fox jackson and ward sign new contracts

[mrs miggins 0]

(and drury to consider one)

 

great news as i thought villa might be after foxy. Jackson also great as his goals got us promoted.

[smooth 114]

how long are the contracts? Jackson is a good back up striker but no more... ward great for morale and for the young guys to learn from but not a starter.Fox, I think is ok... personally I think we will be looking at a better starter to play alongside Howson. In fact in January I think we will need another. So good to sign up players that are squad players. I say that as our first team players who were a little weaker are important squad players. I hope we move on some squad players we need to make our first 16 very good and I think these guys barely make that, with Fox being that player. But next Summer I would say that all are surplus to requirements unless they improve massively... But again I would say they are at the peak of their capabilities and that there are better players that can be picked up.

[pete_norw 0]

[quote user="smooth"]how long are the contracts? Jackson is a good back up striker but no more... ward great for morale and for the young guys to learn from but not a starter.

Fox, I think is ok... personally I think we will be looking at a better starter to play alongside Howson. In fact in January I think we will need another. So good to sign up players that are squad players. I say that as our first team players who were a little weaker are important squad players. I hope we move on some squad players we need to make our first 16 very good and I think these guys barely make that, with Fox being that player. But next Summer I would say that all are surplus to requirements unless they improve massively... But again I would say they are at the peak of their capabilities and that there are better players that can be picked up.
[/quote]

Wonder if they can backtrack on Zaks departure and reinstate him

[ca 1]

[quote user="smooth"]how long are the contracts? [/quote]

Think it said they have just triggered the one year option

http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/2736001/ShowPost.aspx

[smooth 114]

Don''t we all agree that seems to be fair enough?Personally I think any longer would be a huge mistake. If we stay up next season then these three are surplus to requirements, they do not offer enough to make us a better premiership club meaning a consistent team in the top 14.I would not have been disappointed if any one of them left, but for the new manager it is good to have alot of the team together but I do look forward to our new players putting these guys further down the pecking order. We are in a great position to big and acquire some real premiership talent and hence that is very exciting.

[scrimmage 0]

So glad they have all signed, Fox especially. IMO him and Howson should be our CM pairing, fox can sit a bit deeper and ping balls left right and centre and Howson can run into the box as well as play killer through balls. I would prefer Fox to Johnson and would be happy with a starting midfield four next season of:

Pilks Fox Howson E Bennett

Also happy that Jackson is staying, he scored a few good goals last season and could kick on and score a few more this season as he has a lot more to offer than people seem to think. Great with his head and skilful, has a good shot on him and can be clever (chip v Derby for example). And obviously very quick.

Ward is going to be important next year. If you ask me at the moment I would have Ward and R Bennett as out top two CBs, with hopefully Ayala pushing for Ward''s spot. R Martin will also be there or thereabouts as he showed early last season he''s a more than capable CB.

[The 12th Devine 0]

In a week for less than great news, this isn''t anything particularly positive, beyond ensuring we have a squad to start the season with.

Simeon - fair enough, worth a place as second back up striker, however much people on this forum can elevate his qualities.

Ward – doesn''t deserve the abuse he gets on here but wasn''t in the top three central defenders at the end of the season ... yet is retained while we get rid of one player who definitely was in that top three. Odd. Reverse the Zac decision sharpish.

Fox – seriously overrated by many. Ok, in a City side without a host of top central midfielders he helped ensure we kept possession and built attacks steadily, instead of a tendency to be more direct when he wasn''t in the side. But ... for a midfielder who is supposed to be our ball player, the playmaker in the side, how many times did he ever play real killer passes last season, or indeed in most of his time at the club? Good in possession and better in the tackle than many playmaker type midfielders, but he has just never offered enough creativity, incisiveness.

So, three squad players but none of whom will be playing regularly next season - and if they do, it will be because we aren''t going to get close to matching the past season''s performances.

Oh and who''s making the decisions at the moment anyway?

[mrs miggins 0]

well i hope fox will be pushing for a starting place as he''s got a decent free kick on him and is a good passer. e.g the goal that won us promotion

[smooth 114]

12th devine I think you hit the nail on the head... scrimmage you share the view of many certainly on fox and jackson. I suppose I will never change my view on either.Fox to me is a championship player at best, we need a bullish, strong, physical presence in the middle of the park who can push the ball to our creative midfielders. He may be able to dictate but he is to slow in his mid processes to move our attack quick enough or take advantage of the over lap.Jackson had a great month April 2011 to get us in the prem. but has done very little over the toehr 2 years... hence why he was not even considered for again most of the season. I would say all three have cleverly signed before a new manager comes in.So three players that are fine for the 24 in the squad we need, but I really do not think they will be playing much in the first 11 and will make the bench with injuries, suspensions and cup matches. Fox can be there a bit, but he will not be playing as a starter. I would se that as a huge step back when we are in such a good position and a showing that our summer has not been successful

[smooth 114]

mrs miggins, Fox good at set pieces? I am afraid last season he was not. Bradley Johnson and Surman were a better dead ball specialist as was Pilky, corners etc. I never saw Fox put a pacey ball into the box last season. For me Pilky is our best dead ball player.Secondly the ball for Jackson against Pompey was put up there, de laet poor positioning and the rest is history... and that is it history... a season ago and we need to see it more often if he intends to be a starter.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

Glad that Fox has got another year. Only player in the squad who can pass the instant he receives the ball. Great controlling presence for the other players, always know they have someone in space to pass the ball too, great player. Thinks fast and passes faster, one of my favourite players.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="The 12th Devine"]Fox – seriously overrated by many. Ok, in a City side without a host of top central midfielders he helped ensure we kept possession and built attacks steadily, instead of a tendency to be more direct when he wasn''t in the side. But ... for a midfielder who is supposed to be our ball player, the playmaker in the side, how many times did he ever play real killer passes last season, or indeed in most of his time at the club? Good in possession and better in the tackle than many playmaker type midfielders, but he has just never offered enough creativity, incisiveness. [/quote]

Fox''s role is too control possession, not play the killer pass. He''s the guy who comes deep to the defenders to receive the ball before passing it to the more attacking players, he dictates tempo and allows other players to make runs because he is always there to receive the ball off them if necessary before playing another pass to another attacking player to start the attack all over again. He is the kind of midfielder that is incredibly rare in England, too many English players know nothing about tempo and possession (read: Steven Gerrard) it''s one of the reasons the country has always failed on the international stage.

[smooth 114]

Gareth I agree he dictates our play and basically offloads it to our more creative players.But do you not think we need a more physical presence, a player who can do this role but can be strong in the challenge and more of a robust player?I think his weakness is that he cannot break up play, he is fine when he has the ball at his feet... but I do not see him as a player who can tackle and get the ball to do the good stuff or be in good positions when the opposition attacks.So he is player that when he has the ball plays his better football (still in my eyes not good enough to be a premiership regular)... but his defensive capabilites do let him down. I would rather a strong, athletic, disruptive, agressive midfielder came in who can organise our midfield and break up ataacks, provide the ball to our attacking players and be that presence. I just feel when the opposition is attacking he is not good enough and I cannot think of any game where he has put in a dominant midfield showing. For me that is what I feel we need.

[Canaries Utd 0]

To improve on last season we need better than Fox and Ward!

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="smooth"]Gareth I agree he dictates our play and basically offloads it to our more creative players.But do you not think we need a more physical presence, a player who can do this role but can be strong in the challenge and more of a robust player?[/quote]

Yes that would be fantastic, but I have yet to see a midfielder that has both the technical ability of Fox (as well as his mental attitude) along with a significant physical advantage. Fox is a great player, top notch Premier League standard, Swansea have shown that a lack of physicality from a holding midfielder is not that big a weakness (Joe Allan and Leon Britton both being defensively competent and smaller than Fox). The problem with our midfield is not an inability to tackle or be physical, but an inability to track the runs of opposing midfielders, and Fox is actually the best midfielder at the club when it comes to that. Fox would be in my starting line up all the time if fit, if you keep the ball for 70% of the game, then tackling isn''t that necessary. 

Fox''s biggest weakness is his tackling but (IMO) he makes up for that with his defensive positioning and ability to intercept passes rather than tackle. 

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"]To improve on last season we need better than Fox and Ward![/quote]

Great! Can you get on with finding significantly better players that are willing to sit on the bench? thanks for that.

[Shyster 0]

[quote user="mrs miggins"]

(and drury to consider one)

 

great news as i thought villa might be after foxy. Jackson also great as his goals got us promoted.

[/quote]

Excellent news! Give McNally a cookie.Now all we need is for Holt to be made player/manager and there''s no reason why we shouldn''t win the Premiership.

[Crew Cut Wes 0]

[quote user="smooth"]I would rather a strong, athletic, disruptive, agressive midfielder came in who can organise our midfield and break up ataacks, provide the ball to our attacking players and be that presence. I just feel when the opposition is attacking he is not good enough and I cannot think of any game where he has put in a dominant midfield showing. For me that is what I feel we need.[/quote]

Can''t someone on twitter just tell him to get down to the gym a bit and bulk up, so he''s hard as nails? Would save us a bit of money.

Diet and gym managed to get fatty into shape...

[smooth 114]

ah cre cut w for 25k you know what you pick up in a player... he has been superb but can he get any better? Not likely and would he be a starter in a midfield of the top six in the championship, I would say no.He cannot do any of the defensive duties which is needed of that deep lying midfielder to be a premiership starter.

[Officer Tillys small Willies (Nigel,lappy) 0]

Its good to increase morale but what if the new managers not keen on one or two of them??

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Good move for me and clearly these players, who did well in the squad last season, want to be here. This is a sign of consolidation along with Russ Martin''s interview.

Get in the right manager, three quality signings along with another year for Adam Drury and a proper pre season and we should be alright.

Get that second EPL season under our belt and things begin to change. Suddenly, you have a solid squad with significant EPL experience and the prospect of major ground expansion.

The consideration for these four players futures first as they were out of contract was too much for their captain to wait his turn for as was stated to be the order of things.

[Pyro Pete 1,893]

Now get Ruddy on a longer contract.Personally I''m glad we retained Fox. I guess the board are playing it safe with these three. This gives the new manager a settled squad to work with. If he wants to sell, at least we will get a fee.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="smooth"]ah cre cut w for 25k you know what you pick up in a player... he has been superb but can he get any better? Not likely and would he be a starter in a midfield of the top six in the championship, I would say no.He cannot do any of the defensive duties which is needed of that deep lying midfielder to be a premiership starter.[/quote]

That''s a flat out lie. Firstly Fox may not be the best tackler, but he has great defensive positioning and tracking abilities and is extremely capable at finding interceptions, just because he doesn''t slide into every tackle and isn''t a six foot plus muscle man does not mean he is poor defensively.

As to your other assertion that deep lying midfielders must have defensive ability:

Xabi Alonso

Michael Carrick

Paul Scholes

Leon Britton

Joe Allen

would all disagree with you. 

[smooth 114]

Well again I said we would disagree.I do not think his positioning, tracking back, ability to break up play etc is good enough. I have seen it in so many games that he does not track runners etc. I am afraid I have seen very little to suggest he is able to do any of those things well enough to warrant another season as a starter in the majority of the games if we play a 4-4-2.We all mentioned if we could get a Croft, Johnson, Fox morphed player he would be very capable and but for me we just need that solid enforcer who can break up play and shift it quickly to our more creative players. Fox can do that bit but not the acquiring of the ball.I beleive that the midfielders mentioned have played with more defensive minded players, but all have better ability than Fox hence 25k fee and since nobody showing interest. All these players have the ability to disrupt and track runners... hence why some have been regarded as Europes better midfielders. The boys at Swansea have another season to go and certainly Britton has been talked about a great deal by the media regarding his abilities.I believe he does not have the defensive capabilities that WE need to be that premiership starter this coming season, that is what I meant. We do not have a great defensive group and they need as much help as we can get as our midfield group our creative and forward thinking. I think the premiership starter in our midfield next season is a more rounded midfielder.He is a good player to have on our books for one more year, as are the other two... But following that I am afraid I have not seen anything to say that they will be good enough to push us forward after two years in the prem.But I do believe they are players that are good for our 24 man squad for this season, they are not good enough for our 16 first team squad, with the exception of Fox who may go on the bench more than the others but I still feel we have to buy better options in the middle of the park.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

Smooth: 

I feel you underestimate Fox''s defensive ability, but I get where your coming from. His tackling leaves a lot to be desired, but I feel his defensive abilities apart from that are very good. Again, I don''t feel that any player that can be an enforcer will ever be able to out pass Fox and that Fox offers a lot more than just giving the more attacking players the ball. His ability to control the tempo of the game, his appreciation of space and his vision make him more than just someone to pass the ball to attacking players. There are certainly improvements Fox could make to his game, but he would always start in my team because any midfielder we play with him will benefit. A player such as Howson would benefit from Fox because he knows he can push forward that bit more and focus on linking up midfield and attack because Fox is good enough on the ball that the other team will just not get it off him before he passes to someone, it also allows Howson to always know there is someone he can pass too if needed, as Fox is always comfortable on the ball. More robust players, such as Johnson, benefit from Fox as his passing ability makes up for the complete lack of their own.

Fox is crucial to how we play as a team and most of our better performances last season came when he was playing, when we lost away to Stoke we had a turgid time keeping possession as the amount of pressure Stoke put on the player with the ball was immense as such we could just not pass out the midfield. It was when Fox came on and showed just how assured he is on the ball under pressure that Norwich looked even close to doing damage. I feel that Fox is underestimated by many as his only particularly obvious strength is his passing, and those who notice less subtle parts of his game rate him far, far more highly. He reminds me greatly of Ian Crook (although Crook was a more ambitious with his passing, delighting in diagonals out to the wide midfielders, something Fox needs to do more of) and anyone who reminds me off Ian Crook (one of my favourite NCFC players ever) must be doing something right.     

[smooth 114]

Gareth, I agree with your comments that some, not all, of our better performances came with Fox in the team, in that five man midfield. I also agree that any player who compares to Crook is a fans favourite and deserves the high accolades, but Fox has a way to go to be held in that regard. Mulryne had that potential before his injury etc and I think would have been an amazing player if that injury had not happened.I have faith in Fox for this season as a squad player, it would not have bothered me either way this summer if he had re-signed for that year or had left. We will improve this team this summer with starters and we will improve our team next summer when his contract is up. David Fox the floor is yours. Certainly SJ and EW are squad players and 1 more year again is fine. I think this is good business for the club due to the 1 year extension and keeping seasoned pro''s. But do I think they will add alot to our premiership campaign next season? No. They are here to make up the numbers and keep that 24 squad together. Now add the quality that can keep us up and we will have a starting 11 and bench that is capable. Injuries will happen this year and these players may take part, but it is what they do at the training ground that is important. Keeping that team ethos and spirit.

[Boris 56]

Did some one see that we now have around 25-26 players under contract who is too much imo I belive we can released some and to bring 4-5 at least so Im surprised that stil we have Lappin Barnett Jackson Adeyemi SMith Martin  etc under contract and no space for new players at the momoent Last season we was almost complete selection untill first day and now we must be so quick to bring manager if not ask to come new players in Septembre.My opinion foreign manager is not good idea simply because he will make revolution changed so many players and we not need just that at this season.How Ward have contract extension and same time Zak is relseased???Give me Zak all the time than Ward imo!

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,749]

have they really "signed" a new contract or have they just allowed a one year extension to automatically happen as come July 1st they would effectively be on the dole?.    Fox ,ok......but Jackson will never be a Premiership striker and I still wake up on a cold sweat over Ward''s performance against Liverpool.

[Syteanric 1]

Whilst its probably likely that mcnally oversaw the signings and talked money the interesting thing for me is that a new manager will want his own players.

There''s no guarantee that anyone coming in would want to keep fox, ward or Jackson and would move them on when they came in.

This to me indicates that someone already has a stamp in things and is planning their squad for next season.... I think a new appointment is oficially days away now...

[AJ 1,218]

They haven''t signed new contracts, just a years extension in the contract has been activated by the club (the player has no say in this).

I think it''s more that we''re not going to let valuable players leave for free. If the new manager likes the look of them then I''m sure they will get new deals eventually