"Women’s football, I do not watch it. It’s of zero interest"

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

2 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

Sorry but not for me.

There is a clear middle ground between your extreme and what he actually said.

He could’ve said the exact same thing as he did but redacted all the negative comments and it would’ve been perfectly fair and no criticism would’ve followed!

He’s the kind of bloke who’d tell his son his drawing is **** and not put it on the fridge for any length of time… I guess some on here admire that he ‘tells it like it is’, bud for me there’s honesty and then there’s just being rude and disrespectful, and there’s absolutely nothing positive to come from these comments. If you were in the women’s team what would you think at it? It’s just so unnecessary. 

I don’t have an anti-Webber agenda and thought his 40 minute with the club was mostly really positive. But defending these comments is ridiculous, they’re absolutely tone deaf. 

I'm not defending the comments per se, I'm just saying that whatever he says there are going to be people who find fault and use it as a stick to beat him with. He didn't need to say it, and he could have worded it better. Like the 'divorcees in the Snakepit' comment, I'm surprised the club let it get through the edit.

[Taiwan Canary 144]

I'm kind of conflicted about these comments. He is the Sporting director of the Men's team, not the CEO of Norwich City Football Club.  In that role, it is great that he spends all his time watching Men's football and only cares about that. However, he failed to frame his opinion in that sphere of reference and, for that reason, he made a mistake. In my opinion he is deliberately trying to engineer an exit from his role here.

[Yellow and Green 334]

1 minute ago, Feedthewolf said:

I'm not defending the comments per se, I'm just saying that whatever he says there are going to be people who find fault and use it as a stick to beat him with. He didn't need to say it, and he could have worded it better. Like the 'divorcees in the Snakepit' comment, I'm surprised the club let it get through the edit.

Agreed. He has been heavily criticised for not speaking to the media in the last couple of years. Now that he's done it, every word that he says is being magnified and lambasted. Tbh, if I was him, I wouldn't bother to do more media interviews. He's in a lose-lose situation.  

[hogesar 9,674]

19 minutes ago, Yellow and Green said:

Agreed. He has been heavily criticised for not speaking to the media in the last couple of years. Now that he's done it, every word that he says is being magnified and lambasted. Tbh, if I was him, I wouldn't bother to do more media interviews. He's in a lose-lose situation.  

Oh 100%. I said in another thread he should take the easy life and go Neil Doncaster on us and just toe the parry line and only talk when absolutely forced.

What then happens, shock horror,  is the fans blame the owners instead for not letting staff talk.

Webber was spot on with that point, if it's not him it would be someone else right now. Either Delia would be getting it twice as much or we would be dissecting every word Wagner has said in this poor last 11 games.

Probably not a bad thing that most ire is in Webbers direction and I reckon he is more than aware of that.

[komakino 272]

10 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Oh 100%. I said in another thread he should take the easy life and go Neil Doncaster on us and just toe the parry line and only talk when absolutely forced.

What then happens, shock horror,  is the fans blame the owners instead for not letting staff talk.

Webber was spot on with that point, if it's not him it would be someone else right now. Either Delia would be getting it twice as much or we would be dissecting every word Wagner has said in this poor last 11 games.

Probably not a bad thing that most ire is in Webbers direction and I reckon he is more than aware of that.

As limited as Doncaster was, he did have time for fans. I spoke to him on the phone for 45 minutes about various aspects and me trying to get him to cash in on Earnshaw.

Webbers prominence is amplified by the fact we have no Chairman and CEO, which is not a healthy way to run a club in my opinion. Having at least one of those would make his job easier, but clearly these positions aren’t considered. 

 

 

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,431]

1 hour ago, nutty nigel said:

Well, I could reply with my experiences about enjoying both women's and men's tennis equally. But it would be boring to do it yet again. 

As for Webber's opinion, he was answering a question. I'd now be interested to know whether he'd enjoy the women's game more if they were all married or if a few divorcees is what spoils it for him...

 

My mum and dad were both divorced. From each other . I find it hard when I try and compare divorced people. 
Mind you , my dad was a Binner god rest his soul. Then again my mum was born in Kesgrave and loved Bobby Robson. This is getting worse.  

[Monty13 2,234]

1 hour ago, Yellow and Green said:

Agreed. He has been heavily criticised for not speaking to the media in the last couple of years. Now that he's done it, every word that he says is being magnified and lambasted. Tbh, if I was him, I wouldn't bother to do more media interviews. He's in a lose-lose situation.  

He created the situation though. It’s also not difficult with a bit of training and tact to deliver exactly the same messages in a much better way. Would people still criticise? 100%, his record for two years invites it.

To be fair maybe it’s genius, everyone’s arguing about the terrible comments and we aren’t analysing the poor answers to address some of that criticism.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

1 hour ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

My mum and dad were both divorced. From each other . I find it hard when I try and compare divorced people. 
Mind you , my dad was a Binner god rest his soul. Then again my mum was born in Kesgrave and loved Bobby Robson. This is getting worse.  

My mum and dad were divorced. From eachother. It wasn't my fault because they seperated before I was born...

But I got to grow up with my mum and grandparents. Never met my dad until I was 15. As I get older and now a grandparent myself I appreciate my grands more and more. My grandad was left for dead on WW1 battlefield. He obviously survived and lived to tell the tale. Although he never did that. That generation then went through the second world war. Through it all they became fair minded people for whom recognising equality and even fighting for equality wasn't a virtue. It was just something they did.

 

[king canary 7,607]

On 21/05/2023 at 07:50, Hank shoots Skyler said:

Haven’t had a chance to read through all of this just yet but surprised by those who think this is remotely okay? 

If I was anyone at the club remotely connected to the women’s side I would be pretty disgusted about it. As others have said, totally fair if you want to hold those views privately - and I know plenty of us do share it - but out loud in public when you’re in part responsible and working for the same entity - absolutely ridiculous! 

And blindly just praising his honesty is equally as ridiculous. Imagine he came out and started singling our individual players for their failings this season, or for having a bad attitude. We’ve seen how those kind of things have gone down with passive aggressive comments about players like Cantwell. But he’s never been this direct about something.

We can all like the honestly, but he has to be able to draw a line at anything which may be damaging to the club - and these comments aren’t exactly building a healthy positive community are they?

And it’s not like there weren’t positive comments in there. He could’ve literally just mentioned about Flo’s great work, it being great to see so many supporters there, and those players on the pitch experiencing something which will be super memorable for them - still honest clearly but not offering up any of the negativity. But no he had to throw in his own total lack of interest, the lack of quality, the fact he only does it for Flo? Not just a single comment but 3 or 4. Come on guys it’s so tone deaf! 

Imagine him coming out and saying that about the young kids teams? Or even the disabled teams? Or just any other branch of the club?

‘Yeah must admit I don’t really go for a pie before the game, the quality is so poor, but the catering staff are doing the best they can’

?????

It’s not hard to stay honest but also maybe keep some cards to your chest? We all do it in life to maintain healthy relationships with those around us. There’s nothing cathartic about this kind of negativity, it isn’t like it’s some ‘home truths’ for the women’s football team to take on board and work with. He’s just straight up insulting them. 

And to accuse MB and others of looking for a reason to be offended is just silly - not at all. I’d challenge any of those posters to find a senior member of any business who comes out and discredits an entire branch of their business like this!

If his people skills are this **** poor behind the scenes then it’s no wonder there is so much negativity at the club right now. Yeah we’ve got great infrastructure and facilities, thanks to Webber, but if the guy at the top isn’t liked by the majority I can’t see how that ever fosters a club which will all pull the same way again?? Obviously I know we have been successful in the past, but there has been much water through the bridge since then…

Perfectly put.

It could be that Webber thinks Wagner is actually an arsehole, that yellow and green is a horrific colour combination and that steak should be served well done and never anything less. However it would be stupid to say those things out loud in a media interview no matter how 'honest' they may be. 

He's not a moron so I think he's got to know that saying what he said is going to get picked up on and become an issue. It just seems he doesn't really care. He's also got to realise that seeing the SD of the club saying the women's team are 'really poor quality' and that he isn't interested in it will probably upset the players, coaches etc who are working so hard to raise the profile of the NCFC women's team. A bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss here.

I've known people who will say they are 'brutally honest' or 'tell it like it is.' Those phrases are usually a code for being an inconsiderate arsehole. You don't have to lie, but you can leave bits out.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

2 hours ago, king canary said:

Perfectly put.

It could be that Webber thinks Wagner is actually an arsehole, that yellow and green is a horrific colour combination and that steak should be served well done and never anything less. However it would be stupid to say those things out loud in a media interview no matter how 'honest' they may be. 

He's not a moron so I think he's got to know that saying what he said is going to get picked up on and become an issue. It just seems he doesn't really care. He's also got to realise that seeing the SD of the club saying the women's team are 'really poor quality' and that he isn't interested in it will probably upset the players, coaches etc who are working so hard to raise the profile of the NCFC women's team. A bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss here.

I've known people who will say they are 'brutally honest' or 'tell it like it is.' Those phrases are usually a code for being an inconsiderate arsehole. You don't have to lie, but you can leave bits out.

That's a great way to call someone an inconsiderate arsehole without naming him. Webber could learn from you Kingo...

Edited May 22, 2023 by nutty nigel
🙃

[king canary 7,607]

35 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

That's a great way to call someone an inconsiderate arsehole without naming him. Webber could learn from you Kingo...

Are you suggesting I'd be reluctant to say I think Webber comes across as an inconsiderate arsehole? Because I'm not.

[nutty nigel 7,536]

1 minute ago, king canary said:

Are you suggesting I'd be reluctant to say I think Webber comes across as an inconsiderate arsehole? Because I'm not.

That's much better Kingo. We'll make a Webber out of you yet...

[Matt Morriss 69]

On 20/05/2023 at 11:31, Branston Pickle said:

He’s entitled to do what he wants, isn’t he?

Edit - each to their own, I’ll watch pretty much whatever is on when I’m about, but can honestly say I’ve seen very little women’s football overall.

Agreed.

BREAKING NEWS: Man isnt allowed to have his own opinion and interests. Feminists in total outrage!

Anyone who is lambasting Webber for saying this is 100% wrong in their narrow minded thinking. I would rather utter honesty from him, than fake blowing smoke up the womens game's a**.

I have zero interest whatsoever in the Womens game, never have and never will (unless it surpasses the quality and heights of the mens game, which is highly unlikely).

In the same fashion I would rather listen to Sinatra, Bowie and Aretha Franklin than f**** Little Mix and Sam Smith. Why should I lie and when questioned say "Yeah I can get enough of Little Mix"...

In a world of fake people, fake lives, fake lips and fake everything Webber's honesty is sorely appreciated.

[Bomber 48]

Watched the Euros but to be honest that is the best of the worst - have no interest in Women’s league football as to be honest it is quite awful (yes I have seen a few games to base my opinion) - the games will never aspire to the skill and excitement of the mens game 

[Grumpy 122]

Spot on,I say.Ladies football at that level is poor.
There will always be the odd one who stands out but my experience of watching ladies football is the same as SW.
The professional game is something else and I find it very entertaining but the gulf between the two is huge.

 

[Mullet 293]

On 20/05/2023 at 12:17, Barbe bleu said:

Several things stand out.  Why emphasise that the standard was poor, "really poor"? He is entitled to that opinion but no one involved in that side of the business is going to thank him for expressing it and it wont help to get the fans in . Its a statement that adds nothing but offends a lot.

Then to repeat that he has "zero interest" snd that he is only helping out as a favour to Flo. Again he is entitled to that opinion (although it is clear he realises that it will be a controversal one when he asks the question more of himself than his audience "which i think should be ok?") But to what end is this statement made.  He is the director of a football club, not a talking head on a provocative radio show. Directors of Warburtons don't give interviews to magazines where they say how much they dislike crumpets so why is Webber saying this?

The ending is pretty patronising too . "They aren't professionals" .." those are memories they'll take to their grave".  That would be more than OK if he had rounded it off with, "and so will the fans" but he made it seem like he felt he was doing these "poor quality" amateurs  a big favour.

It comes across as unhelpful, patronising and narcissistic.  He had an opportunity to publicise a side to the game for which he recognises there is a market (a different market, but a market nonetheless) and he makes it about him and his (90%) reluctance to really commit.

I agree with this. In all walks of life you have to chose your words carefully and sometimes be diplomatic and complimentary even if you don't mean it. Webber could have been complimentary about the women's team success and progress but instead chose to be inflammatory and disrespectful. Yet another own goal by Webber. He has done some great things at NCFC but he is letting himself down.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,550]

I think Webber deserves credit for saying it; the Athletic clearly made a good decision to make it an article given the amount of interest in it.

Webber could have given a beige answer about how important it was to him. Instead he has given a seemingly brutal answer that has:

• Created a headline about women's football in a fairly major football publication in the UK that wouldn't have been there otherwise
• Ensured that he won't be asked further about women's football at Norwich to any great extent
• Clearly laid out the positive efforts the club is making to further the women's game
• Put the spotlight firmly on Flo over future questions for the development of women's football at Norwich, where it should be
• Avoided any questions for him about what percentage of his time goes on women's football, whether that detracts from his efforts for the men's team, and whether what he does put towards the women's team is enough.
• Got people like myself wondering if I should make more of an effort regarding paying attention to the efforts of the women's team

[Michael Starr 519]

On 20/05/2023 at 11:41, cambridgeshire canary said:

Hes allowed his own opinion.

But also, he is the Norwich City Sporting Director who really should be seen to be promoting the women's Norwich City team for the benefit of the club. THAT IS HIS JOB. It's potential revenue. It's potential growth for Norwich City Football Club. It doesn't matter what he thinks. He needs to be seen to be backing it. What a moron.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,024]

On 21/05/2023 at 15:05, hogesar said:

Oh 100%. I said in another thread he should take the easy life and go Neil Doncaster on us and just toe the parry line and only talk when absolutely forced.

What then happens, shock horror,  is the fans blame the owners instead for not letting staff talk.

Webber was spot on with that point, if it's not him it would be someone else right now. Either Delia would be getting it twice as much or we would be dissecting every word Wagner has said in this poor last 11 games.

Probably not a bad thing that most ire is in Webbers direction and I reckon he is more than aware of that.

I think this is a cop out. If you visit the Norwich City website and click on the link "Teams" you will find "First Team", "Under 21s", "Under 18s" and "Women's Team". You will see from my comments on the thread about his interview I have tried to be balanced and give credit where it is due, the same can be said on the thread having a pop at our Academy. It is not what Stuart Webber says that is the problem it is how he says it. For me this is not a gender issue but a Norwich City issue.............

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

22 hours ago, king canary said:

Perfectly put.

It could be that Webber thinks Wagner is actually an arsehole, that yellow and green is a horrific colour combination and that steak should be served well done and never anything less. However it would be stupid to say those things out loud in a media interview no matter how 'honest' they may be. 

He's not a moron so I think he's got to know that saying what he said is going to get picked up on and become an issue. It just seems he doesn't really care. He's also got to realise that seeing the SD of the club saying the women's team are 'really poor quality' and that he isn't interested in it will probably upset the players, coaches etc who are working so hard to raise the profile of the NCFC women's team. A bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss here.

I've known people who will say they are 'brutally honest' or 'tell it like it is.' Those phrases are usually a code for being an inconsiderate arsehole. You don't have to lie, but you can leave bits out.

Isn't the bit in bold just lying by omission then?

[hogesar 9,674]

11 minutes ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

I think this is a cop out. If you visit the Norwich City website and click on the link "Teams" you will find "First Team", "Under 21s", "Under 18s" and "Women's Team". You will see from my comments on the thread about his interview I have tried to be balanced and give credit where it is due, the same can be said on the thread having a pop at our Academy. It is not what Stuart Webber says that is the problem it is how he says it. For me this is not a gender issue but a Norwich City issue.............

I 100% agree with you it's a cop out. But it's what most people in his position do. It's the easy option to take. And I think he should do it. He doesn't really get any credit for this honesty when things aren't going well.

We knew what we were getting, in that first season he told people to go support someone else. There was outrage then. I understood his frustration, I thought I could see us improving throughout the season. Of course, that comment never came back to bite him because we won the title the next season.

If you look at the history of every other time we've had a poor season, we've not really had a Sporting Director or CEO come out and speak to the media like he did. You could get a couple of lines from a Neil Doncaster which would literally say nothing. Then, and this is where Webber is spot on, the attention diverts away from the CEO / Sporting Director and onto the owners. Despite his egotistical way of seeing it, he is right that he becomes the 'human shield'. The focus is on him again right now with fans, not the underperforming manager or even really our ownership model.

[canarydan23 4,060]

7 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Isn't the bit in bold just lying by omission then?

No, because he wasn't even directly asked about whether he liked women's football or not. And even if he was, he could have answered in a negative way without being so disparaging, even with **** analogies that don't even make sense (it's patently not like trying to get a Sunday League team to the Premier League).

King Canary gives the guy too much credit; he IS a moron.

[king canary 7,607]

1 hour ago, TheGunnShow said:

Isn't the bit in bold just lying by omission then?

No not at all. 

For example he talked about Tzolis, Rashica and various other signings in regards to their transfer fees. He didn't then also feel the need to give his 'honest opinion' on their abilities. By your definition he's lying by omission there too.

[Robert N. LiM 4,356]

3 hours ago, Michael Starr said:

But also, he is the Norwich City Sporting Director who really should be seen to be promoting the women's Norwich City team for the benefit of the club. THAT IS HIS JOB. It's potential revenue. It's potential growth for Norwich City Football Club. It doesn't matter what he thinks. He needs to be seen to be backing it.

Exactly. Really baffled that anyone could think otherwise.

[hogesar 9,674]

24 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

Exactly. Really baffled that anyone could think otherwise.

Although in the full interview, isn't he pleased about the growth, talked about it being a proud moment to see 7.5k fans for that, how they want to increase it to two next year, and how he's helping Flo as much as he can?

Just for a tiny weeny bit of balance 🙂

[king canary 7,607]

17 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Although in the full interview, isn't he pleased about the growth, talked about it being a proud moment to see 7.5k fans for that, how they want to increase it to two next year, and how he's helping Flo as much as he can?

Just for a tiny weeny bit of balance 🙂

Yes, and its a shame he spoiled all of that with his own pig headedness.

[Mello Yello 2,294]

2 minutes ago, king canary said:

Yes, and its a shame he spoiled all of that with his own pig headedness.

It's snout to write home about....Oink....

[Robert N. LiM 4,356]

33 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Although in the full interview, isn't he pleased about the growth, talked about it being a proud moment to see 7.5k fans for that, how they want to increase it to two next year, and how he's helping Flo as much as he can?

Just for a tiny weeny bit of balance 🙂

Sure, but that just goes to show how easy it is for the sporting director to support the growth of the women's team, even if he, on a personal level, has no interest in it. He just didn't have to say the other bit and it was really stupid of him to do so.

I really admire the way you defend Webber from some of the more mindless criticism of him on this board, Hoggy, but in this case I think you might have gone too far the other way and ended up defending the indefensible.

[canarydan23 4,060]

51 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Although in the full interview, isn't he pleased about the growth, talked about it being a proud moment to see 7.5k fans for that, how they want to increase it to two next year, and how he's helping Flo as much as he can?

Just for a tiny weeny bit of balance 🙂

Indeed he does.

I've got a Teams meeting with a potential client interested in one of our solutions this afternoon. I wonder what would happen if I said, "I'm proud of how it's performing, it's generating us decent revenue and might generate more in the future, but I don't like it, I personally wouldn't use it and think the quality is pretty poor".

The only way I'd avoid the sack is if my missus was involved in the decision as to whether to terminate my employment.

[hogesar 9,674]

10 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

Indeed he does.

I've got a Teams meeting with a potential client interested in one of our solutions this afternoon. I wonder what would happen if I said, "I'm proud of how it's performing, it's generating us decent revenue and might generate more in the future, but I don't like it, I personally wouldn't use it and think the quality is pretty poor".

The only way I'd avoid the sack is if my missus was involved in the decision as to whether to terminate my employment.

Ah, if that's the case you should do what our club has done and make them sign a written agreement whereby Zoe won't be in the room if discussing Webbers future. The rest of the board can make that call though, and I doubt Mark Attanassio would be swayed by the fact Zoe is somewhere in the building.