Beware Our Board!.

[First Wizard 0]

With all this transfer speculation flying about, alleged bids of £4 million from Rangers for Ashton etc, ''beware our board'' is my motto.

When it comes to holding on to our best chance for a swift return to the Premiership, or a quick small profit, our board will always go for the latter.

Oh no, you cry, the old wiz is taking part in his favourite hobby again ''board bashing''!. We''ll leopards don''t change their spots!.

I fully expect Ashton not to be here next season, the board took a big risk to keep in the Premiership by signing him. In the end it failed, and they will now be desperate to get their money back.

Maybe Worthy will give them an ultimatum of ''If he goes, then so do I. 

Although I would hate to lose Ashton, at least Worthy would be gone!.  

That''s a measure of how little I trust our board members, sorry. 

[Stephen Frys Evil Twin 0]

If selling him is the answer, what''s the question?If he is sold it will go against everything the board have been saying since his arrival. (ie. We don''t need to sell anyone, Ashton is not the Messiah etc.)Particularly if he is allowed to leave for £4m, that would be a terrible deal.£7m-£8m would be acceptable...

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

To be fair though Wiz, we have done that in the past partly because we needed to sell.  IMO we don''t need to sell Ashton and if we do my faith in Norwich City football club will be seriously tested!

[Tumbleweed 106]

This season is probably more important than any in recent memory as it will truly tell us whether the Board are genuine in their statements about building for the future. However they have publicly stated that they budgeted for being bottom of the Premiership (so in that sense we are ahead of budget) and that there is no need to sell players.

So the proof will be if Ashton goes, what will the fee be. At £4m they would be crazy, but at around £6m plus then it must be worth thinking about and at £8m plus you would think thats good business.

I too am cynical about Boards, but I do happen to think that we have a pretty decent bunch in charge now, led by a huge fan, and I perhaps feel more confident than you that they will do what they can to keep Ashton here and invest in some new talent.

[Canary & Linnet 0]

I think Delia et al, having tasted the Premiership will be as keen as the players to get back up there.

She in particular has seemingly revelled in all the connected publicity.

I know there is a history of NCFC being a selling club, but give the board credit for transfer deals in recent times.

There is no logic in Ashton being sold (unless for a huge sum), I know logic doesn''t often apply in football, but our chances of getting back to the ''big league'' are so much greater with Deano in the team & the rewards for doing so are well documented.

The Ashton signing was a ''speculate to accumulate'' action & I''m sure, unless we have a disastrous first half to the season he will be with us this time next year & looking forward to another crack at the Premiership complete with an enhanced squad.

Have faith

[The Walrus<H5><IMG src="http:new.pinkun.comforumsimagesline.gif"><BR>In the Kingdom of the blind, the One-Eyed Man is King<BR><H5> 0]

Wiz. Have faith in the board. They''ve said they don''t need to sell, and the only way one of the top players will leave Carrow Ruud is if one of them request to move.

If Ashton requests a move, then he wants to leave, and should be allowed to leave (albeit for a sizeable sum). Doncaster stated that all transfer funds recouped by Worthy will go back into tranfer budget available. I highly doubt they''ll sell Ashton to get back the £3 Million or so they shelled out for him, if this is ear-marked to go in Worthy''s war chest.

I believe the board will open up funds to Worthy and we''ll see a couple of very good players arrive to help us back to the Premiership. The board know what it''s going to take to get out of the Championship at the first attempt. They run a steady ship, and should again take the risk of releasing funds for Worthy to build a cracking squad to get us through the next 46 games.

Green may leave, but we have back-up in Gallacher and Ward. Francis may leave, but the way he played his last few games in the Green and Yellow, he won''t be missed. I honestly don''t believe Deano will leave. Having a player of his calibre at the club will help bring in the players we require.

If all our top players go, then have a crack at the board. And if Worthy brings in mediocre players who don''t have the potential to unlock Championship defences or shut out Championship attacks, then have a go at Worthy. Whilst neither has happened, don''t be having a pop at them for scenarios that may never happen.

If we cash in on our players and buy mediocrity, i''ll eat my shoe.

[Putney Canary 0]

I think you''re totally wrong on this one 1st Wizard.

We are fans of one of the few well run clubs in the entire league, the board is ambitious enough to invest at the right times (Huckerby and Ashton being two prime examples) but they did not jeopardise the financies of the club with either signing. I fully believe the board when they said we don''t need to sell him, and I fully expect Ashton to be with us next season (unless someone offers ''silly money'' like £10m and Deano wants to go AND Worthy has a suitable replacement lined up - not likely in my opinion).

Can you please explain why you think a risk was taken with his signing?

I expect we will start next season without Green or Francis, but Ashton will still be with us along side some new signings to strengthen midfield and defence. We will start next season with a stronger squad than we ended this season, like we have the last couple of seasons, a great sign that the entire club (boad and management included) is doing a good job and moving in the right direction.

[Robert N. LiM 4,338]

I just don''t understand this board-bashing. I''m with Putney Canary (that must have hurt the day after the Fulham game...) - I think we have one of the very few boards than runs the club in the interests of the club and the supporters, rather than to line the pockets of a few individuals. We spent the money we needed to go up, we nearly survived and we''re not going to go bust having gone down. In the current climate, I think that''s a job well done.

I''m not sure whether those who accuse the board of lacking ambition have noticed that we smashed our wage ceiling to sign Hucks and our transfer record to sign Ashton. Or that we spent this season at Anfield and Highbury rather than Millmoor.

I''d be interested to hear why you don''t trust the current board, Wiz, based on what they''ve done in the past, not on (with respect) the murky contents of your (crystal) balls.

[charlies dad 0]

Thw whole world (even scum fans) know hat Ashton is the real deal. Any idiot can see hes the best thing to happen to NCFC in decades. His value has skyrocketed. One phonecall and we could instigate a dutch auction on a grand scale, amongst some of the biggest namnes in english footbal. forget losers like wigan and Glasgow Rangers, they cant afford his nail clippings, rest assured, Mr Munby, Delia, mr delia, and all the others on the board are WELL aware of what theyve got in this boy. £4 million... hahahahahahahahahaha tell me another.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote]I think you''re totally wrong on this one 1st Wizard. We are fans of one of the few well run clubs in the entire league, the board is ambitious enough to invest at the right times (Huckerby and Ashton...[/quote]

Putney and Robert:

Firstly, splashing out a club record fee in January, when we were bottom, surly ranks as a risk, yes?. Although I don''t think Dean''s ability was ever in doubt for one nanosecond.

And yes, you could say I was paranoid about boards. It all stems from the dark days of Chase. Dodgeing the chargeing horses of the Met boys down Carrow Road, makes you somewhat nervous Robert!.

Although I''m not suggesting who requested them for one minute my friend.  

[NottsCanary 0]

Probably the best post I''ve seen on here. Brilliant.

[Normann Canary 0]

as much as I hate to say it... at the end of the day a football club is a business, and is run as such. Whats perceived as good for the business will usually be done irrespective of all else... IMO sometimes sadly...

hi wiz... sir how you?

[Putney Canary 0]

1st Wizard - I would say it was only a risk if we needed to retain Premiership status to afford him. From all that has been said by everyone at the club, we can afford him even in the Championship. Ashton has seemed prepared to step back down to the Championship from day 1, his expectations seem to have been set prior to his signature. I believe we bought him as part of our ongoing squad improvement (timed admittedly to give us a better chance of staying up!) which is a cornerstone of our long term plan for Premiership status.

I understand your reluctance to trust a football club board, there are way too many examples of clubs being run by either complete idiots who over spend or individuals who try and make a personal profit out of a club (something the FA has tragically failed to prevent). As you point out we have suffered this in our own relatively recent history. Someone should always ask the difficult questions... but I like the way our board run Norwich as a football club but on a tight financial business-like footing.