Strictly star Ed Balls gave under-fire Norwich boss Alex Neil new deal in summer meaning he’ll get £2m if sacked
Strictly Come Dancing star and former Shadow Chancellor may have accidentally saved Neil's job as Canaries balk at bumper payout
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Ed Balls will have to do some serious tap dancing today.
SunSport can reveal the former Shadow Chancellor and current Norwich chairman handed manager Alex Neil a secret summer deal.
It means the club will have to shell out £2million if they want to sack him.
The incredible balls-up will anger fans, who are furious the Scottish boss has not been axed after eight defeats in ten Championship games.
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Neil agreed new terms on his contract after relegation from the Premier League last season and Norwich will have to pay the £1million-a-year manager TWO YEARS’ money if they are to dismiss him.
Norwich fans were already angry after it emerged at the club’s November AGM that Balls was paid £90,000 for helping to run the club in the summer after former chief executive David McNally left.
Majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones have remained fiercely loyal to Neil, who took over two years ago and led the club to the top flight via the play-offs.
He signed a new "long-term" contract in 2015. After last year’s relegation disaster, Neil, 35, saw his pay reduced, so Balls led negotiations on a surprise new deal before former Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey took over on July 27.
Smith and her husband have been slammed by supporters but they have repeatedly helped out the club financially and it is now debt free.
She has refused to sell to Chinese investors, believing a deal could be bad long term. Instead, she will hand it down to her nephew Tom Smith.
Smith had also spoken to long-term friend Roy Hodgson about the situation and the club decided to stick with Neil.
In September, Norwich were four points clear at the top and were leading 3-2 at Newcastle before conceding goals in the 95th and 96th minute to lose 4-3.
Since then, the Canaries’ promotion bid has fallen apart and they are now in 12th spot.
Moxey said: “I won’t answer hypothetical questions or get drawn into timetables. Alex Neil knows, we know, the fans know results have to improve quickly.
“We are also saying we need to give Alex time and we are behind him. We are in this together. We win and lose together and we hope that he will be able to turn this around.
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“Whilst we are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to improve results, we don’t believe in just following the norm in football and replacing our manager to solve an immediate problem.
“We think it is much more complex than that.
“Alex is the manager. Ultimately responsibility rests with him. I have spent a lot of time with Alex and I have seen many of his qualities. He led this club to promotion before and we believe he can do it again.
“After 23 games, everyone accepts we shouldn’t be 12th and we expect to move up the table very quickly. This is a results-orientated business. Everyone knows that.”