Yes ocf, that is a major concern and it is bound to happen, especially if we've dropped out of the playoffs.
I´d agree with all of that, except to say that, whereas many of you seem to think that with a little bit of tweaking here and there, a few more players here and there, we could improve enough to be competitive, in a modest way, in the Premier League, I´m afraid I don´t, I think we´ve just about reached the level we´re capable of, ie. a prime example of a yo-yo club. On a good day, too strong for the Championship, but not good enough for the PL, on a bad, well Saturday sort of describes that, best. If that view somehow makes me a leper, then so be it.
I found a toe in the street earlier, I assumed it was a result if a Halloween costume malfunction but could it be yours RBF? Bah!
seem to have ruffled a few feathers on here lately, so p´raps I´d better bugger off for two or three weeks, until we get our next win
I find an awful lot of sense in what you say RBF, whereas a few others seem to have unreasonable expectations which cause a lot of unrest on here and also at Carrow Road! OTBC
What would be unreasonable is if all our players were playing at the top of their game and people still weren't happy. Right now I think most of us would be happy if half a dozen were playing well, not unreasonable. Truth is we need another CB & striker and could so with losing a couple of midfielders and some dead wood. No one expects miracles, but with the squad we've got, even with no additions, we should be doing better.
Pretty much agree with your summary carrow and IMO, we HAVE to start shipping fewer goals, though like most of us, I'm not sure where to start on that one. It seems we can almost guarantee that one (or more) of our players will gift a goal to the opposition in every game.
All I'm saying is I want our fans to be loyal and proud and NOT prostitute our fine club to some rich Arab oil sheikh or Russian oligarch and BUY our way to the promised land!
I am loyal and proud....doesn't mean I can't be ambitious for my club. We can earn enough money to sustain us in the Premiership without selling out. We need a decent sensible manager first!
But with our parachute and PL money we have bought more expensive players than ~ 70% of the championship can afford, so we are buying our way there, just more slowly than those backed by the obscenely wealthy. My objection to the current board is not who they are or how wealthy they are, it is that I don't think they have the nouse to establish us in the PL. Both these last two times we have been relegated, we have failed to strengthen and had awful transfer windows. Granted some of that can be put down to the managers, but its happened to too many managers over too many seasons for me to believe that it is not more down to the board being ineffective. I still can't believe we signed Pritchard instead of a CB or Striker! What a monumental FU that has been. I'll not pretend to understand RBF's position on staying where we are, I understand that as things stand with this board yoyoing seems as good as it might get. But I believe slightly more savvy recruitment would/could have kept us up and continued our building process. Every relegation stalls that, so lets get up there and stay up there this time. So yes I think we need to be ambitious, yes we must reach for the PL and yes I think that is possible with the current board. What we need though is a manager who will say "No not another midfielder, get me that CB and that striker" As was shown last season, our squad whilst laboured at the moment is not so far from one that can survive the PL. I reckon we are a good manager, a striker and a CB away from a side that could survive to be further built on and improved with the PL millions. All of that said, whilst I don't understand RBF's position, it is his and I don't see the point in berating him for it or questioning his passion for NCFC. We all manage to disagree with each other some of the time, or most of it! Bah!
I agree with that and would add, that we are loyal and proud of our club, not necessarily of its owners. I happen to like having local fans as owners, I just know that it limits our chances of ever winning anything. We can become a well run PL club with our current owners, if the manager is right and strong enough to tell the board how things need to be done. I would be kind of interested in a foreign oligarch too. I only have one life, and if in that life time some foreign numpty with more money than sense was to throw caution to the wind and get us challenging for titles or maybe a season or two in the champions league then, what the hey, move over Delia or Delia's Nephew lets step aboard the roller coaster. And before we all get our panties in a twist, I'm fully aware that said oligarch could consine us to debt and the lower reaches of the football pyramid, but I'll still support us, this is where I am with RBF, it doesn't matter where we are playing or with what prospects, I will always be City. Where we differ is that I would role the dice for the prospects of better. Bah!
On the plus side with all these posters returning their season tickets in protest I may get one next year
Some very good points being raised on this thread. I can see RBF's point and whilst I was hoping that we'd use this season to develop our youngsters, it is becoming more apparent that AN has a different view. Yes, I'd love to see us established in the PL and where is the AN who in pre-season said, "I'll give the youngsters a chance" and who continues to persevere with the likes of Martin and why keep him as captain???? I'd like to see a new manager, but I'm not sure who of the 'unemployed' ones would want to come here and who is available. I just don't think our board will be willing to really 'splash the cash' to get us someone decent and would rather go for the 'cheap option' again. Had we taken a little bit of a gamble last season and paid the asking price for Afobe, we might just have stayed up. Edit - I've just seen this on the EDP website - "More than 4,700 supporters have voted in the first 24 hours since this Pinkun online poll was launched on Monday morning, following the abject 5-0 Championship defeat at Brighton, and 72pc believe Neil deserves a chance to arrest the Canaries’ recent tailspin" But if you look at the actual voting results, it paints a completely different picture and I would say that the voting results are more like 30% each for him leaving now and the same for giving him as long as he likes.
As things stand today I will agree (and have done for what seems like forever) but we could become established in the PL once again, but not until serious investment is forthcoming.
To be fair, Neil has given more minutes to youngsters than any manager since perhaps Worthington? Both Murphy's, Thompson and Godfrey have had reasonable minutes this season, with others involved in cup squads. We simply don't have youngsters ready to step up and deputise in certain roles. To use Godfrey as our starting CB when only in the summer were we considering converting him from a defensive midfielder, is surely a step too far.
Fair comment DH, but I still worry when I see Martin at CB and IF we were to get promoted, then he has to be one (of several) that just wouldn't cut it in the PL. I just feel that Godfrey has the passion which Martin lacks.
I fail to see how any 'supporter' can admit to being comfortable with a club that seems intent on stumbling along shrouded in mediocrity when surely aspirations should be to compete at the highest possible level? I bet if you took a straw poll at the ground on a matchday, that attitude would be scorned and derided - and rightly so imho.
