McNally should go

[Brighton Yellow 0]

Without wanting to comment on elements of society or the modern world that do not please me, as there are plenty of people’s opinions kicking about doing so, I will add one further comment… The belief of football fans in particular that when something is unsuccessful the remedy is change, or more accurately sacking. This belief has long been in place when considering managers for obvious reasons, however when people call for the heads of Board members etc. it is quite laughable. I know that being a football supporter is a highly emotional experience, one that many people do not truly understand if they haven’t been sat on a freezing cold train in the middle of the night returning from Sunderland, or having spent hours on an open terrace in the rain. However, a lot of you need to get a grip! Many of the comments I see and hear are frankly childish and seem to display a strong sense of entitlement for something that does not exist. We as fans or as a club have no right to be in the Premier League or any other. We may exist at a certain level for longer periods than others, however every single season is a battle, one which involves many decisions being made along the way, some of which ultimately may not result in the desired outcome. We are all football supporters which means that you support your club regardless of what league or what level of success we achieve. Yes things are not always as good as they can be which is why as fans of Norwich you have to make sure you make the most of such times as they can be only brief at times. This is why I despair in particular at present when someone calls for the likes of McNally to depart the club. As some of you are saying in this thread he has helped steer us through some amazingly successful years and the fact that the current year does not (at present) appear to be as successful does not mean he has failed at his job!

 

If this season ends in relegation then we surely need him more than ever as we have a man at the helm who has experience of seeing a club through not one, but two successive promotion campaigns. He has done this in a very prudent and considered fashion. Of course luck can account for some of this success however that can be said for anything in life.

 

If any of you are reading this and disagree with me then please tell me where you find a better person for the job as I certainly would not know. In fact, we may find ourselves losing McNally to a club or business where he will enjoy a far easier ride!

 

Anyway here we go (purely in a football sense);

 

McNally year one: Gamble, sack Gunn appoint Lambert = League One title

 

McNally year two: Gamble on allowing Lambert to sign the players he requests = promotion to Premier League

 

McNally year three: Gamble on appointing a successor to the most successful manager in two decades, which can also be considered the most successful in living memory for a large section of fans = one of our highest ever league finishes. The other gambles included not being held to ransom over potential transfer targets over the course of the season where less savvy would have crumbled.

 

McNally year three: Gamble on sticking with Hughton or replacing him, one which may well prove to have been unsuccessful, ultimately we do not yet know.

 

So let’s all try and be a little bit more grown up about this and give the man and his colleagues a little bit more respect. Let’s also not get too upset if things go wrong safe in the knowledge that we have a predominantly successful team running our club.

[Brighton Yellow 0]

* Should obviously be

 

McNally year four: Gamble on sticking with Hughton or replacing him, one which may well prove to have been unsuccessful, ultimately we do not yet know.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

[quote user="TIL 1010"]

[quote user="Yellowbeagle"]Let''s get rid of McNally and replace him with a clueless tool like Doncaster that''ll be the best step forward wouldn''t it? Fans need to look at McNally''s entire tenure at the club and IMO he has been the best chairman we''ve had, possibly ever. He''s got something''s wrong which makes him Human but I can''t remember a time I felt more confident of a chairman in transfer negotiations, that together with the debt clearance more than make up him sticking by a manager to long.[/quote]

McNally is Chief Executive not the Chairman.

 

[/quote]

Fair enough my bad, Confussion stems back to the times of Chase where the chairman basically carried out the same role. Either way McNally carries out the leadership/negotiator role well in most instances IMO.

[MancCanary 0]

Well said that man, again.

I wish we had a "sticky" option on this board so we could stick a few of the best, well-rounded posts to the top for people to read before posting rubbish. I''d vote Brighton''s first in this thread, label it "Before you criticise McNally, read this", and stick it to the top of the whole bloody forum so people can get it through their heads and process it before calling for McNally to resign.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

He has made some poor decisions this season but is the best CEO we have had for many a year. He reputation is tarnished he now needs to put things right by the right choice as manager and overseeing a promotion push

[Branston Pickle 3,726]

I have to say that when I saw this thread I was dreading what sort of rubbish people were going to come out with, slagging off all and sundry, but have been pleasantly surprised.

The last thing we need is to have a load of bloodletting if we go down - it should be a time that everything is concentrated on getting the managerial appointment sorted and playing staff in place to have a decent bash at getting back. It is a World Cup year, so I imagine it will be hard to get business done (there is barely a break this summer) and the last thing we need is to be looking for crucial board positions on top of everything else.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,467]

To be fair, I can only see one poster on this thread advocating sacking McNally. And that is the original? I haven''t, I must confess, read them all in huge detail though.

 

My fear is that he walks, and doesn''t give us a choice!

[sgncfc 1,261]

I''m not advocating that McNally should leave, but I can''t let that comment "...we''ve got an outstanding board of directors" pass without challenge.

We''ve got a reasonably high profile CEO, a down to earth Chairman (whose claim to have a robust plan B has been shown to be nonsense) and some silent investors, a newspaper man (why?) and a comedian (also why?)

As we are about to get relegated with a group of players most would agree should not be in this position, in what way has the Board shown themselves to be in any way "outstanding" this season?

What we have is the best leadership we have had for a while in the Boardroom. But this season they have collectively missed their number one objective which is anything but outstanding.

 

What I am waiting to hear in the close season is what they plan to do about it. Then I''ll make my mind up as a shareholder about whether they are the right people to still be in charge.

 

[a1canary 0]

Sorry sg this is nonsense. Football is a game. Every time a team wins another loses. You can''t stop that happening as the manager and certainly not in the board room. What they can do in the boardroom is create a business environment that gives the football on the pitch the best chance of succeeding. McNally has overwhelmingly achieved that since arriving at the club as a league 1 outfit. This is his first year not seeing success on the pitch in 5 years of being with us.

That is an unprecedented record in football across the country but for perhaps Swansea, Southampton and a couple of the big 5.

So what has been the cause of this year''s failure? Is it McNally''s "fault"? The fact is, Hughton was a good appointment in the wake of Lambert''s departure and was proved such by the end of the season. As subsequently happens at every club without fail, is that managers who have has success have a period or periods without success. The board then has a decision to make. That decision is a simple 50 50 choice which is impossible to know which will or would be the correct one. It will probably turn out that we go down so you can say it was the wrong choice or that he made it too late but are you really going to blame him for that when anyone else could have made the same choice or when 90% of the choices he has made in 5 years have been overwhelmingly the right ones?

He''s human but when it come to making the right choices behind the scenes to run Norwich City Football Club as best as it possibly can be run, there is no-one better to do that job. Simple as.

[# 0]

[quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]He has made some poor decisions this season but is the best CEO we have had for many a year. He reputation is tarnished he now needs to put things right by the right choice as manager and overseeing a promotion push[/quote]

 

Huzzah! [Y]

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="Wiz"][quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]but is the best CEO we have had for many a year.[/quote]

 

Huzzah! [Y][/quote]

But you said he should resign just a few months ago........

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/3023452/ShowPost.aspx

"Will you resign McNally?"

"If we don''t achieve, in your words, mid table mediocrity, and instead get relegated.

 

I suspect, like all little men who act hard you''ll put number one first and cling on to the cooks apron slings"

[:O]

[TIL 1010 4,824]

[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="Wiz"][quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]but is the best CEO we have had for many a year.[/quote]

 

Huzzah! [Y][/quote]

But you said he should resign just a few months ago........

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/3023452/ShowPost.aspx

"Will you resign McNally?"

"If we don''t achieve, in your words, mid table mediocrity, and instead get relegated.

 

I suspect, like all little men who act hard you''ll put number one first and cling on to the cooks apron slings"

[:O]

[/quote]

Oh dear Wiz you really are the gift that keeps giving. [:D]

[MancCanary 0]

sgncfc: "I''m not advocating that McNally should leave, but I can''t let that comment "...we''ve got an outstanding board of directors" pass without challenge.

We''ve got a reasonably high profile CEO, a down to earth Chairman (whose claim to have a robust plan B has been shown to be nonsense) and some silent investors, a newspaper man (why?) and a comedian (also why?)

As we are about to get relegated with a group of players most would agree should not be in this position, in what way has the Board shown themselves to be in any way "outstanding" this season?

What we have is the best leadership we have had for a while in the Boardroom. But this season they have collectively missed their number one objective which is anything but outstanding.

 

What I am waiting to hear in the close season is what they plan to do about it. Then I''ll make my mind up as a shareholder about whether they are the right people to still be in charge."

sgncfc - I''m afraid you''ve misunderstood - the "outstanding" comment was referring to the board''s time in charge as a whole, not just this season. The whole post was about how it is stupid to judge the board on one failed season when there are 4 successful seasons before that which need to be taken in to account.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Brighton Yellow"]

The Board met after every game this season and discussed possible solutions to the underperforming manager. It is clear that they would have liked to have replaced him sooner but kept facing the same question which they were unable to answer, who? Who could they realistically replace him with? To quote a conversation I had with a Board member on Saturday ‘it was a gamble to stick with Hughton and it was a gamble to replace him’. [/quote]

 

if true then the club really is run by a bunch of idiots.... "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail..." McNally also said in the interview with Gorham the club would have a plan B and someone else lined up, the counter to what is said above (which I don''t doubt is true).. the events of the last couple of weeks shows that there was a fialure to prepare... Hughton was given the boot too late... Adams was bought in as a "guy to unite the club" but looks well out of his depth.. it was Gunn all over again.

 

I suspect that we do/did have a manager lined up who was going to come to us should we stay up.. thats now unlikely....have we prepared for this entuality and identified another manager with a track record of promotion or do we continue to try and get "Lucky"?

[Aggy 766]

Yep, nice post Brighton. Personally, I don''t put a lot of blame on the board for this season. Every time I think they could have done something differently/better, I have always been able to see why they haven''t done so.

I''d just like to pick up on the initial ''for the last 4 years he''s run the club to our complete satisfaction'' comment. Of course, as Purple says, he has made mistakes, so you can perhaps get rid of the ''complete'' bit. But to suggest the past 4 or 5 years have only been ''satisfactory'' is absurd.

Since McNally has been here, we''ve addressed a horrible downwards spiral, gained back to back promotions to the premier league and spent (at least) three years in the top flight. We''ve gone from the brink of massive financial problems to being comfortably secure financially.

We may go down this season, but if, after relegation to League 1, you offered us all that I''ve said in the above paragraph, not one fan would have rejected it. Most would have laughed in your face and told you to stop dreaming. So, yes, it may not have been ''completely'' spot on in every aspect, but the past 4 years under McNally have been far, far, better than ''satisfactory''.

And if we do go down this season, the fact that we were amongst one of ten or eleven sides who were expecting to be in a relegation battle and will only go down (if at all) with one or two games remaining and by only a couple of points mean, in my opinion, that even this season will only be slightly below ''satisfactory''. 4 exceptional seasons + one slightly below satisfactory season. Yeah let''s sack him!

[Aggy 766]

And, whilst I''m at it, think about how our financial situation has improved since the arrival of McNally and co. Then think about the financial mess we got into pre-McNally and following our last relegation from the prem. Then decide whether you''d rather be getting relegated with or without him.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

What a foolish thread, McNally has been an excellent CEO for our club, the only way he will leave is if he chooses to, which I sincerly hope he doesn''t.

[MancCanary 0]

Spot on Aggy, too.

I''d like to hear what the OP, pete''s thoughts are now, after reading all the replies to the thread. Do you still think McNally should go?

[Fromage Frais 10]

McNally/the board took a chance in January not spending any money and it did not pay off.

Lets be realistic we did not spend as much as other teams and our 3 attacking major signings..... where crap.

No team our size can pay out so much for so little and hope to remain in the league.

However the silver lining is there is less debt and relegation is not fatal as long as the wages come down proportionally.

So I would say McNally should stay but obviously not at the premiership wages/bonus as before.

There is going to be a lot of buying and selling this summer and its best not to have total chaos behind the scenes.

[PurpleCanary 5,599]

[quote user="Aggy"]Yep, nice post Brighton. Personally, I don''t put a lot of blame on the board for this season. Every time I think they could have done something differently/better, I have always been able to see why they haven''t done so.

I''d just like to pick up on the initial ''for the last 4 years he''s run the club to our complete satisfaction'' comment. Of course, as Purple says, he has made mistakes, so you can perhaps get rid of the ''complete'' bit. But to suggest the past 4 or 5 years have only been ''satisfactory'' is absurd.

Since McNally has been here, we''ve addressed a horrible downwards spiral, gained back to back promotions to the premier league and spent (at least) three years in the top flight. We''ve gone from the brink of massive financial problems to being comfortably secure financially.

We may go down this season, but if, after relegation to League 1, you offered us all that I''ve said in the above paragraph, not one fan would have rejected it. Most would have laughed in your face and told you to stop dreaming. So, yes, it may not have been ''completely'' spot on in every aspect, but the past 4 years under McNally have been far, far, better than ''satisfactory''.

And if we do go down this season, the fact that we were amongst one of ten or eleven sides who were expecting to be in a relegation battle and will only go down (if at all) with one or two games remaining and by only a couple of points mean, in my opinion, that even this season will only be slightly below ''satisfactory''. 4 exceptional seasons + one slightly below satisfactory season. Yeah let''s sack him![/quote]Aggy, I agree. I would say the directors have got nothing seriously wrong

this season. We are where we are because circumstances have conspired

against them. Just as events conspired in their favour in the summer of

2009. I think what happened then is instructive, because its skewed some

fans'' views, particularly of McNally.To recap

he came into the club after the mistaken reappointment of Gunn. Quickly

realised (in part because of the Scottish pre-season) that Gunn was an

idiot of a manager. But in terms of boardroom politics, as a newcomer,

was in no position to do anything about that. And if we had drawn that

first game, or lost 2-1, he still wouldn''t have been.But the

freak of the 7-1 gave him the chance (I suspect he enlisted Bowkett''s

support) to wheel out his anti-Gunn dossier and tell the board the

manager had to go. And that he had a replacement in mind. In terms of

boardroom politics it was a moment brilliantly seized. And everything

good that followed, including the restoration of our finances, stemmed

from that one piece of chief executiveship.This is not to

denigrate McMally''s achievements (to be clear, on balance he has done a

good job) but I do think that sole action (under circumstances unique in

my several decades of experience) led some fans to credit him with

near-supernatural powers.Not just in terms of his abilities but

in assuming he was in total control of affairs (which in effect he may

have  been for a while but quite properly not since). And -

unrealistically - led fans to expect everything to be that clearcut and

decisively dealt with. As a result, because this season has proved that

football is normally not so simple, and decisions not so easy, some have

turned on McNally in particular and the board in general.You

only have to look at the various dates suggested by posters here for

when it was - supposedly to them - obvious that Hughton should have been

sacked to see there was never a clearcut decision. From the 5-0 at

Fulham, the first game of his first season, to the recent decisive

defeat by West Brom, and many times in between.I can''t decide

whether my favourite idiocy is last summer - after we had finished 11th

on 44 points - or after the loss at Hull - just the second game of this

season.  It beggars belief that anyone could think a sensible board of

directors would sack a manager at either of those times.It is

not enough for a fan to "know". They have to put forward an unanswerable

case to convince hard-headed people, and there wasn''t one this season

until West Brom, and even that is questionable. Once the season had

settled down we were never in the bottom three, and weren''t even then.What

turned me from pro-Hughton to anti- (but never an Outer) was his

barking-mad team/tactics selection for the West Ham home game, but I

couldn''t possibly have argued  for his sacking after a game we ended up

winning! Now if Jääskeläinen hadn''t dropped that ball at Hooper''s feet...but he did.

[MancCanary 0]

All very, very good points Purple.

This is a good thread! No pathetic bickering between the usual suspects at all.