I don't think that we can afford to wait for another striker as there is just too much at stake. The loss of Holt (and Morison) in recent games has been frightening. A replacement for Chris Martin is imperative if City are to get at least the fifteen points they require. Whether it's Hooper or another, a deal needs to be done to see this season out.
Well CH has knocked that rumour on the head: http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...es_talk_of_gary_hooper_transfer_bid_1_1789391 Interesting that he simply refuses to comment on Graham and Becchio though!
to be fair he was interviewed yesterday so if there have been developments they wouldn't be included in that particular press release - not that he'd talk openly about it anyway!
Hughton is hardly going to come out and say "Yes, we are talking to Hooper's agent, we have offered £6M and we are going to pay him 30k per week". Look, personally I don't think this transfer is going to happen, but never say "never"
We should never break our structure for one player what difference will he make other than stress the finances No stick to plan gradually improve we have loads of good quality not getting a game so don't break the bank to add to that. I would love to see Hooper play for us but is he worth more than Mr Holt ABSOLUTELY NOT!!
When Holt joined we as a club were rock bottom and floundering in league 1. Any player who comes in now, while we are a mid-table Premier outfit, is going to expect more than Holt did when he joined - as he's fully entitled to. Or stay put or sign for somebody else who values your services more highly.
That's fine Cromer but Hooper was playing for Scunny a couple if years ago yes he has been good for Celtic but does he have the class and experience to break our wage structure I am known to be wrong a lot according to her who must be obeyed so dont take any notice of my opinion but as far as I am concerned he could only be a back up to Holty not an improvement
i'd say its a close contest between holt and hooper. they are different players but hooper would score more goals, unquestionably. he's more mobile too and got good movement off the ball. however, he probably wouldn't give as much to the team outside the box. and he isn't as inspirational as holt, though not many are. i'd say £5-6m, baring in mind his contract situation, is just about right, and 25k a week. i think he'd also find himself in the england setup fairly quickly if he started scoring early on, especially as he's only 24 - that would add value to him. all pie in the sky anyway!
I believe we will have to at some point if the intention is to remain in the top flight, and once one gets it, others will follow, of that there is no doubt. The alternative is to keep a cap on the wages and be a yo-yo team or a team that solely exists to stave off the threat of relegation for another season. As long as there is sufficient money coming in to cover the cost and still show a profit year on year then no harm is done
the problems occur when you have major differences in wages but little difference in ability. i don't want to harp back to qpr again but when you see what bosingwa is on compared to mackie, THEN you get problems in the camp. add to this the fact the club can't afford to sustain these wages without premier league cash and you're in serious trouble. what norwich need to do is carry on as they have been, sourcing players who fit into the current wage structure but up it when appropriate and when it can be afforded. and don't go silly - don't pay someone £70k a week, no matter how good they are, and have your next highest earner on £25k!! that's daft. as long as any rise is stable and proportionate, as it would be in this case, i feel there is no problem.
Agree with Thai. We can't expect to improve our squad without increasing the wage cap, but it should be done slowly, and always so as not to leave the club struggling should we get relegated. If we survive, the new TV deal will probably mean we can afford to pay players more, but we need to slowly increase that, rather than a quick jump, and with relegation clauses in contracts should the worst happen.
But than we could look at other possibly cheaper options from abroad in the summer. I like Nicklas Helenius for starters, although he could potentially be signed by a bigger club.
I agree about taking things slowly, a season is 38 games long. However, I have given thought to the "next level" and wonder what you guys think is the expectation for that. Personally, and I think 99.9% will agree, I don't envisage the club ever consistently being in a battle for the top 6. Maybe the odd season but not one where we would be seen as one of the automatic big boys. I then think that the next level for us would be, assured of Prem membership, certainly for a large number of years which must be at least a decade. To guarantee that means we will have to spend every season. I'm not saying spend big but spend wisely. For me that includes a touch of luck, Ferguson says if you can get 7 out of 10 you have done well. People are talking about Benteke as the find of the season but he cost a reported £7M whereas I would argue the find of the season is Michu at a reported £2M. That is the kind of luck you need. And will he still be there at the end of the season? If we can do that season after season, I doubt CH will still be our manager. So we would need the impossible task of doing it without anyone noticing. So our manager or best players don't move on or being poached. Having said that, what a marvellous thing that we are even discussing moving up a level within the Prem.
I believe our team which got 25 pts in the first half of the year can finish the job then improve in the summer with no false pressures of tight xfer windows
'People are talking about Benteke as the find of the season but he cost a reported £7M'. And it's interesting that Villa fans and others are now saying that Benteke is looking a little jaded and his scoring rate has gone down dramatically. So even that 7million may not bring the rewards Villa are hoping for. (As an aside, the same thing is being whispered about Tettey, which may increase the argument against the heavy Xmas/New Year programme. At least Tettey/NCFC have players who can come into the side to rest him; unlike Villa who have Bent, who comes on, misses a sitter and goes down injured.)
Well yes but that comes down to the management of the club from the top down and obviously a 'strategy' that should be well avoided. Thankfully NCFC has never been in a rush to make a name for themselves in our country, never mind the rest of the world. Nice and steady will do nicely, stability is what we must maintain but we do need to keep up with the middle of the table pack.
must confess i agree about this next level malarky. what does it mean? the next level for norwich is probably europe but as far as i'm concerned and i know the club feel this too, we just need to remain in the top flight this season and probably the same again next season. there is plenty of time to build and get better. we won't be able to sustain bigger wages until we fill a bigger ground anyway
i also think that our best strategy is signing promising players and selling them on for major profit. wigan have done this superbly over the past decade or so. we have more potential than wigan and i know people don't like it when we sell the crown jewels but for a club our size, its a natural thing for a bigger club to take our best players (and managers!). it happens higher up the food chain too - how many great players do spurs struggle to hang on to? that's our best way forward - an re-invest the money wisely
True Supers - Van Persie from the Gunners to United is a perfect example. We've already seen rumours of Arsenal's "interest" in Ruddy and if Snoddy carries on playing the way he is he will be sure to attract attention from some of the "bigger" clubs. We've always sold on our best players in the past (Ron Davies, Hugh Curran, Kevin Reeeves, Justin Fashanu, Robert Fleck, Chris Sutton, Dean Ashton - just to name the strikers !) so it is entirely probable our current best assets will be prised away at some time in the future.
