Korey Smith and Chris Martin

[YellowBlood 0]

Anyone reckon Lambert will be a touch sentimental and give one if not both a final appearance in the Prem before an inevitable parting of the ways for both in the summer? I can''t see it myself but both are home grown players who played key roles in the club''s initial rise up two divisions. Quite probably the final time both get a chance of playing a part in a league game at Carrow Road unless Lambert sees fit to include them in his plans for next season.

[Lord Horn 0]

Not a hope in hell - PL will want to reward the players that have performed so well for him this season and he won''t be able to fit all of them in the team or on the bench.

[pete_norw 0]

With a chance of us finishing 10th or 11th they have no chance of even getting a ticket for the match  

[Jacko 0]

£2-3 million at stake depending on this match and results elsewhere. Not likely.

[Trawlerboy 0]

 I think that Chris Martin and Korey Smith will still be at NCFC next season, unless Lambert decides that we have no need for young talented players. Yes they might find themselves out on loan again, but we are not in a position where we are able to let talented youngsters leave on the cheap and are unlikely to be for quite a few years yet.

[Jacko 0]

Not sure I agree with that. I think in each instance you have to assess the situation asking whether they can play a decent role in the squad or whether we would be better generating some cash to strengthen in other areas. We haven''t got masses of resources so we can''t afford to stockpile a squad of 30-40 players like the big boys in the hope that a few players might suddenly come good.

 

I like Chris Martin and I think he has some great elements to his game. He is technically very gifted and he is a very natural finisher. But I have no idea how he really fits into the squad. He can''t offer the physical prescene that Holt, Moro or Wilbers do. He doesn''t have the pace of Vaughan or Jackson to really stretch teams. If you want to drop him off and play him the hole, Wes Hoolahan is the maestro in that regard so I don''t see how he can get a game there either. Based on that situation I think you have no choice but to sell him. It doesn''t mean that I don''t rate him (I think he will do an excellent job for a championship side) but if we could get around £500k for him and that helps to bring in a new full back that is surely a better allocation of resources?

 

The same goes for Korey Smith really. Where do you see him in the current squad. He isn''t a wide player. You would certainly use either Bennett or Pilks as a wide right option before him. His best position is probably as a destructive central midfielder. If so you again argue that both Crofts and Johnson fulfill this role better. So ultimately it would again probably be a better use of resources to move him on and strengthen areas of the team which have more pressing needs. Korey will also do a decent job in the championship as he has shown for us and Barnsley.

[Trawlerboy 0]

What kind of quality do you suppose that we could attract for the £500k a piece you would sell these players for?I think that both players have a bit of time to run on their existing contracts, so I would say that you are seriously under valuing them.Sell them on the cheap and we could live to regret it.

[Tangible Fixed Assets anyone? 0]

I thought the rumour was ....Chris Martin to Brighton for £1.2m or is that a wind up?

 

 

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

I think Chris Martin will be off in the summer, I rate him & he contributed so much to the 2 promotion but he''s not a kid anymore & can fetch a decent price.

Korey Smith will remain a City player but he''ll be a fringe player, perhaps going out on loan again.

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Jacko"]If you want to drop him off and play him the hole, Wes Hoolahan is the maestro in that regard so I don''t see how he can get a game there either. Based on that situation I think you have no choice but to sell him. It doesn''t mean that I don''t rate him (I think he will do an excellent job for a championship side) but if we could get around £500k for him and that helps to bring in a new full back that is surely a better allocation of resources?[/quote]In the hole is exactly where I''d look to play him, and I ask the question - what happens if Hoolahan is injured/suspended etc? We''ve got players who can do a job there (just like A.Hughes did a job at RB), but Martin is arguably the only one who naturally suits the role, especially without it affecting other aspects of his game.Whilst Hoolahan has the guile and trickery, what he has lacked recently is goals, an area I think Chrissy would do better in.Martin in the squad gives us options, and 500k at this level is almost pi$$ing into the wind if you''re talking about replacements.I''d argue that unless we''re getting a number of players in of much higher ability, particularly at least who can play in the same role as Hool/Martin, then he should be kept.Oddly enough the Pacheco rumours are on the go again, which if true, would make competition for the space even higher...

[Jacko 0]

Its obviously not going to buy someone directly. But it all contributes to the budget. Not to mention the fact you are no longer paying his wages. I don''t see how you can demand more than around the £500-750k mark. His record at championship level is nothing special in particular (hopefully he will improve).

To be honest I think the answer if Wes is unavailable is to not play that system and to revert to one with width. I don''t think Martin has the ability to warrant setting up a team which is every geared towards getting the best out of his abilities.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Indy, I accept your analysis and agree that Chris'' strengths lie there.  But if Wes is out and a diamond is called for, don''t you think Howson or Elliott Bennett will get the call first? 

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]Indy, I accept your analysis and agree

that Chris'' strengths lie there.  But if Wes is out and a diamond is

called for, don''t you think Howson or Elliott Bennett will get the call

first? [/quote]

Will - Yes

Should - Maybe not

For me Howson''s best role is more central where he can use his range of

passing, make tackles and generally give his usual "all-action" display,

moving him to the tip of the diamond negates a lot of his best play.

Similarly, Bennett has improved with every game this season, and whilst

he could probably do a job there, again it''s not playing to his best

assets. It''s a bit like Fergie playing Valenica at right back - he can

do it, but he''s much better as a winger, and I think the same is true

with Bennett and playing in the hole.

Also in Bennett''s case, that means we need to replace him on the right,

and we''re not exactly brimming with options there either.

[lake district canary 0]

Let Martin go.   He needs to develop his football and his life away from the goldfish bowl of where he was brought up.   He will only find that development/maturity elsewhere imo.    He has ability - there is no doubt of that - but  needs to go elsewhere to fulfill his potential, whether thats at CP, or anywhere else.     We have a developing squad.  Its developing well - anyone that comes into it now has to be more than a bit part player.  Both martin and Smith will probably have to do it elsewhere.

 

 

 

["""""""""Ben """"""""""" 0]

Nope, liked Korey Smith and he has potential to be a good player. But couldn''t care less if I never saw C Martin in a Norwich shirt again.

[Divs crew! 0]

Thats a bit harsh ben .............its ur opinion i know but he did a great job for us and we should never forget that!

 

[tom cavendish 0]

I would keep both players for another 12 months.Martin is a decent finisher. There were times during the season when we could have done with him.I would like to see Korey given a chance as we often looked more solid with him in the team.

[jb88 0]

Will always be thankfull for their contributions for the 2 recent promotions, however i dont think either one is quite good enough for the premier league (would love to be proved wrong!).

[Largey24 0]

In my opinion, neither player strengthens what we already have. Both are young and hungry players, I think it could well be time to let them go and play football elsewhere.

[Trawlerboy 0]

How do people come to these opinions based on 3 or 4 games for one player and none for the other at this level? Are we saying that neither of these players will progress any further over the next few years and that some of our older players performance levels will not drop?I wish that I had this wonderful foresight.

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Largey24"]In my opinion, neither player strengthens what we already have. Both are young and hungry players, I think it could well be time to let them go and play football elsewhere.[/quote]So we have a manager whose mantra from day one has been to sign ''young and hungry'' players, you yourself identify Martin and Smith in thisexact manner, and then advise they go elsewhere - WTF???I don''t think that many fans would have expected the likes of Pilks and Bennett to perform so well at this level, and there''s nothing to say that Martin and Smith can''t do so either.There''s no point throwing away good young players without giving them a fair chance, and without having suitable quality replacements lined up, and even if neither does end up being good enough, we won''t have spent limited funds on replacing squad players for no real advantage.All our finances should go on getting the highest quality first team replacements needed (such as Naughton et al for RB), not on overall squad players who will be backup in most cases anyway.

[Harry 0]

IMO PL see''s something in Korey, I don''t think he would have been captaining the reserve team before his injury if he hadn''t.

[Largey24 0]

Chris Martin didn''t set the world alight when he started the season. Some have touted him to be better as an attacking midfielder, but we now have Hoolahan and Howson in this position who PL certainly rates ahead of Martin. Who is to say we won''t purchase another attacking midfielder. Martin is also low down the pecking order as far as strikers go, and we are certain to buy one or two strikers in the summer.

Korey Smith hasn''t played a game in the Premier League this season. The reason for this would most probably be that Lambert doesn''t think he is good enough now to play in the Premier League. He has gone out on loan and performed well, and I''d imagine he will be looked at in pre season. Who is to say he doesn''t want to be playing regularly and I''m pretty convinced he won''t be playing regularly for Norwich whilst we are in the top division. Again, we will strengthen the midfield which will push him down the order.

Lambert sees them day in day out and if he thought they were good enough, they would have played more games.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="lake district canary"]

Let Martin go.   He needs to develop his football and his life away from the goldfish bowl of where he was brought up.     

[/quote]That must have been a weird childhood.

[Indy_Bones 441]

I wouldn''t tout Martin as an attacking midfielder, I''d tout him as a support striker playing in the hole, and there''s a vast difference between the two roles.You only have to see the difference in styles of play between Wes and Howson, not to mention most other attacking midfielders compared to Wes to see it''s a very different task.I wouldn''t ask Wes to play like Howson, nor would I C.Martin.It''s that specific role behind the front men that Wes and Chrissy are best suited to, and in that role he''s worth keeping, and can''t be compared to players like Howson.As for Korey, you''re probably right, I mean just look at the situation we''ve got with Naughton on loan, do you honestly think that Redknapp has looked at Naughton and thought ''Nope, not good enough'' and then simply loaned him out? It''s simply that he wasn''t sure he was ready yet, hence the loan, and I''m guessing PL thinks the same with Korey.The point however is not whether either player is massively challenging for a first team place, but simply that they''re perfectly good squad players, and unless we''re spending heavily enough to have signficantly better replacements (which I seriously doubt), then dismissing them out of hand is counter-productuve and short sighted. We don''t have Man City''s funds on hand to have players like Nasri sat on the bench all season, and all of our finances should be firmly tied to the first team, with players like Martin and Smith making up squad numbers in case of injury and suspension on a short term basis. Simply put, we don''t have the finances to be overly choosy here, and unless both players are considered way off the premiership pace, selling them for a relative pittance helps nothing.

[Largey24 0]

Sure they won''t be on as much as the others and it''d be cheaper to keep them than bring on new players, but Lambert will have targets and of they come in, these two will more than likely be pushed down the pecking order.

Chris Martin actually started games at the beginning of the year. Had Lambert been entirely impressed he would have kept hold of him for the season just in case we need a man ''in the hole''. But instead he loaned him out as I''d imagine Martin wanted to play regularly and Lambert wanted him to play more too. We can''t keep hold of these two for sentimental purposes because they''re academy players, and only Lambert will know of they''re good enough to make an impact next season!