The failure of Prudence with Ambition

[The Voice of the Thorpe Area 0]

Before I start this rant, I will say that I am 100% behind Roeder, I think his appointment was a good one, and it is not down to him that we are rubbish at the time being.

I was, up until a short while ago, behind the board, as those who know me will say. BUT WHO ELSE IS THERE TO BLAME NOW?

Since our relegation, this has been the NCFC casualty list of people and groups of players who have been blamed, and in some cases, subsequently released from Carra:

• Nigel Worthington, Doug Livermore, Steve Foley.
• Gary Doherty and Paul Gallagher.
• Carl Robinson, Paul McVeigh and Andy Hughes.
• Youssef Safri and Dickson Etuhu.
• Peter Grant and Jim Duffy.

There''s probably more. My point? Well, have we now ran out of people to blame, and start turning our attentions to the board?

Passionate- Yes. Supporters- Yes. Correct decision-making- NO!

Without any doubt, Prudence with Ambition has failed. It is has been 10 seasons since Delia took over, and where have we gone?

Yes, she helped us out in our hour of need. No doubt about that, and she will always be thanked for it. Prudence with ambition has seen one play-off season and a promotion campaign, followed by a disapointing relegation. This is what prudence has given us.

Ambition? Well we haven''t seen any of that in a long, long time. Where''s all the money from Ashton, Earnshaw, Etuhu and Green gone?

We are now rock bottom, nose-diving towards Bournemouth, Crewe and Brighton and Hove Albion, and it looks like we''re going without much of a fight, despite the derby day heroics.

And, if all of that weren''t bad enough, those ruddy Tractor Boys are now filthy rich and winning 6-0 at home, to a team we lost against only a few weeks ago 3-1.

I''ve had enough. And I think its'' time for us all to say ''it''s either you or us, and make it quick.'' I don''t care if rich men don''t invest in Championship clubs (although events of the last month state the contery), sell up, take that useless Chief Exec of yours and bugger off!

''Cos like I said, it''s you or us, and I ain''t going anywhere.

 

[renegade tootsie 0]

Agreed.  Docherty and Gallagher and Robinson are examples of a lack of team investment.  Peter Grant was an appointment that even the most casual spporter could see was a disaster waiting to happen.  We have paid for that year under the helm of a rookie idiot.

Glen is a good guy and in my opinion could be a good manager for us, but he is working with players who evidently dont care.  So much about football is about motivation, and I believe that if we had been doing well then the team is capable of top 6, but there are so many people in that team who simply do not care.  The squad is so small it is ridiculous, and has been for two years - this creates a situation where these scum cannot be put in the reserves.

Time for money Delia - or get the hell out of my club.

 

 

 

 

[Mello Yello 2,303]

"Ambition with Prudence"......sounds a bit more pro-active. Still a sh*t theory though.

[InLambertWeTrust! 0]

Email that to Doncaster and co. that would be uneasy reading for them [:)]

[Mr.Carrow 378]

[quote user="C.T "]

Email that to Doncaster and co. that would be uneasy reading for them [:)]

[/quote]

Of course it would. But it wouldn`t hit home because they are in denial as well as about 80% of City fans are.

[lucky green trainers 0]

agreed - time to dig deep, and cough up the dosh to make a decent fist of staying up.. no wags excuses please - they''ll come if the moneys right, and quite obviously it ain''t.

[The Voice of the Thorpe Area 0]

I now hear that Ipswich have rejected an approach by Sullivan and Gold. Please, lordy please, let us approach them!

[charlies dad 0]

[quote user="Mr.Carrow"][quote user="C.T "]

Email that to Doncaster and co. that would be uneasy reading for them [:)]

[/quote]

Of course it would. But it wouldn`t hit home because they are in denial as well as about 80% of City fans are.

[/quote] 80% ? I really dont think its 80%. more like 8%.

[shortfatb 0]

Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  

[Mr.Carrow 378]

[quote user="charlies dad"][quote user="Mr.Carrow"][quote user="C.T "]

Email that to Doncaster and co. that would be uneasy reading for them [:)]

[/quote]

Of course it would. But it wouldn`t hit home because they are in denial as well as about 80% of City fans are.

[/quote] 80% ? I really dont think its 80%. more like 8%.[/quote]

I really wish it was mate but there was virtually no dissent at the AGM and apparently D&M got a big round of applause walking along the front of the stand the other night. Unfortunately i don`t think this forum is representative of supporters. Delia is making a club in her own image and most of her followers just want to go to a nice ground and watch a nice game of football- and whether we are any good or not is pretty much irrellevant.

[Jonncfc 28]

Certainly has been a failure!  "Prudence with Ambition" has been a particularly imprudent policy as the pathetically small sums made available for transfers and loans has been spent by successive managers on 3rd rate rubbish so actually the money haas been completely wasted.  No doubt at all that we are in the worst position we''ve been in for about 50 years.  The squad is poor in every department and lacks any confidence, no-one can see where the next win is coming from, we are highly likely to get relegated to the 3rd division (yes, lets call it by its real name), our debt is the highest it has ever been, yet the Board seem to be in denial.  We keep being told that the debt is structured and managable but what happens if and when we get relegated?  Our projected income will be significantly less and our creditors may well have far less confidence in our ability to service the debt.  End result is thay call-in the loans, we have no means to pay them back and we go bankrupt or enter into administration while playing 3rd division football with a threadbare squad.  What a marvellous achievement that will be - the Board must be delighted with their stewardship of our club over the last decade!

[The Voice of the Thorpe Area 0]

[quote user="shortfatb"]Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  [/quote]

I assume he meant ''how not to run your club''.

[Mr.Carrow 378]

[quote user="shortfatb"]Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  [/quote]

Sounds a bit like his "Grant was simply unlucky" statement. Is everyone happy having someone holding so much power and raking in £170k a year of the club`s money who is clearly deluded?

[Mello Yello 2,303]

[quote user="shortfatb"]Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  [/quote]

Well, he is a lawyer/solicitor by trade, isn''t he? (not your lad - but Mr Doncaster) Would you expect anything else from his profession?

Is he in denial? Plain arrogant? Totally ignorant? Protecting his position? Or a top astute Chief Exec and good for the club?

He''s applauded for his transparent approach, openness and plausible explanations to concerned supporters, and will frequently make himself available outside of the ground on match-days. The board, (or at least the Stowmarket Two - of whom ND deflects a lot of flak from) are content to let him be Chief Exec - and he has risen from legal adviser to the club, to his present position, commanding a large salary and a member of the Directorship.

I personally don''t like the chap, and would like to see him relieved of his position. But he isn''t at the club to be loved and admired although I much preferred his predecessor Gordon Bennett - who was a jolly decent man and sorted out the finances etc, when Chase departed.

Unfortunately, (and for me personally) It certainly looks like we are stuck with the current Chief Exec for the foreseeable future, as the ''Turner Two'' are keeping ''schtum'' about their plans.....if any plans are forthcoming.....that is.    

[0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  

 

How stupid of the fans not to realise this what happens on the pitch is of little significance to the board and our CEO perhaps if they were to realise that to many fans it is only what happens on the pitch that matters. What other clubs think of us doesn''t matter a jot to me. Nice club I thought that there was no more nice at our club perhaps somebody could tell Doncaster the man is out of touch.

[chicken 0]

"Without any doubt, Prudence with Ambition has failed. It is has been 10 seasons since Delia took over, and where have we gone?"

Hmmm. It worked up untill promotion and to an extent in the premiership. Where it has failed and continued to fail is when we came back down.

So I would say that it hasn''t failed for the 10 years you state.

I just think that if you are going to be prudent with ambition you need a quality manager who knows how to pick up quality players for very little, Harry Rednap, Paul Jewell etc. There has to be a balance somewhere. Roeder was a good choice as stated because at the very least he can help the youngsters come on and knows some of the younger players in the ranks of the premiership teams.

But where the board have gone wrong in the past is not backing their man properly. Or getting the wrong man and backing him too much. Worthington was not given the riches that Grant was given and I wonder sometimes if given that money Worthington would have found another Francis, or another Holt etc. After all when given the money he found Etuhu who was underperforming . . . . . .

I think the next few weeks are going to be very interesting for our club, if we are not out of this or at least closer to being out of this by mid December I think you can expect some big movements upstairs at Carrow Road and if there isn''t on the streets outside it, I for one am deeply trouble by our current position.

[fleggy 0]

It didn''t  actually work at all in the Prem did it.   We signed a few 2 bit plodders and a retired right back, sacked our most inspirational defender and virtually welcomed relegation.  A board with any sense would have made changes after the first 2 months in the Prem when it was quite obvious Nigel was out of his depth.  Their neglect then is what we are paying for now.  

[gazzathegreat 0]

[quote user="shortfatb"]Doncaster replied to a critical email from my son recently stating that he believed that any problems at the club were confined to on the pitch and he believed that we were still considered as a model by many for other clubs to follow!  [/quote]

Well, we have heard some right old crap from various board members in their hallowed time at the helm, but that really takes the biscuit (dare not say what I really want to on a moderated board). Shortfab, if I were your son I would print out and frame that email, maybe a priceless piece of nostalgia in another ten years time, when this present band are no more. If you (or more likely your many minions) are looking at this thread Doncaster, what happens on the pitch is what the football club is about, not that you lot care for it as much as the property development empire. Shame on you all for killing OUR football club. It takes a lot for city supporters to rise up and get rid of the likes of Doncaster and crew, but that statement should start a few heads rolling, an absolute disgrace.

[Mr.Carrow 378]

[quote user="chicken"]

"Without any doubt, Prudence with Ambition has failed. It is has been 10 seasons since Delia took over, and where have we gone?"

Hmmm. It worked up untill promotion and to an extent in the premiership. Where it has failed and continued to fail is when we came back down.

So I would say that it hasn''t failed for the 10 years you state.

I just think that if you are going to be prudent with ambition you need a quality manager who knows how to pick up quality players for very little, Harry Rednap, Paul Jewell etc. There has to be a balance somewhere. Roeder was a good choice as stated because at the very least he can help the youngsters come on and knows some of the younger players in the ranks of the premiership teams.

But where the board have gone wrong in the past is not backing their man properly. Or getting the wrong man and backing him too much. Worthington was not given the riches that Grant was given and I wonder sometimes if given that money Worthington would have found another Francis, or another Holt etc. After all when given the money he found Etuhu who was underperforming . . . . . .

I think the next few weeks are going to be very interesting for our club, if we are not out of this or at least closer to being out of this by mid December I think you can expect some big movements upstairs at Carrow Road and if there isn''t on the streets outside it, I for one am deeply trouble by our current position.

[/quote]

But chicken, to be quite honest we were actually reasonably ambitious in the seasons leading to promotion. The club were prepared to accept regular losses and investment in the team-bearing in mind very limited income-was quite high. Two examples of this are that the squad which got promoted cost almost as much to assemble as the current one, and that player wages in the promotion season represented 42% of turnover (EXCLUDING promotion bonuses), whereas in the Prem season they dropped to 28%, then 36%, then 32%.

Just why the focus of the club changed so dramatically when the sky money started to roll in is the big mystery we have yet to get to the bottom of. A mixture of wrong priorities and incompetence is my opinion. Please bear in mind that the clubs turnover increased from £13.9million in the promotion season, to £37.4 in the Prem, then £24.7 and £23.8.

The money has been there, but it has not been spent on the team, end of.

[nutty nigel 7,644]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]

 But he isn''t at the club to be loved and admired although I much preferred his predecessor Gordon Bennett - who was a jolly decent man and sorted out the finances etc, when Chase departed.

    

[/quote]

So did I [Y]

 

[gazzathegreat 0]

Indeed, and he knew something about football, unlike the present Chief Exec.