The future?

[thebigfeller 200]

Now, it''s no certainty we will go up: still a long way to go, and Charlton and Colchester in close order. But let''s assume for a moment that we will. Bly''s thread below got me thinking: bearing in mind the state of our finances, what do we think will constitute the ambitions of the club back in the Championship?Of course, we all want as much success as possible: not just the fans, but Paul Lambert above all. Thing is though, however much we pull all the stops out in pursuit of it, without new ownership, is it feasible? And in the medium term, my concern would be that Lambert wouldn''t hang around if we just look to stabilise in mid-table; in fact, I''m sure he wouldn''t.At present, this is a fantastic job for him. We''re a big fish in a very shallow pond, with a squad designed to get immediate promotion - because we literally cannot afford any other outcome. Moreover, given he took over after five years of decline, and a result so notorious it made national news, he gets all the credit for the transformation since: as we rise, so does his reputation in tandem. But even if it''s entirely justified in a fiscal sense, if we just look for mid-table next season, it won''t be long before fans start complaining about lack of ambition again, and he could well get itchy feet. He demonstrated ruthlessness and lack of sentiment by leaving Colchester to join us, after all.Incidentally, even with relative lack of funds, if we go up, I have no fears we''d go back down again: entirely because of the calibre of people who are now running us. To be relegated in the first place required a staggering litany of blunders and incompetence; I can''t for the life of me see someone like McNally or Bowkett doing anything similar. And in an ideal world, even if Lambert left, we''d just get the right man in to replace him anyway. I''m just curious though: is our new-found ruthlessness merely a short term thing because we have to go up this year, or else (rather like the way we gambled with a number of signings in 2003/4, but didn''t throw everything at staying up once we got into the Prem); or the start of a very different era at the club?

[......and Smith must score. 1,598]

If only we had a crystal ball.....Having supported '' nice ''  Norwich for over four decades I must admit I''m finding it a little difficult coming to terms with the new '' hard '' version. That said I think change was badly needed and the appointment of Mr.McNally appears to have been by far  the best piece of off-field business the current owners have ever conducted. Norwich have not, until now, ever been regarded as a ruthless club, and, as a sentimentalist I do feel slightly uneasy. Whatever the Tribunal decides in the Norwich v Colchester managerial case there does appear to be an element of truth in the Colchester allegation of  ''sharp practice '' and I would be pretty p*ssed off if I were the Colchester chairman. On other occasions we have been the victims, so, maybe like refereeing decisions on the field it all evens itself out in the end.Paul Lambert is a good manager who is clearly destined for things greater than Norwich and I will be very surprised if he is still at Carrow Rd in two years time. I''m certain he won''t suffer the same fate as recent City managers, but, as thebigfella says in his eyes we may fail to demonstrate sufficient ambition, or, perhaps more likely a bigger fish will come calling. Either way we can safely say he''ll be gone sooner rather than later and then we''ve got the same old problem again.When that problem arises I have great faith in our new Chief Executive. I''m hoping David McNally will stick around as he  has steadied the rudderless ship of last season and seems not to suffer fools gladly. He certainly doesn''t give the impression of a '' yes '' man and because of this he appeals to most fans. Delia and Michael are only too aware of this popularity, and, being firmly in the '' last chance saloon '' I don''t believe they will risk alienating the supporters again by opposing him too much. The finances are a big worry even if we do gain promotion. Most clubs see promotion as an automatic increase in gate receipts via attendances but when you sell out virtually every week as we do there''s no room for extra bums on seats. There will of course be a price hike to claw back last season''s infamous rebate but that is only 20% or so. Presumably there''ll be an uptake on the corporate side of the business and increased TV fees but will this be sufficient ?  Without outside investment I just cannot see us progressing beyond a mid-Championship side at best.Perhaps in the new order of things in the game the Championship may be as good as it can reasonably be expected to get for teams like Norwich.  I''m looking forward to seeing if we can do better than that and start punching above our weight once again.......

[eddy melito 0]

how refreshing to see the word colchester rather than col who for a change. (Y)

[thebigfeller 200]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."]If only we had a crystal ball.....Having supported '' nice ''  Norwich for over four decades I must admit I''m finding it a little difficult coming to terms with the new '' hard '' version. That said I think change was badly needed and the appointment of Mr.McNally appears to have been by far  the best piece of off-field business the current owners have ever conducted. Norwich have not, until now, ever been regarded as a ruthless club, and, as a sentimentalist I do feel slightly uneasy. Whatever the Tribunal decides in the Norwich v Colchester managerial case there does appear to be an element of truth in the Colchester allegation of  ''sharp practice '' and I would be pretty p*ssed off if I were the Colchester chairman. On other occasions we have been the victims, so, maybe like refereeing decisions on the field it all evens itself out in the end.Paul Lambert is a good manager who is clearly destined for things greater than Norwich and I will be very surprised if he is still at Carrow Rd in two years time. I''m certain he won''t suffer the same fate as recent City managers, but, as thebigfella says in his eyes we may fail to demonstrate sufficient ambition, or, perhaps more likely a bigger fish will come calling. Either way we can safely say he''ll be gone sooner rather than later and then we''ve got the same old problem again.When that problem arises I have great faith in our new Chief Executive. I''m hoping David McNally will stick around as he  has steadied the rudderless ship of last season and seems not to suffer fools gladly. He certainly doesn''t give the impression of a '' yes '' man and because of this he appeals to most fans. Delia and Michael are only too aware of this popularity, and, being firmly in the '' last chance saloon '' I don''t believe they will risk alienating the supporters again by opposing him too much. The finances are a big worry even if we do gain promotion. Most clubs see promotion as an automatic increase in gate receipts via attendances but when you sell out virtually every week as we do there''s no room for extra bums on seats. There will of course be a price hike to claw back last season''s infamous rebate but that is only 20% or so. Presumably there''ll be an uptake on the corporate side of the business and increased TV fees but will this be sufficient ?  Without outside investment I just cannot see us progressing beyond a mid-Championship side at best.Perhaps in the new order of things in the game the Championship may be as good as it can reasonably be expected to get for teams like Norwich.  I''m looking forward to seeing if we can do better than that and start punching above our weight once again.......

[/quote]Interesting, thanks for this Graham. Personally, I''m loving that we''re so much more ruthless, and want it to continue for a long time to come: so much so that McNally''s eventual replacement behaves in the same way. Here''s the thing: Norwich City will always be ''nice'', up to a point at least. We''ll always be a family club, always have a certain soft centre to our play, always be a selling club in all likelihood. We were nice under Robert Chase and Sir Arthur South too, when we achieved so much more; and just as admired up and down the land.The problem with the direction we went in under Delia is we became nice, nice and only nice. In life, if someone''s a total pushover, they get walked all over - least of all in as cutthroat an industry as football. Yet there''s loads of nice people in business who are tough and ruthless at the same time: they just don''t make their niceness all they have to offer. I''m convinced we''ll now have far more credibility as a football club because we''ve stopped suffering fools and are prepared to make enemies at times: if you can''t beat ''em, join ''em, and we gained nothing by being eternally nice, "sticking to our principles", and sliding into the Third Division.Of course, it would be absolutely typical if after decades of us doing it by the book and the authorities ignoring so many other clubs tapping managers up, they decide to make an example of us; I can''t see it though. McNally went out, got his man and reinforced our place in the pecking order: as so many clubs do when poaching managers from smaller clubs every single season. If we''re promoted, it''s him I''ll be most thankful to: because it''s only thanks to his leadership that we were able to get Lambert in the first place. And undoubtedly, finance will remain a huge concern even if we go up - especially with £2m due for repayment in December of this year. That we''ve delayed the publication of the accounts has to indicate how serious our position is.But at least under this CEO, this Chairman, and this manager, we''re not hamstringing ourselves any more, and are giving ourselves a real chance. Moreover, if we look at clubs like Portsmouth, Hull, West Ham and Burnley, already in serious financial trouble despite being in the Prem, the long awaited football crash may already be beginning. Look, indeed, at Liverpool and Man Utd and how over-leveraged they are. The credit and property bubble had to burst at some point: you can''t defy the laws of economics forever. The same will surely be true of football - and that being the case, maybe a club like Norwich will be in a position to take advantage. Certainly, it''s only in those circumstances that I could envisage us finally re-establishing ourselves in the top flight.One final question. I agree that Lambert probably won''t be here in two years'' time. How confident are we that McNally will be? And I don''t mean because of Smith and Jones playing games; I mean because he himself must be very ambitious, and might''ve just been brought in to sort out an unholy mess and put us on a surer footing before moving on.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

An excellent thread so far. Just the sort of dicussion we need.

Bump.

OTBC

[yellow hammer 131]

Personally, I think there are two crucial steps to success. One is getting a good manager, the second is backing him with money to build a good squad.

We''ve achieved the first step, thank goodness, but at some point the squad will rise to a point where they are playing equally skilled teams.

To rise any further we have to improve the quality of the squad. If we don''t, our good manager will look to move on.

If I have to guess, I would say one season consolidating in the Championship might be acceptable to Lambert. In we haven''t added quality to the team by then, he will be off.

The board have found themselves a breathing space, we hope they put the time to good use.

I also think that football is entering a deflationary period. Big debts have reached the big four and it is bound to reign in spending power throughout the league. However there is still a huge gap between the spending power of the Premiership versus the rest. It will be interesting to see whether debts will bring down a really big club, the same that happened to Leeds a few years back.

Interesting times we live in.

[TheGoogler 604]

I think the tenure of a manager these days is growing increasingly short lived. If you are successful, bigger and better come in for you. If you are not, you are sacked and fall on the wayside.

Lambert will go elsewhere if he continues the success he has started here - no doubt about that. I highly suspect that if offered the Celtic job, he''d find it hard to refuse. The trick these days is to ensure the maximum amount of compensation is obtained. Harry Redknapp cost Spurs £5million. Owen Coyle will cost Bolton £3million. We are a selling club in every sense of the phrase. Everyone has their price which if met we must say thanks and goodbye. As has been established, it is then down to David McNally to find the best possible replacement.

I personally don''t think keeping a manager is necessarily about showing ambition. Yes, no manager is going to stay at a club where their efforts are being undermined by a lack of ambition. I just think there are certain situations that no manager will say no too.

[Simon Lappin, King Of Spain 0]

[quote user="TheGoogler"]

I think the tenure of a manager these days is growing increasingly short lived. If you are successful, bigger and better come in for you. If you are not, you are sacked and fall on the wayside.

Lambert will go elsewhere if he continues the success he has started here - no doubt about that. I highly suspect that if offered the Celtic job, he''d find it hard to refuse. The trick these days is to ensure the maximum amount of compensation is obtained. Harry Redknapp cost Spurs £5million. Owen Coyle will cost Bolton £3million. We are a selling club in every sense of the phrase. Everyone has their price which if met we must say thanks and goodbye. As has been established, it is then down to David McNally to find the best possible replacement.

I personally don''t think keeping a manager is necessarily about showing ambition. Yes, no manager is going to stay at a club where their efforts are being undermined by a lack of ambition. I just think there are certain situations that no manager will say no too.

[/quote]

You make a relevant point about compensation! How much do you think  Lambert will cost us?

[Old Shuck 291]

Excellent thread, will try not to drag it downhill!

I don''t doubt myself that Lambert will eventually move onwards and upwards. He''ll know when the time is right. Look at Owen Coyle, he had offers to leave Burnley in the Summer and very publicly pledged his allegiance to them. Yet now, less than six months down the line, he is ready to up sticks and go to Bolton. Is that a step upwards for him? Perhaps, in that Bolton are, at the very least, equipped to stay in the Premiership unless something totally unexpected happens-with Burnley, it will probably require something totally unexpected to happen for them to stay in the Premiership. And Coyle won''t see Bolton as his last port of call either.

Likewise McNally. How football has changed, fans worrying about losing their CE! Are we more business savvy when it comes to supporting our clubs, or are clubs more supporter savvy? Perhaps, with a nod to Norwich, its a bit of both. If McNally pulls off a good firefighting job here-because thats what it is-he''ll likely be tempted away to do a similar one, but at a bigger club*, a Portsmouth maybe?

It would be good and bad to lose either or both of them. Good because it would probably mean that we are successing, on and off the pitc h. But bad because it would also mean that those who kick started it all were no longer around to see it through-and would either replacement have the motivation and ability to move things on?

The critical decisions will be as and when it is time to replace them. That will be the real mettle of the club and the people that run it. Will they want to advance, or would they think the advances already made would placate the fanbase for the time being and allow a little mediocrity to seep back? Who can tell?

*Of course, there is no reason why we shouldn''t be as "big" or achieve as much, and have the same ambitions as "a Portsmouth"? But will, can, the people that matter see that?

[Beauseant 0]

Pink''un forum in intelligent thread shock!

I agree with much of what has been said above. Lambert is clearly ambitous and has shown himself more than ready to move on to improved prospects in the past. Given his pedigree as a player he is unlikely to want to be in League One for long and will have his sights et much higher. Realistically it is unlikely that NCFC can rise fast enough to satisfy his personal drive, but, as others have said, that isn''t necessarily the end of the world (obviously Boothroyd is currently being groomed at our feeder club[:P]).

What really messes clubs up is when new managers come in and make changes for the sake of it ( Roeder for example) rather than continuing what works. Culverhouse has been a number two for a while now and may well fancy a crack at the top job when Lambo leaves (and in my view he has done as much as Lambert in turning us around, particularly at the back). Regardless of this, one hopes that by the time Lambert moves on we will have a much higher profile as a club on the up, rather than one in decline, making us more attractive to potential applicants.

My big concern is how bad the financial situation actually is. Clearly we have got some money from somewhere (Foulger?) for this transfer window, but if we are reliant on the benevolence of individuals that is a pretty tenuous situation, and not condusive to  a solid reconstruction. The other issue is how long we can keep McNally, as has been raised above. Clearly Delia and MWJ are suited to running a football club on a day to day basis because they are the epitome of the "niceness" that the big feller refers to, the niceness that gave us Gunn and relegation. I too am enjoying the new tougher City, but given that this toughness doesn''t come from the owners, it isn''t necessarily here to stay. We have set off on a very promising road, but I won''t get too excited until it''s absolutely clear that it''s not just a temporary detour, and we won''t know that until we''re back in the Championship with a competitive squad at that level.

As for the ownership issue, I think that the Portsmouth and Notts County fiascos have made the point that all that glitters isn''t gold, and maybe our more prudent approach will pay off as the row of dominoes starts to tumble. The jury is out, I think!

[blahblahblah 2]

For Lambert to be recognised by bigger clubs he needs a season with us, at least, in the championship.  His league 1 record is impressive, but you''re dealing with different animals at the highest level.  If he gets the same budget that Roeder had last season, said to be 8.5 million, then Lambert should be able to build a top 10 championship side.  What happens after next season, who can tell ?

[Yelloow Since 72 56]

Excellent thread, but a word of caution about getting carried away. I can recall all these positive feelings when the 13 match unbeaten run under Roeder had pulled City out of a seemingly hopeless situation, only to stutter and stall for the rest of the season. I don''t think that is going to happen again, but it could. City''s past successes have come from settled teams performing well. Lambert has succeeded well in establishing just that now and easing new players into the squad without upsetting things. A new CB and a new striker could be eased in now to good effect, but otherwise the overall squad depth and quality is very sound. I also agree with those praising Lambert for achieving what he has with the players on hand, but long-term a lot will depend on his opinion about players like Tudur Jones, Gill, McVeigh and Hughes as well as the young players on the verge of the first team.

I do feel optimistic, but am still a bit wary that what has happened before could happen again. OTBC! 

[PurpleCanary 6,386]

[quote user="thebigfeller"]Moreover, if we look at clubs like Portsmouth, Hull, West Ham and Burnley, already in serious financial trouble despite being in the Prem, the long awaited football crash may already be beginning. Look, indeed, at Liverpool and Man Utd and how over-leveraged they are. The credit and property bubble had to burst at some point: you can''t defy the laws of economics forever. The same will surely be true of football - and that being the case, maybe a club like Norwich will be in a position to take advantage. Certainly, it''s only in those circumstances that I could envisage us finally re-establishing ourselves in the top flight.[/quote]To agree with and amplify this point a bit. As Bill Clinton said, "It''s the economy,

stupid." Since the second world war there have been two significant

economic shifts in English football. The first, starting in the early ''60s,

might be categorised very roughly as The Rise of the Middle Classes.The second, which started in the ''90s, could be named The Gold Rush (for fools or otherwise).Without going into (boring?) detail, in short we benefited from the first economic shift and got banjaxed by

the second. Of course, in case this looks like a total exoneration of

Smith and Jones, we were sometimes helped by good decision-making and then

hindered by bad, exacerbating the two trends.Now,

as

thebigfeller suggests, we may be entering The Hangover Years. I don''t

see this as a shift as

significant as the two before. More a winnowing-out process of the

fools. The fools being those who think (as clearly do some NCFC fans)

that the only relevant measure of ambition is to spend loadsamoney,

whether

you actually have it or not.

And Smith and Jones, as they know, still need to be replaced by richer

owners. But those clubs, to continue the hangover analogy, that have

been prudently sipping orange

juice rather than ambitiously pouring Christal down their throats may

now be well-placed and clear-headed enough to move higher.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

In the event of Lambert moving on within the next year or two, do you folks think that Ian Culverhouse could step up effectively - or is he the quintessential #2?

I believe that there is often much to gained by promoting the right person from within. We have benefitted significantly from such a policy in the past from the 70s through to the 90s. And even as recently as the 00s Nigel Worthington was a good appointment from within

And while I''m about it, what about Ian Crook? He has been keeping a very low profile recently. Many people in the past have tipped him as a potential future manager.

[ip]

OTBC

[Old Shuck 291]

See no reason why Culverhouse or Crook shouldn''t get the chance to follow in PL''s footsteps (obits for him already, madness!), especially Culverhouse.

It worked well with Ken Brown and Mike Walker, and, ultiamtely, very well with Worthy when we promoted from within, ditto Dave Stringer (what was his role here before he became Manager, as I don''t think it was Assistant Manager)?

Not so good with Deehan though, or Megson, and, distastrously, with Gunn.

I''m tempted to think Culverhouse would be given a chance-many of the players from that Mike Walker team have done well at coaching/management-Megson (though not with us), Robins, Bowen, Sutton now at Lincoln-hope he does well, and Gossy might yet turn to coaching.

But its too academic at the moment to seriously consider, am more intent on wondering what PL will look nto achieve and want to achieve here, before he moves on-and, if he considered he had really done what he wanted to do at Colchester before he left there-I suspect his answer would be "no".

Bothroyd will never be Manager here.Too many bridges burned.

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

In the event of Lambert moving on within the next year or two, do you folks think that Ian Culverhouse could step up effectively - or is he the quintessential #2?

I believe that there is often much to gained by promoting the right person from within. We have benefitted significantly from such a policy in the past from the 70s through to the 90s. And even as recently as the 00s Nigel Worthington was a good appointment from within

And while I''m about it, what about Ian Crook? He has been keeping a very low profile recently. Many people in the past have tipped him as a potential future manager.

[ip]

OTBC

[/quote]

 

As I''ve said earlier in the thead, I suspect that Culverhouse has been just as important as Lambert in terms of our onfield organisation, particularly at the back. Whether he has ambitions to manage, I don''t know. Whether he has the ability, there is only one way to find out.

Unfortunately, Grant effectively proved the point that good number twos don''t always make good number ones. Not sure about Chippy either, although there is no doubt about his football brain, but the great thing that both offer is continuity.

[thebigfeller 200]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]To agree with and amplify this point a bit. As Bill Clinton said, "It''s the economy,

stupid." Since the second world war there have been two significant

economic shifts in English football. The first, starting in the early ''60s,

might be categorised very roughly as The Rise of the Middle Classes.The second, which started in the ''90s, could be named The Gold Rush (for fools or otherwise).Without going into (boring?) detail, in short we benefited from the first economic shift and got banjaxed by

the second. Of course, in case this looks like a total exoneration of

Smith and Jones, we were sometimes helped by good decision-making and then

hindered by bad, exacerbating the two trends.Now,

as

thebigfeller suggests, we may be entering The Hangover Years. I don''t

see this as a shift as

significant as the two before. More a winnowing-out process of the

fools. The fools being those who think (as clearly do some NCFC fans)

that the only relevant measure of ambition is to spend loadsamoney,

whether

you actually have it or not.

And Smith and Jones, as they know, still need to be replaced by richer

owners. But those clubs, to continue the hangover analogy, that have

been prudently sipping orange

juice rather than ambitiously pouring Christal down their throats may

now be well-placed and clear-headed enough to move higher.[/quote]I think this is very perceptive, and I agree this shift won''t be as dramatic as the last two, but more of a correction: one which will make the size of a club''s fanbase progressively more important again than getting a wealthy benefactor on board. At present, Fulham, Wigan, Hull and Portsmouth are in the Premier League; Newcastle, West Brom, Forest, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Southampton, Ipswich and Norwich are not. So many clubs have suffered over the last few years; so many could expect to benefit from such a long-overdue change back towards financial sanity.

[thebigfeller 200]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

In the event of Lambert moving on within the next year or two, do you folks think that Ian Culverhouse could step up effectively - or is he the quintessential #2?

I believe that there is often much to gained by promoting the right person from within. We have benefitted significantly from such a policy in the past from the 70s through to the 90s. And even as recently as the 00s Nigel Worthington was a good appointment from within

And while I''m about it, what about Ian Crook? He has been keeping a very low profile recently. Many people in the past have tipped him as a potential future manager.

[ip]

OTBC

[/quote]Ian Culverhouse was my favourite player in our great side under Stringer and Walker: criminally underrated, and I hit the roof at John Deehan''s ridiculous treatment of him. No doubt, he''s played his part in our resurgence this season; but I''d be very, very wary of giving anyone the job without prior managerial experience. Coaching experience or being groomed for the job just don''t cut it for me: many people are far better suited to coaching than management, and our current manager has a certain edge and X-factor about him which few people have. It''s why the best managers are hard to find, and worth their weight in gold when you do.If he wants to manage Norwich City, let him go off and manage smaller clubs first, as Lambert, or Worthington, or O''Neill did. And sure: we had a conveyor belt of managers under Chase and South''s ownership - but football''s changed completely since then. It''s far more ruthless and ultra-competitive; and I have a very hard time imagining what worked for us then working again now.

[yellow hammer 131]

Would any one like to hazard a guess at when/how the tipping point for Lambert to be off would be?

Would he wait until the end of this season, say, and having achieved promotion, look for pastures fresh; or would he stay with us in the Championship if we were pushing for a top-six place?

What would it take to keep him here in terms of ambition?

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="yellow hammer"]Would any one like to hazard a guess at when/how the tipping point for Lambert to be off would be? Would he wait until the end of this season, say, and having achieved promotion, look for pastures fresh; or would he stay with us in the Championship if we were pushing for a top-six place? What would it take to keep him here in terms of ambition?[/quote]

My guess is that on promotion we would have to have a clear aim of further immediate promotion to the Prem  next season to keep Lambert on board.

Timeframes are very compressed in managerland these days.

I would suggest - and I do not have any hidden agenda - that the Wynn-Jones'' and Peter Cullum put egos in storage, bury the past, learn to work together and join hands on a journey to the mountain top.

Big people would find a way forward in a common cause.

Imagine the Wynne-Jones, Cullum, Bowker, McNally, Lambert and Huckerby (our new community relations and PR supremo) around one table plotting our progress. A dream team?

Life is short.

We''ll see.

[ip][:D]

OTBC

 

[Mello Yello 2,572]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

In the event of Lambert moving on within the next year or two, do you folks think that Ian Culverhouse could step up effectively - or is he the quintessential #2?

I believe that there is often much to gained by promoting the right person from within. We have benefitted significantly from such a policy in the past from the 70s through to the 90s. And even as recently as the 00s Nigel Worthington was a good appointment from within

And while I''m about it, what about Ian Crook? He has been keeping a very low profile recently. Many people in the past have tipped him as a potential future manager.

[ip]

OTBC

[/quote]

 

As I''ve said earlier in the thead, I suspect that Culverhouse has been just as important as Lambert in terms of our onfield organisation, particularly at the back. Whether he has ambitions to manage, I don''t know. Whether he has the ability, there is only one way to find out.

Unfortunately, Grant effectively proved the point that good number twos don''t always make good number ones. Not sure about Chippy either, although there is no doubt about his football brain, but the great thing that both offer is continuity.

[/quote]

I thought Lee Clark would have done well as a manager of NCFC....Roeder lost the plot even more, when Clarky went.....

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Beauseant"]

Pink''un forum in intelligent thread shock!

I agree with much of what has been said above. Lambert is clearly ambitous and has shown himself more than ready to move on to improved prospects in the past. Given his pedigree as a player he is unlikely to want to be in League One for long and will have his sights et much higher. Realistically it is unlikely that NCFC can rise fast enough to satisfy his personal drive, but, as others have said, that isn''t necessarily the end of the world (obviously Boothroyd is currently being groomed at our feeder club[:P]).

What really messes clubs up is when new managers come in and make changes for the sake of it ( Roeder for example) rather than continuing what works. Culverhouse has been a number two for a while now and may well fancy a crack at the top job when Lambo leaves (and in my view he has done as much as Lambert in turning us around, particularly at the back). Regardless of this, one hopes that by the time Lambert moves on we will have a much higher profile as a club on the up, rather than one in decline, making us more attractive to potential applicants.

My big concern is how bad the financial situation actually is. Clearly we have got some money from somewhere (Foulger?) for this transfer window, but if we are reliant on the benevolence of individuals that is a pretty tenuous situation, and not condusive to  a solid reconstruction. The other issue is how long we can keep McNally, as has been raised above. Clearly Delia and MWJ are suited to running a football club on a day to day basis because they are the epitome of the "niceness" that the big feller refers to, the niceness that gave us Gunn and relegation. I too am enjoying the new tougher City, but given that this toughness doesn''t come from the owners, it isn''t necessarily here to stay. We have set off on a very promising road, but I won''t get too excited until it''s absolutely clear that it''s not just a temporary detour, and we won''t know that until we''re back in the Championship with a competitive squad at that level.

As for the ownership issue, I think that the Portsmouth and Notts County fiascos have made the point that all that glitters isn''t gold, and maybe our more prudent approach will pay off as the row of dominoes starts to tumble. The jury is out, I think!

[/quote]

Interesting Beau...

It would certainly be interesting to see whether Culverhouse could go from coach to manager, or even if he would want to, should Lambert not wish to take him with him if/when he does decide to move on.. 
I was amazed when I sat next to Tilly (directly behind the bench at the Leyton Orient match) how well Culverhouse spoke and worked as a team with Lambert.  From his playing days I always thought that Culverhouse (although a fantastic player - our best right back ever) was a bit too much of a nice guy.  The evidence that I saw on a Tuesday night a few months ago suggested that the opposite was true and that Culverhouse possibly does have what it takes to be a successful manager.

I still think it would be a gamble that I would not wish us to take until he has proven himself in a management role elsewhere though.