His wikipedia stats are pretty stellar... Joking aside, his limited record so far is excellent, especially with a relatively weak side in Hamilton. He would certainly seem to fit the bill in terms of hungry and prepared to fit in the Norwich system. Would seem a McNally sort of appointment, but I don't know anything about his style. As risky as any other appointment I see us making. As for whether he's up McNally's alley seems to be a personal matter and none of my business.
............and had it not been for that bit of 'luck' we would still be up to our eyeballs in debt at best !
I know little about his style either. I know he has brought through many young players - their average age up there is practically kindergarten. Difficult to assess whether he'd have any pull over our ego-driven players. If he is the chosen one, it'll be a long term call rather than a 'get up this season' one.
Adams certainly had his fair share of bad luck on the injury front - Vadis in particular, though his injury record is abysmal - didn't realise that when we signed him. Not sure it affected his time here that dramatically though baring in mind when players like Hoolahan were fit he played them out of position or in Bennett's or Hooper's case, barely at all.
Must admit I've never heard of Alex Neil then why should I have done ? I've just googled him to find that he's only 33 and player/manager at Hamilton, if we thought Adams was a gamble ? ........................
Any manager will be a gamble but we do seem to be striving to take the biggest gambles we can at the moment!
I think you must be right - they will be patient if he's the next appointment. You are also bang on the money with our gambling! I will be right behind this appointment though - I almost prefer knowing nothing about the guy than it being a Warnock who is steeped in past problems
I think that we have all got to accept that anything good that has happened on and off the pitch in the last few years, including the Lambert era, was down to sheer fluke and good luck and everything that has gone wrong on and off the pitch, including the state of the world economy, is down to Delia, McNally, our Board and the Managers they appointed. Wouldn't it be nice if Delia now sold out to Freddie Isaassetstripper and in 5 years time when Colney is wall to wall housing, Carrow Road is a lovely new shopping complex and we are playing in Div 2 ground sharing with Wroxham, we could look back on the really bad old days when, after 3 years in the Premiership, we were 7th in the Championship only 3 points off the playoffs, owned everything we needed and were financially stable.
Fair point well made, but the problem tends to be as long as we're in 'rude' health financially, then sod everything else. Where's the ambition - if they really wanted to get back to the top flight at the first attempt, was Adams really the best option out there to undertake such a difficult task - even Warnock or Pulis would have found it difficult. Seems to me our board are more concerned with the state of the annual accounts presented at the AGM than they are in honestly evaluating and coughing up for what is the reason for their whole existence - how we perform on the pitch. Hughton and Adams were both relatively 'risk-free' appointments, and cheap too. Imho the best £450k this board have ever spent was compo to Colwho for Lambert, IC and Gary Karsa. We need this next appointment to be a ruthless, ambitious and proactive one, otherwise we're no further forward.
I understand your sentiment Cromer but, whether we like it or not, Football today is a business and the trading balance sheet is of prime importance. All businesses invest and, sometimes, speculate in order to improve and grow but it has to be done prudently. Football Clubs are no different depending on their circumstances. Man City and Chelsea can speculate because of owners with deep pockets to cover any losses. Arsenal and Man U can speculate to a lesser extent because of the income they generate. Spurs and Liverpool could speculate because they sold their best players. Most other Clubs have to try and live within their means which limits speculation and if you try and spend money you haven't got and it goes wrong - look at Leeds and Portsmouth. Even managerial appointments can be expensive - Palace had to pay £2m to get a manager Newcasle were on the verge of sacking 2 months ago - nor, as proved by Moyes and most other Managers sacked in the last 12 months, are they risk free. It would probably cost us £2m to get Robinson - assuming he would come - and, in my opinion, he has no more certainty of succeeding than Hughton or Adams had. Do we then spend another £2m getting rid of him if things don't improve. That sort of activity does the balance sheet no good at all. I think that we all agree that there is no obvious candidate for our vacancy and whoever is appointed will be a gamble but as a business the Board do have to keep one eye on the accounts when making that decision.
I do feel sorry for Neil Adams, must have been hard to walk away from your dream job. But also a lot of respect and glad he'll still be part of the club. I'm just hoping the club will get it right now.
Will Adams return when the dust has settled. Having to report and be answerable to people who previously reported to you would be a quite humiliating experience.
That's a good point. I suppose it depends on the role but they seem to be indicating he will come back. I hope he works with the youngsters again. Let's face it, he won't get another managerial job so he should go back to something he was doing well at.
Although Neil Adams resigned, lets face it he didn't really resign. I'd say it was a case of Neil you will be leaving your post, if you resign you can come back in a diffrent role in the Summer. Well, I certainly hope that is what happened because an actual resignation doesn't make our board look particularly if they couldn't read what was happening.
Yep, I don't believe for a second that this resignation was of Adams' volition. It's practically impossible given the speed of getting Neil down to interview and all the other circumstances. Also, Adams would get no pay out if he voluntarily resigned and I have no doubt he is being well compensated for the current circumstances. I am positive there was truth in the planned return, but I doubt it will be as youth team coach. I suspect it will be in a scouting role or coaching. Something quite cushty. Leaving aside the new managerial appointment, I think the board have managed the process of removing Adams superbly (albeit it was their fault in the first place). This has none of the hallmarks of the stuttered bizarre timing of Hughton's sacking and all the shoddy talk around the appointment of Adams.
I don't think there's any doubt really, is there? Probably offered the chance, if he should wish to continue his managerial career elsewhere, to leave the club completely or he could remain at the club and a resignation would be the amicable ending. Not sure too many people think he wasn't pushed or at the very least given an ultimatum. The fact he is taking a break is also a good idea - his head must have turned to mush! Edit. Sorry Rob - you'd basically said the same thing - didn't see your post.
On a side note, I'm surprised you don't think Adams will manage again though Supers, unless you know his personality well enough (not being sarcastic, you may)? His record, believe it or not, at Norwich is pretty good - 40% wins puts him within the top 10 managers of Norwich by win percentage! You can hardly say he had an entirely easy ride and he managed a point away to Chelsea and the Championship is well know to be tough, anyone can beat anyone. Of course, he clearly wasn't up to the task expected with the squad we have, but you only have to look at the likes of Fulham and Cardiff to see that other managers suffered even worse in broadly comparable circumstances. I can very much see a, say, League 2 club taking him on. Whether he wants to go back is a different question! As you say, it's no surprise he wants a break...
I won't say I'll 'eat my pants' if he manages again (!!) but I'd be flabbergasted, I really would. I'd say there's less than 1% chance anyone (no matter which division) would appoint him. He never showed any intent to manage a football club between the time he retired and the time he managed us (15 years). It's not his fault, he just isn't cut out for it. He's decent at coaching. That's where he will remain one suspects.
