This seasons signings - rated.

[Worthy Nigelton<br><br><br><br><br>Evening News Sports Page Headline 8th August 2007:<br><br>Henderson joins Dereham Town. 0]

Okay, I think the signings for this season have been pretty poor. This is my mark out of 10 for each of this seasons signings. Ratings are based on potential, price and performances. I haven''t rated the goalkeepers as this is a tad unfair, having not seen them play. My ratings are as follows:

Ashton: 8 - Great potential and good performances so far, quite pricey at 3m but I''m sure he''ll repay it with interest.

Jonson: 3 - Can''t fault effort, commitment etc. but has been quite blatantly out of his depth and at 30 years old I can''t see much improvement, £750k could have been invested a lot, lot better. Shocking bit of business.

Helveg: 6 - Good signing as he didn''t cost anything, took a while to adjust to the pace and been unlucky with injuries. Just before he got this injury I thought he qas showing his class. I liked him as a holding midfielder more than right back.

Bentley: 6 - Good player but all bar the Bolton game has flattered to deceive a little bit, has also missed a great chunk of the season through injury. Would like him permanently but I doubt it''ll ever happen.

Stuart: 5 - Was a good player in his day and I suppose he hasn''t cost us anything but lets be honest he hasn''t done anything really has he.

Safri: 4 - Now this rating my seem a little harsh and I do actually think he''s not a bad player. However, I think its justified because of the lack of games he''s played and his failure to command a regular starting place. £500k could have been spent better.

Doherty: 10 - Legend. No, seriously 4 - A complete donkey but did start to look a little better at one point, shouldn''t have been dropped when Fleming retained his place as he was the better of the two. However, again £750k could have been spent so much better.

Charlton: 7 - Why is he not in the starting line up Saturday? Has looked solid all season and a snip at £250k.

There''s my ratings... Anyone beg to differ?

[Stephen Frys Evil Twin 0]

[quote]Okay, I think the signings for this season have been pretty poor. This is my mark out of 10 for each of this seasons signings. Ratings are based on potential, price and performances. I haven''t rated t...[/quote]

Ashton: 8 - Legend in the making

Jonson: 5 - Has showed some signs that he is a good player. Compromised by Worthy''s tactics.

Helveg: 5 - Not really had the run of games he would have liked, better than Eddy.

Bentley: 6 - I would have him in our squad on a permanent basis.

Stuart: 4 - Too old, a panic buy by Worthy. We need players for the future, not 35 year-old has beens.

Safri: 6 - Will be good at Championship level next season, hasn''t been given enough games. Better than Holt.

Doherty: 6 - I think he''s been given unfair criticism, it''s difficult to defend when the midfield is totally bypassed by one pass.

[ZLF 274]

[quote]Ashton: 8 - Legend in the making Jonson: 5 - Has showed some signs that he is a good player. Compromised by Worthy''s tactics. Helveg: 5 - Not really had the run of games he would have liked, better ...[/quote]

Ashton 7 - Too early to assess but has shown a lot of class already and a significant improvement on Leon and Sven.

Charlton 7 - Consistently our best central defender, demonstrated just how exposed Drury was when juke box was dropped and has not been back in his best position since.  Managerial madness that he does not start.  first choice defender.

Bentley 7 - Knuckled down and worked hard and Worthy had just found his his best position (off the striker) when crudley hacked down at upton park.  like Svenson missed more than we expected.  Far better than McVeigh

Jonson - two scores here - for delivering what the manager wants from him and holt/leon/eddie like effort he gets an 8, on delivery 6.  Struggled to adapt to pace but until manager figures out how to get the best from him he will never be appreciated like the other runners.  far better than Cooper/Henderson etc from last season  

And the rest - who knows the manager has not really played them enough despite ALL of them showing far GREATER ability than the work horses who keep them out of the side...

Helveg - 7- struggled due to managers insistence that Eddy is better at right back (Ha) and subsequently changing his position every 45 minutes.  McVeighs replacement as scapegoat number one despite showing more ability than the rest of teh defence combined.  Shows our guys what tackling really is - depite his lack ofminutes still has more than any city player this season.  far better than Eddy and Flem

Safri - 5 Holt with passing ability added and running ability removed, like holt needs to learn how to tackle  Far better than Holt. 

Stuart - 7 Has definietly added to our midfield despite being out of positio (normally used centrally and should be Damos partner)  Big improvement on Holt

Doc - 6 - Far better than Flem yet is inflexible - is limited but a younger and slightly improved Malky. 

 

Yes the signings have disappointed but they have consistently shown better form that the existing squad yet simplyhave not played enough.

 

OTBC

    

[Ayrton Twigge 0]

Interesting post.

The votes from the Twigge jury, based on value for money paid, are:-

Ashton: 8 - Rapidly found his feet, doesn''t look out of place and a great investment. A genuine goalscorer who will get much better.

Jonson: 4 - Not convinced. Neither am I sure where his best position is, if indeed there is one. This may well have been a panic buy, or bought unseen.

Helveg: 6 - Difficult to really say but was a free. Has shown signs of quality that I believe will emerge given an extended run.

Bentley: 5 - Still not convinced. Had a lot of games to adjust to the team and the division. I think he believes he''s better than he is. But, with maturity I believe he could become btter and I would keep him at the right price.

Stuart: 6 - Come on. He was only bought as a short term stop gap when we needed experience and a cool head And at a time when few players were actually moving. Not here for the long haul but hasn''t done badly for me.

Safri: 6 - Surprised he gasn''t been used more. Played really well away to Spurs. Yes, he''s better than Holt but is a little too vulnerable to getting booked and is hence a liability.

Doherty: 6 - Like Stuart, he was a desperate purchase as the first window was shutting and was bought to help attack as well as defence. Turns out he''s not brilliant at either. Not a long term star but better than Fleming.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

Ashton- 8 Every game he is getting more and more used to the Premiership game.  He''s a major talent and I hope will be at this club for a very long time.

Jonson- 6 I still like the guy, I really do and am hoping he will stay in the summer.  A season of settling into the English game and we could really see why we paid a million for him next year.  IMO a good player

Helveg- 5 Started poorly, very poorly IMO.  Then started to get better.  Unfortunately Helveg''s injury came at a bad time.  I''d be surprised if he still wears a Norwich City shirt come August.

Bentley- 7 Creativity.  That''s how I''d describe Bents.  Again looked much better once he had settled in and got used to playing games, living away from home etc.  Had he not been injured our season could''ve been very different.

Stuart- 5 Haven''t been overly enamoured to be absolutely honest.  Clearly a player who is coming to the end of his Premiership playing days.  I don''t think he has done enough to warrant another contract.

Saf- 6 What I have seen of the guy has been excellent.  A tough tackler and a good play maker.  Again injuries have meant we haven''t seen enough of him as we should have done.  I hope we will see more of Saf next season.

Charlie- 7 Probably my least enthusiastic signing at the beginning of the year!  However, Charlie has turned out some quality performances and (again) injuries have hampered how much he has played.

Doc- 6 A good solid defender IMO.  I think if we had signed a striker in the summer and hadn''t played him up front, he would have cemented a place in the back 4 all season.   

[Marty 0]

I think it is futile to rate the new players in what can only be described as a struggling team. I am not being harsh, just realistic, we were always going to struggle this year since our resources were limited. So how would we rate players that were here last year? all of whom will have scored highly last year. For example Huckerby, you wouldn''t give him more than 7 this year, he missed goals i could have scored. And Hucks is one of our best players. So how do we expect players from other countries or lower leagues to come in a change an average to poor premiership side? on the budget we had it wasn''t going to be easy. I think Doherty looks fine and gets too much critism. I think Stuart is doing as good a job as you could expect and looks like one of the most productive midfielders we have at the moment. Let''s be realistic, we only notice individuals because the team is not performing as we have hoped. In a good team Bentley may look awesome, so might Helveg, but in a struggling team none of these players has the ability to change things, the perfect example is the difference between Huckerby last year and now. It is a team game. How well can a keeper do well with a poor defence? how can a defence cope when the midfield is weak, how can a sticker score when he has no service etc. Our players haven''t turned bad overnight, it''s just the opposition has got a lot better, that''s the crux of the matter. 

[Helsinki canary 242]

And here comes the Helsinki vote

Ashton 8 - will prove to be an excellent signing - still getting upto Prem speed - but already looks the part

Jonson 6 - If he could learn to cross the ball to the level Steeno and scored a few he would turn into a good signing - still has time to prove himself

Helveg 5/6 - been a disappointment for me - mostly due to very poor passing - very strong once he has the ball - but really struggled to adapt to the speed of the English game, admittedly had he been given 6 games on the trot at right back things might have looked different. I like DD dont think he will be around come August.

Safri 5/6 seen snippets of potential - but he has just had too many injuries - appears to be a good distributor of the ball - I say we stick with him - he could come good

Doherty 5 - Gary is great in the air when defending the long ball - man marking very suspect on free kicks and quality corners, on the ground I am afraid he is a bit of a D, and appears to be rather clumsy. Not sure if he is the answer for us.

Bentley 6 - has shown signs of brilliance - but not very consistent and attitude like a big time Charlie - needs to keep his feet and the ground and concentrate more on his game - reckon he could still be a good match winner for us if stays - which I doubt.

Stuart - too early to judge based on lack of games - clearly not fit enough in his early games for us - has experience though

 

[Helsinki canary 242]

Sorry - hadn''t scraped all the snow and ice away - the Helsinki jury missed Simon Charlton - he gets a 7 - proved to be a good steady signing -struggles with the high long ball as we all suspected - reckon his best position is left back

[AJ 1,218]

 Ashton- 8 = Getting better all the time

Jonson- 6 = Puts in lots of effort, unfourtuantly with no avail, unfourtuantly hasnt reached his best of running passed players and getting those important crosses in as for Sweeden and Bromby. Maybe next year.......

Helveg- 4 = Cant play in the premier league, its far to quick and advanced for his italien roots, not the danish international that ive seen play before. Also his injuy hasnt helpd.

Bentley- 7 = gave him a 7 because he set up many goals and chances, but in my opinion hes no constant, he goes through spells of good and bad games, just got to his good then gets unjured, wouldnt mind signing him

Stuart- 5 = Done ok, but thats it, bit slow and dodgy in places, certainly has the idea but maybe his age is too much.

Safri- 6 = looks good from ive seen, good tackler and more creative that holt, injuries have held him back.

Charlie- 7 = Played well in every game. Cant add any more

Doc- 7 = Has played well, but once a mistake is made, it can effect the rest of his game. Deserves to be in the side ahead of fleming after recent performances   

[Creative Midfielder 1,996]

Havent posted for a while so here goes:

Ashton 6/7 - On what we''ve seen so far but looks like there''s to to come. January was always going to be too late for him to dig us out of trouble.

Jonson - I would also give him two scores, 8 for effort but 3 for performance. Great trier but despite people saying on here every week that he was getting better, IMO he''s delivered absolutely zip.

Helveg - 4 again great pedigree but no longer up up to Premiership standard.

Bentley 6/7 - as others have said, not as good yet as he thinks he is but still one of the very few to contribute any creativity. One of the few worth keeping.

Safri - 4 Fizzy league player at best, even there his aptitude for getting booked makes him a liability.

Stuart - 6 Short term option but has done a reasonable job.

Charlie - 8 Great, pick of the signings by a mile, dropped because of a poorish game when played unfit and out of position - must wonder what on earth he moved for.

Doc - 6 Not sure but again dropped just he was starting to play quite well, crazy management so that would lead me to:

Worthington - 2 Has failed entirely to cope with the Premiership. Admittedly always a tall order but his summer signings were poor and his team selections/tactics have generally been worse.