fox jackson and ward sign new contracts

[pete 320]

Zak W will not resign will go on a free and double his salary maybe Sunderland or Villa.

Simeon J only one with an option to extend.

Fox/Ward were out of contract and signed extensions, if new manager doesn''t fancy either can sell or loan to Championship sides will not lose out as unlikely to be huge salaries, makes sense to retain squad.

 

[STAN 29]

All these players were given 2 year contracts with the option of an extra year for the club.

If we hadn''t of exercised these options they would have left for free.

The new manager could still sell Fox, Ward and Jackson if he really wanted to.

[Syteanric 1]

but would we have envoked the extra year in the person coming in didnt want to keep them?surely they just would have been released?

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

I wouldn''t read anything into this.  We''ll probably find that these extensions were agreed when Lambert was still here and just not announced straightaway.

[STAN 29]

No because it doesn''t cost the club anything,

No signing on fee''s etc. etc.

Why let players go for free when they have a value?

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Even if the extension options weren''t taken up, the players were still under contract.

[STAN 29]

for like 2 more weeks?

[Canaries Utd 0]

[quote user="Gareth"][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.

[/quote]Why would we want to find players to sit on the bench? We want to find players that want to compete for the starting eleven. These two players are good Championship players, not Premiership. It''s about time you crawled out of Foxes ar*e and saw the light. T I T!

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"][quote user="Gareth"][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.

[/quote]Why would we want to find players to sit on the bench? We want to find players that want to compete for the starting eleven. These two players are good Championship players, not Premiership. It''s about time you crawled out of Foxes ar*e and saw the light. T I T![/quote]

Insulting people is a great way to prove your point [;)]

[smooth 114]

I have said it before this is a great looking summer, now with a new manager it will freshen up a little more.Our squad players will remain that and possibly role out, our first team squad players will now be moved to squad players and some of our first 11 may sit on the bench and become first team squad players (as Crofts was this year).For me we brought our squad up to the same standard across the board last summer, with no-one stand out player. Almost a squad of 8/10 across the board, no real weakness and one that could grow together... throughout the season a few players rose above at key moments, Holt, Morison, Ruddy, Pilkington and Naughton. Then we signed Howson and Bennett, which begins the process of improving what we have.For me these three players have been given the contract, and maybe rightly so, to be part of the squad and maybe first team squad. But this coming summer we want to add quality that can compliment Howson and Bennett and bring them on quicker. I expect some pretty tidy signings this Summer that will make our first 11 and subsequently subs bench look a lot stronger. We have to, this division is going to be so much harder with the calibre of teams within it, the calibre of players and the ready finances of those clubs.Personally these three players would not be players you would base you premiership survival on, maybe championship run into the play-offs, but not premiership survial. They are in core positions and one thing we all have agreed on this season is that the core of our team needs to be improved on. If we stay up next season, then these guys need to up their game for a new contract because this club has the potential to go places. With three years premiership money the calibre of player being brought in to Carrow Road can be exceptional.That doesn''t take away what these guys have done in the prem, championship and league 1 it will just be a reflection of how far we have gone and how far certain players can go.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="smooth"]I have said it before this is a great looking summer, now with a new manager it will freshen up a little more.Our squad players will remain that and possibly role out, our first team squad players will now be moved to squad players and some of our first 11 may sit on the bench and become first team squad players (as Crofts was this year).For me we brought our squad up to the same standard across the board last summer, with no-one stand out player. Almost a squad of 8/10 across the board, no real weakness and one that could grow together... throughout the season a few players rose above at key moments, Holt, Morison, Ruddy, Pilkington and Naughton. Then we signed Howson and Bennett, which begins the process of improving what we have.For me these three players have been given the contract, and maybe rightly so, to be part of the squad and maybe first team squad. But this coming summer we want to add quality that can compliment Howson and Bennett and bring them on quicker. I expect some pretty tidy signings this Summer that will make our first 11 and subsequently subs bench look a lot stronger. We have to, this division is going to be so much harder with the calibre of teams within it, the calibre of players and the ready finances of those clubs.Personally these three players would not be players you would base you premiership survival on, maybe championship run into the play-offs, but not premiership survial. They are in core positions and one thing we all have agreed on this season is that the core of our team needs to be improved on. If we stay up next season, then these guys need to up their game for a new contract because this club has the potential to go places. With three years premiership money the calibre of player being brought in to Carrow Road can be exceptional.That doesn''t take away what these guys have done in the prem, championship and league 1 it will just be a reflection of how far we have gone and how far certain players can go.[/quote]

Whilst I don''t agree with everything in this post but, on the whole, it is a top, top post. This summer is going to be exciting, player links, a manager position to fill and preparation for another season in the Premier League. Onwards and upwards. NCFC.

[Buncey 1]

Fox is statistically the best crosser in the premier league.http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thefootballtacticsblog/2012/05/you_will_probably_know_that.html

[Canaries Utd 0]

FAO Gareth, sorry, bad day yesterday, insults withdrawn.

FAO Fellas, there is no doubting Fox''s ability to deliver a ball, it''s the one goal in three seasons in three leagues that concerns me, also his lack of ambition to run with the ball and take players on and although he has a high percentage pass rate, I have witnessed a majority of which are sideways and backwards. He is a good player, but I don''t think a premier league player.

[priceyrice 123]

[quote user="smooth"]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. [/quote]I agree with you Smooth 100%- it''s very interesting to watch some of the highlights from this season, i actually think Fox may have cost us more points than any other player, by simply not tracking his man. I rate him as a midfielder, great distributor of the ball and i think we tend to look better going forward with Fox in his team, but he really does need to add to hid defensive side, as Wes and surman both have.I think the extensions on these 3 contracts were all  needed, just to prevent them going on a free as we could most likely get a fee for them all.Now lets get in another 5/6 players sell a few and we should be good to go next season, although i am very very concerned about our defense, think lambert''s left us a bit up shit creek in these positions.

[Buncey 1]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"]it''s the one goal in three seasons in three leagues that concerns me, also his lack of ambition to run with the ball and take players on and although he has a high percentage pass rate, I have witnessed a majority of which are sideways and backwards. [/quote]That''s not his role in the team. That is Hoolahan, Bennett and Pilkington''s role. The same goes for every deep lying ball playing midfielder.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Fellas"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]it''s the one goal in three seasons in three leagues that concerns me, also his lack of ambition to run with the ball and take players on and although he has a high percentage pass rate, I have witnessed a majority of which are sideways and backwards. [/quote]That''s not his role in the team. That is Hoolahan, Bennett and Pilkington''s role. The same goes for every deep lying ball playing midfielder.[/quote]

Exactly. If we say that Xavi is the master of the deep lying passer you''ll see that his goalscoring record  is actually nothing to write home about (about 1 every 8 games) and he''s obviously a far better player than Fox, Xavi also has/had a more direct impact on set pieces.

[Canaries Utd 0]

[quote user="Fellas"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]it''s the one goal in three seasons in three leagues that concerns me, also his lack of ambition to run with the ball and take players on and although he has a high percentage pass rate, I have witnessed a majority of which are sideways and backwards. [/quote]That''s not his role in the team. That is Hoolahan, Bennett and Pilkington''s role. The same goes for every deep lying ball playing midfielder.[/quote]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.

[smooth 114]

Fellas I am not going to disagree with you, his role is that deep lying ball playing midfielder when we are attacking or in possession.

Where Fox is not good enough, in my eyes, is the essential role he plays when we don''t have possession. His ability to break up attacks, postioning, tracking back, strength and communicator are lacking. For me that is essential, many games we had less possession than our opposition and with three clean sheets it is clear as a unit and individually we were short.I agree that his role is to push the ball side to side, at times he does it far to slowly and in this league it  needs to be pushed out wide quicker... many times our wingers/ full backs are in acres and that pass was needed. But he does tick us over. I do not feel that is a role that is difficult to find in Europe and hence we can find a ready made competitior, to be kind to Fox, but primarily as a starter for that position.I do think it is his defensive work, that is half of his game in that role, is lacking at this highest level and why I would not consider him a starter. We are in the premiership the top league and hence we have come a long way. I just feel we are above now where Fox is capable of saying he is a starter. I have mentioned Stuart Holden as a player that I like for that, but we have seen clubs go across to Europe and pick out these gems.I am not to bothered about his lack of goals, but his lack of assists from these set pieces worries me. I do not consider him our best at set pieces and I also remember that half way through the season the player with the highest % of accurate crosses was Marc Tierney. That surprised me then, so the stats on Fox surprise me.But for all his good work in possession it is when we don''t have psosession where we need to work at and his game needs to work at if he considers himsefl to be ap otential starter. I think it is a step too far and very much why we need a new central midfielder for that role and possibly another if Johnson can''t pick up his game in January. These positions are critical and injuries can hinder you if you do not have those types of players.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.[/quote]

Factually incorrect. According to http://www.whoscored.com Fox makes the 26th highest number of passes (his 52 per game ranking him alongside Fellaini and Nasri) and his higher in the list than Lampard, Barton, Rooney and van der Vaart, and even though you claim he has a high percentage pass rate at 83% it is lower than Wes''s 86% percentage pass rate, and a pass sideways can be just as valuable as a pass forward, it helps maintain possession of the ball and keep in control of the game. Defensively, keeping the ball is just as important as a tackle as Johan Cruyff said ''if you have the ball, the other team can''t score''

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="smooth"]Fellas I am not going to disagree with you, his role is that deep lying ball playing midfielder when we are attacking or in possession.

Where Fox is not good enough, in my eyes, is the essential role he plays when we don''t have possession. His ability to break up attacks, postioning, tracking back, strength and communicator are lacking. For me that is essential, many games we had less possession than our opposition and with three clean sheets it is clear as a unit and individually we were short.I agree that his role is to push the ball side to side, at times he does it far to slowly and in this league it  needs to be pushed out wide quicker... many times our wingers/ full backs are in acres and that pass was needed. But he does tick us over. I do not feel that is a role that is difficult to find in Europe and hence we can find a ready made competitior, to be kind to Fox, but primarily as a starter for that position.I do think it is his defensive work, that is half of his game in that role, is lacking at this highest level and why I would not consider him a starter. We are in the premiership the top league and hence we have come a long way. I just feel we are above now where Fox is capable of saying he is a starter. I have mentioned Stuart Holden as a player that I like for that, but we have seen clubs go across to Europe and pick out these gems.I am not to bothered about his lack of goals, but his lack of assists from these set pieces worries me. I do not consider him our best at set pieces and I also remember that half way through the season the player with the highest % of accurate crosses was Marc Tierney. That surprised me then, so the stats on Fox surprise me.But for all his good work in possession it is when we don''t have psosession where we need to work at and his game needs to work at if he considers himsefl to be ap otential starter. I think it is a step too far and very much why we need a new central midfielder for that role and possibly another if Johnson can''t pick up his game in January. These positions are critical and injuries can hinder you if you do not have those types of players.[/quote]

I agree Smooth, not that his defensive ability lets him down, but that compared to his ability in possession his ability without possession is incomparable, I would argue that it is a coaches job to address these weaknesses and if they haven''t been dealt with by now, the blame rests son Cully''s/Lambert''s shoulders.

[Canaries Utd 0]

[quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.[/quote]

Factually incorrect. According to http://www.whoscored.com Fox makes the 26th highest number of passes (his 52 per game ranking him alongside Fellaini and Nasri) and his higher in the list than Lampard, Barton, Rooney and van der Vaart, and even though you claim he has a high percentage pass rate at 83% it is lower than Wes''s 86% percentage pass rate, and a pass sideways can be just as valuable as a pass forward, it helps maintain possession of the ball and keep in control of the game. Defensively, keeping the ball is just as important as a tackle as Johan Cruyff said ''if you have the ball, the other team can''t score''

[/quote]What is factually incorrect? It was obvious that Lambert saw the future wasn''t Fox come the latter part of last season, it''ll be interesting to see what the new man thinks? Gareth are you actually Fox? You sound like a man desperately trying to save his career!

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"][quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.[/quote]

Factually incorrect. According to http://www.whoscored.com Fox makes the 26th highest number of passes (his 52 per game ranking him alongside Fellaini and Nasri) and his higher in the list than Lampard, Barton, Rooney and van der Vaart, and even though you claim he has a high percentage pass rate at 83% it is lower than Wes''s 86% percentage pass rate, and a pass sideways can be just as valuable as a pass forward, it helps maintain possession of the ball and keep in control of the game. Defensively, keeping the ball is just as important as a tackle as Johan Cruyff said ''if you have the ball, the other team can''t score''

[/quote]What is factually incorrect? It was obvious that Lambert saw the future wasn''t Fox come the latter part of last season, it''ll be interesting to see what the new man thinks? Gareth are you actually Fox? You sound like a man desperately trying to save his career! [/quote]

I guess I should of made it clearer. The factually incorrect statement is in regards to your previous post where you say his passing game is ''simply not up to Premier League standard''. I was trying to prove my point using facts, sorry for any confusion [:)].

The reason Fox wasn''t playing near then end of last season (IMO) is down to one thing: Jonny Howson is f**king awesome. If Fox had started ahead of Howson, especially when you bear in mind just how good Howson was playing at the time, it would''ve been a travesty. And no, I''m not David Fox, although I wish I could play football like him sometimes [;)] 

[Buncey 1]

I am surprised that you are concerned by his defensive shortcomings Smooth. From what I, the coaching staff at Norwich, the majority of City fans and many outside observers have seen, he is a player that has performed his team duties very well.In my opinion he defends very well given that he is not a very good tackler. Few players "beat" Fox as his defensive positioning is very good. It is a rare occasion that opposing players find themselves "goalside" of him on the edge of our penalty area. These are the little things that matter. Sometimes it might be frustrating if the pass out wide is not made as quickly as we and his teammates would like, but those passes are risky, and giving the ball away in those situations leaves the other teams players in acres of space as well. To find players who possess the above quality but can also make strong tackles and runs is incredibly difficult, and for good reason, expensive. Cabaye, Ramires and Tiote are example of those players, but we will struggle to have the funds and the clout to sign players of that quality. Instead we will have to take time and be cunning in finding those "gems", which is no easy feat given every top league team in Europe is doing the same thing. We must remember that we are not a team that sticks to one style of play like Swansea. Sometimes the occasion has called for two wingers and two deep lying midfielders, in such cases perhaps we need somebody who offers different abilities to Fox (and I must say Johnson was terrific towards the end of the season) but at times we have also played a narrow diamond where the value of having somebody with the passing ability (and the ability to always be an "outball") of Fox is vital. Improvements on Johnson and Fox will come at a high price, and given that their playing time will be dependent on the system we play, many would argue that the money is better spent elsewhere.As a club we are also very lucky that we have so many talented set-piece takers who all share the duties. Fox, Johnson, Pilkington, Bennett, Surman and Hoolahan (Lappin) are all good dead ball specialists and crossers (it was a long time ago when it was just Steeno Nedegaard who could cross a ball). Given that, it''s not surprising that our assists this season have been spread relatively evenly. Only Hoolahan with 7 assists stands out and I wouldn''t be one to criticise Fox''s tally of three given that  Johnson, Bennett and Pilkington have managed 5, 4 and 1 assist respectively.In all honesty, I think we would really struggle to find a player who can provide all the qualities that Fox can, and give a bit more defensively, for a fee that we would be able to afford. Further to that, these players often need time to get used to the players around them and the dynamic of the game they play. It is a testament to the qualities of Howson and Lambert that Johnny has so easily blended into the team, but even top players like Ramires and Macherano needed time at their respective clubs to fit into the team.

[Canaries Utd 0]

[quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"][quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.[/quote]

Factually incorrect. According to http://www.whoscored.com Fox makes the 26th highest number of passes (his 52 per game ranking him alongside Fellaini and Nasri) and his higher in the list than Lampard, Barton, Rooney and van der Vaart, and even though you claim he has a high percentage pass rate at 83% it is lower than Wes''s 86% percentage pass rate, and a pass sideways can be just as valuable as a pass forward, it helps maintain possession of the ball and keep in control of the game. Defensively, keeping the ball is just as important as a tackle as Johan Cruyff said ''if you have the ball, the other team can''t score''

[/quote]What is factually incorrect? It was obvious that Lambert saw the future wasn''t Fox come the latter part of last season, it''ll be interesting to see what the new man thinks? Gareth are you actually Fox? You sound like a man desperately trying to save his career! [/quote]

I guess I should of made it clearer. The factually incorrect statement is in regards to your previous post where you say his passing game is ''simply not up to Premier League standard''. I was trying to prove my point using facts, sorry for any confusion [:)].

The reason Fox wasn''t playing near then end of last season (IMO) is down to one thing: Jonny Howson is f**king awesome. If Fox had started ahead of Howson, especially when you bear in mind just how good Howson was playing at the time, it would''ve been a travesty. And no, I''m not David Fox, although I wish I could play football like him sometimes [;)] 

[/quote]But this is my point, i think we should be looking to improve on Fox, Howson looks to be an excellent prospect, i bet Lambert is cursing he didn''t wait to buy him as a Villa player? I just hope that McNally is true to his word and we don''t sell (unless the fee is HUGE), i really wanted to see Howson play along side Snodgrass next season, i guess he might still a potential target? But that would be another player that knocks Fox down the order. Exciting times, and i guess nerve racking for some of the players?

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"][quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"][quote user="Gareth"][quote user="Canaries Utd"]If that is the case, his passing game is simply not up to Premier League standard on a regular basis, he does find good passes, but i think people are wearing rose tinted glasses as far a Fox is concerned, if he were to be a regular player he would definitely need to bring something more to the table. The point i initially made i stick by, we need to find a better player in Foxes position to improve in the league we are in.[/quote]

Factually incorrect. According to http://www.whoscored.com Fox makes the 26th highest number of passes (his 52 per game ranking him alongside Fellaini and Nasri) and his higher in the list than Lampard, Barton, Rooney and van der Vaart, and even though you claim he has a high percentage pass rate at 83% it is lower than Wes''s 86% percentage pass rate, and a pass sideways can be just as valuable as a pass forward, it helps maintain possession of the ball and keep in control of the game. Defensively, keeping the ball is just as important as a tackle as Johan Cruyff said ''if you have the ball, the other team can''t score''

[/quote]What is factually incorrect? It was obvious that Lambert saw the future wasn''t Fox come the latter part of last season, it''ll be interesting to see what the new man thinks? Gareth are you actually Fox? You sound like a man desperately trying to save his career! [/quote]

I guess I should of made it clearer. The factually incorrect statement is in regards to your previous post where you say his passing game is ''simply not up to Premier League standard''. I was trying to prove my point using facts, sorry for any confusion [:)].

The reason Fox wasn''t playing near then end of last season (IMO) is down to one thing: Jonny Howson is f**king awesome. If Fox had started ahead of Howson, especially when you bear in mind just how good Howson was playing at the time, it would''ve been a travesty. And no, I''m not David Fox, although I wish I could play football like him sometimes [;)] 

[/quote]But this is my point, i think we should be looking to improve on Fox, Howson looks to be an excellent prospect, i bet Lambert is cursing he didn''t wait to buy him as a Villa player? I just hope that McNally is true to his word and we don''t sell (unless the fee is HUGE), i really wanted to see Howson play along side Snodgrass next season, i guess he might still a potential target? But that would be another player that knocks Fox down the order. Exciting times, and i guess nerve racking for some of the players?[/quote]

I think Fox would be more than willing to have his place challenged, I think he will overcome this and be a regular starter, you doubt this. There''s nothing wrong with that. It is, as you said, an exciting time at NCFC at the moment and it will certainly be interesting who the new manager picks for his first eleven.