Ben Godfrey, MU and THFC

[smooth 114]

With both clubs allegedly interested and Rio's endorsement for MU, it was interesting to see where the article suggested he would play.

Defensive midfield.

I think those strong runs forward we have seen from him at centre half showed his previous position and worried opposing teams as suddenly their midfield were outnumbered.

He is very comfortable on the ball, tenacious and we all saw the video from the Stoke game when he dashed back from our attacking corner to put in a tackle around our 18 yard box.

He has developed at centre half, no question and will develop next season with Farke and the team. I think a few of us have noted he could be that defensive midfielder with klose coming back in. But for now we would think Farke will keep him at centre half.

Either way when he does move on he will have had an amazing rise through the leagues and will play either centre half or in that holding defensive midfield role for one of the country's best teams.

 

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

Interesting comment from that Spurs fan:-

"Get him now before he becomes a £60m player after one season in the Premier League for Norwich."

Although there was seemingly little choice at the time and although the money has been used very wisely a lesson must be learned from the Maddison sale and his impending/reported move on for Leicester's demand of  £60m.

It is imperative we hang onto our youngsters this Summer, not only in order to keep the squad together and have a better chance of surviving that first season but also for the economic benefit of getting them a Premier League season under their belts and onto their respective cvs .

Godfrey, Aarons, Lewis and Buendia at least are surely destined for the top. Later rather than sooner as far as NCFC are concerned.

[lake district canary 4,531]

 

49 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

Godfrey, Aarons, Lewis and Buendia at least are surely destined for the top. 

Keep the team together and we could be destined for the top.

Add Pukki, Vrancic, Leitner to those four and you have at least seven players who are capable of playing at the very top of the game. Even the ones I haven't mentioned like Zimbo, Krul etc could do well at the top level too.

The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table. 

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

2 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

 

Keep the team together and we could be destined for the top.

Add Pukki, Vrancic, Leitner to those four and you have at least seven players who are capable of playing at the very top of the game. Even the ones I haven't mentioned like Zimbo, Krul etc could do well at the top level too.

The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table. 

Yes, I can see us finishing near the top 10.

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

4 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

 

Keep the team together and we could be destined for the top.

Add Pukki, Vrancic, Leitner to those four and you have at least seven players who are capable of playing at the very top of the game. Even the ones I haven't mentioned like Zimbo, Krul etc could do well at the top level too.

The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table. 

Good to see that you are back in form LDC😜

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

"The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table." 

 

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

 

Although the scenario you paint could become a reality I feel that it is unlikely and that Webber and Co. will be concerned only with taking one step at a time.

The first step being survival. If this is ensured in good time before the season's death then we can surely begin to dream.

[M the Canary 10]

Steady on everybody avoiding relegation this coming season will be a very good achievement 

[lake district canary 4,531]

10 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

"The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table." 

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Although the scenario you paint could become a reality I feel that it is unlikely and that Webber and Co. will be concerned only with taking one step at a time.

The first step being survival. If this is ensured in good time before the season's death then we can surely begin to dream.

I agree and I don't think it is getting ahead of ourselves to think anything is possible either.  The PL is just a league like any other, even if it is the top league in football - we deserve to play there and the players we have look to have the ability to do well there.

It will be one step at a time, as you say, but I do hope that everybody here believes we can do a great job next season and not believe the media hype that from day one will have us scrabbling away at the bottom.  We start he season in better shape than we did last season - we have a settled side, players who are comfortable with the system and players who know they are good enough to play at the top level.  It's going to be one heck of a ride again next season, whatever happens!

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

I must admit that I have more confidence in our current manager and squad and their ability to survive than I have had at any time since before Worthy's team won promotion and at this stage in the Summer's activity (I did eventually get excited about Wolfswinkle, Fer and Hooper though.)

Having said that I do genuinely believe that the Premier League has gotten to be, year on year, a tougher proposition for any promoted side.

Underestimate it at our peril.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

Norwich have a good team. The problem is, there are 19 other good teams in the League. Some of which are very, very good. 

Next season looks like being one of the highest quality Premier Leagues ever. It is going to be a very, very tough battle and if Norwich really aren’t planning on spending much money, then it will take a good slice of luck to stay up. 

[Nuff Said 5,089]

Possibly a facile point to make, but spending money isn’t everything. Fulham blah blah...

[Half Ar5ed Hipster 82]

The PL is a crock. We all know it, but that's where the club wants to be. Just got to cherish those little diamond moments that happen invariably.

I think we'll do OK, stay up just, the second season is always the worry.

 

 

[BigFish 1,986]

10 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

Norwich have a good team. The problem is, there are 19 other good teams in the League. Some of which are very, very good. 

Next season looks like being one of the highest quality Premier Leagues ever. It is going to be a very, very tough battle and if Norwich really aren’t planning on spending much money, then it will take a good slice of luck to stay up. 

I was thinking that, particularly if Potter turns round Brighton and Villa have money to invest. Last year, Hudersfield were a relegation waiting to happen and the two promoted teams relegated never really gave it ago (although Fulham splashed the cash). This year there are probably 18 Prem clubs who expect us & Sheff U to be canon fodder. Who else are we looking at to be weaker than us.......Southampton, Burnley, Villa?

[splendidrush 699]

6 minutes ago, Half Ar5ed Hipster said:

The PL is a crock. 

 

 

Agreed 👍

[smooth 114]

It is going to be incredibly tough this coming season, it will be exciting because at times I hope we can stamp our style of play on the league, but by George it will be tough.

The schedule can be kind or harsh, we know we have had a run in of the top 4 previously and that will be key.

If we can have a run of games where momentum can be achieved then that can help in a big way.

We will be needing to bounce back and have all 11 outfield players playing at optimum levels and concentrating fully. Any lapse will be exposed by the top team, but not by all. That is what we can look too, there are opportunities and we have young individuals who will have very good games.

We will target those 1 on 1 battles and use the right preparation to be confident in those march ups.

Buendia is an enigma and will find the ball, he is hard to track and keep quiet in a game. Aaron's will come up against midfielders who may not track back, Hernandez against a less physical fullback and vrancic using his guile against more charging midfielders.

It will be exciting and difficult, but that is what we want stretch ourselves. In doing so our players will be in the shop window. 

I notice that one report says Rio Ferdinand is Godfrey's mentor, now I don't know if Rio is involved in the agent representing Godfrey but an interesting angle.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

12 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Possibly a facile point to make, but spending money isn’t everything. Fulham blah blah...

Of course. Spending alone won’t save a club and any spending needs to be targeted and add value to the team. 

2 minutes ago, BigFish said:

I was thinking that, particularly if Potter turns round Brighton and Villa have money to invest. Last year, Hudersfield were a relegation waiting to happen and the two promoted teams relegated never really gave it ago (although Fulham splashed the cash). This year there are probably 18 Prem clubs who expect us & Sheff U to be canon fodder. Who else are we looking at to be weaker than us.......Southampton, Burnley, Villa?

When you also consider the improvements Southampton have made since sacking Hughes and that Burnley won’t have European commitments this season - then it gets harder and harder to see who will get relegated. 

You could see Bournemouth slipping up. They an injury to Callum Wilson or losing Ryan Fraser could mean trouble for them. If Zaha is injured or sold then Palace might struggle. But as you said. There is no Huddersfield or Cardiff this season who you can look at and confidently say ‘they aren’t good enough’. 

I suspect Norwich and Sheff U will fill those roles in most pre-season previews. Maybe not because people don’t think they are good teams, but that maybe they are the least good in the division.

i wouldn’t be surprised if we see the three promoted teams all relegated for the first time in quite a while. 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

1 minute ago, smooth said:

It is going to be incredibly tough this coming season, it will be exciting because at times I hope we can stamp our style of play on the league, but by George it will be tough.

The schedule can be kind or harsh, we know we have had a run in of the top 4 previously and that will be key.

If we can have a run of games where momentum can be achieved then that can help in a big way.

We will be needing to bounce back and have all 11 outfield players playing at optimum levels and concentrating fully. Any lapse will be exposed by the top team, but not by all. That is what we can look too, there are opportunities and we have young individuals who will have very good games.

We will target those 1 on 1 battles and use the right preparation to be confident in those march ups.

Buendia is an enigma and will find the ball, he is hard to track and keep quiet in a game. Aaron's will come up against midfielders who may not track back, Hernandez against a less physical fullback and vrancic using his guile against more charging midfielders.

It will be exciting and difficult, but that is what we want stretch ourselves. In doing so our players will be in the shop window. 

I notice that one report says Rio Ferdinand is Godfrey's mentor, now I don't know if Rio is involved in the agent representing Godfrey but an interesting angle.

Rio is employee by Godfrey’s agency (players don’t have individual agents anymore, but a whole team). 

Rio is a mentor, but he is also there to use his contacts to drum up interest in players. He certainly promoted both the Murphys - who are with the same agency. The Man U links were certainly Rio doing some promotion, I guess the Tottenham link is also the same thing. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

I agree with everythuing that has been said, it's going to be a tough league, butthen we are tough too, or we wouldn't have been promoted against the odds.   Look at how many games we were under the cosh in and either came out on top or got draws.  That is what we will need to do next season.  It is that resilience combined with ability to score goals that makes any PL club do well.

We did it under Lambert, heck we even did it under Hughton for one season. It strikes me that with the players/coaches we have now, we are in better shape than at any time we have gone into the top league from the championship.  So yes it will be tough, but there are teams there that will not be as good as us mentally and physically - maybe West ham, Brighton, Villa, Sheff Utd and maybe one or two more.  

We will be in there as good as many of the others imo.

 

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

The difficulty of the league is what makes it so exciting for me - plus the pride I have as my club test themselves against the best in the country. I want to see all these fantastic players up close - the Salah's, Kane's etc of this world.

[Van wink 2,994]

We are as good as anything mid to lower Prem imo.

The issue is the depth of quality and experience in the squad, fingers crossed we can keep injuries and suspensions to a minimum, control the things we can control, and hope for a bit of good fortune.

[Fuzzar 1,702]

I think we're capable of doing some damage to most teams in an attacking sense. Defensively, we'll have to tighten up significantly to stay up, with another CDM a priority.

But I'm optimistic we'll stay up and quietly confident we'll do quite well.

[JF 694]

1 hour ago, lake district canary said:

 

Keep the team together and we could be destined for the top.

Add Pukki, Vrancic, Leitner to those four and you have at least seven players who are capable of playing at the very top of the game. Even the ones I haven't mentioned like Zimbo, Krul etc could do well at the top level too.

The media will have us down for relegation fodder, but keep the team together and we could be the season's surprise package at the other end of the table. 

Completely agree and I can see us pushing for a top 10 finish as well. That will inflate the value of these players into the mega money bracket. Unfortunately for us when the big clubs come calling, and they will, it’s inevitable that they will move on. Hopefully their future transfer fees and the premier league money will set the club up to compete at this level for the future 

[Petriix 2,834]

8 minutes ago, Fuzzar said:

I think we're capable of doing some damage to most teams in an attacking sense. Defensively, we'll have to tighten up significantly to stay up, with another CDM a priority.

But I'm optimistic we'll stay up and quietly confident we'll do quite well.

After the first 6 games only 3 teams conceded fewer goals than Norwich in the Championship. That is all the more remarkable when you consider how attacking our style was. We have the best defence I have ever seen at the club. I absolutely contest the (much repeated) assertion that our defence should (or could) be improved.

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

51 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

It strikes me that with the players/coaches we have now, we are in better shape than at any time we have gone into the top league from the championship.

Yep

24 minutes ago, Petriix said:

After the first 6 games only 3 teams conceded fewer goals than Norwich in the Championship. That is all the more remarkable when you consider how attacking our style was.

True

46 minutes ago, Van wink said:

The issue is the depth of quality and experience in the squad, fingers crossed we can keep injuries and suspensions to a minimum, control the things we can control, and hope for a bit of good fortune.

Basically i agree Winko, but we had a bench towards the end of the season in the Champs that would have started in most teams there, yet they stayed, for the most part, on the bench. i believe we have the quality, just not a lot of experience of the PL in the squad. Those that have played there wont be fazed by returning , they will relish it.

[ged in the onion bag 854]

Think we will surprise plenty next season.     As for relegation favourites, suggest Brighton will struggle to change their style, Bournemouth are due a struggle, Sheff Utd don't have the quality we have and Villa have some recruitment to sort...they've just released Hutton, Elphick, Jedinak and Whelan plus others and their team was made up of loans.... Mings, Tuanzabe, Hause, (all CB's), El Ghazi and Abrahams.    They will take time to gel!

We have a collective and individual desire to improve, a spirit, a playing philosophy supported by a determined press, plenty of options in most positions (just need competition in goal and upfront as priorities), and brilliant support.     With effective recruitment, we'll be good enough to avoid a struggle.     

Edited June 5, 2019 by ged in the onion bag

[Tetteys Jig 830]

the problem is going to be getting value for money. you look at the type of player routinely going for £15m and they dont look all that much better than what we have.

Think it will be a whole summer of smart buys for us where they may work, they may not. Roberts is a great start though and it will be exciting to see what our recruitment team can pick out.

[dylanisabaddog 4,867]

4 hours ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

Norwich have a good team. The problem is, there are 19 other good teams in the League. Some of which are very, very good. 

Next season looks like being one of the highest quality Premier Leagues ever. It is going to be a very, very tough battle and if Norwich really aren’t planning on spending much money, then it will take a good slice of luck to stay up. 

I agree that there are 3 or 4 very good teams but Arsenal and Manchester United managed to finish 5th and 6th. The standard below the top 4 is questionable and if Man City, Spurs or Liverpool aren't playing I rarely bother with live TV anymore. 

In my view we have a better team than the Lambert promotion season, in fact we are probably one of the best teams ever to be promoted. Survival is obviously the aim but I really think we should be aiming higher. Our problem, as Broadstairs has said, is to hang on to the best group of young players this club has ever seen, at least until next summer. By that time Aarons, Lewis, Godfrey and Buendia are going to be worth an awful lot of money. 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

4 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I agree that there are 3 or 4 very good teams but Arsenal and Manchester United managed to finish 5th and 6th. The standard below the top 4 is questionable and if Man City, Spurs or Liverpool aren't playing I rarely bother with live TV anymore. 

In my view we have a better team than the Lambert promotion season, in fact we are probably one of the best teams ever to be promoted. Survival is obviously the aim but I really think we should be aiming higher. Our problem, as Broadstairs has said, is to hang on to the best group of young players this club has ever seen, at least until next summer. By that time Aarons, Lewis, Godfrey and Buendia are going to be worth an awful lot of money. 

Arsenal and Man U are still very good teams though. Yes they are probably under achieving, but Arsenal did get to the final of the Europa Cup and have several world class players in their team. Man U still have excellent players as well. They certainly aren’t ‘bad’ teams. Just not doing as well as they should. 

Norwich do have a better team than when they went up with Lambert - but then so does everyone in the Premier League since then. 

The teams relegated that year were Wolves under Mick McCarthy, Blackburn managed by Steve Kean and Owen Coyle’ Bolton. It would have been a more impressive feat to be worse than those teams than survive. 

The league currently has no one on the scale of incompetence as that season. That is why it will be harder to survive this time around. 

[Jim Smith 2,314]

4 hours ago, Petriix said:

After the first 6 games only 3 teams conceded fewer goals than Norwich in the Championship. That is all the more remarkable when you consider how attacking our style was. We have the best defence I have ever seen at the club. I absolutely contest the (much repeated) assertion that our defence should (or could) be improved.

I have to respectfully disagree.,. If we defend as we did last season in the premier league then we will get relegated. Of that I have no doubt. You can debate how much of it is down to personel and how much is the actual style of play but we are so open defensively and will get carved apart by most premier league teams. We will score goals as well but its a high risk strategy to rely on outscoring teams with so much firepower every week. 

All that said I don't expect us to play with such an open style next season and I think we will keep it tighter. You can certainly argue that individually all the defenders have the attributes to be premier league players if they can operate well as a unit and hopefully we will find the right defensive midfielder to sit in front of them. Simply improving our marking from set plays and crosses and closing down players at the top of the box from the second phase of play will help a lot but since we have had those issues consistenty through Farke's reign I am unsure as to whether he will be able to sort them.

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,131]

The key for me won't be spending money it'll be improving significantly from set pieces. We can go toe to toe with any lower half PL team in open play but we were average last year defending set pieces and most lowe PL teams are very strong in this area, it could be our achilles heel next season. We could also improve on our concentration just before half time and after kick offs. Address those two issues in pre season on the training ground and it will greatly improve our chances of staying up.