09 May 2008
For Footballing Reasons

DAVID MAIDSTONE

Well what do you remember about this season?

For me it was one dominated by the people you don't want to hear about, and of misjudgements (the Club doesn't like the word mistakes) made by those behind the scenes.

It started badly with a barbeque that laid low some of the team and made our star striker miss the first game. Well actually it started before that with a pre-season so well worked and prepared for, that our star recruit from Chelsea got injured and several others “picked up knocks”.

Oh and let's not forget the clauses in contracts that had already cost us the services of players and of a team photo that decided the make up of the squad.

More newsprint was filled with the Apprentice like escapades of a commercial department that has brought us The Greatest Ever Flop, and a special celebration shirt that you could wear at four home games before it was out of date. Although to be fair Jamie Cureton would love to play in that shirt all the time!

How about PR this season? We had managers complaining about the fans, players complaining about the squad, fans complaining about the directors, ex-directors complaining about shareholders, shareholders complaining about the press, and agents telling everyone all sorts of stories of comings and goings.

When you put that against binge Britain finding its way to Colney, and continuing rumours of Hollyoaks escapades amongst our younger players, you have to feel for a Media department that must be taking lessons from Max Clifford in damage limitation.

Remember the Oscars and all those thanks for those unseen people behind the scenes? Well at Norwich the unseen people seem to be making the headlines and this in a season where the Turners were coming in to go right through the Club's workings. Well no wonder they have disappeared without trace as they must have been horrified at what they found and run off across Mousehold crying.



There have been successes, I like Yellows and find it much better than Scores. The Business remains one of the best corporate entertaining facilities in the land. However even these have been weakened by book posters all over the walls - you don't get that in The Ivy, or even The Rushcutters Delia.

Football is big business and we need successful enterprises around the edges, but in chasing the dollar we are losing the spirit, and should that spirit go then the commerce will follow. I don't mind a NCFC credit card, or booking my holiday before a game, but timeshare, please no!

In business when times are hard it is important to concentrate on your core activities and not be distracted by moving into new areas where you are out of your depth. It is vital that you don't keep chasing new ideas without thinking them through properly, but stick to what the customer wants.

So as the powers that be sit down to discuss the next three year plan, can we the fans ask that they get back to the core activity and make sure that decisions are taken, in Glenn Roeder's words, “for footballing reasons”.