How I would clean this mess up

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

I've read a lot over the last couple of days on here which is mostly spot on about a lack of leadership at the club. How on earth have we gotten into this mess? A head coach that the players have stopped playing for. A sporting director on the way out and clearly inappropriate to consider for making any major decisions. Major decisions needing to be made in the interests of this club as a matter of urgency and speed. And here we are waiting for Ben Knapper to grace us with his presence which isn't going to happen for another month yet. 

It's absolutely nuts that we find ourselves in this baffling situation. Knapper should be here and working on it already - not off on his jollys somewhere "recharging his batteries". We are where we are. 

So here's my plan to stop the rot. 

1. Let go of David Wagner. Nice guy. Lost the plot here at Norwich. 
2. Allow Stuart Webber to go. If he's needed, we can call him. Let him go do what he wants to do. 
3. Neil Adams should be allowed to make a short term (until end of the season) appointment. It must be stressed that this appointment is a short term one. I mentioned in another thread Nigel Pearson. Someone of this ilk would be ideal. Even if the unthinkable happens and he comes in, plays a blinder and gets us promoted, he should still not be manager next season. Narcis Pelarch should not be the one to get the gig. It needs to be a new voice. 
4. Short term manager (STM for short) should be given two jobs. The first - steady the ship. Second - do not lose to Ipswich. If STM gets us to next May having gotten us draws and kept us in the Championship - job done.  
5. SORT THE DEFENCE OUT. If I were STM, I would be giving Danny Batth and Jaden Warner a go at center back. Let's stop playing Kenny McLean in any position that sees him assume defensive responsibility (beyond the usual any central midfielder should be assuming).
6. Appoint a chairman. This needs to be a figure that will act as the leader of the board. It should not be Zoe Webber whose time at the helm should also be coming to an end (she can absolutely remain as a board member). It should be this chairman that should become responsible for fan engagement for the rest of this season. At the very least, I want to see a series of interviews and meetings with the fans to reassure us about the viability of this club as a side attempting to break into the Premier League. This chairman can be a temporary figure, subject to the next point, but needs to have an understanding and appreciation of what the owners (be it Attanasio or Delia) intend to stop what has been three seasons of utter regression. 
7. Stop with this bloody take over nonsense. Either let Attanasio in or not. This is no time for half measures. Surely in the nearly two seasons of this family being courted and getting to this point we must know whether they are suitable to be the next custodians of the club. 
8. From November, let Knapper shape the club as he sees fit. I want the same autonomy given to him that Webber has enjoyed. In particular, we should see a departure from the current recruitment team and regime and a new team entirely put in place. A move away from the "bargain basement" recruitment method of targeting under utilised markets (which we can now see are under utilised for a reason) and more towards the data-led recruitment that we've heard so much about. 
9. Pull the plug on the ****ing soccerbot.

The aim is to get a certain, clear new start in place for the end of this season. To let the Attanasio/Knapper era of Norwich City begin and an end to the Delia/Webber era which has limped on at least two years too long. Write off this season and prepare for the new era in a manner which gives us fans something to look forward to. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Terminally Yellow

[Haus 259]

11 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

I've read a lot over the last couple of days on here which is mostly spot on about a lack of leadership at the club. How on earth have we gotten into this mess? A head coach that the players have stopped playing for. A sporting director on the way out and clearly inappropriate to consider for making any major decisions. Major decisions needing to be made in the interests of this club as a matter of urgency and speed. And here we are waiting for Ben Knapper to grace us with his presence which isn't going to happen for another month yet. 

It's absolutely nuts that we find ourselves in this baffling situation. Knapper should be here and working on it already - not off on his jollys somewhere "recharging his batteries". We are where we are. 

So here's my plan to stop the rot. 

1. Let go of David Wagner. Nice guy. Lost the plot here at Norwich. 
2. Allow Stuart Webber to go. If he's needed, we can call him. Let him go do what he wants to do. 
3. Neil Adams should be allowed to make a short term (until end of the season) appointment. It must be stressed that this appointment is a short term one. I mentioned in another thread Nigel Pearson. Someone of this ilk would be ideal. Even if the unthinkable happens and he comes in, plays a blinder and gets us promoted, he should still not be manager next season. Narcis Pelarch should not be the one to get the gig. It needs to be a new voice. 
4. Short term manager (STM for short) should be given two jobs. The first - steady the ship. Second - do not lose to Ipswich. If STM gets us to next May having gotten us draws and kept us in the Championship - job done.  
5. SORT THE DEFENCE OUT. If I were STM, I would be giving Danny Batth and Jaden Warner a go at center back. Let's stop playing Kenny McLean in any position that sees him assume defensive responsibility (beyond the usual any central midfielder should be assuming).
6. Appoint a chairman. This needs to be a figure that will act as the leader of the board. It should not be Zoe Webber whose time at the helm should also be coming to an end (she can absolutely remain as a board member). It should be this chairman that should become responsible for fan engagement for the rest of this season. At the very least, I want to see a series of interviews and meetings with the fans to reassure us about the viability of this club as a side attempting to break into the Premier League. This chairman can be a temporary figure, subject to the next point, but needs to have an understanding and appreciation of what the owners (be it Attanasio or Delia) intend to stop what has been three seasons of utter regression. 
7. Stop with this bloody take over nonsense. Either let Attanasio in or not. This is no time for half measures. Surely in the nearly two seasons of this family being courted and getting to this point we must know whether they are suitable to be the next custodians of the club. 
8. From November, let Knapper shape the club as he sees fit. I want the same autonomy given to him that Webber has enjoyed. In particular, we should see a departure from the current recruitment team and regime and a new team entirely put in place. A move away from the "bargain basement" recruitment method of targeting under utilised markets (which we can now see are under utilised for a reason) and more towards the data-led recruitment that we've heard so much about. 
9. Pull the plug on the ****ing soccerbot.

The aim is to get a certain, clear new start in place for the end of this season. To let the Attanasio/Knapper era of Norwich City begin and an end to the Delia/Webber era which has limped on at least two years too long. Write off this season and prepare for the new era in a manner which gives us fans something to look forward to. 

Big Sam in ??

[Google Bot 3,299]

Quite a bit of change there.

I think short-term stability is key and we need to dig in, get Sainz more integrated into this team and pray that Barnes and Sarge get back ahead of time.

End of December when Knapper is in place and we're the other side of the derby, we can start to make some serious decisions on the longterms.  I still think this can be turned around as is, personally - we're just looking at a squad with very similar average players and needing those standouts to raise the level again.

Not sure how fans will put up with that concept of course, perhaps giant inflatable Webber stress dolls could be put up around the ground for us to throw rocks at, drive cars into and/or squeeze very hard?

Edited October 30, 2023 by Google Bot

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

2 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

Quite a bit of change there.

You don't effect change by staying the same. 

[Google Bot 3,299]

3 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

You don't effect change by staying the same. 

And, you'll never see the bottom of a muddy puddle if you keep waggling a stick through it.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Google Bot

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

1 minute ago, Google Bot said:

Likewise, you'll never see the bottom of a muddy puddle if you keep waggling a stick through it.

What does that even mean?

Just utter **** in response to a proposal to actually address the problems this club finds itself in. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Terminally Yellow

[Google Bot 3,299]

4 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

What does that even mean?

Just utter **** in response to a proposal to actually address the problems this club finds itself in. 

Oh, Someones a little crosspatch this afternoon! 

It's just a bit of philosophy to backup my reasoning of letting things settle, that's all.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,590]

24 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

You don't effect change by staying the same. 

Equally, too much change and it's impossible to know what effect each change has; you're just left flailing incoherently.

Whatever isn't right with us, it's probably something quite small that needs tweaking. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[nutty nigel 7,606]

I'd say changing ownership and appointing a new sporting director is major change from the top. I have to assume that filters down. Whether that results in anything for Soccerbot is intriguing.

[Terminally Yellow 2,477]

15 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

Equally, too much change and it's impossible to know what effect each change has; you're just left flailing incoherently.

Whatever isn't right with us, it's probably something quite small that needs tweaking. 

You'll be left with the same situation in 12m with no discernable improvement or difference.

It's that simple. 

[kenfoggo 247]

Does little yellow birdie also have “something small that needs tweaking”? Asking for a friend.

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by kenfoggo

[littleyellowbirdie 2,590]

22 minutes ago, kenfoggo said:

Does little yellow birdie also have “something small that needs tweaking”? Asking for a friend.

 

You can tell your friend that I've got something bigger than you'd expect that I'm always up for having tweaked. 😉

Edited October 30, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[TIL 1010 4,789]

1 hour ago, Terminally Yellow said:

I've read a lot over the last couple of days on here which is mostly spot on about a lack of leadership at the club. How on earth have we gotten into this mess? A head coach that the players have stopped playing for. A sporting director on the way out and clearly inappropriate to consider for making any major decisions. Major decisions needing to be made in the interests of this club as a matter of urgency and speed. And here we are waiting for Ben Knapper to grace us with his presence which isn't going to happen for another month yet. 

It's absolutely nuts that we find ourselves in this baffling situation. Knapper should be here and working on it already - not off on his jollys somewhere "recharging his batteries". We are where we are. 

So here's my plan to stop the rot. 

1. Let go of David Wagner. Nice guy. Lost the plot here at Norwich. 
2. Allow Stuart Webber to go. If he's needed, we can call him. Let him go do what he wants to do. 
3. Neil Adams should be allowed to make a short term (until end of the season) appointment. It must be stressed that this appointment is a short term one. I mentioned in another thread Nigel Pearson. Someone of this ilk would be ideal. Even if the unthinkable happens and he comes in, plays a blinder and gets us promoted, he should still not be manager next season. Narcis Pelarch should not be the one to get the gig. It needs to be a new voice. 
4. Short term manager (STM for short) should be given two jobs. The first - steady the ship. Second - do not lose to Ipswich. If STM gets us to next May having gotten us draws and kept us in the Championship - job done.  
5. SORT THE DEFENCE OUT. If I were STM, I would be giving Danny Batth and Jaden Warner a go at center back. Let's stop playing Kenny McLean in any position that sees him assume defensive responsibility (beyond the usual any central midfielder should be assuming).
6. Appoint a chairman. This needs to be a figure that will act as the leader of the board. It should not be Zoe Webber whose time at the helm should also be coming to an end (she can absolutely remain as a board member). It should be this chairman that should become responsible for fan engagement for the rest of this season. At the very least, I want to see a series of interviews and meetings with the fans to reassure us about the viability of this club as a side attempting to break into the Premier League. This chairman can be a temporary figure, subject to the next point, but needs to have an understanding and appreciation of what the owners (be it Attanasio or Delia) intend to stop what has been three seasons of utter regression. 
7. Stop with this bloody take over nonsense. Either let Attanasio in or not. This is no time for half measures. Surely in the nearly two seasons of this family being courted and getting to this point we must know whether they are suitable to be the next custodians of the club. 
8. From November, let Knapper shape the club as he sees fit. I want the same autonomy given to him that Webber has enjoyed. In particular, we should see a departure from the current recruitment team and regime and a new team entirely put in place. A move away from the "bargain basement" recruitment method of targeting under utilised markets (which we can now see are under utilised for a reason) and more towards the data-led recruitment that we've heard so much about. 
9. Pull the plug on the ****ing soccerbot.

The aim is to get a certain, clear new start in place for the end of this season. To let the Attanasio/Knapper era of Norwich City begin and an end to the Delia/Webber era which has limped on at least two years too long. Write off this season and prepare for the new era in a manner which gives us fans something to look forward to. 

It isn't until you read this post and take it all on board that you realise the utter shambles we are in.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,590]

I'd happily have Neil Adams manage us until the end of the season ready for a new long term appointment in the Summer. Just get through the season without being relegated. Beyond that, whatever happens, we have the players we have for the rest of the season, so there's really no point fretting about other changes until the end of the season.

Edited October 30, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[Capt. Pants 4,276]

28 minutes ago, TIL 1010 said:

It isn't until you read this post and take it all on board that you realise the utter shambles we are in.

I have a feeling there is worse to come yet.

We were a well run club once but sadly we have got so much wrong so quickly. 

As you and TY say this is a complete and utter shambles, on and off the pitch, and it certainly needs more than a tweak.

[essex canary 504]

The OP sets out a good Plan.

[kenfoggo 247]

The Sporting Director resigned in March. What is he still doing here? He does not want to be here or be part of the Club. Before resigning he declared he would only ever give 90 percent to the Club, how much do you think he can be bothered to give while acting out his notice period? Judging by the disastrous summer recruitment and the cozy laugh in he enjoys with his failing chum Wagner I suggest that he does not care at all. This has infected the whole Club . I have never experienced an atmosphere of such negativity and feeling of hopelessness at Carrow Road. Does anyone relish the plan of a protracted handover period with the new Sporting Director so that Webber can infect him with his ethos of failure? He should have been asked to leave the building the day he resigned. What a disaster his retention has proved to be!

[canarybubbles 1,939]

All sounds reasonable except #2. Allow Webber to go? He doesn't want to go yet - he will choose when he leaves, not the divorcees, thank you very much. Maybe he wants a few more golden eggs before he kills the goose, maybe his arrogance means he thinks we can't possibly bed the new guy in without his genius. Either way the rebuilding can't start until he's gone. Change it to 'Kick Webber out immediately' and I'm with you.

As TIL says, though, the list makes you realise just how much is wrong at our club and what a major job it will be clearing up the utter shambles that Webber is leaving behind him.

[DraytonBoy 160]

13 hours ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Stop with this bloody take over nonsense. Either let Attanasio in or not. This is no time for half measures. Surely in the nearly two seasons of this family being courted and getting to this point we must know whether they are suitable to be the next custodians of the club. 

Attanasio may be happy with the takeover timescale which might be contractual.

[Samwam27 532]

Where else in business would.someone resign and 7 months later they are still.at the helm, making decisions and deciding when they leave.

Norwich truly like to do things differently, even when all around you things are going pear shaped!

[Badger 2,412]

10 hours ago, DraytonBoy said:

Attanasio may be happy with the takeover timescale which might be contractual.

I thought that he was the one that wanted the longer time scale?

[Midlands Yellow 4,067]

1 hour ago, Samwam27 said:

Where else in business would.someone resign and 7 months later they are still.at the helm, making decisions and deciding when they leave.

Norwich truly like to do things differently, even when all around you things are going pear shaped!

When the going gets tough it’s bury your head in the sand time for Delia and Michael. 

[Pyro Pete 1,917]

I asked Google's AI what the club should do. This is its answer:

Norwich City Football Club has a long and proud history, but the club has struggled to maintain consistency in recent years. In order to revive the club's fortunes and improve results on the football pitch, Norwich City should focus on the following areas: 

Invest in the coaching staff and playing squad.

Norwich City need to attract and retain top-quality coaches and players in order to compete at the highest level. This will require investment from the club's owners, but it is essential if Norwich City are to achieve their goals.

Develop a clear and consistent playing philosophy.

Norwich City need to develop a playing style that suits the strengths of their squad and that is also attractive to watch. This will help to create a positive identity for the club and attract new fans.

Improve the club's infrastructure.

Norwich City's Carrow Road stadium was one of the oldest in the Premier League, and the club's training facilities are also in need of improvement. Investing in the club's infrastructure will help to attract and retain top players and staff.

Create a positive culture at the club.

Norwich City need to create a culture where players and staff feel valued and supported. This will help to create a positive atmosphere at the club and will contribute to success on the pitch. 

Here are some specific actions that Norwich City could take to implement these changes:

Hire a top-class manager.

Norwich City need to appoint a manager who has a proven track record of success. This manager should be given the time and resources to build a winning team.

Invest in young players.

Norwich City have a good track record of developing young players. The club should continue to invest in its youth academy and give young players opportunities to play in the first team.

Improve the club's scouting network.

Norwich City need to be able to identify and recruit the best players possible. This requires a strong scouting network that is able to identify talent from all over the world.

Create a strong bond with the fans.

Norwich City have a passionate fan base. The club should make sure that the fans feel involved and valued. This can be done by holding regular fan forums and by listening to the feedback of the fans. 

Ensure there at hot sausage rolls at Carrow Road

Ok, I made this one up.

Reviving Norwich City's fortunes will not be easy, but it is possible. By taking the steps outlined above, the club can put itself in a position to achieve success on the football pitch.