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Stephen Fry out Thomas Smith in

Discussion in 'Norwich City' started by yarco canary, Jan 19, 2016.

  1. ilovedelia

    ilovedelia Well-Known Member

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    TomSmith isn't new to this, he's been a supporter, season ticket holder and active behind the scenes for quite a while. He's also a nice bloke, I don't have a problem with him.
     
    #21
  2. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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  3. Norfolkbhoy

    Norfolkbhoy Well-Known Member

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    But then you do love his auntie, don't you? Seriously though if the plan is to bring in the next generation of the family with a view to him being groomed for the big chair after being exposed to how the club runs by professionals such as McNally then I can see the sense in the current board having this as an exit strategy.

    I do however feel Delia may have missed a trick and been better off teaching him how to write cookery books prior to coming onto the board so if we were to run out of cash he could rattle off a tome about how to toast bread and we'd be up and running again.

    It is a concern for me that often when family members are parachuted into positions of power in organisations they prove to be far less capable than those whose boots they attempt to fill - both Delia and Michael were hugely successful individuals prior to taking over the reins here whereas Thomas does not appear to have set the world on fire in anything he has attempted to date. Hopefully NCFC will prove to be the niche in life he is suited for and he will reward the faith invested in him by his relatives - I am sceptical but only time will tell and I sincerely hope he proves to be more than a man of straw.
     
    #23
  4. ilovedelia

    ilovedelia Well-Known Member

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    Not sure what to make of this....but if it wasn't for Delia we wouldn't have a club as we know it, so she has my love for that alone.
     
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  5. General Melchett

    General Melchett Well-Known Member

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    In fairness that is just one possible outcome, we do not know what offers have been received for the club at what points during her tenure. The club has had up's and downs during her ownership but is in rude health now so she hasn't been bad for us in the long run, but who knows, what if the sheiks who took over Man Citeh had asked to buy us and she had diened them to be of not the right sort. She took us to the brink and a lucky/inspired apointment of McNally and then Lambert turned things around, but who's to say things couldn't be better had she sold to Peter Cullum or any number of others she may have knocked back?

    I'm relatively glad to have her as a fan at the helm as things go, it's often better the Devil you know but things could be better not only worse if she had sold up.

    Bah!
     
    #25
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  6. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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    You advocate of the devilish variety, you :emoticon-0104-surpr
     
    #26
  7. ilovedelia

    ilovedelia Well-Known Member

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    Once again still not sure what to make of this......Delia saved our football club from extinction! Guess some of our fans would like to have a Sheik or American owner who's main interest is to funnel money through the club as a tax dodge, and not care about the supporters. Remember Fernandez tried to buy us at one point and was told to clear off, is that the sort of person you want owning and running the club??
    How do you know that things could be better if she sold up??
     
    #27
  8. canary-dave

    canary-dave Well-Known Member

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    With you all the way on this ILD, good to see you back posting!

    Remember Delia came out of retirement to make a load of Waitrose adverts with ALL the money going to NCFC - Would Peter Cullum have done that? I don't think so!
     
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  9. JM Fan

    JM Fan Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I do remember that incident and I'm sure most of the fans are really glad that he was told to go and spend his money elsewhere. I'm sure I'm not alone in having someone who is a true fan at the helm and by all accounts, that is what we will have in Thomas Smith!! <ok>
     
    #29
  10. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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    Nobody knows for sure, it's all guesswork and speculation. We'd definitely have more money to 'assemble' a better playing squad (alias try and buy our way to becoming a permanent fixture in the top half) but at what expense?
    Change the name (Hull)? Change the shirt colour (Cardiff)? I'm sure none of us would want cr@p like that to start occurring, but you either have a wealthy backer, suffer their whims and idiosyncrasies and become far more quickly established as a top flight side, or you tolerate the highs and lows of being a yo-yo club as your backers are not really 'well endowed' enough to prevent that happening. <yikes>
    It's the double-edged sword scenario again.
     
    #30
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  11. canary-dave

    canary-dave Well-Known Member

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    Using your two examples, how are they doing in the top flight now?
     
    #31
  12. General Melchett

    General Melchett Well-Known Member

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    Was Delia not at the helm though when we where on the cusp of administration having presided over our relegation to lge1 after employing Gunn who had no real managerial experience?
    I'm fairly sure I did not say i knew things would be better, I meerly speculated that they could be! as they could also be worse.
    And no I would not like Fernandez running the club, but you could argue that he was a decent manager away from being a good solid PL club at this point. His level of investment in the right hands could have yielded a Southampton like position, QPR have payed similar if not higher wages and transfer fees. He also has not deserted them yet! So he could yet be a stupid but well meaning owner who has made some big mistakes along the way (Sound familiar?) but could bankroll them to levels way beyond their means by fanbase alone.

    Not all rich owners appear bad by the way. Look at Abramovich or the Sheiks at Citeh. They have both bought/brought untold success to clubs that previously were not close to competing for silverware. With that they get European football, more TV coverage, better football (Not Chelsea all the time) there team wins lots and in Citeh's case at a fairly darned reasonable rate. Do they truely care about the fans? Who knows? But if they are getting success that pretty much looks after the fans.
    I don't sit here wishing for a change, as I said better the devil you know but, I'm not close minded enough to see no wrong in Delia et al and that just maybe there could be someone out there to kick us on up into the stratosphere.
    Would we all like to see Aguero or Messi firing in a goal to clinch the PL title for the Yarmy? I know I would, it can't happen under Delia and it's unlikely to happen one way or another but wouldn't it be something.

    Bah!
     
    #32
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  13. Norfolkbhoy

    Norfolkbhoy Well-Known Member

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    ILD I think that all of us are aware how much Delia loves the club and how much that she has personally invested in it and how her past actions have ensured that we are where we are today although there have been a few hiccups along the way. Any sane NCFC fan would acknowledge her considerable contribution to the history of the club and show appreciation for this. I don't think either GM or I are questioning her past actions merely the appointment of TS which represents the future of the club.

    I think the point being made is that we do not know how good a board member Thomas Smith can or will be. To bring in someone to the board with no great knowledge of business or football (other than as a fan) represents a risk and if he were not a relative of Delia he would not be anywhere near being offered a position on the board.

    So we have a new director without much to bring to the table other than his lineage. The question is whether this is a good or a bad thing. My earlier post merely opened this as a question - he may prove to be a fantastic director in time but it is not unreasonable to contend that he may be dead weight. A lot will depend on how seriously he takes his apprenticeship but I would have thought if the long term plan was for him to have the Chair when Delia and Michael decide to call it a day then it may have been prudent to get him on board initially in a less high profile role within the club so that he can learn the ropes and if he shows aptitude then there is a place on the board and a huge future up for grabs for him. By putting him straight from the street to the board he is going to come under scrutiny and where is the incentive for him to perform? He has contributed little other than turn up in the Directors box to the club and whilst he may be a nice bloke there are plenty of nice blokes out there who have run businesses into the ground.

    I don't think it is heresy or a stand against the current board for anyone to question this appointment. If another of Delia's relatives who played a little Sunday League football got a professional contract with City I'm people would be up in arms about it so I don't see why an appointment as critical as one to the board room cannot be questioned.
     
    #33
  14. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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    Not desperately well, obviously, but my point was the taking a 'risk' with any foibles an incoming oligarch or sheikh might have when they acquire a new plaything.
    And from that viewpoint, Hull and Cardiff are very relevant examples indeed <ok>
     
    #34
  15. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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    Valid, interesting and well made points, Generalissimo and Norfolkbhoy <applause>
     
    #35
  16. JM Fan

    JM Fan Well-Known Member

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    Yes, all valid points and as has been said, where would we be had mcNally not been persuaded to become CEO - I dread to think!!!!
    I live in hope that we will unearth a Bale/Walcott etc a few years down the line, but I'm confident that if Delia does sell out to a wealthy owner, it will be for the right reasons and in the best interests of NCFC!!!
     
    #36
  17. ilovedelia

    ilovedelia Well-Known Member

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    Tom Smith is replacing Stephen Fry! Surely Tom has more football knowledge than Fry??
     
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  18. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
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    #38
  19. KIO

    KIO Well-Known Member

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    please log in to view this image

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    #39
  20. Norfolkbhoy

    Norfolkbhoy Well-Known Member

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    I don't think that Steven Fry was ever being touted as the future Chairman of the club to take over from Delia/Michael when they choose to hand over the reins. Thomas Smith is. To compare the two is to utterly miss my point.

    I honestly couldn't care less that neither Smith nor Fry have professional football knowledge - both come from the standing of keen supporter, no more no less. What I do care about is how capable Thomas Smith is if he is being groomed as the heir apparent and I don't see how anyone could be as twitchy as you appear to be over the mere suggestion that just because your aunt and uncle are successful people capable of running a football club you can too may not be the best way to appoint someone to the board.

    I honestly cannot fathom why he has been parachuted onto the board rather than brought in in a less high profile capacity to see if he can do the job because if he is not up to it then the board is not a great place to fail.
     
    #40

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