http://www.carrowroad.net/cnews/index.php?post=fozzy-the-flop-still-trying Posts like this. He has a point- Fotheringham hasn't found his level, but I don't think there is any need for us to revel in others' downfall. Our remarkable success is, I think, a once in a lifetime achievement so a little bit of humility wouldn't go amiss. Along with that humility, a recognition that no we are in the Premier League, let's make the most of what we've currently got, rather than getting ahead of ourselves and trying to make wholesale changes to a decent squad. If there's one thing we can learn from our friends down the A140 out of their last Prem stint, it's that you don't get ahead of yourselves and you don't change a winning team too much. This is certainly not aimed at anyone in particular, just us as a whole. I find myself thinking at times, "all our squad are a bit crap" or "let's go sign someone really amazing". Then I snap out of it and realise that's not how a team game works
"once in a lifetime achievement"? Eh? What is? Don't know about you, but I'm a child of the 80's who was brought up on Norwich in the top flight so we are now back in our rightful position as I see it rather than enjoying "remarkable success".
agree munky. i was brought up with us challenging for honours and though i would never expect that sort of thing anymore because football has changed so dramatically, i do still believe we are a capable top flight club who have massively underachieved over the past 15 years.
I do believe in ups and downs but a club generally has a level that it 'belongs to' For example when Man City went into League 1 we knew they would come back up the pyramid, it was only a matter of time. Rushden's rise was the opposite but that was false, based purely on one man's money. Similarly I think that Wigan are due to return to a lower league soon as the Premier League is not their right place. Norwich really over time have really been a Championship side and we should be thrilled with the current posiiton and form. Long may it continue.
sometimes you really are hilarious i certainly must have missed ipswich challenging during my lifetime! for the record, 1987 was when i first got hooked - we led the league for some of the season before finishing 5th, 1989 same again, led the league till final four weeks of season, fa cup semi final too, 1992 cup semi final, 1993 led the title race until four weeks from end of season again... is that not challenging for major honours? agree with thurnby - over our history we have averaged out as being somewhere between the top flight and the 2nd tier. i'd be more than happy with a mid-table top flight finish these days though - times have changed!
"Top flight club"? Like Blackpool, the Sheffield clubs, Leeds Utd, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Bradford, Bolton, etc. etc.? If you totted up the number of years each club has been in the top division in their history and compiled a 20-club "Top Flight Club" league, do you really think we would be in it? Arsenal, yes, Man Utd, yes, .......... the list would make interesting reading. Any of us who remember the decades when First Division football was a pie-in-the-sky dream take nothing of that kind for granted I can assure you. Like empires, clubs rise and fall; those who survive long term as "top flight clubs" are very few. As jarrold posted on another thread, the main thing is to have a local club to support at all; some who can remember glory days don't even have that today!
Up to and including Season 2009-10. EVERTON hold the record for most seasons in the top flight - 107 seasons. ASTON VILLA are second with 99 seasons in the top flight. LIVERPOOL are third with 95 seasons in the top flight. ARSENAL are fourth with 93 seasons in the top flight. MANCHESTER UNITED are fifth with 85 seasons in the top flight. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_team_has_been_in_top_flight_football_the_longest#ixzz208HDN1fc
It gets harder each season. I'm fed up with all this false foreign investment in football clubs. Not blowing our own trumpet, we made it back based on judgement and ability. Of course there was luck like the ball going in off Jackson etc, but the last three years say we have been promoted twice and achieved a measure of success in the united nations of owners that is the Prem. If we can maintain the judgement and ability, we can stay in the Prem. Financially we should be one of the favourites for relegation. Look how Saints and Reading are spending large to try and stay up. Not based solely on judgement but on ability to pay. We did it many times from 72 onwards and did it while still being a selling club. It doesn't get easier, but the achievement is so much more to be pleased about than the aforementioned clubs and the QPR's of the division. Top flight we are and looking forward to proving it.
In our distant past we were generally a lower league club. In the past three or four decades we have been a yo-yo club with some highs and some lows. We are now a decent sized club, well-run with a strong and loyal fan base and with a good catchment area in a growing city which is increasing in wealth. For me this suggests that we should be able to maintain top division status for the foreseeable future. Whether we do or not is another matter but we are in a great position to get sufficient finance to make our future bright and certain.
Indeed, but equally true of every one of the clubs with whom we will be competing for survival, plus a lot of upwardly-moving clubs in the Championship itching to take our place. All have the same belief that a "bright and certain" future is within reach, yet only a few are likely to attain what you call "certainty", i.e. the knowledge that they are secure in the Premier League for the foreseeable future. I am optimistic by nature, but a realist also!
i don't think a club like norwich can ever be 'certain' of top flight status. we simply aren't big enough to guarantee it. what we can do is make ourselves well run so that if we go down we bounce straight back again. i feel this is pretty much what the club are aiming for - self sufficiency, without the need for premier league money.
Yes, I was typing mine while you were posting. I'm so slow, threads have usually left me way behind by the time I get to press the Post button. And apologies to all if I have been garrulous today; you can blame my dentist! [Edit] Actually that is a wholly inappropriate emoticon; I can barely open my mouth, never mind that wide!
