USAcanary

[quote user="John"]Same as before. We''ve had some good ''run outs'' in pre season (nothing worth taking any real note of as an indication for next season, just provided some good experience to the younger players and confirmation of a squad thats fairly fit), and made some decent aquisitions (at that though we still lack the quality needed to be considered better than a mid table side). Theres been nothing more than that on the positive side i''m afraid, and you''d be a fool to get caught up in a wave of euphoria after getting the better of some below par opposition. I must of said it a hundred times, and i''ll say it again, Gunn ''will'' fail. He''s not of managing quality (he''s well and truly shown that. What he managed last season was a disgraceful and shameful attempt at keeping Norwich outside of the relegation zone), and "inept" is a most suitable word to fit his description in the current role he occupies at the club. I guarantee we won''t gain promotion this season to every member on this board, and at that any Norwich City fan. [/quote] The fact he has totally changed the team and the philosophy at the club shows you what he thought of the squad he inherited last year. I think you can only make a fair judgment based on how he does this season. I think its clear from the chairmans words that although they support Gunn 100% he wont be given long if things don''t go well. They are not affraid to make a tough decision if he doesn''t do well.  

[quote user="jas the barclay king"] had a decent few games for us and has scored twice now too....could do well for us... I thought we gave up on Strihavka far too easily, if Maric gets used to the british game quickly he could be the player we have missed up front. a Proper goal threat! jas :) [/quote] Actually scored 3 times in his 4 trial games and hit the post in the other. not bad considering he hasn''t played that many combined minutes overall.

[quote user="lynn canary"]He knows how to influence players and he is a person that cares about the club and he knows that it will do not good having a load of players that do not care about the club. Our most succssful period as a football club is when he played and the players then you could tell had some love for the club unlike last year when we had players such as Fotheringham and Marshall who didn''t care about the club.[/quote] Great point. You will notice Gunn is bringing players in who see NCFC as a step up, not as them doing us a favor by staying. He is buying players who are hungry to play in front of 20,000+ home crowds. To prove they are better than they are. You can tell from his early interviews when Gunn suggested we needed more bosses on the pitch that he thought the major reason for our downfall last year was lack of character from many of the players.  

[quote user="MXboy"]Whats everyones views on Gunn as manager now? Keep up the good work Team Gunn![/quote] Good work so far, shrewd signings, good formations in the pre-season games. Unlike Roeder doesn''t care about the age of the player (Good enough, old enough)  But still unproven where it counts. The new chairman has stated "it''s a results business" With the new signings coming in I am getting more optomistic by the week for the new season. I think next week is going to be huge week. Whaley on Monday and hopefully 2-3 more signings as well.

[quote user="chicken"]Erm - have you been on holliday or something? Pinkun reported that Gunn had informed them that Stefanovic had been left at Colney to continue fitness and ball work there - he was not deemed to be ready for the games in Scotland although the target was to have him ready for the next lot of friendlies I believe. Also prior to that the Pinkun interviewed Stefanovic who stated that he wanted to stay and that he had taken a wage reduction due to relegation. He also indicated that he may be open to negotiation on the reduced wage if the club were interested in keeping him rather than selling him etc. From the suggestions since it sounds like he has done just that and is to stay with the club. [/quote] I know he said that but if we take Askou on we will have.......... Doc, Nelson, Askou, Stephens, Dumic and Dejan............. That looks one too many to me......... the fact that Gunn is looking at another CB suggests either they feel he won''t make it back from the injury or they plan on someone leaving (or being loaned)  

[quote user="Brian Gunns Hair"] Still injured? He his on high wages aswell! I do hope he performes next season. [/quote] I have to say there are some huge question marks over his future at the club? At his age he may not make it back to being 100% with that serious an injury.. If we add Askou it tends to point to us having probably 1 too many CB''s His being probably the biggest wage bill it makes the most sense to loan or sell. I am sure that he could find a club in the champs willing to take him on.

[quote user="No Quarter"]It''s amazing. When I heralded the appointment of Gunn as a good thing, I was lambasted from all angles, was referred to as a c**t, and told to "go and slit my own throat"........[/quote] Those reactions were stupid............. but......... I still think the jury is out on Gunn. He is still unproven. If we don''t do well this year I don''t think he will be given long. There is no doubt that this is NOW Bryan Gunn''s team, totally changed from last year. This is where it counts. IMHO Gunn is doing all the right things. I actually see it as a team effort on some of the signings (Nelson/Butterworth, Theoklitos/Crook   ect ect ect) He is sticking to his promises. Not only that I think his shrewd signings have allowed us to keep some of our "powder dry for some bigger signings. The games in scotland proved how much of a "squad game" its becoming when you have injuries. Most of the LG 1 teams wont have the squad depth we will have, some will struggle getting 18 pros out there on a saturday. With 7 subs you need lots of cover at various positions..........   

[quote user="Shyster"][quote user="chicken"][quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"] Full-time: Airdire Utd 2, Norwich City 3. Five from five, 100%, etc. [/quote] Not sure it will be enough for some though unfortunately Pete. I do agree with the sentiments though. The test will be Man U and Wigan as from what I have heard Man U plan to send down quite a strong side. [/quote] The Wigan tie will be more of a test and guide to go by where any potential or new players are concerned. [/quote] I agree 100% because its close to the new season, both sides will put out teams close to their starting squads. This will be treated as a fairly serious match by both sides IMHO. It will be the last chance to impress the managers for some players.

[quote user="lynn canary"]Well done Gunn. Got the team working as an acutal team again instead of individuals and well done for signing players that want to play for Norwich and not making a team full of loans. Up the City[/quote] Agree 100%, Gunn is doing exactly what he promised. He is bringing in permanent players that want to play for us. He has shown in the pre season games he is willing to give everyone a shout including the younger players.

[quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"] Full-time: Airdire Utd 2, Norwich City 3. Five from five, 100%, etc. [/quote] Great tour...... Not just the results. We gave vital minutes to Rudd and Steer, got to look at some of the trialists. Hopefully we can get just as much out of the next 5 preseason games with a few more permanent signings included......... IMHO Things are starting to come together, we still need a bit more quality in various areas but some of the places are starting to look set.

So basically I don''t expect them to unveil any players in Scotland. They like to do that at CR ;-) 

Gunn has already said in a CW interview that he and McNally are working on some deals but any business including offering contracts to any of the trialists will only take place when they are back at carrow road next week.

[quote user="Camuldonum"] By around Monday or Tuesday you will announce contract offers to some of your triallists. [/quote] Gunn said on CW that we will wait untill we get back to Norwich before making offers. I also think he wants to see some of the players in the last game on Saturday

I think either player is the kind we should try and buy. Gunn said today on CW that that there had been some movement on the Clingan/Russell transfers. Once those are settled and we know what our budget is I expect us to try and add some quality, especially up front. People might think we have too many players in various positions but with 7 subs this year you need a min of 2-3 strikers on the bench.  

[quote user="Delia Out"] But the thing is we already have Spillane, Doherty, Stefanovic, Dumic and Nelson. Do you know if Askou can play RB? [/quote] Don''t foget David Stephens....... http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/sub/TVNews/0,,10355~1725274,00.html Spillane, Doc, Dumic and Korey Smith can all play RB. I would be more worried about asking Askou if he can play left back! I also don''t think its certain that Stefanovic will either be here or be fit enough....... He may be let go to save wages if we have enough cover at CB which looks very likley. After having little cover at CB the last 2 years, it looks like we will have a lot of options this year.    

The whole point of bringing in so many trialists is to get a decent look at them hoping they impress and can add to the squad. Most won''t Overall I bet we offer contracts to less than 25% of the people we look at. Which is perfectly acceptable.  So far (from Gunns video reactions) and match reports the only standouts have been Maric, Askou and McVeigh somewhat.

[quote user="Jim Smith"] Ok. Lets play the game: Coaches: Bryan Gunn, Ian Butterworth, Ian Crook, John Deehan, Paul Crichton, (Ricky Martin?) = 6 Staff: Simon Spencer, Kitman, Bus Driver, Fitness Guy (do we have one?), Tour organiser type person, 2 media guys doing that diary = 7 Players: Declan Rudd, Jed Steer, Jon Otsemabor, Michael Spillane, Dario Dumic, Dave Stephens,Gary Doherty, Askou, Michael Nelson, Adam Drury, Simon Lappin, Wes Hoolahan, Matty Pattison, Tom Adayemi, OTJ, Matt Gill, Paul Mcveigh, Chris Craig, Jamie Cureton, Maric, Chris Martin, Michael Bridges = 22 I make that 35. If therefore the actual figure is 48 then it does seem on the high side. Maybe a couple of extra coaches/kit guys justified.       [/quote] This is what really bugs me from the people who like to pick holes for no reason.........They never have any facts. There was a whole video on canaries world the other day talking to "Mark Garfoot"   http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/sub/TVNews/0,,10355~1723614,00.html Did you not see it? You care enough to pick holes but not enough to be a member of the official site or bother watching videos on the the team.  

[quote user="singing canary"]It would appear the Imps are still in the hunt for Michael Bridges (Sunderland legend and Leeds 21 goal top scorer under O`Leary) as well as Rene Howe (Peterborough, Rochdale and Morecambe) going into the Arsenal game on Monday. Clive Platt leaving Colchester for Norwich in a £400,000 deal could be the key, but sensationally the word is Howe has not rejected a move to the Imps even though on the face of it we appear to have moved on. We all know that a big man up front is clearly still the answer. It is one that will define our season. Jacko meanwhile has been truffling away, boosted by an impressive Imp war chest, with the rumour being that he is about to sign two strikers. But surely Jacko can`t pull off double swoop of the century can he? Surely not Howe and Bridges in the same forward line. For many Imps our fears and dreams are all we have, this double signing could be all 125 of our birthdays come at once. How many would pack the Bank to see the Imps V Arsenal if these two signed by Monday?[/quote] So you posted this after reading this........... http://new.pinkun.com/content/ncfc/story.aspx?brand=PINKUNOnline&category=Norwich&tBrand=PinkUnOnline&tCategory=Norwich&itemid=NOED15%20Jul%202009%2013%3A53%3A30%3A093

[quote user="Branston Pickle"]...we also rather enjoyed having Hucks, Crouch and co in our promotion season (I always thought Kevin Cooper was underrated), and Lita last season wasn''t so bad. It is fair to say that our huge over-reliance on loans last season will probably haunt us for a while, but that is not to say that the odd one would not be hugely beneficial to us; it just has to be ''right'' and very much in moderation.[/quote] I do actually think that there is a high success correlation to loan players who are somewhat proven yet out of favor..... Young unproven players are a real crapshoot...... Even those that turn out great may not be so good at first while finding their feet (Bentley, Gibbs ect ect)

[quote user="Herb"]I have the solution! The club needs to buy a small fleet of VW Camper vans. Half a dozen should do it. They could then draw up a rota for designated drivers and the job''s a good un. No hotel fees, no drivers to pay, and the option of stopping off on the way home to do some surfing. Of course there would be the small issue of the vans being turned over by hoardes of feral chavs every night, but it''s all good character building stuff. [/quote] [img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2399059435_6824789a59.jpg?v=0[/img]

[quote user="Jim Smith"] I know very few of us have seen 2 of them play but: Sign Mcveigh, Maric, Craig and Whaley Save your money on a "big name" striker  Use that money to keep Clingan. Deal or no deal?   [/quote] Its a very bad deal.............. If we keep Clingan and he walks next year for free (like Croft) it would have cost us over 1.1 Million to keep him for 1 season. That''s exactly the same reason Leeds want to sell Beckford. Beckford won''t sign a new deal so they would rather sell him now than let him walk for free.  

[quote user="city-till-i-die"][quote user="It s only my opinion"]we still need a proven out n out striker who will get goals![/quote]Andy Bishop!!! proven at this level and wouldnt cost the earth[/quote] I don''t disagree, sounds like the kind of player who is decent at this level. ......... as I said in another post. Wait untill we have the Clingan and Russell money and I think we will start looking to add some real quality to the squad.  

[quote user="Herb"][quote user="ncfclad"]looked good on youtube and he is just the type of player we are looking for a target man who can score goals. Scored for Palace Hit the post against Raith Scored today not bad...[/quote] He''s not a target man. He''s over 6ft (just) but that does not make him a target man. It may make him more useful in the air than Cureton, but it''s about percentages and unless he can win the ball with the sort of consistency that Dublin could then it''s pointless hoofing balls up to him expecting miracles. I do agree however that he looks like a player with the potential to do well for us, certainly in this league. All boils down to whether his face fits attitude wise and how much he''s after imo. [/quote] I am going to play devil''s advocate and say that one of our better target men last year was Leroy Lita at 5'' 7" and by far the worst was Sibierski at 6'' 2"       

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"] The whole general psychology of loanees is counterproductive. Say, for example, the club had been forced to play Simon Lappin regularly over the past two years instead of having him rot away in the reserves whilst a motley collection of uninterested/unfit/inadequate loanees moved in and out. What then? The only types of loan I would even approach being comfortable with are (a) where we are in with a good shout of promotion by November/December say and we get in a Hucks/Crouch/Harper style triumvirate or,perhaps, (b) a Ched Evans style season long loan. OTBC       [/quote] So what you are saying is you only want loans that turn out great............. Maybe we should only play strikers in games that they score in. Leave them out of games where they don''t score.......... [img]http://www.riseinteractive.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/keyword-forecasting.jpg[/img]  

[quote user="John"]Michael Spillane is primarily a centre back (can play either right back or centre midfield). Dario Dumic is primarily a centre back (can play right back). Matty Pattison is primarily a central midfielder (who can play on either the right or left wing). ... Theres probably a few others i''m missing. [/quote] I agree, I do think Spillane is being groomed for RB because we have so many central defenders. Dumic played at RB in todays game but it was probably just to let Askou play. Gunn, said the other day that Dumic would partner Doc in the St Johnstone game, obviously the plans changed at the last minute to get a look at the trialist. If we sign Askou, you could also make a case that Doc could play RB as well.