A new NCFC era is underway but amid much love for Delia and Michael

Yesterday at 04:34 AM

Considering there has been not a single ball kicked in anger this week, it has to be said it’s been quite a successful one. Certainly interesting.

The AGM was, by the sound of it, its usual eclectic mix of the formal, the bonkers, and the intriguing, but it ended on a more positive note than last year’s event, when, as you may recall, Delia and Michael took umbrage at some questions on their stewardship.

This year, the first since the pair stepped down as majority owners of our club, there was nothing but love and affection for them. They were thanked for all they have done for the club during their 28-year tenure and given a hearty round of applause led by nephew Tom.

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

Anyway, they were, and will be, fondly remembered for the good stuff. At the end of this piece, I’ll post a link to a wonderful tribute video compiled by the good folk of Pink Un.

In terms of the AGM itself, I’m sure neither Delia nor Michael will miss the inane (but traditional) questions from the floor relating to the quality/cost of the food served inside the stadium and why the shutters come down on some of the kiosks before the end of halftime

The annual discussion arose around stadium expansion and Zoe Webber gave the annual answer of it being cost-prohibitive – I guess in the same way it’s cost-prohibitive for me to buy a Lamborghini and an apartment in Monte Carlo.

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, 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.

Yet, with Mark Attanasio’s Norfolk group now in situ, these types of discussions at least have an element of reality and possibility about them, given how “well-heeled” (Attanasio’s words not mine) those involved in the group are. Before, in truth, they were of the ‘pie in the sky’ variety.

One thing that didn’t get mentioned – maybe because it’s a no-goer – was the possibility of building a new stadium, perhaps on the old Colman’s site just a few metres from Carrow Road. It’s something that would, I’d imagine, be met with a whole heap of resistance but not from me.

I once wrote an article about it and still have the bruises.

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 bl00dy hotel and build a corner in-fill that matches the one betwixt South Stand and River End.

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

Anyway… enough daydreaming on my part. On a more realistic note, Attanasion did make it clear that funds are available for Ben Knapper to spend in January – a message that was the polar opposite of the one usually delivered at the AGM. It was the first tangible shift in approach since Norfolk Group took the reins.

It won’t of course be a spend, spend, spend January – that won’t be happening in this window or any window – but if Knapper can deliver a proposal to the group that fits in with the current strategy and ethos, and doesn’t threaten our Profit and Sustainability Rules threshold, then it sounds as if it will be considered.

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 let’s wait and see. ‘Funds available’ does not automatically equate to new players.

All in all, though, it was a positive message that emerged from a largely positive meeting. We do appear to be in safe hands, and hands that are here at least for the medium, maybe even the long, term. Talk of continuing the club’s community ethos that was so well nurtured by Delia and Michael was also an important thing to hear.

For those who inhabit the #ncfc world of social media – I appreciate it’s not for everyone – it has also been an interesting week.

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://bsky.app/profile/myfootballwriter.bsky.social. See you there?

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

OTBC