BroadstairsR 0 Posted April 18, 2010 In the days of yore it was commonplace for Norwich to attract many of the classiest players of the day, usually ex- internationals, who were prepared to play out their last few years at Carrow Road. The club benefitted, the playing style benefitted and the crowd was treated to real class on a weekly basis.More recently, Dion Dublin fulfilled this role, with great success. A list of these players includes: Peter Osgood, Joe Royle , Martin Chivers, Mick Channon, Martin Peters, Jimmy Neighbour and Martin O''Neill. Have I missed any?It doesn''t seem to happen much anymore. Probably because the wages gap has widened so much that these players prefer to see out their careers at their mother club. Sol Campbell''s recent move to Notts .County was probably just motivated by money.Star players are paid so much these days that they don''t need a pay-day in a lower league in any case..Ageing players remain fitter longer too these days and are discarded less easily from the (larger) squads that Premiership clubs now have.. The bunch I mentioned above had a somewhat mixed reputation for the high living. Even skinny Peters had put on some weight around the girth by the time he graced the Carrow Road turf regularly.Nevertheless, I can but drool when the likes of Ryan Giggs and the Neville bros. talk of retirng from the gane at 34. Scholes will be the next to leave the scene. Nevermind, Beckham seems determined to go on forever. Maybe we can get him one day. Posh would love shopping in the Castle Mal after all and there''s more than one decent tattoo artist in the City. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 0 Posted April 18, 2010 Correction. For" lower league", perhaps read "lower status club" as we were still a top division club when we signed most of these playes. John Bond was the best manager for attracting these stars to the backwaters of Norfolk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3pmkickoff 0 Posted April 18, 2010 I don''t think you''ll be seeing any older players a''la Dublin under the current regime Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 0 Posted April 18, 2010 [quote user="ncfc4prem"]I don''t think you''ll be seeing any older players a''la Dublin under the current regime[/quote]There must be a few eligible Scottish internationals who havn''t yet bought a pub. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites