Punting Canary

Not about who breaks the news just great news they are both signing.

If you can track back to old posts on here you will see that I was right about the loan players earlier last season and I am spot on here too!!

Deals done.  Watch this space.

I am not sure whether the Smiths are about to move aside but whether it has come from the Smiths/Turners or associates I am not sure but I have been told from a reliable source that our transfer kitty is pleasantly larger than everyone thinks, and that things will get moving very quickly shortly.  Good things come to those that wait......

I hope they have nightclubs there for every night of the week and a selection of young ladies he can chase after.  Titus Bramble will obviously turn up out of the blue as well.....

In a moment whilst adverts on I saw Crook''s Wikapeadia statement which reads brilliantly as a Norwich fan Crook was at the hub of the most successful team in Norwich''s history. During his eleven seasons at the club, he helped them to a series of top five finishes in England''s top division and playing in the club''s UEFA Cup run. He was a midfielder noted for his passing ability and accuracy from set-pieces. He famously agreed to leave Norwich to join their fierce rivals Ipswich Town F.C., even posing for photos with his new shirt, buying his children replica kits before changing his mind and re-signing for City days later. This was due to former Norwich manager Mike Walker taking over the helm at Carrow Road. Ipswich Town F.C. took it to court. The local newspaper Evening Star carried the headline "Get out of Town Crook and take that man Walker with you". ..........It would have been a travesty to see him playing in the horrid blue.  I for one am looking forward to the day when he manages Norwich which I am sure will happen at some point.

Crook was wonderful to watch when he had the ball at his feet, (not so good when tracking back to try and get a tackle in) but some of the passes he played were out of this world and its no suprise that he did all his learning whilst training with Glen Hoddle at Spurs which was the reason he couldn''t get into the side.  His free kick and ball in behind the full back routine yielded 3 or 4 goals and the opposition never seemed to learn from it.  In a similar vein I also have visions of David Williams virtually coming out retirement to play against QPR at home (not sure if he was already coach at the time) and spraying balls around with inch perfect precision from the centre circle......

In my opinion he is a poor central defender.  He gives away far too many free kicks around the box, isn''t particularly quick, finds it hard to keep his arms down when challenging players, and his distribution is panicky and poor.  Roeder obviously seems something in him but he isn''t going to get us to the playoffs, let alone automatic promotion.  I hope we might be able to put the money to use on a new signing if we let him go.

In my defense I have posted a lot of transfer stuff in the past which has been very close to the mark.  We have made bids for Ernie and Etherington.  Whether either will be enough to secure the players is anyones guess but there are definitely offers in for both.  Will post further if I hear more.

Will wait and see whether we get them or not but the club has definitely made two bids for Ernie and one other player mentioned on here before.

Ignore my previous posts and I apologise to those who have said he is coming back.  Have heard that we have made a bid for him (whether this is the 2m accepted or a counter bid I am not sure) and another player mentioned regularly recently on this board.  Whether we get them or not is anyones guess but there are def bids in.

He isnt coming back. 

Unfortunatley I can confirm that we are not signing Robert Earnshaw.  Will post when I do hear about players we are going to sign!!

Etherington got some serious issues not sure would be good for the dressing room atmosphere.  The card games that he and Teddy Sheringham used to run at West Ham will always go down in legend and unfortunately for Etherington its not just cards he is into.

For what its worth regarding Huckerby I think Roeder has actually got it right.  Huckerby was virtually the highest paid player at Norwich and I for one am not sure that his legs have got another season in him.  A great Norwich player but for the wages that he would command we can''t have one of our top paid players on the bench or only playing 60 mins.  A sad day to see him go but I for one think Roeder has it right.  Look at some of the players Fergie has got rid of when many said they were in their prime. What concerns me more is that Dougherty is looking like getting another contract.  He gives away countless free kicks around the penalty areas which is a disaster in this level of football, his distribution is poor, and whilst his commitment can''t be faulted he is not good enough to help get Norwich into the playoffs.  If only for Tiny Taylor instead.....  

His performance at Charlton away will long life in the memory.  He single handedly propped up a shocking first half performance and looked a class above anything else on the pitch.  His commitment was incredible as was his touch and passing and his goal line clearance had to be seen to believed. He must have been a joy to watch in his prime years and if only everyone else played for the shirt week in week out like he has. Will surely go on to make a very good coach/manager somewhere.

Could be worse you could be joining various chess clubs etc on facebook.......

Have said it before on here, have been told by someone at the club that Roeder doesn''t really rate Marshall and its an area they will be looking to bring someone in during the closed season.  Why on earth he sold Joe Lewis though still sticks in the throat.....

As you say the Villa game was the one that topped it off but given the demographics at the time of the Norwich support the likes of my father (62 at the time) was too old to be hanging around after the game which is why I believe that the demographics of the average fan has now changed and is a little younger than it was back then for some reason.  Some people have managed to forget a lot about what happened under Chase, which was far worse than is happening under the present board.  I have no doubt that Delia & Co''s heart is in the right place, its just the brain and the decisions that occasionally have David James moments.  It is to a greater or lesser extent that I come back to Mr Doncasters failings who advises the board on many decisions. Regards the parachute payments I think much of what was received went to covering the overinflated wages we had to pay when we reached the Premiership on average European imports, and also to cover the debt from other areas.  Unfortunately football clubs unlike most other solvent businesses make operating profits.  Football clubs either have to have someone putting their hand in their pockets to cover the deficit or sell players at a profit to stand still.  The only way out is for either a Peter Cullum type figure or a very good manager who can work on a shoestring.  Hopefully the former will eventually join us, in the meantime we can only give Roeder time and look at the quaility of some of the players he has brought in, in comparison to the likes of Worthington and Grant and hope that will move us forward.

Whilst this is probably old news now if he was interested in getting involved in the club you would imagine the timescale for it would be after Towergate has floated in approx. 3 years time........ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3422328.ece

Regards Mr Carrow''s memory of the Chase scenario I have a rather different recollection of things.  Whilst the Norfolk press have always had a fairly cosy relationship with the club, I don''t remember any much other than a fairly unpleasant campaign (and rightly so) towards Mr Chase from fans and the people of Norfolk.  Anyone who was stood outside the ground when the police horses charged the fans would I am sure say that there is no shortage of fight in Norwich fans when the believe something is truly wrong at the club.  As for the 1000 fans outside the ground there were certainly more than that at some points and if you were at the Villa game on the last day of the season you would know that the game was effectively a Chase Out protest from start to finish with even the Villa fans joining in!!!  At this point in time Norwich were averaging around 15,000 fans that season not all of whom feel comfortable protesting in that kind of manner.  And the campaign stretched across the country as I remember seeing countless "Chase Out" signs in the back of cars as far away as the West Country and up north. I don''t buy into the small club scenario at all, and for me the fan base increase and change in demographics of them has contributed to a change in the clubs support.  I thinkthat the club has been dreadfully run since we got promoted to the Premiership.  Worthington bought badly, could not motivate the players, should have been sacked when we went down.  To then appoint Grant was a cheap disaster, who then wasted the parachute payments vital to return to the premiership.  In my opinion Neil Doncaster''s appointment (Alaistar Campbells brother?) as CE has coincided with the poor management of the club and has a lot to answer for generally.  And whilst Roeder is not everyones cup of tea we were an absolute relegation cert under Grant, and Roeder has turned things round to an extent, and should be given a chance.  Given how many players we are likely to need in the closed season even next year might be a struggle. Unfortunately since we came down from the Premiership the financial game has changed immensely and thats what it comes down to.  Delia hasn''t got that much cash and until (hopefully) the likes of Mr Cullum comes along it will be difficult for the club to compete in the transfer market.  It is only my opinion but I do believe if Roeder is given time, a reasonable level of funds, and our support he will turn the club round.  As for the board and the hierachy at the club they have made some crass mistakes and should hold their hands up and admit some errors rather than ploughing on heads down.

I do wonder what some people actually want when a new manager gets appointed.  Roeder has managed to get us from 8 points adrift at the bottom of the table to what will hopefully be a season where we avoid relegation which given the squad he inherited is some kind of miracle in itself.  Yes we would all like to see more permanent signings than having half a team of loan players but in fairness some of them have come in and done a much needed job for us.  If you forget the winning and then losing run that we have been on the actually position now from where we were is a minor miracle.  Had we have continued on the form we were on, whilst on the winning run we would have averaged more than 2 points a game which is what is needed to get promoted from this league over the course of a season and I think we all agree, given this squad, we are not promotion candidates.  What Roeder has done though is raised the average points per game to a level where we should hopefully be safe from relegation. Hopefully when the closed season arrives, and Roeder can bring in the faces he wants hopefully with the backing of the board, it is then time to judge him.  Until now he has performed a fairly miraculous act in getting us as far as he has.  He has a very good backroom staff and I for one think given the contacts and scouting network he has is just the sort of man we need to get us in a challenging position over the next two years. Regarding the Norfolk people giving managers an easy time.  Norfolk is a place thankfully where people don''t go screaming irrational nonsense if things start going wrong.  Having lived in London for a quite some time now (and travel to most games home and away), I am thoroughly looking forward to moving back in a couple of years and living among some of the friendliest people in the country.  Don''t mistake friendliness for ignorance though as you only have to look at the end of the Chase era for the response Norfolk folk can produce when there is something they object to seriously.  Thankfully most people in Norfolk are quite level headed and can see things rationally and are not governed by temporary emotions the likes of which has seen Keegan appointed at Newcastle and we can see where that has got them..... OTBC

Regarding the goalkeeping situation I am led to believe by someone close to the situation that Roeder does not really fancy Marshall for the position long term and that we are likely to be looking for another keeper in the closed season.  It does rather beg the question what on earth we have done selling Joe Lewis who has just scooped the player of the month award and is likely to be hot-footing it to the premiership before to long with Norwich receiving a % of an underinflated transfer fee as the Ferguson family pull off a coup at Norwich''s expense. 

As of yet I haven''t heard of anything but I was told that along with the Birmingham lads that buckets of hard work was being put in to bring a striker of quality to the club before the deadline, and that they were hopeful of getting one of their targets but as of this minute I haven''t heard anything more concrete, and I am not likely to now this evening before anyone else does. If I do I will post.

Pete Thanks for the great work generally and am not sure how hard this might be to dig up or get on a screensaver but I remember a great picture of Steve Bruce''s header in the 1985 Milk Cup Semi Final in front of a packed Barclay with steam coming out of it with Bruce wheeling off with his arm up in the air.  If this is anywhere in your archives it would look great as a screensaver.