The "Big" Debate

So it would appear that the old "Bigger Club" debate has started all over again...

Be it the boredom of the International Break or just friendly banter between differing groups of fans, it's back and this time has been sparked by the comments of ex Norwich City midfielder Jacob Butterfield over comments he made on his Deadline Day move to Tony Mowbrays Middlesborough.

For reference, here is what he said... Kindly provided by Rob Butler of BBC Radio Norfolk:



I'll reserve my immediate issues with Mr Butterfield's comments for another day, but would add his comments over who is the more "impressive" club are not my biggest issue.

So what does "bigger club" actually mean?

Some fans will tell you it all about the ground capacity... Some will say it's attendance home and away... Some will say it's history... and some will say it's about your current standing in the world of football...

Let's analyze each of those facts!

Ground Capacity:

No one is gonna argue with the fact that, for instance, Manchester United or Man City are two of the biggest clubs in English Football. What I am certain of is that this has nothing to do with the size of their Stadium.

There stadium size is more to do with the financial rewards of their League and European achievements throughout the ages. It can also be argued that Ground Capacity is also down to who runs / owns your club.

In the case of Man City or Chelsea we know that they have very very wealthy owners who for the most part see Football as a commercial venture and nothing more. If they do see it as a commercial venture then image is vitally important when building a global brand and so of course the best stadium and facilities are going to be a key early investment from said owners.

I personally don't feel Ground Size plays any part in the debate as to whether a club is "bigger" than another. This is due to the simple fact that some of the "smaller" clubs may not have the investment from wealthy owners in order to increase their ground size.

Average Attendance:

This one is slightly more intriguing. Let's take Norwich for instance, in the average attendance in relation to ground capacity Norwich are always up their amongst the big boys. Why? Well a lot of that is due to the nature of where we are in the country... It's not like we are in London for instance and have Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Fulham to chose from and that's just in the Premiership, if we look at the Football League as well then we also have to include QPR, Watford, Leyton Orient, AFC Wimbledon to name just a few.

So then we look at the age of quote of "well if we have a 60'000 seater stadium we would still have a packed house" and whilst that MIGHT be true I think in the case of Norwich that would be somewhat sky high in terms of aspirations right now. I do however feel a 35'000 - 42'000 seater stadium would certainly sell out of be close to selling out each week.

Why do I say this? Well it was a fact last year that behind Arsenal and Manchester United we were one of the hardest grounds to get a ticket for. We have a capacity of around 27'000 of which 22'000 are season ticket holders (which is a limit set by the club - and from my understanding there is a 2 year waiting list) and a further 2'000 - 3'000 are away fans leaving around 2'500 general sale tickets.

Lets say we took the capacity to 35'000 the club could then raise the season ticket cut off to around 28'000 clearing some but not all of the backlog of people on it's waiting list. Away fans would still bring roughly 3'000 fans meaning we would still only have around 4'000 general sale tickets available. Making it extremely plausible that we would still continue to sell out.

Let's take a look at the likes of Wigan and QPR for instance, despite having similar size stadiums they struggled to hit 70% attendance during their time in the Premiership. QPR would argue they are a bigger club than Norwich and yet while they were in the Premier League they couldn't fill their stadium, it's the same story with Wigan who had been there a long time. Now does that mean they are smaller clubs? No it does not (although both are smaller clubs, this is not the reason for it). It simply means that QPR are competing with a host of other London clubs and so their share of that market is limited and Wigan are competing with Rugby (similar for Hull).

So as much as I find this argument compelling I just don't feel it is as cut and dry as some might think as contributing factors and geographical placement comes in to play greatly.

History:

Oh that old chesnut ay! This is the one that most fans use to batter other fans around the head with when talking about who is the "Bigger Club". I'll be honest, I hate this argument and here is why:

History is by it's very nature HISTORY... it's in the past and irrelevant to current standing. Take Villa for instance... They have won Silverware galore but in terms of league position and spending power they have been worse off than Norwich, who in the grand scheme of things have very little silverware, for the past three years.

So you could say "OK let's just look at recent history", OK fine, but where do we make the cut off and who decides that? For me the only relevant history is that of the last 5-6 years.

So in the case of Norwich we have won a League 1 Champions Title and Championship Runners Up Title. For Villa they have a League Cup Runners up medal from 2010 and that's it... however are you really gonna argue that we are a bigger club than Aston Villa??? Of course we're not.

Finally let's look at Current Standing:

Well for me this has to be the basis on which you base the argument of who is the "Bigger Club", that is if people insist on having this argument.

Let's take Norwich / Villa as a case study.

Norwich have in the last 4 years been on an upward trajectory since winning League One and since the appointment of Mr McNally and friends.

Villa on the other hand you would have to argue have been on a downwards trajectory since MoN's 3rd consecutive 6th place finish in the 2009-10 season, finishing 9th the season after then 16th and 15th.

As I said current standing should be the basis on which we base the argument but it in no way tells the whole story because once again in the case of Villa / Norwich I would never argue that Norwich are a
"Bigger Club".

I think you then have to take into consideration average attendance, then take into consideration recent history with a cut off of the last 10 years. Then and only then can you make a judgement on it.

I have to say personally I think the whole who is bigger than who argument is utterly pointless because as you can see from this analysis, it's impossible to say who is bigger.

A football club should be judged on the following things:

Performance, Mentality, How well it's run (ie debt / money in the bank), transfers, manager, players, league position and nothing more.

In Norwich's case this year we are debt free and have therefore been able to spend big big money in the transfer market - this demonstrates that the club is being run very well considering we were almost bust 4 years ago.

We have brought top quality, young, international players to the club and competed with some of the big boys in chasing their signatures - this shows that Norwich as a team and club are gaining more and more respect from the football community.

We have finished 12th and 11th in the Prem the last 2 years and have the quality in the squad to be pushing for a top 10 finish this terms - this demonstrates solidity and ambition.

We have a great manager in Chris Hughton who is widely respected throughout the industry and has been described as one of the best tacticians in the game as well as being one of the best Man Managers in the game.

That, for me at least, is how you judge a club!

Having said all of that... WE ARE STILL A MUCH BIGGER CLUB THAN IPSWICH!

"It just hint good enuff!"

"It just hint good enuff!"

HULL CITY TIGERS 1 - 0 NORWICH CITY

Oh dear it's starting again and I don't mean the performance, I mean the classic case of some #ncfc fans getting all worked up because we lost a game and calling for Hughtons head.

First of all, I can catergorically tell all of you that that was not a "negative" or "defensive" display so those spouting that crap should learn something about football and shut their mouth!

For those that continue with the "why ent Hootun playun two strikers! 442! It just hint good enuff". Just for the record very few teams outside the top 6 play a 442 and that's for a very good reason. In the Premiership it's all about possession. You aren't going to create a thousand chances a game unless you are Man United or Chelsea etc and even the later set up in a 4231 (same as we did today). Having that 5 in midfield with 3 of those pushing forward allows you to play more expansive passing play, you keep more possession. Trust me a 4231 is not a negative tactic or formation that's essentially 4 up front with one central mid playing both attack and then dropping back into defensive duties when needed with the two holding mids.

Those that claim that today's performance was negative and defensive were clearly watching a different game or (which I suspect is the case) just like saying that about Hughton and his tactics! We spent 90% of the game camped in their half (that's not negative), we had 60% possession, also not negative. At every opportunity we were trying to find space to work an attack (not negative).

Did we lack some creative flair today? Yes we did. Did we do ourselves no favours with sloppy passing? Yes we did, but to say it was a negative and defensive display is BS.

The truth is this: we started brightly had some great movement and passing, Redmond in particular cutting inside and creating space, Fer also looked very dangerous, RVW making some really nice runs opening up the Hull defence. Then the dubious penalty decision. That got Hull's tails up, it was totally against the run of play. Our guys showed good spirit to not drop their heads and within seconds Redmond was unleashing a blistering shot on goal. Then the sending off! Definite red card but it changed the game. Hull quite rightly then endeavoured to shut up shop and protect their lead. In fairness to them they did it to great applaude much in the same way they showed great defensive play against Chelsea last weekend.

The next 25 mins post the sending off were key. We needed to go bang bang bang and hurt them while they were trying to find their shape and balance. However one person stood in the way of that and that was Mike Jones (referee). His insistence of giving a free kick for every nudge or tackle slowed the momentum of the game and created an American Football style game of stop start, stop start. It killed our momentum and meant that come the half time break Hull and Steve Bruce had time to regroup and plan their tactics for the second half.

Second half came and we came out of the blocks racing and bar some very open play and some more sloppy passing late in the second half, we spent 90% of the time camped in their half. At this point though Hull had 10 men behind the ball in defence making it nigh impossible for us to find routes and spaces in. Bar a wonderful header from van Wolfswinkel that was kept out with a fantastic save by McGregor and a Tettey long shot that was set up with a superb chested ball from RVW, we didn't get too many clear cut chances. The stat showing how many chances we took from long range efforts says it all, we couldn't get inside their box because they camped everyone around it.

I think some Norwich fans expected us to go their and smash them 6 or 7 nil! Ridicolous! Hull are not an easy team, they defend wonderfully and are a tough tough team to break down (much like we were this season). I had hoped for a win and it is true that we need to be looking at these types of games as games to win if we are to number one, stay in this league and two, climb the table further. In truth I expected a tough close encountered I even said it would probably be a bit scrappy and that they would stop us from playing how we want to play and on those counts I was right. However I had predicted us to win 2-1.

Do I think it was a below par display today from Norwich? yes I do! Not though for the reasons being sited by some people. We were simply too sloppy in possession and yes maybe we lacked a little creativity in the final third. No one. however, can say we didn't try and can say we were negative or defensive because it's simply not true. Unfortunately it's used as the staple "I don't really know what I'm talking about so it must be right" blurb that comes out of a small number of fans mouths in these occasions.

Finally for those moaning about the starting XI the only other option open to us was to play Redders wide right and Ollson wide left. Snodgrass was on the bench because he wasn't fit enough to play 90. Yes Howson is not a wide player but we didn't really have many options with Snoddy not fully fit, Pilks not ready and Bennett now out for the season! I think under the circumstances that was probably the best line up on offer.

A few positives to take from the game though would once again be RVW's performance, he didn't see much of the ball but when he did he looked clinical that header alone was superb. I heard some classic #canarycall caller earlier say "this is The Wolf why we playun it to his head! E's not an header of the ball now ez he!" - really! Have you seen many of RVW's goals! A clinical header of the ball I would argue!

I also think Fer had a great performance and looked the proper deal in the centre of the park. Redmond was sublime again although his decision making lets him down, however that will come with age. I also think that Elmader (and I'm not his biggest fan) looked great when he came on, some really nice touches and some lovely open play with the Wolf.

Anyway I just think that some fans need to learn to think before they speak because they end up looking like totally idiots with some of the comments they make!

Right time for a shower before seeing what Good 'Ol Gazza and co have to say about today on MOTD! On to a confidence boosting win against Bury on Tuesday and then a hard thought 3 points against Saints on Saturday, rest assured though, neither are gonna be easy!

Peace!

The Saga is over... Hughton gets his man!

Does anyone else feel like we have been here before?!

It's over... the painfully long saga that is Norwich City's pursuit of Gary Hooper has finally been resolved. Like a Peter Jackson movie this one seemed like it was never going to end, but alas it has!

Gary Hooper is now officially a Norwich City player! He has completed his move to Norwich for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £5.5 million, on a 4 year deal... are we happy? Well as I've said before I am not un-happy! I think the reality of the situation is that this has gone on for so long, thanks to Celtic's ridiculous attitude and behavior, that I have become indifferent to the whole situation.

To be honest David McNally has shown why he is such a great businessman with this entire deal! I suspect that we offered around £4.5mill which was rejected by Celtic. We then sat back, knowing that money rich QPR would swoop in and out bid us. Once they had an offer accepted McNally then knew what the club were willing to sell for and we bid that, knowing they couldn't decline and knowing that Hooper would most likely chose us over QPR. He has pulled of a great bit of business here especially after we almost payed £8 million for him in January!

Hooper, 25,  has a good goal to game ratio albeit in the pub league that is the SPL, but most importantly he is almost a tailor made replacement for the big man who left us for Wigan (Grant Holt). The two players are very similar in style and build, although Hooper is by far the better and more clinical finisher.

He is unproven at this level but I am more than confident that he will be a hit at Norwich and will no doubt knock a few goals in along the way. Predictions for him? Well it really depends who else we bring in... Reports are still strong that we intend to bring in Juventus' Fabio Quagliarella although with the arrival of Hooper I'm inclined to believe that this move is now dead. However I would not be surprised is the Matej Vydra deal is now very much on the cards... I'm still very keen for us to go after Alfred Finnbogasson!

Time will tell as to who we chose to bring in... If we don't bring another striker in, which is highly unlikely, one would assume that Hooper will take the number 10 shirt. If we bring in any of the above or another world class striker... who knows?! For now at least we must simply put our faith in Chris Hughton and David McNally, who by all accounts have pulled off one of the best and most exciting transfer windows in recent memory... and by the sounds of things it's not over yet!

Don't forget to follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton

'till next time...

ON THE BALL CITY!

Spoilt for Choice!

Canary Legend and one my all time favourite Norwich City legends Darren Eadie (@eadie11) just sparked a very interesting Twitter debate over people's ideal starting XI based on the current Squad of players...

There are some consistents obviously in John Ruddy and Ricky Van Wolfwinkel but everywhere else seems to be a free for all...

To put it into context here is my ideal Starting XI:

GK - John Ruddy
LB - Javier Garrido
RB - Russell Martin
CB - Sebastian Bassong
CB - Michael Turner
LM - Anthony Pilkington
RM - Robert Snodgrass
CM - Leroy Fer
CAM - Nathan Redmond
ST - Ricky van Wolfwinkel
ST - Gary Hooper

Bench:
GK - Mark Bunn
RB - Steven Whittaker
CB - Ryan Bennett
LB - Martin Ollson
CM - Bradley Johnson
CM - Johnny Howson
ST - Luciano Becchio

But here is the problem:

Elliot Bennett - had a fantastic close to the season and has started very brightly in pre season. Pacey, good crosser, not overly consistent but still worthy of a spot but who do you take out? Pilks? Snoddy? Seems hard doesn't it!

Steven Whittaker - had a great run when he came back from injury his link up play with Snoddy against Swansea in particular. He's pacey and is good when going forward but I could never take Martin out of the starting XI so what can you do?

Bradley Johnson - Fantastic for us last year but Leroy Fer is a better box to box mid and a better defensive mid.

Alex Tettey - had some moments of genius last year but again who do you take out, Fer? Johnson?

Johnny Howson - was fairly average for most of the season but when allowed that free attacking role in the final couple of games he came to life... but again who do you take out? Redmond who is currently the stand out player from pre season?

Wesley Hoolahan - Norfolks Messi... for me he's easier to lose just because I don't think he is consistent enough and hasn't been for almost a year. But still I can't even get him on the bench?!

Ryan Bennett - He was magnificent when he came in for the injured Michael Turner and it is hard not to include him over Turner BUT I think at this stage he still has a little development to make.

Daniel Ayala - somewhat easier choice but still he has been fantastic in pre season showing maturity and class at the back. I think one or two more seasons and he could be a regular starter for sure!

Martin Ollson - I can see him and Garrido sharing the left back role next year, I suspect that Ollson would be utilized in away games because he has more pace so we can play counter attack better... but at home I can't see Garrido being nudged out.

So you can see the problem!

We really are spoilt for choice. Sure we could field a different team each week but that doesn't allow anyone to gel...

If you think about it though our cup dreams could be realized this year in that our cup team could look something like this:

GK - Mark Bunn
LB - Martin Ollson
CB - Daniel Ayala
CB - Ryan Bennett
RB - Steven Whittaker
LM - Elliot Bennett
RM - Josh Murphy
CM - Bradley Johnson
CM - Johnny Howson
CAM - Wesley Hoolahan
ST - Luciano Becchio

All in all I think we have a very exciting year ahead of us... and yeah it's horrible to have to bench of drop people who we like a lot but we have to play the best team and it's a good thing that we are spoilt for choice! Would rather that than not have enough players.

Let me know your thoughts by commenting or tweet me @chrisdeighton

'till next time

ON THE BALL CITY!

Portland Timbers 1 - 0 Norwich City - Review and Full Match Replay

Full Replay of Timbers vs Canaries from this morning!

Match starts 45 minutes in...

Portland Timber 1 - 0 Norwich City

The Canaries suffered their second pre season loss against MLS competition in the early hours of this morning. Portland Timbers fielded a side of reserves and fringe players whilst Norwich starting XI was not far off my predictions:

GK - Carlo Nash

LB - Elliot Bennett

CB - Russel Martin

CB - Ryan Bennett

RB - Steven Whittaker

LM - Nathan Redmond

CM - Johnny Howson

CM - David Fox

RM - Robert Snodgrass

CAM - Wesley Hoolahan

ST - Ricky van Wolfswinkel

As I predicted John Ruddy was rested for the game, I had suspected Mark Bunn to come on at half time but having already got 90 minutes under his belt it was no surprise to see Nash deputize the full 90. Nash had a fairly uneventful debut for The Canaries, he made a couple of good saves both sides of half time but for the most part wasn't really tested as the game struggled to get out of midfield. Some may argue that he should have done better for the goal conceded mid way through the second half. In all fairness to the guy he has played very little competitive action in the last few years and in all honesty won't feature a lot for us this coming season.

Surprisingly I think Elliot Bennett had a really good game at left back, he looked quite assured in defense. Of the back four he looked the most fit and some of his movement on and off the ball when he was allowed to get forward was really good. He is still slightly off pace but this is to be expected due to us only being in the 2nd week of pre season. He has impressed me in the last two games and I'm looking forward to seeing him in action against Brighton on Tuesday evening.

Russell Martin once again took custody of the Captains Armband, whether we can read into this as a sign for the new season is unclear but I would be very surprised if he wasn't called upon to take over from Grant Holt. He had a pretty good game at centre back although once again he wasn't really tested a great deal. He also came close to scoring at the other end when he watched his flicked header go inches wide to the Timbers post.

Ryan Bennett and Steven Whittaker both had OK performances, Bennett as always was fairly dominant in the air and had a header go wide from a corner in the first half. In all fairness the ball did come off his back rather than his head! Whittaker for me looked well off pace and took a nasty knock in the second half, although did continue and looked OK. His pace was off, his movement was not bad but more worryingly was how often he gave the ball away. This is all about match fitness and sharpness and at this stage it would be unfair to judge or condemn a player, however of the back four he looked the most off pace.

In midfield, to use an american term, the MVP was with no doubt Nathan Redmond. He gave us yet another fantastic display in passing, pace and skill. His pace and speed down the left flank left the Timbers all over the place. So much so that a couple of their guys got well deserved bookings for disgraceful challengers on him. In fact Powell was lucky to stay on the pitch after two two footed challengers. Redmond however seemed to brush it off showing a really good level of maturity. He had one spectacular shot on goal from about 30 yards that the keeper got a hand to pushing it onto the bar and out for a corner. He looked really dangerous when he cut inside and had some lovely link up play with Wes and RVW. I'm really keen to see him and Leroy Fer and RVW link up soon. I think this threesome could be a real handful for Premier League defenses next year.

Johnny Howson looked a long way from match fitness, his sharpness and movement was poor and much like Steven Whittaker he gave the ball away far too much. He showed very little true creativity in terms of passing and link up play, which is a massive shame because his form at the end of last season was superb. Hopefully over the next few weeks his fitness and sharpness will get better and he will be back to his best. Maybe he spent a little too long fishing this summer! I have always been a fan of David Fox but if we are to progress forward as a club I don't think anyone can really argue that Fox along with Andrew Surman are two players that don't cut it at this level. His movement was average as was his passing, once again he showed no flair or creativity in possession.

Snodgrass had a better game than against San Jose but once again he is still miles off fully fit, more worringly for me was his movement on the ball. We all saw last season a lot of wasted chances when he was in possession, sometimes he seems intent on going it alone. Personally I feel he needs to learn to look up from time to time. He had a couple of good opportunities to pass to people like Wes, Redmond, and RVW who were all in space and in on goal, instead he tried to dummy and swerve his way through the Portlands defence where inevititably, just as he did last season, he would hit a brick wall. I think if Snodgrass is going to be a hit for us this season someone in the training camp really needs to drum into him that this is a team game and not about individuals.

Unfortunately once again Hoolahan had a decidedly average game. His passing and sharpness was off just as against San Jose. His movement was better this time round and he did find some nice space for both RVW and Redmond but if we are too be blunt and honest I honestly can't see Wes being used as heavily this season, it's all about consistency and he just isn't consistent enough.

Up top The Wolf looked sharp once again. He didn't have that many chances bestowed upon him, largely because once again the service to him was either poor or non existent, however he definitely looks a hand full. On a couple of occasions he beat the offside trap and got in behind the Timbers defense only to drag his shots narrowly wide. He also displayed some lovely link up play with Snoddy in the second half demonstrating some lovely one touch football to get Snods through on goal, who got a good ball in across the face of goal but unfortunately no one was home to drive the effort past the flumaxed Timbers keeper. He showed some great movement and pace in the first half culminating in his header going narrowly wide of the post. It would seem despite my concerns that when match fit he will be a dangerous player and indeed does have some pace in attack.

Overall the display was better than against San Jose but again not a whole lot to write home about. As I have said many times this is pre season and the priority is match fitness not getting results. However it would have been nice to see slightly more creative flair in attack. The first half was very good and we were unlucky to go into the break at 0-0. The second half however, presumably through tiredness, was almost a non event, despite some lovely passing play in the final 15 minutes. I have long been saying that when playing a 4-5-1 the best way to utilize that formation is to keep the ball to the ground use the pace of the wingers and full backs and create space through the centre of the park with good possession and passing play. The occasional long ball over the top is OK but as the only option it doesn't work. It's too predictable and in the Premier League far to easy to defend against and read. When you play a long ball you are unlikely to pull anyone out of position on the opposing team, its also slower which means defenders have longer to possession themselves correctly. You end up relying purely on the pace and arial threat of your striker. Memory takes me back to the game against Posh last year and Jacksons goal. That was the perfect example of how to use the long ball tactic. Finally our set plays need a lot of work, unfortunately David Fox seemed to be taking most of them and his final ball was poor.

The players return the the UK today where they will have the weekend off before returning to training on Monday and then the short trip to Brighton on Tuesday for a 7.30pm kick off and the AMEX Arena.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading.

See you soon.

Follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton

Portland Timbers Preview & Transfer Round-Up

It would appear that Ricky and Ollson aren't too keen on their training kits?!

We are about 8 hours away from our final Pre-Season game of the USA Tour against Portland Timbers. So, what can we expect in tonight's game?

The EDP's resident Norwich Reporter Paddy Davitt (@paddyjdavitt), who is currently on tour with the boys reported early that Chris Hughton does plan to leave some players out tonight as a precaution against injury due to the fact that tonight's game will be played on a 3G pitch.

For those that don't know what a 3G pitch here is a little run down. As you might have guessed it is a synthetic / artificial grass pitch. 3G simply stands for 3rd Generation, it came about after recent developments in synthetic grass. The manufacturers say that the surfaces offers "maximum comfort under foot, exceptional ball bounce, ball roll characteristics" whatever the hell that is, as well as "good ball control".

That being said after watching interviews with Chris Hughton and more importantly Steven Whittaker, neither seem too keen. Chris Hughton said "the artificial surface is a different type of surface than what we are used to, but that's why we've come here to test ourselves and for these challenges... it really is a case of just getting used to it... with these 3g surfaces now they try to replicate it as close as they can to real grass... being here you can feel it is a lot softer under foot than they were a few years ago".

Steven Whittaker sounded slightly less diplomatic on the subject "we're not too keen on it... It's definitely harder, sliding is not as comfortable, you're wary of turning and your feet tend to burn up and get covered in blisters... It's not ideal but we'll try to take care of ourselves"

Chris Hughton also gave us a brief update on Michael Turner and Sebastian Bassong who he claims are both coming on very well back in England. He also confirmed that Bradley Johnson returned home yesterday to undergo some physio on this knee. He empathized that it was not a serious knock and he was expected to be back in training within a couple of days.

So with Chris looking to leave a few out tonight, what can we expect?

Well this is a tough question because he could be looking at it from two different angles. Firstly his thinking could be that he won't want to risk players whom he considers to be most important to the team! You would therefore imagine that in that scenario the likes of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, John Ruddy, Russell Martin, Leroy Fer, Wesley Hoolahan, Robert Snodgrass and Anthony Pilkington would all be rested.

On the other hand (which is my preferred way of thinking) he could be thinking that he will leave those out that have had more match time than others. My reasoning behind this is that pre-season is all about fitness, Chris Hughton keeps telling us that as do the players. So far, out of the 3 matches; Wes, Leroy & Ricky (being the most notable) have only gotten 45 minutes of match time. Therefore I would be very surprised to see any of them left out of the squad for tonight's match. John Ruddy on the other hand I think will be rested. I suspect Nash will start in goal with Bunn coming on in the second half.

Across the back I think that Whittaker will start on the right, Javier Gariddo on the left with Ayala and Ryan Bennett across the centre.

In midfield I think Robert Snodgrass and Anthony Pilkington will both be rested. I can see Nathan Redmond coming on the right with Elliot Bennett taking the left. I would then see Leroy Fer and Wes Hoolahan starting in the middle with possibly Josh Murphy or Jacob Butterfield, Wes as always taking the free role in behind the striker, who I predict will be Ricky Van Wolfwinkel.

I think Howson will be used as a sub to replace Butterfield or Murphy depending who plays. Then either Butterfield or Murphy being used as a sub to replace Wes.

Fox could also feature in tonight's game and could well replace Leroy Fer at half time or vice versa. I do feel Alex Tettey will be rested however.

Personally I think Becchio will once again feature but I can see him only coming on for the last 20 minutes or so. I think the aim will be to get Ricky as much time as possible on the pitch. So far Becchio got 90 minutes against Dorados and 45 against San Jose whilst Ricky is lagging behind on 45 minutes only.

Surman will no doubt be in action again tonight although whether he will be used at left back again is very much unclear. I also think Gaffaiti will come on to either replace E Bennett or Nathan Redmond at half time or vice versa.

So that's my predictions for tonight in terms of starting 11, but what about results and performance wise?

Well we need to first of all bare two very important facts in mind... Portland Timbers are currently mid way through their season and are currently flying in the MLS above LA Galaxy and currently sitting in 2nd. They will be a very tough opposition especially when you consider our match fitness levels, the pitch, the heat etc etc. However the Timbers coach has been reported as saying he sees tonights game as a chance to utilize more of his fringe and youth players, so I would highly doubt we will be facing the Timbers competitive starting 11. Nevertheless tonight's game will be very hard and certainly the hardest of the 3. I would love to see us get on the score sheet tonight, and personally I would like to see Ricky get his first goal in Green and Yellow, is this wishful thinking, probably. Yes he looked sharp against San Jose BUT unless the deliveries into him are better then it will be same old same old. However this is why I hope he starts with Redmond, Fer and Ricky. Fer's passing looked great and he will look to find Ricky. I also think Josh and Redmond could link up very well together especially if Hughton choses to play Josh down the flank allowing Redmond the free role in behind the Striker.

My result prediction would probably be a score draw maybe 1-1. I would love us to get a 3-1 win but I just can't see it happening at this stage.

On a big plus note I am reliably informed (by the Norwich Website) that tonights, well tomorrow mornings, game will be streamed live on the Timbers website www.portlandtimbers.com

Definitely one of my favourite pictures from the whole tour of little Wessi Hoolahan enjoying some colouring in with Crayons! Awww bless him!

Transfer news!!!

Just like herpes this story won't go away... The Hooper Saga continues to roll on and fucking on... SSN are reporting moments ago that QPR's bid has been accepted. However as I have said to a few people already, this in no way spells the end of the Saga. He may well decide he doesn't to play for QPR and doesn't want to play in the Championship in which case he goes back to Celtic until another offer comes in. It's been reported that he's supposedly said that he wants to come to Norwich BUT I haven't seen these reports and I'm not so sure they are true (if you can find them and prove me wrong then please do, I would love to see them). Time is going to tell on this one... but sorry guys the Saga isn't quite over just yet.

Another rumour that seems as persistent as a moth to a light bulb is the Maxi Lopez story. Reports now suggest that we have had a £3.5mill offer accepted by Catania and that we have offered a 3 year deal to the 29 year old. I'm still really unsure on this one, however for £3.5mill if he's shit it's not like we have broken the bank to get him.

Reports have also surfaced today regarding Udinese Striker Matej Vydra who spent last season on loan at Watford scoring 20 goals in 41 appearances for the Welsh side. Supposedly we are one of 3 clubs interested in him including West Ham and Southampton. As a side note though it is worth pointing out that the word on the street is a lot of this talk is being drummed up by his agent, hoping to get him a move to the Premier League.

Reports today suggest that we have missed out on Anderlechts central defender Cheikhou Kouyate. We were linked a week or so ago where it was believed we had tabled a £6.5mill offer for the 23 year old. However despite General Manager Herman Van Holsbeeck suggesting an offer from a Premier League Club was imminent, he has now said that the deadline for any transfer has passed and that he is looking to offer Kouyate a new contract to keep him at the club until 2016. Having said this it is believed that his agent is hopeful of resolving the situation due to his players desire to come to the Premier League so this rumour may still have some miles to run yet.

In terms of outgoings Doncaster Rovers have apparently tabled a £1million offer for defender Leon Barnett, this seems like a fair deal and I hope he gets his move. Reports suggest he has met with officials at Rovers and is currently 'mulling' over a deal, more on this as I get it.

Right that's all for today folks, hopefully I will see you all tomorrow for a positive and happy review of the Portland Timbers match.

Don't forget you can tweet me anytime if you have a question or anything you would like me to post about using the hashtag #asklondoncanary or by tweeting me direct @chrisdeighton

I will be up late watching the game tonight so feel free to tweet me during...

'till tomorrow...

ON THE BALL CITY!

San Jose 1 - 0 Norwich City (Replay)

It would appear that one does not need a Canaries Player subscription to watch a replay of the San Jose match.

The kind folks at San Jose have decided to put a link up on their page to watch the entire game (including sterling commentary) for all of us to watch. So for those that missed it here's your chance to see Jacob Butterfield, Daniel Ayala, Nathan Redmond, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and Leroy Fer all in action for the Canaries.

I can't find an embed link else I would post the video on this page but instead here is the link. Enjoy!

San Jose v Norwich City Full 90 Minute Highlights:
http://m.sjearthquakes.com/news/2013/07/replay-quakes-vs-norwich-city-fc

As I'm doing this from my phone it may well be that that link is for mobile only but you will be able to find it on their website also if worse comes to worse.

Enjoy!

Don't forget to follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton

ON THE BALL CITY!