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Rudolph Hucker

IN PRAISE OF DELIA SMITH

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I am heatily sick and tired of reading the abusive comments by some posters on here regarding Delia Smith.

She would no doubt hold up her hands to being fallible (unlike her recipes which never fail) and also to having made mistakes (who hasn''t). Her biggest recent mistake, for me, was appearing to show too much loyalty to a former manager who had clearly become a friend and had alowed this to cloud her judgement. She sticks by her friends then!

I have criticised Delia in the past, particularly for embarassing the Club with her half time rant, but all in all know her to be passionate about her football and Norwich City and to be a heart and soul fan first. And that is the sad part, because as a supporter, once hounded out of the Club by idiots where could she go? Where could any of us go? It''s our team, there is no-where else.

Delia doesn''t come across well. I have always thought so even with her cookery programmes but she clearly has something because she has been so successful.

As for her success and profile; she has attempted to use it to raise the image of Norwich City and in doing so had to suffer idiots like Nikki Campbell asking her how to boil an egg when she came on 5 Live Breakfast to speak about our promotion. If she seems to lack polish in these instances it is because what you see is what you get. What would you prefer? Perhaps some political, silver tongued on-message spin doctor?

Clearly, the majority of supporters at Norwich hold Delia in high esteem and afection. It seems that as a perceived ''sacred cow'' certain people on here want to try and attract attention to themselves by abusing her. For me this is pure cowardice and just reeks of sad individuals tying themselves in knots trying to better abuse or bully her than their peers. Perhaps it is a woman thing? Perhaps it is something from their childhood?

The fact of the matter is Delia Smith and her husband are majority shareholders. They may not be paying up £80 million annual debts like Abramovich (until he tires of it and leaves Chelsea in the lurch) or The Glazers who have saddled the worlds biggest Club with a world class debt in order to buy it.

The fault of football at present is not with Delia Smith and others like her: it is with the Premier League and foreign investors who have so distorted our national game so as to ensure it produces insufficient English talent, has four leagues with glass ceilings between within the Premier League and fails to promote proper competition.

Once upon a time any number of teams could win the FA Cup, get to the final or semis. This seldom happens now. Once upon a time, based upon the crowd potential Clubs could climb to the top, now they need a major investor to do so.

I have thought for a long time that the Premier league is doomed in it''s current format. I think we will end up with a Premier One and Two as this will increase the number of Clubs for more TV coverage and at least will spread the money pot around so teams with tradition or good fan bases can compete with the small Clubs propped up by wealthy owners.

But, getting back to Delia Smith. If this is a free and open forum I suppose you critics have a right to express your views and also, it seems, a right to do so in a non-constructive and abusive manner. In the same vein I am happy to say I respect Delia Smith as a fellow supporter and a decent person and wish to make my views equally well known.

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Nobody is saying that you are not entitled to hold whatever beliefs you have and make those points crystal clear to us Rudolph...

However people of the same opinion as myself are justifiably entitled to make which ever points they wish to make about Delia Smith and how she leads/fails to lead this club also.

I believe that football has always been led by a few clubs that nobody else can realistically compete with on a financial basis, or in terms of attracting the same players etc.  Historically it is always going to be the same clubs with the odd one or two that are thrown up occaisionally to break that mould...  ie: your Man City, Leeds Utd, Derby County, Nottingham Forset, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Blackburn and possibly Everton could be used as examples of a few clubs that have challenged the more established might of Manchester Utd, liverpool and Arsenal since the 1950/60''s.  I do not think that you can go much further back than this historically as the game prior to the war had very little resemblence indeed to the modern day game.

The teams that occaisionally break the mould (and maybe Chelsea are one of these teams) either come about through leadership by a fantastic manager (ie - Don Revie, Brian Clough) and consistent financial support from a board of directors that realise they have a guy with the potential to lead them to honours, or purely through money buying a team glory (Blackburn would be more of an example to this than Chelsea will ever be).

All in all there is more money in the game today and clubs that wish to compete at the highest level must pay the going rate...

Bolton and Blackburn have managed to do it with lower attendances than what we get because they push the boat out to bring in the highest quality of player that they can with the money available to them.

For people on these message boards to be making statements like they would rather see NCFC in Div 2 with Delia trying to do things the right way rather than end up like another Chelsea in trying to compete sums up exactly where this club is headed...

We have ZERO ambition and I for one am not proud of players (some of whom have less footballing talent than myself) trotting out each week, playing consistently c**p, then getting plaudits like they have just secured promotion after a 4-0 cup exit at Chelsea...

I am sorry but NCFC should be in a position to be able to compete with such a team...  I am sure Reading, Watford, Blackburn or Bolton fans would not be too impressed with a 4-0 stroll in the park by Chelsea.

The fact that we currently lie 18th place in the table says it all to me...

Milan Mandaric has promised Leicester fans that he will have them promoted within 3 years...

What is Delia & Co''s plan for Norwich City???

She doesn''t have one... we are a rudderless ship verging on a collision course with Div 1... and Delia & Co have neither the ideas or the finances to turn our club around...

If Delia was the true fan that she claims to be then she would step aside... either taking more of a back seat on the board welcoming fresh investment and actively seeking it... or by stepping down totally and selling up all of her shares...

In my opinion that is the only way that NCFC will be able to move forward again.

Delia can still be a fan (and I for one would thank her for the good times that she undoubtedly gave us and welcome her back to the ground if she did step down or move aside)...  She could even come and sit next to me in our first BIG GAME after her departure if she likes???

As Delia should of learnt by now... there is little room for sentimentallity in football!!!  [:#] 

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I think much of the criticism is borne out of frustration that success and a more-than-temporary return to the Premiership has been more difficult to achieve than we thought. The limitations of NW as a manager only became apparent during the Prem season and having achieved promotion once it was natural to hope that he could do so again. However it was obvious that things were on the slide and the delay in removing him has cost us dear. But at least she showed loyalty and patience in the face of increasingly hysterical demands for action- that in increasingly small supply these days.

Delia does not fit the mould of other Football chairmen for fairly obvious reasons. She has a slight diffidence in the public eye (other than on pre recorded cookery shows) and some naivety which, while some consider refreshing, will annoy others as they search for a more obvious ruthless streak. The softly spoken slightly giggly manner she sometimes has is not ideally suited to the macho world of Pro football.

You are of course correct Rudolph that football has changed beyond recognition. Some on this Board refuse to accept that and they also refuse to accept that there is not a queue of multi billionaires just waiting to snap up second tier football clubs. The billionaires are generally after money- they seek the TV money, the merchandising opportunities and the land redevelopment potential. There are few of them prepared to take the risk of investing big sums and realising any of that upside. The stakes are now enormous.

In the real modern world we are a small club compared to the Chelseas etc and, face it, we always have been. We had a few years of success in the late 80s early 90s but we are still a small blip on the football history wallchart. We revel in our few successes but there are many many clubs who have similar or stronger claims to football icon status. I am not denigrating us, simply pointing out that we have no God given right to be anywhere in the League structure.

What we need to do is get the basics right and pull together. Only that way can we hope to punch above our weight and achieve a long standing place in the mid to lower tiers of the Prem with an occasional Bolton-like flurry at the top or in a cup. Its a long process and stability is all important. It starts from the academy and the youth set up all the way to the top- overinvest in one at the expense of another and the cards coming tumbling down. Splash £3m too many times on one player and you have nothing left for any any more.

Delia isn''t perfect but I look at other Chairpeople around and probably only Steve Gibson at M''Boro comes close to being of integrity, wealth and most of all a fan. We hound her out at our peril.

 

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Thats lovely mate, but she should still get out IMO. she has not got the clout to take this club forward simple as. Lovely lady, good cook but we are talking about taking NCFC forward, can she do that, i think not.

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Well said Rudolph.

This needed saying and you are capable of saying it in a better way than many of the rest of us.

Thankyou for posting this today.

 

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Well said, Rude Old! Now cue the kindergarten insults about being tied to your mummy''s apron strings or being one of Squealia''s (I see what you did there, very clever) brownie pack.

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I''m  sorry Ru, but Delia IS the problem!.

I''ve had it to the back teeth with this woman, I''m tired of her excuses and her ''little old Norwich'' mantra, she''s also, on a national level, made us a laughing stock with her ''lets be avin you'' garbbage.

She has precided over the sacking of Mike Walker, she thought agent Hamiliton was the bees knees, and she dallied far too long protecting her pal Worthy, she was also instrumental in the appointment of a cheap, untried manager too.

Now it would seem, she would sell out to the highest bidder, well, I for one can''t wait for that glorious day.

Oh, and by the way oh rude one, she never saved this club, that honour went down to a true City fan.................not her!.

I talk of Mr G Watling.

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I luvs her.......but, if she left tomorrow, I wouldn''t shed a tear. I''d thank her for her contribution and give her a signed copy of my new book, "Drivel and Inane Rantings make interesting reading."

Life and relationships come and go. Football, is to infinity and beyond.

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[quote user="Smudger"]However people of the same opinion as myself are justifiably entitled

to make which ever points they wish to make about Delia Smith and how

she leads/fails to lead this club also[/quote]And if you were to draw the line there Smudger, I don''t think many people would argue.  But you don''t, do you ?

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[quote user="Mello Yello"]

I luvs her.......but, if she left tomorrow, I wouldn''t shed a tear. I''d thank her for her contribution and give her a signed copy of my new book, "Drivel and Inane Rantings make interesting reading."

Life and relationships come and go. Football, is to infinity and beyond.

[/quote]

hehehe Pure class MELLO!!!

Has your bottom recovered from your wonderful trip to Chelsea yet?  Shame you aren''t Delia, there would be a few people on here offering to kiss it better for you!!!  [:D]

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It just goes to show, doesn''t it that we are all capable of reasoning our points without resorting to personal abuse (which says more about the writer than the subject). I respect the points made and views expressed and actualy considered them whereas blatant abuse fails to get my attention.

Smudger points out where we actually are as a Club and this is the case, however, he then expresses frustration at Delia Smith being unable to break this historical mould when it seems the last few years have pretty much followed it: inconsistent over the long term but able to dish out the odd bloody nose.

In the meantime though, for a small provincial City, the Club have well developed other revenue streams, constructed good facilities and created a decent stadium.

We are not alone in feeling the frustration of the imbalance in modern football hence the empty stadiums at Clubs incapable of going further in the Premier League and the bitterness of the Everton''s and Tottenhams of this world.

I fail to see, however, how all of this naturally leads to the abuse of Delia Smith.

I would like to see the Club look for other investors though and have said so before, clearly to stand a chance in the current set up you have to have a major investor.

Clubs such as ours have also been hit hard by transfer windows (a restriction of trade) and Bosman (a massive loss  of revenue from home developed talent) which has restricted the flow of money from the rich to the poor. The whole thing needs looking at before it implodes and Delia Smith is in my view in touch with what the game of football in the UK really means to the people who matter....the supporters.

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Smudger,  I have to compliment you on a well researched and thoughtful post.

Far better than the usual rant and I have to agree with the main points. The only problem as I see it is that even if Delia stood aside there is no White Knight on the horizon riding to our rescue. We also have no way of knowing if she is actively seeking a buyer for her majority holding. There seems no point to her offering to step aside if nobody is going to take her place.

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Why focus all the anger and criticism on Delia ?  Roger Munby is the chairman not Delia and there are (I believe) 6 board members. By focussing on Delia surely we are falling into the trap we accuse the media of falling into ?

Whilst she and Michael Wynn Jones are majority shareholders does their vote in the boardroom count for any more than any other directors ?

Delia may not be perfect but I''d rather have her in our boardroom that not, she''s a fan so at times she will be irrational and speak without thinking but without her (and her husband''s) injections of funds where would we be now. She doesn''t pull on a shirt and play on Saturdays (however much she''d like to [;)]), perhaps some of the criticism should be aimed at the players who do, it is they after all who are demonstrably making money from the club with little or no commitment (one or two exceptions aside).

 

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Actually blahblahblah, I think Smudger goes on to articulate his anti-Delia view in a quite a balanced and thoughtful manner - I don''t see a problem with that and he makes some reasonable points in doing so.

I think there is a major problem in the boardroom at ''FCR'' - Delia and MWJ are well-intentioned, nice people doing their best but they do not have deep enough pockets for the current game. The others appear to be coasting along and add little ''value'' to the Club.

They are slow to react to problems (eg Worthington/wasting the last two seasons and the parachute payments) and I''m sure Delia/MWJ will not let go easily - despite her public comments recently - to either a UK or foreign investor.

Whether different owners would be better or worse is pure speculation - of course - but it shouldn''t mean the fans can''t have a debate about it. Perhaps an injection of cash by some new directors would give the Club the kick up the backside it needs.

Hmmm, I wonder how much Skipper wants for his shares...? 

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Not bothered but I suspect this will be one of those posts which quickly slides off the radar because it isn''t confrontational enough.

There you have 75% of the rationale for abusive posts.

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The problem at Norwich, as indeed the case at many other clubs, is that that the majority shareholders have a stranglehold on the club. I have nothing particularly against Delia and her husband - she is perhaps a little naive at times but is clearly a true supporterwith the club at heart - but the fact remains that the joint majority shareholders at Carrow Road have, by definition, a huge say in what goes on at the club.

Whilst, in theory, each Boardroom vote is equal I would be most surprised if, when it comes to the crunch, Delia and her other half do not get their own way if they really dig their heels in ......

At the time of the Robert Chase debacle much was made of the fact that, as a club, we would be ill-advised to allow anyone to be able to be in a position of such power and influence in the future. Mr Chase was, like Delia, a true supporter, but, by virtue of  the strength of his shareholding eventually became an un-yielding dictator.What has happened now is that, by welcoming these knights in shining armour as they came galloping to the rescue, we now find ourselves in a position where the majority shareholders now own more of our club than Chase ever did !!

I''m not going to suggest that, once again, we''re heading for the abyss but the present scenario leaves me a little uneasy to say the least............ 

 

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Indeed Munby, Skipper, Foulger & Doncaster are just as much if not more to blame for the route of NCFC''s current problems...

It remains a fact however that Delia & Michael are NCFC''s majority shareholders, the others in my opinion are just puppets that offer relatively little to the club.

It is Delia and Michael that hold the real power in the boardroom however...

Maybe the others should sell up all of their shares plus Delia and Michael maybe selling 10% or 15% of theirs???

Because any new investor bringing the kind of money that we need in to the club would want to be a majority shareholder at least.

This would mean Delia and Michael (who have done a resonably good job) stepping aside in some way...

Maybe if we had the foresight to do it earlier in the season we could now of had a Milandaric/Smith/Wynn-Jones boardromm set up or something of a similar ilk???

now just imagine that for a dream team for some of you!!!

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Good post Smudger. I am reading the autobiography of Stanly Mathews at the moment,what a man and a player,highly recommended to anyone that is interested. Anyway he waxes lyrical about pre war deays when players came from the communities surrounding the Clubs for which they played, Stoke in his case. This obviously led to a much greater affinity between the players and the fans as they were essentially part of the same thing.He felt that the wage cap helped to sustain this as there was no need for a top player to move say to Man U. because they could not get paid anymore there. An interesting point here is that there were huge crowds, big club income but little went to the players.In those days being a Club Chairman must have been a good little earner.

Would a wage cap help to even the playing field between the likes of the top 4/5? My view is that the whole thing has gone to far with player wages and FIFA need to get some control.

 

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