Say it quietly.....

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

Fulham''s starting line-up contained 10 foreigners and 1 Brit.

 

Our starting line-up contained 11 Brits.

 

Irrelevant? Maybe, but I doubt it. I think that to consolidate, develop and grow in the Prem we shall need a  combination of talents like most clubs have these days.

 

To my mind the all-Brit, lower league player model of Paul Lambert was always likely to be a one-off prem success, and I am rather disappointed that Hughton seems determined so far to try and repeat/sustain this model rather than bring in a few  suitable foreigners with different backgrounds, strengths and attributes.

 

What say you?

 

OTBC

 

[BroadstairsR 2,195]

Good point, but he has brought in Garrido and I really want that Swedish player who has been such a scoring machine in Holland. Him and Holt upfront, backed up by Morison and Vaughan and Jacko, will do for me for now.

 

Oh! Dragovic as well would be nice, because Turner was a disaster.

 

Three then. Satisfied with that?

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]

Good point, but he has brought in Garrido and I really want that Swedish player who has been such a scoring machine in Holland. Him and Holt upfront, backed up by Morison and Vaughan and Jacko, will do for me for now.

 

Oh! Dragovic as well would be nice, because Turner was a disaster.

 

Three then. Satisfied with that?

[/quote]

 

Well, that would be a start. But maybe 4/5 on the pitch at any time might provide the kind of guile and more comfortable possession that we need.

 

OTBC

[Redders Right Foot 22]

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]

Good point, but he has brought in Garrido and I really want that Swedish player who has been such a scoring machine in Holland. Him and Holt upfront, backed up by Morison and Vaughan and Jacko, will do for me for now.

 

Oh! Dragovic as well would be nice, because Turner was a disaster.

 

Three then. Satisfied with that?

[/quote]

Guidetti? or something like it

[nutty nigel 7,565]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

Fulham''s starting line-up contained 10 foreigners and 1 Brit.

 

Our starting line-up contained 11 Brits.

 

Irrelevant? Maybe, but I doubt it. I think that to consolidate, develop and grow in the Prem we shall need a  combination of talents like most clubs have these days.

 

To my mind the all-Brit, lower league player model of Paul Lambert was always likely to be a one-off prem success, and I am rather disappointed that Hughton seems determined so far to try and repeat/sustain this model rather than bring in a few  suitable foreigners with different backgrounds, strengths and attributes.

 

What say you?

 

OTBC

 

[/quote]

Has Lambert signed any lower league Brits since he''s been at Villa?

 

 

[paul moy 235]

I''m gonna laugh when Fulham get thrashed. We made them look good, just as we always have done recently when we play on their ground. Once Duff gets injured, which he will, they will be struggling.

[Norwich or die tryin! 0]

Never should have let Ayala go.

Come home Dani.

[andyc24_uk 63]

Glad people are starting to realise this - I''m not sure if it''s something specific to Lambert or if it''s an attitude rooted deeper at the club, but the unwillingness to consider non-British players recently (Ayala and now Garrido being the exceptions) when our rivals are willing to pick from the best the world has to offer was always going to come back and hurt us. We need to end the xenophobia and sign the best players we can, no matter what their nationality is.

[Yobocop 1,105]

Are you seriously suggesting the board of Norwich city are xenophobic (i.e. racist)

[Stig 0]

[quote user="andyc24_uk"]Glad people are starting to realise this - I''m not sure if it''s something specific to Lambert or if it''s an attitude rooted deeper at the club, but the unwillingness to consider non-British players recently (Ayala and now Garrido being the exceptions) when our rivals are willing to pick from the best the world has to offer was always going to come back and hurt us. We need to end the xenophobia and sign the best players we can, no matter what their nationality is.[/quote]

I don''t like what you''re implying there, at all. 

That being said, it''s the English Premier League - so why not let the British footballers that grew, trained and play in this country have a shot at the top? It works, suddenly saying it doesn''t because we lost our first game is just stupid. The quality of a footballer doesn''t come down to their nationality. It''s either an inherent talent, or the training ground/youth academy they were brought up through. Other countries may have better facilities than us, but then instead of buying their players - invest in better facilities for ourselves so we can bring through the likes of these "foreign players" you are heralding.

[Gingerpele 0]

There are Spanish teams in Spain who have predominantly Spanish players (in the top league) and do fairly well. Why can''t we do well with predominantly British players.

Oh wait, we did.

[SwindonCanary 455]

Doesn''t matter which nationality a player is, it''s how they play

[paul moy 235]

Well, I''m proud that we have so many British players. Common language and culture must be an aid to communication and team-spirit.  When the manager speaks everybody understands, well hopefully anyway, and of course they settle quicker in their native country. 

Foreigners can be a problem with their different languages, cultures (eg Ramadan) and international call-ups (eg: African nations). That''s not to say I would not welcome us signing the next Demba Ba or Cisse, but I think having the majority British is a great asset to us.

[andyc24_uk 63]

No, I''m not suggesting there is a culture of racism at the club. I am, however, suggesting that there may be a level of xenophobia (definition - an unreasonable fear or dislike of of foreigners or strangers - something entirely different). Not for ''racist'' reasons, but because there seems to have been a belief - pretty sure I read an interview with PL at one point last season where he said something like this - that foreign players don''t integrate as well with the British players at the club, struggle to communicate etc etc.

Personally, I think that view is a load of rubbish - Clearly many non-British players have prospered in this country and are perfectly capable of communicating with their team-mates, and the vast majority of people on the continent have a better command of English than the average Brit has of European languages.

Yes, in an ideal world it would be lovely to develop young local talent into world-class players, and I guess we could do that - but if that''s the road we go down then we need to be prepared for Norwich to be a club like Crewe, who are very, very good at developing local talent, but spend their time yo-yoing around the second and third tiers as they develop quality players and then sell them off to bigger teams.

There''s a reason the successful teams have a mix of different nationalities - it''s because they bring a variety of different skills and styles of play to the team, which is what is needed to become successful. Look at any of the major European leagues and the top few clubs - certainly all those who have won any kind of trophy or achieved any sort of progress in Europe over the past 5-10 years - have done so with multinational squads.

[Stig 0]

[quote user="andyc24_uk"]No, I''m not suggesting there is a culture of racism at the club. I am, however, suggesting that there may be a level of xenophobia (definition - an unreasonable fear or dislike of of foreigners or strangers - something entirely different). Not for ''racist'' reasons, but because there seems to have been a belief - pretty sure I read an interview with PL at one point last season where he said something like this - that foreign players don''t integrate as well with the British players at the club, struggle to communicate etc etc.

Personally, I think that view is a load of rubbish - Clearly many non-British players have prospered in this country and are perfectly capable of communicating with their team-mates, and the vast majority of people on the continent have a better command of English than the average Brit has of European languages.

Yes, in an ideal world it would be lovely to develop young local talent into world-class players, and I guess we could do that - but if that''s the road we go down then we need to be prepared for Norwich to be a club like Crewe, who are very, very good at developing local talent, but spend their time yo-yoing around the second and third tiers as they develop quality players and then sell them off to bigger teams.

There''s a reason the successful teams have a mix of different nationalities - it''s because they bring a variety of different skills and styles of play to the team, which is what is needed to become successful. Look at any of the major European leagues and the top few clubs - certainly all those who have won any kind of trophy or achieved any sort of progress in Europe over the past 5-10 years - have done so with multinational squads.[/quote]

Look, if you want that go and support the Manchester clubs.

I think the next logical step for Norwich is to keep their majority British team until such a time where we feel comfortable in the premier league so that we can start an investment drive in our youth academy. You make it sound as if having a British team is damaging and weak. B*llocks will we be anything like Crewe if that''s our plan. Look where we are man!

[nutty nigel 7,565]

Over the last few seasons there''s hardly been a dissenting voice about us fielding all Brtish players. In fact quite the opposite has been the case. But now this is being used to attack the club with accusations of racism or xenophobia.

 

So are all those who heralded this policy last season racist or xenophobic? Or is the policy only racist or xenophobic when we lose?

 

 

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="paul moy"]

Well, I''m proud that we have so many British players. Common language and culture must be an aid to communication and team-spirit.  When the manager speaks everybody understands, well hopefully anyway, and of course they settle quicker in their native country. 

Foreigners can be a problem with their different languages, cultures (eg Ramadan) and international call-ups (eg: African nations). That''s not to say I would not welcome us signing the next Demba Ba or Cisse, but I think having the majority British is a great asset to us.

[/quote]

 

Fulham''s 10 foreigners didn''t have any problem communicating yesterday and playing with guile and tactical understanding.

 

OTBC

[Gingerpele 0]

Our British players didn''t have much of a problem playing ''above their level'' according to some to finish 12th last season. You saying after one game, the clubs transfer policy needs to change? Slightly odd..

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="Give Peas a Chance "]Are you seriously suggesting the board of Norwich city are xenophobic (i.e. racist)[/quote]They''re two different things.  Anyway the board aren''t either.  IMO it''s this mantra that''s trotted out in various avenues of business which is ''buy local''.  Seriously, it sounds daft but that''s what I think it is.  It''s all well and good when you''re buying Norfolk/British spuds & carrotts.  However if you want a balance you can''t get Norfolk/British bananas so you have to buy a few imports.

[Stig 0]

Personally I think Norwich''s transfer policies are commendable. It gives us a very unique image and football style (which seems to be in question at the moment of course..) If we were to sign a bunch of foreign footballers we would be just like every other team in the premier league... in fact I could imagine us being a very Wigan-esque side.

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]Our British players didn''t have much of a problem playing ''above their level'' according to some to finish 12th last season. You saying after one game, the clubs transfer policy needs to change? Slightly odd..[/quote]Or you could say, to improve the squad on our budget the British/Irish reservoir is running dry.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Over the last few seasons there''s hardly been a dissenting voice about us fielding all Brtish players. In fact quite the opposite has been the case. But now this is being used to attack the club with accusations of racism or xenophobia.

 

So are all those who heralded this policy last season racist or xenophobic? Or is the policy only racist or xenophobic when we lose?

 

[/quote]

 

No, its simply that its taken us about as far as we can go. There''s no harm in acknowledging the probability of that. We need a judicious blend anchored by a key core of British players. Just as in the past English clubs were strengthened with a judicious blend of scots, Welsh and Irish.

 

OTBC 

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="Resident Canary Stig"]Personally I think Norwich''s transfer policies are commendable. It gives us a very unique image and football style (which seems to be in question at the moment of course..) If we were to sign a bunch of foreign footballers we would be just like every other team in the premier league... in fact I could imagine us being a very Wigan-esque side.[/quote]I suppose it''s a question of actual numbers in the team.  A full first XI I''d feel we''d ''sold out'', 3 or 4 is okay.

[Cambridgeyellow 0]

[quote user="paul moy"]I''m gonna laugh when Fulham get thrashed. We made them look good, just as we always have done recently when we play on their ground. Once Duff gets injured, which he will, they will be struggling.[/quote]

Fulham relegation fodder lol they are a top premier league team and have been for the last few years - thats not defending our performance just laughing at your statement

[nutty nigel 7,565]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

Over the last few seasons there''s hardly been a dissenting voice about us fielding all Brtish players. In fact quite the opposite has been the case. But now this is being used to attack the club with accusations of racism or xenophobia.

 

So are all those who heralded this policy last season racist or xenophobic? Or is the policy only racist or xenophobic when we lose?

 

[/quote]

 

No, its simply that its taken us about as far as we can go. There''s no harm in acknowledging the probability of that. We need a judicious blend anchored by a key core of British players. Just as in the past English clubs were strengthened with a judicious blend of scots, Welsh and Irish.

 

OTBC 

[/quote]

When did you realise that Babes?

 

 

[Stig 0]

[quote user="The Pink''un Role Model"][quote user="Resident Canary Stig"]Personally I think Norwich''s transfer policies are commendable. It gives us a very unique image and football style (which seems to be in question at the moment of course..) If we were to sign a bunch of foreign footballers we would be just like every other team in the premier league... in fact I could imagine us being a very Wigan-esque side.[/quote][quote]I suppose it''s a question of actual numbers in the team.  A full first XI I''d feel we''d ''sold out'', 3 or 4 is okay.[/quote]

Oh yeah don''t get me wrong, I welcome the signing of Garrido and the likes of Ayala. One of the major reasons I don''t think we sign an overwhelming (Read: Sign an underwhelming) amount of foreign footballers is because the leagues they play in call for more egos. The larger the ego the more chance they have of signing on to Barca, PSG, Madrid etc etc. 

And we all know how much we dislike egos here at Norwich!

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="BlyBlyBabes"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

Over the last few seasons there''s hardly been a dissenting voice about us fielding all Brtish players. In fact quite the opposite has been the case. But now this is being used to attack the club with accusations of racism or xenophobia.

 

So are all those who heralded this policy last season racist or xenophobic? Or is the policy only racist or xenophobic when we lose?

 

[/quote]

 

No, its simply that its taken us about as far as we can go. There''s no harm in acknowledging the probability of that. We need a judicious blend anchored by a key core of British players. Just as in the past English clubs were strengthened with a judicious blend of scots, Welsh and Irish.

 

OTBC 

[/quote]

When did you realise that Babes?

 

[/quote]

 

It became quite evident on several occasions during the latter half of last season.

 

And I have a strong suspicion that Lambert decided to leave when he realised that the finances would not be made available to consolidate the club in the prem and take us to the next level - at least for tis season.

 

Our transfer activity so far this summer has I think born this out.

 

OTBC

[TIL 1010 4,779]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

 

Fulham''s 10 foreigners didn''t have any problem communicating yesterday and playing with guile and tactical understanding.

[/quote]

So of those 10 foreigners what communication problems would Duff and Schwarzer have Bly ? I thought the Irish and the Aussies had a fairly good command of the English language unless of course Jol issues his instructions in Dutch.

[andyc24_uk 63]

Our 12th-place finish last year, while a fantastic achievement, realistically flattered us a bit. If you look at the table based only on the last 12 games (basically from the FA cup loss to Leicester onwards) then we would have only narrowly escaped relegation. Our success was in the first half of the season - and about March time, our tough, punching-well-above-their-weight British boys basically ran out of steam, and the results showed it. I''m not knocking what they achieved - it was quite remarkable - but it was never going to last forever, and on the evidence of Saturday, it seems clear that a number of current players might really struggle with the level of football this season.

There are a limited number of genuinely top-class players available in the lower leagues, and their prices are hugely inflated - It amazes me that people on here genuinely believe we should spend 8m on Rhodes - a player with zero experience at the highest level - when half that amount could likely get us a talented young player from the Dutch or French leagues - undoubtedly a much higher level of football than League 1!

Some fans, it seems, would prefer to see a Norwich team full of decent-but-not-amazing players waving British passports and struggling along barely avoiding the drop; Personally I''d rather see us sign the best players we can afford - regardless of where they''re from - and make a real attempt to challenge for the cups and/or a European place.

[Chip20 69]

Aye; how I yearn for a return to investing in exciting foreign talent like Anselin, Brellier, De Waard, Ottosson, Strihavka. Why did we ever choose a different route?