Russell Martin transfer?

[morty 0]

Would much rather keep him, especially at this level.

[firststeps 0]

Out crawl all the Martin lovers, you all sound like a broken record over the past 3 years. The Liverpool mistake was one in a catalogue of errors. The amount of goals scored against us because he was out of position was ridiculous, hardly surprising when you don''t put a challenge in and leave the field after 90 minutes with clean knees!

Yes, one of the worst centre backs I''ve seen at Carrow Road, even Simon Charlton at 5''6" was better than him.

As for bringing more to the club? Like what, he couldn''t give direction on the pitch, and that was his responsibility.

Is wages are amongst the highest, paying someone to sit on the bench is hardly constructive for the clubs finances.

Martin lovers, get a grip, time to move on, like it was last season when we got promoted.

[flying high up in the sky! 1]

Martin and klose is the best CB partnership for us and we would go up with that no probs. Would love Martin to be given the captains armband again just to wind the haters up!

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

If you think Martin is one of our best ever centre backs and worse than Simon Charlton then you really do have no idea. Still, anything to keep the agenda going I suppose

[lake district canary 4,874]

[quote user="flying high up in the sky"]Martin and klose is the best CB partnership for us and we would go up with that no probs. Would love Martin to be given the captains armband again just to wind the haters up![/quote]

Agree with this.  I''m getting pretty fed up with the continued claptrap about Martin.  Well proven at this level, having been promoted twice and in the championship team of the season last time.    With him and Klose in the centre of defence, we will be strong at the back.   Klose gives an air of confidence when he plays and Martin will benefit from that,  because although Bassong is strong too at this level, he doesn''t exude confidence in the same way Klose does.

[Grant Holts Moustache 113]

I can''t wait for the season to start so we can see first steps meltdown when he realises Russell Martin is still club captain, still starting at centre back and again proves himself to he one of the best defenders in the championship.

[Alex Moss 2,167]

If you read it, you could actually fill in the opposites of Firststeps comments and it would be fair game 😉. 7 years Russ has been here and despite some crucial goals and several promotions that he certainly played his part in, you''d rather remember him for a back pass against Liverpool! Some of you make it sound like he''s been a disaster in every game he''s played. Well he hasn''t, by a long way - not even remotely close!. Hope we keep him this season as even though he''ll likely be back up, he doesn''t need to prove to anyone with half a brain his credentials in this league.

[TIL 1010 5,296]

Obviously firststeps was not around when Steve Walsh turned out for us.

[morty 0]

Simon Charlton better than Russ?

Bloody hell mate, drink much through the day?

😃

[Mason 47 1,994]

For me, it''s that Russ is generally very good at hitting 6 or 7 out of 10 in most areas, making him very much a ''known'' quantity unlike Bassong.

The problems arise when he comes up against players that are particularly good in one or more of those areas- most obviously shown up against big, strong players that are good in the air. It make him very easy to target for the opposition, who are also starting to clock it at international level.

I''ve got no problem with keeping him around, but for me it''s Klose + Bennett as the most effective partnership we have in the centre. We also have two specialist right-backs.

[CanaryOne 0]

Last time in the Champs first thing Neil had to do was recall Bassong to shore up a terrible defence , Martin was part of that defence and is now 2 years older , should be sold or released on a free he has been here to long and is far to comfortable as well as trying to dictate to managers where he wants to play . Want promotion upgrade the weak links , last seasons weak links were Martin at the back and Jerome up front and we have already handicapped our chances with not getting shot of Jerome dont make the same mistake with Martin , theres a reason Brighton dont want him and that reason is hes shit .

[Alex Moss 2,167]

I was thinking the same thing Tilly and Mark 👍

CanaryOne, are you on about the same Cameron Jerome who hit 20 odd goals in the Championship last time around, and also the man that has hit 2 sweetly taken goals in 2 pre season games against teams only a division below? I would suggest that he''s likely to be a key player this campaign...

[Dr Greenthumb 801]

He''s not a good centre back, watch his movement in the games, it''s at a complete minimum. Bennett and Klose is our best partnership, bassong would be good if he was coached to not dither on the ball, but last season, he started getting exposed too. I don''t dislike Martin, but he sure isn''t a good centre back

[Green and Yellow fellow 0]

I agree with Canary One. The last couple of seasons he just hasn''t shown any real consistency of form. On the odd occasion he can be a hero but then the next week he''s a villain. I like Russ as a person, I also think he''s a top professional in the way he goes about his business off the pitch and he does have a great attitude. There is no doubt he has been a great servant to this club, but he has shown no signs of improvement in the last couple of seasons. I think he would be great to keep because he''s been there and done it on more than one occasion, but I wouldn''t feel comfortable with him in the starting line up. I would have him as a 3rd/ 4th choice CB, but that leaves the question, could his wages bill be better off spent on someone else?

[93vintage 16]

I was in favour of keeping him, but if we do not (or cannot) shift others in our squad then we should look to sell. We''re short of money at the moment and urgently need to reinvest. But it seems like Ed Balls is calling the shots at the moment, so Martin will probably stay.

[TIL 1010 5,296]

[quote user="93vintage"] it seems like Ed Balls is calling the shots at the moment[/quote]I thought i read somewhere that Delia''s mum was doing that ? [:D]

[Jools 584]

[quote user="Hoola Han Solo"]If you think Martin is one of our best ever centre backs and worse than Simon Charlton then you really do have no idea. Still, anything to keep the agenda going I suppose[/quote][:O] You''ve either got Alzheimer''s or you''re confusing him with Jack Charlton or both [:$]

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Slip of the keyboard there. Russell Martin isn''t one of our worst ever centre backs and is definitely better than Simon Charlton.

[hogesar 10,931]

Martin is an overall better player than Bennett, although as a very limited defender Bennett probably does slightly better.

But in the championship? We''re likely to be dominating possession and id much rather have a ball playing CB like Martin who also scores a few goals rather than Bennett.

[pliff 4]

Bennett is a different class CB to Martin how can you say Martin is a ball playing CB unless you mean the balls he played sideways to Bassong all season long cos he cant play football, you obviosly missed the many diagonal balls Bennett played last season or perhaps you were listening on the radio.

[If wed only kept Howie.. 3]

Scott? Segura? Askou? Ward? Nelson? Leijer? were they better than Martin? No.

[GJP 79]

Ward was underrated.

Realistically in the season just gone we didn''t defend any better than the season in the Prem with the likes of Ward, Barnett and Whitbread.

[Ray 111]

[quote user="pliff"]Bennett is a different class CB to Martin how can you say Martin is a ball playing CB unless you mean the balls he played sideways to Bassong all season long cos he cant play football, you obviosly missed the many diagonal balls Bennett played last season or perhaps you were listening on the radio.[/quote]

So pliff, why is it RM played 4 accurate long balls per game last season and RB only 3 per game, or in percentage terms, RM hits 33.33% more accurate long balls than RB, yet you didn''t see him play any apparently or nowhere near the same number as RB, you do know RM wears No. 5 and RB No. 24, don''t you?

[Chemical Bro 0]

When at the end of last season the club was talking about "freshening" the squad up Russell Martin was top of my list from the regular 11 shall we say to leave.

Served the club ok, seems to be a nice guy (couldn''t care if was or wasn''t) but if we''re ever serious about improving our defence then we need to upgrade on Martin. Regardless of division.

If he''s prepared to warm bench and be a squad player (doubt he would be) then i guess i can live with that.

[Branston Pickle 4,168]

It''s odd how completely unappreciated he is by some - yet has been club captain and a regular under many managers including internationals, for a number of years. I guess a few Norwich supporters must know better than all that lot.

Everyone has their ''use by'' and as long as we replace leavers with better, I do t particularly have much of an issue with anyone going. My main concern with RM would be who becomes no1 scapegoat.

[Jim Smith 2,641]

Seems a good guy to have around the place and a capable right back at this level. Be pleased to see him still with us but I have to say if all goes to plan and Pinto continues to develop I don''t see Martin in our starting line up this season if everyone is fit.

He''s not been as bad as is made out by some but consistently undone at centre back at premier league level where he often was culpable for goals we conceded. If we do get up again we will need better in defence. Whoever put this centre back notion in his mind needs to look at themselves because first time around he performed surprisingly well at right back in the prem.

[hogesar 10,931]

[quote user="pliff"]Bennett is a different class CB to Martin how can you say Martin is a ball playing CB unless you mean the balls he played sideways to Bassong all season long cos he cant play football, you obviosly missed the many diagonal balls Bennett played last season or perhaps you were listening on the radio.[/quote]

You''re right. Bennett is a different class. Just not in a good way.

I''ve got no problem us playing Bennett when Klose is alongside him but if you think Bennett is a better footballer than Russell Martin then you''re hugely mistaken.

And all of our managers who''ve seen both would agree with me, based on who''s played and who''s been sat on the bench for the most part.

Oh, and I was at every home game. Cheers though.

[Matt Juler 215]

Martin has returned to the UK to allegedly see a back specialist. Whether that''s the real reason for his return, I suppose we''ll find out in time.

[Paul Spector 0]

For me he isn''t good enough to start, as i''d prefer Klose and Bennett at CB, and Pinto at RB. He is useful cover though.

That said, if he goes then i wouldn''t lose any sleep as the place could do with freshening up a bit.

[It's Character Forming 1,210]

interesting ... subject to fitness, I wouldn''t be surprised if RM plays at CB this season for the same reasons that he played CB last time we were in the championship.  With Klose alongside RM I''d be a lot happier about our CB pairing than last time we were in the champs.  The season after we''ll hopefully be promoted and looking for an upgrade...