New signings, the Transfer Window, and Worthington

[Canary Poirot 1]

It has become a running joke on message boards that other clubs have lost their senses going about their transfer business so early in the summer, as Norwich firmly stick to their guns that the market only picks up late June early July. But I am beginning to believe that the joke is firmly on Norwich, as we miss out on possibly targets, put back pre-season preparation, and prolong the uncertainty surrounding our squad for the season, whilst other teams sort themselves early getting an early season advantage like Sheffield Utd did last season. I firmly believe that the NCFC traditional view of the close season transfer market is slowly becoming redundent with every passing summer.

Before the implementation of the transfer window, it was sensible not to engage in the close season transfer market early in the summer. Afterall, you would have to pay their wages during a period when there the club was recieving little or no revenue. Such an approach to summer transfers was ingrained in football a decade ago. And it would appear that NCFC are still living in those dark ages. But the transfer window has completely changed the summer transfer market now. It is a high pressure period, with a deadline to sort out your business and playing squad. Waiting around can cost you potential targets in a market with limited quality available, and every club chasing the top targets. If you don''t move fast enough you get left with the dregs of the market. Sorting your business out early also means there is no end of August uncertainty disrupting the team.

So for heavens sake - get with the times NCFC and get off your asses and move in the market!

 

[streakey 0]

No news is good new so the saying goes. In Norwich,s case it could be very bad news.Everyone appears to be getting out of the traps ahead of us and picking up the better players, but they are 7 figure sums.Short lists of good managers and coaches are being drawn up and interviews given.Most chairmen reassuring the fans with interviews and statements in the media. Where does this leave the fans of Norwich,with the same old season to come.Worthless at the helm,more cheap and loan players,a board of no desire and a mid table finish in the championship.After such an exciting last season perhaps they all need 6 weeks holiday !

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

Sheefield United reaped the benefits big style last season, they started the season on a flyer and were in a position where they were almost promoted by christmas time.  All the while we dillied and dallied, with loan signings, excptionally poor signings (Hooves + Colin + Agents fees 1 million quid - how much money is this inept clownn hooves on) and pre season blighted by the francis saga.  Worthy seems unable to get these things sorted without it affecting the club.

He then stated he was happy with the midfield and that the defense and strikeforce needed tinkering with - hence Davenport and Lisbie - me and many others were worried about the midfield.

Lo and behold, the midfield looks chronic so we bring in Dickson and Robbinson.....  and my god did they impress!  fantastic players!!  sign them both up permanently!!

What kind of mismanagement is going on at our club, this is a disgrace...  and my eyes have now turned towards the board. They are football fans and if they cant see what is going on then maybe they should step down and let some more forward looking people take charge.  Yes we almost went bust and no we don''t want that to happen again. But, Norwich city''s era of prudence needs to be at an end, we need more ambitious ''INVESTMENT''  in the playing side, and need top set their standards higher than the ''Nigel Worthington''s and Andy Hugheses of this world.  Im not talking about breaking the bank, but when you are in our situation on promotion you have to make the most of it, you have 2 season''s even with relegation where you can convince better players to come.  Not Championship rejects.

Unfortuantly it is almost too late, we have the last of the parachute payments and Worthington at the Helm with Hughes in central midfield....  we are doomed to failure at the moment.

[Branston Pickle 4,149]

I certainly agree that we shouldn''t miss out on players to save money - that is just completely mad - but nor should we launch into kneejerk transfers (eg Graham Stuart). 

May has not even ended yet, and most sides are only just announcing the players they are releasing, so it might be sensible to take stock before we reveal too much: not long ago we were thinking that we would have to pay £x00k for JJ, now he is ''free'' [whether we want him is a slightly different issue]; surely even the most sceptical supporter can''t think nothing is going on behind the scenes?  If I thought that I really would give up.

To be fair, I just had a look on the "4thegame" site (v useful), which appears to hold all the transfer data, and as far as I can see the only transfers of note that have happened so far which might have vaguely interested us are: Horsfield (WBA-Sheff U for £1.25m), and Bougerra (FC Gueugnon - Sheffield Wednesday, Undisclosed [already discussed widely on here, was on loan at Crewe]), together with a few players moving who would surely not come down to Championship level (Sommeil to Sheff U) so aren''t on our radar. 

Otherwise the only moves are the likes of Shevchenko/Ballack/Rosicky/Berbatov, so at the end of the day not a lot has actually happened affecting us since the season ended, other than paper talk - which we have been involved in just about as much as anyone (re: Clarke/JJ).  [And of the Paper talk, Jerome is just about the only one we''d have an interest in who appears to actually be going anywhere - but if we had wanted him we''d have surely done it in Jan when we got Earnie instead].

This does suggest we have not (yet) missed out on any potential targets - but the clock is certainly ticking on players who have been released (Thompson et al), who are presumably mulling over their options. 

[The Duke of Norfolk 0]

I agree with CJF in that i now blame the current situation at the club on the board. Although i have a feeling that it is Delias and MWJ''s influence that is largely responsible for maintaining Worthington.

If (as there is a good chance it will happen) things do go tits up next season with Worthington at the helm and we ultimately fail to win promotion then i feel that if the right business people can be found then changes should be made on the board with some more ambitious (but still sensible) people brought in.

I would also like for whoever backed Worthington to come out and apologise to the fans and admit they were wrong. If it was Delia and MWJ then i feel they shold consider relinquishing some of their shares so that they are not majority shareholders  and so that the "personal emotion" that appears to have got in their way of the Worthington situation can never happen again at this club.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

Branston Wrote "This does suggest we have not (yet) missed out on any potential targets - but the clock is certainly ticking on players who have been released (Thompson et al), who are presumably mulling over their options."

very true, but look at last season, Sheffield United got their men as soon as they could, made the bids, got the players up to brammell lane and convinced them to come.  Maybe they paid 100 or 200 thousand over the odds for Ifill and Webber, but they got in their first, before other clubs started sniffing around them.  Signed them up and had a full pre season with them.

I am not saying Warnock is a football genius (as his january signings bear out.....)  but I think he has it totally right getting the men in he wanted right away (and notice he is doing the same again this year).  I would also say that Ifill and Webber added that extra bit of pace and flair to an otherwise big strong workmanlike side - maybe this made the difference??

The last thing we want to do is be paying over the odds for the Hughes''s and Etuhu''s of this world.

[mystic megson 0]

I entirely agree with the general drift of this thread.

I am also starting to think that lack of leadership in the boardroom is a very large part of the problem.  One effect of this is to give the manager (whoever he happens to be) far too big a profile. 

The manager is in charge of what they like to call "the football side", and as such his role is extremely important.  But he is an employee.  He is not, and never should become "Mr Norwich City", even if we won the Champions League.  That role, and the responsibility that goes with it, belongs to the Chairman. 

IMHO there is no one in the boardroom at present who is remotely capable of fulfilling that role.  As a result, the manager has become the focus of responsibility for everything that goes wrong, including areas over which he has little or no control. 

Ten years ago, immediately after the Chase era, the time was right for faceless bean counters and financial prudence, and I for one will always be grateful.  But in footballing terms we drifted aimlessly until Worthy took over, and I believe that his appointment came about more by luck than judgement.      

*  The last thing we need is another Robert Chase, but we are crying out for another Geoffrey Watling.  Otherwise this club is going nowhere, regardless of who the manager is.

*  Should a suitable candidate appear on the scene, we the fans could be reunited, as we would all have no option but to abandon the "Worthy Out/Worthy In" arguments and leave the manager''s future for him to decide. 

Can you think of a better way forward?  We can''t make it happen.  But if we can agree, then sometimes things have a way of coming to pass.

 

[0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

After reading in todays EDP that Redknapp likes to get his transfers done as soon as possible so that the players are settled I feel that Worthington and the board think they are dealing with a load of ijiots when they state what is happening at NCFC to the supporters.

 Tonights EEN says that there is a truce for Worthington and asks that supporters get behind the team I will be behind the team but there is no truce for Worthington. Why hasn''t he appointed a first team coach so that the person appointed could be looking for accommodation and be settled that much quicker. No we won''t appoint anyone until just before pre season training starts which will mean that it will be well into the season before he is settled (perhaps that could be the reason things dont go to well at the start).  

[lucky green trainers 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]

Sheefield United reaped the benefits big style last season, they started the season on a flyer and were in a position where they were almost promoted by christmas time.  All the while we dillied and dallied, with loan signings, excptionally poor signings (Hooves + Colin + Agents fees 1 million quid - how much money is this inept clownn hooves on) and pre season blighted by the francis saga.  Worthy seems unable to get these things sorted without it affecting the club.

He then stated he was happy with the midfield and that the defense and strikeforce needed tinkering with - hence Davenport and Lisbie - me and many others were worried about the midfield.

Lo and behold, the midfield looks chronic so we bring in Dickson and Robbinson.....  and my god did they impress!  fantastic players!!  sign them both up permanently!!

What kind of mismanagement is going on at our club, this is a disgrace...  and my eyes have now turned towards the board. They are football fans and if they cant see what is going on then maybe they should step down and let some more forward looking people take charge.  Yes we almost went bust and no we don''t want that to happen again. But, Norwich city''s era of prudence needs to be at an end, we need more ambitious ''INVESTMENT''  in the playing side, and need top set their standards higher than the ''Nigel Worthington''s and Andy Hugheses of this world.  Im not talking about breaking the bank, but when you are in our situation on promotion you have to make the most of it, you have 2 season''s even with relegation where you can convince better players to come.  Not Championship rejects.

Unfortuantly it is almost too late, we have the last of the parachute payments and Worthington at the Helm with Hughes in central midfield....  we are doomed to failure at the moment.

[/quote]yeah, but sheff utd had played well against the gunners twice in the cup - only losin on pens (can you imagine how well we''d done last season in the same situation) and had a platform to build on - they attracted a new investor onto the board, who splashed the cash and the rest is history.  money talks - although watford bucked the trend, but you need an exceptional manager for that. after last season, its common sense to suppose NCFC is a lot less attractive to new players and coaches -  delia and the board are probably finding that out.   with greeno out, an underfire manager, tortoise like movement on reappointment of a new coach

[Lord Mouldywart 0]

I have to say the lack of a new coach is arguably more worrying than the lack of new players. Because whoever it is will probably want to have input into transfers and in any case, the coaches need to decide what type of team they are trying to build. I''m not so worried that we haven''t signed anyone yet, but the complete dis-interest is an issue. Id say it would be best to have the squad complete ready for pre-season training which presumably starts around the beginning of July

[jetstream 0]

I agree, appointing the coach is very important. So why has it taken nearly 4 weeks since Foley was "released" (sacked)?

We were assured that the club was working all the hours in the day to secure their man, phones were "red hot". Are we any closer?

Presumably, the new coach would want to have some input on possible signings?

The delay- for the sake of saving a month''s wages - is crazy.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

Well it is the 19th July - we have no signings and now I feel we probably won''t be making any signings until the season starts.

The only clubs left to make a signing are Ipswich, Derby, Wolves and ourselves.

I am not going to prattle on about it because as is the official spin from the club now - "we arent going to buy anyone for the sake of signing someone" ... An attitude I would like to think they had previously anyway.

This leaves me at a loss as to the ability of the club to spot players.

Last years lot were very poor overall Hughes whom played the most was poor, Jarrett had a bust up with worthy, apparantly Etuhu needs time to settle........  Robinson looked to be playing well below himself, Thorne looked well past his best, Colin looked totally mismanaged.

The previous year how many games did the likes of Charlton, Jonson, Helveg, Ward, Gallacher, Safri and Doherty play?? Not a great deal I would imagine, and how much impact did they have on the season - (Helveg and Safri''s belated appearances apart).

There seems to be a complete lack of creativity in the targets we are told about, they all seem to be championship players. Where are the possible cheaper talents spotted by our scouts in the lower leagues? (Dave Kitson was 150,000 + add ons, where were we??)  Where are the overseas players?

Cardiff sign Glombard:  Cardiff City have made Nantes striker Luigi Glombard their ninth summer signing.

Black Cats sign Kenny:  Sunderland have completed the signing of Kenny Cunningham on a one-year deal.

[Cantiaci Canary 610]

Don''t you understand???

Worthington IS trying to sign players but will not just throw money away on players that are no better than what we have. Worthington is not twiddling this thumbs he is on the phone every day and with a limited budget his options have been narrowed tightly.

The grumbling on this thread is more due to the boredom of pre-season and getting excited about new names for names'' sake (remember the excitement on this board behind the Jarret, Colin, Louis-Jean, Etuthu, Thorne, Marney, Hughes signings last season?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) than anything else.

 

Who would YOU buy who is A) affordable B) available C) wanting to come D) good enough???

If we can''t improve the squad don''t waste the money. Shouldn''t we have learned this from last summer?

OTBC

[Maverick 0]

Nice to see you advocating that we sign some young,hungry players Mr Rankin - would you seriously want us to sign Cunningham.

I''d like to know (in all seriousness) off all the players signed by Championship clubs this summer , which ones are you suggesting we should have signed ? Excluding Jerome as we blew our ''huge signing'' budget on Earnie.

[ZLF 335]

If there is no one better than we have why were we so uncompetetive last season?

[Ulf Ottosson 0]

But why sign players who aren''t good enough in June or July why not make sure we get the right player the timing is irrelevant  - the last season we had with a quiet summer was when we won promotion only one player was signed Damien Francis - who had a real difference to the team.

It seems people are wanting players for the sake of it I mean we could have got Dean Marney but he wasn''t good enough to take the team forward so why sign him.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="Konstantin Pobedonostsev"]

Who would YOU buy who is A) affordable B) available C) wanting to come D) good enough???

If we can''t improve the squad don''t waste the money. Shouldn''t we have learned this from last summer?

[/quote]

Well as I said:

There seems to be a complete lack of creativity in the targets we are told about, they all seem to be championship players. Where are the possible cheaper talents spotted by our scouts in the lower leagues? (Dave Kitson was 150,000 + add ons, where were we??)  Where are the overseas players?

As for not improving the squad!!  well we finished 9th last year, if our club cant find players meeting criteria A, B, C and D then whomever is responsible for finding players should be sacked!!

A side better than us: Coventry have strengthened, a side just below us: Cardiff have strengthened - unyet we are unable to?

[jetstream 0]

I agree with PR on this one

It''s not a case of signing someone "for the sake of it". The squad is wafer thin and come December when the injuries start to mount up and the games are coming thick and fast, Mr Worthington will bemoan the inevitable injury crisis and Mr Doncaster will use it as an excuse for the team not reaching the giddy heights of the play-off lottery.

You need "bodies" to compete when you''re playing Tues/Sat, Tues/Sat. I find it hard to believe there aren''t players out there who are not equal to our current squad and the inexperienced youngsters (who also deserve a go but will probably only feature as bit-part players).

I think the current squad numbers 26 inc MLJ and Green, neither of whom are available any time soon. 

Presumably the Club have a list of targets they are interested in. If so, what are they waiting for?

I think the real reason is more to do with waiting to see if Green can still be sold to generate funds for a late splash on a couple of targets (and/or to pay off Worthington should the start of the season go badly). Though why there should be no transfer budget if Green is not sold is a mystery to us all considering the season-ticket sales and all the additional revenue the Club generates, plus land sales/hotel income and wages saved by the likes of Charlton leaving etc etc etc. (I know it ain''t simple but.....)

[The Fish Seller 0]

[quote user="Paul Rankin"]

 

The only clubs left to make a signing are Ipswich, Derby, Wolves and ourselves.

 

[/quote]

 And Wolves have just signed Gary Breen, so that''s just us Ipswich and Derby. Ipswich are trialling Algerian International Menhiri, and Derby are actively pursuing Pearson from Celtic........

Surely by taking on loan players last pre season and again in January, that was an admittance by the club that we were under strength for a Championship campaign so why no action a full year later????

[beelsie 0]

The rescources that will be made available to buy players will not require much time to spend, IMO there will be 1 purchase and two loanies at most, let''s hope they will be players that fit in the right places.  With respect we will make a better show if we train what we have to go out and play competitive football, after all they are supposed to be the remnants of a side destined for promotion on last years books. For me a side that performs to it''s potential is worth supporting.  For two seasons we just went through the motions.

[beelsie 0]

D o Norfolk!!  with respect you seem to be of the mind that someone want''s to come here to rescue our football club,  and before you are able to decide what the present share holders should do with the excess shares that you have decided they own.  Perhaps you and others should consider and making a couple of million available so that you can make a collective offer.

What precisely have Delia done, that they should apologise to us fans, apart from making their personal wealth available to prop up a club in financial ruin.  They have been entitled to draw an income from the shares that they hold.  The same way that you and I can do the same by investing in football or in bonds etc.  If we think it''s money that is required it is quite possible for the club to make a new share issue with voting rights available and they can be purchased on the stock market, also I feel sure that if the financial brains of the club thought that they would get a take up of a new share issue at present mkt/value, do you not think that they would do so.

You say that new busines people who are ambitious and sensible should be found to avail us of their skills,  I think those types were at that level of expertise at Leeds and Ipswich and still are to a lesser degree; with all due respect for your ambitions your concept is pie in the sky!!!.  I also think that personal emotion has got in the way of logic in your case.