Roeder gone - He told us so

Iain Dale, top political blogger, once a Norfolk resident and the man behind top West Ham blog "West Ham till I die" has a regular column in the Eastern Daily Press and would like to remind us that he told us so about Glen Roeder some months ago.

Well done Iain, yes you were right !

Come in Mr Roeder, your time is up

Actually, I don't dislike Glen Roeder. Yes, I gather he is a bit humourless and I think he can be too dogmatic. But at the end of the day he inherited a very poor squad and in my opinion, the squad we have now is a vast improement. The only problem is the erratic way they play.

For Roeder though the problem is that fans are losing patience. Another decent performance yesterday against a top team (and another narrow defeat) doesn't alter the fact that Norwich city level on points with teams in the relegation zone.

Picking the wrong eleven players

Right from the start tonight it was clear the wrong team was out on the pitch.

In summary, Adam Drury cannot play at centre half whilst Ryan Bertrand has not played well for about a month, so the inevitable switch of Drury to left back at half time made complete sense. Also, why is Antoine Sibierski allowed on to the pitch when he is unable to win headers, cannot hold the ball up and fails to inspire or perspire during a match. Again, his replacement by the excellent Hoolahan at half time showed what a monumental cock up it was to have put the starting 11 on the pitch.

Sadly, the game was already lost before half time after one calamitous error for the first goal and a sublime finish for their second. But in the second half, there was only one team in it, and it wasn't Crystal Palace.

Glen Roeder can moan to the players about their application, but he has got to accept that he picked the wrong team tonight, and that is what cost us.

AGM Stuff

Lots has been written in the Eastern Daily Press this week about the Norwich City AGM, with much criticism being aimed at the board about finance and at the manager about Darren Huckerby. my view is that most of this criticism is unjustified.

Lots of fans like to moan about Delia and Michael Wynn Jones, somehow under the impression that they are coveting Norwich City and preventing a takeover of the club. Media reports in the summer about the billionaire Peter Cullum's interest in the club came to nothing, but fans still seem to believe that Delia is raking it somehow at the expense of the club.

A few fans need a reality check.

Since taking over the club Delia and her husband ahve stuck about £1.5 million a year in to the club for no return at all. She allows the club to use her name for the "Delia's" restaurant, a name and a brand which would be worth a small fortune to her if she chose to launch restaurants by herself. Instead she has gifted this to the club, the restaurant makes several hundred thousand pounds a year for Norwich City football club, and still some fans moan.

As for Mr Cullum's interest, as Delia made clear, not one written offer has been received from Mr Cullum. The phrase "put up or shut up" would be the one I would use in relation to Mr Cullum. I am sure he has the best of intentions, but his unwillingness to deliver a deal has actually caused the club problems, which would be best avoided.

Then there is the criticism of Glenn Roeder's decision to release Darren Huckerby at the end of last season. This is a difficult one for many Norwich fans. We all remember Huckerby at his best, and even last year he seemed to be able to turn on the style and deliver a moment of magic, but these moments became fewer and far between, with the best of Hucks only being seen towards the end of the season and not during the worst winter months. Did he deserve a new contract ? Possible yes, I think so, but what did he want in terms of wages ? Norwich have made it clear that they are running at a £2 million defecit each year (this only being found by loans and investors like Delia and other Norwich supporting business people), and with Hucks on a reported £10k a week, this would represent 25% of the club deficit.

It was interesting too that his preferred choice of club in the USA (San Jose) was made in great part because of their pitch and the effect that Toronto's astro turf pitch (where he appeared to be heading when he first left Norwich) was likely to have on his dodgy hip. It is clear his hip was affecting his ability to produce in every game.

Emotionally, I'd have loved to have given him a proper send off, but financially and perhaps in terms of his performance over a whole season, I think Roeder made the right call.

So with another home game today, I go in hope rather than expectation, but I will not start criticising the board and despite misgivings about the performances of late, we must all get behind Glenn Roeder as there is no more money for players and so the team we have has to start performing.

Bad to worse ?

Another Saturday, another defeat, but worse than that, we seem to be going backawards in our development.

Towards the end of last season we went to Bristol City when they were flying high in second place in the league, and we played them off the park, only being consigned to defeat by one of the most bizarre ferereeing decisions of the year. But despite the defeat then, the performance gave the fans hope that things were really getting better.

Sadly, from my spies at the game, Norwich seemed moer toothless than ever and lack a create spark. Six months on, despite Roeder's clear out, were looking worse than ever.

Are Norwich fans starting to tire of Glen Roeder ?

In the summer Glen Roeder had something of a clearout. He got rid of fans favourite Darren Huckerby whilst people raining from physios, coaches and scouts were also shipped out of the club, many of whom had given the club years of great service. Even the kit man lost his job. Quite how his role affected Norwich's performance on the pitch was never explained, but to many people, however harsh, it was a sign that Glen Roeder was a man with a plan. it was rather unpalatable, but like any medicine, we were made to feel it would make us better.

Sadly, there is always a reaction though to a foul tasting medicine when it seemingly has no affect.

Twelve months on from the disastrous start we had under Peter Grant, Norwich are barely any better off, sit only just above the relegation zone and the harsh fact is that people are now starting to question Glen Roeder's abilities and whether he is not so much a man with a plan, but a man who makes lots of changes in order to make it seem like he is doing lots.

Clearly, on the pitch, he is not making the club any better. Norwich's best players were bought in under the previous regime (Russell stands out every game) and more and more people are muttering that Roeder has upset too many people and the team is still worryingly fragile.

What difference does 12 months make ? Very little.