Hopefully a wake up call to Knapper and the board

[First Wazzock 1,014]

I know that watching highlights of matches is not always a true reflection of the 90 minutes.

But, having watched the intensity with which some of the teams seem to be playing, if we perform in the pedestrian way we did yesterday I fear that Blackburn and Sheff U are going to tear us a new one. And that will certainly raise the temperature in the stands

[pete 375]

No optimism for next two home games perhaps not for the rest of the season.  Hope yesterday's performance sees our Dads Army defence consigned to the bin.  And Thorup goes with gut and coaches our youngsters to be better and to fill in for those who let us down.  Perhaps with proper coaching we can have home grown players to progress.  Given our parlous financial state it must be the way for us to go.  Before we get there there will be much criticism.  

[mannings bandy legs 444]

47 minutes ago, First Wazzock said:

I know that watching highlights of matches is not always a true reflection of the 90 minutes.

But, having watched the intensity with which some of the teams seem to be playing, if we perform in the pedestrian way we did yesterday I fear that Blackburn and Sheff U are going to tear us a new one. And that will certainly raise the temperature in the stands

Thought the same watching Leeds.We could be in  for a few hidings before we are a settled team.

[Europe_93 51]

17 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

It will be a long process though as thanks to Webber he hamstrung us financially with Barnes and Duffy, failed to strengthen a midfield, no depth in wingers and no succession planning for ageing CBs.

I think Webber brought in Barnes and Duffy at the request of Wagner, at a point where we were hampered by not enough experience.  To an extent it worked, getting us closer to promotion than what we would have otherwise achieved, yet in doing so he sacrificed some principles of what this club is / needs to be, i.e. Webber traded strategy for short term pragmitism - arguably what a Director of Football should be in place to help navigate.

It is a difficult balance to strike, but I do think Webber had lost belief at that point, i.e. he gave people what they wanted rather than what was needed.

[Nexus_Canary 1,254]

18 hours ago, JonnyJonnyRowe said:

If one was needed, that we're in need of a serious rebuild.

Lets not forget however that the reason we've got ageing deadwood like Hanley and Barnes under contract until next summer, and Duffy until 2026, is because those were the contracts offered to them by Stuart Webber.

Cheers Stu.

 

Yeh the welsh wonder strikes again 😞
Just out of interest you looking to change that screen name now hes disgraced himself? 
One reason why i never stick a players name on my shirt or use them as tags/ screen names .

[yellowrider120 933]

3 hours ago, First Wazzock said:

I know that watching highlights of matches is not always a true reflection of the 90 minutes.

But, having watched the intensity with which some of the teams seem to be playing, if we perform in the pedestrian way we did yesterday I fear that Blackburn and Sheff U are going to tear us a new one. And that will certainly raise the temperature in the stands

Totally agree re Blackburn and United. Wilder will be rubbing his hands in anticipation of playing us off the park! 

Despite developing a bit of a soft spot for us there is nothing he likes more than rocking up at FCR with his vociferous disciples and dishing out a lesson in how to play proper football.

[JonnyJonnyRowe 1,042]

16 minutes ago, Nexus_Canary said:

Yeh the welsh wonder strikes again 😞
Just out of interest you looking to change that screen name now hes disgraced himself? 
One reason why i never stick a players name on my shirt or use them as tags/ screen names .

There is no option to do so, so unfortunately its going to have to be a new account.

That said, if he excels in Marseille and becomes a world class talent and England regular, then earns us a fortune through a large sell on clause when he earns his move to Real Madrid to upstage Bellingham, then we'd probably all forget about this misdemeanour and revert back to boasting about him being made in Norwich.

Zidane was made on the streets of Marseille!

[JonnyJonnyRowe 1,042]

18 minutes ago, Nexus_Canary said:

Yeh the welsh wonder strikes again 😞

I note that nobody moved to pick up this 'genius' in the summer. 

He's the Sporting Director equivalent of Todd Cantwell. Showed promise, believed his own hype, now fast dwindling into obscurity.

Webber and Cantwell more similar than either would like to believe.

[norwich canary 171]

I want Knapper to show strong leadership accept he has appointed a clown and get shot of him. Even Wagner was better

[repman 808]

2 hours ago, JonnyJonnyRowe said:

I note that nobody moved to pick up this 'genius' in the summer. 

He's the Sporting Director equivalent of Todd Cantwell. Showed promise, believed his own hype, now fast dwindling into obscurity.

Webber and Cantwell more similar than either would like to believe.

I think it's definitely possible that sporting directors are the same as managers/head coaches. Football is developing at such a pace now and it can be very easy to get left behind. A whole new generation of coaches have arrived and replaced the old guard. Having the ability to constantly adapt and learn is rare, especially once you've had success. 

I think Webber was perfect for those years when he first joined, but the game changed and the edges we once had over others disappeared. Players like Buendia, Pukki, Vrancic are not available for the fees that we paid back then. He possibly also drew the wrong conclusions from our initial failures, which was that it was a lack of money/wage bill that had seen us relegated the first time. I don't know if that was simply a tactic or if that was the genuine belief but it definitely hurt us when we went back up to the PL with a coach who had never (up to that point) demonstrated an ability to organise a team well defensively. 

His determination to leave the club in a good place, which to him meant in the PL I'm sure, also led to him prioritising the short term over the last 2/3 years, that too probably wasn't the most sensible approach.

[Segura 101]

9 minutes ago, repman said:

I think it's definitely possible that sporting directors are the same as managers/head coaches. Football is developing at such a pace now and it can be very easy to get left behind. A whole new generation of coaches have arrived and replaced the old guard. Having the ability to constantly adapt and learn is rare, especially once you've had success. 

I think Webber was perfect for those years when he first joined, but the game changed and the edges we once had over others disappeared. Players like Buendia, Pukki, Vrancic are not available for the fees that we paid back then. He possibly also drew the wrong conclusions from our initial failures, which was that it was a lack of money/wage bill that had seen us relegated the first time. I don't know if that was simply a tactic or if that was the genuine belief but it definitely hurt us when we went back up to the PL with a coach who had never (up to that point) demonstrated an ability to organise a team well defensively. 

His determination to leave the club in a good place, which to him meant in the PL I'm sure, also led to him prioritising the short term over the last 2/3 years, that too probably wasn't the most sensible approach.

Good post. Would say that up until the Buendia sliding doors moment, Webber was doing a pretty decent job and I will personally always be grateful to him and Farke for 2018-19, possibly my favourite season in 30 odd years as fan.

However, after that point things appear to have unravelled pretty quickly and as someone who works in PR, some of his public ramblings were shameful and I wonder if this aspect has put other clubs off wanting to employ him.

All a far cry from the heady days of 2019 and him being linked to Man Utd. But as they say in the industry, football moves on quickly, one funeral at a time.

 

[Monty13 2,796]

3 hours ago, Europe_93 said:

I think Webber brought in Barnes and Duffy at the request of Wagner, at a point where we were hampered by not enough experience.  To an extent it worked, getting us closer to promotion than what we would have otherwise achieved, yet in doing so he sacrificed some principles of what this club is / needs to be, i.e. Webber traded strategy for short term pragmitism - arguably what a Director of Football should be in place to help navigate.

It is a difficult balance to strike, but I do think Webber had lost belief at that point, i.e. he gave people what they wanted rather than what was needed.

He did that way before Duffy and Barnes arrived, they were a last roll of the dice.

[canarybubbles 2,210]

I think Knapper and Thorup have to take control of the situation quickly or it will spiral downwards. They have two spoiled brats (Rowe and Idah) demanding they be allowed to leave and prepared to cause trouble if they are not, and a group of old players (Hanley, Duffy, McLean, Barnes) who may sour the atmosphere if they are dropped for younger alternatives. Knapper and Thorup have to very quickly make clear who is in charge or the club could be heading for serious problems.

I hope this is an over-reaction on my part caused by what Rowe has done but I'm very worried that the whole thing is looking like it could be a total mess which might even lead to our being dragged down into a relegation battle judging by yesterday's performance. 

[Feedthewolf 5,931]

3 hours ago, Nexus_Canary said:

Yeh the welsh wonder strikes again 😞
Just out of interest you looking to change that screen name now hes disgraced himself? 
One reason why i never stick a players name on my shirt or use them as tags/ screen names .

You make your bed, you lie in it... as I found to my cost 😉

[canarybubbles 2,210]

4 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

You make your bed, you lie in it... as I found to my cost 😉

Nothing shameful about a nick based on the Wolf. It didn't work out but he had a decent career in various European countries after he left us. Even in the dark days of the phantom pass, he always tried his best and he would never in a thousand years have pulled the kind of self-serving ploy that Rowe has.

[Feedthewolf 5,931]

7 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

Nothing shameful about a nick based on the Wolf. It didn't work out but he had a decent career in various European countries after he left us. Even in the dark days of the phantom pass, he always tried his best and he would never in a thousand years have pulled the kind of self-serving ploy that Rowe has.

Oh god I'd almost forgotten about the phantom pass 👻

[JonnyJonnyRowe 1,042]

4 hours ago, Segura said:

However, after that point things appear to have unravelled pretty quickly and as someone who works in PR, some of his public ramblings were shameful and I wonder if this aspect has put other clubs off wanting to employ him.

I think his comments on Aarons, Lewis, and Rowe definitely cost him an opportunity at Stoke, he was being heavily linked and it as refuted by anybody.

However he can always go to a country which isn't as progressive politically, I'm sure he'd fit in well in Putin's Russia if the war is settled.

[JonnyJonnyRowe 1,042]

4 hours ago, Feedthewolf said:

You make your bed, you lie in it... as I found to my cost 😉

Don't worry, I always assumed it was an ironic username and you'd intentionally chosen a carp player! 

Edited August 11, 2024 by JonnyJonnyRowe

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

7 minutes ago, JonnyJonnyRowe said:

I think his comments on Aarons, Lewis, and Rowe definitely cost him an opportunity at Stoke, he was being heavily linked and it as refuted by anybody.

However he can always go to a country which isn't as progressive politically, I'm sure he'd fit in well in Putin's Russia if the war is settled.

Didn’t Chelsea want him too! Of course they did. 

[Nexus_Canary 1,254]

4 hours ago, Feedthewolf said:

Oh god I'd almost forgotten about the phantom pass 👻

To be fair i still maintain under a different system and manager RvW would have thrived he was not as bad as some make out.

I remember Snotty stealing the ball from him and even worse perhaps him hitting one from about 5 yards only to have an on loan Jordan Pickford pull off a total worldie of a save. 
Like, the stars just did not align.