BigEars 29 Posted December 27, 2023 Unless we hear big news from Knapper on the manager front, I’m expecting a quiet one, both in and out, and wouldn’t be surprised if we just go again with the same group while adding and or two youth players. The players coming back from injury will feel like new signing anyway and could yet make a big difference. But has anyone heard any private jets overhead or sighted any possibles over at Sprowston? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 4,116 Posted December 27, 2023 I would expect a few changes, maybe loans in and out, with one or two released? DW seemed to suggest they have had discussions, but we’re obviously a bit hamstrung by finances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soldier on 273 Posted December 27, 2023 18 minutes ago, Branston Pickle said: I would expect a few changes, maybe loans in and out, with one or two released? DW seemed to suggest they have had discussions, but we’re obviously a bit hamstrung by finances. Wasn’t knapper talking in terms of developing assets at the AGM which I would have thought pretty much rules out the loan market bar the odd punt . Also Attanasio said that knapper wants to make the roster younger which costs considerable ££ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 7,697 Posted December 27, 2023 (edited) I won't be getting my hopes up on us spending any big cash. I imagine we might bring in a loan player, send a few players of our own out and I do fear that Sara or Rowe rumours will be swirling.. Edited December 27, 2023 by cambridgeshire canary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 4,116 Posted December 27, 2023 13 minutes ago, Soldier on said: Wasn’t knapper talking in terms of developing assets at the AGM which I would have thought pretty much rules out the loan market bar the odd punt . Also Attanasio said that knapper wants to make the roster younger which costs considerable ££ You can develop assets with much less risk to your own relative position by loaning them out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigEars 29 Posted December 27, 2023 I was confident that Sara and Rowe would both at least stay until the summer until the rumour resurfaced about the £15m offer for Rowe last window. That rumour makes no sense given his stage of development at that time and smells to me of the Club or agent trying to gather a bit of interest in him, at a high price. Its very like the tactics on Omo last summer. All that said, I still think he will stay, at least to the end of this season. Sara seems more straightforward - if we were looking to sell our most valuable asset (in Knappers words) we would surely be playing him in a position where he catches the eye most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soldier on 273 Posted December 27, 2023 True just got the impression with Attanasio quotes we were looking at longer term options that will require significant ££ if not now then in the summer I guess. For what it’s worth the Archant boys think we will do two transfers for ££ from foreign leagues next month. knapper spoke at length re wanting to make the squad younger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantiaci Canary 610 Posted December 27, 2023 You would imagine that Knapper is itching to bring in a couple of new faces that he's had up his sleeves for months. Rather than numbers I'm more intrigued by what positions he'll prioritise. We are utterly threadbare in the CDM position but Wagner doesn't play with one. Personally, I would love to see a young but hungry & gifted striker loaned in to bring off the bench. Someone to play with no fear - like we had with Cody and Oli Johnson. Someone green and raw that we can all get behind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor Hockey's Beard 584 Posted December 27, 2023 46 minutes ago, Soldier on said: True just got the impression with Attanasio quotes we were looking at longer term options that will require significant ££ if not now then in the summer I guess. For what it’s worth the Archant boys think we will do two transfers for ££ from foreign leagues next month. knapper spoke at length re wanting to make the squad younger. That's the budget blown on Botox for Barnes then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobJames 922 Posted December 27, 2023 1 hour ago, BigEars said: Sara seems more straightforward - if we were looking to sell our most valuable asset (in Knappers words) we would surely be playing him in a position where he catches the eye most. So we don't play Sara "where he catches the eye most." because we do not want t0 sell him. How absurd. Sara plays where he is most effective. In this case, being able tr play measured balls out of the defence for players to run onto.. And the idea that other clubs are not aware of players unless they are making headlines is similarly absurd Sadly there will be the endless bleats for a CDM. A specialist player, much like a keeper, we have to assume who has powers other players do not have. To be in four or five different places at once, breaking up the attacks, as no other City player has that ability. Tosh. The days of us shipping in goals at will seem to haven ended, for now. And I suggest with Hanley back that will remain the case. We have had no problem scoring, something that can only be bolstered by the return of Hwang and Sargeant. The club will be focussed on a promotion push, as shown by the last 10 mins or so v WBA. Which is why I feel there will be a loan or two. Push as hard as we can and re-assess when the dust settles in May. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigEars 29 Posted December 27, 2023 Rob, ignoring your style, you raise an interesting point. How much of the decision making at the Club is purely driven by on the pitch needs of the current season and how much is driven by unrelated things - like finance. Listening to Knapper describing the players as assets and the need to utilise players who will increase in value, makes me think that quite a lot of what happens is with at least one eye on finance, and Sara is our biggest “asset”. Unfortunately its what football has become, but I for one would prefer a return to the more pure approach to the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mastoola 202 Posted December 27, 2023 "we identified lots of targets and worked tirelessly to bring them in but we couldn't get anything over the line" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mello Yello 2,538 Posted December 27, 2023 ...."We'll go with what we've got".... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EastMidsCanary 6 Posted December 27, 2023 1 hour ago, RobJames said: So we don't play Sara "where he catches the eye most." because we do not want t0 sell him. How absurd. Sara plays where he is most effective. In this case, being able tr play measured balls out of the defence for players to run onto.. And the idea that other clubs are not aware of players unless they are making headlines is similarly absurd Sadly there will be the endless bleats for a CDM. A specialist player, much like a keeper, we have to assume who has powers other players do not have. To be in four or five different places at once, breaking up the attacks, as no other City player has that ability. Tosh. The days of us shipping in goals at will seem to haven ended, for now. And I suggest with Hanley back that will remain the case. We have had no problem scoring, something that can only be bolstered by the return of Hwang and Sargeant. The club will be focussed on a promotion push, as shown by the last 10 mins or so v WBA. Which is why I feel there will be a loan or two. Push as hard as we can and re-assess when the dust settles in May. I would love to be as optimistic as you, but in my view our current situation is much less positive than you make out. Sargent has been out for a fair while, so we cannot be sure he’ll be able to hit the ground running and rediscover his early season form (which we as supporters would be really pleased to see). As for Sara, in my view he’s been pushed into a defensive midfield position due to lack of any other options. Sara has the most assists and he should be up the pitch, not on the edge of our own box during our own build up play. McLean is more defensive but still isn’t a true “CDM” and other options in Forshaw and Sorensen have suffered injury issues all campaign. When we’ve done well in recent seasons we’ve always had a CDM (Skipp, Trybull, Tettey) and no other team in the championship plays without a defensive midfield sat in front of the back four. Sadly one of a number of oversights by our senior management team in post during the summer. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlands Yellow 4,672 Posted December 27, 2023 Let’s hope some of the older members in the boardroom found sixpence in the Christmas Pudding. Other than that Mark can bail us out again. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mastoola 202 Posted December 27, 2023 4 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said: Let’s hope some of the older members in the boardroom found sixpence in the Christmas Pudding. Other than that Mark can bail us out again. i did but the dentist bill will cancel it out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
First Wazzock 995 Posted December 28, 2023 ' David Wagner is spending less than ‘0.1%’ of his energy on Norwich City’s January transfer window strategy.' That's because we've got no money to buy anyone with, and, no one is interested in our players (with possibly one exception) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Samwam27 593 Posted December 28, 2023 "Norwich are believed to be weighing up a defensive midfield option" says the EDP!!!!! Well Wagner said we didn't need one, when clearly we do and have been saying that for a long time. Hopefully Knapper knows better and is influencing what we need Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jersey Canary 178 Posted December 28, 2023 DM is a must. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Pants 4,882 Posted December 28, 2023 **** poor finishing by Ipswich and WBA have understated just how wide open our midfield is. Bearing in mind Knapper coming from Arsenal, who've had some pretty good ones over the years, I'd be very surprised if we don't strengthen with a DM. It might not be in January but certainly the summer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
If wed kept Howie.. 289 Posted December 28, 2023 I've heard rumours around Hugh Jarce Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ged in the onion bag 955 Posted December 29, 2023 14 hours ago, Jersey Canary said: DM is a must. I absolutely agree, but where does that leave Gibbs. We could have tried him there properly and I don’t see him playing anywhere else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jersey Canary 178 Posted December 29, 2023 1 hour ago, ged in the onion bag said: I absolutely agree, but where does that leave Gibbs. We could have tried him there properly and I don’t see him playing anywhere else. Send Gibbs out on loan. He doesn’t do enough for me so I’d let him go out on loan to a Championship club. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigEars 29 Posted December 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Jersey Canary said: Send Gibbs out on loan. He doesn’t do enough for me so I’d let him go out on loan to a Championship club. I agree. I always think Gibbs has a neat and tidy style which gives the impression of control but I think he has lost his way and perhaps he was thrown in too early. He needs a new start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monty13 2,710 Posted December 29, 2023 On 27/12/2023 at 18:01, Soldier on said: True just got the impression with Attanasio quotes we were looking at longer term options that will require significant ££ if not now then in the summer I guess. For what it’s worth the Archant boys think we will do two transfers for ££ from foreign leagues next month. knapper spoke at length re wanting to make the squad younger. Yea I’ll be surprised if there’s no ins the way both Attanasio and Knapper were talking. It seemed clear Attanasio will make cash available if it fits with the long term strategic aim. He talked about maybe buying a feeder club! I don’t think a signing or two will put him off. However imagine only if it’s someone that fits the criteria of what Knapper thinks we need long term. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t see a loan for this season, we are unbelievably still very much in contention for a playoff place. Knapper must have a ton of contacts (not just Arsenal) and a good idea of who’s available. I would be very surprised personally if the first window of the new regime they do nothing, I imagine both Knapper and Attanasio will want to make some statement of the future intent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulfotto 773 Posted December 29, 2023 I would hope the only way we sell Sargent, Rowe or Sara is if someone offers us something we can’t turn down. Which I would put at over 22.5 million. I just hope that we have a plan in case that happens. Other it goings I would imagine Placheta and Barth are available. Some sort of defensive midfield play would be an obvious signing but we have been saying that for so long I doubt it will happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ged in the onion bag 955 Posted December 29, 2023 8 hours ago, Jersey Canary said: Send Gibbs out on loan. He doesn’t do enough for me so I’d let him go out on loan to a Championship club. He only plays him out of position and clearly doesn’t instill any confidence in the kid, seems to me he’s under pressure every time he goes onto the pitch. No wonder he doesn’t do enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harry53 229 Posted December 29, 2023 Haven't we got a few players whose contracts expire this next summer? If we don't sell in January they leave on a freebie. January is a good time to sell Gibson and reduce our wage bill, plus other Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Indy 3,448 Posted December 29, 2023 After tonight! Can we get rid of Barnes, Hwang, Gibson, Batth, Duffy……absolutely **** poor and bought the teams quality down to where we were in the mid 2000’s! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norfolkngood 1,172 Posted December 29, 2023 8 minutes ago, Indy said: After tonight! Can we get rid of Barnes, Hwang, Gibson, Batth, Duffy……absolutely **** poor and bought the teams quality down to where we were in the mid 2000’s! Wagner can not get the best out of our players that we already have , i do not really want him anywhere near signing or spoiling new players 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites