Good chance that it was mostly precaution as Rhodes wanted to stay on the bench, but was forced to go into the dressing room for treatment. Fingers crossed that he's ok.
Fair comment, but what IF he gets say 10 goals for us - it's still going to be a helluva lot less than forking £10M+ for a striker and Morris should be fit for next season.
Stewart Lewis' report from last night's game - http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter...iel-farke-is-preparing-his-troops-for-battle/ Just over a week until the real stuff starts!!!!
Latest on Rhodes: “He slipped away a bit and it is the inner ligament that we are concerned about. His first reaction, and he is an experienced lad, is that it will be okay. That was the same from the physio. The ankle is a bit swollen and we have to wait how it develops overnight. We’ll have a scan and we will know more when we get that. Hopefully it was the right decision to take him off immediately. That is never a guarantee of course that it is not a bad injury but I am confident he can return pretty soon. It will be crucial to have him because he plays an important part in my plans.” As for Pukki: “It doesn’t look too bad,” said Farke. “Although his socks were pretty bloody. It was a tough tackle and I was really angry with this situation. Of course the opponent wants a good performance in pre-season but when we are down 3-1 in a friendly you just have to run after the ball and keep the nerve. A tackle from behind in a normal game would be a red card. The ball was two metres away and it was like the defender wanted to give a strong sign. Not after 75 minutes or whatever, that should be after two or three minutes. It is football, we have to accept it and we hope Teemu is back soon.”
The fee for Marriot was reportedly about £3m plus add ons that could make it closer to £5m. Sheffield Wednesday were trying to get £3m just to loan him and Rhodes will be on a much higher salary than Marriot will get at Derby. If we end up spending over £3m on Rhodes for a year and he doesn't play then it won't look like very good business.
please log in to view this image Talk Norwich City@TalkNorwichCity Cambridge last year. Luton this year. Love having our better players kicked to bits in pre-season games. Nothing quite like it
The fee I saw was £5m plus add-ons. Had we not signed Pukki, I could see Marriott, but they are very similar strikers. I'm pleased with Pukki's 3 goals so far and he has the advantage of being able to play wide behind Rhodes or Srbeny as a second striker, complementing Hernandez or Buendia (who had a good 45 minutes last night) on the other flank. For me, we've got the two strikers that DF wanted for a lot less than we would have paid to outbid Derby for Marriott. Edit: "Peterborough United Chairman Darragh MacAnthony has moved quickly to shoot down reports regarding the suggested fee of Jack Marriott’s sale to Derby County. Several outlets have reported the fee to be an initial £2.5million, rising to £5million. But the Posh owner has hit back at the figure being banded around as being ‘miles off’."
Yes, I've just read it and it all looks very encouraging indeed. "Encouragingly, among those who caught the eye were some of our youngsters: Max Aarons, looking as composed and energetic as Jamal Lewis last year Todd Cantwell, now maturing into a impressive midfielder Louis Thompson, looking like the player we saw and admired a couple of years ago (delighted for him) Ben Godfrey, making use of his physical strength as a centre-back All of them played the full 90 minutes. Other clear positives include Kenny McLean, an all-round midfielder who should thrive in the Championship; Ben Marshall, who injected the kind of purpose we lacked last year; and Teemu Pukki (how did other clubs not see his ability? And frankly, who cares?) Some deft touches and turns suggested Emi Buendia could be a force for us this year. And it’s good to see Grant Hanley back to provide his reassuring presence. Speaking of which, we have ourselves a goalkeeper. Tim Krul was obviously keen to play, looked sharp and wasn’t afraid to let his defence know what he wanted. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Marco Stiepermann. Last year I thought he seemed a good player looking for his best position. On the evidence of last night – and apparently other friendlies too – that position could be central." Godfrey, Thompson, Cantwell and Aarons are all in addition to our 8 new signings this window, all of whom look very promising already.
Pukki, McLean and Marshall look to be the players to provide the penetration we were lacking last year and they all bring a vitality to the 4-1-4-1 formation that was also lacking. Now, instead of tippy tappy passing to retain possession, there's a real sense of purpose to our play.
So it could be less could be more. How much was the loan fee and wages for Rhodes ? In the millions for certain.
Totally agree Cromer. Must mean he is now a real first team squad player, so hoping he gets plenty of match time this season, and with Thompson also excel!ing so far, really is like having two new players. Picking the midfield starters is not going to be easy for DF this season, so many good players available.
