remember the capital city of over 6million people and if a successful club with spanking new stadium is there 30000+ fans will attend...you only get decent crowds as your board virtually give away season tickets and theres nothing to do in norwich most saturday afternoons!
well norwich has a catchment area of well over 1,000,000 where there are no other professional clubs, but we aren't going to get that many through the gates! qpr have such enormous competition and no matter what anyone says, people, especially younger people in london, will always be drawn by the big names, arsenal, chelsea, tottenham, even man united. its irrelevant why norwich are able to get bigger gates than many, its the fact we can. potentially we have one of the biggest fan bases in europe but people around here are also drawn to the 'big boys' because frankly, its easier isn't it! they like the glory.
Beef; You are aware that Butterfield is a product of the Barnsley youth system, not yours? How much compensation have you offered Barnsley by the way? i've heard they are not impressed. I have applauded your policy of giving young Englishman a chance to shine but think it's a risky game if that is all you are relying on. The kid is 22 and is recovering from a pretty serious injury so he will be doing well to make an impact in the PL next year, but good luck to him. QPR have created many heroes, Les Ferdinand from Hayes made a bit of an impact after we gave him a chance but that would be taking credit away from Hayes, kind of reminds me of the player that you clearly believe in. Heroes emerge for many different reasons; not just that they started playing for your club in their teens.
I think you're missing Beef's point. The young talent are being given the opportunity to prove themselves and if they do well they become heroes. Whereas QPR are signing players who have done well in the past but aren't as good as they used to be.
Nailed it Every time England fail they say we don't give young English talent a chance in the premier league I can't help but smile smugly...
I beg to differ wonky, the implication by beef is that we buy aged heroes and can therefore not create our own or that this is somehow wrong. I'm simply saying that anyone; whether a hero or not at another club before can become one at a new club, a la your Holt, he was no spring chicken when he signed for you was he? I also think you are failing to see signings that we have made that are as beef puts it are other peoples heroes that are not aged Adel Taarabt Alejandro Faurlin Jamie Mackie Samba Diakite
Beef; I agree with your comment about giving young Englishman a chance, I haven't disagreed with that point and never will. I would even endorse every team having to field at least 6 eligible English players. I just disagree with your hero point, gone are the days that one club can stake claim to a player for their whole career (JT and Gerrard aside) If one of Ipswich players joined you on loan this year and scored a goal that kept you in the PL, he would be a hero despite his previous clubs/age and dare I say it allegiance to Jamie Oliver.....
Then you have players like Ferdinand, Barton, Cisse, Bothroyd, Wright-Phillips and Johnson. Beefs said I've hot the nail on the head so I don't think I misinterpreted what he said.
Well we will have to agree to disagree on the interpretation of his words he uses to describe the fact that Norwich create heroes and we buy them.
Despite the relative size and populations of the cities we are located in it is fair to say that we are in more need of a bigger stadium than QPR. We fill our ground week in, week out and have people waiting to get hold of a season ticket. I don't know if this is the case with QPR - I hope so for their sake but it will take a significant leap of faith by the owners if they put even a 35k - 45k stadium in place as this will require them to almost double their attendances. I think that most City fans are happy with the policy of buying young English talent and running with it having seen the pitfalls of buying older players looking for a nice retirement cheque (Helveg anyone?). This is probably linked to the fact that our club nearly went bust and so many of us are very cautious about over spending and ending up in trouble again. I suspect if we were suddenly bought by a Saudi Prince then maybe a few opinions would change in terms of bringing in more expensive overseas players. As things stand we can go with young talent or raid the lesser European leagues in the hope of unearthing a Cisse or a Ba. I can't be the only one looking forward to seeing how our young English midfielders Howson/Pilkington/Bennett/Butterfield combine next season. Could be something really special (although "you can never win anything with kids" A Hansen)
Not the brightest spark this one. A signature is something that you think is ridiculous. If you think it's ridiculous of me to believe QPHAHAHA will do OK next season, go ahead and stick it in your signature
And I can't let the comment about no heroes stand I'm sorry. I'm sad for you that your a club that has that Grant holt came to us for half a million quid, fired us up two leagues, scored 3 times against ipswich, then tore the Premier league apart. The guy might as well wear a cape and his underwear over his trousers, even the latest contract thing hasn't put us off him. Short of joining Ipswich the guy is a bone-fide Norwich hero. But he's not the only one, pretty much every player has a "rags to riches" story and really believes in the club. Like Russell Martin playing through an IBS condition in the championship, ruddy third string at everton to England call up. Pilkingtons career threatening leg break to 7 goals in his first season (never even played in the championship) They're all great guys with great stories and we feel that much closer to them. And we'll defend them passionately if people unjustifiably slag them off (e.g grant holt is fat, Johnson is a cheat etc) We care more about our players than you do about yours, I'd say that's a fair statement.
Beef; Great comments and very well written, I have applauded your success with all your clubs policies and beside my tirade at Johnson after the game at LR I think you will struggle to see me slagging any of your individuals off, they have all earnt their place in the PL. I really don't understand your 'no heroes' comment, heroes exist at all clubs, I was and continue to just state that there are no rules or guidance on how old etc a player must be to become one. I have plenty of heroes from QPR's history and present day, Jamie Mackie is one who definitely fits the description you give of some of your players. (here I expect you to say that he would not be fit to lace 'insert name' boots) I also think that to suggest you care more about your players than we do is demeaning but then again I wouldn't expect you to say anything else, and I will treat it like I have done all your other jibes, as your personal opinion which we are all entitled to.
really interesting thoughts about heroes from both sides to be fair. its unfair to say qpr have none as proven with mackie but i think currently norwich are a rare beast to have quite so many we can relate to. maybe thats why only seeing one or two in an opposing team is a little odd totally agreed with norfolkbhoy above too - because we ourselves went down the old and expensive route a few years ago and it brought the club to its knees, we expect it to happen to every other team that tries it. that may not be the case, but i'm far happier with our own clubs setup than qpr's right now. whether r's fans believe that or not is really not going to bother me - its the truth and i reckon most city fans would say the same. i don't ever want my club to be put in jeopardy again. not ever
