Money! Money! Money!

Daphne Griffith, NCISA This season the football coverage on web pages, column inches and TV and radio airtime has been dominated by money. Apart from the glitz of the World Cup, pundits are spending more time discussing the ownership of clubs and the funding of the game than ever before.

Daphne Griffith, NCISA

This season the football coverage on web pages, column inches and TV and radio airtime has been dominated by money. Apart from the glitz of the World Cup, pundits are spending more time discussing the ownership of clubs and the funding of the game than ever before. A few high profile clubs still have money to burn, but for the remainder administration (or should I say maladministration?) is rife throughout our home football leagues. This week, Portsmouth has been unable to pay its players AGAIN, while at the other end of the football glamour spectrum one of our local clubs, Kings Lynn, is left dangling by a thread for another week.

Every Norwich supporter knows our own club is having to be extremely cautious. Lack of money is behind the decision to end evening reserve games. This is a decision which will save a few thousand pounds, but which has upset a lot of fans (including young fans). I understand why I won't be able to spend any more chilly evenings muffled up in the Jarrold stand watching fringe and youth players, but I am not happy about it!

Although there have been dark rumours circulating about the dire financial state at our club, I await the AGM in February with interest and try to remain optimistic that the new-look Board, David McNally and Paul Lambert and his team know what they are doing. A few things have happened in the last few weeks which have given me a little hope:

First, the club secured the excellent Fraser Forster's services for the rest of the season. Second, Paul Lambert has brought in two new loan players who seem to want to stay. Third, the dispatch of Goran Maric and the continued loan-out of Simon Whaley demonstrates that Russell Martin and Anthony McNamee will have to show the manager pretty quickly why they have been brought in if their signings are to be made permanent. Fourthly we are out of the FA cup. We were pretty dismal at Carlisle and Paul Lambert was quick to say so. However the way this defeat was handled does give me hope: it wasn't followed by huge public hand-wringing and recriminations about loss of earnings. In fact the loss of another long away trip, to Everton, with the potential of injury and fatigue to players isn't too upsetting, although we will have lost a fair bit of money.

Promotion is paramount to the club's long-term financial security and Tuesday's great result at Southend shows the team is well back on track.

Prudence is dead! Long live common sense and good management!