Following on from the trophy presentation thread below...

[GB1902 0]

I know it''s a long shot but is it worth petioning the club to get the trophy presentation moved to carrow road. I know they are digging the pitch up but most canaries I speak to would rather see the presentation at our home and not the home of a bunch of suits at city hall. There will be thousands who will not be able to see anything and will only catch a quick glimpse at the players and staff. Surely they could delay digging the pitch up for a few days and let people into carrow road for the presentation. You could get 24000 into the stands and with the correct safety precautions in place a few more thousand on the pitch (it''s getting dug up anyway so there is no need to worry about any damage). Like I said I know it''s a long shot and the main obstacles will be people like the police who are so stuck in there ways they would do very little to try and help us out, but then with people like delia on the board anything can happen especially with the great admoration we have for her and she has for us!!! I''ll try and get one of those online petition things set up if anyone is interested...

[gazzathegreat 0]

i am sure the club are already aware of this, some of those suited bods must be able to use the internet during dull periods in the corridors of power lol

all we need is the right sort of publicity, and we can make things happen, can we not? (yankee please note!!)

POA - we cannot let this piece of history be witnessed by people who don''t know their mckenzie from their fleming, come on peter, get this into the evening news and on r norfolk, at least - if you get your online petition set up, i will be the first to sign it

we cannot let OUR night be left to the finer wisdoms of norwich city council and the police - please!!!

[GB1902 0]

Well following on from this I see on the official site that because of the pitch being dug up the 2 beambacks for sunderland and crewe are going to have to be staged inside the club lounges which will only hold a maximum of 1750 altogether. So not only have the club missed out on an opportunity to let the fans celebrate properly at the end of the season they have also missed out on an extra 4000 people at each beamback and the extra revenue that would have provided. Maybe someone knows why there is such urgency to dig the pitch up when it won''t be played on for months?

[Arganth 0]

There''s a part of your post which sums it up nicely...

"...the finer wisdoms of norwich city council..."

Now there''s an oxymoron if ever I''ve heard one.

I am surprised that Archant are silent over this one.

And it doesn''t look hopeful at the minute...

[gazzathegreat 0]

yes, does seem strange that the pitch is coming up straight away, even being sold in the club shop i hear

come on whoever is in charge of such things at the club

there is plenty of time to get the new pitch installed and ready, so you might have to pay a penalty clause to the contractors for delay

but what is more important, selling off ''little sods'' (love it!!) or letting us all watch beam backs, don''t know if i will go as i can''t bear to watch something second hand, but i know thousands of people will want to

and those bars will get v crowded, come on, get this sorted, also have a think about May 10 too, just how many of us (and i only count those of us in close proximity to norwich, i really feel for those of you in exile) will get to see anything at City Hall, given the usual barriers and OTT safety regulations

bet the city police are fighting each other to be on duty that evening lol

[blacko 0]

I totally agree, the club should delay the digging uo of the pitch.

a) this would give a fitting place to present the trophy (theres confidence for you)

b) more people can see the beamback at CR with the spin off benefit of extra revenue for the club. But I would say more importantly it is a chance for the club to let more fans see the games, which I believe we deserve after the level of support shown throughout the season.

I am going to both Sunderland and Crewe so I have no vested interest.

[Arganth 0]

Well it looks like this protest is a bit of a non-starter then.

Thanks Norwich City Council, as long as YOU enjoy your vol au vents and champagne...

[Kent 0]

NO, NO, NO, HECK, DAMN AND BLAST, NO! Surely to Huckerby(God), they can delay digging up the pitch for a week just so the real fans get pack into Carrow road on may 10th and watch the team they worship, lift their first trophy in 19 years. I say we don''t let up on this, I want to see the trophy lifted at CR, not on city hall, with people who have no idea who''s who, standing there. We cannot allow this to happen. We must act. A barrage of emails and phone calls must be aimed at the club, so our voices are heard. DON''T JUST SIT THERE-DO SOMETHING!!
ON THE BALL CITY!!!!

[Flyin High 0]

Come on…heads together, there must be something that we can do to stop this shambles of an idea go ahead! We need to act fast, not long to go now!
Is there any body who has time to set up a vote, or petition that we could send to the club to show them how the FANS want this done?

OTBC

[Arganth 0]

I''m not convinced contacting the club is the right thing - it''s already been confirmed by someone at the club that the entire thing is the work of the city council.

Think we''re just going to have to grin and bear it...and find a decent vantage point in front of City Hall!!

[Dirty Lyle 0]

This whole business makes me angry and has been a totally bodged job. I dont think we could expect anything else from the joke that calls itself the Council. They are more interested in PC, H&S and not offending the non football public who may want to get on with their lives.

They shouldn''t be allowed to get on with their lives, the whole City should grind to a halt (it doesnt normally need the a procession for this to happen anyway). The spineless idiots at the Council are simply afraid of large congregations forming for whatever reason because of the potential for litigious claims.

Naturally all of this would be solved by having the procession/presentation on 15/16th May with the bus starting outside the City, passing City Hall and culminating at Carrow Road and the presentation of the trophy. What hope do the exiles have of making a 7.15 presentation on a week night without taking time off work (Im taking 2 days off for the Sunderland trip).

That those of us who put in the emotional, physical and financial graft over season and the hard times before are being denying our true formal moment of glory by petty minded self serving individuals.

The club is at fault for removing the pitch early but after everything they have done this season they can be excused one error - besides the seats could still be sold for any presentation even if the pitch was not there.

Those culpable are the police and Council who should seriously consider their positions. Lets hope thats remembered come the local elections.

[LinkNR9 0]

Dirty Lyle, I think I must have missed something. I can understand your "the Council are culpable" line, but why the Plod?

[stumpy 0]

Once again the ''little grey men in suits'' are more than happy to screw it up for us. I can''t see why the club can''t delay the pitch renewal for such a short time period, but I''m no Alan Titchmarsh. The city council are so out of touch with how we feel!

[Pyro Pete 2,354]

It''s a massive shame the club have not had the foresight to delay digging up the pitch. A big reception at Carrow Rd would have been fantastic regardless of whether we won the league.

But I cannot understand why some individuals are slagging off the council for inviting the players, management, and staff to City Hall so they can be congratulated by both us and our city coucil in recognition of the clubs amazing achievement this season.

Complain to the club if you''re annoyed that there will not be a bigger celebration, not the council.

(Dirty Lyle - I take it you wouldn''t mind if your child or grandparent got injured in the crush if the police and council didn''t look after public safety? Or maybe you wouldn''t mind your council tax bill being increased when the injured then sued the council for damages?)

[Arganth 0]

Pete,

The council have organised a celebration event, and the club have only been invited as guests. It is the council that have set the date and venue. You say that "..they can be congratulated by both us and our city council ...". That''s half right - quite frankly what do the suits and gold chains at City Hall care about the ordinary fan? They''ll be fine with their vol-au-vents and champagne.

It appears that almost as an afterthought they''ve realised that there''ll be rather a lot of people hanging around outside wanting to catch a glimpse of the players and management etc who honestly DO want to congratulate them in recognition of the clubs amazing achievements this season. and so in an attempt at good PR (failed, I''m beginning to think) they''ve tacked on a parade, and balcony appearance, without thinking the entire event through properly. Typical local politics if you ask me.

The date was set for then as the council did not want to lose the feel-good factor from the previous day. (Source : someone in the club)

Yes, they could have got together with the club and come up with something a little better, but with the club apparently refusing to budge regarding the pitch issue it appears there is little alternative re venue.

It is obvious that the plans haven''t been thought through very well - whether that''s the fault of City Hall, Carrow Road or a combination of the two I don''t know, but when push comes to shove the majority (that''s us, the ''normal'' fan) weren''t considered as a foremost priority and I believe the council, police etc will be overwhelmed, and underprepared, fon the day.

I feel sorry for those who can''t get there early enough to secure a good spot, and end up near the Forum, thus missing any presentation ceremony - in reality THE moment everyone will want to see.

[Dirty Lyle 0]

Link - I believe the police have to take their share of blame because they will have advised the Council as to the limits of the parade according to manpower and resources available. Im frustrated because they have put an artificial limit on the celebrations (whether justified or not) which will mean people will not enjoy themselves as much. I just want to celebrate my team''s tremendous achievement like everyone who has commented on this thread but imagine my day will be curtailed by excessive red tape and planning which has been ill conceived.

Pete - I obviously don''t want anyone to get injured and there has to be some supervision but this appears to be overkill. There are so many rules and regulations now that any public gathering is a sanitised occasion - especially where football is involved. We have all lost part of our freedom as a result.

I think we all want the same thing - to see as much of the team as possible on the day - I am upset by the way it has been organised.

[Temp the Revelator 0]

Time to chuck in my tuppence worth......

I can understand the depth of feeling within this thread, especially re:Dirty Lyle''s point about timing - I sem to recall something similar after the play-off final, but thankfully I lived in the city then. Now I am exiled, I have absolutely NO chance of making the reception/presentation. The logical place for it is obviously FCR, notwithstanding the pitch replacement. I would have thought that any costs incurred in delaying the pitch relaying would be recouped 3 or 4 times over by selling tickets for such an event, but I am not in possession of those kind of facts.

However, maybe we should just be grateful that they are allowing anything at all -I don''t recall much fuss for Crewe when they won promotion last season.....

[Pyro Pete 2,354]

Dirty Lyle - fair enough, we do all want the same thing. Personally, I thought a weekend event would be a better idea to allow more numbers. An event like the Lord Mayors procession maybe.

Scott Johnson - I assume you must be quite a young fan. By your comment "they''ve tacked on a parade, and balcony appearance..." you clearly don''t remember that we had a similar kind of celebration the last time we were promoted, and the when we won the Milk Cup the year before. The difference being that they were held on a weekend if my memory serves me correctly. Even after we reached the play off final there was a mid week reception and balcony appearance at city hall, and a chance for the fans to get together after the season to say thanks to the players for a great season.

The council doesn''t have to do these things. Most councillors will not be city fans, and will not be too fussed over half a glass of sparkling wine with a bunch of footballers they don''t know. So imagine if our city councillors had expressed this and voted against holding a reception at city hall. No balcony appearance, no players to cheer, no trophy to be seen held aloft, no get together for the fans, no pictures on tv and in the press of us lot celebrating. Nothing.

Carrow Rd is the only place to hold such large numbers safely.

[Flyin High 0]

I’m almost 100% sure that nothing can/will be done about this situation now, although I still think we should at least make an effort to try and make these people change their minds. I’m also surprised none of the web team have made an appearance on this subject, I’d be interested to hear your views, as I’m sure many would.

OTBC

[Arganth 0]

Aw bless..."Scott Johnson - I assume you must be quite a young fan. By your comment "they''ve tacked on a parade, and balcony appearance..." you clearly don''t remember that we had a similar kind of celebration the last time we were promoted, and the when we won the Milk Cup the year before. The difference being that they were held on a weekend if my memory serves me correctly. Even after we reached the play off final there was a mid week reception and balcony appearance at city hall, and a chance for the fans to get together after the season to say thanks to the players for a great season. "

Young fan!! I was there in 85! Unless by young you include mid 30''s, in which case can you tell my wife as she has me down as old...

I just happen to be very cynical about local politics - if there was an opportunity for councillors to inflate their own egos, and have a free bit of PR, this is it. It''s as if the''ve dug out the "How to hold a civic reception - 1985 edition" book and followed it to the letter. Had there have been any consultation, it is obvious that their plan is not the greatest.

Regarding your second paragraph, I believe that had the council not have offered this publicity jaunt, the club would have been a lot more pro-active in doing something.

I whole heartedly agree with your last point.