to stay and I’m incredibly grateful to them for that.

 

Balancing the books is a win. Having good owners is a win. 

That’s why I don’t get angry or upset if we get relegated because I look at it and go, ‘Norwich City and football will go on for ever, long after I’ve disappeared’.”

Vlad you swine! I've already put a thread up about this! 😱 Oh well... 😆

The big take away I got from Mr 90%s interview is that it seems we don't need a Sporting Director at certain times of the year.

‘You did Kilimanjaro in January.’ Yes, I did, because we had zero funds to sign a player. What am I going to do? Sit in my office for 30 days?'

It appears he literally has nothing else to do. Poor chap; that must be quite demoralising. Why didn't we set him to weeding the Colney allotment or he could have made and served tea and scones for players and guests? Maybe he could have got elbow deep in the Carrow Road sh1tters after supporters have had a particularly fulsome bowel movement? 

OTBC

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

7 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

This might be one to file under ‘events dear boy, events…’

If Webber moves on from Norwich fairly quickly after taking his snow shoes off, then I think we look like a vehicle…

…if on the other hand Webber comes back down the mountain rejuvenated, reinvigorated and mentally-ready to scale the tricky Premier peak for Norwich, then it looks like good, empathetic, long-term pastoral management. 

Let’s see.

Parma

Will he be restless after Everest? “100 per cent. If I’m lucky to get there, and even luckier to get back down safely, it will be, what’s next? Even my head now is going, what’s after Everest? I’ll be 40, what am I going to do? It might be a career change.”

The last paragraph of the piece Parma.

That would seem to point to him being off after the climb...but as you say, we'll see.

OTBC

 

[vlad666 203]

2 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

Vlad you swine! I've already put a thread up about this! 😱 Oh well... 😆

The big take away I got from Mr 90%s interview is that it seems we don't need a Sporting Director at certain times of the year.

‘You did Kilimanjaro in January.’ Yes, I did, because we had zero funds to sign a player. What am I going to do? Sit in my office for 30 days?'

It appears he literally has nothing else to do. Poor chap; that must be quite demoralising. Why didn't we set him to weeding the Colney allotment or he could have made and served tea and scones for players and guests? Maybe he could have got elbow deep in the Carrow Road sh1tters after supporters have had a particularly fulsome bowel movement? 

OTBC

Sorry mate, didn’t see your post. 
The more I read the interview the more I dislike the guy. 👎🏻
 

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

15 minutes ago, hogesar said:

How do you know its an ego driven vanity project? How do you know the charity was only ever a by product? 

Are you making things up because you don't like the bloke?

Maybe we should all stick to facts..

Zoe said, ‘If you’re going to put your life at risk, you should do it for a cause’,

That would seem to state it was an after-thought put forward by Zoe that Webber had not considered.

OTBC

Edited April 23, 2022 by Disco Dales Jockstrap

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

1 minute ago, vlad666 said:

Sorry mate, didn’t see your post. 
The more I read the interview the more I dislike the guy. 👎🏻
 

No worries Vlad! I was only teasing!

OTBC

[A Load of Squit 5,201]

From WOTB. A very good summation of the situation and until you get this you'll just spend hours ranting.

He's doing a job which he said he'd leave this summer but was asked to stay by people he deeply respects. He probably added some caveats to him staying such as him going up some mountains and giving Neil the day to day running of the club.
I just don't get all the hate for him. He's not the messiah by nay means and he's has definitely made mistakes, just like at every single other football club in the country.
100% there would have been a different reaction to this article if it had been released this time last year.

 

[Capt. Pants 4,270]

What he's looking to do with the Foundation and Mt Everest thing is fantastic, but as far as NCFC is concerned the 'fire in his belly' has gone.

Perhaps we're all over-reacting to this NCFC -10% thing but we're heading for relegation (again); we need promotion and we need focus and commitment. 

Having sacked Farke, I think it's totally unprofessional to now come out with this sort of attitude.

 

[vlad666 203]

2 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

From WOTB. A very good summation of the situation and until you get this you'll just spend hours ranting.

He's doing a job which he said he'd leave this summer but was asked to stay by people he deeply respects. He probably added some caveats to him staying such as him going up some mountains and giving Neil the day to day running of the club.
I just don't get all the hate for him. He's not the messiah by nay means and he's has definitely made mistakes, just like at every single other football club in the country.
100% there would have been a different reaction to this article if it had been released this time last year.

 

The problem for me is our owners accepting this from him. If he wants to scale mountains good luck to him. Our owners have a duty to employ the best people who give their best and ultimately who actually care if we get relegated. Can season ticket holders pay 90% of their fee next year also as this seems acceptable?

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

5 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

From WOTB. A very good summation of the situation and until you get this you'll just spend hours ranting.

He's doing a job which he said he'd leave this summer but was asked to stay by people he deeply respects. He probably added some caveats to him staying such as him going up some mountains and giving Neil the day to day running of the club.
I just don't get all the hate for him. He's not the messiah by nay means and he's has definitely made mistakes, just like at every single other football club in the country.
100% there would have been a different reaction to this article if it had been released this time last year.

 

Who's ranting? All comments seems pretty sensible and measured tbh. Just because you might not agree with something doesn't suddenly make it a 'rant'.

OTBC

[hogesar 9,715]

10 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

Zoe said, ‘If you’re going to put your life at risk, you should do it for a cause’,

That would seem to state it was an after-thought put forward by Zoe that Webber had not considered.

OTBC

I dont think that states it at all. Theyve made an intrinsic link between risking your life and benefiting a charity but there's nothing that suggests it was an after thought.

There's plenty of legitimate parts to criticise him for in that article but making up that its all a vanity project and the charity is an irrelevant by product they don't care about is without evidence and unnecessary.

[A Load of Squit 5,201]

1 minute ago, vlad666 said:

The problem for me is our owners accepting this from him. If he wants to scale mountains good luck to him. Our owners have a duty to employ the best people who give their best and ultimately who actually care if we get relegated. Can season ticket holders pay 90% of their fee next year also as this seems acceptable?

You can ask, let me know how you get on.

[A Load of Squit 5,201]

3 minutes ago, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

Who's ranting? All comments seems pretty sensible and measured tbh. Just because you might not agree with something doesn't suddenly make it a 'rant'.

OTBC

You obviously don't read Jim making stuff up.

What do you think about the content of the post from WOTB?

Edited April 23, 2022 by A Load of Squit

[PurpleCanary 5,578]

Posters wanted to hear from Webber and when he gives a long interview they complain that he's got an attitude problem, or should that be an altitude problem...

[priceyrice 123]

So this whole scenario was so obvious and I'm glad he has now confirmed it, essentially the club have allowed him flexi working to climb Everest in return for him staying for another season. Him trying to justify going in January is a complete joke. There are 2 windows each season, whether or not we expected much work to be done doesn't matter, you don't leave the club for 10 days during one of the 2 transfer windows. 

I've been done with Webber for quite some time, noone is bigger than the club but this guy certainly thinks he is! Delia and Michael agreeing to this after seeing Webber splunk more money than any other prior Norwich Chief exec or similar position is totally beyond me and is starting to sway me thst a change of ownership is needed; the mentality from top to bottom at the club now is such an acceptance of championship football and not competing in the prem, its so hard to get behind this club right now.  The owners give those in power way too much control everytime. 

As Webber says, he doesn't give an F what the fans think of what he does. Suspect the fans will be letting him know what they think quite vocally before the season is done!

[Indy 3,310]

1 hour ago, Greavsy said:

Why would the players be driven to giving 100% when he has given a green light to 90% effort being acceptable. 

Should be leading by example. 

Only at Nodge. 

It’s been the way for a long time, having worked for Amoco and gone through DuPont continues improvement management process, I’ve said that leadership drives any company, dynamic and driven leadership improves any team from top to bottom. Lethargy leads to acceptance of mediocrity which can lead to complacency and ultimately a dangerous environment. Something which isn’t good on an offshore installation, nor any company anywhere.

Continuous improvement needs due diligence process and 100% from top to bottom, anyone who says they want to deliver 90% in charge implies that it’s OK to be complacent and should go!

That said Webber has been very good in parts, and like Farke thanks for the last 5 years we appreciate the work you’ve done and if you feel this way and are focused on life’s goals instead of being committed to Norwich, then it’s best for all parties to go their separate ways.

[hogesar 9,715]

10 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

Posters wanted to hear from Webber and when he gives a long interview they complain that he's got an attitude problem, or should that be an altitude problem...

"WE DEMAND TO HEAR FROM WEBBER"

*Rest of PinkUn warns its unlikely to make a difference to anything,  and likely to just give the same posters something else to complain about*

*Webber does interview*

"WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!?!?"

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

Posters also don't want the club to be nicey nicey but when he speaks bluntly and candidly he's labelled arrogant and odd.

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

4 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

You obviously don't read Jim making stuff up.

This one?

2 hours ago, Jim Smith said:

He just always comes across as a bit of a t**t to me. And one who seems to be almost blackmailing the club with his “I’m ready to walk out the door” lines. 

I very much hope he’s taken a pay cut for these “pockets of time off” and the 90% commitment we are getting. 
 

Jim is vocal but I personally wouldn't put this in the rant category. Just my opinion mind!

5 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

What do you think about the content of the post from WOTB?

Not much to say really Squit, it's just someone else's opinion on the article. The first paragraph is probably exactly as it panned out. I think the last line is irrelevant as of course the reaction would have been different! That's like saying you'd be surprised if your best mate was angry with you after instead of shaking his hand you kicked him in the nuts!

OTBC

[Feedthewolf 4,865]

Seems like the succession plan is in place, and Adams will get a chance to play 'acting SD' while Webber is away. Depending on how Adams gets on, Webber can either resume control on his return or hand over to Adams, but it's a good way to test the water with his potential successor.

As for the interview, a mixed bag. The inference of relegation not being that big a deal is going to irritate many fans (myself included), and talking about Gilmour and how "he'll have learnt from this year"... his long-term development is irrelevant to us.

I like his confidence and candour – would people prefer a shrinking violet who only speaks in platitudes and avoids the big issues? I'm struggling to imagine how an SD could have achieved a lot more than Webber has in five years with the meagre budgets available to him.

From selling Maddison for way below his market value just to keep the club afloat in mid-Championship mediocrity, to two titles and two (admittedly pretty awful) years in the Prem, with a Cat 1 Academy? I'll take that for a five-year plan.

I don't hear anyone calling for us to bring back Jez Moxey, anyway...

[Jim Smith 2,339]

42 minutes ago, hogesar said:

How do you know its an ego driven vanity project? How do you know the charity was only ever a by product? 

Are you making things up because you don't like the bloke?

Maybe we should all stick to facts..

He openly says so. That he was doing this so Zoe said if he’s going to do it he should raise some money in the process. Or perhaps it’s that the charity in question doesn’t even appear to be fully registered yet and doesn’t seem to know precisely what it’s going to do.

If they just wanted to raise money for a charity to help local kids he could have easily just have done it for the CSF, the charity Zoe is a trustee of and which helps local kids in exactly the way he says the Summit Foundation intend to. 
 

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with doing ego driven physical challenges. People do it all the time and if they can raise some money into the process then all good. But the “it’s for charity” thing should not be used to deflect legitimate questions about whether this situation is good for the club. 

 

[A Load of Squit 5,201]

"And one who seems to be almost blackmailing the club with his “I’m ready to walk out the door” lines. "

It's negotiation not 'blackmail'. 

 

[hogesar 9,715]

Just now, Feedthewolf said:

Seems like the succession plan is in place, and Adams will get a chance to play 'acting SD' while Webber is away. Depending on how Adams gets on, Webber can either resume control on his return or hand over to Adams, but it's a good way to test the water with his potential successor.

As for the interview, a mixed bag. The inference of relegation not being that big a deal is going to irritate many fans (myself included), and talking about Gilmour and how "he'll have learnt from this year"... his long-term development is irrelevant to us.

I like his confidence and candour – would people prefer a shrinking violet who only speaks in platitudes and avoids the big issues? I'm struggling to imagine how an SD could have achieved a lot more than Webber has in five years with the meagre budgets available to him.

From selling Maddison for way below his market value just to keep the club afloat in mid-Championship mediocrity, to two titles and two (admittedly pretty awful) years in the Prem, with a Cat 1 Academy? I'll take that for a five-year plan.

I don't hear anyone calling for us to bring back Jez Moxey, anyway...

Perhaps Webber is too honest for his own good. I dont blame him because many of the same posters complaining about the interview have historically pleaded that all they want is "honesty" from the football club.

The real answer is people only want honesty when it suits them.

I think he'd be better off giving routine SD / CEO answers to everything and save himself the bother.

[A Load of Squit 5,201]

What does to rant mean?

 

 

1. Indeed, someone who needs to rant is probably angry but powerless to fix their problem.

[Jim Smith 2,339]

19 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

Posters wanted to hear from Webber and when he gives a long interview they complain that he's got an attitude problem, or should that be an altitude problem...

Posters want to hear him talk about Norwich City, what went wrong and what he’s doing about it. But we can’t get an interview about that for love or money. 

[hogesar 9,715]

2 minutes ago, Jim Smith said:

He openly says so. That he was doing this so Zoe said if he’s going to do it he should raise some money in the process. Or perhaps it’s that the charity in question doesn’t even appear to be fully registered yet and doesn’t seem to know precisely what it’s going to do.

If they just wanted to raise money for a charity to help local kids he could have easily just have done it for the CSF, the charity Zoe is a trustee of and which helps local kids in exactly the way he says the Summit Foundation intend to. 
 

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with doing ego driven physical challenges. People do it all the time and if they can raise some money into the process then all good. But the “it’s for charity” thing should not be used to deflect legitimate questions about whether this situation is good for the club. 

 

Thats 10x more balanced than what you previously though. You said it wasn't "fair play" in regards to the fact he's undertaking a challenge and raising money, but in this post you say its all good.

I agree the charity reference has no relevance to the situation for our football club and that side of things is open to criticism.. 

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,898]

 

2 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

Seems like the succession plan is in place, and Adams will get a chance to play 'acting SD' while Webber is away. Depending on how Adams gets on, Webber can either resume control on his return or hand over to Adams, but it's a good way to test the water with his potential successor.

As for the interview, a mixed bag. The inference of relegation not being that big a deal is going to irritate many fans (myself included), and talking about Gilmour and how "he'll have learnt from this year"... his long-term development is irrelevant to us.

I like his confidence and candour – would people prefer a shrinking violet who only speaks in platitudes and avoids the big issues? I'm struggling to imagine how an SD could have achieved a lot more than Webber has in five years with the meagre budgets available to him.

From selling Maddison for way below his market value just to keep the club afloat in mid-Championship mediocrity, to two titles and two (admittedly pretty awful) years in the Prem, with a Cat 1 Academy? I'll take that for a five-year plan.

I don't hear anyone calling for us to bring back Jez Moxey, anyway...

Nice to hear from you Wolfy! I hope you are well.

There is no doubting that Webber has improved many different facets of the club; we are in a healthier position now than we were when he started.

But it would appear from the interview that his heart doesn't really seem in it anymore. I don't really want a 90% Sporting Director tbh. Especially after this season has gone so poorly.

OTBC