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ricardo

Ricardo's Report The AGM 2013

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I missed my pre-match pint thanks to being pinned by Rob Butler for a Radio Norfolk interview. If anybody catches it can they please post what I said because I can''t remember a bloody word of it now.After the usual formal business, Delia reappointed etc etc Bowkett gave his presentation of the accounts from which the main points were, no longer any debt, player purchases of £19.7 million and net income of £92 million. As an aside he mentioned that our ave player wage is 23k a week comparing that with Man City where the ave is £101k per week. We deliberately made a lower profit in order to spend more on players (or football software as he calls it).Then on to McNally, again the usual stuff about the club being a mutual, continuous business improvement and community projects etc. He praised the success of the youth team and said it would probably be the last time a local home based team won it and sited the example that Chelsea had a foreign 15 yr old on their bench who cost them £5 million. (scary stuff indeed). He said we had invested more in the business side with a Social Media manager, a London office and further additions to the Academy set up  Apparently we now have 28 full time trainees at the Academy. Then a big sop to loyal away supporters with £200k being bunged into free coaches, cheap travel/ tickets etc.Sam Gordon then gave us a peek at this seasons budget.Total revenue will be £98 million but we will spend £107 million thanks to extra payments from cup matches and Premier League position money. The new TV deal means that it is now 71% of total income. Total player costs will be £47 million which is 56% of our income. All dreamland figures to Ricardo after so many years of penny pinching and listening to fag packet accounting.At last on to what you all really want to hear.1. Why are subs so late.CH said its his responsibility and sited the case of Newcastle where he felt that after a bad start he could get something out of the match with the players who were already on the pitch. Seems like the 88minute subs were just a last desperate throw of the dice.2. About Members TicketsWho cares3. Why doesn''t Becchio play.Down to personal choice, feels the other 3 are better options.4. Playing RVW and Hooper together.Yes he would but opportunities have been restricted by injuries.5. Tactics and pressing high up the pitchYes, but when playing the top sides they can play round a press so you need to be careful. Against the lesser sides its easier and sited Stoke as a game where we did it well.6. About wages..........7. We have looked poor on Sky TV and if we score 1 a game and concede 2 we will be relegated.CH said it was a good question and said he wouldn''t pretend that we had been good enough in some matches but sited several where he felt we hadn''t got our just deserts. He said that Southampton were the best team in the league at pressing high up but it remained to be seen if they could maintain it for a whole season.8. Not punching our weight on or off the pitch.Mcnally agreed. Steps were in hand to raise our profile. CH agreed we have not been consistant enough9. Need to play more in opponents half.CH said all our stats on that front re crosses into the box, possession in opponents half were better than last season. He claimed that in 5 games this season he had played 433 to help in this respect but it was more difficult to do it against the top clubs.10. & 11. Increasing ground capacityCost of £30 million would require loan so as not to impinge on player purchases so would cost £2.5 million a year interest payments for 25 yrs and would need 92% occupancy simply to break even. Bowkett admitted the Board were just a bit scared. Risk outweighs return.12. Only 7 wins in calendar year.Mcnally replied that he had heard all the nonsense about teams on the beach etc. The season is 38 games and we finished 11th. End of.13. Money for Transfer WindowYes, CH said wide player a priority in view of injury list14. & 15. InjuriesCH revealed Pilks out 5-6 weeksSnoddy out perhaps 2 to 3 weeksRVW aiming at Swansea game.Tetty end of JanuaryE Bennett end of February.Oh dear not good is it.Anyway that was it in the smallest nutshell I could manage.[Y]Any questions please post.

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I should also add that when pressed both Bowkett and McNally said they had no fears of relegation and we would soon be pushing up to mid table.Make from that what you will but  as I said on other threads the Board seem to have full confidence in their man.

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Thanks, ricardo. Did you get any sense from the body language/mood music stuff of what the board''s view of Hughton really is and/or of Hughton''s view of how secure he feels his position is?

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Thanks for the effort Ricardo - that was a good read. Although the shocker for me is McNally''s statement; surely he can not be that blinkered?

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]Thanks, ricardo. Did you get any sense from the body language/mood music stuff of what the board''s view of Hughton really is and/or of Hughton''s view of how secure he feels his position is?[/quote]They all seemed calm and confident to me and never ducked a question. Obviously they know that staying in the Premier league is paramount but I detected no signs that they doubt this will be achieved.

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[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]Thanks, ricardo. Did you get any sense from the body language/mood music stuff of what the board''s view of Hughton really is and/or of Hughton''s view of how secure he feels his position is?[/quote]They all seemed calm and confident to me and never ducked a question. Obviously they know that staying in the Premier league is paramount but I detected no signs that they doubt this will be achieved.[/quote]

Thanks.

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CheerS Ricardo, one question, was that figure our average salary paid or the average for all Premier League players?

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[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]Thanks, ricardo. Did you get any sense from the body language/mood music stuff of what the board''s view of Hughton really is and/or of Hughton''s view of how secure he feels his position is?[/quote]

They all seemed calm and confident to me and never ducked a question. Obviously they know that staying in the Premier league is paramount but I detected no signs that they doubt this will be achieved.
[/quote]

 

Bowkett was bullish about pushing for top half. McNally was blase about we''d soon be suffering mid-table mediocrity. But to give all you piffle wailers a gleam of hope neither of them stated we''d do it with Hughton. It was more of a "trust them". Which as I keep saying is all we can do.

 

But you piffle wailers will still make up stuff and move the goal posts to show the club in a poor light. Thankfully Bowkett and McNally are just as confident that you are spouting piffle[;)]

 

(But obviously they read your piffle because the beach wasn''t part of any questions asked) [;)]

 

 

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[quote user="GMF"]CheerS Ricardo, one question, was that figure our average salary paid or the average for all Premier League players?[/quote]I assumed he meant us but I could be wrong.Iv''e also remembered another question which was about difficulty or not of attracting players to Norfolk. McNally said it wasn''t a problem. He then told us of a defender they spent the summer trying to get who also turned down Liverpool. The criterion for him wasn''t the area or the money but the opportunity for Champions League football so he went to Italy.

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]Thanks, ricardo. Did you get any sense from the body language/mood music stuff of what the board''s view of Hughton really is and/or of Hughton''s view of how secure he feels his position is?[/quote]They all seemed calm and confident to me and never ducked a question. Obviously they know that staying in the Premier league is paramount but I detected no signs that they doubt this will be achieved.[/quote]

 

Bowkett was bullish about pushing for top half. McNally was blase about we''d soon be suffering mid-table mediocrity. But to give all you piffle wailers a gleam of hope neither of them stated we''d do it with Hughton. It was more of a "trust them". Which as I keep saying is all we can do.

 

But you piffle wailers will still make up stuff and move the goal posts to show the club in a poor light. Thankfully Bowkett and McNally are just as confident that you are spouting piffle[;)]

 

(But obviously they read your piffle because the beach wasn''t part of any questions asked) [;)]

 

 

[/quote]I think the new Social Media manager does that for them Nutty[;)]

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Thanks Ricardo, nice little summary!

Like you say, hearing these millions of pounds being talked about is quite a distance from where we were not very long ago at all!

The injury list doesn''t look good. Don''t think i''d quite realised it until seeing them listed now!

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[quote user="hogesar"]Thanks Ricardo, nice little summary!

Like you say, hearing these millions of pounds being talked about is quite a distance from where we were not very long ago at all!

The injury list doesn''t look good. Don''t think i''d quite realised it until seeing them listed now![/quote]Thanks Hog, I''m off to kip now, will reply to any other queries in the AM.

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Interestingly Hughton never tried to use the injury list as an excuse. Just part and parcel of a football season that would give opportunities to other players.

 

And Rickyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

 

I spoke to loads of top fans tonight. Maybe 25/30. Even met a top bloke called VOS........

 

So you can stick your Rob Butler where the sun don''t shine[:O][H]

 

 

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Glad the board are remaining calm in this situation. We aren''t in crisis mode ala Sunderland and Palace, however we are falling below targets so far. Remember how excited we were after the opening day draw against Everton, I hope for more of the same (but 3 points rather than 1)!!!

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Interestingly Hughton never tried to use the injury list as an excuse. Just part and parcel of a football season that would give opportunities to other players.

[/quote]
It''s worth taking into account how bad it is - particularly in an attacking sense. Regardless of his goal tally for us pre-injury, RVW was purchased as our main striker, our main player, for the highest transfer sum, if you will.
Add onto that our best winger from last season (Snodgrass) being in and out. Pilks in and out (becoming a bit common place, unfortunately) you can see why some attacking ability would be lessened. And the Bennett injury really frustrates me because in that Everton game he appeared to have gained an extra yard of pace and would have been useful on several occasions this season already.

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[quote user="ricardo"]1. Why are subs so late.CH said its his responsibility and sited the case of Newcastle where he felt that after a bad start he could get something out of the match with the players who were already on the pitch

[/quote]

lmaoand this is why we will get relegated with this idiot in charge. man hasnt got a clue

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FFS this is what I dreaded the most.... Mcnally and co can''t even see the 5hite that 90% of fans can see. anyone who finds that highly or slightly amusing obviously doesn''t give a monkeys at which direction the club is going in. For the idiots that may think ''''if we go down we''ll bounce back'''' that''s what was thought last time and the club went further down and if not for him who must not be mentioned we could still of been there. I''m utterly fu**ed off that McNally thinks things are rosey I mean what the f*ck has he been watching. The (unts more deluded than Delia for sure

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I agree Stan, I just didn''t realise that the "hard nosed business man" was also as taken in by Who-tons drivel as l.d.c and co are. SHOCKING genuinely shocking. So long as the (unt loses his bonus when we go down!!!! David cuckoo mcnice

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[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

Interestingly Hughton never tried to use the injury list as an excuse. Just part and parcel of a football season that would give opportunities to other players.

[/quote]


It''s worth taking into account how bad it is - particularly in an attacking sense. Regardless of his goal tally for us pre-injury, RVW was purchased as our main striker, our main player, for the highest transfer sum, if you will.


Add onto that our best winger from last season (Snodgrass) being in and out. Pilks in and out (becoming a bit common place, unfortunately) you can see why some attacking ability would be lessened. And the Bennett injury really frustrates me because in that Everton game he appeared to have gained an extra yard of pace and would have been useful on several occasions this season already.



[/quote]

 

It is difficult but it''s all part of a season. The players who come in, while obviously having sympathy with their colleagues, will see it as a great opportunity. We have 25 players at the club for these occasions. It''s probably better than the old days when you could loan a player to cover. This way it''s our own players coming in to do the job they''re paid to do. I do think the soap opera surrounding the PL magnifies these issues to be bigger than they are.

 

 

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[quote user="Paris Lees Missing Tackle"]FFS this is what I dreaded the most.... Mcnally and co can''t even see the 5hite that 90% of fans can see. anyone who finds that highly or slightly amusing obviously doesn''t give a monkeys at which direction the club is going in. For the idiots that may think ''''if we go down we''ll bounce back'''' that''s what was thought last time and the club went further down and if not for him who must not be mentioned we could still of been there. I''m utterly fu**ed off that McNally thinks things are rosey I mean what the f*ck has he been watching. The (unts more deluded than Delia for sure[/quote]
Well, your language (interesting use of the bracket, by the way), grammar and overall persona hasn''t changed much from this morning. I kind of assumed you''d just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
What is interesting, is that, and as i''ve said to you i''m not happy with the performances at the moment - all these people you mention think you''re wrong, and apparently so do the board. So who''s right and who''s wrong?

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[quote user="Paris Lees Missing Tackle"]FFS this is what I dreaded the most.... Mcnally and co can''t even see the 5hite that 90% of fans can see. anyone who finds that highly or slightly amusing obviously doesn''t give a monkeys at which direction the club is going in. For the idiots that may think ''''if we go down we''ll bounce back'''' that''s what was thought last time and the club went further down and if not for him who must not be mentioned we could still of been there. I''m utterly fu**ed off that McNally thinks things are rosey I mean what the f*ck has he been watching. The (unts more deluded than Delia for sure[/quote]

 

The shareholders voted her back onto the board unanimously Matthew. McNally said the sun shone out of her @rse and the whole room agreed. Everybody loves her again. Even Tilly. It was touching.[U]

 

Nobody quite knew about Peter Bowles though. There were definitely a few abstentions...

 

 

 

 

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[quote user="NWC"]Thanks for the effort Ricardo - that was a good read. Although the shocker for me is McNally''s statement; surely he can not be that blinkered?[/quote]

Thanks Ric, your report pretty much mirrors the report my father gave who was also in attendance. The only point he did make is that Chairman and CEO remained very bullish and positive but Hughton didn''t come over so confidently and according to him his body language showed a person knowing they are on borrowed time.... That was his view on the body language! They stated that they will be mid table by the start of he new year . We can summise if this is not the case then changes will then happen, sadly if its left that long It will be too late for this season.....

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Well thanks for all the opinions, views and perceptions concerning the 2013 AGM, to those who were and those who weren''t in attendance. Interesting to what the board and Mr Hughton had to say......

 

Looking forward to the Palace and the future games with a renewed and positive optimism......

 

CRISIS?........WHAT CRISIS?   It''s just a blip......  

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I think we need to suspend our disbelief over our management team''s tactical decisions regarding the Newcastle game, especially as regards the use of substitutes. One can only but hope that there is an appropriate level of challenge in the boardroom - just because a board is confident, or even certain, in its strategy does not necessarily imply it''s making the best decisions. Unfortunately, I fear the risks inherent in continuing the tenure of our current management team outweigh the benefits, particularly with the potential opportunity offered by the January transfer window.

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Glad I didn''t make the trip, if id had to listen to that my head may have exploded.

Still look of the bright side don''t need to pay for any away tickets for the rest of the season.

my only hope is that they are towing the party line because if the board of our club really think the Sh8t served up on a regular basis is acceptable then we are in even bigger trouble than I thought.

I need a lie down and a stiff drink, anyone for a couple of half season tickets ?

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Didn''t Bowkett say previously that Paul Lambert was the most impatient man he ever met?

Evidence McNally''s ridiculous ''gloves off'' response to Villa''s approach.

Lambert was abrasive and driven, he was his own man and it''s clear to me he rubbed these two up the wrong way. But he got results.

Player wages 56% of income. Really? Where is the other 44% going? 56% seems too low to survive in this league; again, did this caution see Lambert thinking wtf? Is this why holt spat his dummy for a bigger share of the spoils he played a major role in gaining. What are we paying our directors?

So we still have a cautious board and in replacing a manager who was too hot for them they went for one in their own image. They even gave the sop about what Chelsea pay their players. That''s rubbish, Chelsea get given a game by European sides on very small budgets. We have lost our intensity, on and off the pitch. The mojo has gone.

Then there is the arrogance. This Board has become very high handed towards supporters. The players have even turned on the fans to vent their frustration. Let''s get something straight: a bit of patronising is counter productive, the Club is the fans, they make it, they are here longest and the rest are just guardians in temporary charge or employees.

We are back to Costa del Norwich. Some lickspittles will lap up what the big men have said but these big men are now way off beam and need to rewind back to the model which served Norwich City so well for 4 years.

McNally is good at what he does but there seems to be no equal and opposite reaction to him and a man of soft skills he is not.

This is no longer a simple case of a coach promoted to his level of incompetence and lousy results through insipid football. This isn''t just about probable relegation. This is now about alienating the supporters in the longer term.

Thanks for the report Ricardo, it said weak manager, arrogant board.

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