grefstad

Hooper is OK in a 4-4-2 with a big man next to him. Norwich will never play like that in the Prem as our midfielders and defenders ate not mobile enough, so we would be too open. Therefore Hooper is of little use to us, bar being a sub when we are chasing games late on. His goals today will surely enable McNally to squeeze another 500k from Sheff Wed. 4.5 mill?

[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]I wouldn''t worry too much about Bournemouth are doing ... they won''t be going down. It will be Villa plus two from Sunderland, Newcastle, Swansea and us.[/quote] The more teams down there, the better. Need West Ham to get something here. Carrol injured after 14 mins.... Sooner or later Bournemouth''s luck (on the pitch, unlucky with injuries) turn..

[quote user="Tettey''s Jig"] I wonder if the odd prospective transfer target is waiting to see how the next couple of weeks pan out. People like Eder, Nkoulou and Zaza are likely to be hard to convince if we''re in the thick of it come the end of the month. /quote] Yes, this is very likely imho. Espescially since there almost guaranteed will be relegation clauses with regards to paychecks. In that respect, the wins vs Villa and Soton during Xmas was very important, and as AN says, the next 4 games will shape our season. If we can get through the next 4 games with daylight to the last relegation spot, say 26-27 points and 5-7 points down to the relegation places, I think we will be OK. But the 5 games between March 19th and April 23rd will determine our fate. 2016-03-19 West Bromwich - Norwich 2016-04-02 Norwich - Newcastle 2016-04-09 Crystal Palace - Norwich 2016-04-16 Norwich - Sunderland 2016-04-23 Norwich - Watford

Got a rather bad feeling about Newcastle- Man U tonight. Man U are terrible these days, Van Gaal under pressure, boring football, etc. Newcastle will feel they got little to lose in a game like this, and should go for it. Typical scenario where a shite club like Newcastle can get 3 points which were unexpected earlier in the season. Obviously I''m rooting for a Man U win, but think it will end in a draw. Fear Newcastle can get win in their sails with a good result here, though. I saw Newcastle away at Arsenal last week, and they impressed me. Played very well, and Arsenal were infact a bit lucky to win it. Important for us that Newcastle are not getting points for their struggles. Prepare the moaning.

[quote user="Buh"]"Will be fairly happy with 2 draws from these games, altough a loss and a win is even better. " Genius[/quote] Could not resist a dig? Glad you also agreed that 0+3 is better than 1+1

So, two tough away games for us at Stoke, and at Bournemouth. Will be fairly happy with 2 draws from these games, altough a loss and a win is even better. But equally (perhaps more) important is how the other bottom clubs, Newcastle, Sunderland, Swansea and Bournemouth do over the next 2 games. A team like West Ham can help us out, coming from straight wins in the league, and also a cup win. Worrying fact that Swansea, Newcastle and Bournemouth all have 2 home games this week, while we are 2 away. My guesses: Newcastle - Man U X (dull as fu*k) Newcastle - West Ham X (dont think WH win away) Swansea - Sunderland X (dream scenario) Tottenham - Sunderland 1 Swansea - Sunderland X (low scoring) Swansea - Watford X (low scoring) Bournemouth - West Ham X Bournemouth - Norwich X Stoke - Norwich 1 (struggle to see us getting something) Bournemouth - Norwich X (cruncher) If we can keep the distance to the relegation zone down to at least 4 points after this week, I''d be reasonably happy with that. Not very optimistic about going to Stoke on a wet, windy Wednesday, and I dislike the optimism on the south coast with Bournemouths recent form and signings. Hope we can turn up in both games. Worst scenario is ofourse us losing both games, Swans and Bournemouth winning theirs, and Newcastle picking up 3-4 points vs Man U and West Ham. If so, we will be deep down there again. Before any start picking on this thread, branding it negative, etc. Instead of buring your head in the sand, try to come up with your own predictions and views on what would be a good week for us, realisticly. Also got a feeling Lafferty can do a job for us at Stoke, last 20 mins, some guts, roughing up a few feathers, etc.

[quote user="star_manic"]It would seem from what the agent said when interviewed, that our bid was not rejected, but rather Sampdoria wanted 15m Euros up front. Playing as a striker in serie A against top Italian defenders and scoring regularly would indicate that the lad, Brazilian I believe, is well able to perform and produce to a level that would satisfy all you moaners.[/quote] Playing in Italy is often much lower tempo, which suits the more technical players. Now, you can argue that the Prem is not exactly high tempo either these days, but still.. I wonder how Eder would cope when Alex Neil instructs him: "Work the channels, lad, drag their CB out to make space for Howson on a deep run". Yeah, a Brazilian born striker in Italy, with reputation for being rather selfish, and shooting on sight of everything...dont think he fits in well with AN''s work ethic scheme. But I hope I''m wrong.

[quote user="Essjayess"]I think its just as much the formation that Alex is adopting right now. To be honest whatever striker we brought in with the way Alex sets up his team right now, cant see them scoring anymore than Cam or Mbok. Watford play the 2 strikers up front option and good bet Bournemouth will adopt that now also. Its a tricky one. Im in no way criticising Alexs tactics, its worked up to a point so far. But though Grabban has gone, id far more City strive to get CB cover in than worry about strikers. Just dont think bringing in Bamford or anyone else in would make any difference due to our match day set up.[/quote] Agree to this. The way we set up, we would need a striker who can make stuff happen on his own. Not many of those around. As for Bmouth adopting a Eatford-like 4-4-2, it is an intriguing thought, but I doubt that. Curious about Grabban''s workrate though. Not a very hard worker in our system, maybe more so at Bmouth. Thought he eas more of a runner at Bmouth before he came to us, but he did not seem to fit in here, and his body language sort of revealed it too..

Another Hooper-type player, not needed for us. Can''t play lone striker, lacks work ethic, not got the physique, too egoistic to be a no 10. Getting on in age, and expensive. Not a good fit imho

Bamford lacks the physique needed to play a loan striker role in the Prem. Needs more muscle. Can become a good player, but not the right type for us at this point in time.

Buh....since you are already on the derailer trail: Never underestimate the excellent heat generator that is walrus blubber. Infact, blubber in general. I''m sure you rarely freeze at the Carra, Buh. It''s down to the blubber....

[quote user="Buh"]How exactly do you assess common perception of a Chris executive that lives in Norfolk England when you live in a mysterious northern land ruled over by a majestic ice princess that likes to sing "let it go"?[/quote] Don''t read mucvh, do you, Buh? Don''t folow the news, or check around much, eh? http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/09/steve-bruce-embarrassing-norwich-hull-robbie-brady Steve Bruce was in the thick of the action in the Brady saga. He would know, and he also made it public knowledge. Knowing the hardball style of McNally, it is fair to assume similar things have happened in past dealings, and probably will in future dealings. Overall McNally has done a fantastic job for us. But my overall feel is that Norwich as a club, due to McNally, are not up to "speed" with regards to transfer prices, value of players, etc. McNally may be right, he may be wrong, but failure to accept what have been seen by many other clubs as "going rate" have probably lost us quite a few deals. Just my guess, ofcourse, but I think it is probable.

[quote user="nutty nigel"]Did Bruce say "The reason ncfc transfers always go slooow is McNally''s cheapskate approach to every deal." Or was that Grefs inside knowledge that he doesn''t have? Or was it actually made up? [/quote] It was my personal opinion. You know, Nutty, in a fecking forum like this, it is nearly all about opinion. Few, if any, in here have got any inside knowledge of happenings inside Carrow Road offices. Common perception is that McNally is not an easy guy to make deals with. And I got a feeling many of our "failed" deals has got something to do with him and his (cheapskate) dealings. But that is just my opinion.

The reason ncfc transfers always go slooow is McNally''s cheapskate approach to every deal. Steve Bruce mentioned the embarrassing bidding for Brady, and I can imagine he is likewise in deals, making very low offers, haggling wage demands to the extreme, etc.

[quote user="Robert Barnes"]So willo and grefstad have all the info we need when they post it has to be true that''s good to know thanks[/quote] I''m innocent. Got no info of transfer dealings whatsoever.

We are likely looking at CB''s in the 5-8 mill bracket. That would normally be a regular defender in i midtable side in France or Italy, maybe Germany. I''d like 2 CB''s this window, if we can find the 10-12 mill needed

[quote user="Herman "]I am amazed at how clueless some football fans are when it comes to transfers. [/quote] Hehe, you''d be amazed how clueless many fans are, even regarding their own team. One of my favourite topics. Surely deserves a thread of its own, so I can take the mickey out of the usual suspects, again...

Well...true about Wes, but we do need an attacking midfielder that weighs in with goals. Howson can do, but not often enough. Wes scored all to rarely. This Zyiech guy can apparantly both score and assist, albeit ofcourse in a weaker league. It is that type of player we need. Also noticing Quintero is not playing much at Rennes these days. We were rumoured to be interested in him in the past. http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/juan-quintero/profil/spieler/122582

[quote user="Budapest Canary"]Good stats. Did you see him in action?[/quote] Only seen him on TV. Looks like a good player, but so did RvW when playing in Holland..

From @forthofficial_ tonight: BREAKING: Steven Naismith will undergo a medical with Norwich City over the course of the next few days #NCFC #EFC

I was at home today. Not going to England before March, as it looks now.

In case you did not know, there are means of following a game, chances, tactics, etc, without sitting infront of a fossile grandpa in the Jarrold...

10 mill was too much for McNally. Would have fecked up his bonus. Anyway, if we get Haller from Utrecht I''d be happy with that. Young, big, quick, can score, and cheaper.

I have not seen the game as a whole, but from what I understand, Ryan B did not have the best of games today... Having said that, there is a tendency of shipping goals whenever Ruddy is in goal, and Martin plays CB...

Nope, I never bet on scorelines. Only losers do. But then again, I have nothing to learn about betting from the likes of a thirsty lizard and the ghost of a very poor Australian goalkeeper