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If we can sign Hopp and Jumpp as well, our midfield will be sorted.

The Quintilla and Skipp deals seem like great business to me! Two seasons ago we would have put MacCallum and Sitti straight into the squad. Now we're in the position where we can bring in cover for them. It's a clear indication, to me, that the model is completely working. We're totally moving in the right direction! I don't see how any Norwich fan, disappointing PL season aside, can look at all the healthy and sensible (on paper at least) transfer activity this summer and not be exciting about what we're building. Want to consider a different and darker possible reality ... look where Derby are at now! Spent loads, likely to receive a points deduction, and have signed only 1 marginal player for an upcoming season which could make or break them.

Again, for the folks in the back... SIGNINGS DO NOT HAPPEN IN ANY SORT OF ORDER

Or that Kane chap !

Overall, we're tremendously well set up for the future. Even setting aside the "Big 5" young talents of Aarons, Buendia Cantwell, Godfrey, and Lewis ... we have a host of players under 25 that could turn into something: Adshead, Bushier, Dennis, Dowell, Famewo, Idah, Martin, McCallum, Mumba, Oxborough, Placheta, Sinani, Sitti, Sorensen, Soto, Thomas, Thompson ... plus more u23s. What was the combined outlay on that group £5,000,000 total? Perhaps a bit more? What is the likelihood that even 2-3 end up worth £10,000,000 or more? I'd give us good odds to find at least one more potential star in that group. Our strategy of (1) putting real effort and resources (i.e., Colney) into youth players and (2) being proudly player-friendly (i.e., contract extensions, bonuses) is going to pay real dividends. It already is! We're already getting players that we would not have 2 years ago. Signee interviews are repeatedly emphasizing the above two points as reasons to have chosen to come to Norwich. None of this is by accident. As long as we can keep everyone happy, I'm all for bringing in as much youth as possible.

I agree. We are in unprecedented times and I think therefore a degree of benefit of the doubt has to be given at times but for me this is not one of them. The concern/issue is that this government does not appear to have anyone in it who is able/capable or feels comfortable to point out even the most blatantly obvious issues. Someone, somewhere (in Ofqual or government or both) should have said, hold on a second we can;t be downgrading kids based on historic results for other pupils at their school and pointed out that its not morally or possibly legally sound. If someone is doing that then they seem to be routinely ignored. It should have been picked up at the outset and it certainly should have been picked up once the algorithm had been run and the outcomes of it became clear. If they really though teachers were inflating grades at specific schools then Ofqual should have reverted to those schools before releasing the grades to try and moderate the grades. I'm sure some kids have ended up with better grades than they might have got because the jeopardy of the exams has been taken out of the system but to be honest, in this instance, that's a better outcome than unfairly punishing students and denying them their uni places.

U-Turn at 4pm. Govet to announce CAGs to be used. The right decision (even if it creates a headache for universities). What gets me is how on earth the government manages to get itself into these utter shambles in the first place. there seems to be nobody competent to say "hang on a moment" when the latest algorithm or modelling related shambles is proposed or implemented. In my opinion it was never reasonable or possible (or probably legal) for grades to be awarded on the basis of an algorithm taking into account past performance of schools and previous pupils. Someone, somewhere should have been alive to this right from the outset or, at the very least, once the results became clear prior to formal publication. Yes there will be some grade inflation this year. So what. Everyone knows its not been a normal year, better to give a few a leg up than destroy the futures of thousands of kids.

True, but should Norwich get promoted, then they have Carter-Vickers in the squad who probably isn't good enough for the Prem. This transfer window, where Norwich are relatively secure financially, should be focused on bringing in players who will be first teamers. Not bringing in back-up for players who are probably not quite good enough for the Prem as it is.

As of now, and reading between the lines, this is more or less what I expect in terms of getting meaningful minutes from those currently listed as being on the "First Team Squad" on the club's website (up-to-date today as of Skipp's signing): GK: Krul, McGovern RB: Aarons, Byram CB: Zimmerman, Klose, Hanley, Godrey LB: Quintilla, Lewis DM: Tettey, Skipp, Sorensen CM: McLean, Rupp, Vrancic AM: Dowell, Steipermann W: Buendia, Cantrell, Hernandez, Placheta S: Pukki, Idah, Sinani Out: Heise, Trybull, Leitner, Drmic Loan/u23s: Thompson, Oxborough, Thomas, Famewo, Martin, McCallum, Mumba, Sitti, Morris Obviously, some are still very much in flux. Even if we add another GK, CB, and S as seems likely that's a 28-man squad. Hardly monstrous and probably very much needed given (1) our injury woes and (2) the grueling Champs schedule.

You've got to remember that most of those on social media have never seen him play yet decided he's no good for us, and also he dunt scorez enuf gowls fur us buh

I stated a "first eleven" of them above in a post (a pure guess) but the Guardian has helpfully listed them: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/19/covid-19-climbdowns-the-uk-governments-u-turns-and-missteps?

Who is to say that we won't get those positions in. Let's wait until out transfer business is done before we complain. If we're missing positions when we've completed our business fine, but whilst we are still clearly looking, nothing is achieved by complaining that we may not sign a position you want - we may!

I disagree. You have to be an incompetent idiot to support Brexit without a plan. This Brexit govt has one of the worst records in the world. Boris and his supporters will go down in history but not for the reasons they want. By sovereignty they actually mean lost in colonial racist past. Shame on the brexiteers and their supporters for all the damage they have done to the people of the UK

With regards to players such as Gilmour, Sitti, McCallum, Soto and Bushiri, they're obviously not deemed ready for the first team squad (or maybe McCallum is, but not as first choice). If they were ready then Webber and Farke wouldn't be wasting time and money signing other players for their positions. We have to trust those in charge to make the right decisions with regards to which youngsters are ready and which ones need another loan spell, because their record in this area so far has been pretty spot on. Getting a squad together which is ready to push for promotion is the priority, and we can't compromise this with sentiment based on who is already here or who has been waiting the longest for a chance if they aren't quite good enough yet.

We’ve bought some duds too. Should we stop buying players as well?

Skipp Hire(d). Bring back Mike Walker. 😀

Yes - the obsessive reliance on data/algorithms over individuality has the hallmarks of Cummings all over it.

Craig Fleming was not very tall but he was a good CB

Let's be generous and put it down to gross incompetence as with buying PPE that proved not fit for purpose £400m on OneWeb satellite system and the supposed 'world beating' track and trace app how much of those failings were ideological, and how much down to sheer incompetence is a moot point but neither will help those who have died, and those who have seen their years of study fu cked up by the most incompetent government these past few centuries

With a name like that he’d fit in far better at Portman Rd 😀

So he didn't see a deal coming for Ramsdale - so what? It's blatantly obvious that they're in a tough position as a club and that quite a few players would be leaving either for financial reasons or for not wanting to play in the Champs when they can easily get a move to another PL club. What's going to be interesting is to see exactly how many leave, at what price, and how they can rebuild afterwards with a basically unproven manager. I think they're on a hiding to nothing tbh, the key players will be gone, there isn't the money there (at present) to bring in anywhere near similar level replacements, and it may even be tough for them to stay in the Champs, never mind try to get back up immediately. Point being however is that a fan of a different club has come on here for a bit of debate, isn't acting like a complete tool, and is bothering to make sensible posts detailing their position and showing greater knowledge of their club that most of us have about Bournemouth, so there's absolutely no reason to be so abrasive in the responses, nor start name calling or other unnecessary behaviour.

I am as good as a footballer as Messi. We're both men.

It is much the same change that WW1 and WW2 brought about. Many had been exposed to another way of working and living in both wars and social justice came quicker to the fore The world wide virus has found the 'old 'order' wanting. It's attempts to cling onto power are being broken on the wheel, of popular unrest. Brexit was an attempt at almost feudal isolation, much as those trying to cling to power in Belaruss, Trump and the cretin in Brazil are the final desperate bunker like denials.We are in someway entering another industrial age, in as much as huge advances in technology. Society will need to come to terms with greater and more efficient production levels. Come to terms with those methods requiring less labour An example of the divide is the way money is still being wasted on nonsense like HS2. The past few months have shown how more efficient the movement of data to people is, over people to a place of work. We will soon come to recognise that high speed broad band is as much a necessity in every house as electricity and water are. That means building more bridges not brexit type walls. We need to ensure that younger folk with fresh ideas and their future to develop, are to the fore - not those who have 'had their time' Society is forever changing and evolving, it is just that certain times events come together to push change further than what had been seen It comes down for some whether you want to assist and encourage the next generations, or you resent their youth.

The challenge when we see an extreme government Is to prevent a swing In an equal and opposite direction. It’s a relief that Starmer is now leader.

And many won't ever forget. In truth Trump is not the GOP and Johnson is not the Conservative. Both are parasitic imposters but I suspect Johnson will have done long term more damage as both parties will eventually try to distance themselves from their 'illness'.

Yes, also plenty of players from the academy never make it, so let's scrap that too. Actually, let's never sign anyone ever again, that way we'll never end up with any duds.

me too

Tier 2 = NHS Tier 3 = Serco. Either this or t'other way round.

Welcome to your future lads - “government” that is not intended to efficiently administer anything, but to create chaos to allow further consolidation of power. You are tracking the actions in the US by about 2 years, but that gap is closing, so they are apparently good at something.....

I think the new strip is clean and classy, a vast improvement on the last two seasons.

yes, we all remember the inability of students to take exams in the spring of 2019

The clue is in Bill's text.

Increasingly optimistic that we might hang on to at least a couple of the "crown jewels", keeping Godfrey and Buendia for example would be massive.

I'm tempted to say that they're not bright enough to manage this, certainly that is what their track record to date indicates. But on reflection I guess Ofqual must have a few statisticians who are quite capable of it, and they certainly can't claim that it is accidental or unintended because there have been warnings a plenty for some time from all over the education and university sectors - and let's not forget the Scottish government who kindly provided a week's warning to the numpties in Westminister who proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it - not even getting a viable appeals process ready.

There’s really no point bringing in a loan player if they don’t add anything to the first XI picture eg Roberts last season. It’s far better to work out where the gaps are and get decent players in that you’d not be able to otherwise afford eg Fraser, Gunn, Reed, and who can make a difference. You can worry about the other stuff if/when you get promotion - sometimes a loan can be made permanent or extended.

I never said they wouldn't want a replacement for Chilwell, it might be though that they want an older player to come in who can hit the ground running and then be moved out of the team when their own young prospect is ready, and can help mentor the younger left back while at the club. Rather than bring in someone like Lewis who also isn't the finished product yet, but would block their own young player's path into the team. A large portion of the Lewis fee is based on his potential over what he currently provides - it is a waste of money if you don't intend to have him around, or replace him with a player only a few years younger a couple of years down the road when Lewis is only starting to deliver his full potential.

Undoubtedly true - it's more 'controlled' (but growing still) at present simply due to the weak but existing restrictions. I sadly see currently no reason not to expect us to follow France and Spain and it to explode once more especially once it breaks back into more susceptible populations. No wishful thinking. NZ has it right - lockdown fast and hard and not weak and wobbly as we have.

No, but the idea is to sign younger players who have the potential to develop into Prem footballers with a season of coaching in the Championship - like Godfrey, Lewis, Aarons etc. They could only develop though with regular first team football and not being signed and then sitting on the bench behind other players. I presume this is the hope for Sorenson and Placheta. There is also the opportunity, although rarer, to sign a player probably capable of Prem football who others have considered not good enough. This is what happened with Krul, Pukki, Byram etc. It is about being that little bit smarter than others (which is increasingly hard as most clubs are slowly getting there act together in this regard, but that's a whole other topic). I think Ben Gibson could fall into the latter category while somelike Carter-Vickers would likely just end up on the bench and not develop any further.

The only problem there is whether Leicester think their 19 year old is ready to be thrown straight into the PL. If they lose Chilwell I don’t think they won’t look for a replacement and Lewis would be a minor outlay compared to what they’ll be getting in.

This isn't a second wave. It's a continuation of the initial infection due to an easing of lockdown.

Sounds like Mike Atherton, though whilst it was reported that FEC meant that according to his autobiography it was actually F**** Educated C***

Sorry its monday... I didnt see that part

Leitner is definitely out of the picture. Once he proves he’s recovered from surgery there are a long line of Germany clubs interested in signing him. Vrancic is great at many things, but he gives away possession A LOT, even for his style of play. He’s great to bring on when the opposition sit deep and don’t press as he can pick a pass or hit a long shot. Norwich will be the aggressor more in the Championship so Vrancic should have more of a part to play, but he’s a little bit of a ‘one note’ player.

Oh, I can see his reply now you've quoted it. It's really odd how he wants us to keep paying the salaries of the players we've sold or that are out of contract. Does he think you're still having to pay James Maddison's salary? Seems like a poor deal if you do. I even listed those players for him before. As for no evidence of reductions, well you can say that about any club until the accounts come out. Unless payslips or contracts leak. Or you can rely on the journalists that report with frequently accurate reports about the club and so clearly have someone whispering in their ear. I wouldn't have a clue which of the local journalists that report on Norwich are reliable like that but I would guess people that post here do. Or you can stick your fingers in your ears and go 'lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala'. The irony of quoting a news report trying to use it as if it's fact and then a few posts later saying you can't rely on journalists reports. Anyone in the team I listed could be sold if their valuation is met and they want to move. The same as for Norwich. The same as at any club. If you go back and read the post with the team on it I even said that at the time. I'm not yet convinced by Travers so hope we can get in a decent replacement but if the manager wants to back him as the number one of course I'm happy to give him a chance. As for why I'm here, well I usually post on a couple of other club's forums each season. The relegation means a change of scenery and I've always kind of liked Norwich so thought I'd add a bit here. Until the season kicks off all I've got to offer is stuff about AFCB but we'll see when the matches start. Most places usually appreciate a different point of view. Most places usually have an oddball that you end up having to ignore despite trying to reason with them at the start.

I ignored you for a very long time. The problem is that as soon as you appear the quality of the debate falls away. It descends into personal attacks, nonsense about bets and this odd obsession about lies and identities. I get that you have a need that this forum meets but its a shame that it has to come at the expense of everyone else.

So let’s never spend any money, that’ll bring success! What there is is a balance to be found, between not spending money on has-been a with exorbitant wages (Naismith) and spending zero money and relying on loans that don’t really give a stuff if we succeed or not. There has to be a middle ground somewhere and that’s where we went wrong this season, we were too conservative.

That would seem to end the pursuit of Henderson then. Shame in a way, I hope Henderson gets time at Old Trafford, or a different move away. Very talented young English keeper.

As I said on another thread, Gavin Williamson is an incompetent ****. GCSEs will have the same fiasco and then they'll u-turn and go with teacher assessed grades in a few weeks. Nailed on. Just imagine the stupidity of a man who has essentially said we can't trust teachers considered and meticulously thought out grades (yes they were inflated but remember teachers are assessing ability not performance on the day in a one off exam). Instead of that approach which was consistent and clear across the country, we'll put in an algorithm to ensure private schools benefit and poor kids are screwed over. To counter this, we will pay for all appeals against our made up grades, and we'll use mock exams which are used in totally different ways at different schools, many schools only sitting partial papers for mocks.... oh yeah and the people that marked those mocks which are wildly variable and inaccurate are the very teachers whose measured and considered grades we said we couldn't trust. The guy is a ****. Par for the course in this shambles of a govt though.

This is a cabinet of monumental idiocy. The day that Gavin Williamson spoke of people being elevated above their level of competence is the day that irony died.