Bad news

[mystic megson 0]

We remember with great pride and fondness the days when Norwich City dared to play cultured football, something only top sides were "allowed" to do.

In 2006, even the very top sides no longer play cultured football without first "earning the right to play" (we know what that means), sometimes for at least 70 or 80 minutes of a game.  Very few people think that the style and quality of English football  is better now than it was ten or fifteen years ago, but there''s nothing we can do about it. (See Rick Waghorn''s articles on this topic on 8th and 11th March - very good I thought.)

That golden era is over. IT IS NEVER COMING BACK.  There''s no justice and there never will be. "Robber" Chase got us relegated at the worst possible time, just when football was starting to change. We clung on to hope for nearly ten years, got promoted in the expectation of being able to "play the Norwich way" again, then got mugged on a regular basis by the latter-day Wimbledons that half fill the Premiership these days.  We have no choice but to let it go and move on. 

Nigel Worthington obviously understood and respected our club''s tradition, and tried his best to uphold it.  Now he is stuck with the unenviable task of changing our whole ethos. It won''t happen overnight. Personally I hope he will be allowed to finish the job, because I think he sees "earning the right to play" as a means to an end rather than an end in itself as some managers cynically do.  A lot of supporters won''t like it, and to start with we may not be as good at it as teams that have been doing it for years.  But if we want to survive and compete then we have no choice.  

IMO we should banish from our minds all thoughts of the Premiership, because it makes us long for a past that is dead and gone.  It should still be a target, but not an expectation. If it happens, look on it as a bonus and enjoy it while it lasts.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.  But we need to try and get at the root of the deep-seated fear, anger and distress that so many of us feel at the state of our club.  A good deal of it has been directed at Nigel Worthington, and that''s not where it belongs.  Criticism is fine, I''m no Worthington apologist (will we EVER learn to defend set pieces?) but the irrational hatred that has been flying about is an expression of deeper distress. 

[gazban 0]

So if your saying we should forget about longing for the premiership and just play hoofball with rugby players, What IS the point? I go to football to be entertained not out of some blind religous fervour. Unfortunately some teams are putting results over entertainment and then wonder why their gate are tumbling. As their revenue falls so does the support and eventually they will have to revert back to quality football or die eg Winbledon. IMO it will happen because TV and supporters will walk away with their cash and go and watch something else. I am not renewing because I am not being entertained by Worthys team and with no likely hood of him going yet. I''m not taking the chance that he can change his ways.

I dont care if we get promoted, relegated of sit in mid table as long as I see my team playing well and I am enjoying the whole experience. And thats the reason so many are unhappy at present. But as can be seen by our illustrious board, they and many of the supporters are purely results driven.

That is what is wrong with the club!

[mystic megson 0]

Gazban, good post mate. In principle I agree with much of what you say (incidentally, I haven''t renewed yet either).  I just don''t believe there''s another manager in existence who would advocate playing the way we used to in the current football climate. It''s a sad comment on the state of the game, and the sooner the whole money-oriented edifice collapses, the better.

I take your point about Wimbledon, but they didn''t die because of loss of support, they never had any but survived in the top flight for about 15 years.     

Gates don''t affect TV revenue, only bums on sofas or barstools, whether in Burnley or Bangkok. If the Premiership is bigger in China than in England, that''s fine by Murdoch & Co.         

As for "enjoying the whole experience", for me that went out of the window when all-seater stadiums came in. I''d like to stand up just as much as I''d like us to play the way we used to, but I can''t see it happening on either count.

So I''ll settle for a bloody good scrap on a Saturday afternoon, and cherish the magic moments that players like Huckerby, Safri and McVeigh can give us.