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Bobert

Is the trip to the US going to serve any purpose?

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Could it just be an expensive junket for Directors, staff and players I wonder?

When I was an export rep. I remember being told by foreign buyers how amazed they were by the number of British Company Directors turned up on their doorsteps especially in the Med, and the South of France. Of course it was a way to get their holiday bankrolled by their companies.

I personally cannot see the point of Norwich being involved in a long and tiring trip to play three teams of Championship standard.

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Yes:1.) Fans in America have the chance to see their team play. I being one of them will be looking to travel for the Sac and San games.2.) To some degree this is also a brand marketing campaign on the west coast on America.

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A) gaining fans on an international scale, particularly the lucrative American audience

B) give the state side fans the opportunity to see their stars in the flesh

C) forced team bonding opportunity for new team mates

D) forming relationship with American teams which may prove useful in the future

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E) hughton needs a break from the entire squad ganging up on him and ignoring his tactics since everton. so the plan is to let them do their thing while he enjoys disney land cali style.

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[quote user="refjezdavies"]A) gaining fans on an international scale, particularly the lucrative American audience

B) give the state side fans the opportunity to see their stars in the flesh

C) forced team bonding opportunity for new team mates

D) forming relationship with American teams which may prove useful in the future[/quote]

Love the idea of Hughton (or Delia [:D]) forcing Holty to give RvW a hug!"Go on Grant...."

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Its likely we''ll be getting paid for playing in these games?

 

Great teambonding exercise!

 

Practise in readiness for the new season!

 

Spreading the Norwich gospel in that part of the world which could lead to increased income for the club!

 

I think the tour will serve much purpose!

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Well I don''t wish to be rude but the replies from you guys all sound like expensive pie in the sky to me for the club. The idea of a "bonding exercise" for grown men makes me want to puke......... this is something fathers are supposed to do with their sons and daughters. Sitting on Greyhound coaches, travelling between clubs along USA freeways, sitting in Holiday Inns during the evenings drinking Budwiser does seem a good way of getting fit for the coming season to me (I used to live in Chicago and travel the States as an auditor) and the boys need to be fit and hit the ground running for a top ten place this coming season. Any fool can spend money and this seems to be an exercise in doing just that. I wonder who sold the idea to the usual cautious McNally?

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[quote user="Bobert"]Well I don''t wish to be rude but the replies from you guys all sound like expensive pie in the sky to me for the club. The idea of a "bonding exercise" for grown men makes me want to puke......... this is something fathers are supposed to do with their sons and daughters. Sitting on Greyhound coaches, travelling between clubs along USA freeways, sitting in Holiday Inns during the evenings drinking Budwiser does seem a good way of getting fit for the coming season to me (I used to live in Chicago and travel the States as an auditor) and the boys need to be fit and hit the ground running for a top ten place this coming season. Any fool can spend money and this seems to be an exercise in doing just that. I wonder who sold the idea to the usual cautious McNally?[/quote]So the brand marketing on the west coast, where English teams don''t have a strong presence, means nothing? What? Do you honestly think that the players are going to be kicking back in Napa Valley and sampling the local wine? Trust me, Sacramento is a hole and San Jose is not far behind. These two cities are not exactly Costa de Sol tourist attractions. And sitting in a Holiday in drinks Buds would be an utter nightmare!And please.....to compare the high-profile roadwarrioring activities of an auditor with that of team bonding experience for professional athletes is ridiculous! The most daring thing an auditor ever did on a roadtrip was take the batteries out of their calculator, or work with a dull pencil.It''s okay to say that you don''t understand.

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[quote user="Bobert"]Well I don''t wish to be rude but the replies from you guys all sound like expensive pie in the sky to me for the club. The idea of a "bonding exercise" for grown men makes me want to puke......... this is something fathers are supposed to do with their sons and daughters. Sitting on Greyhound coaches, travelling between clubs along USA freeways, sitting in Holiday Inns during the evenings drinking Budwiser does seem a good way of getting fit for the coming season to me (I used to live in Chicago and travel the States as an auditor) and the boys need to be fit and hit the ground running for a top ten place this coming season. Any fool can spend money and this seems to be an exercise in doing just that. I wonder who sold the idea to the usual cautious McNally?[/quote]Just like to throw a few questions out there on this;1) Did you once even consider that perhaps they''re going to the USA because they''re actually receiving appearance money to play there, Something that would not been achievable if visiting any European destinations?2) While you consider a trip to the USA an "expensive pie in the sky" trip, the only added expense from this to a weeks trip in Europe (which they usually do every season) would only be flights that are slightly more expensive?3) I have no idea if you have played competitive sport at any level. However, from my experience, I couldn''t disagree more. I think this is needed, especially with new personnel / personalities to integrate into the group, and I''m pretty sure anyone who has played team sport at any half-decent level would agree.Sorry, I couldn''t disagree more with any of the points / complaints you''ve made. You''re entitled to you opinion, but for me they stink of "Little Norwich" mentality.

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[quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"][quote user="Bobert"]Well I don''t wish to be rude but the replies from you guys all sound like expensive pie in the sky to me for the club. The idea of a "bonding exercise" for grown men makes me want to puke......... this is something fathers are supposed to do with their sons and daughters. Sitting on Greyhound coaches, travelling between clubs along USA freeways, sitting in Holiday Inns during the evenings drinking Budwiser does seem a good way of getting fit for the coming season to me (I used to live in Chicago and travel the States as an auditor) and the boys need to be fit and hit the ground running for a top ten place this coming season. Any fool can spend money and this seems to be an exercise in doing just that. I wonder who sold the idea to the usual cautious McNally?[/quote]Just like to throw a few questions out there on this;1) Did you once even consider that perhaps they''re going to the USA because they''re actually receiving appearance money to play there, Something that would not been achievable if visiting any European destinations?2) While you consider a trip to the USA an "expensive pie in the sky" trip, the only added expense from this to a weeks trip in Europe (which they usually do every season) would only be flights that are slightly more expensive?3) I have no idea if you have played competitive sport at any level. However, from my experience, I couldn''t disagree more. I think this is needed, especially with new personnel / personalities to integrate into the group, and I''m pretty sure anyone who has played team sport at any half-decent level would agree.Sorry, I couldn''t disagree more with any of the points / complaints you''ve made. You''re entitled to you opinion, but for me they stink of "Little Norwich" mentality.[/quote]

 

But that is partly why people are worried. That we are going for financial reasons rather than footballing, and that we would be better prepared with one of those Lambert-style European training camps with games against local teams.

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Aside from the obvious marketing and team bonding benefits It could also be argued that with the MLS Season in full flow, those teams could give us a much more competitive game to help us prepare for the new season than some German 2nd Division side that are at the same level of fitness as us.

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[quote user="YankeeCanary"]I think Bobert is absolutely correct. It''s a long, long journey to achieve very little.[/quote]

Might get a very good sun tan though

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Why don''t you give our friends at Fakenham a ring then Bobert? Just to make you aware though, that they sell American beer in the local supermarket there also.

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Maybe you are right but then I travelled for the third biggest company in the US and Canada and recovered over one million dollars so I was no fool.

I also played my last game of rugby when I was 35yrs old and when it comes to bonding I know all the songs!

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I thought Bradley Johnson spent a lot of last summer in America with a few other players from around the leagues on a training camp they set up between them. Didn''t seem to do him any harm during the season.

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Oh come on Bradley Johnson believe he qualifies to play for USA and is a mate of the USA coach. His trip to USA was an entiely different thing.

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Turns out that the first game of this US tour is to be against a Mexican Club that are half way down, or half way up, their league. I cannot make out if this Club is in the First or Second division but I think it is the latter. The game seems to have been put together at the last minute presumably because no other team wanted to play us.

If McNally can pull the end of season celebration dinner because the boys had nothing to celebrate at the time perhaps be should think seriously about this tour. Three games in a week is not going to be much fun for the lads. They would not do it at peak fitness in the middle of the season and the strain on their limbs of the games added to the travel does not seem the way to prepare for the new season in the Premiership.

Not sure who came up with the idea of this tour but does not seem to be in NCFC best interests to me. 

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[quote user="Bobert"]

Turns out that the first game of this US tour is to be against a Mexican Club that are half way down, or half way up, their league. I cannot make out if this Club is in the First or Second division but I think it is the latter. The game seems to have been put together at the last minute presumably because no other team wanted to play us.

If McNally can pull the end of season celebration dinner because the boys had nothing to celebrate at the time perhaps be should think seriously about this tour. Three games in a week is not going to be much fun for the lads. They would not do it at peak fitness in the middle of the season and the strain on their limbs of the games added to the travel does not seem the way to prepare for the new season in the Premiership.

Not sure who came up with the idea of this tour but does not seem to be in NCFC best interests to me. 

[/quote]No worries, Bobert, we have more than 11 players in the squad. I''m sure the lads will play just fine after a few buds.Also, a top 3 company in America is operating in the billions, so saving them a million dollars is equivalent to finding 10 quid in a coat pocket. So I guess that you are right in saying that any fool can spend money.

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Spreading the NCFC brand into a new market, making some new fans and friends, making people aware that we actually exist. I can''t see anything wrong with this trip at all.

The lads will get a break, a bit of fitness training and some game time. Perfect pre season trip.

A bit silly to moan about it really.

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Cant decide whether I am falling for a wind up here.

Every top Premier League club, even European club, travels the world pre season for their friendlies. True, there are commercial benefits, but the true value is to ensure the team are ready for the first game. I don''t see trips to Malaysia and Hong Kong having detrimental effects on Man Utd, Real Madrid, Bayern etc. In addition, players travel the world over for international friendlies, so this whole travelling issue has no substance of a concern at all.

Team bonding is an essential part of pre season, whether it is done on Cromer beach or in San Francisco. I feel personally it shows we have advanced in our thinking from playing the likes of St Mirren to branch out as a club, showing other continents our great club and putting Norwich on the map, using far greater quality of facilities, in fantastic climate, whilst bonding our team together in readiness for the new season.

 

Just something else to beat the club over the head with.

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Last time city went to the USA on a pre season tour was 1992..... We went on to finish 3rd the following season....

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The main point is surely team-bonding and experiment away from home and in a warm climate. We hope to see a few new faces, and some will be unknown outside of videos. So the period will be useful in learning how the newcomers can best contribute, in particular what kind of service will RvW need - I am not sure that a lot of high crosses will serve him very well, for instance.

 

If, as seems possible, the new players will number some overseas players, they will need to be fully integrated into the side.

 

I am assuming that the time will not involve a lot of social contacts and tourism. Rather, since they will be fairly fit by then, there will be a little experimentation in team shape and individual contribution.

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Did Villa go to Germany last pre season, like PL took us previously? Where are Villa going this time?

Only using Villa as the obvious example, to see if each manager has their tilt on team bonding/playing styles (opponents) etc, or they are rigid in their thinking, that there is only one way to prepare for a new season 

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I do have a small suspicion.With Kei only having played a few games and attracting a rather large new audience for Norwich City and a trip to the US Pre-Season there is certainly some backroom stuff going on to improve the "Norwich Brand" in the US of A. However, we are a Premier League club that is to be expected.

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