I still like Elmander as a player but I feel his effect on games in recent weeks has diminished. When Becchio came one against Hull he looked really up for it and we definitely seemed to up the anti in those last 20 odd minutes. He seemed more focused than he has been in previous games.
Told by his agent he needs to look good for what little game time he gets before offers will hit the table?
Given the number of times a new ACM has been mentioned, this article by James Kent has 5 suggestions, only the fifth of which had occurred to me: http://whatculture.com/sport/norwic...acking-midfielders-replace-wes-hoolahan.php/6
Must admit, I thought Falkenburg was the weakest of the lot. As for the rest: (1) Morrison. No way. Obviously oozes potential but we would never get him and I'm not sure I'd want that sort of temperament. (2) Vela. That would be incredible! Never going to happen though... He would be £15m at least and why would he go from first choice at a CL club to us?? (3) Falkenburg - Nice name, decent enough return, but I don't think he would offer creativity - he looks to be more of a goal-scoring midfielder of the heading the ball type... (4) Craig Bryson - decent and tidy player (and a midget as well, I know certain posters like that!) Masses of assists in the Championship, as well as chipping in goals. Aged 27, so far from old, but probably no sell-on value. Do we need sell-on value? No, he'd probably be cheap. He also is British so would likely quickly settle in the second half of the season, but would he be able to make the step up? Difficult to say. Cannot be sure he would be significantly better, if at all, than Hoolahan. (5) Danny Ings - a striker, so not sure quite why he's suitable. Obviously plenty of goals in him at Championship level, but absolutely nothing to suggest he would be a Hoolahan replacement and certainly not better than Hooper at the moment. He has got bags of potential, so I'd happily get him cheap as our third choice striker, but probably better in the summer!
I think Becchio looked crap on Saturday, as he has done in most of his admittedly brief appearances this season. Elmander is a far better player player if you ask me, he offers so much more.
I bet we wont sign a midfielder that were crying out for, will just be a squad filler hence the link to danny guthrie.
Got to disagree with you there Munky. I thought he looked quite lively, particularly with that nice run from right to left which enabled Hooper (I think?) to pick him out and set up a chance. I think I've seen every one of Bechio's cameo appearances and never thought he was crap but I've still not seen enough to know really. I do value Elmander's contribution but I can't help wishing that he might occasionally threaten the cow's arse with the proverbial banjo even if he isn't going to hit it. I'm still raw about an occasion on Boxing Day when he had a tightish angle from the right on an open goal and he chose to pass it back instead. It just seemed an unnatural decision for a striker.
Just looked at an article which highlights some alternatives should Wes leave. On there was Erik Falkenburg of Go Ahead Eagles, I wonder Cove if you could shed some light on him. Whether he would be good or not. By the way, I should say, this isn't a rumour it was a suggestion.
Cheers, I hadn't seen it on here. I don't know anything about Falkenburg hence why I thought I would ask Cove. I think Ings would be alright, but expensive. Morrison and Vela are pipedreams. The only reason Fulham stand a chance with Morrison is purely down to Meulensteen. I don't really see what Bryson offers which we haven't already got. Vela would be my pick but him coming to Norwich is just ridiculous.
There were reasons why I hadn't included Falkenburg in my list of transfer targets. The guy lacks quality, consistency and mentallity
Okay, full story: Falkenburg played for Sparta Rotterdam five years ago. Along with Kevin Strootman, Nick Viergever and Lerin Duarte. The 2009-2010 season proved to be the rise and rise of these four players. Scouts from all the Eredivisie clubs flocked to Rotterdam to see them and the rest is history. Strootman went to FC Utrecht, PSV and now AS Roma. Duarte went to Heracles Almelo and transferred to Ajax last Summer, and Nick Viergever went to AZ Alkmaar and even made it to the Dutch national team. Erik Falkenburg was the only one that never lived up to his potential. The guy just lacks class overall, and at AZ, 2 different managers trialled and tested him but all deemed him unfit for the top in the Eredivisie. He may have good stats on paper but missed thousands of chances before he finally scored. The guy's finishing, vision and tactics are below par. He tries to compensate that with his work-rate but as soon as things go sour in a match, so does he mentally. He just gives up from time to time. He has decent technique to give good passes, long crosses and shots from range. But he rarely does, except for this season as he has been in form lately. But mind you, he hasn't been in form 3 years before this season. I have no doubt that if he moves to the EPL, I'm still pissing myself laughing of people even linking him with Norwich, he will fail miserably.
My initial thoughts were that he probably wasn't quite good enough. I now feel like I've over estimated him! Damning stuff, thanks Cove.
Alderweireld keeps cropping up again: http://talksport.com/football/premi...belgian-eyes-atletico-madrid-exit-14012276701 Have we definitively found out that he can't move anywhere other than Ajax because of the "two clubs per season" rule? The only reason I say that is because we have seen plenty of players go on multiple loan moves in a season, so I can't see why he couldn't come to us on loan?
From the minute I heard he was going to Atletico tears of laughter rolled down my cheeks. Boy did that Alderweireld made the blunder of his life. He was never going to play there, unless injury's forced the manager to put him on. He is no Verthonghen and he never will be. Too slow, not a ruthless defender and get caught out from time to time. He would still make a good defender for Norwich though. As long as its a club from the lower side of the table he'll be okay.
