Norwich City Fan View: Jez Moxey interview only increases divide between the board and the fans

Having recently rejected an interview request from the local media, Wednesday afternoon saw Norwich City’s Chief Executive Jez Moxey answer a series of questions ‘in-house’ – the results of which were uploaded to the club’s YouTube channel on Wednesday evening. It can only be assumed that the purpose of this was to pacify an increasingly restless fan-base and to make it appear as if the club is open and transparent with its supporters. Judging by the reaction, however, it has served only to make the divide between the board and the fans even larger.

1. “We are acutely aware of fan opinion. The board constantly listens to the fans whether it be through phone calls, emails or personal meetings.”

If this is true, then how is Alex Neil still in a job? The Norwich fan-base is almost in universal agreement that Neil has to go. This feeling first turned vocal during the home defeat to Leeds in November, and has since been made unequivocally clear during recent defeats to Barnsley, Huddersfield and Reading. How many more renditions of “You don’t know what you’re doing”, “Delia, sort it out” and “You’re getting sacked in the morning” do the City board want to hear? The longer this goes on with Neil remaining in his job, the clearer it becomes that, while the board may “listen” to the fans, they clearly do not care for what they have to say. If they did care, he’d have gone weeks ago. Maybe they know best…?

2. “8 defeats in 10 is simply unacceptable.”

Well, for you Jez, it clearly is acceptable. If it isn’t, then why is Alex Neil still here? Keeping him in a job and telling him to “keep going” is a very strange way to react to something that is apparently unacceptable, is it not?

3. “We are very clear about what we are trying to do and how we are going to achieve it.”

Well, I am glad that you are because no-one else is. To us, the only thing that is clear is that if things do not change then your “promotion, promotion, promotion” mantra will be at great risk of transforming into “relegation, relegation, relegation”.

4. “Norwich is a unique club, for 20 odd years the club has been run as a community club – a cooperative style football club.”

What does this even mean? I’m not sure where this “community club” aspect is evidenced, but it certainly isn’t within the ticket pricing, nor within Moxey’s refusal to meet fan groups because he’s “too busy”. Maybe it’s within our charitable habit of gifting sides three points and not sacking staff when they should be sacked?

5. “We don’t believe in following the norm in football by replacing the manager to solve immediate problem.”

Basically, our board don’t believe in the very strange footballing norm of sacking managers when results are not good enough. Wonderful.

6. “Alex Neil needs time.”

How much more time could one man possibly need? Results have been unacceptable for over 12 months now, resulting in our completely avoidable relegation from the Premier League and us now sitting 12th in the Championship – closer to the bottom three than the top two. There is absolutely no conceivable way I can see Neil possibly turning this around, the problems are too deep-rooted and the issues too large for someone who has repeatedly demonstrated his inability to turn a tide. The only thing that giving time will serve to do is continue our descent down the table.

And finally,

7. “We’ve seen Alex Neil lead us to promotion before and we believe that he can do it again.”

I hate to break it to you, Jez, but we have also seen Alex Neil lead us to relegation before and we believe that he can do it again.