An open letter to Rick Waghorn

Dear Rick,

You know, I used to be a fan of yours. Not so long ago, I regarded you as a witty, erudite writer - and always looked forward to reading your analysis of the latest events at our beloved club every Monday. Of course, like all local journalists, you tended to maintain an optimistic viewpoint on things - but this didn't stop you criticising the club when it was clearly warranted: never more so than in the dog days of the Hamilton regime, when I know (having spoken to you personally), that you were just as - if not more so - alarmed as the rest of us at what was going on.

But Rick, what on earth has happened to you? Your calm, balanced approach made sense while City enjoyed a degree of success between 2001 and 2004 - yet as the wheels came off last season, you seemed to gradually take the view that your mission was no longer to accurately report the latest state of affairs at Carrow Road. Rather, it was not just to become an apologist par excellence - but seemingly to attempt to wind up and infuriate as many perfectly reasonable Norwich fans as possible. Dan Shaughnessy, the Boston Globe writer, metamorphosed from a highly respected journalist into a widely parodied-figure, whose sole vocation was to annoy and aggravate as many Red Sox fans as possible: you appeared to be attempting to emulating him amongst Canaries supporters.

First we had your bizarre attack on 'citizen journalists', which frankly, smacked of plain jealousy: jealousy that you were no longer the one single unquestioned media authority on Norwich City. Even you acknowledged within weeks that by their very nature, local reporters often gloss over certain things at the club they're covering - because their paper has to maintain a good relationship with the club, for reasons of access as much as anything else. A remarkable admission, this - because I'd always thought journalists had an obligation to attempt to report the facts, rather than a glossed over, pretend version of them; but apparently not.

Of course, that only went to show how important 'citizen journalists' actually are: they provide for different perspectives and opinions, and at long last, a degree of accountability over how the local press covers our club. And just as the best citizen journalists develop credibility and respect among their fellow fans, so the best local writers will do likewise - which may, I'm sorry to have to tell you, explain why you have become such a deeply unpopular figure.

Then you yourself jumped ship and - irony of ironies - became a citizen journalist yourself. To your credit, you do not charge readers for viewing your own material - but nevertheless, to judge by Mick Dennis' absurd attack on Richard Balls and Steve Gedge a few weeks ago (from which one can only conclude that it is now a crime for Norwich City fans to have ANY expectations or ambitions for their club), it has become a home for your fellow apologists. Because, as events on the pitch continue to depress and demoralise one and all, if anything, your attitude has become even MORE entrenched.

Only this week, you have tried to suggest that Youssef Safri's little tete-a-tete with Dickson Etuhu was somehow a sign of the fates conspiring against our poor, blameless manager - when in fact, it is blindingly obvious that it was merely yet another symptom of how unhappy the players have become, and how poor morale now is. And then today, you played that tired old card of appearing to blame the players for letting the manager down - which begs the question, why does any club employ a manager in the first place? Answer: to inspire, enthuse, motivate, and achieve more than the sum of their players' parts, rather than less. That's why managers (Worthington included) are so handomely rewarded - and the best of them (Worthington, sad to say, excluded) are worth their weight in gold.

If the players aren't performing, it is the manager's responsibility. If the club appears directionless, it is the board's responsibility. Not the players, and certainly NOT the fans. So why do you keep on spouting the same old apologist drivel? Perhaps the saddest thing of all is your profound and obvious failure to recognise just how wrong you've been: how your virtual blind faith in all things Delia and Nigel has encouraged the club down the blind alley it's been in over the past year. But when the inevitable happens, and Worthington finally departs, will their be a 'mea culpa' from you? Will you reflect on how bizarre your writing has become, and especially, acknowledge that the vast bulk of City fans are perfectly realistic in their expectations: they're just utterly fed up with their club seeming to hold none whatsoever?

That, of course, is entirely up to you. I hope you don't construe this (exceptionally long) post as a personal attack on you: far from it. Instead, it merely reflects my deep frustration and exasperation with a writer who - could - nay, SHOULD - have been leading the calls not for revolution, but for change at a club which has gone stale, and squandered much of the fans' faith and goodwill over the past twelve months. Any sensible journalist would have long past the 'cup is half full' point, and began to really scrutinise what has been going on: instead, you seem to have become more entrenched than ever. And from one citizen journalist to another, I can only ask, 'why?'

Yours in sport,

Shaun Lawson.

Posted By: thebigfeller, Sep 30, 00:46:02