So the board of Norwich City approached Nigel Worthington to see if he wanted his job back.
Worthington is extremely fond of Norfolk and still spends a large amount of his time there when he is not on Northern Ireland duty.
He has done a steady, if not spectacular, job as coach of Northern Ireland but his work as the Canaries' boss was under appreciated at the time and it is probably only now that the board and fans are beginning to understand just how good he was. He was the guy who steadily improved the team whilst in the Championship, culminating in promotion as champions of the division in 2004.
Worthington's eye for a player was pretty accurate too. His astute work in the transfer market, either for loans or permanent deals, brought Peter Crouch, David Bentley, Dean Ashton, Robert Earnshaw and fans' favourite Darren Huckerby to the club. Oh how Norwich would love to be able to call on the services of just one of those players now.
It started to go wrong on the final day of the 2004/05 season. He had taken City to within a whisker of staying up after a remarkable run of victories, including a memorable 2-0 win at home to Manchester United, but on that final day they crumbled. Embarrassingly defeated 6-0 at Fulham and with it relegation.
The following 18 months saw them spend most of the time between mid table and the play offs but rarely threatening automatic promotion. After a defeat away at Plymouth, when the performance could be best described as 'limp', a letter to the fans was issued in the most appalling fashion, through the local press. Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones issued a strongly worded statement that effectively gave Worthington two games to save his job.
Forget that memorable play off final where they missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins. Forget the dominant season that led to promotion. Forget that memorable season in the top flight. Forget the quality of players he had brought to the club. Forget the fact that, despite a disappointing start to the 2006/07, season they still lied just a few points from the play offs.
These moments had been erased from the short-term memories of the fans and illustrated the short sightedness of the board.
Instead they proceeded with their threat with this statement. They may as well have sacked him there and then as with that statement Worthington's bolt had been well and truly shot. If you were a player after reading that statement you knew you had nothing to play for. No one to play for. You had the excuse already lined up for you. It was all the manager's fault, after all.
What followed was a 4-1 defeat at home to Barnsley and Worthington was out just hours afterwards. The board had even gone back on their promise of two games, he was gone after just one.
In every sense Delia et al let the club down.
They then appointed Peter Grant who later quit after admitting that he could turn things around but did not know if he wanted to. Shocking.
Despite his deficiencies, Glenn Roeder could not be criticised for his lack of trying but this club have been on a downward slope since 27 September 2006 when 'that' statement was released. And so we fast forward to January 2009 and after Glenn Roeder's dismissal the board finally realise the error of their ways, enquiring about the possibility of Nigel Worthington coming back to the club. It must have been tempting for him as he cares for the club dearly and loves the area.
However, he held firm to his commitment to the Northern Irish cause and you would expect nothing less of an honest football man. Well done Nigel.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Mind games
To understand why England have improved so much during Fabio Capello's first year in charge we need to look deeper than the introduction of Theo Walcott onto the international stage or the re-invention of Emile Heskey as a fulcrum for Wayne Rooney to play off. It was all in the mind.
And the single most significant moment during Capello's reign so far came after the 1-0 defeat to France back in the spring. "I told the players I was very happy", the Italian mused. "I think the players were surprised as most were disappointed with the result but I told them that we played well for 30 minutes. If we can play well for 30 minutes against a good team like France in Paris then we can play well for the whole game I reminded them.
He continued: "We had taken a big step forward from the Switzerland game which also pleased me. Before that game (against Switzerland) we had trained very well but then when we played at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans we played badly. It was then that I realised the problem was a mental one and not a physical one.
Hearing Capello elaborate this week on the reasons why England proudly sit top of their World Cup qualifying group with a 100 per cent record was reminiscent of hearing a young Nick Faldo. When Faldo won his first senior title he realised he could win one title every year. Upon this realisation he thought: 'If I can win one title per year, then why can't I win five?' His improvement was dramatic and his mental fortitude will always go down as one of his biggest strengths.
If England are to realise their dreams at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 then they will surely have to adopt an ability to cope with the pressure similar to that of Germany. The Germans have not missed a penalty in a competitive match since 1976. That includes shoot-outs and penalties in open play. England, meanwhile, have exited five major tournaments after their failure from 12 yards. It is likely that success in a penalty shoot-out will be necessary if England are to be successful in South Africa. Four out of the last five winners of the World Cup have had to successfully negotiate a penalty shoot-out en route.
Capello has a squad at his disposal capable of going far in South Africa but then so do seven or eight other nations. The difference between the winners and the also-rans is usually small. It is usually a mental one.
And the single most significant moment during Capello's reign so far came after the 1-0 defeat to France back in the spring. "I told the players I was very happy", the Italian mused. "I think the players were surprised as most were disappointed with the result but I told them that we played well for 30 minutes. If we can play well for 30 minutes against a good team like France in Paris then we can play well for the whole game I reminded them.
He continued: "We had taken a big step forward from the Switzerland game which also pleased me. Before that game (against Switzerland) we had trained very well but then when we played at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans we played badly. It was then that I realised the problem was a mental one and not a physical one.
Hearing Capello elaborate this week on the reasons why England proudly sit top of their World Cup qualifying group with a 100 per cent record was reminiscent of hearing a young Nick Faldo. When Faldo won his first senior title he realised he could win one title every year. Upon this realisation he thought: 'If I can win one title per year, then why can't I win five?' His improvement was dramatic and his mental fortitude will always go down as one of his biggest strengths.
If England are to realise their dreams at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 then they will surely have to adopt an ability to cope with the pressure similar to that of Germany. The Germans have not missed a penalty in a competitive match since 1976. That includes shoot-outs and penalties in open play. England, meanwhile, have exited five major tournaments after their failure from 12 yards. It is likely that success in a penalty shoot-out will be necessary if England are to be successful in South Africa. Four out of the last five winners of the World Cup have had to successfully negotiate a penalty shoot-out en route.
Capello has a squad at his disposal capable of going far in South Africa but then so do seven or eight other nations. The difference between the winners and the also-rans is usually small. It is usually a mental one.
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