Nice to see hear from an actual Norwegian fans perspective, you should make some more comments on here Arctic Tiger, thanks for your opinions!
I'm pretty happy. Norwegian players tend to do very well in our leagues as I think the style of play in Norway is similar? We've kept key players and we still have injured players to return. All in all a great day. I'd still have signed a freebie like Carlton Cole just for that all important experience.
Cheers for the info, I had no idea Stabaek was anywhere near Oslo, gives it a bit of a location in my mind. All I know about Norway is from watching the 1994 Winter Olympics and the Lilyhammer TV show!
I hope you're right about Diomande, it would be a real injection if he and Luer could make an impact and create some good options up front. I don't think we'll miss Jelavic because our other strikers will be relishing actually getting a pass, never mind an assist. We still desperately need a goalkeeper we can depend on - hopefully that will be a loan. My biggest disappointment is we still have Huddlestone. He is our anchor and we will never have a free-flowing, positive, pacey team when he plays, and it seems he will always play when available.
I think a few premiership players not been given a squad number because they have too many players etc..... maybe a few decent loans will be available when the loan window opens.
Agreed. Watched the Preston game on TigerPlayer t'other day, and there was certainly a fair bit more positive forward momentum without Hudds in the line-up. Will SB take note of that I wonder ?
Ok, take out the other goals he scored. Every player that season contributed something, they had to as we didn't have a definitive goalscorer. His time with us didn't work out, but he played his part.
It is now up to every player in our squad to maintain our decent run. When the window next opens we may be in such a decent position - players will stay with the likelihood of a promotion on the horizon.
This has been the case for 21 months now. We are a better team without Huddlestone. Our only hope of selling him would have been a Premier League manager who hadn't seen him play for the best part of two years. If we had a fully-fit squad he wouldn't make my bench.
Unfortunately Thudd has got slower, he has never had great mobility but for whatever reason he has slowed down even further, his decision making also seems to have slowed, probably coupled with the fact that teams know to press him. Without him we have a much more mobile midfield, which in turn gives options, and in Diame, we have a midfielder who likes to drive at teams, just what we need, he is only going to get better as his fitness improves, alas this will draw attention to him come January, I can only hope that we are in such a good position by then that Diame feels us a better option.
