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Mook

Huckerby out

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I only put that title to get people to read this - sorry!

I have often pointed out NCFC fans love a good problem, and we are generating one ourselves right now.

When the loanees came, we were ABSOLUTELY assured that we could not afford them permanently. They cost £400,000 in three months WAGES ALONE, and we could not even afford Connolly at half of that asking price.

The loanees are here to help our squad learn and grow, and to gain us valuable points in the race for promotion. They aren''t, and NEVER WERE a permanent thing. The board were totally correct to get them here, they have woken the team up and proved NW''s management skills are top class. And they have gained us god knows how many points!

What I''m saying is - STOP IT! We ALL knew they wouldn''t be staying, but now everyone is making out like we can magic up some money and buy them - if it''s not possible, then IT''S SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE. Just accept it. We still have numerous possibilities of other loanees, and our season is going swimmingly so far. If NW and the board got it right this time, then what''s to say they won''t get it right again in early 2004?

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Maybe they will, perhaps the players we did have will have learned a thing or two from the masterstroke of getting in three loan players at once. Maybe we will be surfing the crest of a wave brought about by the board taking such a great gamble.

Maybe we''ve already done the best thing for our team...

And that''s the same maybe that can be applied to - "maybe" we will get promoted if we spend a billion pounds on one new player...

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Fair point Mook but surely if we go out and get other premiership players in to replace Hucks & co, we will be paying pretty much the same in wages as we are now, I know with Hucks it''s a combination of his fee + wages but think of this scenario for a second - we bring in 3 other loan signings for the next 3 months [costing 400k], they dont fit in, they don''t have the same impact in fact they flop altogether, the team starts to lose it''s momentum and we finish 8th.

You don''t have to stretch your imagination too far to see such an occurence.

Personally I would forget Harper, let him go and fully concentrate on keeping Huckerby and Crouch, we probably have the best strike partnership in div 1, they would also be good enough for the premiership when/if we get there!!

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Are you related to a politician? You seem to talk a good story but seem to forget the reality of the situation.If all 3 loan players return in Dec who will you play up front,who will set up the goals and score them and who will set the crowd alight.We must grab this opportunity with both hands,they dont come along too often!

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I may be a dull bore (!) but I think on this occassion it is you that has forgotten the reality of the situation. See my post re wages too - what''s gonna happen when the squad find out Hucks wages???? Holt, Mullers, Greeno, Drury, Little Paul are all gonna want BIG BIG rises!

We definitely can''t afford that too.

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You''re absolutely right Mook, these players will be wanting pay rises. However, I think they all realize that the only way of obtaining this is by either getting City promoted or leaving for pastures new. With Huckerby and Crouch in the side promotion is a real possibility, nobody can deny that. Without them, will moral drop?

I think it will - and we could then see a drop in performance, which in turn will lead to unrest on the terraces, resulting in another mid-table finish and a half empty new stand.

If some people insist the club should be run as a profitable company (are they accountants?!), Greeno and any other talented players would have to be sold to balance the books.

As far as I know, there''s only one football club in the world run as a successful business (and we all know who that is) - so why should we be frightened about being a little bit more in debt ???

Let''s get real - the banks aren''t going to ''pull the plug'' on every club in the land who are in debt. If they do, we''ll all be watching Chelsea (who aren''t yet a successful business) vs Man Utd on Sky every week!!!!!!!!!

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I''m sure the squad are well aware of Hucks wages! However if he helps to get them in the Premier they will all benefit money wise which is why I guess several of them have said they would like him to stay!

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Mook is right to introduce a sanity check here, by having three loanees here the excitement levels have been raised and we would all like to dream (me included) that we could actually make one or more of them permament. It does seem virtually certain however that they will all return, maybe with Crouch coming back for the rest of the season on loan. Trouble is that they have so tangibly transformed the team that going back to what we had before now seems quite unappealing. NW has always said that we lack strength in depth and has always wanted to strengthen the squad. So far he has done a good job with one or two exceptions but the danger is that we slip back into long ball mediocrity.

A very valid point was made above that when all three loanees return what happens next? NW could spend the remainder of the loan budget (has Munby said how much is left?) on 2 or 3 others who have no impact at all. How many Darren Huckerbys are there who would be prepared to come to Norwich for a few months? Not many I bet. After a month or so the buzz will have worn off and we may start slipping back. Once the momentum is lost it is very diffcult to get it back.

This is a key point in the club''s history. The nearest thing I can recall is when we went out of Europe and Mike Walker wanted to invest in the team to continue the progress we had made. It was obvious then that we had a good season before and up to the Milan games, but with a shoestring squad it was not going to last. No investment was made, Mike went to Everton, Fox and Sutton were sold too and we are still paying the price.

Our Board are sensible and balanced. The club is in good hands. Even if no move is made for Hucks I just hope that they examine every last possible financial structure and each nook and cranny before ruling it out. The next 5 years or so could all hinge on what happens in the next 30 days.

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