I can honestly say I think Howson is going to be a serious player in the next 2 seasons. He has such a good all round package that I think it will be difficult for him not to be playing for us most weeks. When he came out a few weeks ago and said he wasnt fit enough yet I was surprised but I think you can tell hes worked on that and hes the box to box midfielder I think we have needed for sometime. When we signed him from Leeds a friend of mine said he was devasted as he had such a good future. Im not going to lie, I just enjoyed winding him up at the time and didnt know a lot about him but now I know why he was so annoyed about us signing him. On a side note I really liked the lineup of the midfield and strikers. Wilbraham deserves a special mention as his touch was brilliant all game and him and Holt were a handful. I hope we can keep hold of our yound talented players inparticular Howson and Pilkington and continue to build on what we have here. I still feel we need another striker and a RB if we cannot sign Naughton permanently. I was so impressed yesterday and in all honesty I think it is one of the best Norwich performances I have ever seen taking the opponents into account. OTBC
If Naughton is a non-starter I'd take Clyne. I think a winger who can play on either side could be useful too as we only have 2 wingers at the present (unless you include Surman)..would like either Snoddy or Matt Philips..or Jarvis if Wolves go. Striker..not too sure, saw yesterday some club were linked with Doyle for 4m (WBA?) I'd take him for 4m without doubt and I think he would be a good poacher to play off of the Grolt. Regarding Howson..I think he has looked immense, my old man has a bit of a soft spot for Leeds and had a season ticket when he was based up north (he is a Norwich fan and had a season ticket there for years too when based at Coltishall ;-)) and he said we had got one hell of a player and he has been proven right - seems to think that Clayton is just as good though?! Come on Kenny boy..lets snap him up ha. Knew quite a bit about Bennett as used to live not too far away from Peterborough and a few friends are fans - some upset people when we bought him on deadline day and he is looking a quality signing too! Hope we pull a few more players like this in come summer - and to think both players for roughly 5million..brilliant.
howson, and ryan bennett, both ooze class. to be honest, to pay a mere £5m for two england u21 internationals, who in my opinion are blatantly big stars of the future is tantamount to theft! if we could add naughton permanently in the summer we will have ourselves some seriously young and exciting players of our own to build around. if the time then comes that they outgrow the club then the profits would be immense.
We have proved over the last couple of seasons that when you sign players from the Football League, they get better the higher the level they play at. Bennett and Pilkington have never played in the Championship (I believe) and now they are without doubt established Premier League players. Howson, IMO, is Lambert's best signing since he arrived and I get the feeling we will be clambering for Howson to get a call-up for England next season. He has settled in very, very nicely.
It would be really nice to continue running the club the right way. Decrease some more debt this year and sign 2-4 players for £2.5m ish or less. Its key that we keep hold of Lambert and his backroom staff along with Mcnally and co. The rise of the club is equally down to us operating like a ruthless business as much as it is the players and coaching staffs hard work. I really Think Matt Phillips would be a good player but I would also be tempted with Doyle at that price. Not 100% sure what sort of wage he would be commanding though but I am guessing more than what our top earners would be on. Hopefully if we finish higher than what we originally anticipated the extra can be used to pay off debt or towards another player in the summer. Personally giving extra funds to Lambert would show our commitment to him and I also trust his judgement not to waste money on has bins. His transfer policy has been exceptional since he arrived through all the leagues.
Both Howson and Bennett (R) have adapted to Premiership life very quickly and both look class acts to me. They both have maturity beyond their years and look like two superb signings - Lambo sure has a way of finding them doesn't he ? Naughton is a definite (if we can get him) - another classy, young player, Matt Phillips would be a good 'un (scored yesterday again didn't he) - would love to get Snodgrass or Phillips and another striker and that's about all - the squad on current standing is good enough (as is being shown) and a few choice additions will only strengthen it.
I'm sorry but I'm sure we were mooted as mugs for spending 2mil on howson Yesterday I said we witnessed a young Norwich side "coming of age" and if january was anything to go by for signings this summer its going to be one heck of a ride! Also, I would not want Doyle at the club personally. I stand by Rhodes or rodriguez for striker positions! Also Tom Ince would be a sound buy in my eyes, a bright future for that young lad
he's been mentioned before, mainly by me, but i'd love to see bridcutt from brighton come in. holding midfielder, very capable passer and would add stell to the centre. he'd be high up on my list of targets this summer. agree about either snodgrass/phillips//jarvis/ince maybe - certainly another wide option would be great. a centre forward if possible - doyle is a good player, wouldn't mind him, but i don't think we need too much - just more tinkering really, and hopefully more talented, young english players
Completely agree with Bridcutt. Seen him a few times and he looks and excellent prospect and also has a good work ethic as all Lambert players must possess. Would give good competition for Fox in the DM role and allows for continued squad rotation.
As noted on previous threads I think that PL's strategy of snapping up young talent has alrteady started paying dividends and I think that the rewards will grow as they improve. We know that the majority of our team have very little prem experience and can only speculate on how good they can be with another 20 or 30 games under their belts. I know it's early days but Howson reminds me a bit of a young Scholes when he was a box to box player with a decent pass and an eye for goal. Howson also has the added bonus of being able to make a tackle without automatically getting a yellow card! I can see him becoming an absolute legend here but possibly moving on to bigger things fairly swiftly. Both the Bennets look top drawer and will only get better. I really like our youth midfield of Pilks/Bennett/Howson/Johnson (who had a very decent game yesterday) and I can see them taking the club forward well, particularly when you add in Fox for a bit of guile. I am also interested to see if Vaughan ever makes it back as he could be a briliant addition to the squad. If not then I think a new young, quick forward in the summer as well as Naughton is top priority.
