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......and Smith must score.

Capital Canaries AGM......Q & A Session with Delia, MWJ and David McNally

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Got back from the meeting last night. This is an approximate summary of what took place with I hope most questions being covered .....I''m still under the influence of a few pints so I hope it all makes some sort of sense despite the beer.......

Firstly the three guests appeared as promised. I must confess that after last Saturday''s debacle I half expected Delia to announce that she had a '' collapsed souffle '' to attend to so I was quite surprised to see her there accompanied by MWJ and Chief Executive David McNally. Therefore fair play to the three of them for putting their heads above the parapet to take the flak from the floor.

The meeting was well attended by Capital Canaries and other non-members. I couldn''t count the exact numbers but the room was full. The non-members included a reporter and photographer from Archant which rattled the guests somewhat as they seemed to be under the impression that there would be no press representation  ( as has been the case at all other Capital Canaries AGM''s.) My view is that this was an exceptional meeting, two days after an opening day 7-1 defeat, and it was not unreasonable to think that the Press would be represented.

As you might expect the meeting was lively but civilised and I felt that those in the firing line acquitted themselves well. The new Chief Exec is a much improved version of the one he replaced and I got the feeling that when push comes to shove he won''t be taking too many prisoners....

From the notes I took this is a summary of how the session unfolded :

Question : What we''re the factors that made you decide to appoint Bryan Gunn ( BG ) in the close season ?

Michael Wynne Jones ( MJW ) said he felt BG needed more time. Delia Smith  ( DS ) challenged anyone in the room to find a manager - there were no takers - and also felt more time was needed.

Question : Who else did you interview ?

DS said they couldn''t be open as the Press were in attendance and David McNally ( DM ) said that it would be inappropriate to name names .( quite why having the Press in attendance would make a difference I really don''t know )

Question : It came out in the summer that Ian Crook was on a longer contract than previously thought. How did this come about ?

MWJ : We felt he needed a longer period after uprooting from Australia. The Board''s decision on his re-appointment was not influenced by the Charlton result.

DS : We felt the management team looked right as it some has lower League experience.

Question : Should we judge BG in 10 to 15 games time ?

DM : Results are the only thing that matters (  to me that sounds as though the knives are being sharpened already! )

Question : Can NCFC make a profit ?

DM :  Most clubs can only dream. This year NCFC had very negative cash flow. Club has too much debt on the balance sheet. We need to sort that out.

Question : Are you trying to sell/ had any offers for your shares ?

MWJ : We weren''t keen to sell our shares. We need investment. Delia and I have no desire to be majority shareholders but we''ve had no offers. No one wants football clubs. There was no offer from Mr Cullum.

Question : If someone said I''ll buy the Club for nothing what would you say ?

DS : We would only release shares if money put in.

Question : Is the football club up for sale ?

DS : Not for sale.( I was a bit puzzled by this as I was under the impression that if a decent offer came along it would be acceptable ) We need new investment. We don''t want NCFC to fall into vultures hands. She and MWJ knew that they would not get their money back ( Applause from the floor ) 

Question : Andrew and Sharon Turner. What happened to them ?

MWJ : They left and didn''t give a reason . The Board are not hiding behind anything. ( when pressed on this MJW said he''d given an answer so the matter was left )

Question : Youngsters. Will we be able to keep them ?

DM : We hope they progress but we need experience too. BG needed two players for each position. If good offer came in we would have to sell.

( There was light relief when someone said that it was outrageous to think that DS and MWJ would hide after Saturday''s result. DS replied that she couldn''t think of anywhere she''s rather be....)

Question : Why are we in a mess when we get such large attendances each week ?

DM : We spend too much. We have a duty of care to ensure that NCFC is here in another 107 years. We will get a plan together.

DS : We''re fighting a fire called finance. The alternative is administration.

MWJ : Our attendance doesn''t pay it''s way

Question : What is the Club''s policy towards youth players ?

MJW felt this was a shame that it has been neglected. DM said if good enough old enough.

Question : How much land/money in land do we have ?

MWJ : Approx 8 acres. This could be a '' golden goose '' when the recession ends. Nobody will give money to buy players but buildings are a different matter.

Question : Are we close to administration ?

DS : We''ll fight the fire. We own 30% of the hotel when sold and there are plans in place if the banks come calling ( from the sound of this administration is not on the agenda )

 ( At this point someone called for a vote of confidence in DS and MWJ. They''ve put a lot of money into the club. In the event no vote was taken. )

Question : The 7-1 defeat. What happened ?

MWJ : It was surreal. Don''t know what happened.

Question : How long has Bryan Gunn got ?

( Understandably the guests felt this wasn''t a fair question but when DS asked if anyone in the room felt sorry for BG there was a VERY muted response from the floor )

Question : Why did the Board not stop the loan players farce ?

DS : We could only afford loan players but do feel responsible for the mess.

Question :  Regarding the pitch incursion by two supporters last Saturday I understand that they have been given a caution today by the courts but what action, if any, does the Club propose to take ? ( at this point there was laughter as someone suggested they should be given lifetime season tickets as a punishment )

DM : Clearly what happened is unacceptable. We have a duty to protect club employees and others who are caught up in these sort of incidents Why did the Club security fail ? There will be a far reaching independent inquiry as to exactly what took place and we will make a decision on receiving their report.

Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?

DM : Yes and it will be part of the encroachment enquiry. There are no plans to sell him.

Question : Rumour has it that we received an offer of £600,000 for Daryl Russell. Did we turn it down ?

DM : An offer was received from a Premiership club and was not acceptable as it did not meet our valuation ( at this point more laughter as someone asked whether it was more than £600,000 )

Apologies that this post is so long but there was a lot to cover. If there''s mistakes it''s because it''s late and way past my bedtime!

To summarise I think I must say fair play and thanks to the three guests for entering the '' lions den '' last night. After Saturday''s disaster it would have been so easy to have made an excuse and not turn up. None of them did that.

I felt that they were as open as they can be. Delia and Michael answered the questions fairly confidently and seemed less hesitant than of late. David McNally I thought was a big improvement on the previous Chief Executive. He seems to know what he wants and I don''t think he''ll take many prisoners getting it.

As you would expect after recent events the atmosphere became a little heated at times but not uncomfortably so. Everyone behaved in a civilised manner and nobody was shouted down so all in all it was a much more satisfying meeting than some I''ve attended ( probably because Neil Doncaster has moved onto pastures new )

As to the manager''s position it looks pretty obvious that it''s hanging by a thread. He needs some '' get out of jail '' results..........quick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well our club sounds f****d if you ask me, oh well, guess i need to stop drawing attention to my allegience to Norwich City for a while when around people, it''s tough being a bloody Norwich fan all on my own up north, i''m truly embarrassed and i don''t think that will change anytime soon.

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Many thanks for the posting, have to admit at being slightly stumped at some of the responses (yes I know hindsight is a wonderful thing!):

Question : What we''re the factors that made you decide to appoint Bryan Gunn ( BG ) in the close season ?

Michael Wynne Jones ( MJW ) said he felt BG needed more time. Delia Smith ( DS ) challenged anyone in the room to find a manager - there were no takers - and also felt more time was needed.

What? More time to well and truely f*ck it up? Were the 19 games last season not enough to show that Gunn is incapable of motivating players?

Question : Who else did you interview ?

DS said they couldn''t be open as the Press were in attendance and David McNally ( DM ) said that it would be inappropriate to name names .( quite why having the Press in attendance would make a difference I really don''t know )

Maybe because no one else was interviewed knowing full well that Team Gunn was the cheap option?

Question : It came out in the summer that Ian Crook was on a longer contract than previously thought. How did this come about ?

MWJ : We felt he needed a longer period after uprooting from Australia. The Board''s decision on his re-appointment was not influenced by the Charlton result.

DS : We felt the management team looked right as it some has lower League experience.

Maybe wrong here; but wasn''t Crooks contract reported on before the Charlton game? And also, wasn''t Butterworth''s contract details made public at the same time? Maybe he needed a longer time after the uprooting from Hartlepool?

Question : Are you trying to sell/ had any offers for your shares ?

MWJ : We weren''t keen to sell our shares. We need investment. Delia and I have no desire to be majority shareholders but we''ve had no offers. No one wants football clubs. There was no offer from Mr Cullum.

Not keen to sell your shares? No desire to be majority investors? Which one is it? Furthermore, no-one wants football clubs? Take it no one wants Plymouth Argyle? Notts County? Portsmouth or Southampton (yes, fully aware the last one is forced but they now appear to be in a better position financially than NCFC do)

Question : Is the football club up for sale ?

DS : Not for sale.( I was a bit puzzled by this as I was under the impression that if a decent offer came along it would be acceptable ) We need new investment. We don''t want NCFC to fall into vultures hands. She and MWJ knew that they would not get their money back ( Applause from the floor )

So again the WJ''s decide who does and doesnt invest? And decided who are or arent vultures? So far their decision making has been well wide of the mark so not sure I trust them to decide on the suitability of any potential investors.

Question : Andrew and Sharon Turner. What happened to them ?

MWJ : They left and didn''t give a reason . The Board are not hiding behind anything. ( when pressed on this MJW said he''d given an answer so the matter was left )

Is this for real? Didnt give a reason? Have to say I find the comment unbelievable!

Question : Why are we in a mess when we get such large attendances each week ?

DM : We spend too much. We have a duty of care to ensure that NCFC is here in another 107 years. We will get a plan together.

DS : We''re fighting a fire called finance. The alternative is administration.

MWJ : Our attendance doesn''t pay it''s way

Our attendance doesnt pay its way? If you take the average season ticket price at £350 and the reported 18000 we have sold then that equates to nearly £6.5 Mill. Taking into account the various other sources of income, such as Club Shop, Catering, Hotel it does make you wonder just what they are doing with the money?

May appear that I am having a pop at the OP, but I''m not, am grateful he has taken the time to post the comments - just find them so utterly unbelievable!

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I guess that provides closure on the whole For Sale business. She has said that the club is not up for sale, so can''t see things improving anytime soon. Another poster on here suggested administration if we don''t get promoted, I think that it a strong possibility. It is staggering (but obviously true) for MWJ to say that the support doesn''t pay its way [:''(]

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[quote] user="Robert Kett''s Yellow Army"]the club has been looking at administration as one of its options
[/quote]

Not sure why you think that as the OP says that they said they would fight it. 

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And do not worry if this happens since this is the point where the other parties will come in.You try buying somthing off somone who is not motivated

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F***ing great! We going to be stuck with this lot running our club until it we do go into administration! They have brought this club to it''s knee''s! Reading this has depressed me even more after saturday''s match. God how i hate Delia Smith!

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1. Season had justed ended, there was time to allow dust to settle and other candidates looking for a challenged to throw hat into teh ring. The Boards appoitned Gunn & team far to early after season end and did not take tiem to review new options that could/would appear

2. Sell out crowds not generating enough income to cover costs...well in letting wage spend escalate to twice that of other CCC clubs, i believe the Preston figures released were just under 3million the Board have to be culpable in putting us into that position.  Clearly players would join a club on a "modest" wage and not the figures we banded about

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[quote user="colneycanary"]F***ing great! We going to be stuck with this lot running our club until it we do go into administration! They have brought this club to it''s knee''s! Reading this has depressed me even more after saturday''s match. God how i hate Delia Smith![/quote]I dont want to sound cruel but you sir are a customer she is the owner.If she sells for the correct price (west ham -50 milllion, newcastle sub 60million) then she is going to loose a lot more than you think millions.  Infact if the club is so in debt and the gate "does not pay its way" then we are like portsmouth where somone is going to have to deal with the banks over there debt and she may have lost everything.So she is not going to sell unless she either gets her money back or the club goes into admin and she has to.  This "seeking investment" may just be a away of her keeping some skin in the game and offereing a return on a minority stake of a Norwich City Business that is successful under new majourity shareholders.  However would you keep her hanging around after you invest tens of millions me I am selfish I want all the benefit for the risk I am taking.You see many businesses are like this where they have potential but at the end of the day the owner is the owner and their rights have to be respected.I saw a wonderful cafe/resturant 200m2 for sale the other day closed for two years a1 position excellent in my wifes town I went to look and asked how much.800,000 £!!!!! freehold ( in Tunisia??)I asked how much they took 180,000£ pa and now closed.  Now it was obvious that they could not run the place or had the money to improve it.But since the owner was a lawyer he just kept it closed and it is closed till now beacause for him to sell at 200,000-400,000 means he would have lost money so he waits for the offer that will never come.Administraton and Reposession (for people who borrowed too much on their homes) is necessary its our markets way of taking unproductive/unworking assets/businesses and moving them to somone who can do somthing with them.The whole country is like this not just Norwich City just wait till the rates go up from there historic lows!

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"Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?" 

 What was this all about??

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thanx for the post delia''s line about being skint and loans players summed it for me they feel responsible but haven''t got a clue what to do as also selling the club isn''t a option oh division4 (-10 points) ere we come

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"we spend too much money" on what half time pies? oh the turner comment they really except that a couple that invest millions walk away with out say nothing? these scummers are sooo full of sh!t its unfugginbelievable

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[quote user="loz h"]"we spend too much money" on what half time pies? oh the turner comment they really except that a couple that invest millions walk away with out say nothing? these scummers are sooo full of sh!t its unfugginbelievable[/quote]

That''s what I was thinking. What a load of rubbish. We don''t spend enough!

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[quote user="Fromage Frais"][quote user="colneycanary"]F***ing great! We going to be stuck with this lot running our club until it we do go into administration! They have brought this club to it''s knee''s! Reading this has depressed me even more after saturday''s match. God how i hate Delia Smith![/quote]I dont want to sound cruel but you sir are a customer she is the owner.If she sells for the correct price (west ham -50 milllion, newcastle sub 60million) then she is going to loose a lot more than you think millions.  Infact if the club is so in debt and the gate "does not pay its way" then we are like portsmouth where somone is going to have to deal with the banks over there debt and she may have lost everything.So she is not going to sell unless she either gets her money back or the club goes into admin and she has to.  This "seeking investment" may just be a away of her keeping some skin in the game and offereing a return on a minority stake of a Norwich City Business that is successful under new majourity shareholders.  However would you keep her hanging around after you invest tens of millions me I am selfish I want all the benefit for the risk I am taking.You see many businesses are like this where they have potential but at the end of the day the owner is the owner and their rights have to be respected.I saw a wonderful cafe/resturant 200m2 for sale the other day closed for two years a1 position excellent in my wifes town I went to look and asked how much.800,000 £!!!!! freehold ( in Tunisia??)I asked how much they took 180,000£ pa and now closed.  Now it was obvious that they could not run the place or had the money to improve it.But since the owner was a lawyer he just kept it closed and it is closed till now beacause for him to sell at 200,000-400,000 means he would have lost money so he waits for the offer that will never come.Administraton and Reposession (for people who borrowed too much on their homes) is necessary its our markets way of taking unproductive/unworking assets/businesses and moving them to somone who can do somthing with them.The whole country is like this not just Norwich City just wait till the rates go up from here historic lows![/quote]

but FF the owner has a huge responsibility to customer. for example if you and anyone walked in to my restuarant and I told you all to f@@@ @ff very soon i''m not gonna have many punters and not much of a business either, bit like the state off the club now

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[quote user="Ren"]

[quote] user="Robert Kett''s Yellow Army"]the club has been looking at administration as one of its options
[/quote]

Not sure why you think that as the OP says that they said they would fight it. 

[/quote]

To me that sounds as if they are near administration. If they weren''t, they would say something along the lines of "we are currently no where near a position where administration is a possibility".

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sorry to keep posting but i just realized they still haven''t apologized for the mess the club is in. SHAME DS MWJ

KEEP TH FAITH FOLKS OVER TIME OUR PHOENIX WILL RISE AGAIN

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[quote user="NCFC_Shaun"][quote user="Ren"]

[quote] user="Robert Kett''s Yellow Army"]the club has been looking at administration as one of its options[/quote]

Not sure why you think that as the OP says that they said they would fight it. 

[/quote]

To me that sounds as if they are near administration. If they weren''t, they would say something along the lines of "we are currently no where near a position where administration is a possibility".

[/quote]Under the current system if nobody wants to buy the club and they have some money they can go for a pre pack.administration > current owners best option > finances rearranged or assets transfered to new company > start againSo not going into administration may ironically mean that there is intrest in a perverse way.

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[quote user="No Quarter"]

"Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?" 

 What was this all about??

[/quote]

 

I am a capital canary but couldn''t make last night, had a long discussion with my mate who was; apparently he gave some of the fans protesting outside the ground the finger as he drove off, don''t know anything about the circumstances e.g. abuse from the fans? but it doesn''t look good for our prospects of holding on to him. Wes asked specifically to stay at the end of last season, but this could point to a change in his attitude. If he''s on the team sheet tonight I will breathe a lot easier as I still believe he will be vital to any chances we have of promotion.

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[quote user="......and Smith must score."]

Got back from the meeting last night. This is an approximate summary of what took place with I hope most questions being covered .....I''m still under the influence of a few pints so I hope it all makes some sort of sense despite the beer.......

Firstly the three guests appeared as promised. I must confess that after last Saturday''s debacle I half expected Delia to announce that she had a '' collapsed souffle '' to attend to so I was quite surprised to see her there accompanied by MWJ and Chief Executive David McNally. Therefore fair play to the three of them for putting their heads above the parapet to take the flak from the floor.

The meeting was well attended by Capital Canaries and other non-members. I couldn''t count the exact numbers but the room was full. The non-members included a reporter and photographer from Archant which rattled the guests somewhat as they seemed to be under the impression that there would be no press representation  ( as has been the case at all other Capital Canaries AGM''s.) My view is that this was an exceptional meeting, two days after an opening day 7-1 defeat, and it was not unreasonable to think that the Press would be represented.

As you might expect the meeting was lively but civilised and I felt that those in the firing line acquitted themselves well. The new Chief Exec is a much improved version of the one he replaced and I got the feeling that when push comes to shove he won''t be taking too many prisoners....

From the notes I took this is a summary of how the session unfolded :

Question : What we''re the factors that made you decide to appoint Bryan Gunn ( BG ) in the close season ?

Michael Wynne Jones ( MJW ) said he felt BG needed more time. Delia Smith  ( DS ) challenged anyone in the room to find a manager - there were no takers - and also felt more time was needed.

Question : Who else did you interview ?

DS said they couldn''t be open as the Press were in attendance and David McNally ( DM ) said that it would be inappropriate to name names .( quite why having the Press in attendance would make a difference I really don''t know )

Question : It came out in the summer that Ian Crook was on a longer contract than previously thought. How did this come about ?

MWJ : We felt he needed a longer period after uprooting from Australia. The Board''s decision on his re-appointment was not influenced by the Charlton result.

DS : We felt the management team looked right as it some has lower League experience.

Question : Should we judge BG in 10 to 15 games time ?

DM : Results are the only thing that matters (  to me that sounds as though the knives are being sharpened already! )

Question : Can NCFC make a profit ?

DM :  Most clubs can only dream. This year NCFC had very negative cash flow. Club has too much debt on the balance sheet. We need to sort that out.

Question : Are you trying to sell/ had any offers for your shares ?

MWJ : We weren''t keen to sell our shares. We need investment. Delia and I have no desire to be majority shareholders but we''ve had no offers. No one wants football clubs. There was no offer from Mr Cullum.

Question : If someone said I''ll buy the Club for nothing what would you say ?

DS : We would only release shares if money put in.

Question : Is the football club up for sale ?

DS : Not for sale.( I was a bit puzzled by this as I was under the impression that if a decent offer came along it would be acceptable ) We need new investment. We don''t want NCFC to fall into vultures hands. She and MWJ knew that they would not get their money back ( Applause from the floor ) 

Question : Andrew and Sharon Turner. What happened to them ?

MWJ : They left and didn''t give a reason . The Board are not hiding behind anything. ( when pressed on this MJW said he''d given an answer so the matter was left )

Question : Youngsters. Will we be able to keep them ?

DM : We hope they progress but we need experience too. BG needed two players for each position. If good offer came in we would have to sell.

( There was light relief when someone said that it was outrageous to think that DS and MWJ would hide after Saturday''s result. DS replied that she couldn''t think of anywhere she''s rather be....)

Question : Why are we in a mess when we get such large attendances each week ?

DM : We spend too much. We have a duty of care to ensure that NCFC is here in another 107 years. We will get a plan together.

DS : We''re fighting a fire called finance. The alternative is administration.

MWJ : Our attendance doesn''t pay it''s way

Question : What is the Club''s policy towards youth players ?

MJW felt this was a shame that it has been neglected. DM said if good enough old enough.

Question : How much land/money in land do we have ?

MWJ : Approx 8 acres. This could be a '' golden goose '' when the recession ends. Nobody will give money to buy players but buildings are a different matter.

Question : Are we close to administration ?

DS : We''ll fight the fire. We own 30% of the hotel when sold and there are plans in place if the banks come calling ( from the sound of this administration is not on the agenda )

 ( At this point someone called for a vote of confidence in DS and MWJ. They''ve put a lot of money into the club. In the event no vote was taken. )

Question : The 7-1 defeat. What happened ?

MWJ : It was surreal. Don''t know what happened.

Question : How long has Bryan Gunn got ?

( Understandably the guests felt this wasn''t a fair question but when DS asked if anyone in the room felt sorry for BG there was a VERY muted response from the floor )

Question : Why did the Board not stop the loan players farce ?

DS : We could only afford loan players but do feel responsible for the mess.

Question :  Regarding the pitch incursion by two supporters last Saturday I understand that they have been given a caution today by the courts but what action, if any, does the Club propose to take ? ( at this point there was laughter as someone suggested they should be given lifetime season tickets as a punishment )

DM : Clearly what happened is unacceptable. We have a duty to protect club employees and others who are caught up in these sort of incidents Why did the Club security fail ? There will be a far reaching independent inquiry as to exactly what took place and we will make a decision on receiving their report.

Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?

DM : Yes and it will be part of the encroachment enquiry. There are no plans to sell him.

Question : Rumour has it that we received an offer of £600,000 for Daryl Russell. Did we turn it down ?

DM : An offer was received from a Premiership club and was not acceptable as it did not meet our valuation ( at this point more laughter as someone asked whether it was more than £600,000 )

Apologies that this post is so long but there was a lot to cover. If there''s mistakes it''s because it''s late and way past my bedtime!

To summarise I think I must say fair play and thanks to the three guests for entering the '' lions den '' last night. After Saturday''s disaster it would have been so easy to have made an excuse and not turn up. None of them did that.

I felt that they were as open as they can be. Delia and Michael answered the questions fairly confidently and seemed less hesitant than of late. David McNally I thought was a big improvement on the previous Chief Executive. He seems to know what he wants and I don''t think he''ll take many prisoners getting it.

As you would expect after recent events the atmosphere became a little heated at times but not uncomfortably so. Everyone behaved in a civilised manner and nobody was shouted down so all in all it was a much more satisfying meeting than some I''ve attended ( probably because Neil Doncaster has moved onto pastures new )

As to the manager''s position it looks pretty obvious that it''s hanging by a thread. He needs some '' get out of jail '' results..........quick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[/quote]

Thanks for such a thorough report on the meeting. As usual there are still more questions and answers and, from a distance, I would have to say that although the meeting may have got ''heated'', The Cook was still given an easy ride.

1. The ''sale / not for sale/ investment'' issue is full of holes, half truths, contradictions and spin that we are no further forward. Even last night Smith and her old man seem to be contradicting themselves.

2. Can''t  believe that no-one responded to the challange .....''to find a manager'' (if I have read your report right). It was OBVIOUS that Boothroyd and Malky should have been given the jobs. Is it not the case that they were not prepared to agree to an 18th month contract though??

3. how on earth can MWJ get away with that comment on The Turners for christs sake!! These guys put £2M into the business, carried out a ''root and branch'' review. They suddenly then resign 12 months later and we are meant to believe that NO-ONE KNOWS WHY!!        

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[quote user="Fonejacker"]I guess that provides closure on the whole For Sale business. She has said that the club is not up for sale, so can''t see things improving anytime soon. Another poster on here suggested administration if we don''t get promoted, I think that it a strong possibility. It is staggering (but obviously true) for MWJ to say that the support doesn''t pay its way [:''(]
[/quote]

I dunno it depends how you read it. It seems to me that they don''t want to just sell their shares. They want the promise of investment into the club which would be clearing debt and buying players. They could sell their shares to any Tom, Dick n Harry who would have no intention of puting money in, in the hope they would be worth more once going up a division. That isn''t really what Norwich needs. Seems to me that if no one wants to wipe the decks clean for us then it''s only administration that will. It''s not like you can blame Delia for that per say, it''s just our situation with no way out, as no one wants the debt either.

Obviously mismanagement of the club is her fualt - big time.

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[quote user="Ankles"]

1. Season had justed ended, there was time to allow dust to settle and other candidates looking for a challenged to throw hat into teh ring. The Boards appoitned Gunn & team far to early after season end and did not take tiem to review new options that could/would appear

2. Sell out crowds not generating enough income to cover costs...well in letting wage spend escalate to twice that of other CCC clubs, i believe the Preston figures released were just under 3million the Board have to be culpable in putting us into that position.  Clearly players would join a club on a "modest" wage and not the figures we banded about

[/quote]

Preston spent about £8m on their team in 2008.  We spent £6.8m on player wages- a large part of which was funded by a £3.5m profit in the transfer market.  Spend on the team is NOT the big issue at NCFC.  In 2008 £17m was spent on non-player wage costs- double that of 2002 and the same level as when we were in the Premier league with a turnover of £38m. THIS is the issue- what on earth is all that money being spent on?

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Thanks to the OP for providing those notes.Interesting points YellowRider re:2. Can''t  believe that no-one responded to the challange .....''to

find a manager'' (if I have read your report right). It was OBVIOUS that

Boothroyd and Malky should have been given the jobs. Is it not the case

that they were not prepared to agree to an 18th month contract though??

Yeah, astonishing if true - was everyone at the bar at that point or sneaked out for a cigarette? What city fan couldn''t name an alternative? And why are MWJ and DS allowed to get away with they "what would you do" type responses anyway - astounding arrogance.3. how on earth can MWJ get away with that comment on The Turners

for christs sake!! These guys put £2M into the business, carried out a

''root and branch'' review. They suddenly then resign 12 months later and

we are meant to believe that NO-ONE KNOWS WHY!!
Sounds like a simple cover for something unpalatable (to MWJ and DS). It is more likely that they do know but they are just not sharing with the fans - fair enough, as it is of little concern right now. We can only hope the Stowmarket2 acted on the outcome of the review.

1. The ''sale / not for sale/ investment'' issue is full of holes,

half truths, contradictions and spin that we are no further forward.

Even last night Smith and her old man seem to be contradicting

themselves.
Hmmm, there are plenty of dubious statements from the cook, but I do wonder in general if the subject matter is beyond the average fan. No slight or dig, just the way I see it. Example... a point made somewhere else was regarding "how can they get new investment, not sell and not be majority shareholders". Answer - issue new shares to the new investor, diluting the current majority holding. Easy enough to say but harder to execute, of course. And the whole argument about our matchday income vs wages - therein lies the major problem. For years, we have p*ssed money away on wages (loan or our own) faster than we can take it in. Land deals and such - sit on them and wait it out, thats investment. But day-to-day cashflow - don''t f*ck about!! Maybe McNally is really earning his salary here - with the players brought in I would imagine a huge reduction in wages far greater (proportionally) than our drop in income. And if not - why not!! Rather watch our youth team fight it in this division than players we have to pay over the odds for to "entice them here". If fanbase + stadium + club + area doesn''t attract them then that is all we need to know - next! We obviously can''t afford to compete on wages so why did we do so. Surely it makes more sense to pay over the odds on the transfer fees, give the man a "fair for division salary" [easy to benchmark] and include significant performance related component directly related to our league position and results. And I don''t mean win bonuses of a couple hundred - that means very little to a player on several thousand a week. Anyway I''m off to see how I can join these Capital Canaries...

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[quote user="colneycanary"]Capital Canaries need to get some balls! Sounds like you completely sucked up to them!
[/quote]

Mate nobody sucked up to them (unless you call being civil sucking up). The problem is that whatever some on here might think about Delia and MWJ they are ultimately both nice people, who are passionate about our club and who take time out every year to come and talk to the Capitals. They could easily have ducked out of last night but they didn''t and I can tell you now getting a critical but constructive grilling as they did last night will hit home with them far more than having a group of people shout abuse outside the City Stand post match.

In my (admittedly biased view) it was one of the best forums I have attended as the numbers were quite small, the lines of questioning all followed logical lines and you were able to ask follow up questions immediately if you did not get an answer that you thought was sufficient.

Just to give my take on a couple of the answers ASMC has aluded to above:

1. Re Gunn as manager - they basically said they felt team Gunn had not had enough time with its own players to form a fair judgment. They said they had considered other candidates for the job although as stated above were not prepared to elaborate as to who they might have been (understandable that one in my view). Mcnally said on several occasions that football management is "the most cut throat business in the world" and that at the end of the day it is results that matter. He stressed this several times, he described Saturday as completely unacceptable and the overriding impression i got from him is that if things do not improve very quickly then he will not hang about in terms of making a decision. When asked about the "gave him a hug" story from SSN Delia asked the floor if there was anyone there who "hand on heart" did not feel sorry for Gunn on Saturday and got an overwhelming response from the floor which left her in no doubt there was very little sympathy.

2. Regarding selling the Club/investment - they were pinned down on this by one questioner who repeatedly went back to them for clarification on this point. My interpretation of what Delia and MWJ said was that they accept their shares are virtually worthless at the present moment in time and whilst i can''t remember the exact turn of phrase they as good as repeated their pledge that they would sell the club for nothing/a nominal amount if the right person came along who was prepared to put decent money into the playing squad. If the evening did nothing else then in my mind it clarified that position.

3. Re The 2 fans/Hoolahan as posted above the "investigation" is ongoing. I got the impression from Mcnally that something else went on in the tunnel after the fans were led off the pitch as he talked about punches being thrown and I didn''t see any of that on the pitch. Re Hoolahan he said that is being looked into as well. Interestingly though they did say Hoolahan has not said he wants to leave and when questioned over the summer Delia said he was one of the few first team players players who stressed they wanted to stay this season and play for us.

4. A further very good questioner pinned MWJ down again about what they had seen in the Reading, Charlton and Col U games that made them think Gunn was capable of being a manager. MWJ didn''t really have an answer and in the end end basically agreed with the questioner that the team looked a shambles on Saturday.

All in all i think it was a very constructive evening and credit to Delia, MWJ and Mcnally for turning out and taking quite a bit of flak at times.

 

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Fantastic post Jim - really puts matters in perspective,perhaps more so than last weeks meeting between the Board and supporters groups. Say what you like about DS and MWJ  I do not think there is another club in the country where the owners and CEO would stand up to be counted especially after Saturdays debacle.

 

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thanks to the OP for taking the time out to do this! i have had a read and altghough i wasnt there i think its concise enough to comment on the boards answers...

my views are as follows

Question : What we''re the factors that made you decide to appoint Bryan Gunn ( BG ) in the close season ?

Michael Wynne Jones ( MJW ) said he felt BG needed more time. Delia Smith  ( DS ) challenged anyone in the room to find a manager - there were no takers - and also felt more time was needed.

This question is clearly dodged! the smiths make no attempt to answer it and basically state to the fans that "there is no better".. They clearly feel Bryan is the right man for the job and will be sticking with him.

Question : Who else did you interview ?

I dont think they interviewd anyone... quite how McNally would know anything about the interview process when he wasnt here baffles me.

Question : Should we judge BG in 10 to 15 games time ?

DM : Results are the only thing that matters (  to me that sounds as though the knives are being sharpened already! )

Doesn''t matter what McNally says.. the way the Smiths dodged the first question indicates they are sticking with Bryan.. DM is going to have to work some kind of a mircale to force managerial change and for the club to be able to afford it.

Question : Can NCFC make a profit ?

DM :  Most clubs can only dream. This year NCFC had very negative cash flow. Club has too much debt on the balance sheet. We need to sort that out.

So why have the board allowed it to get to this stage? do they monitor the finances regularly? or do they sit there with their thumbs up their backsides hoping everything will come out int he wash?

Question : Are you trying to sell/ had any offers for your shares ?

MWJ : We weren''t keen to sell our shares. We need investment. Delia and I have no desire to be majority shareholders but we''ve had no offers. No one wants football clubs. There was no offer from Mr Cullum.

Dont believe them... Delia said that if the right offer came in she would sell... there was no offer from Cullum because she wouldnt sit down and talk shop. you can''t buy something the owner never wants to sell

Question : If someone said I''ll buy the Club for nothing what would you say ?

DS : We would only release shares if money put in.

Yet DS publically stated that if someone came in with the right intentions in place they could have the club for nothing... im not going to say what i think because it gets edited!

Question : Is the football club up for sale ?

DS : Not for sale.( I was a bit puzzled by this as I was under the impression that if a decent offer came along it would be acceptable ) We need new investment. We don''t want NCFC to fall into vultures hands. She and MWJ knew that they would not get their money back ( Applause from the floor ) 

we have all been led to believe the clubs up for sale... yet it appears that simply is not the case now.... so whats changed in 18 months since the turners left....

Question : Andrew and Sharon Turner. What happened to them ?

MWJ : They left and didn''t give a reason . The Board are not hiding behind anything. ( when pressed on this MJW said he''d given an answer so the matter was left )

they did give a reason.. you dont just leave a job and not give a reason... "fed up" "unhappy "seeking a new challenge" are all reasons... Funny how they left after Cullums offer was refused... both the Turners and cullum come from a financial background too..... i think someones not being honest, and imo the Turners were here for a cullum take over.

Question : Youngsters. Will we be able to keep them ?

agree with mcNally here... if we have a youngtser doing well and a big club comes in we have to sell.. but the future looks good at the mo.

Question : Why are we in a mess when we get such large attendances each week ?

DM : We spend too much. We have a duty of care to ensure that NCFC is here in another 107 years. We will get a plan together.

again.. why was it allowed to get to that stage? we all have access to the annual accounts and even someone with basic financial knowledge should of spotted this.. the businesses the club have are not profitable... had we of invested in the playing side end established oursleves in the prem it would be a different story perhaps?

DS : We''re fighting a fire called finance. The alternative is administration.

and the final outcome will be??????

MWJ : Our attendance doesn''t pay it''s way

and yet i always beleived 16,000 was the break even figure.... so either that was bullsh*t and plucked out of the air by a certain former cheif exec when i asked him this outside the ground or the money has simply been peed away.

Question : What is the Club''s policy towards youth players ?

MJW felt this was a shame that it has been neglected. DM said if good enough old enough.

agreed.

Question : How much land/money in land do we have ?

MWJ : Approx 8 acres. This could be a '' golden goose '' when the recession ends. Nobody will give money to buy players but buildings are a different matter.

so basically Carrow Road as a structure is available to the highest bidder.. if someone wants to buy the offices in the jarrold stand will the club then lose part of the stand to accomodate?

Question : Are we close to administration ?

DS : We''ll fight the fire. (to me thats a yes)  We own 30% of the hotel when sold and there are plans in place if the banks come calling ( from the sound of this administration is not on the agenda )

im worried by this answer.. we dont own the hotel.. we were told we owned a stake.. and are now told we own 30% of the hotel... does the hotel make a profit? isnt it on a 99 year lease? we are closer to adminuistration than we think.. are the businesses going to generate enough revenue if sold?

Question : The 7-1 defeat. What happened ?

MWJ : It was surreal. Don''t know what happened.

should of been asked was Gunn quizzed about his tactics and selection.. cant blame MWJ here.

Question : How long has Bryan Gunn got ?

( Understandably the guests felt this wasn''t a fair question but when DS asked if anyone in the room felt sorry for BG there was a VERY muted response from the floor )

Delias question says it all.. Gunn is there man and is bullet proof... just like Roeder, Grant, Worthy and Hamilton were.. can you all see a pattern emerging here?

Question : Why did the Board not stop the loan players farce ?

DS : We could only afford loan players but do feel responsible for the mess.

agreed

Question :  Regarding the pitch incursion by two supporters last Saturday I understand that they have been given a caution today by the courts but what action, if any, does the Club propose to take ? ( at this point there was laughter as someone suggested they should be given lifetime season tickets as a punishment )

DM : Clearly what happened is unacceptable. We have a duty to protect club employees and others who are caught up in these sort of incidents Why did the Club security fail ? There will be a far reaching independent inquiry as to exactly what took place and we will make a decision on receiving their report.

im not to bothered by any of this.. unless the stewards become Hitlers...

Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?

DM : Yes and it will be part of the encroachment enquiry. There are no plans to sell him.

There were no plans to sell Dean Ashton either.....

Question : Rumour has it that we received an offer of £600,000 for Daryl Russell. Did we turn it down ?

DM : An offer was received from a Premiership club and was not acceptable as it did not meet our valuation ( at this point more laughter as someone asked whether it was more than £600,000 )

Press reports Burnley offered around half a million for Rusty.... imo thats good money and we should of snapped their hand off.. watch us sell him for less!

just my 2 pence added... usual crap regarding the Turners and cullum... i dont beleive the club regarding the Turners and still beleive the truth will come out one day.

 

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