Olive Branch

[Tetteys Jig 851]

Anyone think that we can finally get the best out of Oliveira?

That poor end to the season may have humbled him a bit finally and stopped that ego coming out and thinking he is better than he is. There was a reason Swansea were thinking about paying £12m for him just 10 months ago though and he''s still a good age to show what he can do.

Perhaps a change of style to our attack will play to his strengths a bit more and he will stop with the frustrating pot shots from 40 yards out if we can play with a bit more purpose. He showed vs Sheff Weds that the work rate is there, he just needs to be more aware of what his teammates are trying to do.

Wishful thinking but perhaps our solution to our striker issues is right in front of us.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,531]

I certainly think he is better than we can attract and afford at present. I would have liked to see what a different tactic might have yielded. He certainly has talent

[king canary 8,751]

He had a poor season but he''s nowhere near as bad as some say and I think if he came across as a bit less stropppy people wouldn''t be writing him off like they are now.

He''s easily the best striker we have right now.

[Tetteys Jig 851]

I think he clearly missed Pritchard who was easily the most dynamic player we had linking defence to attack. For all his powers I don''t think Oliveira is the type of striker most compatible to Maddison who would suit someone like Vardy running on to his clever through balls when he''s not on set pieces as we saw Murphy do vs Arsenal.

I guess we will see how Leitner does with him. Hernandez should be better with a preseason behind him and we don''t know how Buendia will fit in either.

[norfolkngood 1,174]

A no from me for Nelson we need players who we can trust to put in 100 %

i would hate to look back on another season like last and him sit there not scoring time to cash in ( if we can )

[Aggy 944]

Before he played in the Championship, his best goals per game record was 8 goals in 30 games in Ligue 1 in France. So, slightly better than 1 in 4. His next best season in a top flight he scored 4 in 23. So just better than 1 in 6.

In the Championship his record is 9 in 28 (almost 1 in 3) 11 in 28 (slightly better than the season before but still around 1 in 3) and then 7 in 24 last season (slightly worse than but still quite close to 1 in 3).

Bottom line is, he’s someone who will get you roughly 1 goal every 3 games in the second tier of English football but that’s it. He can’t cut it at a higher level and isn’t going to score you 30 goals a season without dropping down a level.

You know what you get with him, it’s just whether the salary/initial outlay is worth it.

If selling him means we can afford two 1 in 3 strikers on a lower salary, or one 1 in 2 striker on the same salary, then sell. If not, he’ll do a decent job again next season and will get around 10 goals if fit all season.

But without goals from elsewhere as well, he isn’t enough alone.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

My least favourite City footballer going back over quite a while.

Troublemaker, eg. Craven Cottage August 2017. Daniel Farke''s first ever match as a manager and in England to boot yet Oliveira made sure that he grabbed the headlines by undermining, nay insulting, the manager the way he did.

Farke handled it well in the event but a more seasoned manager might well have come down harder on the player. A McCarthy, for example, would probably never have selected him again, maybe even Wee Alex as well.

There had previously been reports of a troublemaker in pre-season training. True or not, Oliveira or not, affirmatives seem likely.

Rather have the money even if it''s an under-valued £2-3m.

[Indy_Bones 444]

[quote user="Aggy"]Bottom line is, he’s someone who will get you roughly 1 goal every 3 games in the second tier of English football but that’s it.[/quote]And he didn''t even manage that last season.

From game 17 (Barnsley Home) to game 34 (Bolton Home), he played the full 90 minutes on all but 3 occasions (76, 82 and 22 mins each in those games) and managed just 3 goals, which is closer to a goal every 5.7 games, and he didn''t score even once in the remaining 10 games he took part in either (of varying minutes but at least 75 mins in 5 of them), which is a goal every never...

If it hadn''t been for that good run of early form where he got 4 in 7, it would have been one of the worst striker returns we''ve seen in ages for a player given that amount of gametime.

We can''t discount his goals in the season before, but let''s not forget that it was in a much more attacking Alex Neil side rather than what Farke is trying to get us playing (and which Fulham did very well this season), and he''s shown that he simply can''t perform in that setup and clearly has issues with the manager.

All that tells me we''d be much better getting rid and looking for someone fresh, someone who doesn''t try to upstage the new manager at the first chance they get...

[If wed only kept Howie.. 3]

give him a picture of a spitfire (or a carriage clock) and let him go..

[hogesar 10,761]

Problem is hes not good enough to look past his obvious attitude problem. How many times was it brought into the public domain last season? 3 times?

If he is to sort his attitude out having absolutely 0 bids for him from other teams may help.

[Icecream Snow 777]

I think the guys got too many problems. He''s nearly 27, and he''s had two permanent clubs, us and Benfica (who he managed twenty odd games for) and spent a nomadic existence out on loan.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Weirdly, he actually had a better season in 17/18 than 16/17 in ever metric, apart from goals return (obviously the most important one).

He took more shots, had a higher xG per shot, made more key passes, passed better in general, made more dribbles, made more tackles (all per 90 before anyone says it is due to playing more games).

The question is, which is the anomaly 16/17 or 17/18?

I think it is clear he and Farke do not get on, which is why he’ll almost certainly go. I still think he could be a vert good striker in the Championship, but not for Norwich.

[curious yellow 184]

At his best he''s better than we can buy. Might be worth seeing which Nelson turns up next season

[GJP 79]

Thing with Nelson is that he is talented. He does have natural ability and flair.

[lake district canary 4,826]

Its the same as for Murphy for me - not reliable enough in terms of either shooting or making the right decisions for the team.  We need players who can play at their best a lot more of the time.  No time for passengers or one hit wonders.

[River End Canary 18]

[quote user="lake district canary"]

Its the same as for Murphy for me - not reliable enough in terms of either shooting or making the right decisions for the team.  We need players who can play at their best a lot more of the time.  No time for passengers or one hit wonders.

[/quote]

Lakey get to your local A and E immediately something is seriously wrong. I can''t see the happy clappy angle to this comment!

[Hairy Canary 753]

Harsh to compare Murphy with Olivera. No way will a premiership team be knocking on our door to offer £10m plus for Olivera which tells you all you need to know.

[Aggy 944]

Interesting stats Bethnal. I had wondered whether his slightly lower return last season compared to the two seasons before was due to us creating fewer chances. I imagine a lot of his shots were half chances rather than good ones, but if he had more shots it could suggest that actually he just missed more rather than not creating as much.

[Essjayess 307]

Nothing ever seems easy  when discussing Olly, was a time not so long ago when he was our "Lord Nelson" and by end season i think most fans were at best, indifferent about him.

Much depends how successful, or not, Webber / DF are in finding a new striker or two, in the next 2 or 3 weeks. If they dont find anyone, and its by no means assured that they will, then  we will have no choice but to stick with Srbeny and Olly.

Would not be sad if he was sold, would not be sad if he stayed. If its the latter, then i would forget his performance last season, every player deserves a clean slate come August. Often wonder what he would be like as an out and out poacher, a Rhodes type. If we are truly in for Rhodes, who seems to deeply divide  our fan base thoughts, why not just give Olly  a Rhodes role and save the club money in doing so to.

[lake district canary 4,826]

[quote user="Rick OShea "][quote user="lake district canary"]

Its the same as for Murphy for me - not reliable enough in terms of either shooting or making the right decisions for the team.  We need players who can play at their best a lot more of the time.  No time for passengers or one hit wonders.

[/quote]

Lakey get to your local A and E immediately something is seriously wrong. I can''t see the happy clappy angle to this comment![/quote]

There is no "happy clappy".   The reason we have failed in recent seasons is players not delivering consistency.  Most of them have gone or are on their way. The scenario we are moving into means we need intelligent players who can perform reliably, not players who are powder puff or not capable of holding on to the ball or shooting accurately.   It''s time for a bit more savvy in the team/squad - and we are moving in that direction.

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

After what happened last season i can''t believe anyone''s suggesting we give him yet another chance.

The bloke''s a wrong ''un. Get rid.

[Tetteys Jig 851]

Its more a case of if we get no suitable offers and we are stuck with him. Its very expensive to buy good strikers as well so if we are settling for average, might as well stick with what we have.

[city4eva 242]

His attitude sucks, I never want to see him in a norwich shirt again, sadly I think I will

[Yellowbeagle 0]

Sad thing about it is he''s only average because of his attitude, talent wise he''s got lots to offer he just doesn''t apply himself to the team in the right ways.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

The only way this head case can redeem himself, imo, is if we were unable to get rid, which has become a possibility, and he decides to knuckle down, accept his fate, respects the club, his manager and the supporters and bangs in 20+ goals next season.

I suppose that this is possible, but I can''t see it happening and the only thing I look for daily in the news section is a report that Oliveira is on his bicicleta.

[GJP 79]

Just on his attitude, I''d rather see a player p1ssed off because he hasn''t started etc than a player who is happy to warm the bench (or not even be in the squad) and carry on picking up his healthy wages.

[hogesar 10,761]

[quote user="GJP"]Just on his attitude, I''d rather see a player p1ssed off because he hasn''t started etc than a player who is happy to warm the bench (or not even be in the squad) and carry on picking up his healthy wages.[/quote]

There''s a difference between being unhappy to be on the bench and disrespecting your new head coach during his first game in charge, and then continuing to be a bit of a tw*t in two further occasions throughout the season where the management felt necessary to bring to public.

[GJP 79]

I agree. But there''s still a difference between being unhappy at to be on the bench and being happy to play golf.

[Guest]

I don''t think it is just a matter of replacing him.

We clearly struggled for much of last season in scoring and found ourselves with no alternative to the 2/3 we had.

Now we have an identical situation except the third one, Morris, is out for a long time.

Never mind the arguments about our tactics or style, you simply cannot go into another season with two strikers, neither of whom have impressed.

Yes, other positions have to be looked at but I do hope our priority is a striker or else I fear next season might not show any improvement and possibly deteriorate now Maddison has gone.

[Aggy 944]

His attitude for me is a separate issue. Even if it was bad last season (and I’m not at this point saying it was), he only scored a few less than he did the two seasons before, and in terms of goals per game it was still his third best season ever (in what was his 9th season).

His attitude isn’t the problem in terms of his goal scoring record.

Now, whether he is the sort of player who does enough in addition to scoring goals is a different issue. His attitude might come into that somewhat, but nowadays you’re going to be very lucky to find someone who scores 15-20 goals a season, does the donkey work, brings others into play, holds the ball up, has the technique to fit into our new style of play and doesn’t cost much.