SuperWesIrishWizard 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Norwich legend Watling has died Norwich president Geoffrey Watling has died at the age of 91. Watling, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, spent nearly 50 years at City and became chairman in 1957, a position he held for 16 years. The lifelong fan helped steer the club from near bankruptcy before taking them to a League Cup triumph in 1962. Chairman Roger Munby told the club''s website: "Everyone is deeply saddened - were it not for Geoffrey, this club may well not be in existence now." Watling was also an integral figure in buying out former chairman Robert Chase in 1996, when the club were facing severe financial hardship following relegation from the Premiership. He then sold his majority shareholding to current owners Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones. A minute''s silence will be held prior to the kick-off against Southampton at Carrow Road on Saturday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Balham Yellow 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Your point being? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperWesIrishWizard 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Balham Yellow"]Your point being?[/quote]Like I said, just never forget it. Never forget that it was Watling that saved the club from bankruptcy twice, never forget that Watling has been the only major benefactor of the last 60 years, never forget Delias "I have you know that I saved this club" comment.Most importantly never forget that any profit made by this board from the start to the end of the reign was made by promising selfless investment to a man that cared about the football club more than any thing else, a man that wrote off debts to the club, a man that made an instant loss on the sale of the shares to Delia and Co FOR THE GOOD OF THE CLUB.In my humble opinion, Delia is selling Watlings shares, buying them for less than they were worth, and selling them at a capital gain. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hog 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Well his point is to the deluded people who harp on about how Delia and MWJ saved our club, because they didn''t! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Down Under 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
William Darby 0 Posted July 2, 2008 And Watling wrote off Norwich City''s debt to him in his will. He could have easily insisted it was paid to his family but he didn''t. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carlos Valderrama 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Salahuddin"]Well his point is to the deluded people who harp on about how Delia and MWJ saved our club, because they didn''t![/quote]Have you ever considered that Watling bought the shares as a short term measure knowing that Delia and MWJ were lined up to step in but needed time to raise the necessary capital. In that respect both parties saved our club, Watling short term, Delia and MWJ long term. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mozzer 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pinks 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Big Down Under"]Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity.[/quote]How many times???In loans and shares. Do you think they wrote a cheques and waved goodbye to the cash?They are asking for £30 per share and their loans repaid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blofield Canary 12 Posted July 2, 2008 So which directors in the past have given their shares away for nothing. The interest free loans and money in shares have kept this club solvent. Try getting another 20 million from the banks to replace the Smiths money and you might find it would cost a hell of a lot more than the so called profit they are making at £30 a share. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barclay seats 4849 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="WEEN_NASTY"][quote user="Big Down Under"]Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity.[/quote]How many times???In loans and shares. Do you think they wrote a cheques and waved goodbye to the cash?They are asking for £30 per share and their loans repaid.[/quote]Yes nice profit !!!!! ...........UNLIKE G. Watling, who did in fact do it for the club....................that is the point Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blofield Canary 12 Posted July 2, 2008 Nice profit??? Compare the profit on investing the capital elswhere at a conservative 6% pa. Difference being profit from NCFC = less than 5 %. Invested elswhere money more than doubled. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Down Under 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="WEEN_NASTY"][quote user="Big Down Under"]Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity.[/quote]How many times???In loans and shares. Do you think they wrote a cheques and waved goodbye to the cash?They are asking for £30 per share and their loans repaid.[/quote]Lots of times.Yes their money is in loans and shares. How else should they have done it?They are countering a 0 per share bid by asking for 30 per share. They paid (mainly) 25. Its called negotiation. Its quite common in business you will find, loads of people are trying it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperWesIrishWizard 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Big Down Under"]Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity.[/quote]Who actually genuinly saved this club from going out of existence at the 11th hour on two occassions?Who has gifted, yes gifted, millions of their own cash to save the club from bankruptcy. Yes B*A*N*K*R*U*P*T*C*YWho sweated blood on behalf of the club for nearly 50 Years?GEOFFREY WATLING Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Monkey 52 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="mozzer"]Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]It harks back to the end days of Worthy''s reign. People werebranded either a "Worthy Outer" (WO) or a "Keep The Faither" dependingon their views. I think I was called both at various times becausepeople on here struggle with the possibility that maybe you can seeboth sides of the story and are trying to weigh it all up in your ownhead. Incidentally, I considered that Worthy had done a hell of alot of good in his time, made a few mistakes, and that the time hadmaybe come for him to step aside and let someone else have a crack atit; which maybe reflects how I feel about the current boardsituation. Maybe... I''m still weighing it up in my own head andtrying to see both sides of the story....[:)] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mozzer 0 Posted July 2, 2008 Evil Monkey - think there''s alot of fall out from this within the club as well, split many people Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Monkey 52 Posted July 2, 2008 Mozzer, if you''re referring to the Worthington saga, I would imagineyou''re right. It was never quite as black and white as somepeople liked to make out, either on this board or in theboardroom. Unfortunately some like to keep it simple - you''reeither with them or against them and there''s no middle ground. Weshould probably count ourselves lucky that the club isn''t run with thesame philosophy... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Balham Yellow 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="ryank"][quote user="Big Down Under"]Is this like a religious thing and you can only have one true saviour? Who did Watling turn to in our (most recent) hour of need?Who staved of bankruptcy?Who has put in millions of their own cash to prop up the club?Who has sweated blood on behalf of the club over the last 12 years?I don''t consider myself a staunch Delia-ite, and I would support a bid from Cullum that offers fair value for the club. But to try and re-write history and make out that Delia and MWJ have done nothing good for us all is just ungrateful stupidity.[/quote]Who actually genuinly saved this club from going out of existence at the 11th hour on two occassions?Who has gifted, yes gifted, millions of their own cash to save the club from bankruptcy. Yes B*A*N*K*R*U*P*T*C*YWho sweated blood on behalf of the club for nearly 50 Years?GEOFFREY WATLING[/quote]Why the hysteria? Nobody is questioning Watling''s role in the club''s fortunes. It is merely being stated that Delia and MWJ also played their part in the immediate post-Chase era and have sought to to their best for NCFC over the last twelve years. A little balanced thinking please people. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rum Ol Boy 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="mozzer"]Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]quite correct..............it seems like if you don''t hate Delia you''re a leper or are sporting incorrect views....get over yourself people. Does ANYBODY REALLY know the whole situation?? the answer to that is NO, do you really know the whole Cullum (there Fat Prophet, just for you mate) so why keep acting like you do? sad if you ask me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaun Tilly Lace 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="mozzer"]Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]Many people have helped save our club over the years - including the fans themselves. At sometime in the late 1950s (it might have been 1957), a large blanket was carried around the perimeter of the pitch at Carrow Road and the fans in attendance at a match on that day were beseeched to throw in as much money as they could spare, to help save the club from extinction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gsr600 0 Posted July 2, 2008 thing is people that harp on about delia this and delia that wat has she done, her sahres were boght extremely cheap at the time the club needed a cash injection, she didnt pile her own money into the club she loaned it to the club, the she slowly exchanged this for majority share holdings thus making it nigh impossible for anyone to buy the club without paying wat she expects, thus stopping major investment, so what has she done,she has valued shares at £30 a share when the stock market values them at between £10 and £15 almost half of wat she wants, thus stopping the investmentleft the club highly in debtno decent playersthe facilities are good but if sold wont pay off the debt,were languishing in a position that for a club of our heritage we shouldnt be inand all this since delia came on boardgeofrey watling must be tunring in his grave at the thought of what has become to the club he saved, yes delia has helped with the advertising and canary catering but still for a club with our fan base and gates we should not be in the position were in, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaun Tilly Lace 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Royal Anglian all the way"]thing is people that harp on about delia this and delia that wat has she done, her sahres were boght extremely cheap at the time the club needed a cash injection, she didnt pile her own money into the club she loaned it to the club, the she slowly exchanged this for majority share holdings thus making it nigh impossible for anyone to buy the club without paying wat she expects, thus stopping major investment, so what has she done,she has valued shares at £30 a share when the stock market values them at between £10 and £15 almost half of wat she wants, thus stopping the investmentleft the club highly in debtno decent playersthe facilities are good but if sold wont pay off the debt,were languishing in a position that for a club of our heritage we shouldnt be inand all this since delia came on boardgeofrey watling must be tunring in his grave at the thought of what has become to the club he saved, yes delia has helped with the advertising and canary catering but still for a club with our fan base and gates we should not be in the position were in, [/quote]Well said. I can''t contradict one single word you''ve written there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Royal Anglian all the way"]thing is people that harp on about delia this and delia that wat has she done, her sahres were boght extremely cheap at the time the club needed a cash injection, she didnt pile her own money into the club she loaned it to the club, the she slowly exchanged this for majority share holdings thus making it nigh impossible for anyone to buy the club without paying wat she expects, thus stopping major investment, so what has she done,she has valued shares at £30 a share when the stock market values them at between £10 and £15 almost half of wat she wants, thus stopping the investmentleft the club highly in debtno decent playersthe facilities are good but if sold wont pay off the debt,were languishing in a position that for a club of our heritage we shouldnt be inand all this since delia came on boardgeofrey watling must be tunring in his grave at the thought of what has become to the club he saved, yes delia has helped with the advertising and canary catering but still for a club with our fan base and gates we should not be in the position were in, [/quote]spot on.. and if we get relegated this season it will be the boars fault... not Roeders, not the players, This post sums it all up perfectly...jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Smith 2,610 Posted July 2, 2008 Yes it is true that it was Watling who saved the Club.However it cannot be denied that Delia and MWJ have subsquently put in their own considerable time and money and whose to say that at certain points subsequently we would not have had serious problems were it not for their personal interest free loans or fund made available to buy players at crucial moments. All the good they have done should not be erased from people''s memories just because PC has come in flashing his millions.I very much hope that Delia and MWJ will sit down now with PC and try to reach an agreement that helps facilitiate PC coming on board and paying a reasonable and fair price for any shares he acquires from Delia and MWJ (or new shares or shares from anyone else for that matter) . If thats the case then (leaving aside all the who said what and when stuff since last october - and I am still uneasy that they took the gamble they did by turning PC down but there may be reasons we are not aware of) they will have been as good as their word and deserves our thanks for all they have done during their time in charge. If she doesn''t do that then fair enough serious questions must be asked and explanations given as to why the custodians of the Club have denied us wht on the face of it is a fantastic opportunity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Castle Acre Canary 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="ryank"]Norwich legend Watling has died Norwich president Geoffrey Watling has died at the age of 91. Watling, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, spent nearly 50 years at City and became chairman in 1957, a position he held for 16 years. The lifelong fan helped steer the club from near bankruptcy before taking them to a League Cup triumph in 1962. Chairman Roger Munby told the club''s website: "Everyone is deeply saddened - were it not for Geoffrey, this club may well not be in existence now." Watling was also an integral figure in buying out former chairman Robert Chase in 1996, when the club were facing severe financial hardship following relegation from the Premiership. He then sold his majority shareholding to current owners Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones. A minute''s silence will be held prior to the kick-off against Southampton at Carrow Road on Saturday. [/quote]And in his will he waived all outstanding loans he had made to NCFC. God Bless him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canary cherub 1 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="rum-ole-boy"][quote user="mozzer"]Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]quite correct..............it seems like if you don''t hate Delia you''re a leper or are sporting incorrect views....get over yourself people. Does ANYBODY REALLY know the whole situation?? the answer to that is NO, do you really know the whole Cullum (there Fat Prophet, just for you mate) so why keep acting like you do? sad if you ask me[/quote]Ehhh? Where on earth did that come from?You''re picking on me ''cos I''m fat aren''t you . . . [:D] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rum Ol Boy 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Fat Prophet"][quote user="rum-ole-boy"][quote user="mozzer"]Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]quite correct..............it seems like if you don''t hate Delia you''re a leper or are sporting incorrect views....get over yourself people. Does ANYBODY REALLY know the whole situation?? the answer to that is NO, do you really know the whole Cullum (there Fat Prophet, just for you mate) so why keep acting like you do? sad if you ask me[/quote]Ehhh? Where on earth did that come from?You''re picking on me ''cos I''m fat aren''t you . . . [:D] [/quote]that was for the pointing out of my Cullum spelling last night[;)][:P] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canary cherub 1 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="rum-ole-boy"][quote user="Fat Prophet"][quote user="rum-ole-boy"][quote user="mozzer"] Many, many people have ''saved'' our football club over the years - you could write a history of the individuals from way back in time Watling rightly deserves his place on any list - but so do Delia and Michael.Why certain people only see supporters as pro-Delia or anti-Delia is beyond me and only creates divides.[/quote]quite correct..............it seems like if you don''t hate Delia you''re a leper or are sporting incorrect views....get over yourself people. Does ANYBODY REALLY know the whole situation?? the answer to that is NO, do you really know the whole Cullum (there Fat Prophet, just for you mate) so why keep acting like you do? sad if you ask me[/quote]Ehhh? Where on earth did that come from?You''re picking on me ''cos I''m fat aren''t you . . . [:D] [/quote]that was for the pointing out of my Cullum spelling last night[;)][:P][/quote]It''s a fair cop guv. Funnily enough it''s something I''ve never done before as it annoys me when posters keep nitpicking over spelling and grammer. But given your general attitude to the man in that post, I just thought you knew how to spell his name but had decided not to bother. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
National express super guard 0 Posted July 2, 2008 [quote user="Castle Acre Canary"][quote user="ryank"]Norwich legend Watling has died Norwich president Geoffrey Watling has died at the age of 91. Watling, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, spent nearly 50 years at City and became chairman in 1957, a position he held for 16 years. The lifelong fan helped steer the club from near bankruptcy before taking them to a League Cup triumph in 1962. Chairman Roger Munby told the club''s website: "Everyone is deeply saddened - were it not for Geoffrey, this club may well not be in existence now." Watling was also an integral figure in buying out former chairman Robert Chase in 1996, when the club were facing severe financial hardship following relegation from the Premiership. He then sold his majority shareholding to current owners Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones. A minute''s silence will be held prior to the kick-off against Southampton at Carrow Road on Saturday. [/quote]And in his will he waived all outstanding loans he had made to NCFC. God Bless him[/quote]I second, or is that 3rd that? Mr Norwich City, I''m so glad he can''t see whats happened to this club. board members of Norwich City (not football generally, I''m being specific to us) trying to make a profit over Norwich''s long term security.RIP Geoffrey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites