We've had "who will go?" but...

Sorry all you Wessi fans, but in order to keep, and progress JM, Wessies time with us must draw to a close. We must progress and retaining yesterdays (great) men is not the way to go Bassong was POTS not so long ago, but now he is deemed not fit for purpose..Wes, in my humble opinion, falls into the same category. On his day, still partially a magician, but unfortunately those days are too rare, and at 34 they will get even rarer. And I have never forgiven him for his outburst over Villagate. No-one can disparage City the way he did and retain my respect.

 

I'd be happy to see in retained in some sort of coaching role, to help develop the younger players on who we look like becoming more dependent. But if he still wants to play at a reasonable level, I don't think it should be here.

 

If he is available for a pint of lager and a couple of packets of crisps then we would definitely be interested in him!

 

He'd be no good for you JWM, he plays football not hoof ball!

 

Sadly you are dead right Dave! Ah those were the days....

 

Why what coaching ability has he got. We need quality professional coaches that are good at, wait for it, coaching. Coaching is a skill in itself we need to recruit quality coaches, not just make yesterdays men coaches. I'm not saying Hoolahan doesn't have the qualities to make a top level coach, but I'm not aware of anything he's done to suggest that he has. I don't have a problem with him coaching, provided he has the necessary skills and coaches at a level appropriate to his skills.

 

We already have a dedicated '**** off Wes' thread.

 

If SW really is going to only retain 12-15 of the current squad (including young players like Maddison, Thompson and Godfrey), then we will be in the Championship or below for many years to come. The cost of paying off contracts would hugely limit our ability to sign new players and we would have a squad of 12 senior players, 3 promising young players and whatever 8-10 bargains SW could come up with in the summer. That doesn't fill me with optimism.

 

So parachute payments run out after next season. As a club we don't have / don't even answer the frickin' telephone to investigate the prospect of external investment , and surely we all agree that there's no point flogging the perrenial dead horse (again) by trying to milk another season out of Bassong, Turner, Whittaker, Tettey, etc?
So what the hell alternative options are there?

 

Of those four, I'd only keep Tettey and I'd also release Lafferty, Jones, Mulumbu, Jarvis and Andreu, but that would be about it unless we get attractive offers for other players. I'd retain Ruddy, McGovern, Pinto, Martin, Klose, Bennett (maybe), Dijks (if he stays), Howson, Dorrans, Thompson, Godfrey, Jacob, Josh, Naismith, Wildschut, Hoolahan, Pritchard, Maddison, Jerome and Oliveira. That's 20, not the 15 limit the Pink'un seems to impose. Of those, 3 are promising youth players who have not yet proved themselves at Championship level (Maddison, Thompson and Godfrey). That would leave room for around 5-6 new players which I'd say is about right.

 

I agree and it does seem quite drastic to me as well.
It's all only speculation of course and I'm hoping we'll get more idea of who's leaning/staying by the end of next month.

 

Results published. Unsurprisingly, the majority who voted online went for the same XV as I did, the only exception being the poll wanted Wessi retained ...and Naismith ushered out of the side door!?
http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/...ns-give-their-verdict-on-squad-cull-1-4992988

Edit: If Wildschut & Naismith are not retained, that's circa £16m down the tubes, as neither has done enough to command much interest from elsewhere - or a decent fee.

 

Pretty much agree with the consensus - the exception being Hoolahan/Naismith
From what I've seen at CR, Pritchard and Naismith have formed a good partnership and I hope SW has witnessed that too. Some tough decisions ahead and I'm certain we've got the right man for the job!!!

 

I hope you're right, JMF, but I'll judge him on his actions, including the choice of HC as well as who stays for next season and the new players who come in. As always, the proof will be in the results we achieve.

 

Spot on Rick and I certainly have more faith in SW than I did Poxey Moxey!?

 

I'm not sure anyone has said that we will be paying up contracts for those we don't wish to retain, surely they will be advertised at cut price, to enable us to get their wages off the books, otherwise we may as well keep them here.

 

But surely if there are no decent offers, or interested clubs won't pay what they earn here, they're within their rights to sit tight and see out the remainder of their contract here - regardless of whether they get a game or not? That would be why Lafferty was in no hurry to move earlier - now that his contract is almost up, he'll be off like a rat up a drainpipe!

 

This will be seen as contraversial, but he's already here and better than Toffolo in my opinion - Whittaker! I don't rate either of them, but at least SW will be content to stay on the bench and fill in when needed. Toffolo needs football and we should not be offering him any. He is not exactly starring for Scunny, I seriously don't think he is any better as a LB than Whittaker and Whittaker has appeared to be a willing squad man. Could Toffolo afford to just warm the bench for a whole season? Neither are a desirable option, but SW makes more sense to me, at the right price!

Bah!

 

So another season reliant on square pegs in hexagonal shaped holes is what you're advocating, General
I've seen enough of that this year to last me a lifetime!
Check out his wiki page, his preferred and most used position is as a RB.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Whittaker

 

Suffolk, you may find this short video interesting - and relevant, especially towards the end where Paddy D. touches on squad rebuilding, contract lengths, etc