It is hard to dislike someone if you have never met them. Norman's problem is (i) his inflated contract brings inflated expectations; (ii) his form has been underwhelming for a long time; (iii) his "lax" nonchalant attitude really hurts him; (iv) he is always one of those blokes who is only 30 minutes away from trouble off the field (was anyone surprised he was at the BBQ, left his car parked outside with his personal plates?).
If I was a parent of one of the young kids coming through I wouldn't want Norman anywhere near my child. I cannot see how Norman adds anything to culture, leadership, values etc.
I am struggling to think of a worse signing at our club in the last 50 years. I think his on field performance has been that bad.
Finally, I respect Hook but this continued obsession with Norman, alongside his desire to resign Norman is greatly concerning and could ultimately hurt him.
Can see your view mate, I saw his signing as a “panic buy” when Widdop decided to leave short of his contract and to try and maximise the “premiership window” we had at the time….
It was a gun side, but missing an experienced 6 to complement Hunt. I remember at the time a few things…
- there weren’t any other quality halves on the market.
- I can’t recall any of our juniors kicking the door down to warrant a first grade spot, and think Hutchison was seriously injured, the natural successor from memory.
- a mate of mine who’s an eels fan said to me at the pub after work on a Friday, after we’d signed Norman… “you can have him, good luck”..
It hasn’t worked out for us, or Norman, McGregor, or anyone in the team really. And definitely not the fans…