Worthington fails the litmus test of any decent manager

A long stream of consciousness - sorry. Read it if you will. It is not much more than a selfish piece of therapy to be honest...

So we started the season well and are now playing badly. Is this a side with a split-personality? Are we to believe that the 'true' Norwich City is the one that began the campaign in such sparkling style? Sorry, but no. NCFC under Nigel Worthington was laid bare for all to see on Saturday and until he goes, our problems will continue.

Actually it is quite easy to understand how and why we started the season so well. We have 11 decent players who all came in to the season fit, refreshed and 'up for it'. They were keen to put last season behind them, the traumas had been forgotten, they were pumped and determined, the sun was out (metaphorically at least) and the mood was good. Worthington and Hunter had prepared the players well and we began to see a team playing to its potential. So far so good.

But when things start to go wrong? This is where Worthington is cruelly exposed. All it takes is one injury, for one player to lose form, one opposing team to work us out... and the entire house of cards tumbles down. Some call it a lack of a plan 'B'. But it is more fundamental than that. Management in all professions, not just football, is about addressing problems and dealing with them in a way that lessens their impact. But football exists in the knowledge that real problems will crop on an almost daily basis and the ability to deal with them effectively is page one, paragraph one of the management manual.

Good managers get it right and solve problems so effectively it almost appears that there never was a problem in the first place. Martin O'Neill may be an extreme example - but he's a bloody good one. But Worthington? He just stands (or sits) by the touchline, with his arms folded, as his team implodes - it absolutely says it all. Not only is a very real example of his impotence when faced with problems on the pitch, it is hugely symbolic and epitomises the manifold failings of his regime.

Worthington MUST go. Because when the chips are down, he is simply incapable of providing tactical or emotional inspiration to a team that lacks confidence. He has no fresh ideas, no oratory, no passion and does not engender belief in his players. The start to this campaign showed that he DOES have abilities and, alongside a good coach, CAN put out a team capable of performing. But that is all - and when the team starts to fail and players look to the touchline for help, for assistance... for MANAGEMENT, he stands there, chewing gum, with nothing to offer but a blankness; the captain of the Titanic with his hands firmly on the wheel, staring ahead, unable to prevent an inevitable doom.

Posted By: The Judge, Sep 25, 10:21:35