Lets be aving you!

I''m also one stub short of a full complement. Any ideas? Robbie Chase

"I know the City End is pretty dead at the best of times, but still ... Oops, meant ''City Stand''.

"One ready way would be to run a tracer on former season ticket holders over 60 years of age and offer them three pairs of home casual tickets ..." Well, except that that sort of exercise would inevitably identify a flock of deceased ex-Canaries (cue Monty P. ex-parrot jokes). Would come as a bit of a shock to the missus when someone starts writing to her ex-hubby: "Dear Jim, We''ve not seen you at The Rudd for 40 years. How about rocking on down? And by the way, Alan Black no longer hoofs it into the stand ... (or even Nelson)" I know the City End is pretty dead at the best of times, but still ...

Tarmo Kink, Aleksandr Kokko, Simon Cox ... a bit of a theme developing? Next it''ll be Danny Shittu.

"Agree with alot of what you say but Lambert did say he had 3 transfer targets the last one being Elliot so he wasnt actively looking for another striker and as you have pointed out we already had a very strong, creative midfield. I appreciate signing a decent striker is the hardest position to fill particually in Jan but as we know its even harder now." Very true. I suspect that what happened was this: 1.Lambert hoped that Martin would stay fit, especially given the probably exorbitant cost of signing a striker in January. In the event of injury, he knew we had an abundance of midfielders, especially with Surman due to come back, so we could play 4-5-1 successfully. 2. Wilbraham was bought as a cheap emergency back-up for Holt, in case of Holt being suspended/injured, to allow us at least to hold the ball up (an aspect sadly missing away at Millwall last season, I well remember, where McDonald and Martin couldn''t hold it up at all). 3. Lambert identified a lack of speed in the team as a weakness. After all, none of our midfield is especially quick, and McNamee has looked pretty lost over the past couple of months. Elliott Bennett was therefore targeted as a quick winger option.

[quote user="Ernie"]Tin hat time............most people just see it as a moan, a criticism of Lambert etc and will constantly recite look at where we were, the little money we have had to spend etc etc but dont seem to be able to see the bigger picture that we might not get a better chance at automatic promotion for years, its what I call little old Norwich mentality.[/quote] Yes, most people on here readily admit that we don''t have much quality up front beyond Grant Holt. Chris Martin blows hot and cold (mostly cold this season), and Jackson & Wilbraham have had comparatively few games to make much of a difference either way. The contentious bit is extrapolating this to say that we should already have resolved this by splashing oodles of money at a striker. To reiterate the point that''s being lost: the 2 million was available only AS FROM JANUARY. Lambert presumably looked in the January transfer window (as did lots of managers), but was doubtless quoted silly prices, as tends to happen in the January window. The same goes for now ... most Premier League clubs are holding on to their players, and the dross left to loan in will probably cos and arm and a leg, (and likely take a few matches to gel with anyone else at the club). Or maybe we should''ve blown all of last summer''s transfer budget on one great striker, instead of on Crofts, Ward, Fox, Surman, Ruddy??? If so, we''d more likely be battling relegation. So, rationally, it''s difficult to see that it''s PL''s fault or "down to a little old Norwich" attitude. The best you could say is that it''s Foulger''s fault for not having come up with the readies last summer, but personally I think that''s a tad harsh.

"I just think that our forward line is so weak, Holt apart, that when it comes to the inevitable crunch games we will pay dearly for lack of class up- front" The forward line is indeed the weakest area of the team. Conversely, the midield is our really strong suit, and our abundance of creative talent there is ideally suited to the 4-5-1 formation we played on Saturday. In that sense, Surman''s return can certainly make up for the lack of a partner for Holt (as against Barnsley), and I fully expect the same team to turn out against Preston. If we were to lose the main man, Holt, we would most certainly struggle. Equally, if he stays fit, I would hazard that we will not. Such is football, it''s not possible to cover for every eventuality. How about an injury to Becchio for Leeds, Taarabt for QPR, Graham for Watford ...? It would be fantastic to find a goal-scoring partner for Holt, but alas whatever is currently available will probably not cut the mustard, and will probably be extortionately expensive and uncommitted to boot. The Simon Cox rumour is only a rumour, and one EDP journalist has already pretty much quashed it anyway. As others have posted, a League 1 striker like Jackson was really all that was available within Lambert''s budget in the summer. The 600 k or whatever he cost would not buy a Ched Evans or any of the other supposedly lethal strikers being mooted hereabouts. The fact remains that the 2 million transfer kitty has been in place only since January. There is therefore little scope for blaming Lambert for a failure to sign a star striker (especially when so many of his other signings have been very good), especially given that fees in the January window just closed tend to get overinflated And the fees being asked for loanees in the current window are just as inflated, as PL has already clearly indicated.

very average = average? "very average": average as in its secondary meaning of "ordinary" (as in the quality of the reply elicited was very average). Not as in its primary mathematical connotation (mean, etc). Lol

"Lambert tried to sign Holt for Colchester before being outbid by city" Yes, spot on, he did.

True, we have some very average players generally at the club. Some were Lambert buys (McNamee, Johnson) others weren''t (Gill, Tudur-Jones, Askou). Lambert has also been quickly moved on others with little future in his plans (Doherty, Nelson) or loaning them out to get them off the wage billl and into the shop window. On balance, most of Lambert''s signings this season have proved extremely astute (especially Crofts and Ruddy) or very handy (Fox, Lansbury). Jackson has certainly been disappointing, but suddenly spraying a load of money at that perceived "problem" will likely yield little and probably cost a lot. Especially when there are other options, like the essentially 4-5-1 formation fielded on Saturday. A dozen games would also give an expensive Premier League-type arrival next to time to settle in, and he would potentially have little incentive to perform. Star Premier-League loanee Marlon Harewood hardly set the world alight in his first performance for Barnsley on Saturday, his first effort on goal going for a throw-in.

"Please, I am not a critic of Lambert, but I re-iterate our forward line situation as it is at the moment could cost us promotion. Look at what Cardiff have at their disposal and they are basically no better than us overall, but will probably get promoted because of their firepower." Well, Cardiff have spent massively, including a reported 3 million on Chopra alone, and where will that lead them come the end of the season if they don''t go up. Very possibly in a big mess. Jackson (600 k?), Wilbraham (100 k) and McNamee cost probably a third of that. Leaving aside the fact that McNamee isn''t a striker anyway ... So a bit like comparing apples and oranges in the first place. Our extra 2 million was only available last month, and I am more than happy to trust in Lambert''s judgement (implicit so far) that anything available at the moment isn''t worth it. Sure, we could blow a load of money on an expensive loan, on someone who commands a load of wages and who will then be off at the end of the season anyway. A more balanced view would surely cater for the fact that Chris Martin will (presumably) be back fairly soon, and particularly that Saturday''s team against Barnsley - with just one recognised striker - turned in about the best performance I have seen from Norwich this season.

"Too much too soon could blow NCFC out of the water for a very long time" This sort of lack of ambition does not sit well with the fact that Lambo may well be receiving some attractive job offers in the summer, from bigger clubs than Burnley. This idea of not getting ahead of ourselves does not bear any relation to the reality of modern football, and that the best manager we have had for years may not stay around for ever. I''d be surprised if he''s here beyond the end of next season, tops, but I''m sure enjoying it while he''s here. And who''s to say that we wouldn''t receive offers from Holt, Crofts, Russell Martin and others in the summer, too, to derail whatever Lambo is trying to build right now?

Tierney looks much better in the air, where Drury struggles with the aerial ball against anyone big, e.g. Kebe. All-round stronger-looking than Steven Smith. Suspect he''ll be a solid performer (POTS previously for Shrewsbury & Col U, I seem to remember reading, when he signed for us). Dyer for Swansea will be a real tester, though.

Maybe these score predictions will be in vain? According to Yorkshire Post, Donny chairman is reportedly trying to get game called off as they have 14 players injured: ''DONCASTER Rovers chairman John Ryan has asked the Football League to postpone tonight’s Championship game with Norwich City. Ryan feels it will be unfair if Rovers have to play without the 14 players who are currently unavailable due to injury. The Football League says it will leave the decision down to the club but can hit Rovers with a hefty fine if the move is not deemed to be justifiable. Manager Sean O’Driscoll had 15 senior players at his disposal last weekend – including two goalkeepers – but does have youngsters available who can sit on the bench. Chairman Ryan said: “I think it will be grossly unfair on the rest of the league and unfair for us to play Norwich with so many injuries. Against Swansea last weekend, we did not have a single shot on goal. We might as well line-up 11 players on their goalline. The 25,000 people at the game won’t mind as long as Norwich win. If our first team was available, we would have a better chance of winning.” Midfielder Franck Moussa joined Rovers on loan from Leicester City prior to Saturday’s defeat at Swansea City and O’Driscoll was again looking to bolster his options last night. The list of players currently sidelined at the club reads: strikers Billy Sharp, James Hayter and Steve Brooker, midfielders James Coppinger, Martin Woods, Brian Stock, Ryan Mason, Simon Gillett and Ryan Burge, defenders Shelton Martis, Adam Lockwood, James O’Connor, Mustapha Dumbuya, and James Chambers.''

It''s Edwards. On the offy site now.

David Edgar a good shout and probably realistic wages. As has been mentioned already, his loan move to Swansea has just fallen through. There were reports a couple of months ago linking us with him. As well as centre back, he can also play full back, so useful cover for Russell Martin, too.

Faster turn-round than our Admiral, then.

One of the players of the season. Just need Elliott Bennett to sign on the dotted line, now ...