Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge - The 2nd Coming

[FM_TNSSO]

The Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge - The 2nd Coming

On FM19, I took on the Sir Alex Ferguson challenge for the first time ever despite years and years of playing Football Manager. I had a decent amount of success with Bournemouth, but due to work upgrading my laptop, the game was left unfinished and I never got to fulfil my complete potential. However, it remains one of my favourite saves I've ever done, so I thought I'd give it another go on FM20.

For anyone unfamiliar with this challenge, the idea is to try to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson, possibly the greatest manager the game has ever seen. Love him or hate him, you can't deny that the guy was pretty ******* immense!

So what's the rules....well, I've found several different versions with some stories offering up extended rules, but these are the ones I am following for the purpose of this story/save;

1. Sim the game until November 6th and take over the team that is 2nd bottom in the Premier League (Alex Ferguson took over Manchester United on this date, with them sat 2nd bottom at the time)
2. Stay at this one club for the entire save, getting sacked at any point is game over
3. Aim to bring youth players through the club (Alex Ferguson brought through numerous prospects including the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Nicky **** to name a few)
4. Persuade long term players to become part of my coaching staff when they retire from playing (the likes of Scholes, Solksjaer, Bruce, Keane, Berg, Ince, Robson, Hughes and Strachan all worked under Sir Alex on his backroom staff)

I am not putting any restrictions on signings or the money I spend as I think it is unrealistic to compare with the inflated prices on today's transfer market!

After going on holiday to the 6th November, the club currently sitting in 19th position that I will be taking over is.....

So that's the rules...what are the goals? Well as mentioned, we need to achieve as many targets against what Sir Alex managed with United....obviously if we fail any it isn't game over, but it just gives me a benchmark to work towards and that progress will be followed and updated here...
​

GOAL​	Achieved?​	Sir Alex Ferguson​	Chris Ball​
November 6th​	Yes​	Manchester United, November 6th 1986​	Norwich City, November 6th 2019​
Win a domestic cup within 4 seasons​	N/A​	1990, FA Cup against Crystal Palace​	​
Win Premier League within 7 seasons​	N/A​	1992/93​	​
Win the domestic double within 8 seasons​	N/A​	1993/94, Premier League and FA Cup​	​
Win treble within 13 seasons (must include Champions League)​	N/A​	1998/99, Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup​	​
English Premier League Titles​	N/A​	Total 13; 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13​	​
FA Cup​	N/A​	Total 5; 1989/90, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2003/04​	​
League Cup​	N/A​	Total 4; 1991/92, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2009/10​	​
Community Shield​	N/A​	Total 10; 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011​	​
UEFA Champions League​	N/A​	Total 2; 1998/99, 2007/08​	​
Europa League​	N/A​	Total 1; 1990/91​	​
UEFA Super Cup​	N/A​	Total 1; 1991​	​
FIFA Club World Cup​	N/A​	Total 2; 1999, 2008​	​

​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Chapter 2
Wednesday 6th November 2019

It’s official. I’m announced to the press as the new manager of Norwich City Football Club and there’s plenty of raised eyebrows in the room as to whether I’m the man to keep The Canaries in the Premier League!

As I take over, the club sits second from bottom, with only a single win to their name in 11 games! Clearly the defence is a major problem as only Crystal Palace have conceded more goals than us so far. Sir Alex managed to lift Manchester United to finish 11th in his first season in charge, but if I can just survive the drop I’ll be more than happy!

Our only league win of the season came away at Stamford Bridge, which is actually very impressive. However, there’s far too many poor results against the teams that we’ll be battling relegation against. On a more positive note, we have made it through three rounds of the League Cup and have a Quarter Final against none other than Manchester United to look forward to!

The club’s finances are secure but not fantastic and with only £5.6 million in the transfer kitty, there isn’t much room for me to improve the squad in the upcoming January window.

Carrow Road has a capacity of 27,359 and is an all seated stadium and this is the place I’ll call home for years and years to come….hopefully!

As I meet my squad properly and have a look over their performances to date this season, it’s clear that we have a lack of talent at top flight level with my Assistant Manager rating most of my player’s current ability at 3 stars. Emi Buendia is the club’s top goalscorer so far with 5 goals, so I have a problem with my strikers not netting enough goals and one of my aims will be to get more out of front man Teemu Pukki.

Emi Buendia is clearly the star of my team at present. He is one of the highest rated players from my Assistant Manager, is one of the highest valued players in money terms and leads the way in the goalscoring charts whilst also having the highest average rating so far this season!

Another exciting talent in the squad is Todd Cantwell and a lot of people in the footballing world are tipping him for bigger things than Norwich. I’m keen to keep hold of him and nurture his career, but know it won’t be easy if the bigger clubs come calling for his signature.

One of the key targets for this save is to look to bring youth through the ranks, just as Sir Alex did at Manchester United. As I look through the youngsters in the squad, possibly the best prospect and someone who looks like they could develop into a real star is 18 year old Adam Idah.

A home game against Newcastle will present me with a challenging, but winnable, first game in charge. We’ll follow that up with tough games away at Leicester and at home to Man City who have won every game this season!​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Chapter 3
Sunday 8th December 2019

So let’s have a look at what the board are expecting of me…Good to see they’re realistic and expect us to be involved in the relegation battle this year and would simply like me to bravely attempt to stay up! They’re not expecting me to perform any miracles in the cup competitions either with safety in the top flight clearly the main aim over all else.

Tim Krul is appointed as my new captain. He isn’t the most suitable based on his teamwork and leadership (although these attributes are not bad), but he is the best I have from the players that will play week in, week out and I want some stability from my captain being a regular in the side. Ben Godfrey is my best centre back and is already a natural leader at 21 years of age….it was probably only his age that stopped me giving him the armband outright.

The tactic I have decided on for my first game in charge is a 4-1-2-3 Wide, with focus on attacking the wide areas, whilst utilizing a deep anchorman to cover the wide players bombing forward. My two central midfielders in front of him will also be allowed a certain amount of freedom to get forward and support the attack too. We’ll attack as a unit and I expect us to have some exciting matches with plenty of 3-2 scorelines…let’s just hope more of them go in our favour than against!

Premier League – Matchday 12
Norwich City vs Newcastle United
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; M.McGovern, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey (G.Hanley 45), T.Klose, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Vrancic, E.Buendia*, T.Cantwell, T.Pukki (J.Drmic 74)

We were dominant in the first half, creating 8 chances to Newcastle’s 1, and took a deserved lead into the break, through Ben Godfrey’s headed effort. The youngster was stepping up and proving worthy of the captain’s armband in Tim Krul’s absence (carrying a minor injury). Godfrey himself had to come off at half time after picking up a knock, but it didn’t disrupt our flow and we were soon 2-0 up when a goalkeeping error allowed Lukas Rupp to score into an empty net. Atsu got one back for The Magpies with an outstanding volley, which set up a nervy last 20 minutes. However, we held it together and kept our concentration and sealed the 3 points late on with a penalty from substitute Josip Drmic. A winning start!!

That win in my first game in charge brings an end to a 9 game winless streak! What a way to introduce myself to the Norwich faithful! They’ll be singing my name in the stands in no time!

Injury; It doesn’t take long for me to reveive my first knock back in the job though as midfielder, Mario Vrancic, is sidelined for nearly a month with injury!

Premier League – Matchday 13
Leicester City vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; M.McGovern, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, E.Buendia (R.Snodgrass 85), T.Cantwell, T.Pukki (J.Drmic 69)

We gave a decent enough account of ourselves at Leicester, but a late Harvey Barnes header sealed the points for them. They were the better side so we can’t have too many complaints.

Premier League – Matchday 14
Norwich City vs Manchester City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Defensive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp (T.Tryball 74), M.Leitner, E.Buendia, T.Cantwell, T.Pukki (J.Drmic 69)

This was a spirited performance from my lads, where we showed plenty of heart and very nearly took something from the game. Man City have a whole host of match winners in their squad and both their goals were world class….it was just so gutting for us to concede such a late goal to lose the game.

The 3rd round of the FA Cup is drawn and we will invite Championship side, Hull City, to Carrow Road for what should be a competitive fixture.

Premier League – Matchday 15
Norwich City vs Sheffield United
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis*, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, E.Buendia, T.Cantwell (R.Snodgrass 66), T.Pukki

Chris Wilder has his team playing some good football and they sit pretty inside the top half of the table, so this was a fantastic win for us and a great way to bounce back from the defeats against Leicester and Man City. Teemu Pukki has been disappointing since I arrived, but finally got off the mark (under me) to seal the victory, after Emi Buendia had put us in front with a tidy placed effort into the bottom corner.

Premier League – Matchday 16
Burnley vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley (C.Zimmerman 83), J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, R.Snodgrass, T.Cantwell, T.Pukki*

Our star player Emi Buendia had picked up a knock in training and was absent from the squad for this one, but it didn’t matter as Teemu Pukki picked up where he left off against Sheffield United and had us 2 goals to the good by the break. Burnley never looked like getting back into the game and we put the game to bed late on when Todd Cantwell added a 3rd. Burnley is a hard place to go and get a result, so again I’m really pleased with this one!

Three wins from my opening five games has seen us climb out of the relegation places and move 4 points clear of the bottom 3 as well. Safe to say it’s been a brilliant start for me as Norwich boss!​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Chapter 4
Friday 3rd January 2020

Premier League – Matchday 17
Norwich City vs Arsenal
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, R.Snodgrass, T.Cantwell (M.Stiepermann 63), J.Drmic

We were absolutely robbed of a hard earned point here by the officials as Lacazette put the winner in the back of the net with 92:59 on the clock, despite the board showing that there should only be 2 minutes of added time! I’ll be writing to the FA with a formal complaint about referee, Paul Tierney, directly after the game!

Carabao Cup – Quarter Final
Norwich City vs Manchester United
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, T.Klose, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner*, E.Buendia, T.Cantwell, J.Drmic (T.Pukki 78)

What a performance!! We absolutely battered them, having 23 shots at the United goal and if it weren’t for the heroics of David De Gea, we would have won this by 3 or 4 goals!! As it stands, we only needed the 1 goal to make it through to the semi finals, a fine strike from outside the box late on which curled into the bottom corner, from Moritz Leitner.

We’ll play Liverpool in the semi final as we receive the toughest draw possible from the remaining teams in the competition.

Injury; Marco Stiepermann isn’t exactly first choice for me, but it’s never good to lose any squad players for up to 3 months!

Premier League – Matchday 18
Crystal Palace vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons*, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, E.Buendia, T.Cantwell, T.Pukki

A big game for both sides struggling against relegation, but neither could take the upper hand and we settle for a point each. We were poor and in all honesty, probably lucky to take a point away from Selhurst Park.

Injury; Another player sidelined for a few weeks, this time it’s central midfielder Moritz Leitner, who was just starting to hit some form for me.

Premier League – Matchday 19
West Ham United vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp (K.McLean 76), M.Vrancic, O.Hernandez (J.Drmic* 45), T.Cantwell, T.Pukki (O.Duda 76)

Another clash between two sides fighting against the drop and this time we came out on top, picking up a massive 3 points against The Hammers. The introduction of Josip Drmic at half time was the game changer as the Swiss striker ran the game in the 2nd period, bagging himself a couple of goals in the process.

Premier League – Matchday 20
Norwich City vs Manchester United
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, S.Byram (M.Aarons 68), B.Godfrey, T.Klose, J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, K.McLean (M.Vrancic 68), T.Cantwell*, J.Drmic, T.Pukki

I had to make some changes to the lineup because of fatigue, with only 2 days passing since the West Ham game. With a couple of those changes coming across the back line, we were certainly a little shakier in defence than we had been in previous games and United were able to capitalise on this, especially when Sam Byram handed them their first goal with a silly challenge inside the box to give away a pen. We rallied towards the last 15 mins of the game and Pukki’s powerful header gave us a glimmer of hope but we weren’t able to find the equalizer and The Red Devils get some revenge over us for the Carabao Cup defeat a couple of weeks ago.

The January transfer window is officially open. I only have £2.7 million available to me now as I had to do some juggling with the budgets as we were overspending by nearly £25k per week on the wage budget. I’m not desperate to make additions to the squad but if the opportunity presents itself to sign someone I think can add to the squad for the remainder of the season, I’ll explore it.

Premier League – Matchday 21
Norwich City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley (T.Klose 82), J.Lewis, A.Tettey, L.Rupp (T.Trybull 86), M.Vrancic, E.Buendia, T.Cantwell (J.Drmic 71), T.Pukki

In treacherous conditions and playing on a pitch covered in snow, it would present both sides with a big challenge to be able to play their ‘normal’ football. Now the result would suggest that Wolves coped with the situation better than we did…

But the stats would suggest that we were unlucky not to get something from the game!

After my first full month in charge, the board are relatively pleased with the start I’ve made. The fans haven’t really commented too much on the results but are apparently looking for me to do something during the January transfer window and it may prove to be a risk not to add to the squad at all!

We’re up to 15th in the Premier League and have now increased our gap to the bottom three, to 6 points! Looking at the table, it would seem that a target of 35 points should guarantee safety, so that’s our initial aim from here. The two Manchester clubs have pulled away at the top and look set to battle it out for the title. Fair to say that Chelsea and Leicester are having disappointing campaigns so far.

Stat Attack; Before I took over here, the club had only achieved two clean sheets this season and they were against Scunthorpe and Rochdale in the Carabao Cup. However, I definitely seem to have sured up the defence a little and have 4 clean sheets to my name already.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Chapter 5
Saturday 1st February 2020

FA Cup – 3rd Round
Norwich City vs Hull City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley*, S.Byram, A.Tettey, L.Rupp, K.McLean (M.Vrancic 82), E.Buendia, T.Cantwell (R.Snodgrass 82), J.Drmic

A poor performance from us sees the game end in a disappointing draw and we’ll now have to travel to the North East for a replay that we really could have done without!

Injury; Kenny McLean picked up a calf strain against Hull and will now miss around a month of action.

With the upcoming 1st leg of the Carabao Cup Semi Final, the press are apparently stating that the best we can hope for is now to embarrass ourselves?! Surely we should command a little more respect than that!

Carabao Cup – Semi Final 1st Leg
Norwich City vs Liverpool
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Cautious
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis (S.Byram 63), A.Tettey, L.Rupp, M.Vrancic, E.Buendia (R.Snodgrass 63), T.Cantwell, T.Pukki

Well we certainly didn’t embarrass ourselves, but Liverpool did prove way too strong for us and were deserved winners in the 1st leg of our tie. However, for all their creative talent up front, it was actually 3 set pieces and 3 headed efforts that we were undone by, which is actually very disappointing from our side.

Premier League – Matchday 22
Aston Villa vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, G.Hanley, J.Lewis, A.Tettey (T.Trybull 51), L.Rupp, M.Vrancic, E.Buendia (O.Hernandez 74), T.Cantwell, T.Pukki (J.Drmic* 74)

We got away with one here as Aston Villa dominated us for large periods of the game. Tim Krul pulled off some fantastic saves to keep us in it and probably would have got my man of the match vote, but it officially goes to Josip Drmic who scrambled the ball over the line for the winner late on.

FA Cup – 3rd Round Replay
Hull City vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; R.Fahrmann, S.Byram, T.Klose,, G.Hanley, J.Lewis (M.Aarons 79), T.Trybull, L.Rupp, M.Vrancic*, O.Hernandez, T.Cantwell (R.Snodgrass 79), J.Drmic

Rubbish! Absolutely rubbish! Hull were good value for the win so fair play to them, but I’m p*ssed that we have fallen at the first hurdle in the FA Cup. The only possible positive I can take from this result is that we can now focus fully on the staying in the Premier League.

Premier League – Matchday 23
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; R.Fahrmann, S.Byram (Sent Off 10), B.Godfrey, T.Klose, J.Lewis, T.Trybull (M.Aarons 21), M.Leitner (M.Vrancic 58), O.Duda, E.Buendia R.Snodgrass, J.Drmic (T.Pukki 58)

A big game against fellow relegation battlers, Brighton, and I went into the game feeling confident of a win. However, in just 10 minutes, that confidence had all but disappeared, with Glenn Murray putting the South Coast side ahead, and Sam Byram getting sent off, leaving us to play most of the game a man and a goal down! The remaining players I did have on the pitch were brave and battled hard, but it proved too hard a task to get a result.

Incoming Loan; Max Aarons and Jamaal Lewis are carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders in the full back positions and it’s clear that I don’t have decent cover for either of them (only Sam Byram who seems to love getting sent off whenever he plays). I desperately wanted to add another player to the ranks during this window to act as essential cover and James Justin is perfect for that job as he signs on loan from Leicester for the remainder of the season. We will cover all of his £30k per week wages and he’ll likely get plenty of game time here as I look to rest and rotate my two first team choices.

Premier League – Matchday 24
Norwich City vs West Ham United
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; T.Krul, M.Aarons (J.Justin 69), G.Hanley, T.Klose, J.Lewis, T.Trybull, L.Rupp, M.Vrancic, O.Hernandez, T.Cantwell (E.Buendia 87), T.Pukki (A.Idah 69)

A big result for the Hammers who sit inside the bottom 3, but poor from our perspective. Fair play to West Ham though who defending exceptionally well and stopped us creating anything meaningful, despite us controlling the possession. Declan Rice was an absolute rock for them and made countless important tackles, whilst capping off his superb performance with the winning goal.

Carabao Cup – Semi Final 2nd Leg
Liverpool vs Norwich City
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Defensive
Lineup; T.Krul, S.Byram, C.Zimmermann, T.Klose, J.Lewis, T.Trybull, L.Rupp, M.Leitner, E.Buendia (O.Hernandez 68), T.Cantwell, A.Idah (T.Pukki 68)

I was really hoping that Liverpool might field a weakened side for this one as they came into it with a 3-0 lead from the 1st leg. I guess that with Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk all missing from the lineup, I got what I wanted…..although their starting eleven is still full of amazing talent so I wasn’t sure how much difference it would make! Before the game, I had words with Todd Cantwell about his recent dip in form and told him he’d need to step up his game if he wants to remain in the starting lineup….well, he gave me the reaction I was looking for as he opened the scoring on 14 minutes to give us a glimpse of hope that we might just turn this tie around. However, it was short lived as James Milner hammered home an equalizer only minutes later to restore Liverpool’s 3 goal lead. Liverpool went on to dominate the game and a couple of late goals ensured that their dominance was reflected in the scoreline.

Incoming Transfer; On transfer deadline day, I have managed to pull off the signing of a very talented young midfielder from Monaco, who could have a very big future ahead of him! At just 17 years old, Enzo Millot already has some very impressive stats and he could prove a steal at the £2.2 million I have paid to bring him to Norwich. I have had to promise to give him some playing time as a substitute to get him to agree a deal so you can expect to see him in action sooner rather than later despite his young age.

There’s been some massive deals during this window, but none bigger than Wilf Zaha’s move to Manchester City. I’ll be keeping an eye on this as he could be available at a massively cut price in a couple of seasons if it doesn’t work out for him at City!

Premier League – Matchday 25
Norwich City vs Chelsea
Formation; 4-1-2-3 Wide, Mentality; Positive
Lineup; R.Fahrmann, M.Aarons, B.Godfrey, T.Klose, J.Justin, A.Tettey, M.Leitner, M.Vrancic (E.Millot 80), E.Buendia, T.Cantwell (O.Hernandez 63), T.Pukki (J.Drmic 85)

Gutting to come away from this game with nothing as we definitely played well enough to deserve a point. Kepa worked wonders in the Chelsea goal!

With only 1 win from our last 6 league games, we can be grateful to remain 15th in the table, although the bottom 3 are now only 3 points adrift and we’ll need to start picking up some more points soon if we want to stay out of the relegation places!​

 

[andy_14clark]

What skin and pack do you use for you game? I like the look of it all.

Loving the story btw, like the idea of it.

 

[TaymuirFC]

Really enjoying reading this, the layout and graphics and colours etc. make it easy and catchy to read. Challenge idea looks great and im glad youve got an update table to keep me in the know. Also just wanted to echo the post above the skin looks really nice.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

What skin and pack do you use for you game? I like the look of it all.

Loving the story btw, like the idea of it.

Thanks mate. It's the FLUT dark skin, with the logo megapack mate

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Really enjoying reading this, the layout and graphics and colours etc. make it easy and catchy to read. Challenge idea looks great and im glad youve got an update table to keep me in the know. Also just wanted to echo the post above the skin looks really nice.

Thanks mate

 

[FM_TNSSO]

With two games of the season to go, I was sacked with us sitting 19th in the table and 3 points from safety! I was shocked (and gutted) to be honest that the board didn't at least let me see out the season and see if I could keep us in the Prem (I though Delia Smith was nicer than that)! Anyway, karma's a b*tch and Norwich were relegated after losing both of their last two games. But it does mean this story comes to a premature end I'm afraid and it's safe to say I failed to emulate the great Sir Alex this time around!

 

[markmanager]

With two games of the season to go, I was sacked with us sitting 19th in the table and 3 points from safety! I was shocked (and gutted) to be honest that the board didn't at least let me see out the season and see if I could keep us in the Prem (I though Delia Smith was nicer than that)! Anyway, karma's a b*tch and Norwich were relegated after losing both of their last two games. But it does mean this story comes to a premature end I'm afraid and it's safe to say I failed to emulate the great Sir Alex this time around!

LOL....damm even tougher than they were with Fergie. You was doing a great job IMHO. Still who am i to argue?
The trouble for you is Norwich are not a sleeping giant like Utd were.
A better team may have been a Newcastle, Everton or EVEN Arsenal...