Cameron Jerome.

[morty 0]

Why are most fans fairly ambivalent towards him? I reckon if you asked 100 fans "Who is your favourite player?" he''d struggle to get over 10%.Apparently some Cardiff fans were asking the question "Why don''t Norwich fans love Cameron Jerome more than they do?"Always puts a shift in, and will likely score us 20 goals this season.Its an odd one.

[Guest]

The discussions are always about him "not scoring goals", but...

a) he''s playing as a lone striker, and doing a brilliant job at the moment

b) he''s got a strike rate of 1 in 2, despite the fact we''ve not carved out all that many chances for him. That would be 23 goals if extrapolated through the season, which is one heck of a strike rate, especially for a lone forward.

[lake district canary 4,530]

Really?  Then Cardiff fans must be talking to the wrong people. Every game you hear Oh Cameron Jerome, whether you''re there or listening on the radio. I think most Norwich fans think he''s a great front man to have.

[morty 0]

[quote user="lake district canary"]Really?  Then Cardiff fans must be talking to the wrong people. Every game you hear Oh Cameron Jerome, whether you''re there or listening on the radio. I think most Norwich fans think he''s a great front man to have.

[/quote]Its like you go out of your way to take the polar opposite of every opinion I have.[:D]There is ambivalence towards Jerome, it exists. How many people do you see with his name on the back of their shirts?

[Fuzzar 1,702]

Yup, agree odd if true. A great player to have at this level. Up a level is perhaps another matter.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,154]

He''s put in a fantastic shift in the last two games. Playing up front on his own for 90 minutes for 2 games in 3 days - the second one played in stifling heat.

I know what you mean about the ambivalence Morty - I think it may come from the fact that his finishing often seems to lack composure.

I do worry that if he keeps playing 90 minutes up front on his own that we might break him.

[Mello Yello 2,273]

I like Cameron, gives his all.......I was a little frustrated when he didn''t put at least one of his chances away last night......

[BroadstairsR 2,135]

One of the better purchases in recent years .. quite a bargain really and worth a lot more now.

But, the fact remains that we all spent most of the Summer longing for that marquee signing in the striking department and with AN only playing one up front where does that leave Jerome in the order of things?

Perhaps it''s because he was a bit of a ''banjo'' at times in the Premier League last season and although the in-out, in-out alternating with Mbokani didn''t help he has gained the reputation of being a very good Championship striker and no more.

Strange really and could be in his psyche.

We would really miss him if he were to go at sometime in the near future as I seem to remember the odd rumour indicated. .

[Matt Juler 148]

He''s also very good at getting his head on the ball when defending set plays.

[Barking Mad Barclay Boy 13]

he does give it his all, work rate cant be grumbled at!

2 wins on the bounce boing boing , jerome doesnt have to score to be playing great

[Rogue Baboon 0]

It''s like he needs 5-10 chances to score. It''s why he has always been seen as a Championship striker & never done it in the Premier League.

He will get 5 chances every game in this league - in the Prem you may get 1 or 2 at most

[Barking Mad Barclay Boy 13]

agreed, but if he just hits one of those thats good enough for me! hes the best we have so we need to give him the support

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

When I heard we''d signed him for £1.5m I was gobsmacked, surely the best bit of transfer business we''ve done for a long time.  At Championship level he''s a great striker, scores regularly and his overall play and team contribution is excellent as well.  Yes he''ll need several chances to get a goal, but so do most strikers if we''re being honest - just watch any England game.  That signing IMO made the difference between us getting promoted that season and not.

 

The ambivalence IMO comes simply because he didn''t score that many in the Prem.  It may have been different if his goal against Palace hadn''t been wrongly disallowed, but you could see his confidence ebb away over the season.  Compare say Grant Holt, who was able to keep on sticking away chances even though he''d moved up to the Prem. 

Quite a few strikers fall into the category of being excellent in the Champs, but at Prem level you have fewer chances and the defenders are better, not everyone can make the step up.  Which is why it''s so hard to sign strikers who can.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

I love cj but he''s got a lot of making up to do for last season. his sitters he missed were contributory to our demise.

saying that, we are lucky to have him this season, you can tell this is his level though. he has had way more chances than he did last season but he''s one of those who will never have a quiet game even if he''s not on form which really suits our goalscoring midfield. if we could clone him and have 2 Cameron Jerome''s, our striker problems would be solved for the season.

if we go up, he is worthy of a squad place in the premier but I''d want a more reliable goalscorer with cj the alternative/sub option.

[SwindonCanary 455]

He''s gotta play well, with Nelson Oliveira in the wings

[Hairy Canary 667]

I dread to think where we would be without him. Probably the hardest working player we have and contributes plenty, chasing the channels, hold up play, outlet for the long ball when we''re under pressure and scores his fair few to boot.

[king canary 7,559]

He''s an odd player. Scores but you feel he''s left a lot of good chances on the table. Looks like he should be a great target man but is actually not great in the air and his hold up play is a bit lacking at times.

Works hard, gives our attack a solid focal point and occupies defenders. I do think he has the tendency to go missing in some games, though Birmingham did show how much we need a player like him.

As a fanbase we know him ceiling and his limitations- fine at this level but not any higher up the pyramid.

[sgncfc 1,221]

The reason he is not that popular is because he isn''t Grant Holt.

Holt led the line and could finish. Jerome leads the line but can''t finish.

How many of those chances last night would Holt, in his prime, have buried? How many last season, which probably cost us the points we needed to survive?

Jerome is a decent footballer, but as a single striker, does only half the job well. A player who works hard but misses the target is never going to be a hero.

[Salopian 1]

I suspect that while many recognise his contribution, they are disappointed by his regular missing of opportunities, especially headed ones. Whatever his contribution in te other parts of his game, he is there mainlyto score goals.

If he did convert some of the glaring misses, I suspect that there would be other clubs sniffing around.

While goals continue to come from other members of the team, we can laud him for 20 goals a season, but...

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Thought Jerome looked superb In the fast half last night - sharp and up for it! Drifted out the game in the second but who didn''t?

Seems his performances have stepped up a bit since Oliveira has signed, good stuff.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Stupid phone and those faces!!! ARGH

[Jacko 0]

He''s fantastic. Couldn''t believe the negativity around him signing a new contract in the summer. As the window has shown an equivalent quality of player would now cost around £9 million. For me it was one of the best bits of business of the summer.

He works hard, bullies and stretches defenses at this level and whilst he does miss chances, I happily bet with anyone he''ll be knocking on the door for 20 goals this season again. He already has 3 in 6 matches, so he''s well on course.

My worry was that we''d absolutely flog him into the ground this season but hopefully Oliveira will now share the work with him.

[Andy G 10]

I think there is a lot of respect for CJ however, as someone rightly pointed out he isn''t Grant Holt which isn''t necessarily a bad thing.

CJ puts in a shift every match, he isn''t a prolific striker but his play is more than putting a ball in the net, and i think that we find that frustrating. If you look at his link up play he is great at holding up the ball and then passing it out again for someone else to have an opportunity.

Norwich have been wanting a Grant Holt replacement but we''ve yet to find him, and i think thats the problem. We can''t look passed the guy who was prolific in every league he played in.

I think the other reason CJ isn''t as fond as he could be is how private he is. The fans cling to players who are "nice" e.g Elliott Bennett.

We do show our support from the stands though "Oooohhh Cameron Jerome" - not all players get this, which shows he is popular just maybe not as popular as some previous players.