Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
strebor

Where did it all go wrong?

Recommended Posts

1) Worthington getting carried away with success, and making some of the worst signings i have ever seen, in the form of Mattias Jonson (0 goals in 28 games, nice return for £850,000), Thomas Helveg (quite obvious he was looking for a nice pay off), Graham Stuart (why?) and Simon Charlton (If had been any good surely he would have still been at Bolton!). These signings had been brought in to replace the holes left by Canary legends in the form of Iwan Roberts and Malkay Mackay, who were released and sold respectively for being "too old" (35 and 32). This makes the signings of the above all the more comical with the signings being 30, 32, 34 and 32 respectively. Surely Roberts and Mackay would have had far greater impact, one thing for sure is we wouldn''t have lost 6-0 to Fulham on the final day.

If signing in that season were a joke than far worse were to come in the following season, in the shape of Jurgen Colin (sounds suspiciously like a Bryan Hamilton buy!), Carl Robinson, Jason Jarrett, Andy Hughes, Mathieu Louis-Jean (a replacement for marc edworthy, a man of far superior ability) and Peter Thorne (1 goal in 36 appearances not good enough for a man who would have been on large wages due to his free transfer). To make the season even worse the well respected coach Steve Foley was sacked and made a scapegoat by the board, ignoring the poor work Nigel Worthington and his non-existent assistant manager Dougie Livermore had been doing.

2) Probably the biggest blame must go to possibly the worst managers the club has ever had, Peter Grant. if you thought the signings of Worthington had been poor, Grant was about to take the competition to another level. For some strange reason Grant felt the apparent need to bring in a number of scottish players, who in all fairness would probably find their level in a sunday league side. The signing of Mark Fotheringham is probably the worst i have ever seen, there was a very good reason why he didn''t have a club and had only managed 3 appearances in 5 years at Celtic. I would go as far as saying he is one of the worst players i have ever seen play for the club, made far worse by his arrogant character. Simon Lappin was another poor sighning for a fee of £200,000, a hint surely in the fact he was playing for St Mirren. More comedy was on the way with the import of David Strihavka for £700,000 on a four year contract. The big striker managed a return of 1 goal in 10 appearances, before being released at the end of the season which must have been extremely costly for the club. Other shocking signings included Jon Otsemobor (still putting in poor performances to this date), Jamie Cureton, Chris Brown (£325,000, managed 1 goal in 18 games) and how can we forget the mercurial Julien Brellier. In my opinion Dion Dublin was another poor signing given the club''s apparent policy of releasing player over their mid 30''s. He must have been on a fortune, and a return of 12 goals in 70 games is no where near worth the wages the player must have been on. Oh, and to make Grant''s era even more comic, he tried to blame it all on the board, who must take part of the blame, however this does not divert attention away from the signings which in the long run, I believe has cost the club it''s championship status

3) Glenn Roeder''s crazy decision to release Darren Huckerby, still don''t understand the thinking behind that one. Also the appointment of Mark Fotheringham as captain, possibly one of the biggest low''s the club has ever reached.

4) The appointment of the cheap option, Bryan Gunn. The club had stated they wanted an experienced manager, so logically they appointed Gunn! However, Gunn''s non-existent tactical awareness and uninspiring appearance in post match interviews as such has also contributed to the club''s downfall. Many seem to forget Norwich were outside the relegation zone when Gunn took over, leaving part of the responsibility at his feet.

Rant Over, but on the bright side Mark Fotherinham has left!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 Dion ? He was great for us and the statistics are not great for a striker but he spent much of his time at centre back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="The gut"] Dion ? He was great for us and the statistics are not great for a striker but he spent much of his time at centre back.[/quote]

Indeed. And what an absolute waste that was. Dion was poor at centre back. He looked good because he''d win headers, but he lost his man time and time again. We''d go 0-2 and the Granty would stick him up front to try and get us back in the game. Dublin should always have started at centre forward which is where he was brought in to play. If we''d have got Hulse or Howard we''d never have signed Dublin.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="strebor"]anyone agree or disagree?[/quote]Disagree on Dublin, bigtime. For a start he was Worthington''s last signing iirc, not one of Grants.Fair enough, 12 goals in 70 games or whatever (I wasn''t counting tbh) but you ignore the fact that probably half if not more of those 70 were in central defence.Dublin was huge for us. I''d go so far as to say he and Hucks postponed our relegation by one, probably 2 seasons. All too often in the 2 seasons he spent with us he and his former Coventry teamate were the only 2 on the park who earned their money.I don''t care what wages Dublin was on. he bloody earned it. Never let us down.Ok, Dion manlove rant over.Carry on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Can we move on?.Worthington was an average manager who got lucky.Grant was piss,Roeder was crap and Gunn was clueless.No great analysis needed,if the broad appoint a succession of poor managers the result will be league one !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="nutty nigel"]

[quote user="The gut"] Dion ? He was great for us and the statistics are not great for a striker but he spent much of his time at centre back.[/quote]

Indeed. And what an absolute waste that was. Dion was poor at centre back. He looked good because he''d win headers, but he lost his man time and time again. We''d go 0-2 and the Granty would stick him up front to try and get us back in the game. Dublin should always have started at centre forward which is where he was brought in to play. If we''d have got Hulse or Howard we''d never have signed Dublin.

 

[/quote]I have very fond memories of going to Leicester away a few years ago on a new years eve game. In reading the program notes their manager was bemoaning their lack of a target man, what they really needed, he said, was a strong and physically imposing striker, with a good goalscoring record. He''d been playing Dion at centre back all season! Madness. I have never been able to take Craig Levine seriously ever since.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
disagree on a few points there. for starters how can you say that dion dublin was a poor signing? he spent most of his time at CB and in my opinion was one of the best CB''s weve had in a while. Yes Worthy made a few poor signings but he done what no manager at carrow road has done in many years before him- getting to the premier league. Signing Helveg was a gamble that didnt pay off. He had had a brilliant career before coming here and maybe for his age, the premier league was just too quick for him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Herb"][quote user="strebor"]anyone agree or disagree?[/quote]Disagree on Dublin, bigtime. For a start he was Worthington''s last signing iirc, not one of Grants.Fair enough, 12 goals in 70 games or whatever (I wasn''t counting tbh) but you ignore the fact that probably half if not more of those 70 were in central defence.Dublin was huge for us. I''d go so far as to say he and Hucks postponed our relegation by one, probably 2 seasons. All too often in the 2 seasons he spent with us he and his former Coventry teamate were the only 2 on the park who earned their money.I don''t care what wages Dublin was on. he bloody earned it. Never let us down.Ok, Dion manlove rant over.Carry on.[/quote]Well said Herb.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Like many clubs if you are not careful the Premier League can kill you if you do not invest wisely. There are many clubs in the lower half of that League who are desperate to hold on to the money that goes with that league and will invest and fail. We fell foul of that and I do not blame Worthy for what went wrong. He was not given enough funds at the right time to ensure we gained a foothold in the Premier League, and then when we dropped too little of parachute money was made available. Worthy was not a great manager but he did get us Crouch and Hucks at just the right time. For me watching Hucks play for City for many years undoes much of the hurt. One of the most skillful players to pull on our shirt.Yes he had poor matches but when he played it was beautiful to watch.Grant was the biggest disaster and after that the Board just went into panic mode with Roeder and Gunn. Roeder should have only been given a years contract, history showed he always failed when his more dominant manger skills stopped working. You can only push players around for so long! Feel sorry for Gunn should never have taken job but his love for the City outweighed his common sense.Lambert has all the hallmarks of a great manager for me 1. Do not publicly criticise players only team if really poor2. Motivate them at half time as he did at Yeovil3. Putting on right subs at right timeBut as Lambert knows it will all depend on results and we still need in January to get key players for final push as we must go up this season

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Overall, I think that you are too harsh on Worthy and Roeder and accurate on Grant and Gunny.

Worthington did tremendously well with a team which had been out of the Premiership for almost ten years (play off final & the Championship crown) and only missed out on Premiership safety by one point. Yes, he made some poor signings but all managers do ... don''t forget that he signed Edworthy who you label as having superior ability. There are many others that I could mention, Yes, things turned sour after relegation with the players and fans guilty of believing that we were better than we were but Worthy (like Burley down the road) should be remembered fondly for his achievements under the circumstances.

Roeder made huge errors. Too many loans (and being unable to motivate a large number of non-contracted players) and employing an abrasive and arrogant attitude. However, compared to the horror of the Grant period that preceded him and the appalling Gunn performances that followed Roeder''s teams were tactically and strategically solid. Don''t forget that when he departed we hadn''t been in the relegation zone for almost an entire year. Like Worthy, he made errors but I don''t remember him as a total failure.

Gunn being selected as manager was the biggest error made in the recent history of NCFC. Gunn apologists fail to remember that he inherited a team which had spent almost a year outside the drop zone, he brought in 9 of his own players and he had 17 matches to prevent the team falling to a level not reached in fifty years. Anyone who watched the team under Gunn will agree that he injected willingness into the players but offered no strategy, purpose or tactical agility. It was almost cruel watching opposing managers tinker with their sides as matches progressed in order to outmanoeuvre us. Gunny was utterly blind to it. The man should never have been given the job ... what coaching or management had he ever done before? The relegation was inevitable but for what he had given the club over his playing career he will always remain a beloved canary idol.

However, I also agree with your strong criticism of Peter Grant. I will never understand why the Board selected him. At the time of Worthy''s removal our star was still high even if it was dimming. We had a strong and talented squad and our recent Premiership adventure sold us as an attractive club to join. Why was a man who had never managed a club before chosen when, surely, there must have been more inspiring options available? His transfer dealings were appalling (his naivity summed up by his constant whinging that other managers wouldn''t sell him players for the price he valued them at!) and his tactical inabilities cost him his job ... sadly far too late. Most of the damage was done by him.

Two conclusions.

(1) Appointing managers with no experience = disaster.

(2) Thank god McNally has arrived and appointed a tactically astute manager.

It is time to move on but lessons must be learned by us all - the fans and the Board.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...