The search for a new manager is always an exciting one for any football fan. The new style of football and renewed optimism is just around the corner, but for Norwich fans the managerial search is now a long-winded painful one.
I have grown up watching Norwich and it’s been a fairly eventful road. We have never found any real consistency in my short supporting career, the Paul Lambert era brought incredible success and exciting football but all good things have to come to an end – in comes Chris Hughton. Hughton did sustain Premier League football in the first season – I use ‘football’ in the loosest possible form – it was more like watching a game of poorly played chess, week in week out. The transfers he made were mostly good though, and he still carries his respectable managerial record now he’s at Brighton. I don’t blame the board for the appointment of Hughton, he had reputation and did a good job in terms of his objectives for well over a year.
The end of the Hughton era is where it all went wrong in my opinion though; the board choked in the most pivotal moments and consequently relegated us from the most lucrative league in the world. The sacking came far too late and the man we brought in was simply not up to standard. We could see what was wrong with Hughton for what seemed like an eternity; unfortunately the board couldn’t and it cost us big time.
Adams took charge when we all knew we were already down, only the most optimistic could have seen any other option. It was unfair on our club legend and he simply wasn’t fit for the job. We all know he has bundles of talent, what he did with our U18 team was a remarkable achievement; he wasn’t ready for the main stage at that point, though.
Ok, so we were down. Not great, but with the squad we kept hold of an easy promotion was on the cards, right? Wrong. We clearly didn’t learn from mistakes and appointed Adams, after a ‘European wide’ search that seemed to last for far too long. The hopeless optimism which linked us with every manager that has a good record soon went away when we took off our rose tinted glasses. After all that we ended up with Neil Adams, the man we knew would struggle when push comes to shove and in a hugely important season it seemed like the board had bottled it, again. ‘Cheap option’ echoed around twitter for days after the appointment and it certainly appeared that way. Where was Neil Lennon when we needed him – the more experienced Neil?
Skip to January and Neil Adams is no longer Norwich City manager after resigning due to 2 embarrassing cup exits and a 7th place league position. You have to feel sorry for Neil, the job he had done was very respectable and certainly got us playing some attractive football. The championship is no easy league and we were not playing badly, but the inconsistency and inability to motivate players was what eventually killed him off. The win at Portman Road and the comeback at Cardiff will always be remembered; it was ‘so close yet so far’ for Neil Adams.
Should all blame lie with the former youth coach, though? Not at all. The board has to take huge blame for this one, the appointment of Neil Adams was a poor choice, and there were far more capable managers out there that we somehow missed. Adams was never going to say no, he’s a man who bleeds yellow and green and if anyone in Adams’ situation was offered the job they would take it. Adams tried to get the team playing in the way the fans so badly craved and did a pretty good job at times. The Huddersfield and Watford games, amongst others, proved what we are capable of.
The players have to take some blame as well; I don’t see what goes on behind the scenes but I seriously question whether some players are willing to go that extra mile for this football club. When it’s all going well we look like a Premier League team, when a few things go against us though, the players don’t look willing to truly dig in. I hope I’m wrong, I really do.
Adams knew that under his guidance, this team were not going to get back to the Premier League, and consequently he put his dignity aside to step down at the right time. A truly admirable action and he should be given massive credit for doing so. We now go on the search of a manager with experience and flair that can turn our season around and get us back where we belong.
If we look at how things have gone over the past few seasons in regards to management, Mike Phelan is the obvious choice for next successor. It has looked that way ever since he was brought in to help Adams. If we learn from our mistakes then let’s hope someone like Tim Sherwood is brought in. We need someone with new ideas that can really get things moving in the right direction. I don’t think Phelan is that man; he has less managerial experience than Adams at the end of the day. Come on Norwich, let’s get it right this time.
