Ashton

[IPYellows 0]

Certainly one for the future, but premiership standard? NW certainly hasn''t helped as too often he''s been played up front in a loan role. What worries is me is that he seems a yard off the pace, in both mind and body to cut it at the top level.

I think 3.5 mill would have been better invested with a couple of centre backs and maybe a proven CF at prem level all-be-it on loan until the end of the season with a no obligation take.

[Saint Canary 0]

I was wondering how long this would take.  I knew when he signed and everyone was posting their "Saviour" comments that it would not take long for people to complain if he did not score every time he touched the ball.

He is 21 and has scored a lot of goals in the lower leagues but has no PL experience.  Did you really expect him to keep us up?  Worthy told us all that he was "not the messiah"

Don''t go blaming players for not living up to unrealistic expectations.

Also I would like to know which 3 players for a combined £3.5m you would have signed?  1 striker on loan, how many proven PL strikers did you see go on loan during the window?  How many good centre backs were available? 

[AJ 1,358]

sadly he hasnt looked the 3 million package......

but remember it took our players time to adjust to the premier, as dean said "its a big step-up". Im sure he will find the net plenty of times in the future... And at a young age his touch is superb.

[TheMarshmallowMan 0]

Do you remember when you first left home? The home sickness for weeks and weeks? The feeling that you don''t quite fit here? This is how Deano must be feeling. The lad''s only 21 (a year older than me!) and looks a fantastic prospect, but he''ll need time.

Give him the remainder of this season to settle, and we''ll have a diamond on our hands.

[ZLF 335]

If fitness allows I have no issues with the forward line up for city - Ashton and Hux are shoe ins and will only get better with more games together under their belt - with them we are creating chances and its only time before they both score consistently for us; more chances would help but that too will come with a couple of key signings.

Ashton is and will be fine - its how we get the other two parts of the outfield team to the same standard that is the challenge...

OTBC

[Anderz 0]

Didn''t Iwan take approximately a season to settle?

Granted Ashton is not overweight, but I''m convinced a similar situation will occur: Striker arrives, Striker takes time to settle, Striker proves to doubters that he is class despite how much he cost and scores on a productive basis.

I''m sure Deano will be around much longer than those you view him as a risky/dodgy purchase and for me that''ll be just fine...

[AJ 1,358]

Anderz your are totally right

but remember hes still young, and he is used to div.... sorry the fizzy league

[Northern Canary 0]

worthy said he wasnt a quick fix. ashton will probably be used to get us promoted aswel if we go down. anyway, he looks a lot better than the rest of our strikers

[3pmkickoff 0]

Ashton has quality, if you can''t see that then may I suggest you get a new guide dog

[The Bunny 326]

He might be closer to living up to his price tag if he was allowed to play to his strengths.

For instance, he should be taking our free kicks from around the area. I think he''s taken one since he was signed, and it was a blinder (saved unfortunately), but it was a better shot than anything I''ve seen from Huckerby or any other Norwich player this season, including Bentley. But instead of this, we get Huckerby''s lame attempts, which never look close to going in.

[Gentleman Jim 0]

Of the three early chances we had on saturday, it was only his effort that brought a save from the goalie. If he had had Huck''s and Brennen''s opportunities he would probably have scored.

He is by nature a goal scorer and I have no doubts he will have at least half a dozen goals by end of the season.

[charlies dad 0]

Ashton will repay his fee in full i beleive... i just think we may have to wait a little while for the full benefits to be seen. A signing for the future.

[kdncfc 0]

How can anyone question Deanos ability after just 5 games? After the boro game many people were saying he looked class and while he hasn''t scored since he does hit the target most of the time and is not afraid to shoot. He is getting to the stage where he needs a goal to boost his confidence and if he can get one against citeh he will have 2 in 6, not brilliant but not a total disaster either. The problem is that no one is playing well at the moment and it doesn''t exactly help when a player is having to settle into a team so low on confidence.

[susie b 0]

One of the questions I usually ask myself about players we are supposedly interested in or have just bought is ''would I rather he was playing for us or go/had gone to one of our rivals?''  In Dean''s case I am 100% sure of my answer, regardless of what division we are in next season, and that is that I would much rather have him on our side than playing for someone else against us.

He may need more time to produce the goals and consistent performances we believe are there but that is part of what many have spoken about already, i.e. settling in, getting up to pace, gaining confidence, etc., all of which are difficult against the backdrop of a misfiring team and an increasingly sticky situation in the league.   From what I''ve seen and heard so far, though, we have an extreme football enthusiast and serious student of the game on our hands, and his past experiences of much worse times should help him deal with any of the mountains he has to climb.

I''m not usually one for predictions but I wouldn''t mind betting that a year on from now we will all be singing his praises on a regular basis.  Anyway, I sure hope so!