the fans forum in full, all questions and answers here. (long Post! will do in 2 sittings)

[......and Smith must score. 1,343]

A big thanks for all your efforts on this Jas.

I couldn''t get there today and it''s good to be able to read a full account of what took place.

Hope you enjoyed your beer.

PS. One gripe though. You said you''d do this in two sittings but it took you three...... can''t we rely on ANYONE anymore ? ( lol )

[LinkNR9 0]

[quote user="Canaries in Bed"][quote user="SI"]

Jas , Thanks for all your efforts to compile the forum Q & A.

My hunch is that Gunn has already the job.

Neil Doncaster was unusualy quiet and I suspect it will be his head on the block on wednesday because the board simply have to be seen to be doing something to change the current set up. He will obviously be replaced by another "Yes Man".

[/quote]

Your dam aviator, makes me stare for long periods of time and forget what I am supposed to. But I am in love with her.

[/quote]

Hands off - she''s mine, I tell you!

[Wembley_Canary 0]

Appreciate the effort you made there Jas, good work, you deserve a beer on me! An interesting read but a shame Delia couldn''t be arsed to turn up.

 

 

[gazzathegreat 0]

West London, she turned up the year we were promoted, so she can be bothered sometimes.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

[quote user="Mustachio Furioso"]

''An Elderly gentleman stood up, he has spoken to Peter Cullum, Cullum tells a different story to that mentioned in the other post above. Cullum has said he would give 20 million for players and wipe out the clubs debt, but he wants control to make sure everything is done properly''

Ah right, an Elderly gentleman, that''s good because he must be telling the truth then musn''t he? Because he''s elderly and a gentleman, what better credentials could he have?

[/quote]Sounds a helluva lot more truthful than the board have been with us lately.

[Henry VIII 0]

Jas - were you taking your notes in shorthand?

[ron obvious 1,502]

[quote user="Dictator Smith"] So you dont think managers like Brian Clough ever used to motivate the team of course they did ,  its probably the main part of the job , and even more important when you have half a team of loan players who dont give a toss .[/quote]Clough had a team that had nowhere else to go. They were a team of (mostly) also-rans & failures, but he gave them a huge amount of self-belief; that was his genius. Although I don''t mind loanees in principle this season has shown the problem with relying on them. They may make all the right noises - they may even believe their comittment is total - but deep down they know they are going back to their loan club, so when the going gets really tough the desire to go in where it hurts just isn''t there. I reckon Plastic - who I really like - is a good example of this; although a classy player, he just can''t consistently push himself that extra bit to be the new Bowen.Whether Clough could have inspired a player in his position is an open question. I suspect he would not have loaned him in to start with.Trying to inspire a whole team full of them would be beyond any manager. Arriving when he did, Gunn didn''t have any choice but to get even more loans. Given the choice, I think he realises they are not the way forward, even temporarily.Although I really don''t know if he''s the right man for the job.

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="Mustachio Furioso"]

''An Elderly gentleman stood up, he has spoken to Peter Cullum, Cullum tells a different story to that mentioned in the other post above. Cullum has said he would give 20 million for players and wipe out the clubs debt, but he wants control to make sure everything is done properly''

Ah right, an Elderly gentleman, that''s good because he must be telling the truth then musn''t he? Because he''s elderly and a gentleman, what better credentials could he have?

[/quote]

A man who''s reputation for spin is better than spin expert Allister Campbell tells you otherwise and it must be true.....

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Henry VIII"]Jas - were you taking your notes in shorthand?
[/quote]

no. just abreviated and scrawled quickly!

jas :)

[Henry VIII 0]

Fancy some lessons Jas?Teeline Fast by Ann Dix is the best place to start.Maybe you''ll be on the sportdesk soon...

[Captain Holt 522]

How did you remember all that Jas? Quality stuff buddy, cheers.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Cheers for all your efforts Jas, an interesting read.

[Yellow Submarine 0]

Thanks for taking the time to do this Jas! Interesting read. Wish I could have been there!

[Tim Allman 1]

I’d just like to add my thanks to Jas for his fantastic effort in reporting from the fans forum. Good to see some words from a fans perspective as opposed to a reporters one.

 

[Gentleman Jim 0]

Stout effort Jas, thanks for keeping us informed.

Any significance in the statement that Delia is in London seeking investment ? ? ?

 

[Yella7 0]

Cheers Jas great stuff

[Mr.Carrow 376]

Classic bit of spin/twisting in there from Doncaster which as usual seems to have fooled many.  "Wage bill of £9m":  the only Champs season we had a player wage bill of £9m was the season after relegation when we had a £7.1m parachute payment and made a £6m profit on players. 

Since then it`s been £7.4m in `07 and £6.8m in `08.  And now they are trying to spin it that, having lost Hucks/Dublin etc., we`re paying £9m again?!!  Absolutely NO chance.  These people are prepared to lie through their teeth rather than accept responsibility for our decline and i urge you not to fall for it.

[Syteanric 1]

having had time to look back and think, the comments the board did not address are telling...

why did they not challenge the old chap Re cullum?

why did Gunny say there was no money available for players yet Munby and Doomy both said there was?

if all money from sales goe''s to the manager then why have we not spent the almost 15 milion we have made in recent seasons? (7.5 on Ashton, 3 on Earnie, 2 on Greeno and 1 on Francis).

i have a feeling we might of caught them out on a few things yesterday and they know it...

interesting to see how deflated mumbles and Doomy were at the end compared to how much more confident Gunny was... im willing to bet under a differnt board Gunny could do very well.

jas :)

[Mr.Carrow 376]

Jas, the "all money received in transfers is re-invested" is one of the most obvious ways our board have been "economical with the truth".

If you think about it, if we have a player wage bill of £7m and we sold £7m worth of players but spent nothing on transfers the board could say "The money went to pay the player wages" and technically they are not lying.  People have just got to think past the spin.

Our £9m player wage bill in `06 was susidised by a clear £6m profit on selling players.  Our £7.4m player wage bill in `07 was subsidised by a £2m clear profit on players.  Our £6.8m player wage bill in `08 was subsidised by a £3.5m clear profit on selling players.  See what i mean?

[DEL123 0]

1. Is Lee Croft staying?

BG - Lee is a good player, a contract has been offered it is down to Lee to decide whether or not his future lies here or elsewhere.

LC - wouldnt give us an answer but did thank the fans for the player of the year award.

 

HE IS OFF THEN

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="DEL123"]

1. Is Lee Croft staying?

BG - Lee is a good player, a contract has been offered it is down to Lee to decide whether or not his future lies here or elsewhere.

LC - wouldnt give us an answer but did thank the fans for the player of the year award.

 

HE IS OFF THEN

[/quote]

probably... perhaps the right question to of asked would of been "now the club is league 1, do you give a toss Lee?"

jas :)

[gazzathegreat 0]

Just a guess at the answers Jas

Re Cullum. They feared more points raised by either that questioner or Andy Larkin, and they were not up to defending their stance on either.

Money for Gunn. There''s always money, it''s just earmarked for other purposes, like servicing the mounting debt (mountain).

As Doncaster said, money for infrastructure and the money for players is separate, guess which the bigger pile goes. In all honesty I think you will find a lot of it has gone on agent fees and the oh so successful loan policy that Mr Doncaster intends repeating next season.

Caught them out? Correct, well up to a point, and long may it continue. Time for the press to start, well pressing!

Can''t agree on your final point re Gunn. We need a manager with a record of getting a club from the lower leagues promoted, who knows what players would work at our new level and who won''t take any rubbish from them. I don''t expect miracles (indeed if they are all still there to make those sort of decisions) but I do hope we are not fobbed off with anymore of this bleeding green and yellow stuff. Look where that got us.

By the way, I don''t know if you have read the report in the EDP re the fans'' forum. Good stuff!

[ca 1]

[quote user="DEL123"]

1. Is Lee Croft staying?

[/quote]

He didn''t look to interested in the proceedings last night, in fact his body language said he''s off.

[Beaker 0]

His body language told me he was thick as pig sh it

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Mister Chops"][quote user="Big Bob"]Harsh Andy..After all it''s not his fault what the club pay him, and the fellow players. Poor showings.. bit harsh, i know his crossing and shooting is poor, but he works hard, which is all you can ask really.[/quote]

That''s exactly the attitude we need.

The board can''t run a club, but they work hard.
Gunny can''t manage a team, but he works hard.
Crofty can''t cross a ball, but he works hard.
Semi can''t defend, but he works hard.

Small wonder we find ourselves in League One alongside lots of other teams which work hard ..... but are rubbish.

[/quote]

lol you should of been there Mr Chops... these are the 3 points I heckled at those above only to get the happy clappies backs up!!! [:D]

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

10 - (I asked this question and was shocked to get applauded) Why hasDelia not come to speak to us today? will she swallow her pride and admit she was wrong to turn Cullum down? whats the real reason the Turners left and how far are we from administration?

ND - Delia is in London at the moment, working to bring in money in for the football club, most forums she doesnt attend (Except the ones we are doing well in eh Neil?)

ND RE Cullum - no one has made an offer for Smith and Jones shares in 13 years at the club, including Peter Cullum, there is a confidentiality agreement re any contact with him to the club.

the Turners are the only people who know why they left and we should ask them (someone then pointed out that they would of told the board and wouldnt of "just left")

as for admistration, it doesnt affect wages/player costs, the 10 point deduction will hurt the team and the local economy will suffer, this is NOT an option an is unthinkable.

RM- the EDP are wrong and Cullum DID NOT make an offer (more on this later on...)

the fans were unhappy with the confidentialty agreement and argued that if Cullum did not make an offer then there was no agreement and the board should come clean.

its worth mentioning at this stage that whatever Smudger threw at Gunny, Bryan had an answer for, to the point that half way trhough Smudger shut up... that could also of been due to the fact 2 stewards made their way to where he was and he dissapeared from standing at the front of his cohorts to the back... Bottler smudger strikes again!

post 3 coming up next (we are almost done people i promise)

jas :)

[/quote]

If it was you that made the above question then you deserved the applause for it Jas.. [;)]

However, you are doing yourself no favours with all the anti Smudger stuff and telling false stories (as many others have backed up) with regards to what I said or did on the day.

The only time I moved from the spot throughout the whole forum was for the 2 mins I nipped to the toilets when the young lad spoke about us awarding failure.

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="ron obvious"][quote user="Dictator Smith"] So you dont think managers like Brian Clough ever used to motivate the team of course they did ,  its probably the main part of the job , and even more important when you have half a team of loan players who dont give a toss .
[/quote]

Clough had a team that had nowhere else to go. They were a team of (mostly) also-rans & failures, but he gave them a huge amount of self-belief; that was his genius.
Although I don''t mind loanees in principle this season has shown the problem with relying on them. They may make all the right noises - they may even believe their comittment is total - but deep down they know they are going back to their loan club, so when the going gets really tough the desire to go in where it hurts just isn''t there. I reckon Plastic - who I really like - is a good example of this; although a classy player, he just can''t consistently push himself that extra bit to be the new Bowen.
Whether Clough could have inspired a player in his position is an open question. I suspect he would not have loaned him in to start with.
Trying to inspire a whole team full of them would be beyond any manager. Arriving when he did, Gunn didn''t have any choice but to get even more loans. Given the choice, I think he realises they are not the way forward, even temporarily.

Although I really don''t know if he''s the right man for the job.


[/quote]

There is absolutely NO WAY that Brain Clough would of worked under the joke that is Smith & Jones in the first place.

Can you imagine him going out and buying a new striker behind Delias back and then telling her "the only reason you are there is to sign cheques Delia?"

It would be like a marriage made in heaven wouldn''t it???

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Mr.Carrow"]

Classic bit of spin/twisting in there from Doncaster which as usual seems to have fooled many.  "Wage bill of £9m":  the only Champs season we had a player wage bill of £9m was the season after relegation when we had a £7.1m parachute payment and made a £6m profit on players. 

Since then it`s been £7.4m in `07 and £6.8m in `08.  And now they are trying to spin it that, having lost Hucks/Dublin etc., we`re paying £9m again?!!  Absolutely NO chance.  These people are prepared to lie through their teeth rather than accept responsibility for our decline and i urge you not to fall for it.

[/quote]

I did try to point out that their figure of £8.5 million which they stated on Monday included the ticket office staffs wages, marketing staffs wages, stewards wages, catering staffs wages, security staffs wages, the cleaners wages, Neil Doncasters wages etc etc.

Blatant bull that the happy clappies swallow without even asking questions or looking at the facts in the accounts.

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"][quote user="DEL123"]

1. Is Lee Croft staying?

BG - Lee is a good player, a contract has been offered it is down to Lee to decide whether or not his future lies here or elsewhere.

LC - wouldnt give us an answer but did thank the fans for the player of the year award.

 

HE IS OFF THEN

[/quote]

probably... perhaps the right question to of asked would of been "now the club is league 1, do you give a toss Lee?"

jas :)

[/quote]

I think he kind of answered that when asked how he thought Norwich would do in Div 1 next season?

[Mr.Carrow 376]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

ok, i took a pen and note book with me and took notes on all events today, have missed out the last 5 questions as by then things were winding down and they didnt make any valid points but everything else is "as is". I am going to do it in 2 or more individual posts so as not to bore you too much or melt your brains by the reading!

Munby and Gunn walked in looking sheepish, Neil Doncaster did no enter with Gunn, Croft and Munby, he was instead at the far end of the room and waitied to make his entry like some kind of hollywood star. Lee Croft looked fed up as soon as he sat down.

Munby kicked off things by saying the board knew exactly how the fans felt and hoped the forum would be a chance for fans to address how they felt, there was lots of heckles and Boos at this stage.

Bryan Gunn said he had to apologise to everyone about Charlton, it wasn''t good enough, he felt responsible as did all the players, again the fans were unhappy... it was then thrown open to the floor.

1. Is Lee Croft staying?

BG - Lee is a good player, a contract has been offered it is down to Lee to decide whether or not his future lies here or elsewhere.

LC - wouldnt give us an answer but did thank the fans for the player of the year award.

2. Why does Neil Doncaster feel the future is bright when the club has been mismanaged and money spent on infrastructure rather than the team, what has happened? (this got a round of applause and visibly angered Doncaster)?

RM- The funds are separate, there is a pot for business issues and a pot for playing budget, Investors will invest in business not in a team. We allocate funds from player sales, fan revenue and money from the board of directors to the playing budget for the manager to spend, it does not go to the infrastructure of the club (angry response from fans).

Munby then passed the mic to Neil Doncaster who was met with a huge chorus of boo''s and cants of "Out out out!" he seemed extremely annoyed by this, he went back to the question and answered:-

ND - taking money away from the playing side to spend on bricks and mortar is simply not true, he mentiioned the finances were based on structured loans, the hotel cost us nothing and the land made us 1 million pounds (he didnt mention the hotels profits/loss interestingly). he mentioned Borrowing from banks to finance the jarrold stand was a necessity, the only other option was a 3 sided ground and reduced attendence. this was not an option. he mentioned that our fane base deserves better and to look at Charlton who have only sold 1000 season tickets for next season compared to our fan base and it shows how rosy the future is (this was lauded and laughed at).

3. we have heard enough from the media, board and management regarding the "demise of the club" but how do the players feel?

LC (looked worried) - good question, i''m not sure, personally as a squad we haven''t been good enough, our results show this and we have finished in the bottom 3 because we simply have not been good enough to compete in the division.

Malcolm robertson of Anglia TV sport was on the panel and then spoke

said he was at the Charlton game as a fan, he mentioned the players perfromance was not good enough with the exception of alan Lee, Korey Smith and Cody Mac. he saiid the team has no leaders and we dont realise just how much we miss people like Malky until now, He said looking at both sides he knows full well who will do well in League 1, who looks better prepared and who will enjoy sucess and he was sorry to say it was Charlton.

RM - we used 41 players this season and there were far too many loans, this upst the team. We must let the manager, whoever it is, manage the team to their abilities and stick with them. (he has said this every time we have had a bloody manager!)

4. Will Hucks come back?

ND -  contracted to San Jose until september, if fit, willing and affordable he could be allowed to return.

BG- Darren loves this football club and is still in cotact with the management team. Roeder got rid of Hucks for whatever reason (fans seemed to think this was gunnys fault, he got some flak for it but handled it well). Gunny said we need more players like Darren and if he gets the job will do his utmost to bring him back, he said the squa here is not good enough and he will make changes...Bryan said he had failed this season as Norwich manager, but will turn it around (he handled heckles rather well.. particualrly from a certain S. Mudger of pinkun).

5. we made a profit on Ashton, sold Earnie for what we bought him for, made money on Francis, McKenzie and others yet sign Jamie cureton for 800,000 and Cody mac for £50,000 where has the transfer money gone?

RM - claimed all funds received have gone into the managers budget, (this was met with a furios response from the floor, i think some doubted this...)

ND - We spent 9 million pounds on wages which is 6 million MORE than we can afford to pay.

this led to a huge gap and many angry shouts.. one chap said it was disgusting, he said the players were taking the mick and should be made to pay some of it back. he directed a comment at Crofty which was he should be ashamed of himself and is he really proud of brining in that money for poor showings? Crofty semed really taken aback and shocked by the question.

ND continued - the board are forking out for players wages to ensure we can afford to bring "quality" to the club....

will type post 2 in a bit...

jas :)

[/quote]

Bringing this thread up for the benefit of PurpleCanary.  Jas reckons ND claimed player wages were £9m, do you believe him PC?