I am sorry to open a new thread but wanted to publicly state that to me Grant Holt represented so much in the four years that he has been at CR. He was part of a squad that took us from level 3 back to level 1 and the Premier League and held solid for two years at that level. He was committed, passionate and was a talisman for the club and for that we should be ever in his debt. If, on the back of all that we tap Wigan for £3m then that is the cherry on top. His goalscoring and overall input as club captain has been a joy and I for one will miss him come next season. Having said all of that, we have seen the best of him and last season showed that the edge had just started to go. Good luck Grant, you've been brilliant!
A nice piece here that reiterates what you've said in the OP, Thurnby http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter...-pivotal-in-the-best-white-knuckle-ride-ever/
Couldn't agree more and I'm sure CH & DM are actively pursuing replacements for our depleted forward line as I type this. Let's not forget the fans who opted not to take their £70 rebate on season tickets for dropping down to league 1 who made the funds available to sign GH in the first place and of course Gunny who actually signed him!!!!
hear hear for me, grant holt is the finest signing the club has ever made (well, certainly in my lifetime anyhow). the £400k fee that was raised by us, the supporters, by refusing a rebate on season tickets upon relegation to league one is the best £400k the club has ever or indeed probably will ever spend. the word legend gets bandied around like there's no tomorrow but in this case, the guy is an absolute legend. he joins messrs fleck, eadie, huckerby and mackay in my top five favourite canaries heroes of my lifetime (sorry iwan, you're number 6) i suppose it was fitting of the man in many ways that his debut came on the clubs lowest ever day - a home defeat at the hands of colchester united, but not just any home defeat... a 7-1 reversal! yet just four dramatic years later, his finale would see him net the second goal in an impressive 3-2 win away to the dethroned champions of england. what a remarkable four years it's been for the club and holty has been at the heart of it all. there will be a lot of people wondering if this is the right move by the club. i would have fallen into that club but in the end, it was difficult because holt himself has wanted away for more than a year. i know we had the stuff about him wanting to stay last summer despite handing in a transfer request but now he's leaving i feel able to say this was not the case - he was having difficulties in his personal life and wanted to move throughout that time. the fact his family have moved back to carlisle wouldn't have affected his football - they lived there during our season in league one and much of our championship campaign too - but unfortunately there is more to this than just 'buying a house somewhere else' and i'm not prepared to go into that on a forum, it wouldn't be fair to those involved. what we should all do is remember what he has achieved both for the club and for himself. three times player of the year, top scorer four years in a row, 78 goals for the club, captain, leader and inspiration behind back-to-back promotions. he was genuinely being talked about as an england possibility this time last year and i was one who hailed him as someone who deserved a call up based on his form. unfortunately his form dipped last season, partly due to the role he was asked to play and lack of chances offered but also partly because his talent was visibly waning. and he is a talent. he's not fat, he's not a 'battering ram'. he's a very decent player and clever on the field. it took a long time for him to reach the top flight but he did so through hard work AND talent, something that gets missed by those outside the club, meaning he never received the plaudits he deserves. all the best holty - we knew this day would come sooner rather than later but i for one had hoped it wouldn't be right now. i'd have loved to see you in that canary shirt for one more year but i understand why you feel the need to get your life back on track. there's more important things in life than football. cheers big man WFGH
I hope that all other posters read your comment Supers!!!! I think it's the right move both for GH and the club and I'm not concerned about CH and co finding us an able replacement. Thanks GH - my lasting memory of you is when you donned the 'moustache' of a microphone after scoring against Ip5w1ch!!!!
JR, i personally DO NOT believe it is the right move for the club, but in the circumstances i think they have decided it's best for grant that he leaves now. i suppose in many ways its a measure of his time at the club that we are prepared to let him leave earlier than the club would probably have liked. he's done wonders for the club - it's payback time
Somebody asked @BigGrantHolt the same thing on twitter yesterday - and suggested @BigWessieHoolahan. I can't see it happening We've still got a couple of Huckerby usernames on the forum, so Holt's legacy I'm sure will also live on
A true Legend and will be forever remembered at Carrow Road as such. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't even be in the Premiership! He wasn't a prolific goal scorer last season but let's not forget he did get us some valuable points to help us avoid relegation. The game against Everton for instance, that 90th minute goal: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21482896 Forever in his debt.
In EXACTLY the same way I won't bechanging MY username when our No1 moves on. I was a 'lone voice in the wilderness' in suppporting JR when he first arrived and got into some heated discussions on his merits. Now look how things have changed. Similarly, fans were quick to write off Turner, R Bennett and Howson, yet towards the end of last season, they all played key ruoles in ensuring our survival.
i think you'll find you weren't alone JR there were plenty of us about, you just needed to look for us! the bashing of ruddy was because of forster imo. russell martin got ridiculous stick too remember and was completely over the top. the slagging off of turner was disgraceful and going even further back, how about iwan roberts? a lot of our fans are very quick to judge players and when they do, they are more than often wrong. doesn't stop them continuing to do so though...
How dare you have a life outside football. Your number one priority in life should be to please us Norwich fans and work tirelessly for the club until us, 'the fans', decide you can move on. And we were not quite ready to let go yet. Bye big man!!!
