Iwan

[Greeno For England! 0]

Iwan Roberts is now writing his name into the history books of another side.

Does anyone feel that he could have done a job for us this season?

I personally believe that we are going to be the side that can put up the strongest fight in what, we have to expect to be a relegation battle.

Now im not saying that i think we will go down but if you look to the future then going down would not be a bad thing aslong as we could hold on to some of our key signings and players.

And if you think that you are going to have to fight for survival then if it does come then it isnt a shock and if it doesnt then its a sign that all has gone well at FCR.


"...people will remember what was written and who''s said what. People will remember."

[AJ 1,359]

ive said it all along:

We let him go a season too early

(although seven is a lucky number i spose............)

[king of latvia 0]

i felt a little bit sorry for iwan he should of been given another season.

[nycanary 1]

i wholeheartedly agree.

for a number of reasons:

a. he''s playing for gillingham. his salary demands cant have been that high
b. he was 1 of only 2 big strikers. why not keep him
c. any young players would continue learning from him
d. he could have joined the coaching staff at teh end of this season
e. a reward for his service to play in the premiership
f. sense of continuity. additional team spirit in the locker room

i''m sure there are more reasons but i think we should have kept him. definitely.

i''m not sure he would do any better than sven....actually i''m pretty certain that he wouldn''t...but that doesn''t mean we shouldn''t have kept him.

[alex_ncfc 686]

Although i''ve thought all along that Iwan should of been given an extension to his contract (as reward for finally helping us into the Premiership) I now find it odd how many people say we are missing him, as I recall lots of fans spent a lot of last season saying how he wasn''t upto it, and would be no good in the Premier League (not that i''m accusing any of the above posters of saying this! Just making a point) Personally, although obviously all things must come to an end, i''d of liked to of seen Iwan get another year, but never mind, what''s done is done and we have to look to the future and surviving in the Prem (which we will of course :)

[olster 0]

like i said in many other posts he knew how to hold the ball up front something i am sorry to say sven seems to be missing in his game

[stan the man 0]

If any of you have read Iwans book "all i want for christmas" you would know that after games and for a few days after, his body was really hurting. He would never keep up with the pace of the premiership. Don''t get me wrong he''s a bloody good player, but he is scoring goals at a level in which he is comfortable. Mckenzie is the man with the answers for me with his pace and natural ability. and svensson will get better with time. Yes i think we do need another front man, to give more competition for places and to keep the players in the team on their toes. OTBC

[ZLF 335]

I will have to spoil everyones party - I think worthy timed his decision exactly the right in letting Iwan go this season. At 26 he wasnt going to improve and for most of last season it was obvious that he was only going to be a bit contributor in Div 1 - at prem level that contribution was going to be even smaller.

I remember the clamour to get Iwan in for Sven in Jan/Feb which quickly died away when we realised just how much better Sven was, proved by the terrific contribution he made in the run in.

I would much rather remember his for his celebrations at Gresty Road than poor performances this season.

OTBC

[blacko 0]

I agree with both Stan and Zipper, nostalgia comes into this too much for me. Our opinions are also often swayed by the fact he has scored a couple of goals. Good luck to him I hope he scores a bagfull. If you look at the Gillingham match report, apart from the goal, he only gets one mention. Hardly what you would expect from a premiership player.

Lets remember him for the good times.

[Saint Canary 0]

Lets be realistic, we all loved Iwan but it was time for him to leave even if we all hoped that he could stay in some sort of player/coach role. NW made what I believe to be the right choice, lets not forget how many people were calling for him to be dropped after the Everton game last season.

[Hayden 0]

Have to chip in here and agree with Zipper and some of the other guys on this one. Iwan did his time but could not really hack it in the Premiership at his age. He''s scored a couple for the Gills but his ratings in those games have been 6''s and he is also subbed. Norwich City are now a Premiership team and need to have a Premiership squad, and an investment in giving Svensson Premiership pitch minutes to improve his game is much more valuable to the club in the long term. I personally would like to see Matty run himslef into the ground and then bring on Leon to stir it up a bit. Sorry Iwan and some of my fellow posters, we have to move on, no matter how great the big man was

[bananaman 0]

I''m also on the the "let him go" side.

His record over the past two seasons - and sadly, a lot of his performances too - were well below the standard required for Div 1, let alone the Premiership.

He appeared to have lost the motivation required to get into the box and get his head on ball coming in. At Gillingham, they play a totally different style of football (more suited to Iwan) but they won''t get promoted like that.

Also this rubbish - and it is rubbish - about Iwan "holding the ball up" is harking back to his bygone days. Over the last two seasons, all he did was foul his man or fall over forwards looking for a free kick. When we brought Sven in, a whole new dimension appeared towards the end of last season.

[Northern Canary 0]

If we hadnt have been promoted, then yeah he should have stayed. But i dont think he could have managed it in the premiership

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Yup, I''m with the ''sad to see him to go, but it had to be'' lot. He''s not really got the legs for the 1st Div now, let alone the Prem, and he would have needed to be subbed in every game.

No, better to go out on a high than to stay past your sell-by date.

[Worthy Nigelton<br><br><br><br><br>Evening News Sports Page Headline 8th August 2007:<br><br>Henderson joins Dereham Town. 0]

I to, am on the "the time was right for him to go" side of this argument. But I don''t agree that he couldn''t hold the ball up anymore. I personally think he was still winning headers and holding the ball up well last season - but he wouldn''t have the all round game to be able to cope with the Premiership.

Not that I think Sven has, because I don''t think he looked particularly good last season and that was playing for a top of the table side in Div 1. In the Premiership Sven is going to struggle I''m afraid. The guy tries hard, but wins very little in the air doesn''t hold the ball up very well and isn''t prolific in the scoring stakes either. We need a new forward......or better still just give Leon a run in the side, everytime he gets a game he looks like scoring and he''s better in the air than Sven anyway!!

[bananaman 0]

I think a lot of people on this board (and beyond) seems unable to understand this plain fact: There are NOT only two types of striker, the small fast guy, and the tall bruiser who wins flicks.

If there was, then how do you explain Raul, Bergkamp, Crespo, Gudjonssen, Di Canio and probably many more that I can''t think of??

There are also creative players, called playmakers. Playmakers aren''t always midfielders. This is the category Svensson fits into. Everyone here seems to think he''s gap-toothed and Welsh but he''s NOT. He''s a totally different player, and wasn''t bought as a target man.

And when you see him in the playmakers role - knock offs, through balls, intricate one-twos etc - then you see him as he should be used. He''s not supposed to be trying to get his quiff on a Fleming hooooof, nor is he supposed to be kicking lumps out of opposing defenders. His effect is deadly alongside players who make runs, and a midfield that gets forward.

Even though he had an off-game on Saturday, it is down to Nigel to use Svensson properly and to get the best out of him. And down to the fans to realise that Sven is a good player with a lot of creative potential for our team.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I honestly don''t believe he would have cut it in the Prem. As much as I love Iwan i think it was the right decision for the club and the player to let him go. It seems he''s thriving down at Gillingham and good luck to him.

keep the faith

[DONT REMEMBER YOUR TENURE AS ENGLAND MANAGER 0]

Iwan, what a legend, love and miss him dearly, and so pleased he is doing the biz for the Gills, who are defo my team for div one. I think we need to be patient with Sven, he deserves a chance and lets be fair he did show plenty of class for us last season. The goal against Wigan was amazing. I do agree with Dumbledelia and i don''t think Iwan would have cut in the prem, a few years ago would have been different, and i would have loved to have seen it happen

[JayM 0]

Am I right in saying that he is on the verge of another goal milestone? Something like 200 or 300 career goals. I''m sure if he had got his 100th for us he would have broken another record at the same time. Or did I imagine this?

[Intenso 0]

Before Saturday''s game Rodney Marsh was saying the fact that Hucks only scored 14 goals last season in the old Nationwide was not good enough for the Premiership. By that reckoning Iwan Roberts has not been good enough for the last three seasons. Let''s be honest, in a career of seventeen seasons, he has only played a handful of games in the top divsion.