What is your message to the Norwich City board?

[Mr_Chimp 0]

Bryan Gunn is a Norwich City legend.  Unquestionably so.  A true gent, an ambassador for the City and the Club, who bleeds yellow and green as much as the 24,000 that turn up week in, week out to follow Norwich City FC.  He should be applauded for sticking his head above the parapet and taking on the team of no-hopers and cast-offs and attempting to at least stall the clubs fall into Division Three.  But by his own admission he failed.  For this reason, and this reason alone, he should not be offered a longer contract to manage Norwich City.  Delia Smith has been a generous benefactor as majority shareholder, and I understand that in the current financial climate finding further investment has probably never been more difficult.

This is no excuse.  The Club has made decisions at the highest level that have been both needlessly fraught with risk and often foolhardy, even irresponsible.  The bankrolling to the tune of £8.5 million pounds on player wages despite seasons of hugely disappointing underachievement since dropping from footballs top table is at best misguided, at worst negligent.  Seeing teams like Preston, Burnely and their ilk achieve season on season improvement both in terms of playing/managerial staff and on the pitch performance despite low attendances and tighter financial restrictions than we have suffered - for example, without the windfall of so-called ''parachute payments'' to ease financial burdens upon relegation from the Premier League.  That you have tried is not questioned; sadly you have, like your caretaker manager and those before him, failed.

[Official Joe 0]

Why does your best interests in the club differ so much from ours?

[timncfc 0]

Why dont you talk to us fans anymore? You shut off after the Cullum bid,why? and im still not sure what happened with the Cullum bid please explain?

[kdncfc 0]

They try and blame everyone for our demise but themselves, they''ve had 40 odd million in additional income since we were promoted to the prem and spent hardly any of that on the pitch and then wonder why we struggle. They have been guilty of gross mismanagement of the highest order and it''s time for the whole damn lot of them to go and take their pathetic prudence with ambition with them.

[William Darby 0]

Why has Neil Doncaster been saying since 2002 that something has to be done about player''s wages. And here we are 2009 relegated, and all we hear is Delia spounting about the greedy Premiership and Doncaster still saying we have to trim our overinflated wage bill.  This club seems to be run by a group of numpties.

[colneycanary 0]

This current board set up has made mistake after mistake the last 4 years. A club the size of Norwich should not be gambling on inexperienced and novice managers.

Worthington was kept on 12 months too long.

Peter Grant a complete inexperienced novice, shound of never been given the Manager''s job. He was way above his head for his very first Manager''s job.

Glen Roeder was left to do what ever he wanted. He completely destroyed the team by getting rid of so many players and replacing them with loan after loan player. Getting rid of Huckerby made him very unpopular and the board shouldn''t of ever allowed this. The Board simply sat back and did nothing.

Bryan Gunn, again the board go for a complete novice. He''s not a Manager. He has no coaching badges and no football manager experience whatsoever.

 Why do we keep appointting complete inexperienced manager''s? They''ve not got it right the last 4 times, so why would they get it right now? Changes in the boardroom must happen and must happen now!

[The Walking Man 13]

As fans we are united in our grief at the slow death of our club.

Mr Doncaster, Mr. Munby, your days are numbered. Resign without compensation for the good of the club. Collectively as a board you have overseen the darkest days this club has ever witnessed, Mr. Doncaster, Mr. Munby, a vast number of players, and sadly Mr. Gunn, you have failed the loyal supporters of NCFC. Once you have left your positions perhaps we can look forward to the future.

I ask one simple question to the board:

Please can we have our club back?

[steve b 0]

If you show that you are moving in the right direction and appoint Mark Robins as our manager then you can keep my 20% from my season ticket

[Jimbo_Jet_Set 0]

Please stop treating the fans of this football club as idiots.  Tell us the truth about Cullum, the Turners, the financial situation and most importantly where you see this once great football club going in the next 3 years.

It is this lack of clear direction which scares me most about you leadership.  You must instigate a root and branch clearout starting with the likes of our failed Chief Executive through to our failed manager and failed players.  Do yourselves a favour and consult with the fans about where we want this club to be going and stop viewing it as a cosy, happy little club that trundles around in the lower divisions.  We don''t need cheap, sentimental decisions (look where they have got us).  We need to make hard-nosed, well-informed, businesslike choices.  If you feel unable to do this then i suggest you take a long, hard look at yourselves and examine whether you really do have the best interests of the club at heart.

[ZLF 274]

Please learn from you mistakes and get it right this time.   Recognise that as with players passion and committment are no susbstitute for ability for managers too.   Bryan is passionate and eloquent on the subject of his club, as you or I would be in his position too -  after all we are all fans of this club. Howver his performance from the sidelines has not matched his rhetoric.

Please take the step that you prevaricated over with Nigel Worthington and dismiss Bryan immediately - for the sake of both Bryan and the club.  You can still recognise his passion for the club and keep him within it,  just not associated with the playing staff.  Be strong on this one this,  for his passion is not translated into effectiveness.

Employ a respected external expert who is still working in the game,  and someone who has recent knowledge of the lower league.  Seek their opinion on who the new manager should be and what their key first steps are.  Have that consultant advise you during the reruitment process.  I think you did this with Jimmy Armfield for the Worthington appointment (apologies if I am wrong here) and it is that sort of knowledgable expert that is needed,  not a now long retired David Stringer.

Getting the right man is the key.  I accept that he may need at least 2 transfer windows to get the playing staff right.  But getting the right manager is essential.  He has to have lower league experience,   preferably has a profile that is on the rise rather than fall and is used to working within a budget,

Once you have the right man back him.   Postpone any non-essential non playing staff related investment.  Reduce the operating costs to the lowest you possibly can without affecting income.  All this to strive to provide the new manager with best budget you can, to allow him to build a team of  experienced strong,  mentally and physically,  leaders who will withstand the physical side of league one football that the current squad can that element of Champs football and invest in a couple of younger prospects that can be brought along.  Experience is the key though - we will not get promoted by having an exceedingly young squad,  including immature loans from Premier acadamies.

Re-energise your efforts to bring new investment into the club to help secure the best players and future that the club can provide.

You are but custodians of this club, simply owners for now until the next one comes along.   Recognise where you have gone wrong, and show us you wnat to put those errors behaind us by being bold in your actions, to give us hope and show us a clear vision of how you intend to take this club forward over the next few years. 

Show us that you too can be On The Ball City.

[William Darby 0]

Is Mick Dennis being offered a place on the Board?

[DOGGER 0]

Thanks Neil, Delia, Michael, Roger and co

Wonderful job you have all done, you should all receive a pat on the back for your efforts.

In fact lets make Delia a dame and Neil Sir Neil Doncaster!?!

[Block E Buh 0]

I have followed the Canaries since my first match in 1989. I think Bryan Gunn is a fantastic ambassordor for the club but not a manager with tactical awareness. It saddens me to see the club I love in the 3rd tier and it still hasn''t sunk in but something needs to be done. Too often the club have brushed over big decisions and kept quiet when they are needed. We need someone with real guts and determination to step in and drag this club back to the top flight, no more of this "nice club" Norwich. We need to be winners and it needs to start at the top!

I would be happy to be an unpaid non-executive director for the board if they are willing to open up a new approach. The board need football brains at the table.

 

[. 0]

[quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"]

A selection will be printed in Monday''s EDP....

Keep it clean.

[/quote]

Quite simply... give our beautiful City it''s club back. From the ridiculous yellow shorts to the now infamous on-the-pitch "Let''s be ''avin you" drawl, you have sought to exploit the NCFC brand for your own ends and manipulate it''s supporters.

Leave before you destroy even further the proud legacy you inherited... yet were all too quick to denigrate at the time. The "blessed saviour" myth was so cynically sold to the media by the Delia Smith PR team...... when in fact only one thing really mattered.....Delia Smith persona.

Just go now....and take everything you imported back to Suffolk with you.

[E I E I E I O 0]

Pack your bags and clear your desks. You have failed this club through a tighter and more stringent transfer policy than the chase days, he brought some great players to our club and with it great success. You have brought nothing but misery and journeymen to this club (Barring one succesful season and a few players over a number of years)Your management choices have been pour for all to see and with it the future of the club gambled on! Unfortunately you have failed in your gamble and got what many of us bar your blind followers have seen coming for years.We hear from doncaster again yesterday that no offer has been made for your shares (debatable) I believe Cullums offer to have been a fair and accurate one in current times. You blindly failed to take any offer seriously pricing all potential investors out of the market. Yet still spout your "have recieved no offer for the shares" rubbish. This is beacuase you have priced them ludicrously! You are not in a position to move this club forward such as Mandaric did with Leicester last season. Why should we believe that the sacking of Doncaster or other memebers of the board will change anything. Yes they should go but so should you as the head of the Club. I will not accept a couple of P45''s and a ex Norwich star signing to appease me anymore. I see no reason why fans should send you their Season ticket rebate as we know it will disappear in a load of spin like all the other money does! "All money from player sales will go back to the transfer budget" Absolute Tosh! You have made a profit in every single transfer window for the past 3 seasons. This at a time when we could see the side was pathetic and in need of rebuilding!You should go and go now, I just hope that after turning down potential investors you have not upset them to the point of no return. If they come back with an offer anywhere near the last one should leave with your tails between your legs.Good riddance!

[Big Slob 0]

I want to change mine.... If the board eventually get something right, and appoint Mark Robins as manager and sack Doncaster they can keep my 20%

[can u sit down please 0]

All i can say is:

7 managers in 12 years.....You appointed them all! Therefore your decisions have led this club to League 1. They were sacked, so you should follow.

Failure to make the most of the Premiership - Little old Norwich...we are only here for the ride! Bought Ashton 5 months too late!

Not spending the parachute money well enough....Why did Worthington''s budget only stretch to Peter Thorne, Jason Jarrett and Mathieu Louis-Jean?

Why pay £500k to sack Worthington then be willing to pay the same amount again to get him back?

What pride is there in having the best facilities in League 1?

Why give the least experienced man (Gunn) the job in the clubs biggest hour of need?

Prudence with ambition.....ha.....the Charlton model......May 3rd 2009....Charlton away and they are already relegated.....the irony!

Why do we take 6 weeks to appoint a manager through a laughable "assessment" type process and it takes Ipswich 12 hours?

You are past your sell by date.....now go back to what you know best (not football) and leave this once proud club alone!

 

[canary cherub 1]

Our club is in ruins and YOU are responsible.  

Dozens of players, managers and coaching staff have come and gone in the 12 years since you arrived, as our club has gradually lost both the ability and the desire to compete.  You are the common denominator, and you are the source of the malaise that''s spread right through our club and is slowly killing it.  This hasn''t happened overnight, and you have spurned innumerable opportunities to stem the decline.

Under your stewardship the slide towards League 1 that was halted during Nigel Worthington''s tenure has continued apace.  Far from being the cause of our downfall, the Premiership season was a get out of jail card that you scandalously failed to build on.  As the crisis deepened you showed a real determination to continue on the same disastrous course, as though you had a point to prove.  The eventual outcome was wholly predictable two years ago.

No more excuses please.  JUST GO before you do any more damage.

 

[TheCardinal 0]

It''s hard to know exactly what to say to the board that have overseen such a grave downward spiral. I believe, despite other''s assertions to the contrary, that your actions are made with the best interests of the club at heart. But I sincerely and genuinely hope you now recognise that those decisions were so seriously incorrect, that change needs to happen at board room level. New faces bring with them new ideas - and we are a club in genuine need of them. I think the same theory must apply as well to the managerial position. It is not enough in this day of age to have passion, determination and drive. Experience must shine through, and we must replace Mr Gunn with a manager who has taken a team out of League One before. My choice, for what it''s worth, would be Steve Tilson from Southend.  

[Big Duncs Bloody Shirt 0]

To the Board ..

Hats off to you ... you''ve finally ripped the heart out of our great club once and for all! We''re now left with a handful of players, most of whom are barely good enough to play in division one and those few who are good enough will surely depart before you can say ''contract clause''. We''re now left with crippling debts, far in excess of those you inherited 12 years ago. (Progress eh?) We''re now left with 18,000 depressed season ticket holders who are acutely aware that you have not a clue as to how to rectify this situation. We''re left with a billionaire businessman, who (and yes .. we don''t know the detail) was willing to pump£20million into the playing budget, but who now won''t touch us with a bargepole (but then why should you allow anyone else to play with you personal toy). We''re left with a club legend who was handed an impossible task and who will now only be remembered for taking us down to the third tier for 50 years. And worst of all ... you''ve left us with absolutely no hope ... no hope at all. You should be so proud!

[canary cherub 1]

[quote user="canary cherub "]

Our club is in ruins and YOU are responsible.  

Dozens of players, managers and coaching staff have come and gone in the 12 years since you arrived, as our club has gradually lost both the ability and the desire to compete.  You are the common denominator, and you are the source of the malaise that has spread right through our club and is slowly killing it.  This hasn''t happened overnight, and you have spurned plenty of chances to stem the decline.

Under your stewardship the slide towards League 1 that was reversed during Nigel Worthington''s tenure has continued apace.  Far from being the cause of our downfall, the Premiership season was a get out of jail card that you scandalously failed to build on.  As the crisis deepened you showed a real determination to continue on the same disastrous course, as though you had a point to prove.  The eventual outcome was wholly predictable two years ago.

No more excuses please.  JUST GO before you do any more damage.

[/quote]

Oh for an Edit button . . .

 

[James Kent 0]

I''m afraid you have made a real mess of things. Now it''s time to let someone else to sort it out.

Get either Cullum or someone similar to takeover. If that is not possible then lets at least get some fresh blood on the board.

We need to have a ruthless and driven board that will stop at nothing to bring Norwich City back to the top. Your not up to it so lets get a new group of wealthy winners.

[Binky 0]

The Board''s record speaks for itself. They have failed - and most recently in giving Glenn Roeder a free hand to dispose of players before adequate replacements had been secured. Gunn, by his own admission has also failed but he has hardly had a fighting chance and I am not convinced replacing him - and Butterworth & Crook - before they have had a chance to prove themselves in Division 1, makes sense. Even the appointment of a high profile manager will not guarantee success. There is much passion and emotion understandably being expressed right now and I am probably in a tiny minority, but let''s not throw the baby out with the bath water. I would be happy for the Board to run with at least the nucleus of the current management team for ten weeks of next season. But no long term contracts for this is the time for everyone (not just the players) to make sacrifices and to survive only if performance so merits.

[DDD In The Fine City 1]

Well done, thanks for the last 12 years and a great season this year, i''m really looking forward to visiting some quality away stadiums in League 1 next year and seeing top quality players piss all over our shambles of a defence yet again.

Thanks again!

p.s. I think Mr Doncaster deserves a pay rise for all his hard work in getting us relegated

[Mister Chops 7]

Nobody doubts that you have tried your hardest to do what you think is right for the club, but the last three seasons of decline must tell you that your best efforts have simply not been good enough and despite the continued loyalty of 19,000 season ticket holders, your appalling record of managerial appointment demonstrates on its own why you cannot be trusted with the future of our football club.

[norfolkchance1 0]

End the spin and bull at Carrow Road, its about time fans were stopped being treated like mugs- the last thing we want to hear when 3 points behind before the final game is a load of drivel from Mr Doncaster about being confident- I most certainly wasn''t and haven''t been for some time because of the way this club has made cheap corner cutting incompetent decisions which have ultimately had a massive cost- our loss of championship status.

[Rupethebear 0]

[quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"]

A selection will be printed in Monday''s EDP....

Keep it clean.

[/quote]

 

There is no doubting the committment and time the current board have invested in this great football club and for that I am grateful and I appreciate that the board are as dissapointed as all supporters are. Indeed several board mebers have invested a significant amount of their capital into the club during the last season and have had a very poor return on this. To help draw a line in the sand and prepare for a succesful campaign next season they need to;

1. Look at their position, have they got the right mix on the current board, do they need somebody with fresh ideas?
2. Appoint the right manager for next season, one with a proven track record, one who will be here for several seasons, and sadly this isn''t Bryan Gunn.
3. Ensure the manager builds a team of Norwich City players, not loan players, people who will give their all for our club and it''s supporters.
4. Pay realistic wages for Division One and reward success not failure and this will help balance the club books.

Remember we all celebrated success together when we were promoted and if lessons are learned and changes made then everybody will stick together and support our club come the new season.

 

[JF 694]

I''ll let Brian Clough give them my message! To quote the great man " If a chairman sacks a manager they appointed then they should go as well." I have lost count how many they have appointed and sacked!!

[FU MAN SHOE 0]

My target is Delia, but Munby and Doncaster you are all inseparable, in your collective arrogance of hanging onto a magnificent football club you have no business in being in ''control'' of. You got lucky ''big time'' for a while with Nigel Worthington, but now after failing ''big time'' in the Premiership and every season since relegation, you have the arrogance to state that you will put things right in League 1. What makes you think you and your muppets are any more equipped to deal with League 1. You insult every existing, and aspiring League 1 club. You have squandered the passion and pride of Canary fans everywhere in your ''little'' pursuit of ''Brand Delia''. You cannot believe how humiliated I feel when other supporters from across the country  associate Norwich City with you, you ''D'' list pseudo celeb, than those heroes and successes of yesteryear. Why couldn''t you have used the ''celebrity jungle show'', or ''Big Mother'', both places you had ample opportunity to show how you cheat in the kitchen, rather than the Boardroom.

Realise that it is now over for you...get your head out of the sand, and just go now please

[naaarwich fan 0]

you do know what football is don''t you

MR.Doncaster