Norfolk Mustard

I don''t agree - Spillane is a quality player! He''s far too good to remain in League One for long. I can almost see another ''Danny Mills'' situation happening here; he''ll become stronger, rapidly increase his value and move on to much greater things... A big mistake to let him go.

Sessions were run by Culverhouse until Lambo returned from his interview at Fulham...

But Chris Martin does move quicker than Grant Holt...

Of course there is good reason for optimism! Paul Lambert has created a well-oiled machine with a winning mentality and a visible togetherness. Overall, his judgement seems pretty good when it comes to most aspects of being a successful football manager. He favours the German-esque way of doing things; like focusing on winning – that seems a pretty sensible thing to do! I’m delighted the Norwich pre-season prep will be starting over there – look what it did for Colchester when Lambo took that squad to the same camp last season. Those players came out of the traps rather well didn’t they? Scoring seven times in their first away game if my memory serves me right… Competent players with a real zest for what they''re doing will typically achieve far more than technically gifted ones with a less-than-helpful focus. I don’t think I am over-optimistic; if the board and the first team manager say they are aiming to create a team to challenge for a top 6 place in the Championship then I am delighted to get right behind them. Why anyone would pay for a season ticket and do anything less is beyond me?

Electronic fingerprint scanning works well to enable entry for approved visitors only (e.g. used in some playschools); this would be a simple system to implement. That way, only casual supporters would need to check-in. The regulars could gain speedy automatic entry without the need for a turnstile attendant. You wouldn''t even need your season ticket with you either...

Portsmouth have Papa Bouba Diop available for 1m Euros...

I have honestly never, ever heard of him.

I remember watching an England u-21 game at Carrow Road a few years ago; Rio Ferdinand was class, Frank Lampard solid, and Emile Heskey was the same as he is now - big, strong, holding the ball up - even out on the wing at times. Little end product though - looked like some aggression was missing. He was just too nice. Never thought he''d be much good as a goal scorer - I was right. I wouldn''t trade Grant Holt in a hurry...

Jackson''s goal ratio is better than 1 in 3 - it''s 1 in 2.3 for Rushden & Diamonds & Gillingham combined. You could argue those types of players are worth good money; although given the chance Cody McDonald could well be capable of replicating or even improving on those figures? Diamonds under our feet and all that...

Ebanks-Blake is an ex Man Utd youth team player - born in Cambridge, so a link to Norwich seems logical. Given Mick McCarthy seems to be playing with just Kevin Doyle up front at Wolves he may well fancy a role in another team! Mind you, Ian Holloway could make him an offer at Blackpool?

Andy Marshall doesn''t appear to have the ''success-orientated'' mentality that Lambo likes to see... Technically he''s pretty ordinary too; I was gobsmacked when he got employment at Villa!

That must make him a top performer up there?!

“... There are Leeds fans everywhere and hundreds of them in Ireland. My mum and dad are forever getting knocks on their door. No disrespect but it wasn''t like that when I was at Coventry....” And it wouldn''t be ''like that'' at Norwich either!

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"][quote user="CT"]Greeno made some great saves in his time here (at home to Stoke the season we got promoted is an exxample) but I cant find any links or videos on the web. If anyone has links to saves Greeno made at City, I would greatly appreciate them being posted. Thankyou OTBC [H] [/quote] And he couldn''t save a penalty even if his life depended on it. [/quote] Can''t save penalties? Best you watch that You Tube tribute Brendo''s posted on here - there are several examples in that!

Typical British Doomcaster! Can''t resist your desire to give everyone a ''reality check'' eh? ''Perception is reality''; I''m glad I don''t share your outlook!... On a practical level, I think the signings so far are good quality acquisitions to bolster the squad. Two or three higher profile signings and we''ll be as well equiped as any other team. Then it comes down to coaching and management - with the current leadership team at Norwich we have every right to be confident. Nothing wrong with a bit of realistic optimism!

[quote user="city till i die"]Adrian Chiles aint a pundit, he is just a cheap presenter...[/quote] Cheap? A £6m deal to obtain his presenting services isn''t exactly cheap!

Do the Police earn more money working Sundays?

Why do we get all these ^*

[quote user="NCFC-47"]Say there is a PC tomorrow this board needs a lift becoming quite dull since fox signed[/quote] There must have been some bright moments since Ruel Fox signed?...

Fergie was fiercely protective of Ryan Giggs when he was 17 - no media interviews etc - and look at the outcome; Giggs has become the most decorated player in the English game. There''s a lot to be said for nurturing - mind you, Man Utd''s ''success culture'' enabled Giggs to grow - it''s different at many other clubs where the expectation can weigh them down. For Englands sake I too hope that doesn''t happen with Wickham!

[quote user="TheNewBoy"][quote user="Norfolk Mustard"][quote user="Canary_on_the Trent"]The biggest striking prospect in the country has to be worth a fair bit surely. Obviously lots of hot prospects fall by the wayside but Wickham has it all and he''s only just 17, big, strong, quick, great finisher and a footballing brain. Why should Ipswich sell him cheaply if they believe he''s going to go on to play at the very top level? [/quote] I''m making the observation that strikers need to score; and 1 in 5 is nothing remarkable. We have better than that in Chris Martin... Wickham may go on to be world class, but right now he seems to be rated incredibly highly - without the end product called goals! I doubt Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney etc commenced their careers with stats as low as that?[/quote] Your opinion seems completely void of any sort of genuine consideration or analysis to be taken the slightly bit seriously, your follow up is non-factual and inaccurate. Firstly he has only just turned 17, so 6 goals in 29 appearances were scored by a 16 year old. A little bit of research, as now for some reason undertaken by me on your behalf, confirms the following: Robbie Fowler did not make his Liverpool debut until the age of 17 and a half. Michael Owen did not make his Liverpool debut until the age of 17 and a half. Wayne Rooney began playing for Everton as a 16 year old but scored just 8 goals in 37 appearances. Wayne Rooneys 8 in 37 is a scoring rate of 4.625, in other words 1 in 5. A higher proportion of Wickhams appearances were from the subs bench. Chris Martin was almost 2 years older than Wickham when making his Norwich debut. Chris Martin''s first season wielded 4 goals in 18 games, the equivalent of 1 in 5, with most of his appearances being starts. Quite why you would want to bring statistics in the game when judging any kid is beyond me though, all that matters is what he looks like on the pitch? This post probably loses you a bit of credibility to be honest, I will put it down to bias. If you want to judge footballers by statistics then Michael Ricketts would have been better in the 2001/2002 season than Fernando Torres was in 2009/2010 season and Simon Lappin would be better than Darren Huckerby based on his ''assist statistics''. Anybody with any ounce of knowledge about football, having seen Wickham play, would have worked out that Wickham is twice as good as Chris Martin within about 5 minutes. Connor Wickham has been attracting the attention of the big four since he was 13, he hasn''t suprised anybody. Either you haven''t seen him play and you have based your opinion on a few numbers on a computer screen, or you don''t know how to spot a good player, which is it? Statistics were brought to football by poncy French managers and made mainstream by the armchair fan. I hate them. But if you want to argue with numbers, I think I have just beat you sir. [/quote] Blimey, you really have provided a comprehensive response! No, I''ve not gone to see him play - I prefer watching my own team. I was just wondering why this lad is being touted as being worth all that money without scoring many goals? We''ll all find out soon enough - probably when he starts netting a few! I genuinely look forward to it.

[quote user="When Saturday Comes"]I think this is just a bit of jealousy really - let''s just accept that Ipswich have a VERY good player on their hands. I reckon in 4 years time we''ll all be supporting him at the World Cup. He is that good, and good luck to him. Seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. [/quote] Guys - no jealousy whatsoever from me - I love watching football of all types. I coach kids, am Vice Chair of my local club, Child Welfare Officer etc too - so I''m well involved and appreciate the game. If Wickham plays for England I''ll be delighted. If he score a hat trick against Norwich next season I''ll gracefully ackowledge his achievement. I haven''t seen him play; the point I was making is his stats aren''t brilliant. If he''s come off the bench maybe that''s different, but doesn''t that beg the question why if he''s supposed to be so good? Rooney was let loose to start and complete 90 minute Premiership games at 16 - David Moyes showed there''s no need to hold back major talent if they''re strong enough.

[quote user="Canary_on_the Trent"]The biggest striking prospect in the country has to be worth a fair bit surely. Obviously lots of hot prospects fall by the wayside but Wickham has it all and he''s only just 17, big, strong, quick, great finisher and a footballing brain. Why should Ipswich sell him cheaply if they believe he''s going to go on to play at the very top level?[/quote] I''m making the observation that strikers need to score; and 1 in 5 is nothing remarkable. We have better than that in Chris Martin... Wickham may go on to be world class, but right now he seems to be rated incredibly highly - without the end product called goals! I doubt Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney etc commenced their careers with stats as low as that?

(Article from Sky Sports News): Ipswich Town are adamant teenage striker Connor Wickham will not be leaving Portman Road for a Premier League club this summer. Wickham is one of the brightest prospects outside the top flight and scored six goals in 29 appearances in all competitions last season ... ------------------------------------------------- I realise there is more to a player''s game than simply scoring goals; but six in 29! That''s a ratio of 1 in 5. Hardly prolific for a striker is it? Nonetheless some parts of the media claim he''s valued at millions and attracting attention from Premiership teams. Whatever does this make Chris Martin - a proven 1 in 3 player worth I wonder? (37 goals in 108 games; Luton & Norwich - source Soccerbase)

People will disagree I know but I honestly think that this will be the case. If I were to predict I would say Holt to get 13 goals and martin to get 16/17. If that''s all you think our two front players will score, we definately need some new additions!