Rumours are that we are looking to pick him up for £4m - lower than the original bids as he is in the last year of his contract. Looks like we could have a glut of strikers all of a sudden where last year we struggled to score at all.
One journalist north of the border thinks that our interest in Toivonen signals the end of our pursuit of Hooper? Don't figure, as they're completely different types of player? http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/celti...falls-off-radar-for-norwich-127088n.21317969?
how much panic was there in that article?! i absolutely know for sure that hooper was our number one target this summer and i can't see the club suddenly giving up so abruptly in the middle of june when there is still two months available to them to try and sign him. toivonen (assuming he signs, which is far from certain) changes nothing.
And for the umpteenth time, toivonen is not a striker so why would give up? And rest of our budget, please...
i actually wrote a response to that article and received an email back saying that it 'would not be published'. it contained nothing that would be deemed 'unpublishable', other than the fact i completely tore his article to pieces! just can't see why he refused to publish my post...
Okay so its being reported that Hull have bid £4m+ for him. I say lets go in with £4.5m, surely he would choose us over Hull???
That may depend; Firstly, he may wish to be closer to his family/home in which case Hull may be a good option for him. Secondly, he may never have visited Hull, if he has then they've got no chance! Bah! (Even if it has one of the great universities!)
I guess I'm still in the vast minority of people who hope that we've lost interest in Hooper. He's had a couple of good seasons for Scunthorpe in League One and been a 20 goal a season striker for Celtic, paying against defenders that are, at best Championship standard and at their worst League One standard. If we do sign him, I'll get behind him and hope he does well for us, but I won't be shedding any tears if he goes somewhere else.
have you ever watched the portuguese league? i only ask as i know everyone is very excited about RvW, and rightly so imo. it's just that, the standard of the defending in the portuguese league (bar the top four or five clubs) is pretty dire, comparable to the scottish premier league i'd say. so what's the difference? he scored 20+ goals in a relegated side in the championship, he scored goals in league one for fun (like holt), and scored goals for fun in scotland. why are some people so against hooper based on his opponents when they are so in favour of RvW? i don't get this! perhaps if his name was gary van hooperswinkel...
Supers has just posted what I was thinking - also look at the Dutch league outside of the top few clubs some very easy pickings for decent players. I would be hugley surprised is Toivo were able to continue his 1 in 2 goal to game ratio in the EPL if we sign him. For all the slights on this board concerning Hooper he has played more Champions League Football than our entire squad and scored more European goals. Yes he is a flat track bully in Scotland but you can only beat what you play against. Hooper has pace, good positional sense and is a very good finisher and would for £4m-£5m be an excellent acquisition who we could probably turn a profit on if nothing else.
In fairness though RvW is in the Dutch squad and even getting game time, Hooper can't get a look in for a currently vastly inferior footballing nation. I am slightly with Dazz here I don't think he is great, though he would be a good addition to the squad, no better than Holt for me. I'm not against the signing of Hooper, just uncertain that the price will be right. All that said, I can see us starting to lose our quite British feel as a club if we purely scour the continental market. Could that deminish the togetherness and spirit in the club? Bah!
I can see where you are coming from but like it or not we are in a competitive league and must sign the best players we can. At the moment there are more and affordable options abroad. Although it is important to sign the right players with a good attitude to keep a good harmony in the squad. The ability to communicate well is vitally important so being abe to speak English would be good. As a nation in general the Dutch in particular are exceptional at this. Maybe if we were better at foreign languages in this country more players would go abroad?
we are certainly signing english speakers. i don't see any issues in that respect. you can just as easily upset the applecart by signing an english player
Not Tyson! He couldn't land a punch on my Nan in her sleep! I'm now struggling to think of a modern boxer to take on the job, Vladimire Klitchko? Their all so rubbish in the heavyweights and even the best PFP; PBFM MP are in decline! How about a stone cold stunner?
Even if City were to sign Toivenon, there would still be a place for Hooper or another striker. Toivenon is an ACM or AM who can also play as second striker. Shelvey would also be an ACM or AM. Let Hull make their offer and then match it.
