A fitting goodbye from Stuart Webber

[Robert N. LiM 4,479]

42 minutes ago, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

However, in Webbers defence, I often think that our 18/19 promotion was too early for the project, as amazing as it was.

This. The thought of going up one year later, being in the PL in 20-21, with that sublime team that won the Championship in the real universe, plus Godfrey who presumably wouldn't have left at that point (and perhaps Jamal instead of Dimi) is really tantalising.

                       Krul

Aarons Godfrey Hanley Lewis

        Skipp McLean/Vrancic

Cantwell Stiepi/Dowell Buendia

                      Pukki

That team would have had a good go at staying up, I reckon. But of course, it would all have been behind closed doors...

 

 

[stratton canary 135]

1 hour ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Well it’s best not to be two faced, best of luck Stu but so glad you’re gone. 

90% lol 😂 

[Mello Yello 2,302]

I'm inconsolable.....he failed to mention the vegetable patch.....Y'know, them that's playing Cardiff t'moro.....

[norfolkngood 1,087]

Over his Years here i have to admit he has done well had good success ,His Recruitment early on was Fantastic as was the signing of Farke 

It all went wrong with the Mass signings instead of a solid team with a  couple of better players each season ,

He is Passionate and did serve and Protect the owners ,

in a way i feel for him as i do not think he is as tough and hard nosed as he makes out ,

in fact he has taken a lot of stress shoulders and on refection i wish him well 

[stratton canary 135]

Yeah, it wasn't his fault we got relegated 

It was us the fan's! 

Good luck in Formula 1  😂

[Midlands Yellow 4,073]

1 hour ago, hogesar said:

I'm disappointed he didn't leave an asterisk at the bottom with

*Go f*ck yourself Midlands Yellow

But I can't have everything 

Henry enjoyed that and maybe his dad if he wakes up!! 

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,038]

I will be eternally grateful to you Stu for turning Colney Lane into a world class training facility, with the help of the £5M raised by NCFC fans, thank you. As great as that achievement was I will always remember you for SoccerBot though, only you Stu could have the vision of purchasing SoccerBot, if only you had plugged it in, who knows things may have turned out so much better............ 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB

[nutty nigel 7,608]

And the pink away dressing room we won the league with...

[Midlands Yellow 4,073]

1 minute ago, nutty nigel said:

And the pink away dressing room we won the league with...

Great post. 

[Pyro Pete 1,918]

I can't believe I read all that.

Thanks for the good times and making the training ground respectable.

But he leaves with us in 17th, with an ageing squad, a mountain of debt and few saleable assets.

And remember, just because you think it, doesn't mean you should say it.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,449]

Already history. 
We move on. 

[hogesar 9,736]

 

[......and Smith must score. 1,360]

An unlikeable man in a similar vein to his predecessor. He had good times, he had bad but his arrogance was always there.

Although he's now left us in the s*it on balance he's probably just in credit. We could have flat lined for the whole time he was here but there was a fair dollop of excitement along the way.

I tended to take most of what he said with a pinch of salt, particularly his slant on why some players left the club and I was particularly disappointent at how the affable Steve Stone's employnent ended. He was a decent bloke so was probably not hard nosed enough for Webber.

[Harry53 211]

3 minutes ago, hogesar said:

 

Mario is playing for Fortuna. If only we still had him

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,449]

1 minute ago, ......and Smith must score. said:

and I was particularly disappointent at how the affable Steve Stone's employnent ended. He was a decent bloke so was probably not hard nosed enough for Webber.

A “dïckhead” in Webber-speak. 

[KeiranShikari 1,433]

If only he had stuck with the identity and methodology of his first 3 years in the job. We'd likely be in a significantly better place than where we are now. 

Leaving whilst in debt is obviously not a good look considering what he's said in the past but I can't imagine he's gone rogue and actually spent to a dangerous level. I'd assume that it was all agreed with Mark Attanasio and whilst they'd all have been hoping the gamble had played out differently it'll be something he's willing to take on.

It's obviously soured with the fans over the years but I always enjoyed listening to him. I certainly think there's more to him than just being another motivational slogan using Jake Humphrey podcast type ****, although he's certainly been a bit of that too.

[ridgeman 135]

2 hours ago, TIL 1010 said:

He was talking about his appointment of Steve Weaver as head of the academy so i took it he was having a pop at Ricky Martin.

Personally I think the academy was in a better place when he joined than it is now. Aarons, Lewis, Godfrey ready to step up Maddison and the Murphys just progressing through.  There doesn’t appear a great deal ready to step up.

[KeiranShikari 1,433]

4 minutes ago, ridgeman said:

Personally I think the academy was in a better place when he joined than it is now. Aarons, Lewis, Godfrey ready to step up Maddison and the Murphys just progressing through.  There doesn’t appear a great deal ready to step up.

Godrey and Maddison didn't really progress through the academy here.

Unless you're watching it regularly it's impossible to judge though. The Murphy's and Cantwell had a lot of hype abour them but most players that come through so so with less ceremony. As it stands the u23s are doing decently enough in the development league and Jonny Rowe is one of the best young players in the division, so I think they're doing okay in the academy at the moment.

[Ray 111]

Webber, unfortunately, has anger issues. A few years ago I grabbed him from behind as he was about to lump a Man City member of staff in the Directors' area. He wouldn't have known it was me as the stewards stepped in. Further compounded by his aggressive behaviour toward protesting fans when his wife intervened and subsequent outburts re Snakepit, etc. Not the actions of proper SD, imo.

[By Hook or Ian crook 917]

1 hour ago, KeiranShikari said:

Godrey and Maddison didn't really progress through the academy here.

Unless you're watching it regularly it's impossible to judge though. The Murphy's and Cantwell had a lot of hype abour them but most players that come through so so with less ceremony. As it stands the u23s are doing decently enough in the development league and Jonny Rowe is one of the best young players in the division, so I think they're doing okay in the academy at the moment.

There’s more of our academy graduates playing for premier league sides than there is our own. two who we let go for free for not being good enough for us in Harry Toffolo and Carlton Morris.

Maddison, Godfrey, Aarons, Andy O, Jacob Murphy, Harry Toffolo, Carlton Morris. I can’t help but wonder what might have been, given 3 of those were in our FA youth cup winning side. 

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

Stuart who?

[Duncan Edwards 2,262]

16 minutes ago, By Hook or Ian crook said:

There’s more of our academy graduates playing for premier league sides than there is our own. two who we let go for free for not being good enough for us in Harry Toffolo and Carlton Morris.

Maddison, Godfrey, Aarons, Andy O, Jacob Murphy, Harry Toffolo, Carlton Morris. I can’t help but wonder what might have been, given 3 of those were in our FA youth cup winning side. 

Don’t forget Josh, the beacon of that side who can’t get a game ahead of Robbie Savage’s kid at Oxford. 

[Thirsty Lizard 3,183]

38 minutes ago, By Hook or Ian crook said:

There’s more of our academy graduates playing for premier league sides than there is our own. two who we let go for free for not being good enough for us in Harry Toffolo and Carlton Morris.

Maddison, Godfrey, Aarons, Andy O, Jacob Murphy, Harry Toffolo, Carlton Morris. I can’t help but wonder what might have been, given 3 of those were in our FA youth cup winning side. 

Not factually correct - we got a fee for Morris. (and I don't think we can claim Maddison as an academy graduate). 

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

I adored Webber until:

1) he broke what Farkeball had matured into during the summer following our 2nd promotion - by choosing not to replace Skipp & Buendia and trying to convert us into a counter attacking side (Tzolis, Sargent & Rashica). We should've just kept yoyoing and improved millimetre by millimetre.

2) he went to war with the local media for no good reason and hasn't communicated candidly with the fans since.

Overall, I'm glad he was hired - the Farke years were special - but it was sad and unnecessary to see how sour, muddled and angsty things became.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Cantiaci Canary

[Fen Canary 866]

4 hours ago, Gibbo said:

While the last 2 seasons have been dire (should never have bowed to the vocal whingers who wanted to get rid of Farke), we've had 2 of the best seasons in my living memory under him.  That season during covid was one of the things that at least gave a bright spark in an otherwise rubbish year too, which I am very grateful for!

He averaged half a point a game in the top flight over nearly 50 matches. Sacking him wasn’t the wrong decision, we just unfortunately didn’t get the replacement right 

[Fen Canary 866]

45 minutes ago, Cantiaci Canary said:

I adored Webber until:

1) he broke what Farkeball had matured into during the summer following our 2nd promotion - by choosing not to replace Skipp & Buendia and trying to convert us into a counter attacking side (Tzolis, Sargent & Rashica). We should've just kept yoyoing and improved millimetre by millimetre.

2) he went to war with the local media for no good reason and hasn't communicated candidly with the fans since.

Overall, I'm glad he was hired - the Farke years were special - but it was sad and unnecessary to see how sour, muddled and angsty things became.

The system didn’t work without a Buendia, and the chances of securing players of his calibre in the second tier are slim. Enjoy them while they’re here but they are a bonus, not a strategy to build teams around long term 

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

4 minutes ago, Fen Canary said:

The system didn’t work without a Buendia, and the chances of securing players of his calibre in the second tier are slim. Enjoy them while they’re here but they are a bonus, not a strategy to build teams around long term 

The system didn't work without a good CDM. Buendia was important, but Skipp and Tettey were more important and they were not replaced. It's why we struggled in the Prem. A sick note loanee like Normann was never going to cut it and we have been struggling since. Forshaw or Lungi, Kenny or Sara are not the answer. We need some bite, and we have none. I don't expect that to change with our new DOF. League 1 here we come.

 

 

[Duncan Edwards 2,262]

We were never going to replace Buendia. 
 

Lightning strike of recruitment. To replace him would have cost every penny and more of what we sold him for.

Should have been our first £50m player. 

[Fen Canary 866]

3 hours ago, Iwans Big Toe said:

The system didn't work without a good CDM. Buendia was important, but Skipp and Tettey were more important and they were not replaced. It's why we struggled in the Prem. A sick note loanee like Normann was never going to cut it and we have been struggling since. Forshaw or Lungi, Kenny or Sara are not the answer. We need some bite, and we have none. I don't expect that to change with our new DOF. League 1 here we come.

 

 

I disagree, you just have to look at our results with Buendia and without him the season we won the league to see how reliant on him we were. With him we walk the division, without him our form was relegation material.

A good enforcer in midfield would definitely have helped I agree, and would have been easier to find than a creative player like Emi. I thought Norman actually started that season quite well, but after his injury he unfortunately never got close to that level again 

[canarybubbles 1,941]

I guess we'll all have different reasons about why it all went wrong, but I imagine there'd be general agreement about when. 1) The summer recruitment following our second promotion 2) the sacking of Farke. Since those times we have been flailing around from one quick-fix solution to another and none of them has worked.

My personal thinking about why is 1) arrogance and a self-belief that span out of control (Despite what he stated publicly, I find it very hard to believe that Farke was happy with the summer's recruitment, or indeed the move away from a playing style that had given us a lot of success, albeit in the second tier) 2) impatience (I think Webber wanted to move on quickly because he believed he was destined for bigger and better things, so he felt we had to survive in 21/22, which would enable him to leave and announce that he had achieved his goal).  

Edited November 11, 2023 by canarybubbles