22 year old, Swedish CB, can play right back. Only 5'10 though. Got a bit of pace. He's alright I think. Not very exciting. German second division I think. Although won the U21 Championship with Sweden. Came off the bench in the final. Good read here: http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...an_championship_winner_joseph_baffo_1_4134323
Possibly potential. Not sure if he would be the Defender we need this season. Are there figures mentioned?
I'd probably want someone with a little bit more experience at CB or RB, might be one for the future possibly? don't know about figures but I wouldn't think it'll be a lot.
some esteemed company cameron jerome is keeping here http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...666?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Baffo- Underwhelming. We have tried a CB under 6ft in Russ... it doesnt work. You need aerial presence which Bennett is providing. Ranocchia- Would be a much better option at CB. Plenty of experience and Italian defenders are notoriously decent. Alas... it appears we will not get this one. Nicolas Nkoulou- Rumours we still might go for him again but id say it'd take a hefty whack. Though he would be worth it if he helped keep us up (or better). Pinto- Looks very handy, especially going forward. Much more pace than Russ, who im afraid just isn't quite Prem standard (as much as it pains me to say that as he has been a wonderful servant). He also has a great delivery. A snip at £2.9m as well. Byram- Much the same as Pinto tbh... could provide competition for Redmond as well! Remy- Would be fantastic providing he is up for the relegation battle! Not sure what his attitude is like. No doubt he is a top player though. Naismith- It's all been said. Very good signing if we get him. Hard worker with good experience. Not sure his goals to games ratio is any good but im sure he would weigh in with assists as well. Would also consider Austin, Afobe and Haller as good signings. For me a better version of O'Neil/Dorrans would be high on my list. They are two decent players but i fear we need something a little better than them. Not sure that position is suited to Vadis but I'd give him a try perhaps?
Baffo was linked in the summer too, our conclusions at the time seemed to be he'd be a reasonable option as a 4th centre back with potential. He's been an ever present this season, but performances in the 2nd German division are hardly a good indicator of how he'd do here. With Pinto seeming set to add to our defence and potentially free up Martin and Wisdom to be CB cover, I'm not convinced he's the type of signing to help win us points this season. A CB signing needs to come in and provide an immediate challenge for Bassong and Bennett, surely?
Of course... we defo need a CB! Just think Russ has showed that a lack of height doesnt work at CB. Baffo is 5'10! Ranocchia is 6'5. Mind you Nicolas Nkoulou is only 5'11... but he is proven at a higher level than Baffo. Baffo is young and perhaps could do a job as back up? I'd need to be convinced though. Think if Pinto puts in some decent deliveries for Mbokani or whoever we sign, he could help us win a fair few points! Russ has nothing going forward anymore. He just passes it back to Bennett or lumps it into the channel all the time. Pinto can run with the ball (at speed) and cross.
I wonder if Pinto might allow us to play with effectively 5 central midfielders, and rely on him and Brady from fullback to provide width. Pinto Bennett Bassong Brady Tettey O'Neill Vadis Hoolahan Howson Mbokani
Still think we need someone better than O'Neil / Dorrans in that CM. Playing 5 midfielders would make us too narrow and put a lot of pressure on the full backs. Id much rather have Jarvis in front of Brady and Either Vadis, Byram (if we get him) or Redders in front of Pinto.
I don't think that's entirely fair on Martin - he's often forward into the box and making crosses. He would have scored a tap in in the first half of Howson hadn't squared it behind him, and he's definitely getting himself into attacking positions regularly. However his lack of pace does make it more difficult if we're trying to keep it tight as he struggles to get back quickly enough.
Getting a cross in the box is not the same as putting in a decent delivery. Martin is ok. I live him for what he has done for us. But he lacks quality. His lack of pace means that he cant beat defenders, he cant accelerate and he has to pass backwards because of this (unless he is already on the run). I dont mean to sound damning of a player so loyal and who has been so good. But he isnt anymore than good Prem cover/ very good championship quality. Of course Pinto might not be either but at least he has pace, a bit of a trick when dribbling and he can swing in a good ball. Martin has chipped in with goals which Pinto lacks... but i feel Pinto will make more by delivering to those who should be scoring more.
I don't disagree with you either Bedford, as long as you give me a 'like' also. No like, totally disagree (tongue in cheek).
Haha not been on here in a while and i there wasnt a like button on here before (yes its been that long).
I will always have a soft spot for Martin, but I've honestly never felt he is anything other than a top end Championship/PL squad player (he was the highest rated CB in the Champ last season...) All the criticisms of him I've understood and have largely agreed with (except for the slightly absurd suggestion that he was demanding to play CB and the manager didn't have the power to stop him...) My defending of him has always been that there has been an undue portion of the blame put on him, not that he wasn't to blame at all. I also felt he didn't get credit for his captaincy (which is clearly why our managers have kept playing him despite his obvious physical shortcomings) and the skills that he did have (at CB he was just the sort of "ball-playing" agile player most other Championship sides would be desperate to have partnering their CB beast). The bottom line is if we want to step up to the next level and be a solid PL team, Martin in our starting line-up (even at fullback) is not good enough. As a backup, fine. I doubt anyone would disagree with that (could be wrong) and I suspect, despite the coming to blows on this forum, that's what all those who have criticised Martin in the past have really meant, that they just want us to step up a level. And that's fair enough, it's just a different emphasis! Despite that, I think for a footballer, he's an admirable and down-to-earth bloke, the sort who is a credit to his club and I genuinely believe he is a club legend. I don't imagine anyone is disregarding the value he has brought to our club especially under Lambert!
The latest on Pinto: "Over the weekend, various reports in Croatia state that Pinto has been in Norfolk since the middle of last week and has completed a medical with Norwich City. Pinto was also said to have watched Norwich beat Southampton on Saturday. The deal is said to be almost complete and is likely to be finalised at the start of this week, possibly today."
Twitter can start to dim down again as rumours are allegedly well wide of the mark. http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...sted_in_joseph_baffo_transfer_swoop_1_4366150
