How long would you give Neil?

[morty]

Its fine to debate anything here, good or bad. As long as it doesn't descend into petty mud slinging, or becomes deliberately divisive.

I don't think the OP deliberately started the thread to stir anything up, and it does raise an interesting issue as to whether or not the board have learned anything from past mistakes, or changed their stance regarding how much time a manager gets. I don't think anyone would disagree, with hindsight, that maybe perhaps Hughton got a little too much time....

 

[Beastie]

Wow! I am staggered that Norwich City fans are having a discussion like this. Granted you are a much bigger club than my club Hamilton Accies, but I don't know whether to laugh or to cry reading this thread....you're really haven't quite grasped the measure of the man Alex Neil is. Enjoy your time with him because at Hamilton we are quite certain that he'll move on to bigger and better things than your good selves...and if you don't want him can we just have him back please, and we'll say no more about it!

 

[dj161]

I don't think it was a genuine discussion of moving on without Alex Neil, more of just a hypothetical situation, you could put virtually any managers name in this discussion when teams get promoted to the premiership, Di Matteo took west brom up, got sacked, Nigel Pearson took leicester up and got sacked, Nigel Adkins got Southampton back to back promotions and still got sacked, I'd be shocked and gutted if Alex Neil wasn't here at the end of the season but it certainly isn't a guaranteed thing any manager will be at their current club at the end of the season especially with the TV money on offer next season

 

[Moosheep]

I think you are misinterpreting the sentiment behind this thread. It is more about the fickleness of football fans than any kind of dig at AN.

 

[Din]

If we're looking in real trouble at around Christmas then perhaps we should consider his position. However I don't think there's much danger of that. I also agree with what's been said that even if we get relegated he's the best man to bring us back up. I know we can't really base too much on the first couple of games as there will be plenty of twists and turns throughout the season, but so far I've been very impressed. To me this is the best Norwich City team I have seen since I first started going 10 years ago or so. On paper our last year under Hughton where we had Fer, Van Wolfswinkel and Snodgrass was our best side, but as a group of players working together this side is far superior, and Neil is the catalyst.

 

[eatonparkboy]

If we're looking in real trouble at around Christmas then perhaps we should consider his position. However I don't think there's much danger of that. I also agree with what's been said that even if we get relegated he's the best man to bring us back up. I know we can't really base too much on the first couple of games as there will be plenty of twists and turns throughout the season, but so far I've been very impressed. To me this is the best Norwich City team I have seen since I first started going 10 years ago or so. On paper our last year under Hughton where we had Fer, Van Wolfswinkel and Snodgrass was our best side, but as a group of players working together this side is far superior, and Neil is the catalyst.

Leicester could have sacked Pearson a few times last season but he kept them up despite their previous dire position. I don't see the point in a club like us of sacking a manager if the football is good and all that is missing is the result. If the football is continuously dire then thats a different story. 

 

[El Convento]

Might be a question of how long he gives us.

 

[Moosheep]

Might be a question of how long he gives us.

That's a whole different discussion. AN does come across as a loyal character though, wanting to 'repay' the faith NCFC have shown him so lets hope we get a good few years out of him before he chooses to move on.

 

[Boyerboy]

And now we know. A caller to radio Norfolk on Monday said Neil should go after Sunday's performance and the after effects of the window have led to lots of social media claims that he is not up to the job! Hell there have been a few such mutterings on here.

I really thought the goodwill and respect for Neil would last longer than this. It is very disappointing. However, I am constantly amazed at the number of alleged City fans who seem to get most pleasure from attacking the club. Facebook is a disgrace. Who needs Ipswich fans when our own rush to put the boot in?

 

[Yellow Fever]

I do find it odd that so many fans choose to be so critical so much of the time. AN deserves far more for coming in and getting us up to 3rd place. We have four points from 4 games and should have had more against Palace, but some people only look at results. IMO, we'll push on from here and survive reasonably comfortably.

 

[Canaryboy]

 and the after effects of the window have led to lots of social media claims that he is not up to the job! 

Its ludicrous to pin the blame for this window squarely at the feet of Alex Neil when we don't know how things work at Carrow Road. 

He may have been left fuming himself that whoever was working on trying to close deals left him short of a centre back, having not landed a target from even the D list.

We have a "head of player recruitment", so presumably he hasn't done a very good job. 

But Alex Neil must surely sanction deals, which he insisted on when he got the job, so one question that I'd really like to know the answer to is why did he sanction the loan of Turner to Sheff Wed before the transfer deadline, when there is a loan window opening next week? Meaning that we didn't have to let him go before seeing if we could bring in a replacement? 

It is unlikely that anybody will be selling/loaning out players without Alex Neil's approval, so that is a valid question. 

 

[Wiz]

I think if we are in deep do do's at Christmas, the Board may blame AN to lessen the flak on themselves.

It could be a long old winter.

 

[Personal Trainer]

What flak should they be expecting? Any way AN is on a learning curve from new SPL Player-manager to PL Manager in less than a year!

I think if we are in deep do do's at Christmas, the Board may blame AN to lessen the flak on themselves.

It could be a long old winter.

Failure to sign players is equivalent to failing to buy the house you set your heart on. In both cases there is a "chain", if one person pulls out there is a huge knock on effect e.g the Gayle, Walters and possibly Naismith situation.

 

[Wiz]

What flak should they be expecting? Any way AN is on a learning curve from new SPL Player-manager to PL Manager in less than a year!

Failure to sign players is equivalent to failing to buy the house you set your heart on. In both cases there is a "chain", if one person pulls out there is a huge knock on effect e.g the Gayle, Walters and possibly Naismith situation.

That was one hell of a chain then trustsec.

I am concerned that Alex might be in danger of being used as a 'scapegoat' if we do get relegated though.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

I think people think we generally got out of jail last year when it oculd have been the start of a prolonged period outside the top division. People are frustrated that we seem to be repeating old mistakes in that there is a problem staring everyone in the face yet it doesnt get addressed.

The boards decisions in the second half of Hughton's relegation season deserve to be criticised. Many felt there were obvious faults that werent being acknowledged and they see the same pattern happening again when we've been saying we need a new centre-back for months and still nothing happens.

People are frustrated by inaction and thats how this window is being perceived. People see Neil as being part of that and so he is also getting a share of the blame.

Neil hasnt achieved success in the past through his transfer dealings. That element of his ability was an unknown until now. After an uninspiring window im not surprised its being called into quesiton

 

[Canaryboy]

we've been saying we need a new centre-back for months and still nothing happens.

We've been saying it for two years, even when Turner-Bassong had a decent partnership.

Not sure why so many Norwich fans think that Martin converting to centre back solves that problem, even when Turner has declined and moved on. 

Martin is not as good as Turner was at his best, so that's clearly not an improvement. 

That's the most frustrating thing for me, the failure to sign a centre back. Even if we couldn't sign a high profile player we could really have done with an extra body, even if it were just Curtis Davies or a prospect from the Championship like Harlee Dean. 

 

[Stan The Fan]

We've been saying it for two years, even when Turner-Bassong had a decent partnership.

Not sure why so many Norwich fans think that Martin converting to centre back solves that problem, even when Turner has declined and moved on. 

Martin is not as good as Turner was at his best, so that's clearly not an improvement. 

That's the most frustrating thing for me, the failure to sign a centre back. Even if we couldn't sign a high profile player we could really have done with an extra body, even if it were just Curtis Davies or a prospect from the Championship like Harlee Dean. 

Hard to believe but I know but R Martin IS a centre back that converted to a right back!

 

[KeiranShikari]

Feels like I'm watching a different Russ Martin sometimes. He really hasn't done much wrong in the last 8 months.

 

[Killiecanary]

Yeah I'm with you there Keiran.  Everything that goes wrong at the back is automatically his fault I think. 

 I see him as a decent CB, reliable and unspectacular.  Less showy than Bassong but does occasionally pull Seb out of jail.  

One of the things that most irritates / amuses me about the whole RM / new CB debate is that I haven't seen us linked with many that I have automatically thought 'yes, that's a clearly better defender than those we already have' 

for all the talk about Virgil Van Dijk, have you,ever actually watched him play?  He is the dictionary definition of 'lackadaisical!  Actually more like Bassong than Bassong is! 

 

[Canary World]

Its a delicate balancing act.

how well will he do early on. If we struggle by say mid November and Paul Lambert still available u would be tempted