What do you all really think of Mike Walker?

[Canary Boy 0]

Mike Walker. Those two words send a shiver down my spine. I have never really discussed Mike on this message board before...yet many of you no doubt have.

Mike did things with this club that I have never seen before. The season we finished third will stick with me for a long time and I think that if it wasn''t for Robert Chase, I don''t think he would have ever gone to Everton.

I never really knew why he left the second time. When he was re-appointed, Norwich were on the brink of total bankruptcy and could have gone out of business altogther...yet he slowly turned things round only to be sacked. Were the Norwich directors getting their own back for when he left us for Everton? Or was Mike really going in the wrong direction? I seem to remember Colchester sacking him when they were top of Division Three.

Anyway, there are a lot of un-answered questions for me but whatever happens, I think he was and still is a genius. I love what is happening now but it is a different game today. Money seems to rule the roost which is a shame. I admire him a great deal.

I just wonder what you all really think of Mike Walker? This should provoke in us all some interesting posts.

[Intenso 0]

I always considered him the luckiest manager we ever had. He was handed, on a plate, a side put together by Ken Brown and Dave Stringer which in the previous three seasons had finished 4th and reached two FA Cup semi-finals. It is often overlooked that he was only in charge for seventeen months before walking out to join Everton, who''s supporters often claim he was the worse manager they ever had.
On his second spell, far from turning the club round, we were almost bottom of the league going into the April before he was sacked. This was a season when we lost 5-0 to Ipswich in addition to many other heavy defeats.
I think you are right in saying he was going in the wrong direction as every side he managed he was sacked from and in every case he blamed the Chairman.

[Kathy 745]

I thought he was wonderful. The day he left something died in me. He was the reason I got involved with NCISA. I still think if he had been backed by Robert CHase at the right time we might have now been on a par with at least Liverpool if not Arsenal and Chelsea. It was not so much what happened but when it happened. All this was at a time just before the enormous gulf opened between the haves and the have nots of football and we could have been the haves. He will always be my hero.

[Ayrton Twigge 0]

Last heard he got booted out of Cyprus.
Funny, he blamed the chairman then too.

[Steve White 24]

Sorry Intenso, think you are being a bit harsh on Mike Walker. Agree that he took over after a succession of very good managers (boy, we were lucky!), Saunders, Bond, Brown and Stringer, but he got the team going again after they lost their way a bit nearing the end of Stringer´s reign. The Everton job has, ever since the heady days of the 80´s, been a poisoned chalice with a sucession of seemingly competent managers failing, bit like Man City. In his second spell, he had terrible luck with injuries, and was roughly treated. John Deehan had no chance of succeeding given the circumstances, ditto Megson (OK as a player, but not a Norwich - type manager, and O´Neill has never been a manager to walk away from a job lightly, look how long he stayed with Wycombe, so that adds weight to the fact that Chase was obviously in the wrong. And I really do not want to talk about Rioch and especially Hamiliton, easily the worst manager we have had since I first saw City in 67.

[First Wizard 0]

No, No, Intenso, Mike Walker was a God, I will never forgive the board for sacking him, City were just starting to show signs of their former glory, and they stabbed him in the back. Two weeks prior to that I talked to two board members for quite some time, and they gave no indication of their intented betrayel!. Quite the opposite infact.

And remember, if a certain fat gentleman had the decency to offer him a decent contract, Mike would never have left for Everton in the fist place!.

Oh, what a short and cloudy memory you have Intenso, Mike was the best (at a time when we had the worst chairman) and I include Sir Nigel in that!.

[Rabbit 0]

well said wizard, and who did they replace him with... say no more.

[gazzathegreat 0]

1st wiz

you beat me to it, damn you, i also regarded mike walker as a little bit special, and like you i was disgusted with the way he was disposed of during his second spell, i was at the open day that season (as you said, he was turning it around when he was given the bullet), and i clearly remember munby at the forum introducing him, smilling sweetly and then, what happens? To this day i do not trust munby or believe anything he says, i know i am in the minority here, but i would not trust that guy one inch ! During that season, mike''s wife was seriously ill with cancer, i don''t think anyone could have given 100% to their job in those sort of circumstances

i was so disgusted i couldn''t bring myself to go to carrow road again after that for ages, and as for rioch and hamilton, if they were an improvement god help us all - in hindsight of course it is always easy to say what should have happened, we all know if chase hadn''t been such a disaster and the money had been there to strengthen after milan, who knows where we would be now?

i would rate mike up there, but would not say he was the best ever, i have a feeling the current manager will be, given another five years or so to establish ourselves in the prem and the sky will be (not just could be) the limit

[BedsCanary 0]

Didn''t Mike''s wife die of cancer during that last season when he was sacked. And his son was supposedly not talking to him. That and the state Norwich were in at the time, that''s a hell of a lot to deal with.

[Canary Boy 0]

Well said Gazza. I hadn''t realized Mike Walker had been through all that. I have never been that keen on Mumby myself but thankfully we now seem to be heading in the right direction. Delia, Nigel and the rest of the staff are very ambitious, as we all are.

I wish Mike all the best for the future and I heard the other day he had applied for a job in the 2nd or 3rd division. I hope he gets it!

[FatMan Fat 0]

No one can take away what Mike Walker did for Norwich...its written in the history books. However I do not think he was a great manager as he achieved b****r all after he walked out on us...he just happened to be at the right place at the right time during his first spell with us.

[First Wizard 0]

Dear Gazza: Since you have named Mumby I can confirm that he was one of them that I had the chat with, the other I don''t think posters will believe or indeed like!. Shame on them both, and thanks for mentioning his wife, as my dear wife has been very ill recently, how on earth Mike carried on with the Norwich job, God only knows!.

I wrote to them after Mikes sacking, and gave them both barrells, it did''nt do no good of course, but it made me feel somewhat better, I still have''nt fully forgiven them you know.

[gazzathegreat 0]

first wizard

hope first of all mrs wiz is continuing her recovery, i wish you both the very best, as for what happened to mike walker, well, what can you say, betrayal of the very worst kind, talk about knives in the back

i can guess who the other board member was, as i said, since that incident and the fall out of mike''s sacking i have always had a somewhat cynical view of the board, and really only trust delia and michael on it now

i also wrote to munby after mike''s sacking and as i said, could not bring myself to go to carrow road for ages, that is just me, i know and i don''t expect anyone else to understand my reasons, as in the chase out season when i boycotted all home games, that was really hard to do, but sometimes principles get in the way eh?

[Canary Boy 0]

I really didn''t realise all this had gone on! Thank you all for your words and thoughts. So much goes on behind the scenes we don''t see.

If Mike Walker was treated in the way by those on the board at the time then I am genuinely upset and disappointed. What was the reason for his sacking? Will we ever know?

As for Mike losing his wife to cancer that year also...well, I''ll say no more. Those on the board should be ashamed of themselves!

Thanks first wizard.

[Jonzey 0]

Walker is definitely one of the more successful managers we''ve ever had. Let''s not forget he was in charge that night in Munich, I''ve got an EDP picture somewhere with him jumping about 6 feet in the air when we went 2-0 up.

But his record after that is abysmal which indicates he was over the course of his career a poor manager. And considereing he inherited such a good team, which soon plummeted after he left his planning for the future wasn''t great (not all Chases fault).

Still in my top five NCFC managers for what he achieved here, against the odds.

[gazzathegreat 0]

jonzey, the reason the team went down after mike left was the simple fact chase sold off fox and sutton, and others, i can''t remember who off hand

he then appointed john deehan, great coach that he was, he was no man manager, and relegation followed

sorry, it was 100% chase''s fault - and he is the reason we were relegated - we were second in the league after milan, mike wanted a couple more players, and a secure contract (he was on a rolling one year contract), and what did he get, sweet fa, so he left, who could blame him?

the beginning of the end and our nine years in division one

yes, it is wonderful at the moment, but i will never forget the mess that greedy ******* left us in, sorry for the language, but chase still makes me angry

[Being Jan Kristiansen... 0]

As we have been saying all season the league table does not lie and by being in charge when we finished the highest EVER means that Mike Walker is one of Norwich City''s best managers, no argument. He might of been given solid foundations but its a credit to him that he noticed this and only essential changes (like buying Robins).

There has been a lot of speculation about why he left the second time (some of it tactical, some of it tabloid) but Im sure the decision was made in the best interests of the club.

If him being sacked the second time lead to us appointing NW then Walker leaving was a good thing, yes?

[Jonzey 0]

Don''t worry Gazza, I''m the most anti-chase NCFC supporter you''ll ever meet. Let''s just clear that up incase anyone gets the wrong idea!!!!! But even though many of our best players were sold soon after a small slice of the blame has to lie with Walker, many better managers would have found a solution to losing these players - such as more prudent signings.

I''m still a Walker fan as he still achieved a lot.

[Making Plans 940]

For all "newcomers", who are a lacking in the history department, I suggest you read Kevin Baldwin''s book called "The Second Coming". I think this explains it all, paricuarly the first chapter.
The book is really excellent (as was the interesting and very funny "Norfolk ''n Good") and if you haven''t read them yet, they would both give you something to enjoy over the summer months when there''s nothing else to do
Does anyone know what''s happened to Kevin since - I know he also wrote "This Sporting Life" which was dull in comparison to the the other 2 books, but I haven''t heard about anything since
In my opinion, Mike Walker was the best manager we''ve ever had (so far). To finish 3rd in the Premiership took a lot more than luck or by simply inheriting someone elses team.
It''s a shame that it didn''t work out the second time but to be honest, that would have taken a miracle to do it again
We should take this a warning when we see all this rubbish about various ex players coming back

[First Wizard 0]

Dear Gazza: Ditto, ditto, ditto, but I''m afraid unlike your good self I don''t entirely trust ANYONE on the board who were present when Mike was sacked, savvy?.

Respect to you for your actions during the last months of Chase''s reign, yes, it was bloody hard was''nt it?.

As for Mrs Wiz, thanks for asking, a slow onwards and upwards, yes?.

[Bernard Futter 0]

As has been stated, Mike Walker inherited the nucleus of a good side. What he himself brought to the party was tactical nous with the team playing an audacious counter attacking game with Ian Crook the orchestrator able to accurately hit speedy front men Chris Sutton, Efan Ekoku, Mark Robins and Ruel Fox with pin point long balls. It was a system which clearly disconcerted most of the teams in the top league - straight out of the box. It suited the players he had available perfectly, left little room for error and in less accomplished hands could have have lapsed into near route one! The 0-4 win at Elland Road was one of the finest examples, with Leeds players not remotely able to cope with the system. Eventually the opposition would have negated the style and then we would have seen just how good a tactician M.W. really was.
The pity of Mike Walker''s second spell was that the forward players then at his disposal were not technically gifted enough to follow the plot and Ian Crook''s magical powers had waned somewhat. I had always understood that the reason for his dismissal second time around was the Club''s poor disciplinary record, hence the move for Sgt Major Rioch the man who had been fired from four out of his five previous managerial jobs as I pointed out at the time. (Doubtless he forgot to bring his CV along when the board interviewed him.) I for one think the first Walker period was a refreshing time on the field for the Club and his sacking (if the above was to be believed and we''ll probably never know) was reprehensible and ushered in two clueless regimes and years more misery for dedicated City fans...

[gazzathegreat 0]

first wiz

well i understand where you are coming from re the board and we will have to agree to differ on this one

but going through that ''chase out'' season of turmoil was awful, but a few of us (and i can still remember only a handful of people outside the ground at some games) stood firm, we were even spat on and slagged off by fellow norwich fans, and they were dark dark days, it is really strange that so many young fans have no recollection of it all, my kids remember it as they had to tag along with me!! It was also really quite surreal to go to all the away games, but no home games during that period

my best memory of mike walker was undoubtedly munich away, i was so so proud of our club that night, it was a great great, game and the pride and passion in those players was awesome, and to see fox and sutton''s great understanding and all those goals, what we might have achieved had robins not picked up that injury ....

[FatMan Fat 0]

I said in an earlier post that Mike walker was possibly overated as once he left us he achieved virtually nothing. In the EDP today they published a table of our greatest managers, points being awarded at 3 for a win and 1 for a draw, then working out an average point score per match in charge. Guess what? Mike Walker doesn''t appear anywhere, so he didnt even do a particularly ggod job when he was our manager!!

[Canary Boy 0]

Interesting post Mr Futter

I also agree that Mike Walker inherited a good side, but which were somewhat on the slide. The introduction of Mark Robins and Gary Megson certainly gave us a winning edge and at the start of the season the away win at Arsenal (that sounds good today!) plus the home win against Chelsea (that sounds good also) gave us a springboard to leap-frog off.

The signing later on of Efan Ekoku just before the transfer deadline was similar I recall to the furore of us signing Darren Huckerby. Ekoku was exciting and continued to dance through defenses at Bournemouth and his purchase by Mike Walker for £750.000 was a coup. His pace that season and the next was awesome and it had the Nigerian International Manager wetting himself thoroughly.

I think Mike was a genius, especially in his first stint and I think he should have been given more of a chance in his second spell. Mind you, if he had as someone said above, maybe we would never have got the dedicated Nigel Worthington. Nige is a different sort of manager to Mike. Things happened quickly with Mike Walker...and they are happenning with Nigel as well...just a bit slower...but the important thing is...they are happenning!

[First Wizard 0]

As I said Gazza, great respect to you. To be spat at by fellow City fans is disgraceful!. Did any thank you when Megson was kicked out?, no, I thought not.

[blacko 0]

No doubt that Mike Walker inherited a very good side. Many managers at other clubs have done the same and messed things up. He didn''t, but I think a large part of the credit needs to go to John Deehan for his coaching role. Together they made a great team.

[gazzathegreat 0]

of course not wiz, but i didn''t expect any thanks, just thought it should be said, that during that time there were (and i believe still are) those of us who still think chase did something worthwhile at the club, and yes, some of those pro chase people are still wandering around on match days (one was at watford still moaning!!!)

back to mike walker, he will always be a special manager to me, despite posts quoting league tables, i don''t remember anything before ron saunders, and as they say, football is a different game today, so how can you compare the 50s to the 90s and even today. With Mike we finished third in the prem and did well in europe, sorry, greater achievements than anything we have done before or since

it is because chase stopped our upward climb after milan (and then condemned us to division one football), almost bankrupt us, sold off all our talented players and hated the fans, that i had to drag up some of our murky past, as i felt mike walker took a lot of the blame for what chase had done - for those of you who still doubt it, history repeated itself with martin o''neill, are you going to tell me he was no good either? Martin walked out when he found the cupboard was bare and that chase had decided to buy flour mills, not players. He was conned, basically to come here and get us promoted, which he would have done if any money had been available to spend on the squad. Sounds familiar doesn''t it.

[Canary Boy 0]

Interesting post Gazzathegreat.

I tend to forget about Martin O''Neill as he was here such a short time, however, you are right...promotion would probably have come that year as I think we went top of the table with him in charge.

Mike Walker, Martin O''Neill, Gary Megson...my goodness...we''ve had some managers!