The one thing I would say is that if Adams hadn't been appointed and lasted so long, I doubt we would have gone for AN. It was only during NA's tenure that AN built his reputation, and I really can't see who else we would have got. And whatever your opinion of Adams or his managerial ability, the bottom line is that the reason he lasted so long is because he was doing, until the last couple of weeks, an adequate, at times decent, job. And let's face it, there are a lot of managers out there with significantly bigger reputations than Adams who do much worse than "adequate". So slam him as much as you like, I'll agree he was never a long term option and I accept he probably isn't management material for our sort of club, but it's I do not see how people cannot be remotely grateful for his efforts steadying the ship and getting us early points on the board, even if his shortcomings ultimately caught up with him. I know that if we get promoted, even if I'm the only one, I will be grateful to Adams for his efforts in the first half of the season which were a long, long way from shameful
Adequate wasn't and never was going to be good enough with this group of players. He was doing the absolute bare minimum required to stay in the job. In the end even that wasn't enough and it came as little surprise he left. There's not a chance we'd be where we are now had he stayed.
I don't disagree with any of that Supers. And I completely agree it was no surprise (actually a little later than I expected but that was probably due to ironing out when to appoint AN once sights had been honed in). However, what I'm saying is that doing the adequate was enough to get us through to a point where we could appoint a person with clear managerial potential who the board were fully behind and really did have the ability. NA did not blow up anything - look at Fulham and Cardiff. And I'm grateful for NA's efforts because while they weren't brilliant, they were a long way from the worst. And if we get promoted I think we can safely say that Adams did very little damage to our club at all during his tenure. Unlike some of the managers he is being compared to.
I see what you are saying Rob and accept the sentiment. He certainly got us playing a better style of football than we had seen in the previous season or so but the problem came when we failed to score in those games that we dominated and came away with either 1 point or none. That is where AN is different in that you sense that he will see things and implement alternatives to crack the puzzle. Your point about Norwich compared to Fulham and Cardiff is valid but again it could be argued that the raw materials he had to play with were better. It is all a moot point to a degree.
Ah but IF we get promoted Rob, it ´ll be 80 % (at least) down to Neil and 20 % ( at most) down to Adams. He was a decent enough man, doing his absolute best in a, for him, impossible position. As you say he didn´t do us any irrevocable harm, but I think he might have done had he stayed for very much longer. He went with our thanks and best wishes, but I think that´s where the recognition and sympathy should end.
True, but that's still 20%! And maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree, but that feels like 20% that a lot of posters aren't going to give him credit for
Totally agree with you Rob. The NA months enabled us to monitor and snare AN. I think we got a great deal out of Adams in that because he proved in the later weeks of his reign, that he was not up to the job, so making us recruit AN. I am sure that AN was on DM's radar for some time before the change.
Yet more support for AN and his way of doing things - this time from David Powles. Full article here - http://www.edp24.co.uk/norfolk-life...nce_at_norwich_city_under_alex_neil_1_3988718
80 % (at least) down to Neil and 20 % ( at most) down to Adams. Does that mean the players have no responibility? At least with Neil it's very clear whose in charge. Neil & Adams have at least one thing in common. Neither of them rated 1 of our 2 main premiership CB's.
I was really comparing the effectiveness, on the pitch, of the two managers´ work, off the pitch. Naturally IF we are successfully promoted, that will, in part, be down to the players too, but by no means entirely, or does anyone really believe that we would still have been challenging where we are now, had Neil Adams remained in charge.
You've got to be impressed by the way AN thinks and I know a lot of posters have been saying that the Murphy twins should be out on loan somewhere - “That is the whole point of them going out on loan,” he said. “What had happened is they were staying here and at times if I wasn’t using Nathan (Redmond) then he would take a place on the bench and then Josh and particularly Jacob were not involved. For them to progress and for us to potentially use them in the future they need game-time to enhance their development; to continue to learn and improve. “With those two in particular I was at the stage of thinking I am not sure how much playing in the under-21s will help their game to get them prepared for first team football. “We had the opportunity to put them out and experience playing at a level where people are relying on results for their wages. That is very different from the under-21s, when you are trying to make yourself better or if you are a senior player perhaps dropping down for fitness reasons. When you are playing in a team where they rely on a win bonus to pay their mortgages it is different.” http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/alex_n...tlet_to_norwich_city_s_murphy_twins_1_4003946
Rusty's views of Alex Neil! http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...as-the-look-of-a-future-scotland-b.121395206?
Excellent article Dave/ Also saw this in yesterday's EDP - Neil, however, was irked by Chris Burke’s late reply which forced the hosts to endure an uncomfortable spell before confirming they remain a serious contender for automatic promotion. “I reminded the players of that at the end because the last thing we want to do is have a good 80 minutes of quality football getting ruined by 10 minutes of sloppiness or a lack of professionalism,” he said. “I told the players afterwards some people’s thoughts as they walk out of the ground are going to be focused on those 10 minutes, whereas what they should be talking about is how well we played for those other 80 minutes of the match. “We need to make sure that sloppiness does not creep into our game but at the end of the day we won 3-1 and that was our objective. “There were some fantastic individual performances and I thought they showed the real hunger and desire it takes to be at the top of the table, especially after what happened at Huddersfield. Maybe there was one or two starting to question us a wee bit but we have answered a few with that result.” He certainly wants to keep the team focused on concentrating for the full 90 minutes, which is no bad thing.
Looking at the remaining fixtures we could win the lot as none have that 'awful' look to them and so the consistency of performance will be key as you have said JR. I will be interested to see how Watford react to their last minute defeat on Saturday and what the impact of the International break will be. I suppose in an ideal world we would have wanted to play midweek and Saturday but that sadly is not to be. I have no interest in England v Lithuania and just cannot wait for our next game. Be prepared for a few days of Harry Kane fever as the next superhero. Of course, if he fails to score then that tag will be replaced immediately.
I think the break is a good thing. The last run of games has been pretty gruelling and it's good to get a rest ahead of the run in. I think tiredness has had an effect recently.
I know others will say that that is their chosen profession blah, blah blah and they shouldn't get tired, but I agree with you Bath!!!! Let#s hope we can get a good win on the seaside and then two tasty evening games!!!!!
One of the most satisfying feelings at such times is to play early and then watch the rest have to fight. I hope of course that we win on the South coast and that will make the rest of Good Friday very enjoyable indeed.
Just read a Guardian article on AN - “It was a brave decision by the club. Hopefully I can go on and repay their faith in me by taking them into the Premier League. But listen, I’m under no illusions. At the moment we are doing really well and I had to hit the ground running, not only because of expectation but because people are looking at you immediately asking: ‘Who is this guy?’ If you don’t prove yourself right away and find yourself on the back foot, you could be pretty quickly out of a job.” Full article here and DEFINITELY worth a read - http://www.theguardian.com/football...manager-came-in-i-would-be-asking-who-is-this
I read it last night JR - I love the way he is so open and relaxed and straight-forwardly honest, in how he tackles the media. Very few other managers I´ve heard, manage it so well,
It's like a 'breath of fresh air' after CH's cliches. Very interesting read here on the EDP website - http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/this_i..._his_norwich_city_promotion_hunters_1_4019760
