i know a few national journos and a couple (who have no connection to the club) really do think this deal will happen - they are absolutely certain in fact. they get things right but they also get things wrong so i tend not to go with what they say. however, talksport are almost always wrong in my experience so i never believe what they say.
i think Talksport are a bit varied supers. they have good coverage, but often get things wrong, no worse than sky in my opinion. although they do have the moose and he is always wrong - reckon he skews if for you!
Hughton's knocked the Hooper stuff on the head http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...es_talk_of_gary_hooper_transfer_bid_1_1789391 The bhoy's staying to take us to Wembley
good for him he was playing in the conference last i checked i'm planning to go and see the 'shots' later this season so i can check him out
That was said yesterday, he's not the type of manager and were not the type of club to say we are in for him. Why stay at a club to play basically 2 more meaningful matches when he can come south and go up against many of Europe's finest! p.s im not expecting us to sign him
as much as i agree this story is just that - a story - that interview was yesterday so any developments would have been after that, and why on earth would he tell the world that he's bid for him? it would just alert others. use your loaf
Norfolk Press only put that story up this morning. Vitalfootball, Talksport and the Scottish press (being predictably mischeivous) are still going with it as well. I only saw that piece via google - Hughton's disclaimer hasn't really been reported in Scotland.
I think Hooper will move on at some stage, maybe not now but in the summer. I'm not saying to us but the SPL without Rangers in it is like drinking non alcholoic beer, what's the point? I understand that Celtic are in CL and are playing Juventus etc.... but this is the first year in ages they have managed to get out of the group stages. In the EPL he will able to play the likes of Man Utd, Citeh and Chelsea on a regular basis.
oh, hooper will definitely be off. i too think it'll be this summer though ignore the champions league - celtic have almost wrapped the title up already this season - they've not even been playing very well (and i include hooper in that). maybe he feels he's going stale, i don't know, but the competition up there is not going to get the best out of him for long. he's probably given the best service he can to celtic already and will need a fresh challenge. and the england thing is big for him - he's on record as saying he feels he has to play in the premier league to get picked.
I remember seeing an interview with his (now previous) boss, saying Macclesfield had players who'd played in the PL. Did McNamee actually make an appearance for us after promotion? I thought he got sold beforehand. Still, he was a handy player for us at times, and it seems odd he dropped right down to the conference. That must have been hard to take.
we sold him once promoted from the championship i think. never played in the top flight for us but may have done for watford.
English players won't get picked for England while they stay at Celtic. From the last ten years, this is our third time in the last sixteen. Both previous times, we've been knocked out by the eventual winners - AC Milan and Barcelona. It took Milan extra time in the second leg in the San Siro to beat us with a Kaka wondergoal. Had we not conceded a 94th min goal in the Nou Camp this time round, we'd have topped the group as fourth seeds. While Rangers are away, we'll qualify at least for the group stages every season. Why would you think playing Man United and Chelsea would be a bigger draw than that? If he goes to the EPL (name-calling retracted), it'll be for money and international opportunities. Not because he's not playing at a high enough level. Pretty insular and disrespectful to write off opportunities to prove yourself against the best at our club. Barcelona>Man U Benfica>Chelsea (this season - Benfica will go further in the Europa) Juve>Citeh
Yeah, you're right, 7 appearances apparently. I'd assumed he was someone we'd plucked from obscurity, I didn't realise he'd had a reasonable career pre-us.
the bits in bold is all you needed to type. there's no question the champions league is a big draw for players but at 24, isn't there even a bit of you that thinks a stepping-stone move now, doing well, may see him back in the champions league in two years time but playing for a big premier league club, or do you not think he's good enough for that? and england recognition is something he talks about. oh, and he also has expressed a desire to move back to england, closer to family in harlow i believe. not a million miles from norwich...
Edit: Hadn't seen Supers say pretty much the same thing in fewer words. But how often does he get to play these teams? If you make the last 16, and he plays every game, he gets maybe 8 games against really good sides per season. In the EPL, he's got Chelsea, Man U, Man City, Spurs, Arsenal, etc, + domestic competitions. So he's still getting the same number of chances to play the big boys, but an increased chance of international recognition, and probably more money too. Also, if he's ambitious, joining us would only ever be a stepping stone. From Celtic, he's only got interest from mid-table Prem sides, none of the top teams are interested. If he does well at a Norwich, WBA, Fulham type of club, then bigger clubs in the EPL are more likely to come calling. It might take 2-3 years, but if he plays well, he could get the move, which would give him much greater European opportunities too, and it seems that if you're English and playing for a big club in the EPL, your international call-up is assured.
He's English - I don't blame him at all for wanting to play there - the SFA enquired about his grandparents (one born in Coldstream or somewhere but was registered in Northumberland). He won't play for England while he's here - Alan Thompson, Chris Sutton et al have had the same issues previously. I'll leave before I get drawn into slanging. The English league is far better than ours - there's no question in that but to say he has "two meaningful matches" left with us was a bit snide considering the mass of meaningless mid-table games that go on in March and April when he could be playing in the biggest club tournament in the world.
