Midfielder Julien Brellier joins for two years

[Web Team - Vince 0]

http://www.canaries.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetails/0,,10355~1066393,00.html

[Block E Buh 0]

He''s a good player, strong in the tackles, very similar to Safri!

[alex_ncfc 686]

Anymore? Anymore?

[:p]

[Hotdog 0]

hopefully Grant didn''t put a buy out clause in his contract lol

[First Wizard 0]

Nice one Peter, I''m really pleased with this new signing, welcome Julien and the best of British/French mate!.

[canaryjock 0]

Very good signing that one I reckon. Obviously living in Scotland I watch a lot of the football up here and he was arguably Hearts'' best player when they finished 2nd in the SPL. For a freebie that''s a right bargain IMO. [:)]

[ricardo 8,033]

Well that takes care of the decent midfielder I was looking for.

Now where''s the centre back and big forward?

[breaker2 0]

a very good signing, shows Grants awareness that the defence needs more protection, and Brellier seems to fit the bill. About time we had our very own ''ard nut.

[gfresh 0]

Looks like a good un to me judging from the searchs me done.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article576476.ece

 

Julien Brellier (born 10 January 1982, in Echirolles) is a French professional footballer currently playing for Norwich City. He is a defensive midfielder who plays just in front of the back four.

Brellier started his career at French club Montpellier and was recruited by Italian giants Internazionale Milan in 2000. He made a limited number of appearances with Inter and was loaned out to Lecco and Legnano before joining Venezia, initially under a co-ownership agreement. He played part of the 2004-05 season with Salernitana and was released in May 2005. He was given a trial by Hearts, where he impressed manager George Burley and was signed on a two year deal by the Edinburgh side in August. ^[1]

Brellier quickly became a firm favourite with the Hearts fans: his unspectacular, diligent covering role in midfield allowing fellow midfielders Paul Hartley and Rudi Skácel greater attacking freedom, from which they scored a combined total of 30 league goals during the 2005-06 season. By the latter part of that season a giant French flag, with the words "Le Juge" emblazoned across it, became a regular spectacle at Hearts'' home stadium Tynecastle, while the crowd took to singing his name to the tune of Verdi''s La donna è mobile.

Despite Brellier being one of the most popular players at Tynecastle, it was frequently reported in the media that Hearts'' owner Vladimir Romanov did not share the supporters'' high opinion of him. ^[2] After the signing of Bruno Aguiar Brellier was used more often as a substitute and, in an April 2006 interview, he suggested he was unhappy with the treatment he had received. ^[3] However in June 2006 it was confirmed that Brellier had agreed to extend his stay with Hearts until 2007. ^[4]

The 2006-07 season continued in a similar vein to the previous year for Brellier, with the Frenchman starting less than half of Hearts'' games. His cause was not helped by a controversial sending-off in the Maroons Champions League qualifying round defeat to AEK Athens ^[5] Following much speculation during the season, in May 2007 it was confirmed that he would leave Hearts, after rejecting a final contract offer.^[6]

On the 14th of June, Brellier''s agent, the brother of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona, confirmed that the player was in talks over a possible move to Rangers, however he signed for Norwich on 3 July.

 

[blacko 0]

Why was he "in and out of the side "though?

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTHm8YL4Ny4

 

lol this guy looks a right hard nut!!

[king of latvia 0]

a great signing lets hope 1 or 2 more signings.

 

[gary 0]

He looks streets ahead of Safri  from teh You Tube clips I have seen bites into tackles and actually lets them know he is there - Safri never does that - grow a beard and we have the new Trevor Hockey  

[blahblahblah 2]

He sounds ideal for the rough and tumble of the Championship !  About time we had some decent cover in front of the defence.  Coupled with Marshall at the back, I think we''ll see Shack and Doc back to their old selves.  Unless there are defenders yet to arrive of course...

[Freeza 0]

Grant is doing a top job at the moment as far as i''m concerned and seems to know exactly what he wants his team to look like!

Well done boys and girls at FCR, let''s have a few more like this!

Welcome to Norfolk Julien Brellier, let''s hope he''s a lot better than our last French midfield maestro, Jean-Yves De Blaisis anybody??!!

[mbncfc 1]

I find it very interesting that a lot of people are saying this is the kind of player we need and have been missing, yet expressing that Safri should stay.

I expect Safri to have left by the end of the week, which would mean we would need another midfielder.

That said, I think this is an excellent signing and I''m still happy with the way things are going so far. If we can get a Striker (preferably Dave the) and Marshall in, we''ll be getting close IMO.

[DONT REMEMBER YOUR TENURE AS ENGLAND MANAGER 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTHm8YL4Ny4

 

lol this guy looks a right hard nut!!

[/quote]

 

This clip really makes this to be a very good signing. However we need to keep Safri, as whats been lacking in this squad is competition which I feel has led to some very lacklustre peformances. Players should never be guarenteed their starting place, breeds complacency.

Great signing, well done Norwich, Grant and Duffy in particular

[breaker2 0]

Romanov makes all the players he doesnt like, bit part players-christ even Craig Gordon got left out of their team.

Marshall, central defender (Mirfin or Baptiste) and Strikahacavajkaa(huh?) and we should be looking pretty good.

[In the blood 0]

Just seen the youtube clip; whats French for ''thou shalt not pass''?

[Cobain18 0]

My only concern is that in those clips you see him tackle from behind on the edge of his box and give away dangerous free kicks

[Ivana_rubyatitz 6]

An excellent piece of news as we need to strenghten at the back because one of the main reasons we have struggled over the last three years has been we have simply conceded goals too easily due to opposition midfielders not being tracked back.  Some competition for Safri and Etuhu can only be helpful therefore as it will enable the midfield to take some of the pressure off our overworked centre backs.  If we can sort out the Marshall deal and also get a new CB in as well, we start to have the look of a side with a reasonable spine to it IMO.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="gary "]He looks streets ahead of Safri  from teh You Tube clips I have seen bites into tackles and actually lets them know he is there - Safri never does that - grow a beard and we have the new Trevor Hockey  [/quote]

Safri was always going in on the tackle!!!  He may have been our most booked player!!

[Hotdog 0]

yeh that youtube video shows he is the exact player we need, he''s not afraid to stick his foot in and will stop play at whatever cost, seal the deal of Marshall get in another centre back another midfielder get that czech guy and one more striker preferably eastwood and we will have a strong team challenging for next year

[macdougalls perm 0]

I have to say that I''m pleased with what Grant/Duffy etc have been doing in this transfer market - now bring on the solid central defender and Marney (if Safri is to leave, which I hope he isn''t). Them with David Marshall, David Strahivka and a returning and fit Chadwick  and we would be close to looking strong all over the pitch, imo. Keep it up Grant!   

[canaryjock 0]

Brellier was in and out of the Hearts team because the rumour was he fell out with Romanov, who was picking the team (allegedly!). That and he isn''t Lithuanian! He was a fans favourite at Tynecastle and the fans were angry at him getting left out of the side for no apparent reason. Very good signing I think.

[Web Team - Vince 0]

Some not-so-positive comments at the bottom of this story -http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1024092007

[DisorientatedCanary 0]

[quote user="Cobain18"]My only concern is that in those clips you see him tackle from behind on the edge of his box and give away dangerous free kicks[/quote]

 

wouldnt worry, if the ball is on the edge of the box The Doc will have already bear hugged them to the floor [;)]. although it would seem he went to the Roy Keane school for anger management, who''s moto is clearly ''If its not broke, smash it from behind''.

[Pyro Pete 2,353]

Intriguing signing. Never heard of him personally. But at least Grant is starting to make the team his own. Whether that''s a good thing remains to be seen.

[James Kent 0]

Yes he is just what we need top quality buy.

[ca 1]

Great news, he seems to have a reputation as a hard tackling midfielder which is just what we need.

4 new players and maybe Marshall & Czech lad to come.

 

I''m well happy [:D]