Delia and michael deserve a statue outside carrow road

It must be noted that this week has been rather successful, given that not a single ball has been kicked in rage. Interesting, no doubt.

The AGM finished on a more upbeat note than last year’s gathering, when, as you may remember, Delia and Michael

took offence at several queries about their stewardship. It sounded like its typical eclectic mix of the formal, the

wacky, and the intriguing.

There was only love and affection for the two this year, the first since they resigned as our club’s principal owners. In

addition to receiving a rousing round of applause led by nephew Tom, they were praised for everything they had

done for the club over their 28-year career.

Which was nice. Maybe the tetchiness of 2023’s event was a sign (to them) that it was time to hand over the baton.

In any case, they will always be remembered for their positive qualities. I’ll provide a link to a fantastic tribute film

put together by the kind people of Pink Un at the conclusion of this article.

Regarding the actual AGM, I’m confident that neither Delia nor Michael will be able to ignore the trivial but

customary floor questions about the calibre and price of the food provided inside the stadium as well as the reason

behind the shutters closing on some of the kiosks prior to halftime.

In the same way that it would be too expensive for me to purchase a Lamborghini and an apartment in Monte Carlo,

Zoe Webber’s annual response to the stadium expansion debate was that it was too expensive.

But, apparently, it’s an ongoing piece of work and currently, they are looking at realistic ways that extra seats can be

put inside the existing structure rather than expanding it. I’m guessing that it too will prove ‘cost-prohibitive,’ and

part of that comes from the fact that recently, Carrow Road sell-outs have become something of a rarity.

However, now that Mark Attanasio’s Norfolk group is in place, these kinds of conversations at least have a sense of

potential and actuality because of how “well-heeled” (Attanasio’s words, not mine) the group members are. They

were actually of the ‘pie in the sky’ type before.

The prospect of constructing a new stadium, possibly on the site of the former Colman’s, a short distance from

Carrow Road, was one item that was left out—possibly because it is a no-goer. Though not from me, I expect there

would be a great deal of opposition to it.

I still have the bruises from the time I published an article about it.

It too will no doubt be ‘cost-prohibitive’ but would, for me at least, be an exciting direction to take the club in. Either

that or knock down Neil Doncaster’s bloody hotel and build a corner infill that matches the one between South Stand

and River End.

Yes, I know, it too would be cost-prohibitive.

I’ll stop daydreaming now, though. On a more practical point, Attanasion did clarify that Ben Knapper could spend

the money in January, which was the exact opposite of the conventional message at the AGM. It marked the first

noticeable change in strategy since Norfolk Group assumed control.

Naturally, this won’t be a spend-spend-spend January—that won’t be happening in this window or any window—but

if Knapper can present the group with a proposal that aligns with the current strategy and culture and doesn’t

jeopardise our Profit and Sustainability Rules threshold, it seems likely that it will be taken into consideration.

And that, for me, was the big takeaway from this AGM. A bona fide signal of intent.

January is notoriously awkward, of course. Prices tend to spike given the brevity of the window and the invariable

need in some quarters to panic buy, and there’s no chance of Attanasio/Knapper getting caught up in any of that. But

if a player who ticks all of the boxes becomes available, it sounds like some business could be doable.

But we’ll have to wait and see. “Funds available” does not necessarily mean that there are new players.

Overall, though, the meeting was generally constructive and left a favourable message. We do seem to be in capable

hands, and they are here for the medium, if not the long, term. Hearing about sustaining the club’s sense of

community, which Delia and Michael had so skilfully fostered, was also significant.

It has also been an intriguing week for individuals who work in the #ncfc social media space—I understand that it’s not for everyone?

The platform now known as X (once Elon Musk bought Twitter and renamed it for nefarious means) has proved

almost unreadable of late and has become little more than a cesspit of ads and propaganda. So the good folk of #ncfc

have done something about it.

Along with 15 million others, they have flown the Twitter nest and have sensibly migrated to somewhere much nicer

—the retro-Twitter platform known as BlueSky.

And MFW has joined the exodus. If you wish to give us a look, we can be found at https://sportupdates.co.uk/ See you there?

Finally, I mentioned earlier the moving tribute afforded to Delia and Michael by the Pink Un guys. Tissues at the ready.

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