- McNally’s blunt honesty and social media presence divided the City faithful.
- The former chief executive remains a polarising figure in the club’s history.
- Era was defined by Premier League highs and crushing relegation battles.
As we continue our profile of potential Norwich City heroes and villains, up next is another sporting director- chief executive David McNally.
Terminally online?
Depending on your viewpoint, David McNally’s engagement on the fans online was either a positive or a negative.
Some appreciated that he was more open with the fans while others may have felt he got dragged into conversations that weren’t strictly necessary.
It is fitting then that he would spoil his resignation with a hastily deleted tweet on 7th May 2016 before subsequently resigning two days later.
Brutal
When Norwich City were relegated (a sadly recurring theme) David McNally typically didn’t mince words
“We’re all at the end of the season gutted, disappointed, deeply frustrated and I have to say quite embarrassed that this great football club has suffered relegation. It’s not what the fans deserve, and it’s not what we expected this year”
Hindsight
One topic for debate that hit McNally’s tenure was perceived delay in sacking Chris Hughton, something that he took issue with
“If we go back to last summer, we finished 11th in the Premier League with the 20th biggest payroll in the league. Those are the facts. We over-performed last year with the financial investment, that’s it, so Chris did a good job and most Norwich City supporters accepted that he deserved another go this season.”
The fans
While McNally wanted to lay out the facts to fans he was quick to assure them that he was grateful for their support
“We win together, we lose together, and so we are very fortunate that we’ve got the best supporters who have followed us in their thousands across the country again, and I’m sure they’ll do the same next season as we attempt to take the Club forward again.”
Familiar pattern
Overall, I don’t think it was David McNally’s fault specifically that Norwich City have repeatedly found themselves in a pattern of getting promoted, struggling, getting relegated and having the cycle continue.
Indeed in recent years we have not had the benefit of promotion and perhaps it may mean in future we don’t take promotion for granted so much.
I also felt that McNally showed respect to the fans and arguably was more open than a lot of equivalent executives.
Verdict: Hero
What do you think? Did David McNally dither with Hughton’s sacking? Or would you have done the same thing in his position? Let us know!
