sorry chippy but you are still re-writing history! grant holt wanted to leave norwich city before lambert had even quit. he wanted to leave for personal reasons but hughton/mcnally/both convinced him to stay for another season on the grounds he would be allowed to leave (should he still wish) the following summer. he agreed and then i agree, he never really enjoyed playing for the club again but he was never forced out - he was the one, the only one, doing the forcing. you're describing what you want to believe. i'm describing what actually happened. does he regret leaving norwich? in terms of his career, possibly yes, but in terms of his life i very much doubt it. he had to leave and i expect he probably wishes he'd left the previous summer.
If we keep hold of the midfielders we have then at Championship level it is very strong. And at this level should also create more than enough for the forwards.
we still don't have (wes aside) a creative footballer in our midfield though. powerful at times yes, but not creative. we lack ideas when we need to break teams down and in the championship it'll be even more important as it'll probably happen a lot. wes isn't really up to it anymore and might not even be here; it is essential that we sign somebody who can unlock tight defences - we've been crying out for that figure for three years now and still no sign of that player! i will be very unhappy if another summer passes without recruiting one.
http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/neil_adams_norwich_city_will_cover_all_the_transfer_bases_1_3671000 I think our current midfield will do well, but with the exception of Hoolahan there is absolutely no-one who will link central midfield up with the forwards, we also need players with ideas who can unlock defences.
For me we have 7 decent midfielders Fer, Johnson ,Tettey, Howson, Bennett , Josh Murphy & Redmond so if we keep hold of these and add 1 or 2 that can start pulling the strings in the middle of the park we should be ok. I don`t think Hoolahan ,Pilkington, Fox or Surman will be around much longer .
This is taken slightly out of context, IMO. Numerically we are stronger in midfield than elsewhere (10 players for 4 positions, not counting the fact that Olsson, Grabban and Lafferty can also play out wide). This doesn't mean we won't see another creative midfielder coming in, just that those already here need to be given a chance before further decisions are made. I don't see why Wes, Pilks or Surman should be excluded at this stage SN 23. If some leave, then the situation changes, but that is still a pretty big if right now.
Pilkington is a great player but is fast becoming a Michael Owen/Hargreaves type injury liability so unfortunately will not be able to play a full season, Hoolahan was one of our best players creative and good in possession but has only got a few years left in him and Surman and Fox have been on the fringe for a while now. Personally I would love it if the same players who failed to impress last year take their chance in pre season to force their way into the first 11 but it`s far more likely that Adams will want to bring in the players that he wants and with money in the bank I imagine we will see better central midfielders than Fox and Surman arrive.. The only players I didn`t want in the squad were Elmander and Snodgrass, they both really annoyed me last year .
Numerically stronger however we don't have enough variety, we lack playmakers and attacking midfielders, you could say Wes ticks those boxes he was great about three seasons ago but a lot has changed since then his a lot older and let's be honest with ourselves here after last season does he really want to be a Norwich player? It's best to move on and invest we need more options.
Yes, I was worried, too, when I read that. Perhaps he did just mean numerically, as other people have gone on to suggest, but the comment still makes me concerned. At least with Snodgrass gone, though a) more of the play may go through the others and they may take more responsibility than last year b) the build-up may become much less ponderous. As for Rhodes, why? Would he be an upgrade on Hooper/RvW? And isn't he supposed to be on a pretty large wage?
I'd much rather keep Hooper than swap for any of the potential strikers that we're being linked with. I suppose he's quite likely to be on the radar of several PL teams and Adams is forced to look for alternatives in case. Certainly I hope other areas of the pitch are getting his attention too.
Maybe, but what if, IF his goals get Fulham promoted back at the first attempt - it won't seem so crazy then.
Yeah, will either be money well spent or the biggest flop in championship history. Still, it is an insane amount of money for a 28 year old championship striker.
It sounds a bit like putting all of your eggs in one basket to me. What if he gets a serious injury? I'm pleased with Lafferty and Grabban for £6m or thereabouts, but like others, I'd like to see an ACM come in, or possibly an ACM/second striker combination. Saying that, I wonder if Grabban might fit that role? He's said to be a versatile player with good passing and hold-up skills and certainly would fit the second striker role. Just wondering, as we don't know much about our new strikers yet.
I think Lafferty and Grabban were only £4m which makes this McCormack deal all the more ridiculous. When players that have never even played at the highest level are worth £11m you know something needs to change.
He is not "worth" 11M, but that is what Fulham were prepared to pay for him. That is the worrying aspect of this deal.
Yes, he could well play a major part in getting them promoted, but IMO, he's still NOT worth £11M!!!!
