The reason we stopped becoming a selling club 10/15 years ago was because our players were generally so **** nobody would have been interested in them. Hucks, Ashton and Greeno were probably three of the best players we've had on the books since the relegation in the early 90's and they were all sold on, I can't think of many more that we've had who were sold on for a profit. Etuhu possibly, but I never thought he was anything amazing. How nice is it to now have a squad full of players who might turns a few heads and get a few chequebooks out. Whilst I'd love us to always be able to keep hold of our star players we have to be realistic and understand that if a top eight Premiership club come kocking for the likes of Snodgrass, Johnson, Ruddy etc and started offerig big money then they'll be off like a shot.
I started this thread and I still have no idea how I feel about this. Yes, if we survive this season, the wage structure will have to be broken at some point, but I am very wary of doing it mid-season. I made some foolish comments about Scottish football when we signed Whittaker, so I don't want to repeat that, but I have never seen Hooper play and I have no idea how good he is. Also, I am not sure that the quality of our forwards is the issue - the style we are playing now means that even RVP would struggle to score that many goals (that's not intended as a criticism of the style, just a recognition that things have changed since the PL years and we now follow a different tactical blueprint). Holt is still doing very well in my opinion, and Jackson may lack height but he has speed and intelligence and a great attitude. I guess I'm saying I don't know if we NEED another striker. Sorry, this is a confused post.
.....i must have missed Hucks being sold. hope we got big money for him. but basically i agree and it is unlikely to change if players want to move on to a "bigger" club and triple their income. we aold hardly be in a position to stand in their way.
Not sure we did sell Hucks - wasn't he "released" by the Rodent and went to San Jose or somewhere like that ?
Not sure I think the next level for us is europe? Id say more like regular premier league team (like stoke). in which case, we still need to spend money in order for us to gain more consistant results and make ourselves a greater force. I wouldnt mind spending a fair bit on hooper. He is clearly a good player and scores goals! For those worried that he has never proved it at the highest level... Holt, Graham, Dean Ashton and many others needed a chance to prove themselves and boy did they take those chances!
I agree with Bedford. Perhaps the Europa league is a mid to long term objective, but for now, I see the objective as becoming an established mid-table side, with the quality in the team that even a bad season will see us finish fairly comfortably clear of relegation. Then we can look to increase stadium capacity to give us greater income, and then perhaps to push on for a Europa spot. I think that if in 10 years time we've managed to stay in the PL, and increase capacity to say 35,000, we'd have done well. During the 'mid-table mediocrity' phase, a couple of domestic cup runs would be nice, and then once the foundations are in place we can push on and try to get Europa league football.
Standards are important though and should be maintained Mr. Kemp otherwise we all sink to the lowest level and end up with grunts. For further reference please see the QPR and Wet Sham boards.
yeah, i think in retrospect i shall change my vision of 'next level' as i agree with both bedford and dhcanary - consistency within the top flight is probably the next level, as we are currently aiming for survival each year. anything else is a bonus really
Gary Hooper looks increasingly like our top prospect and if he came, have no doubts, it would be a huge coup for Norwich city, a statement of intent and we would also have a serious player on our hands. I have absolute faith Hooper would score goals in the premier league. No doubt in my mind at all. The prospect of him playing, possibly ALONGSIDE Holt, is nothing short of mouthwatering. I wait on the news with baited breath but Hooper would be an absolute absurdly good signing.
Forgive me, obviously Hucks wasn't sold!! Note so self: re-read what you've written before posting, especially when posting in a hurry before dashing down to the canteen for Chip Shop Friday
I think we all accept that we will have to adjust the wage structure in the same way that eventually we will have to break our transfer record if we are to move from being perennial favourites for relegation to a stable mid-table outfit. Whether we do so in January or July is not relevant. If we can improve by spending on fees and wages then we should do so but I wouldn't be rushing out to make signings for the sake of them. For me the real need to strengthen is in the forward line and forwards generally cost the most. If CH sees Hooper as progress then I say go for it. I know he plays in Scotland but he has done well in Europe and whenever I have seen him play he looks sharp. He is at the right stage in his career and will be looking to use us as a stepping stone to greatness. Realistically he is not going to go to one of the top sides and we are as good a bet as anyone in the mid to lower reaches of the league for him to further his career. I'd rather get someone hungry and on the way up rather than someone with bags of experience looking for a pension - let them go to QPR.
The other thing is if we bought Hooper, or a similar striker, I think we'd probably have to change our formation. 4-4-2? The casualty of which could be Hoolahan... The team is hard to call atm. I think Hughton wants to be more attacking without compromising defensive strength. Question is who do you drop or move? Tettey and Johnson? On fire for me, Pilkington? Scoring so it's hard to drop him. Hoolahan? Although not contributing that much with goals he has been sublime for me. I can't wait for someone to pass him the ball because I know he's going to do something amazing with it. Holt is the strength, guile and captain so I wouldn't drop him. I really am unsure what to do. What we need is for certain players to fuse together to free up a spot. We need a Tettonson in midfield to allow a front 3 of (bites the back of hand) Hoolahan, Holt and Hooper. Oh Good God that'd be amazing.
can i just ask, why is there an assumption that we will change our formation if we sign a striker? i don't think we will. he's worked hard on giving us a solid system that gives us a good balance both defensively and attacking-wise. why would he look to change that? i think it gives us more chance to play 4-4-2 late in a game we are chasing but i really don't think he'll want to change the system. that isn't the point of buying a new striker - the point is to improve the team. it will be a fight for the number 9 spot more often than not. hooper can play on his own - i've seen him do it this season pretty well to be fair.
Tettonson could end up being the big spend in the summer. We currently need 2 players to play the DM role. If we had an absolute beast of a DM, we'd have more freedom to play (funnily enough) something closer resembling a diamond midfield. But then we'd probably end up with a situation closer to the PL-era, where we'd be scoring more, but probably conceding more too, albeit with a stronger side, and improved defence. In our current formation, Tettonson would also allow the potential to play Fox again. But I agree with Supers in that with the formation, it's a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" for me.
I can just see a change, not a huge change but a tweak to accomodate football for an extra striker. I agree we need to be able to be flexible to change games. It's a difficult situation and it's been rumbling aroud my head all January. We need a tiny bit for positivity going forward without compromising our defensive abilities. It's such a jam, I'm glad i've not got Hughtons job. The whole Fox/Bennett/Jackson thing must be doing his head in. I literally have no idea how to incorporate them tomorrow even though I believe they should be. It's a marmalade of a jam.
why go back to round pegs in square holes? sign players that fit the system rather than worrying about how you will adapt it! i'm sure that'll be hughton's thoughts.
