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Pincer

Where do we need to strengthen???

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I''ve seen lots of threads posted recently stating who we''d like to see and who Mr Worthington should buy and I can understand it in the era of excitement, but let''s face it there are hundreds of players who, if we put some thought into it, would spring to mind. Some of the names already mentioned have bordered on ridiculous eg Ray Parlour and Tomas Radzinski (I can elaborate if you really want me to but I shouldn''t have to explain why they wont come here).

My personal view is not who we should sign but which areas need strengthening:

Centre Half - One thing that worries me is that, at present, no member of our regular back 5 has any Premiership experience (not sure about Edworthy), and although Malky and Flem have done an awsome job this year there''s not a lot of pace between the two and I fear they will get caught out big style in the Premiership (did you see the race between Malky and Ricardo Fuller on Saturday?) I think a centre half with Premiership experience and with more pace that Malky and Flem is a must.

Right Back - Very short of cover there and I have my doubts whether Edworthy will cut it next season, I hope i''m wrong though because he''s done well for us this season.

Midfielder - The permanent signing of Kevin Cooper would ease my concerns in this area but I just feel we''re slightly short of a creative midfielder in the Ian Crook mold, although there''s not too many players like him around. It will also be interesting to see which formation that Worthy decides to opt for next season. If he sticks to the formation he finsihed this season with I think we''d be ok (Hucks on the left/free role), but I have a feeling he''ll tighten up revert back to a rigid 4-4-2, then a creative midfielder is a must.

Striker - Tricky to predict this, personally I think the strikers we have at present (Hucks, Leon, Sven) will do a job next year but with the loss of "The Big Man" and to bolster the squad I think we need another striker. Not easy to find someone who will guarantee you Premiership goals though. Also, it will be interesting so see how Jarvis developes over the next season because I truely believe he''s going to be a star.

I really believe if we can get 4 good players to strengthen these areas we have a good chance of staying up next season.

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I think Edworthy and Flemming both have a little premiership experience, although i think this was from the first season of the premiership and we all know how much it has changed over the years. A reserve keeper is also a must or do you think young lewis could do a job at such a young age. Everthing else you say i agree with. These are the players i think could do the job for us.

Goalkeeper- Marcus Hannerman or Thomas Mhyre. Both are currently second choice keepers at Reading and Sunderland.

Centre Half- Darren Purse/Chris Riggot

Right Back- Very tricky this one but i feel Edworthy could still do a job especially if he has a hard working midfielder in front of him (cooper)

Midfielder- Bryan Hughes from Birmingham has been told he can leave. Hardworking, creative and scores goals as well.

Striker- Ricardo fuller. Looked a real handful saturday but i fear will be too expensive. David Bentley(season loan). Dean Ashton.

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A good summary Pincer.

Up front I feel we need 4 strikers to cover injuries/suspensions and loss of form. I too think three we have currently can do a good job for us - Sven has a good touch and holds the ball up well if played to him well enough whilst Leon and Hux have excellent mobility, directness and an eye for a goal. How much we would miss Hux if injured may be the key. However the addition of Bentley Crouch or Ricketts/Campbell if possible would give us good options up front. For me Hux has to play as an outright striker.

All of these players would benefit from a Crooky type player and I think he will be harder to spot than the 4th striker. Of the names mentioned so far Oliseh & Pettit could do that job but it would depend on whether their heart is in it - I suspect not for both. As I have said elsewhere Cooper would be good for the squad but if I was Wolves I would not let him leave without a good sized fee in which case we can probably pick up better for the cash. Wide right would be an issue and feel that we need more cover here. Pennant might sound fanciful but must be worth a conversation with Wenger.

Defensively I thought we were shocking against Preston - one of the worst displays of the season. Play like that in the premier and we will be pick off and it was pace that caused us problems. However I accept that the party atmosphere may have got to the players. I accept that we will not be playing Henry or Owen every week but most premier teams have a striker with blistering pace and we need to be able to deal with this effectively - our defensive options can not. At least 1 centre back with pace, probably 2, and a right back are needed during the close season. Andy Griffin & Dominic Matteo are the sort of players we should be looking at - experienced, looking for a club & with something to prove.

In addition we clearly need a reserve striker and like dumbledelias suggestion of the arsenal cover, if available.

As far as the youngsters are concerned, and depending on who we sign I can see Jarvis (he excites me more than Bentley) & shackell being loaned out for the season and Hendo staying here as utility cover.

OTBC

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All the names mentioned above sound good and i''d love to see them hear but I go back to my original point that there''s probably a hundred names that could be thrown into the hat. The problem is we don''t know how much Nigel will have to spend, how much these players will cost, will they come hear, who else is looking at them etc. We''ll just have to wait and see, i''m looking forward to all the transfer rumours over the next few months and I think between now and the start of next season could be the busiest time this message board has known, even busier than the ''Huckerby is he staying or going saga. Good luck Peter.

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Whilst its on the cards that some changes may have to be made to the team , I feel that this should be done when matches in the prem progress ! , the general mood on this board seems to be that the prem represents a huge jump in talent .......I dont think so ! ....... I hope Worthy keeps the same team that got us in the prem , let them acclimatise and adjust to any [ supposed ] difference in talent , and act when its obviously required .

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i don''t think norwich at present have one striker who could score more than 5 goals in the premiership next season,, before everyone gets upset look at the evidence, how many times have we seen darren huckerby in the premiership with coventry, leeds, and man city not produce good enough display, he is a very good 1st division player but hasn''t got what it takes to step up another level,
as for svensson, he never did it at charlton or palace, and mckensie has never played a premiership game before (although johnaton stead didn''t and look what he''s doing for rovers)

as for defenders we need a right back and a centre back with pace and premiership experience, maybe cash in on leicester sinking ship and get dabizas who has a relegation release clause and frank sinclair who could play right back

we also need creativity from midfield, someone who can give huckerby and partner the service they are going to need next season, i think the only reason middlesbrough survived this season is because they had juninho, mendieta and zendan

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Sheded - unfortunately we wont be able to buy as we go along next season - the transfer window closes, I think, at the end of August and stays shut until Jan 1st when it is open for one month only - this applies to loans as well as transfers. The only exception is that players could leave the club for nationwide sides.

As such we are playing to different rules and we have to get a squad together that can compete from day 1 of the season.

As far as difference in standard is concerned I agree that the gap is not as big as is frequently stated. What is more alarming is the difference in pace and organisation. That is why we need to strengthen the defence with a central player who has a bit of speed and bring is a ball player in the centre of the park who can control the ball and pass well to our front two. Without these our fate will follow that of Wolves and Leicester - who made the mistake of not really strengthening the squad by buying poor quality players, whereas Portsmouth knew they had to improve and bought in the likes of Stefanovich, Zivkovic, Berger & Smertin to take a solid Div 1 team on to one that has performed well in the premier and currently sits 14th and safe from relegation.

To not change at all would be a mistake - some prudent buys following the models used by Charlton, Portsmouth and Bolton has to be our way ahead.

OTBC
Champions of League Div 1 2003-04


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Good summery Pincer. I agree that we need to strengthen the areas you have mentioned but can I mention a couple more.

A reserve goalkeeper- I know a lot of people see it as a waste of money but lets just imagine if, on the 2nd September, Greeno is ruled out for the season. We''d have to play a 16 year old at least until Christmas. We could be as good as down if we lose a few and confidence sinks. I know it''s pretty unlikely and the worst case scenario, but stranger things have happened in football. I''d just feel safer knowing that someone with a bit of experience could step in.

2 midfielders- A central midfielder and a right sided one. I can''t see us going with 4-3-3 in the Prem, so that means we''d need a right sided midfielder. We''ve had a few goes this year with Rivers, Mulryne and Hendo. The perminant signing of Cooper would be good, but I''d rather get someone else in, perhaps only on loan. Obviously Jermaine Pennant is the ideal but don''t think we''ll get that lucky. Agreed about a creative midfielder though. I wouldn''t mind Petit, but I know a lot of people think he''s too old!

As for the target man here''s a player who hasn''t been mentioned yet but I think he is outstanding- Marlon Harewood. A superb striker. If West Ham didn''t go up, I don''t know what there financial situation would be. They might have to sell him?

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Some food for thought here......

http://www.football-rumours.com/dodgyarchives.html

NOTE: the top part of the page states that these are transfer rumours that have been sent in.

Actually if you follow some of the other links to rumours there some are quite eye opening. For example,

"Robert Green has been touted as the replacement for Lehman of Arsenal. With the young England keeper being brought to give competition for the position. (Rumour likelihood 40%) Fat Brian"

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I think the ''dodgyarticles'' bit of the web address gives it away. £800k on Danny Gabbidon and Andy Reid for a give away £3m up front - dont make me laugh!

The rumours have it that Nige will have between £5-8m to spend and they they spend all of t his on the players themselves - what about the wages - that will be included in the budget he is given...

OTBC

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We can''t stick with the same squad that got us promoted because:

A) As Zipper stated Nigel will have to contend with this ridiculous transfer window next season and won''t be able to see who can cut it and who can''t until January.

B) We''ll get murdered. One thing that I haven''t seen mentioned is that we''ve had a lucky season with regards to injuries, we haven''t really had any. If Hucks, Green, Holt, Flem had all been out for a few months I doubt very much we''d have been celebrating automatic promotion. Think what''ll happen next year if we don''t add to our squad and pick up some injuries, personally i''m trying not to.

Sorry DIM, forgot about the reserve keeper, which I agree is also a must.

So that''s 5 good players (inc reserve keeper) and I think we''ll be ok. I wouldn''t want to see too many more brought in as I believe it wouldn''t be good for team spirit. One thing we do have is a great team spirit and bringing in too many new faces at the same time may compromise that. The one thing that does worry me is who will be the leader of the dressing room now the Big Man has gone. He was a massive voice in the dressing room and he was also the leader when they all went out on town in the evenings. I can''t see anyone obvious to take over that mantle which to me is a big worry.

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I feel the question is whether we buy current premiership players simply because they have some kind of a track record of playing in the premiership, or whether we buy proven quality first division/foreign players who have the right attitude and committment.

Are Keown, Petit or Parlour going to be that much better than Gaardsoe, Tonge or Koumas?

Most first division teams have at least one very good player (Reid, Cahill, Carrick, Arca, Jagielka, Gray etc) most of whom would probably jump at the chance of playing premiership football and yet very few premiership clubs seem to be willing to take a chance. Norwich simply need a solid 14th/15th finish next season - the work ethic should just about achieve this with Hucks & Leon.

My choices: Kenton (unlikely I know but last week''s Premiership showed how good he is and he can cover for right back if necessary), Gaardsoe, Pennant, Tonge/Koumas & Crouch/Fuller. Probably nowhere near Nigel''s list (and Mr Megson won''t be too happy) but there we are - it''s a good game!

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Keown - why would we want to buy another aging (38 in July) defender? Sure he''s got Premiership experience but are there no younger defenders out there that are worth getting hold of.

Parlour - a bit younger with Premiership experience but he''s still 31 in July. Where are all the 20 something players we should be looking at?

Petit - a 34 year old in September. He may have the experience but do we really want to fill the squad with 30 somethings?

Pennant - yeah. Young eager and wanting to create an impression in order to get into his home squad. If we can get him on a season long loan then go for it.

Bentley - again a young player who is eager to create a good impression. Why not get him in for a season long loan. There was a post that noted his performance against Pompey was nothing special, but wasn''t that the sort of comment that was raised against Svensson when he first started?

I still believe our biggest need is at the back. Fleming and Mackay have a good understanding but can they stand the pace of the speedier Premiership forwards. That''s why I''d argue against Keown. I''d say look for a Matthew Upson sort of player.

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Yup ! I had forgotten the transfer window ........... does that ruling also apply to loans too ? .

As for Hux not being good enough for the prem , that is a complete red herring !! he scored a bagful at Coventry , but that ginger haired t**t strachan couldn`t see beyond his ego [ likewise keegan ! ] and realise that hux is not the kind to flourish by being over controlled .... and it says a lot about the calibre of the managers that Hux has had the misfortune to have had , that they were too stupid and rigid mentally to see , and accept , that they had a bit of a maverick free spirit on their hands , those control freaks were too besotted with their own concepts to take that on board .......... it is to Worthy`s credit that he allowed Hux to , more or less, do his own thing ..............

Can you tell me how a player can score goals when he`s sitting on the bench , or playing in the reserves ? Hux was hardly ever picked to play at Leeds [ now 1st div , heh heh ] , and the thanks he got for scoring the goals that booted Mancity into the prem was to be side lined by keegan just because he didn`t immediately score a hatful in the miserly few games he DID get to play ! .......... so he played in the reserves whilst keegan went loopy, buying a string of , over the top , " prem " players , causing Bernstein [ a steady hand on the financial tiller ] to storm off in disgust , but this didn`t phase keegan one iota ! still he ignored Hux whist his fav " striker " fowler blanked game after game after game, his ego would never allow him to drop this sack of expensive lard and bring back Hux , even selling him when the club were steadily dropping towards the relegation zone [ what a MANAGER !! ] the rest is history ....

We should concentrate on tightening up the defence ........ leaking goals demoralises a team , working from the back always gives the strike force a better motivation and service !

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Here''s a couple of names to throw into the mix, one of which has been mentioned elsewhere in the forum.

Stephen Caldwell (centre half @ Newcastle) - spent much of the season at Leeds on loan and has now returned to Newcastle. Struggled to get into the Newcastle side with Woodgate now there as top pick alongside Bramble. Maybe we can get him on loan?

Michael Bridges (striker @ Newcastle) - struggled with injuries but is now back in contention at Newcastle. However, looks like he''s getting nothing other than bench picks. Maybe he could be picked up on loan.

Chris Baird (fullback @ Southampton) - out of contract at end of season and has been at Watford (anyone see him?). Although has offer of new contract hasn''t had time to discuss it with new management.

Nick Barmby (midfield @ Leeds) - thought this one might generate some angst. With Leeds going down maybe he would consider a move back to a Premiership side. Might be a bit old though.

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