What did Chase do for us?

[Masked Poster 0]

Hello Lady''s, Gentleman, children and cross dressers.

I am a regular poster on these fine boards but occasionally I have to speak a truth that will send my fellow fans into a boiling rage, even if it is correct. In order to protect my otherwise respectful reputation I have to don a ski mask and cape.

Now for the truth:

Robert Chase did a lot of good for Norwich City.

Every time a player chooses to come to our fine club because of the facilities remember who built them, when you look back at the best achievements of us remember who was in overall charge, receiving £6MILLION for a bit of land is such a shrewd investment which will benefit the club greatly.

Norwich were relegated at the worst time possible from the Premiership. The macro football environment meant that it was unavoidable that Norwich City would end up in huge debt and a lot of other clubs have suffered a similar fate as us over the past 9 years. By refusing to over spend on Dean Windass Chase was protecting the long-term future of our club. Martin O''Neil would of left anyway as Leicester could offer him more money which was better for his short term future.

Unfortunately the supporters needed a scapegoat for the relegation and all their negative energy and Robert Chase was it. Not being invited to the century celebration dinner was in very poor taste by the current board. It is worth remembering that it wasn’t him who appointed Bryan Hamilton and it has always been in the current boards interest to encourage the demonic Chase image as it makes them look better.

Face the truth and ditch the myth everyone

[Temp the Revelator 0]

Now I am more than happy to give praise where praise is due, and in the respects you have mentioned, Chase''s contribution cannot be disputed. What you neglect to mention, however, is his serious failure to realise that a football club is about more than nice facilities and owning pieces of land, and that you have to invest in the team as well. This is where the current administration of the club have got the balance right.

Chase had a glorious opportunity to invest in the team following our defeat to Inter Milan; we had just beaten Bayern Munich, and taken Inter very very close, and were nicely positioned in the Premiership for a post-Xmas push. When the manager asks for a little stability with a longer contract, Chase ignores it, his arrogance leading him to believe that Walker would never go to Everton on a bigger, longer contract.

Walker goes, to be followed in short shrift by Fox, and Sutton at the end of the season, as I believe the writing was on the wall, and they saw there way out of the obviously sinking ship. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is also perhaps worht reminding everyone of the way Ashley Ward and John Newsome were sold off against both theirs and the managers wishes by Chase - yes, it was because we needed the money, but only because we were in trouble by then.

I was very anti-Chase at the time of the protests, and hindsight has allowed me to view the good he did for the club in proper context. However, I take issue that not inviting him to the centenary celebration dinner was in poor taste, as I don''t think he would have been made very welcome - best to avoid embarrasing situations.

No, Chase didn''t appoint Hamilton, but he did appoint Deehan, and Megson (twice). Nuff said.

[nolegs 0]

Robert Chase did a lot of good for Robert Chase, yes we got good facilities but ask yourself who built them and got the money for them?We got long term gain, he got short term asset stripping,he left richer ,we got left without a pot to p*** in.

[Peter 0]

What a bunch of c***.

The £6m is for part of the car park we already owned, Chase invested in land we didn''t already own, which may well yeild revenue bt has not been reported e.g. the derelict flour mill next to the Kingsway PH.

The Academy and 21st Century training facilities were not constructed under Chases stewardship.

We sold Sutton for £5m and Fox for £2m the season we were relegated and still were £7m in debt less than 2 seasons later.

The myth is that Robert Chase was good for Norwich City, Robert Chase was only good for himself.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

[Flick Fleck 0]

Look here Masked Poster,

Chase was a building contractor. Hence the River End, the City Stand, and the Barclay. Which are all well and nice, but they directly left Norwich in 7 figures of debt, which then meant 9 years in the wilderness...

It has been a long road back to where we belong...

Here''s my favourite ever Chase song: When the attendace was announced at the beginning of the second half, the Barclay would sing, "Chasey takes up 3 seats, Chasey takes up 3 seats. Da na na na! Da na na na!"

Favourite Chase song #2: "Robert Chase''s Green and Yellow wallet, He''s so rich it''s unbelievable" to the tune of "Dave Stringer''s Green and Yellow Army"...

[Masked Poster 0]

I see Mr Chase in the mould of Margate Thatcher i.e., did a lot of good, progressive and structural work but left at the wrong time.

All people remember are the bad bits at the end but maybe if Chase would of been left to sort out the problems (a lot of them created by the state of football at the time) we would of bounced back quicker?

The currant board like to portray themselves as whiter than white against the Chase the bogeyman. I think that this is clever manipulation on their part, especially as most supporters are happy enough to believe their version of history.

I have seen no proof to back all the allegations that have been floating around.

[nobbyg 0]

If Chris Sutton is not here at the start of next season then neither will I be (I am quoting there!)


"a great opportunity to invest after Bayern and Inter" - HOW? the money had already gone?

Don''t forget we were one of only two clubs in the early 90''s to have their own radio station!! and how do you think we paid for those miles and miles of Canary carpet that adorned all the internal bits of the stands.

He had already committed to spending a million each on the two corner infills when we were getting average gates of 16,000 at the top of the Premier.

Remember his philosophy of the three point plan:

1. Get the finances right.
2. Get the ground right
3. Get the team right and win something


This was something he spouted about well over 10 years ago.

What he failed to appreciate was that you had to invest abit in the team to keep them in the right league to enable you to carry on doing part 2. He treated all these parts as mutually exclusive which then cost us our premier status which put the south stand back 7 odd years and saw us go back to square one.

He didn''t get anywhere near getting the finances right - the reason Ward and Newsome went was that the Bank Manager rang up and wanted us to reduce our borrowings by half. Quick sale, money in the bank and the bank manager off his back for a month or two. Not really a structured debt was it!!


Think about it......... we have now just achieved part 2. The ground is only now in a fit, smart and servicable state (ignoring the new infill and whatever you think of the city stand). Part 1 is a whole lot better now and although not sorted is in the best shape it has been in for X number of years.

We are now in the process of getting the team right and whatever you think of Charlton, Safri, etc nobody can argue that this is all about progression without putting in jeopardy parts 1 and 2.


I am more than happy with the way things are going and if we sign someone great I will be delighted - but if we don''t then I appreciate why.

Remember Bradford they went straight to Part 3 - sold three year season tickets to their fans and then instantly spent all the money on Carbone got relegated and were buggered.

[Temp the Revelator 0]

Ok Masked Poster, maybe you are just playing devil''s advocate here (not the ''gentleman''s club''!), but you seem to think if Chase had been left in charge he could have sorted the finances out? Yes, you''re probably right - he would have been a whole lot richer once he had sold the ground and all the players to pay the creditors. We wouldn''t have a football club to support anymore, but the finances would be sorted.

Gordon Bennett, the then Chief Exec, once said we were within hours of going out of business completely, the club was in that much mess, and it has taken a whole lot of hard work to get back to where we are today.

[bananaman 0]

Margaret Thatcher?! Good work???

Don''t just think of the theory, think of the practice. She (whether deliberately or accidentally) RUINED the most part of Britain, and although certain industries flourished the rest were completely eradicated.

And the country has never recovered.

Norwich City, as they are on a much smaller scale, are only just recovering from Chase imposing his ideals and wants on the club.

As most of Northern England, Wales and Scotland celebrated when Thatcher was overthrown, so did most of Norfolk when Chase went the same way. And thank you to those brave people that fought the fight.

[gazzathegreat 0]

masked poster

my god, whatever you smoke mate, can we all have some?

the only good thing chase did for ncfc was to LEAVE

and that took too long

i was arrested at the height of the chase out protests and did more than my fair share of protesting, campaigning for his exit, i boycotted all home games from Martin O''Neill''s departure, to the great day Chase said goodbye

the land, colney etc was not all down to him - he had grants, football trust money, have a look at the accounts of the time!

yes, there were internal power struggles going on and there were still nasty smells at FCR after his departure, but now i think we have the best we can hope for in a board of directors - and as for not inviting him to the centenary dinner, if he had stayed much longer we would never have made the centenary!!! We were hours away from losing our club

It has taken a long, long time, but we finally made it, we are getting stronger every year and some lucky youngsters will never have known that awful man''s shadow falling over our beloved ground

invest in the team?

he did by leaving - look at the rush for season tickets after he left!!!

as has been said, he sold our prime players for next to nothing, and still expected us to stay up, i know, he said it all to me personally

it is a lovely summer day, days away from the start of a promising new campaign and i don''t like looking back - but i felt i had to respond to this post

chase did nothing good for norwich city fc

he only built his own empire - if you don''t believe me, take a drive around!

[Mello Yello 2,572]

I thought Master Robert Chase was a most excellent Chairman. He did so much for this club. I think all you nasty and vindictive individuals who give ''poor'' Master Robert an unwarranted hard time, should immediately be interned in the dungeons of the Castle Museum.

Now if you believe the above! you also probably agree that Mr David Sheepshanks, should replace Mr Stalios at the FA, (as recently reported on tonights Anglia News.) It''s True!.....

It''s not what one knows, but whom one knows!.... Wish I could create a financial disaster and still carry on as if booger all had happened! More England Internationals & Major rock concerts for Portaloo Rd then! "CHASE OUT!!!" "Steady with your horses hooves Mr mounted Police Officer, NOW CHARGE!" "Oh, and while we''re at it, turn up the volume on those extremely large speakers positioned between the Barclay & South stand, as we can still hear the ''OIKS!'' protesting against my Chairmanship!" Nuff said! OTBC ;~(

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

Masked Poster - I can only asume that you must be Chase in disguise.
OTBC

[charlies dad 0]

What absolute Rubbish. Within 12 months chase had sold so many good players without replacing them, he relegated the third best team in England. Costing the Club many more millions of pounds than his land deals ever brought in. also costing the supporters 9 years of humiliation and sub standard football as a procession of duff manageres and players paraded through the gates. A ball he started rolling with Megson. He created the ''Football Department'' mentality at the club, he wasted money on a pathetic radio station, he lied to supporters about the impending sale of star players. Now clear off and take Chase with you.

[Tumbleweed 106]

So many unfair comments about good old Bob.

He really was a good thing for this club:

- He drove out Mike Walker, after all he had not done anything for this club and to lose to Inter Milan in your first season of European football was a shocking disgrace

- He drove out Martin O''Neill, he had the skill and nous to understand that he was never going to make it as a manager of a top team

- He sold possibly the greatest talent we have ever had. Who needs a proven goalscorer who can also play at the back when you can have a few more readies into the bank.

- The firesales mentioned above were a stroke of genius - how many great players have ever been called Ashley (well apart from Mr Cole), and Jon Newsome wasn''t needed as he had this nasty annoying habit of stopping goals which si what the public want to see

- We had our own radio station. Fantastic. It was full of objective wit and comment and we could rely on it for the true picture of our beloved club with no spin doctoring.

- He was responsible for that memorable chant "Where''s the money gone? Far far away" which got us all singing and dancing in the stands. We never needed Cliff Richard on a rainy day at Carrow Road.

- We were one of the first clubs to go all seater so we could maximise grants from the football trust. Those nasty people who like to stand were never the sort we wanted at Norwich, all a bit uncouth really and they should just do what they were told anyway.

- At the end of the day we all go to Carrow Road to buy things in the shop and sit in the stands having a picnic. We never really cared about that green bit in the middle and what happened on it. We were all too stupid to realise that you could have a bunch of over 50s fatties out there and it wouldn''t spoil a happy Saturday afternoon outing. Chase realised this and that''s why he sold our best players as he had seen the light.

Oh god, its 9.00am, I''ve just woken up and am late for work. I had this horrible dream. Some fat man from the past had become Prime Minister and was busy selling off bits of England to the Chinese. Where had I seen him before....No it can''t be true....Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!

[Bayern Eunuch 1]

Margate Thatcher ?

If you are referring to that nice young man in Kent who makes cottages look pretty with a bit of straw here and there then I agree with you.

If you meant Margaret then you need professional help now. Call the men in white coats.

[James Kent 0]

Lets be fair chase did buy facilities but the major problem with chase is he was a businessman not a football man, need I say more.

[Peter 0]

A failure as far as the business that was NCFC was concerned.

The man leaves a legacy after 10 years or so of a debt that nearly crippled this club.

[Old Yeller 0]

Chase was certainly a big disciple of "Margate". the parade of local Tory bigwigs and their over-dressed wives around the pitch and up to their executive seats in the main stand was a regular feature of his time in charge. i''m told that he would brag to them about what he had done for the club and impress them with how small the wage bill was, in the process showing total contempt for loyal servants of the club like gossy. I always saw the presence of these freeloading nobodies at the club as an insult to all the real supporters who a) had paid to see the game b) would come more than once and however the results went and c) knew who was playing.
I don''t like to think what, for example, Man. City supporters would have done to a chairperson like that.
actually, on second thoughts, I do like to think about it!
At least, as these posts show, Chase has united norwich supporters against the type of leadership that takes the club further and further away from them and turns it into a one man show.
NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGIVE.

[knowhatimean 0]

I have just been watching a re-run of the re-run of The Premiership Years on Sky and realised what a wonderful period of success the Club enjoyed on the Pitch during some of the Chase years. Yes, I agree with much Templeton says and it was such a pity that we did not have a Board strong enough to stand up to the man when obvious cash injection was needed at certain times, ie when we were pressing for title and later when we were trying to avoid relegation. Unfortunately, clubs go through such traumas and lessons are not always learned but the current situation we find ourselves in seems much healthier than the past with a Chairman and Board willing to take a few chances.

OTBC

[Herb 0]

Lets face it.
Barclay stand? Taylor report money.
City Stand? Insurance money

Anything else he did except completely **** the club over?
No, thought not.

[Herb 0]

I forgot to add, lets be honest. I think we all know in our own minds who the "mystery poster" is.
''Nuff said.

[Robbo007 0]

The premiership yrs is a nice reminder of how we were. caning everton 5-1 away was an incredible result in a remarkable season, not forgetting Europe and the best performance by a Norwich side i''ve ever seen when we won 4-0 at Leeds. If it wasn''t for Chase we would be a solid, solid premiership team

[At last? 0]

Im no Chase fan don''t get me wrong, but where was the money supposed to come from for this investing at that time? Were we not just about getting paltry 16,000 crowds?

Just a thought.

[charlies dad 0]

Where was the money supposed to come from??? let me see.... Chris sutton, £5 million, Ruel Fox £2.5 Million, Mark robins, £1 million, Efan Ekoku, £1 million, David Phillips £750,000, Robert Fleck £2.5 million, Townsend, Linighan, etc etc. and many many more.......

[Old Yeller 0]

knowhatimean:
I think that the results achieved in the early 90s were in spite of Ch**e and not because of him.
Don''t forget that when we went down in '' 86, he very nearly restructured the club and was within an inch of deciding to sell off Watson and Bruce and all the other so-called big earners.
That kind of downsizing at that time would have probably condemned the club to a much longer and more severe period of obscurity than the one that we have been so gloriously emerging from in recent seasons.

[First Wizard 0]

Indigestion and increased blood pressure during demos, they are the things I remember Chase giving me!.

[Plastic Scouser 0]

I know that he did a lot for RG Carter.....

[Temp the Revelator 0]

Aha, very good PS, indeed he did.