Waghorns take on it (for what its worth)...

Delia and Michael hand the hard-pressed Worthy a two-game warning. Are we in the end-game?
Mon 25 Sep 06

Norwich City's principal shareholders Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones this afternoon fired an almighty warning shot across the bows of City boss Nigel Worthington - insisting they expected the current situation "to be rectified at our next home game on Sunday and at our next away game".

There wasn't an "Or else..." to finish. But that would appear to be message.

For read their short - and pointed - three paragraph statement any way you want, but to all intents and purposes it looks like a two-game warning to the embattled Norwich boss after Saturday's lifeless 3-1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

Game No1 arrives this Sunday with the home clash against Burnley in front of the Sky TV cameras by which point - depending on how Saturday's results go - the Canaries could find themselves in the bottom six of the Championship.

Norwich then have two weeks of navel-gazing-stroke-soul-searching before they travel to West London for Game No2 away at Queen's Park Rangers on Saturday, October 14 - the scene of one of City's biggest no-shows last season.

Given the extent of clear blue water today's statement puts between manager and board, a Sunday roasting at the hands of Steve Cotterill's Clarets - and all in front of the TV cameras - could, in theory, bring events to a head even earlier.

It certainly heaps huge pressure on the manager; from the board's point of view, today's statement from the club's owners is clearly designed to demonstrate that even their patience has its limits after they hunkered down and rode out last season's storm.

Their willingness to stand by their man through another long winter of discontent appears to be wavering. City need to put on their Sunday best and rediscover their winning, August ways if faith and harmony are ever to be restored.

Even then, you somehow sense that the club will always remain never more than three or four games away from a managerial crisis.

Whether that's just the impatient nature of the football beast or wheher that is now inherent to Worthington's standing among sections of the club's supporters is difficult to call - only when Worthington's eventual successor finds himself in a similar boat will the answer be known.

But certainly these are fraught times all round. Whether we are now all entering the end-game, only Sunday's events will tell.

Issued by the club this afternoon, the full statement read: "We and the board are deeply disappointed by the lack of passion and commitment in the team's performance on Saturday, and wish to apologise, particularly to the 776 loyal supporters who undertook the long and arduous journey to Plymouth, but also to all our fans who have given us such wonderful support.

"You deserve more.

"We are determined to achieve success at Norwich City, and to that end we expect this situation to be rectified at our next home game on Sunday and at our next away game.

"We rely on our manager and squad to do this not only on behalf of our supporters but for the long-term future of the club."

Worthington admitted himself that the Canaries lacked the required "passion" at Home Park and shouldered much of the responsibility for that himself.

It was the lack of that same passion that is understood to have really set the alarm bells ringing in the boardroom as all six directors - chairman Roger Munby, deputy chairman Barry Skipper, Delia, Wynn Jones, Michael Foulger and City chief executive Neil Doncaster flew home together from the South-West on Saturday evening.

Equally, there was always a sense that the first ten to a dozen games of this season would bring a final judgement - particularly in the final year of the Premiership parachute payments, the club could ill-afford to linger too long before deciding whether they were in or they were out.

Five games in and with Norwich sitting very pretty in second and playing some of their prettiest football to boot and the board's faith in Worthington and his new coach Martin Hunter appeared to be well-placed.

Four games and no Huckerby later and the Canaries have found themselves free-falling to 14th. As judgement day looms with Sunday's tenth Championship game of the new season, it is clear that the ground is shifting; people are moving to new positions just in case...

Quite what, points-wise, equals the situation being "rectified" is clearly a moot point. As much as anything else, you sense that it will be the level of performance - and that all-important "passion" - that the board will be looking long and hard at.

Likewise, the players know that a repeat of their second-half showing at Home Park could yet have brutal consequences - whether they fall into line and 'dig one out for the gaffer...' will be another telling indicator for the board.

In that regard, all eyes will be on Neal Reynolds' treatment room and whether Darren Huckerby's groin injury is up to a first team return.

Therein lies another huge dilemma. For with a two-week break for the next round of Euro2008 games to follow, the natural course of action would be to err on the side of caution and let Huckerby sit out Sunday's game.

These are, of course, far from normal times and whether - in the case of both the manager and the player himself - normal rules apply, will be just another intriguing sub-plot to a tale that is likely to have many more twists and turns before any sense of resolution is reached.

Posted By: Norfolk Coast, Sep 25, 17:03:07