norwich agree deal for Johan Elmander

[Splendid Rush 2]

]Who cares, watch the goals

http://youtu.be/uGRPDRm5bA0

H

Eboue''s control of the ball before his assist at 1.51 is pure class.

[Splendid Rush 2]

Bet365 offering 1/5 on him joining us before the end of this transfer window.

[Lets be aving you! 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZuuJLADBXU

 

Good for a muse.

 

[BroadstairsR 2,206]

Not overly excited by this and my initial thought was him or Becchio, but not both. We really are in need of the "so-called'' no. 10 and his his goal-scoring record is not that brilliant either.

 

However, having read this (from Wiki) I am warming up:

 

"Before the 2004–05 season, he was bought by Danish Superliga outfit Brøndby. Despite not scoring as many goals for the club as was expected, he was the playmaker and creative spark of the Brøndby team in the 2004–05 Superliga season, playing mainly as the free roaming forward behind the sole striker in Laudrup''s 4–3–3 formation. The team won the Double of both the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup title, and Elmander was voted Brøndby''s Player of the Year."

 

This may be over-stated and the Danish League is a lot weaker than the Premier League  but I suppose it''s a fair signing and discontent is not on after our super summer. Dreams of Fabriagella (and even Toivenen) reduce its'' impact though.

 

I also realise that we cannot have a superstar sitting discontentedly on the bench and that it was either an oldie or an up-and-coming option. An experienced player is a better insurance policy IMO. 

 

The fact that he''s a Grant Holt lookalike helps combat the withdrawal symptoms of loosing the big man as well. 

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Coming on a free and with the Turks subsidising his wages I think it is an excellent signing, despite him being 32. He will give us more direction options if required. He did very well for Bolton and has experience of the EPL and is still a current Swedish international. He will do what Holt would have provided had he stayed. It will allow us to go and spend the cash on a good CB and possibly an attacking midfielder

[city4eva 213]

If true it looks a good bit of business for a Holt lookalike

[Cantiaci Canary 558]

It shows how spoilt some of our fans have become when they turn their noses up at a Swedish international striker with 19 goals under his belt.

This would be a cracking signing for us. If we need a goal at the end of the game he can come on and give us height, muscle, experience and something to unsettle defenders with their back to the wall ... I think a few supporters have become dazzled with names like Quagliarella which was always a wishful punt.

[Mervmeister 18]

Spending say £8m or something on Quaq who may have turned out no better, or this guy who is proven to work his arse off on a free is a no brainer for me.

[Branston Pickle 3,690]

IMO he could be just what we need, has bags of experience all over Europe, and at a good level including the PL - this is something that our other guys don''t have. I''d have liked Quag but can certainly see almost more benefit in getting an Elmander-type player to go with what we have, an older head to play a season or two and help bring on the others.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Detailed article on Turkish Football.com stated club has been in talks for a few days and the deal is expected to go through very soon. All very good news

[*** 0]

On a free? so I''m ruddy pleased with this signing.[Y]

[Yellow Wal 314]

Very happy with this.

[The Great Mass Debater 1,092]

[quote user="Jh1990"]Still love watching the goal he scored against wolves, voted on of the best premier league goals of all timehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWUyim2lsrk[/quote]

Lovely goal, epic fail for the Wolves defender though...

[Bury Yellow 2]

Yep, as most have said this could be a good signing.

Will be an excellent addition to the squad and if his chance comes along I think he could become one of the seasons success stories.

Of course I am a bit biased ''cos, as Yorkshire says, as a Holty lookalike it eases the sorrow :-)

[The Great Mass Debater 1,092]

[quote user="haisbrohacker"]Who cares, watch the goals

http://youtu.be/uGRPDRm5bA0

H[/quote]

Outstanding. Was never impressed by him at Bolton but there''s no arguing the quality of those goals

[Bury Yellow 2]

Oh, by the way GMD, are you coming today?

Sorry, it may have been done before and I am slow on the uptake :-)

[The Great Mass Debater 1,092]

[quote user="Bury Yellow"]Oh, by the way GMD, are you coming today?

Sorry, it may have been done before and I am slow on the uptake :-)[/quote]

I find I often arrive too early...

[Joanna Grey 0]

Advantages are that he will cost nothing, he speaks very good English and that he can play that Secondary Striker role. An experienced head could be what we need to knit the midfield and attack together.

[Mason 47 1,403]

I think Hughton just really wanted a Swedish striker

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

TBH not only does he look like Holt, the role he can play is similar and has bags of EPL experience, I think in general he is actually a bit of an up grade. It all looks like good business (if true of course):Grant Holt - Age : 12/4/81 (32 yo) - Height : 6''1" (1.85m) - EPL App/Goals : 70/23 - Caps/Goals : 0/0 - Honours : Northern Premier League Presidents Cup 2001/02 (Barrow Town), League 1 Championship (Norwich City)Johan Elmander - Age : 27/05/81 (32 yo) - Height 6''2" (1.88m) - EPL App/Goals : 92/18 - Caps/Goals : 68/18 - Honours : UEFA Cup 2001/02 (Feyernoord), Allsvenskan (Swedish League) 2002 & 2003, Swedeish Cup 2002 (Djurgarden), Danish Superliga 2004/05, Danish Cup 2005 (Brondby), Super Lig 2011/12 & 12/13, Super Kupa 2012 & 2013, Emirates Cup 2013 (Galatasaray)Plus we got £2m for Holt, Elmander is on a free. Holt was struggling to fill the role Hughton wanted him to do, Elmander should have no such problems being asked to fill different roles in different (or even the same) games. All in all, he''s not Quagliarella, but he does speak English, he''s not Toivonen, but he doesn''t seem to have a history of sulking. Added to the already potent strike force at the club I think the management can be fairly pleased with their transfer work this summer. It would be nice to get a new CB next and that''ll be 9 new 1st team players (inc Javier), which I believe was the number mentioned by McNally at the end of last season.Role on 3pm.OTBC!

[HampsteadCanary 0]

The finishing quality of the players we''re linked with is a big step up - we haven''t had many players over the last 20 years who can finish like Elmander and El Hamdaoui. Both would be excellent signings in my opinion, as we really need an older, more experienced striker in the squad, even if they don''t start all the time. At the moment none of our forwards have a premier league goal to their name!

[smooth 114]

It is seeming a better deal than when I first saw the potential move. Not that I think it is a signing that would satisfy what I think we need in three quality forwards, however, if this led to ola moving across too then I could see this as a cracking piece of business.

Bring in a centre forward who knows the tussle and has top flight experience for many years. Then this could help ola look at the option of a great challenge in the premier league and then our forward group would look incredibly capable.

If elmander moves in we will still need a quality attacking midfielder and centre half but if the deal highlighted is accurate then I could see it as a good deal, but an even better deal if it could lead to ola moving across too.

[PurpleCanary 5,582]

[quote user="smooth"]It is seeming a better deal than when I first saw the potential move. Not that I think it is a signing that would satisfy what I think we need in three quality forwards, however, if this led to ola moving across too then I could see this as a cracking piece of business.

Bring in a centre forward who knows the tussle and has top flight experience for many years. Then this could help ola look at the option of a great challenge in the premier league and then our forward group would look incredibly capable.

If elmander moves in we will still need a quality attacking midfielder and centre half but if the deal highlighted is accurate then I could see it as a good deal, but an even better deal if it could lead to ola moving across too.[/quote]

 

Agreed, providing he is not just looking for a lucrative move to the Premier League and has kept himself fit and still has the desire. I happened to see Elmander playing for Sweden in a youth tournament (under 18s or under 19s?) a decade and a half ago and thought then he would be perfect for English football.I am not sure, sadly, that we would still be after Toivonen. At least half the attraction there is that he can take the weight of the attack up front. Elmander would fill that gap in the squad (Becchio being not up to it). If we are still after another centre-back I suspect Elmander and the CB would be it for this transfer window, with money saved for January.

[smooth 114]

Purple I agree, I think it would mean that next season we would need that other striker, which is ashame because it would have been nice if we would be after a youngster to bring on who and not possibly another starter.

I don''t really want us relying on January either, we need a few positions filled.

Lets see what happens. But if he came here on a free, as you say in good shape then maybe good work, but if it could lead to an attacking midfielder coming in then great. We need that player before the end of the window.

[Lets be aving you! 0]

Two different descriptions of Elmander''s time at Brøndby suggest he can play as more than ''just a striker'':

 

"During two seasons in Denmark he bagged 21 goals but it was his all round team play that made him a firm fans favourite. Operating as a support striker in a 4-3-3 formation, he was the creative maestro that lead [sic] Brondby to a Danish Cup double in his first season."

 

"Despite not scoring as many goals for the club as was expected, he was the playmaker and creative spark of the Brøndby team in the 2005 Superliga season, playing mainly as the free roaming forward behind the sole striker in Laudrup''s 4–3–3 formation"

 

[CambridgeCanary 0]

The Pink''un Role Model said

There''s flippin'' 1000s!!

And three days later they are still at it. Someone would have said by now if it was a hoax.

Also, for any doubters, the thousands of tweets of thanks and good wishes are the answer. He has the affection and respect of Galatasaray''s fans for a reason.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,800]

theres been enough speculation on this over the last couple of days to have surely warranted some mention on the sports pages of Archant?, or a question to the manager yesterday?

but no,once again our usual *cough* finger on the pulse sports reporters leave it to the other party in a transaction for us to get any information through?

[Juggy 0]

I''ve got very fond memories of the last 30+ year old Swedish striker that we signed as a squad player, Mathias Svensson.

Seem to remember people being underwhelmed by that signing too but he left as a bit of a cult hero and scored some excellent goals, some off of the bench.

We are in a different league now of course but then Elmander is a league above Svensson..... I''m seeing this as our Premier League version of Svensson, not the first name on the team sheet but somebody you can rely on when needed and capable of coming off the bench and stealing a goal. 

[PurpleCanary 5,582]

[quote user="The New Boy"]I''ve got very fond memories of the last 30+ year old Swedish striker that we signed as a squad player, Mathias Svensson.

Seem to remember people being underwhelmed by that signing too but he left as a bit of a cult hero and scored some excellent goals, some off of the bench.

We are in a different league now of course but then Elmander is a league above Svensson..... I''m seeing this as our Premier League version of Svensson, not the first name on the team sheet but somebody you can rely on when needed and capable of coming off the bench and stealing a goal. 

[/quote]

 

Svensson was 29 when we signed him. He didn''t turn 30 until the September of the following Premier League season. Elmander is 32.

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="The New Boy"]I''ve got very fond memories of the last 30+ year old Swedish striker that we signed as a squad player, Mathias Svensson.

Seem to remember people being underwhelmed by that signing too but he left as a bit of a cult hero and scored some excellent goals, some off of the bench.

We are in a different league now of course but then Elmander is a league above Svensson..... I''m seeing this as our Premier League version of Svensson, not the first name on the team sheet but somebody you can rely on when needed and capable of coming off the bench and stealing a goal. 

[/quote]

Svensson was 29 when we signed him. He didn''t turn 30 until the September of the following Premier League season. Elmander is 32.

[/quote]

I stand corrected.

But Svensson and Elmander are just in a completely different league anyway. It''s a sign of how far we have come when we are linked to Elmander on a free transfer / nominal fee and people are turning their noses up.

Palace are apparently in the market for him, and I''d bloody well think so after having to start Wilbraham yesterday!