What is our culture?

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

Amongst the discussions on who to should manage the first team, what the composition the board should have, which players should retained, transferred in or released, perhaps we should define what parameters we are working with.

Swansea, Southampton et al have decided upon a methodology, a way of working, a pattern of play, a set criteria for playing characteristics, a blueprint for what their club, brand and ethos should be. Arguably Something to identify them by in the me-too middle reaches of premier league mediocrity.

This definition of self can create a positive image, culture and clarity of purpose in the minds of players, directors, managers and fans.

In order to decide upon and define our culture we should include a few caveats. Naming success as your culture is simplistic and unrealistic. It is a given and all strive for it, whilst few can achieve it. A methodology of win-at-any-costs with a spend all you can policy of (say) mercenaries, long ball manager and ruthless tactics (say Barton-esque, Aplardyce-esque and stoke style) would be a valid thesis for example.

We have gates of 27,000. We have no debts, but a ceiling on purchases of £5-10m. We can attract good players, but not top stars. We are a draw for good managers, but not those with lauded reputations. Let us forget the who and focus on the how and why.

What is our culture?

[Patches OHoolahan 0]

I''ve quoted this profile piece before on discussions of Norwich''s culture/philosophy/style of play: http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/20140409-paul-nevin-norwich-city-profile-1478759.aspx

The relevant quote from Mr Nevin (who oversees the consistency of our youth teams'' playing style) here is the following:

“It’s about giving the opportunity to the technical players. Players who can play well under pressure and who will look to get on the ball, even in tight situations. That begins right form our foundation phase. That being said – we don’t want to maintain possession just for the sake of it. We want there to be a purpose to our play."

I personally would like to see us following the style of play outlined by Mr Nevin, and couple it with a high-tempo pressing game. If we truly follow that style throughout all levels of the club it will ease the transition of youth players to senior level, which I believe to be imperative to our future.

So in summation I would like to see us playing incisive, passing football, pressing the opposition high up the pitch, with our academy products complementing a core squad of technically adept professionals.

[MancCanary 0]

Great thread - but strangely this exact topic was already started for discussion yesterday:

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/3116069/ShowPost.aspx

[lake district canary 4,531]

A culture has to evolve, imo.  The best way that can happen is through continuity.    We have had so many different managers since 1995 and the mistake to me was not always getting a manager who fitted the way we wanted to play. We lost our culture.  Megson, Rioch, Hamilton - none really took on board the style that developed over the twenty two years previously.   Worthington briefly brought it back and we had the wonderful Hucks to enjoy at that time too, but it wasn''t long lasting enough because we didn''t evolve when we went to the premiership. 

Then a few more years of struggle to the Lambert era. That should have been the start of something long lasting - but didn''t last for whatever reason - whether it was Lambert''s fault or the club''s, who knows.  We really needed him to stay on for another year or two to develop a longer lasting framework for the club to develop.   In the wake of the Lambert era, the Hughton episode  was I believe an attempt by the board to develop a more sophisticated culture for the club, but that didn''t work either. 

I am afraid we are back to square one on the culture front.   We look like we are going back down to regroup and we need to discover a way of playing that works for us - and stick with it.   The board can develop strategies and plans until the cows come home, but unless we get a manager in like Lambert - and keep him here - we are not likely to get strong culture back.   We need a dynasty to develop, we lost one when Lambert left, Hughton didn''t achieve one - and so we keep looking.    Culture has to evolve - and that takes time.  Adams could be key to all this, with his experience with the youth team and now with more involvement with the first team. 

[Dubai Mark 0]

To build a culture or a way of playing can take a serious amount of time, and to be quite honest I really dont think Norwich City supporters have enough patience for this to happen. More than two seasons in the Championship regardless of how the team are playing will most certainly lead to a "Xxxxxxx Out" campaign. A few clubs have done it over a short space of time, but they are the exception rather than the rule. For us to get it, we will need to appoint somebody this time with an assistant who will become his successor, so that we get a few years of stability and evolvement. That is why the correct manager for next season is a HUGE decision for this board.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

We''ve had so many differing styles of play over the last few years that it''s really hard to identify if Norwich even have a ''culture'' any more. Swansea have been developing their footballing ''culture'' for 10 years. It started with Jackett, who introduced possession based football, and was continued (in it''s various guises) by Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers, Luadrup and Monk. 

Norwich, in the same time period, have had Nigel Worthington (Direct, organised, wing-play and target-men), Peter Grant (similar to Worthington, but nowhere near as successful), Roeder (quite possibly Norwich''s most defensive manager ever), Gunn (a complete disaster), Lambert (formation switches, counter-attacking, directness) and Hughton (defensive and counter attacking in 1st year, defensive and a poor attempt at a more complex style of play in his 2nd). 

That''s the difference between a team like Swansea and a team like us with no ''culture'' (the vast majority of clubs)- we''re not consistent enough in our managerial choices in order to develop a culture that is unique to us.   

[Patches OHoolahan 0]

Dubai Mark, I think you''ve hit the nail on the head with regards to the problem of having a coherent club philosophy- what if there is no success to go with it? For example, assuming we are relegated, do we prioritise a style of play above returning to the so-called promised land? If we want to return ASAP then Malky Mackay would be the best candidate in my eyes, regardless of his connections with the club. But if we want to move to a style of play similar to that articulated by many fans, then we would be better advised to look elsewhere in my opinion.

[the bristol nest 0]

Absolutely Mr Fry.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,511]

So what''s the answer? Easy: Appoint a Director of Football.

[Mr Young 0]

I think, from John Bond thorough to Mike Walker, we were known for being a passing side. It altered at times to more counter-attacking but that passing philosophy was Norwich through and through.

That''s who we are, that''s what we should get back to.

Assuming we win

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

It could be observed that the longer term culture approach is well suited to middle tier clubs looking to differentiate themselves and gain a pro-data advantage over similar clubs over the long term.

The Swansea philosophy may not allow them to leapfrog a monolith like United or a benefactor model like citeh, but it may endure a continuity and prolonged comparative success when set in context against the previous history of Swansea as a club.

The business of football and the premier league ensures that great riches one year can be summarily replaced with relative poverty the next, a dramatic drop alien to most SME''s. Thus a culture or methodology that transcends immediate appointments, revenue streams and mitigates against the revolutionary upheaval of football management and coaches shipping out and shipping in every 2 years looks a good model. A United or a citeh can easily ride these fluctuations as they have protected revenue streams, no threat of sudden funding decline and a guaranteed pool of top level management to choose from. Their biggest risk is dropping from stratospheric Champions League payments to mere top league and UK broadcast funds.

As locked in exclusive customers we should be able to afford to see a broader, longer term investment for our emotional return from the club. Immediate success and instant gratification, whilst pleasing, is not a pragmatic strategy for repeatable long term progress as a club.

To establish a culture we as fans will need to make compromises in our expectations. Not embrace little old Norwich mediocrity, but show patience in the process if building and a recognition that it is not a exclusively linear, ever-upwards trajectory. The nature of the premier league makes some degree of glass-ceiling stasis inevitable for example.

If we want youth players to develop they must play. If they play - say in the championship - they may well not perform as consistently well for a year as a well- paid, seasoned premier performer on one last payday. So there is our first pragmatic choice. Play Redmond or Murphy or Benett every week, coach out his callowness, drill composure, positional sense and awareness into him, perhaps at the expense of 4 points, but in return for a great player in 2 years.

Focus on fluid players that drift between the lines, that show technical ability and a desire to retain possession under pressure, but lose in the playoffs to a pragmatic boro side filled with 6ft men playing percentage football and hitting the channels early with a methodology that gets promotion, but won''t stand up to the greater sophistication of the premier league?

Create a requirement that all youth, u18 and u21 teams should play to the same pattern of play as the first team, only to find that you need 7 points for survival and the manager in charge decides he wants to play route one?

Are you prepared to pay for the culture you want with support at difficult times?