Roberts 1 more year or not

[Del-Boy 0]

Its the big talking point between me and my friends,Should Norwich give Iwan a years contract or not.
I don''t think we should offer him just a playing contract,maybe player/coach or even player/youth team manager but if he only wanted to continue playing i would let him go.
I remember reading he wanted to end his playing days in wales and by joining the coaching team at city it would be the first step in ending his playing days,so i think this is his last few games in a city shirt.

On The Ball City

[Ali Bunkall 0]

I agree. What a servant for the club, a real inspiration but time to detach ourselves from sentimentality...he isn''t good enough for the Prem. A coaching role might be good though. I however have no idea what he is/would be like as a coach so don''t feel qualified to comment. If he was to go academy direction he''d better be good. Our YTS is excellent and we must maintain those standards.

[0Amarillo<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>ddMMyyyy0Falseen-US<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>True 0]

Sadly, no.

Iwan has been superb for the last few years, but I don''t think he''d cut it in the first division next year, let alone the Prem. It would be great to see him stay at City in some other capacity, but not as a player.

Ama

[Jet heeled frontman 0]

Much as it pains me, I have to agree with the comments here. Iwan has been absolutely great for us but I really dont think he is up to Prem level.

[Jonzey 0]

The only question you have to ask yourself is:

Is Roberts good enough to play in the Premiership?

The answer is quite obviously no. He''s a legend and will always be remembered for being a great player, but let''s be realisitc. He''s history now and shouldn''t play for Norwich for the same reasons as Fleck, Peters, Goss etc; he got old.

I say send him to Peterborough or Cambridge to have a year or two more playing, meanwhile earning his coaching badges. Then he can come back to Norwich to coach if he''s got the ability.

[FatMan Fat 0]

Iwan is not good enough for a playing contract, but we should retain him in some other category - coach, youth development, scout or whatever. Without doubt he is an inspirational guy and could still do a job for us, but not as a player :-(]

[Ayrton Twigge 0]

There is no point in leaving.

He is genuinely too slow now for D1 - why drop to even lower division(s) - pay would be less, would have little fan affinity after Carrow Rd, risk of getting clattered - and who wants a gradual fade out.

Instead he should stay. But not to play.

His hold up play has actually improved as he''s lost his speed. And he''s mega-canny. Let him transfer that know how to the current 1st team strikers as well as reserves - remember we''re in higher company there now - and the academy. While he''s doing that he can "study" for a coaching badge.

He''s inspirational to have around, a great example. Sure he''ll have to take a pay cut - but ultimately it''ll benefit him for his later career, and the club too.

[NMTD 0]

Yep - I''m a big Roberts fan but I don''t think he can cut it now - certainly not full time (Pay as you play maybe??)

I would definately like to see him have a role at the club somehow.

We managed to do that for Gunny (after a brief gap)....

We have the Gunn Club, The 59''ers (I bet their glad they didn''t have that run in 1969 ;-) - whats happening in the South Stand? There must be a role for him somewhere even if he doesn''t want to coach.

If he does want to coach - what better place to start that in the Youth setup. If he wants to carry on playing then I''m sure there would be several offers.

We must not forget his goalscoring contribution over the wilderness years that basically kept us in the 1st Div single handed - if he does leave a testamonial IS A MUST.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

What about a month to month rolling contract? That way we could see if he can cut it. If not we could give him other options, coaching or if he wants to leave for another club.

[Tumbleweed 106]

In another thread I have been advocating another year for sentimental reasons, but the suggestion of a month to month contract would be good. Realistically he is not going to be given even a regular 20 or 30 minutes at the end of any games.

Rather than sign off away at Crewe a week Sunday can Nigel not at least let him say his goodbyes at a high profile home match at the start of next season even if he is not offered a contract (he could always be loaned back to us for that one game if he plays elsewhere).

I can think of nothing better than allowing the old fella to come on for the last couple of minutes at home to Arsenal or Man Utd and get a standing ovation.

[Archie 0]

or a pay as you play contract,and also minute related,as he usually only plays 5 minutes.i do think it would be a great pity just to let him go.we do need a bit of depth

[blacko 0]

I have heard a rumour that its all arranged- he is off to America to play there. Good sauce too (but so is HP)

[westoncanary. 0]

DD, I agree with you. We should reward his loyalty in some way. It could upset the team spirit if we were just to offload him. I am sure he would love the chance to see if he could cut
it himself, although even he will know he may not be 1st choice.
He has been a legend for us over the years and shouldn''t be discarded. I know football is a business but sometimes the heart SHOULD rule the head.
OTBC

[Goss-pel 0]

I think we should resign him on a one game contract for the first home game of next season and give him the last 20 minutes and the biggest standing ovation carrow road has ever seen.
Iwan for Prime Minister!!!!

[ZLF 271]

Not - use the wages to attract a high profile midfielder instead.

I know he hasnt been here 10 years but could we use one of the coming pre-seasons friendlys as a testamonial to the phenomenal contribution he has made over the last few years and give him the farewell he deserves?

IWAN IWAN IWAN

OTBC

[Intenso 0]

To give Iwan Roberts a testamonial after only seven years would be totally unfair on many far better players who have played for Norwich in the past on a fraction of his earnings.
Let''s be fair his first season was a disaster and in the last two he has only scored thirteen goals.
Time does not stand still for anybody, especially 36 year old footballers.

[stumpy 0]

Big Iwan has been a fantastic ambassador for our club over the years, but we have to be realistic, he''s not in the first flush of youth. So, rather than him languishing in the reserves, getting released to a lower division team, or fading into obscurity, lets hope that the club can offer him some kind of post, similar to that of Gunny. It''s the least the big man deserves.
Cymru am byth, Iwan y grau! ( as we say in the valleys)

[ByeByeBinners 0]

Now i may be new to this message lark,but after sitting here week after week reading all of your interesting posts (some are dam right mad though),i feel it is time for me to put my 2 pennies woth in.Hopefully i will add to your enjoyment every week over the coming season in The Premiership.The last post i was reading was about Roberts....What a diamond geezer eh!There is no way on this earth that he should play for City ever again.Oh yes he was above average in his day,but not great and has obviously deteriated over the last few seasons.

Remember the Play Off Final? I do,and still to this very day i feel that if we would have beat the Brummies if we had a striker who could run faster than my Nan.It was end to end stuff in exta time but all we could really do was sit back on our lead and boot the ball up to Mr Slow Coach himself,hence losing posession on enough ocasions until the gits scored!It really is time he left City in every capacity and take a trip to Snetterton Market and buy himself one of those 3 wheeled Granny Shoppers.Obviously the speed will be a bit frightening at first Robert,but you will get use to it i promise!

Ah speed..now i remember what around them,you know a bit like when you played footie with your dad and every nown again i was gonna write about.Now who can honestly put hand on heart and say that Fleming and Malky will be able to make the cut in the Prem?Its only this season that Flem has learnt how to kick or pass the ball to one of our players instead of trying to knock the burgers and drinks out of fans hands!Yes they are fine defenders,defending against fairly average attackers most weeks in Div 1 with the exception of a few players. Have any of you been to colney and seen the lads training?Well i have on a few ocasions and have seen Hucks running rings he would forget he''s kicking a footie with a 4 yr old and pretended he was Hirst in 66! I hope i am very wrong about them,but when you see the star studded teams in the Prem it sends a horrible cold shiver shooting down my spine!But what the hell,who cares we got Green who can kick the ball out to Holt,he can run 30yrds and feed Hucks who can maze his way through the Prems defence and score.Easy as that lol.

My predictions for next season,McKenzie will be outstanding,Green will be Englands No 1 and City for a top 10 finish!

[Goss-pel 0]

Without commenting on a new contract for Iwan I feel I have to take issue with byebyebinners analogy of Iwan. He may not be the fastest striker in world but strikers don''t always need speed. A striker who can hold up the ball and add strength is often imperative. Hence Svensson and Huckerby make a better combination than Huckerby and McKenzie. Hence Sheringham and Heskey and Duncan Ferguison have always had crucial roles to play for club and country. You can''t just play two speed demons together and hope to keep posession up front. I also think u will find that it was not Iwans fault we conceded in the play-off final. Firstly he scored our goal, incase u forgot and secondly he was left to a lost cause on his own up front as we took off our other frontman and started to defend too deep. It was not because he was too slow that Birmingham equalised, but because the whole teams tactics were wrong.

[irishcanary 0]

I would move Iwan to a coaching role. He is know longer fit for Div 1, let alone the Prem. Not sure of the American deal, but i understand Colchester Utd are interested.