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We've done magnificent business so far this close season

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After the unavoidable hammer blow of Emi moving on, we seem to have achieved the impossible by replacing his energy, enthusiasm, guile, creativity and personality. OK, so it needs two players to fill that gap, but so be it.

It is galling that Emi is likely to be worth twice what we got for him within 18 months or so, but that's when the weightings within the deal will kick in - payments for International recognition, selling-on payments and so on.

We have added a keeper who can challenge Tim Krul step in seamlessly when needed. 

If we can somehow find a Teemu mark#2 and maybe another quality player who can go wide, we look ready to have a bash at the Prem. I have a funny feeling that Spurs may at some stage be prepared to release Skipp again, which really would be the icing on the cake. I bet we are also monitoring Jamal Lewis' situation at Newcastle.

Let's pray for fewer key injuries this time around, and obviously activate the contingency plan, whatever it is, if Todd or Max depart.

No predictions from me this time around. After the first 25 minutes of the opening game last time around I was convinced we would ship 9 goals and not get a point all season. After the 3-0 crushing of Newcastle, I was sure we were bound for Europe. Trying to stay more grounded this time. 

 

PS I am number 601 on the Season Ticket waiting list. Now, I am not one to wish ill on anyone, but all the same....

 

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I would say the one aspect of Emi’s game that hasn’t been replaced is his work ethic when we don’t have the ball. Everything I read and hear about Rashica implies he doesn’t do this at all - will leave us a lot more vulnerable down the right flank as it stands assuming that’s where Rashica plays. If he lines up thru the middle and Dowell plays on the right, we’re still missing that tenacity imo. 

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1. Emi moving was not unavoidable.

2. We haven’t seen the new players yet so too early to say (except Gunn);

3. Yes the signings do look promising in terms of supposed quality;

4. We’ve still sold a player for £33m and spent around £10m so I still expect a lot more to happen. 

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14 minutes ago, Vazzza said:

I would say the one aspect of Emi’s game that hasn’t been replaced is his work ethic when we don’t have the ball. Everything I read and hear about Rashica implies he doesn’t do this at all - will leave us a lot more vulnerable down the right flank as it stands assuming that’s where Rashica plays. If he lines up thru the middle and Dowell plays on the right, we’re still missing that tenacity imo. 

I agree that could be an issue, but that may be an area of his game that Farke will want to improve. Not all players want to do that extra work, but the way things are at Norwich, he will have to. Maybe the fact that he has chosen to come to us suggests that he is willing to learn and improve and buy into our way of things. 

 

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I think if we get Ajer and Billing (or similar players in those positions) we can be quietly happy with the work we've done. As always, nothings proven until they've actually played for us (or not, as the case may be).

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What is clear is we have a plan and are making a very strong fist of working it. Ultimately, player and team performances will be the litmus test of whether it has worked, but you can't say Webber and Farke are making things up on the fly. They've planned and developed well here, and more than anything, they have worked with integrity.

At the same time, let's not panic when/if we go six or seven without winning next season. We'll be facing a lot of the world's elite players and, in all likelihood, have the smallest or second-smallest wage bill in the league. When team spirit is a fundamental part of the team, letting our heads drop is the last thing we should do.

They've taken us to an unexpected promotion playing the best football seen at Carrow Road in years. We struggled in the Premier League, but most teams do struggle when they lose three centre-halves for over half the season. We did something very rare and came straight back up, winning the league with a club record number of points, and we did it playing a stylish, more streetwise, more evolved brand of football which still unmistakably carried Farke's signature.

I'm not kidding myself, it will be the fight of our lives to hit 17th next year. But I've every faith this team will, with a bit of luck, be in the mix all the way through. And until the maths say otherwise, I will believe.

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21 minutes ago, Jim Smith said:

1. Emi moving was not unavoidable.

 

I think it wasn't technically unavoidable, but we already managed to keep him a year longer than we might have and it seems like he had his heart set on a move. Sadly it was probably the right business decision.

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3 minutes ago, Fr. Chewy Louie said:

I think it wasn't technically unavoidable, but we already managed to keep him a year longer than we might have and it seems like he had his heart set on a move. Sadly it was probably the right business decision.

I'd get this if it was to a top team, but a sideways move to Villa ?

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1 minute ago, TheGunnShow said:

They've taken us to an unexpected promotion playing the best football seen at Carrow Road in years. 

Unexpected? I mean, yes it’s rare for a team to go straight back up after relegation (seems to be getting more common these days though) however given the lack of spending in the Premier League season and Webber’s comments about planning for relegation so we could come back stronger, AND keeping the Championship-winning corner squad together while also adding quality such as Gibson, Dowell and Giannoulis, I’d say that with all of that promotion was THE expectation. Failure to deliver would have made the lack of effort/spending in the EPL season a truly wasted opportunity.

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53 minutes ago, Pugin said:

After the unavoidable hammer blow of Emi moving on, we seem to have achieved the impossible by replacing his energy, enthusiasm, guile, creativity and personality. OK, so it needs two players to fill that gap, but so be it.

It is galling that Emi is likely to be worth twice what we got for him within 18 months or so, but that's when the weightings within the deal will kick in - payments for International recognition, selling-on payments and so on.

We have added a keeper who can challenge Tim Krul step in seamlessly when needed. 

If we can somehow find a Teemu mark#2 and maybe another quality player who can go wide, we look ready to have a bash at the Prem. I have a funny feeling that Spurs may at some stage be prepared to release Skipp again, which really would be the icing on the cake. I bet we are also monitoring Jamal Lewis' situation at Newcastle.

Let's pray for fewer key injuries this time around, and obviously activate the contingency plan, whatever it is, if Todd or Max depart.

No predictions from me this time around. After the first 25 minutes of the opening game last time around I was convinced we would ship 9 goals and not get a point all season. After the 3-0 crushing of Newcastle, I was sure we were bound for Europe. Trying to stay more grounded this time. 

 

PS I am number 601 on the Season Ticket waiting list. Now, I am not one to wish ill on anyone, but all the same....

 

I'd be suprised if we would match Jamals salary tbh.

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2 minutes ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Unexpected? I mean, yes it’s rare for a team to go straight back up after relegation (seems to be getting more common these days though) however given the lack of spending in the Premier League season and Webber’s comments about planning for relegation so we could come back stronger, AND keeping the Championship-winning corner squad together while also adding quality such as Gibson, Dowell and Giannoulis, I’d say that with all of that promotion was THE expectation. Failure to deliver would have made the lack of effort/spending in the EPL season a truly wasted opportunity.

You're talking about the second promotion, I thought it was relatively clear from the scope of the message that I was talking about the first at that point as I mentioned the return later on. Think we crossed our wires a bit.

Edited by TheGunnShow
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1 minute ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Unexpected? I mean, yes it’s rare for a team to go straight back up after relegation (seems to be getting more common these days though) however given the lack of spending in the Premier League season and Webber’s comments about planning for relegation so we could come back stronger, AND keeping the Championship-winning corner squad together while also adding quality such as Gibson, Dowell and Giannoulis, I’d say that with all of that promotion was THE expectation. Failure to deliver would have made the lack of effort/spending in the EPL season a truly wasted opportunity.

Well quite, but when clubs get relegated but manage to keep hold of their £20m premier league signings and still don't come back up immediately, it does show that what the club achieved was quite significant. We all wanted promotion but expectation is difficult in those circumstances.

That much is evidenced by the amount of posters on here at the end of our relegation season citing the club had "wasted an opportunity" because it'd be "incredibly unlikely" we'd get promoted straight away again.

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20 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

I agree that could be an issue, but that may be an area of his game that Farke will want to improve. Not all players want to do that extra work, but the way things are at Norwich, he will have to. Maybe the fact that he has chosen to come to us suggests that he is willing to learn and improve and buy into our way of things. 

 

I hope so, but would worry that drive and motivation to do the defensive side of the game might be one of those things you either have or don’t? Attacking style flair players are just that for a reason, I think Emi is quite a rare beast to also enjoy (and be good at) the defensive side

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4 minutes ago, Haus said:

I'd get this if it was to a top team, but a sideways move to Villa ?

I think this has probably been discussed to death on here at the time, but although recent history is fairly parallel and they feel like a comparable club to us, they aren't any more. They have some of the richest owners in the league and are aspiring to be a top-end team. We're aspiring to stay up.

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It certainly sounds magnificent business but we can’t expect it to turn out as magnificent business until the new signings have played a few first team games for us. I know we’ve done a lot better since Webber arrived but no signing is guaranteed to turn out the same as they sound - I thought RvW and Drmic would do great for us but it turned out differently, although with RvW it’s strongly believed it was down to Hughton’s style of play and I think that may be right. I think most of us thought Grant Holt would be rubbish considering he came from League Two Shrewsbury (I didn’t think he would be great) but he managed to cut it in League One, then in the Championship and even the PL, winning POTS 3 seasons running

I do believe we can survive next season though - we’ve been better with our signings since Webber arrived, last time round barely any of our squad had PL experience, and after last season most of our squad has some.

In Farke and Webber we trust

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Utter nonsense. We are weaker currently than when we ended last season. Let's see what the rest of the window brings before claiming it to be a success. 

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10 minutes ago, priceyrice said:

Utter nonsense. We are weaker currently than when we ended last season. Let's see what the rest of the window brings before claiming it to be a success. 

Spot on and we lack goals. 

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41 minutes ago, Fr. Chewy Louie said:

I think this has probably been discussed to death on here at the time, but although recent history is fairly parallel and they feel like a comparable club to us, they aren't any more. They have some of the richest owners in the league and are aspiring to be a top-end team. We're aspiring to stay up.

They'll lose Grealish this year and Mcginn and be down there with us.  

Either that or FPP will get them

 

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1 hour ago, Uncle Fred said:

Yes losing the best player we have ever had yup it’s been a great window so far 🤔

'losing the best player we have ever had'

 

How many non promotion trophies did Emi win us? Did Emi help us stay in the top divson last time we were in it?

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57 minutes ago, Haus said:

I'd get this if it was to a top team, but a sideways move to Villa ?

Villa unfortunately is not a sideways move anymore it is a step up. They will be comfortably a top 10 team this season and probably a push for Europe if they sign the players they are linked with. Frustrating as it may be Emi has taken a step up by moving to Villa, no doubt though he could have made an even bigger step up and been comfortable. 

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I do worry a little I suppose that's generally the nature of a Norwich city fan, I don't know much about Rashica but if he is our replacement for Buendia I don't think they will compare Emi was getting better and better and therefore the disappointment in him leaving us, his goals, assists and defence work was outstanding and I hope Rashica could be as good. 

Skipp was also great last season and I must admit he was better than I thought he would be, he gets stuck in and he is quicker than I thought, Gilmour is not a replacement they are different players. 

My concern is the premier league is a hard league as we know, even if we get Billing and Ajer, I'm not sure how much of an improvement that is, unless there are more coming, and that's without anyone leaving us.

Edited by tricky974
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Billing and Ajer/Tosin and use our 2nd prem loan on a bit of a punt and I'll be happy enough.

As much as I'd love to see Idah smash the prem I think he needs a championship loan to get solid game time. We could then get Nketiah or someone a bit more proven to take that spot. He'd put some real pressure on Pukki which is probably what he needs.

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7 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

'losing the best player we have ever had'

 

How many non promotion trophies did Emi win us? Did Emi help us stay in the top divson last time we were in it?

This is true. 

Who do you feel is our greatest ever player Cambo? 

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1 hour ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Unexpected? I mean, yes it’s rare for a team to go straight back up after relegation (seems to be getting more common these days though) however given the lack of spending in the Premier League season and Webber’s comments about planning for relegation so we could come back stronger, AND keeping the Championship-winning corner squad together while also adding quality such as Gibson, Dowell and Giannoulis, I’d say that with all of that promotion was THE expectation. Failure to deliver would have made the lack of effort/spending in the EPL season a truly wasted opportunity.

Have to disagree with last sentence as I feel, though fans would have got impatient, SW and DF would have been ok with it ,using both years of parachute payment to acheive promotion again.  There again, I didnt take much convincing that we've been on the right path since they arrived. 

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17 minutes ago, urdie_Canary said:

Spot on and we lack goals. 

Yes any side going into a Premier League season with Pukki Idah and Hugill as their three strikers deserve to and probably will be relegated .

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1 minute ago, City 101 said:

Yes any side going into a Premier League season with Pukki Idah and Hugill as their three strikers deserve to and probably will be relegated .

I cant imagine we will go into the season with those 3, well.. I hope not anyway.

Pukki is older and not as sharp as he once was nor as clinical. Idah is no way near prem level and needs a loan and Hugil couldn't even nail down a place in the championship.

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1 hour ago, Jim Smith said:

1. Emi moving was not unavoidable.

2. We haven’t seen the new players yet so too early to say (except Gunn);

3. Yes the signings do look promising in terms of supposed quality;

4. We’ve still sold a player for £33m and spent around £10m so I still expect a lot more to happen. 

i do not know exact figures but we have spent the Emi money 

Gibson 8m ,Rashica 9m , Giannoulis 6.5  , Gunn 5 millon and Gilmour loan fee + wages 

Now i predict we will sell or sold another then the next phase of rebuild we come in 

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23 minutes ago, norfolkngood said:

i do not know exact figures but we have spent the Emi money 

Gibson 8m ,Rashica 9m , Giannoulis 6.5  , Gunn 5 millon and Gilmour loan fee + wages 

Now i predict we will sell or sold another then the next phase of rebuild we come in 

It has been reported though that the cost of turning Gibson and Giannoulis permanent was already budgeted for from last season. 

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