Norwich City vs Preston(home) Saturday 25th November.

[Canaryboy]

Similar with Mike Ashley actually wasn't it.

He made them debt free, but renamed the stadium the Sports Direct arena and a lot of his merchandise deals are probably tie-ins with his company. E.g. Puma kit production probably tied in with a favourable supply deal for his shops. 

People don't succeed in business by becoming good at wasting money. They may be speculative, but football isn't a good bet. 

Then there are other arguments. You can get really rich, then really old, and decide "well I can't take it with me" and start giving back to your community or the wider world. Watched a documentary the other day about a man who made $8 billion and gave the whole lot away, secretly, is now 86 and penniless. 

Those people do exist, but does throwing money at slimy football agents and greedy footballers really qualify as philanthropy? Going to earn so much more respect by spending £1 billion on malaria nets or providing clean water purifiers to the third world, or setting up a grant system for impoverished students to help them fund education, that's real philanthropy. I'm not sure giving money to people like Jamie O'Hara and Joey Barton is. 

We wouldn't even get an offer from a gambling mogul like Coates who wants to name Carrow Road the 'Bet whatever stadium' until Jeremy Corbyn has gone away, seeing as he wants to ban gambling advertisement in football. 

 

[morty]

I would love to know what Premiership owners actually get out of their investment, in real cash terms. Like you say above though its all sponsorship etc. I doubt there are any owners taking real cash profit out of what they do. But then again, they must do, they don't do it just for the love of it.

 

[Canaryboy]

I would love to know what Premiership owners actually get out of their investment, in real cash terms. Like you say above though its all sponsorship etc. I doubt there are any owners taking real cash profit out of what they do. But then again, they must do, they don't do it just for the love of it.

I bet there are more owners who walk away with a loss than there are who walk away with a profit. 

Safe to say that the only chance you've got when buying a Championship side is to take them up on the cheap and sell whilst in the Premier League. That was probably what Marcus Evans was trying to do, before he got stuck with a toxic asset  :lol:

Here's what Cullum actually said about Delia and MWJ at the time by the way....

"the two of them have been brilliant for Norwich City - and I've always said that. Every home and away game they are there. They've put a lot of their own personal wealth into this. If you happen to be Abramovich and you have stuck £10m into Norwich City, it's an accounting entry that barely covers the cost of a holiday. But here are two people who have put in a considerable amount of their total wealth. So I feel it's disappointing if they are now being seen by some as the devil incarnate. It's unkind and it's unfair."

I think it came out that his friend Charles Clarke MP had over-egged our situation a little bit after promising to find investment and Cullum basically only stepped up because he thought we were on the brink, hence why he offered £0 and his proposal was to clear the debt. So in that sense his offer was a fair one. 

He was basically offering an alternative to administration, which was a good thing for him to do. But the club managed to avoid administration regardless and then cleared the debt organically within a few years.... so hardly a huge missed opportunity which would have guaranteed our status as an iconic European football team for eternity. 

 

[morty]

Yeah I think you are right there about our man Marcus 

 

[Din]

Can't remember the last time I didn't go to a home game but I will be missing this one! We'll probably go and win 5-0 now  (won't be holding my breath though). Will be hopefully able to watch the game online, don't like the idea of someone sitting in my seat though aha.

Disappointed Wildschut isn't starting again. I think he's exactly what we need in the side at the moment so I'm not sure why Farke is so reluctant to play him. Wasn't able to watch the Forest game but sounds as if the performance was a bit better but that goal in the last 15 minutes was a big blow.

Great to see Pritchard back on the bench today. Hope he hasn't been rushed back to be fair but assuming he is fully fit he'll be a massive boost.

I'll be interested to see what sort of reception Alex Neil gets. I personally hold no grudges against him we've all moved on but I doubt some fans we'll see it quite like that. OTBC!

 

[Canaryboy]

Think is may be our 4th official! http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/meet-the-norwich-city-superfan-who-owns-every-matchday-programme-since-1971-1-4946418

 

[GJP]

Good job Maddison fluked in that freekick.

 

[hogesar]

Really poor.

Bit concerned it appeared we were going to sub Reed off for Wildshut and Wes gestured not to make the sub and we didnt!

On top of that some real poor performances. How Oliviera didnt get subbed when he couldnt be arsed to challenge for an aerial ball for the 15th time is beyond me.

 

[Fenway Frank]

Biggest thing for me was Jerome not getting on the pitch, it was more suited for him today

 

[hogesar]

Biggest thing for me was Jerome not getting on the pitch, it was more suited for him today

Yep, should have come on although big ask for that to change. 

We are far too easy to play against at home. Did Preston ever feel really under the cosh? I doubt it.

 

[Canaryboy]

Looked short of confidence.

Nice to see Josh Murphy actually get a bit fiery early on, about time we saw some passion from him even if it was because he was angry with himself for missing a sitter.

I actually think Maddison's goal was intentional but still worrying that we find it so difficult to score from open play. 

Wasn't a terrible performance but if we can't find a way to win these games at home then we're going to end up being dragged towards the relegation zone. Been so long since we ever bad to talk about the relegation candidates in the Championship, but Hull and Sunderland have moved to sack their managers. The latter won today and the former are linked with Lambert. and the bottom team were unbeaten in 7 before today.

A bit depressing looking down the table for the first time in this league since 2008.

 

[GJP]

I actually think Maddison's goal was intentional 

Never.

If I was him I'd say I meant it but he was just putting that ball in to the far post to be attacked.

 

[OldRobert]

Whether he meant it or not, better make the most of it, as I can't see him being with us for much longer.  I'm sure somone will have a punt on him in January, if not then, the summer for sure.

 

[Canaryboy]

I knew a kid from Norwich who could put the ball literally anywhere he wanted from any position in or 5 meters out of the 6 yard box.... stick a bottle cap somewhere and he'd hit it first time, he'd probably get 5/5 on the crossbar challenge. I can remember him putting the ball on the corner spot and saying "watch this" and putting it in the top corner. 

Problem was he was the laziest bastard I've ever known as well. Hardly ever broke a sweat and wasn't interested in performing any other job other than applying a finish. He was released at 14 from Norwich after 6 years and basically told "you are the most talented striker we have, but the laziest player in any age group, if you worked on that we'd have you back".... and he said "I'll just play for King's Lynn"  :lol:

I'm not joking, from where Maddison was today he could have done exactly what he did... intentionally. I wouldn't rule out Maddison noticing the keeper's positioning was off (It was) and sticking it right there on purpose. He's the new Beckham. 

 

[GJP]

He's the new Beckham. 

Lol.

 

[Canaryboy]

Lol.

You laugh, but Beckham wasn't a regular until 21, didn't make his league debut until he was 20. 

He was a late developer. 

Didn't burst onto the scene at 17/18 like Giggs and Rashford.

 

[GJP]

You laugh, but Beckham wasn't a regular until 21, didn't make his league debut until he was 20. 

He was a late developer. 

Are you sure about any of that?

 

[Canaryboy]

Are you sure about any of that?

If you want me to be more precise, he'd only made 16 appearances in all competitions by his 20th birthday of which 9 were in the league and 5 of those 9 were for Preston in what is now League 2. 

He broke through into the Manchester United team more regularly when he was 20, getting a mix of sub appearances and starts, and was a regular starter for them at the age of 21. 

Furthermore, there is an entire chapter in one of Sir Alex Ferguson's books about how he knew Beckham had serious talent but was, to quote him, "a late developer". 

Maddison was 21 two days ago, and at the same stage of David Beckham's career (by 21st birthday) he had played fewer games and scored fewer goals than Maddison, although a healthy proportion of those games were in the Premier League.

I wouldn't bet against Maddison establishing himself as a 'top class' player, if you wouldn't then you are probably in a minority. 

 

[GJP]

He's never going to be top class.

 

[Canaryboy]

For me he's the best prospect we've had since Bellamy. If we ignore Harry Kane. 

I'm not even somebody who gets over excited about kids, I've never really rated the Murphy twins for a start. 

Try and enjoy him a little while you can, he'll be gone in the summer for something like £15m and will probably making his England debut next season. 

He's clearly Premier League and a bit of experience away from becoming a real talisman and match winner. 

ps. Where was Hoolahan at 21? Where was Vardy?