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!

Silly Season in full swing!

"The New Boys settling in before heading off to the states"

So with "Silly Season" now well and truly in full swing I thought it would be worth doing a little wrap up of everything that has happened so far and discuss what might happen next.

It's been a busy summer for us Canaries and dare I say it one of the most exciting transfer windows ever for Norwich City FC.

Let's start with a little re-cap of our movements so far:

Departures:

Firstly the club announced that 10 players had been released from the club. This is one of the biggest clearing out's we have seen in recent years. Some were to be expected, they had never really cut the mustard at Premier League level so with a heavy heart we said our goodbyes to the likes of Chris Martin and Marc Tierney. However a slightly more shocking release was that of Simeon Jackson. I have always been a fan of "Cinnamon" and it was a shame to see him leave, especially on a free. However if we look at this decision with no emotions of sentimentality you would have to agree it was the right move for both parties. He never really cut the grade in the EPL. A fantastic championship striker and a man with blistering pace but his height and lack of final ball quality always hindered him in the best league in the world. He has since found a new home in Germany and we wish him all the best.

James Vaughn was a player whom I had hoped would be given a chance to prove himself in pre-season. However the speculation surrounding his potential departure had gone on for so long that his departure was almost a certainty. He had been plagued with injury since signing for the Canaries 2 years ago and I do think we have to look at him as a missed opportunity. I feel that had his first season not been spent almost entirely on the sidelines we would be speaking about him being a great striker. He always looked to have great potential but life is cruel at times and unfortunately for him, his injuries slowed his development with our great club. On a positive note we do seem to have at least cashed in on him, a fee of around £1.5mill over a period is thought to be the money received. Given that he was surplus to requirements and hadn't exactly had a great time since joining you would have to say that's a good bit of business.

Jed Steer's move to Aston Villa was a shock to me to be honest. We all know that while Lambert was at the club he never really took much interest in the Youth Players, leaving their development to the Youth Team Managers etc. However his admiration for one Jed Steer could certainly not be questioned. In Declan Rudd and Jed Steer we had ourselves two future number 1's. Inevitably one was always go to leave in my opinion. They're both of a similar age and would both be graduating to the first team around the same time, so there was always going to be one sat on the bench. So in terms of a career move I do not begrudge Jed one bit. Declan has always been favored above him in recent years and so I suspect he saw this as an opportunity to fight for first team football elsewhere. Again we wish Jed all the best at Aston Villa and I can't wait to see him pulling on the number 1 jersey in a few years, as I proudly say "he was a product of our youth team". Additionally because the player is under 24 we will receive compensation for the move. Having talked to a few people around Aston Villa and Norwich it would appear that fee could be in the region of £2 million over a series of payments based on appearance etc.

The big man Grant Holt joined Wigan Athletic for a fee of around £1-2mill and if I'm totally honest I didn't see this one coming. I thought after signing his extension that he would finish off his career at Norwich before moving on a free to Carlisle. It was certainly sad to see the big man go and was a bitter pill to swallow but again we should not be angry with his decision. Firstly it takes him closer to his family and no man can begrudge another man for that. Secondly the big man has earned his right to play in Europe and at Wigan he will get that opportunity next year. I'm pleased Grant got his move and I'm pleased with how he handled it. I'm also pleased that in his last home and away games for City he scored on both occasions, signing off in style. Good luck Holty and score a few more past the scum for us will ya!

Leon Barnett has now been told he is free to find himself a new club. I think everyone would be lying if they said they didn't see this coming... The guy was impressive at Championship level but is nowhere near good enough for the EPL. I hope he gets his move and contrary to some fan speculation we WILL be getting a fee for him when he moves. Cardiff seem the most likely suitor although Doncaster Rovers are also said to be interested. Personally I think any championship team would be an idiot not to go for him. He is a great Championship defender and will certainly help with a push for promotion.

So we have said our goodbyes to some of Cities previous stars but we have also said "Alright Boy" to some new faces.

Arrivals:

We all had to take a step back in March when the club announced they had secured the signing of Dutch international Ricky Van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon. He had been a great success at the Portuguese club and in his previous spell in the Eredivisie. His goal tally speaks for itself 45 goals in 87 appearances for Sporting. That's a ratio of over 1 in 2, exactly what the club needs. At 24 he is the perfect age, he's still young and developing, he is level headed and humble and seems exactly the right type of player for our club. We have payed a reported £8.5million for him. This was paid for out of the remaining budget from the January window. When you consider that at one point Tottenham and United were looking at him you have to agree that this signing is a massive coup for The Canaries.

I would however offer some words of advice to fans, let's not put too much pressure on the guy. Yes he is the biggest signing we have made in recent history, yes he is a club record signing and yes his goal tally speaks for itself, but the dutch league to the portuguese league to the prem are very different animals. He has a big step up to make and I am more than confident he can do that, BUT I don't think it will happen over night. It will take time and we should all remain patient with him and the club during that time. It would also be silly of us to rely solely on him to provide us with all the goals, despite the fact that that is precisely what Sporting did. Chris Hughton and the board MUST make strides to bring in attacking players quickly and I have no doubt they are doing all they can to achieve that.

Leroy Fer or #TheBouncer as he is now being called by a section of the NCFC faithful is in my opinion one of the most exciting signings of the entire window. He is a dominant force in the centre of the park. As I said in my previous blog his performance against San Jose on Sunday morning was nothing short of exemplary. His skill and movement on the ball is assured and calm, his passing is full of pace and precision. He's young at 23 and has a very bright career ahead of him. You can see that Hughton is trying to work on "the spine" of the team. With Ruddy no doubt still number one choice in goal followed by Bassong at CB, Leroy Fer in the centre and RVW up front we have a very strong spine. The fee is undisclosed as always but reports suggest around £4.3mill which given that Everton had a agreed a £8.7mill deal back in January before the deal fell through it's another great bit of business by the club.

We also saw the arrival of Nathan Redmond from Birmingham for a reported £3.2mill with £2mill up front. This undoubtedly has the potential to be the buy of the decade! With people like Tom Ince being touted with £8-10mill moves and Wilfried Zaha's big money move to united. As well as the absurd £10mill price tag currently sat on Will Hughes' head, we have gotten ourselves one of the best wingers / attacking midfielders in the country. If the guy continues developing as he has in previous years there is no doubt in my mind that he could eventually be sold for in excess of £15mill, making our £3.2million investment in him a fantastic bit of business for the club. Aside from the financial gain involved in this transfer Redderz is exactly what we need. He is unbelievably quick, has an eye for goal and can play anywhere across the front line, although has been used primarily as a winger up until now. His movement on and off the ball is sublime and his pace in attack fills a massive hole that we had last year. As I've said before I would not be surprised to see him being played in a more attacking midfielder role, giving him the freedom to move around and find space. He will draw defenders off position with ease and is a great asset to have against teams adopting the offside trap. He is also great cover for the wings if Snoddy or Pilks get injured. He can also play just behind the striker like Hoolahan did last year when needs must. I would say this is the most exciting signing we have made. He has already settled in very well and in the San Jose game he looked on fire. I predict very big things for this lad and can't wait to see him in action next season.

We also completed the signing of Martin Ollson from Blackburn Rovers. His transfer didn't get quite the same fan fair but the value of this signing is no less important. We had no left back cover whatsoever after releasing Marc Tierney and signing up Javier Garrido on a new permanent contract so his signing was vital. He also provides us with another option. Garrido is a good left back but he struggles with pace. Ollson has pace in abundance and so will give us another dimension especially away from home when a counter attack is our most likely chance to score. He can also play on the left of midfield so provides good competition for Pilkington. The fee was a reported £2.5-£3.5mill which in my opinion is good business. Garrido's fee was reported to be somewhere between £2-3mill.

Finally we have also acquired the services of ex-Stoke Goalkeeper Carlo Nash on a free transfer. Fan's had differing views on this transfer due to Nash's age. Some seemed to think he was a replacement for John Ruddy, it's fair to say that these same people were convinced Ruddy was going to Chelsea which I have said from the start was NEVER going to happen, certainly not in a World Cup Year. My personal opinion on the Nash deal is a positive one. My understanding is that Nash want's to get into coaching, and so the draw of working alongside the best GK coach in England, Dave Watson, was the immediate draw. From the clubs point of view its a smart bit of business. He will provide us with experienced, quality cover for both Bunn and Ruddy. It's also being reported that he will be working with the youth players and Dave Watson in a training capacity. So for me this was a good bit of Business and welcome to NCFC Mr Nash.

OK so that's all the confirmed business out the way now on to the fun part... SPECULATION!

"I'm hoping this isn't Hughton signing us up another striker... not sure how he's what we need!"

As I'm writing this blog I'm getting messages telling me Gary Hooper is NCFC bound, well according to ex England Cricket Skipper, Michael Vaughan. Personally this whole Hooper saga is driving me bloody nuts. I like Celtic BUT I have to say the way they have handled the whole Hooper situation is idiotic. They turned down almost £8mill for him in January, sighting that he was not going to leave Celtic. Then at the start of this window they said the same, turning down a reported £5.5mill despite the fact that Hooper has still not signed a new contract with them. Reports came out last week that Mr McNasty (David McNally) had given Celtic a deadline to either accept our offer of £4mill or we were moving on. Personally I think this was a bullshit, nothing story made up by the national press to give a non story some excitement. QPR are reportedly interested but I can't see why Hooper would chose Championship football over Premiership football in a World Cup Year, unless he is solely in it for the money and nothing else. Same goes for the reported interest from Reading, I don't know how many bloody times I have to tell Reading fans that Hooper WILL NOT JOIN READING! I'm gonna look like a total twat now if he does, but, if he does, which he won't, I will be the first to say, I'm wrong... but I won't have to! Celtic and Neil Lennon, who is really starting to rub me up the wrong way, seem to have finally come to terms with the fact that Hooper will be moving, but the question still remains WHERE?

I wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't come to Norwich but having said that I would also not be depressed if he did. I'm fairly indifferent about the player. Yes he has a great scoring record, but it's in the SPL. I see him on par with someone like Charlie Austin. My other issue is that I don't really think he offers us anything new. We require pace up front, The Wolf has some pace but not bucket loads. We need a pacey option and for me he doesn't really fit that mould, He's more like Grant Holt but with a much more clinical finish. Time will tell on this one, the minute I hear anything I will post, so keep your eyes peeled.

The obvious targets right now are Strikers, with only two in the squad Hughton and McNally are working hard on signing them. I have long been saying that I expect the arrival of at least 2 strikers. I was laughed at for having this opinion right up until the last few weeks. Now, all of a sudden, the national media seem to all be going with the line "Chris Hughton looks to bring in 2 strikers" really... I've only been saying that for 4 bloody months!!!!!

So who are we looking at? Well as always with Norwich it's hard to tell, we keep our cards so close to our chest that we never really know what's going on.

SSN have us in for ex Barcelona star Maxi Lopez from Catania. I concede that I know very little about him, his goal tally of 4 in 17 is not great reading but this was while he was on loan at Sampdoria, so can we take it at face value? Probably not. I have asked around about him and most people who do know a little about him suggest again that he doesn't have much in terms of pace but that his finishing has been fairly good in the past... Helpful!!! I personally can't see this transfer happening... for me it's another Ola Toivonen... I said from the minute that Ola was mentioned that we wouldn't sign him. I was abused left, right and centre. People were so happy, saying he was gonna be the second striker and was exactly what we needed. Right, aside from the fact that OLA TOIVONEN is NOT A BLOODY STRIKER, his attitude is the last thing we need at Norwich. To be honest the board would never agree to him joining with that type of attitude, and no this has nothing to do with him not knowing who Norwich are, it's to do with him deciding that we can wait for a few weeks while he suns himself on a beach waiting for a bigger offer... fuck off Ola hahahaha! Also his on the pitch attitude stunk, he looked like a dirty dirty player and red card waiting to happen so for at least this was a lucky bloody escape.

Fortunately I'm not one of those fans that gets a massive erection at the first sign of us signing a player! I like to think I try to be analytical about it, I way up the pro's and con's I look into the player and quiz people on his style, how he plays, you know - do my research! Then and ONLY then do I form an opinion. I don't claim to be #itk and I'm certainly no expert but people seem to agree with what I say so as long as people keep agreeing or disagreeing constructively I will keep voicing my opinion.

Reports also suggest that we are in for 30 year old, out of favour Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella. This report seems to have more traction but I would question his age. His abilities are not in question, a phenomenal pedigree and would no doubt rip up the premier league BUT at 30 you have to think about value for money. Reports suggest it would cost City around £7.5mill to secure his services, and that is a lot. There is no getting away from that fact... especially for a 30 year old! We would also be apparently looking at 40k a week wages! Personally I'm not sure, but for now at least I would put this in the maybe pile.

We are also reportedly in for Dame N'Doye from Lokomotiv, the 6ft 1in, 28 year old Senegal striker scored 79 goals in 123 appearance between 2009 and 2012 while at Copenhagen before moving to FC Lokomotiv where he has scored 11 goals in 27 appearance. He has also scored 4 goals in 13 for the national Senegal side. Lokomotive reportedly want £10mill for him which seems a little high. However I think the stumbling block will be on his wages. Russian Teams pay a lot in wages and I do mean a lot. You think the EPL is bad it's nothing compared to Russia. Unless he is willing to take a definite wage drop I can't see this happening. My favourite reporter "James 'I know nothing' Nursey" seems to be suggesting that Lokomotiv are being "difficult" with Norwich over the fee. There is no clarification as to what "difficult" means exactly and of course he offer's no source. His opinion changes daily, at one point he suggested that Norwich were intending to focus the "REMAINDER" of their budget on Gary Hooper... So clearly he knows fuck all and should probably quit and get a job that he'd be better at... like killing himself! (sorry it really is a deep hatred for this man hahaha!). Dame N'Doye for me goes in the unlikely pile unless the draw of the premier league turns his head.

Personally I would like to see us go after John Guidetti from Man City, the Swedish 21 year old has been prolific in recent years scoring 20 in 23 at Feyenoord whilst on loan. Since joining Man City in 2010 he hasn't made a single appearance for the club, instead he has spent his time on loans at Brommapojkama where he scored 3 in 8, Burnley where he scored 1 in 5 and then finally Feyenoord. He also been capped at every level of the Swedish national team U17 (8 in 11), U19 (5 in 5), U21 (4 in 10) and has had one full cap for Sweden. He is unlikely to feature for Man City next year and the possibility could be that he is loaned out once again. It is unclear at this point whether Hughton is even looking at him, although his name has been doing the rounds. I think it's fairly unlikely that Man City would want to sell him BUT a loan move might be an option. This in itself presents a problem, I can't really see Hughton going in for a loan. The only way I see Hughton bringing in a player on loan is if he secures us at least one more striker on a permanent deal.

Finally I would also like to see us go in for Alfie Finnbogason from SC Heerenveen. The 24 year old Icelandic international has again been prolific in recent years scoring 12 in 17 while on loan at Helsingbord and then 24 in 31 last term at Heerenveen. He also has a good return of 4 in 15 at international level. Aston Villa were in for him last summer before they signed Benteke and for a moment during the whole Benteke transfer saga it seemed they might make a move for him again. Now that that incident has been "resolved" hmmm... I would suspect that Aston Villa will turn their attentions to other areas, this could leave room for us to swoop in. I could see this guy being a big hit in the EPL and personally would love to see him given a chance to prove himself in the best league in the world. I suspect he would cost us around £7-9mill, I do think given his age and pedigree this is a price worth paying, at present though, there are no reports that we are in for him bar the occasional wishful remark on the fan forums.


Right, I'll leave you all to ponder... I assure you not all the posts will be this long, BUT I do have a fair bit of catching up to do.

Don't forget to leave me a comment below, let me know your thoughts... If you have any questions ask away and I will try to answer them as best I can in the next blog entry. Will try to do a Q&A blog once a week should their be a demand for it.

Make sure you follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton or #asklondoncanary for any questions...

ON THE BALL CITY!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

"the mexicans attempt to get one up on the opposition by making them feel sick with this carpet and table cloth set"

Reporter: "You look a little pale Chris, are you feeling ok"

Chris: "No, No, I'm fine, just very glad to be here, ANNIE change in my colour is merely down to the heat and not this VARY homely interior design"

"from mexico to san jose"

So we are now two weeks in to the #ncfc pre season. It should be remembered that pre season is more about fitness than it is about results. Results are, when they go your way, a nice by product of the process.

Having said that it doesn't mean you can't critique or make observations from what you have seen.

In terms of tactics it's hard at this point to really tell what the nice man of football, Chrissy Hughton, is looking to go with for next term. This is made even harder by the distinct lack of options up front currently available to him. I suspect that upon their return from the states we will see some more dramatic movements in this area [see my Silly Season blog next for more details on potential ins and outs]. In the mean time Chrissy boy will have to make do with Luciano Becchio and The Wolf, which due to the pre season being all about fitness would therefore indicate that for the Portland Timbers game on Wednesday evening he will play with one up top so he can afford both players 45 minutes each as to not take unnecessary risk with injury.

Dorados de Sinaloa 0 - 3 Norwich City

This was the first of our pre season friendlies and with all due respect to Dorados it was more of an exhibition match than a testing 90 minute friendly.

The first note on this is that the game was played on a baseball pitch, obviously turf was laid to make it into a football pitch but in terms of pitch quality it wasn't of the highest standard.

The second note is that Dorados de Sinaloa play in the 2nd Division of Mexican Football which if we are to be honest would be like us facing a non league english side.

However they were around 6 weeks ahead of us in their pre season schedule so their fitness was very high and the mexican game is a very fast paced, intricate passing game so they were, at least for the first 45, a reasonable test on our fitness. With fitness and game time being the main objective this was a good opening fixture for the boys in Yellow.

The Wolf, Hoolahan and Leroy Fer were left out of the line up, Chris Hughton chose to rest them a little longer as they had all been involved in international games over the summer.

On a personal note it was nice to see some of the younger youth academy guys get a run out notably Josh Murphy and Adel Gafaiti. It was also good to see Becchio final net his first goal in yellow and green since his January move from Leeds United or as our fans have now dubbed them "The Feeder Club" (sorry Leeds but it is kinda true!). As this match was unavailable for live streaming (despite my best efforts and a 3am wake up to try and find a working link) I can't really evaluate it all that much other than to say it's always nice to kick things off with a win.

It is also worth taking a quick look at a wonder strike from Josh Murphy to complete our 3-0 drubbing of Dorados de Sinaloa:

[video courtesy of Canaries Player]

I predict very big things for both the Murphy's and can't wait to see them get their run out in the first team in the next couple of years. Personally I feel that at the moment it is too soon for either, I would prefer to either keep them running riot in the U21 team or ship them out on loan to a mid table championship side to get them game time at a truly competitive level. I also think it might be worth splitting them up, which is why I suspect Hughton has opted to take just Josh with him to the states. As twins they will inevitably understand each others movements on and off the ball very well but we do need to see how either behave on their own and with others.

San Jose Earthquakes 1 - 0 Norwich City

This friendly was always going to be a different animal, not least because we were facing a team who are in the middle of their competitive MLS season. The Quakes are a pacey outfit and as this is an area we really struggled against last year, especially when facing counter attacks from teams like Aston Villa and Tottenham to name a few, this seemed on paper good opposition for us to face and true true to form they certainly gave us a run around.

They put our guys through the paces, evidenced by some very sweaty, tired looking faces come the final whistle. In terms of a fitness exercise you would have to deem the game a success, Almost the entire squad that travelled got game time and this is the most important factor at this stage.

Unfortunately there isn't much to write home about in terms of team performance however there were some noteworthy individual performances.

Nathan Redmond played the first 45 minutes the same as he did against Dorados and JESUS CHRIST this guy is quick, his speed and movement off the ball is a joy to watch and his movement and creativity on the ball is just as good. He was running rings around San Jose, my only criticism was that his final ball tended to let him down a touch. Having said that this is still very early pre season and he is no doubt finding his feet. I can see this guy being the buy of the decade if his early performances are anything to go on. He seems to have fitted in great with the squad, him and Elliot Bennett in particular seem to have a little bromance going on! Awww bless 'em! This guy will end up costing us £3.2mill if reports are to be believed and for that we have gotten ourselves not only a future England star but also a very smart return on our investment in 3-4 years. It would not surprise me to see this guy eventually be sold for 15-20million, he really does have THAT much potential!

Leroy Fer made his debut in Canary colours, he didn't see a whole lot of the ball, however when he did pick up the ball he looked dangerous with it. His passing, bar a terrible cross field ball that smacked an unsuspecting Alex Tettey square in the side of the face, was superb. His passes were hit with pace and precision which, as any Norwich City fan will tell you, was an area we really needed to address after our poor possession stats from last year. I have long been saying that what we needed was a midfielder who could not only hold up the ball in the centre of the park, intimidate midfielders and defenders but also a strong and creative passer of the ball, in Leroy Fer we have certainly, based on what I have seen so far (albeit very little), gotten ourselves exactly that. He held up the ball brilliantly and in almost the polar opposite to Alex Tettey (whom I will get to shortly) was positively in control of every situation, he was calm, collected, unpredictable without being erratic, and creative to boot!

Ricky Van Wolfswinkel got his first outing in green and yellow and whilst I can assure you all that he looked very sharp, there is unfortunately not much more I can tell you as we weren't really given a chance to see much of him. His movement off the ball looked good, on a couple of occasions he found some space. The predictable hoofed long ball over the top found him on one occasion but his shot at goal was brilliantly blocked by the incoming Earthquake defender. He did seem to be getting a little frustrated at one point with a couple of San Jose defenders, it would appear that Mr Wolf can indeed be a handful (remind you of anyone). Moments later he drew a freekick in a dangerous position affording us a corner that Anthony Pilkington wasted with a heavy ball in that ended up rolling back out of play for a throw in. The service to him was poor, our midfielders at this point seemed more intent on passing the ball backwards to Mark Bunn, and our back four. In fact it was a sloppy back pass from Russell Martin (or Russ Martinez as the commentator called him) that lead to the San Jose goal.

I will also give a special shout out to two players I thought had an excellent game. Firstly Daniel Ayala, I was a fan of this guy when he arrived under Paul Lambert and I was disappointed to see him shipped out on loan last year. He does in fairness have a little way to go yet but I was very impressed by how assured he looked at CB. He was calm, his pace and movement was good and he looked in control of most of the San Jose attacks. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him over this pre season period. Secondly Adel Gafaiti really impressed me, again much like Nathan Redmond, his pace and movement were sublime. I couldn't really figure out where he was playing to be honest but his performance was a stand out one and worth a mention.

Finally although it's a pre season friendly I do think it's worth picking out some of the negatives from the game:

Creativity: Literally non existent... sorry but it's true. Snodgrass and Pilkington tried to get a couple of crosses into the box but the former was more intent on falling over the minute someone came within a metre of him that he spent more time arguing with the linesman and ref than he did trying to forge passes into the box or through the middle.

He did this a lot last season and it really bugged me! Unfortunately for me though, more often than not the decision would go his way and we would have a set piece in a dangerous position, which we often scored from. HOWEVER... this season it will be different, teams will know how to defend against our set plays and we can't simply rely on them for our goals. We must be more creative in the middle of the park.

Hughton brought Wessi on in the second half presumably to get him some match time as well as to give us some creativity in the centre of the park. Now before you all start attempting to jump through your computer screens to kill me. I like Wes Hoolahan BUT for me he isn't anywhere near consistent enough. With a creative midfielder like Wes you expect that they will not complete every pass and that their dropped pass percentage will be higher than others. Wes suffers from the same problem that Snodgrass does, because from time to time he has these glimpses of genius on and off the ball, people seemingly forget all the passes he has wasted and the amount of times he has given the ball away in the last 10 minutes. There is, in his defence, too much of a reliance on him. Having said that, when you are playing in the Premier League, possession and keeping possession is absolutely key! If you have the ball, the other team can't score it's as simple as that. Wes is the biggest culprit for this and for me his time on the pitch next season will be limited. Redmond has better pace and movement and his crossing, and passing ability is much better, he has played in the hole behind the front two before under Chris Hughton at Birmingham and I would not be surprised to see him edging Wes to the bench this season.

Finally a very short word on Alex Tettey... I bloody love this guy! No one can fault his desire, drive, enthusiasm, and energy... but if I can offer one tiny little piece of advise Alex, just slow down a little bit ok :) JESUS he is soooooo irratic, chases every ball [great], goes in for every tackle [great], but his movement and final ball let him down. He certainly has some speed on him and I personally think he works best as a defensive midfielder although I'm sure he would describe himself as box to box. He reminds me of a puppy chasing a stick... the problem is once he gets it, he's so quick to get rid of it so he can chase it again that he drops it in the river and someone else then has to wade through the used condoms, beer cans and poo to retrieve it (sorry that is a bizzare analogy but you get my drift). Someone on twitter put it perfectly... "Alex Tettey, definately the most unpredictable player at Norwich City FC"...

Hope you have enjoyed this diatribe. See you next time and don't forget to follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton and let me know your thoughts by commenting below!

ON THE BALL CITY!

Welcome!

"... and so the story begins..."

I have finally been worn down by my friends and family who have long since been advocating that I need to start a football blog!

I suspect this has less to do with my 'OBVIOUS' skills in Football Journalism (something James Nursey cleary doesn't have - my hatred for him will become clear in the weeks that follow) and more to do with them getting sick and tired of me going on and on, especially now during silly season!

As the terrible blog name would suggest I am indeed a loud and proud Canary! I have been for as long as I can remember.

My first ever match was at Carrow Road on the 8th April 1994 at the age of 9 to see us play Southampton in the good old days of the Premier League. We lost 4-5! In those days the EPL had 22 teams in it! That year the relegated teams were Swindon, Oldham and Sheffield United the Scum missed out on relegation by 1 point! We on the other hand finished a respectable 12th on 53 points!

It was a fantastic first game for a young wipper snapper like my self. My dad in tow taught me all the songs, encouraged me to tell the ref he was a fucking idiot! Bought me my first yellow and green scarf (still got it as well, I have no idea what they made it out of though, itches like crabs!). I even remember the walk across the bridge with the site of Carrow Road in front of me, my eyes wide with excitement.

Dad stopped on the Bridge to get us a program. I then listened intently as he started engaging in deep conversations with complete strangers... I remember thinking to myself "I didn't realise Dad had this many friends!"

I couldn't believe the amount of people... all unified in yellow and green... the friendliness of everyone around me, "first game is it boy?", my dad as my elected spokeman replied, "yes it is"... the old chap bent down put his hand on my shoulder and said "remember this feeling boy, you'll need it in the bad times" it took all of 2 hours for that saying to make sense to me.

As we approached the turnstiles my Dad handed our tickets to the rotund gentleman in the booth as he ushered me through the turnstile. Finally I took my first step on the hallowed ground of the Barclay! I remember the walk up the steps to the lower tier as I got my first glimpse of the Carrow Road turf, a sea of yellow and green smiling faces... we made our way to our seats just to the left of the goal... we shuffled and tripped our way along row J till we found our seats. Seconds seemed liked minutes as the anticipation grew... finally it seemed that everyone had took their seats. The dull hum of people talking echoed throughout the stadium... the Southampton fans in good voice to my left in the old South Stand started their derogatory chants towards the yellow and green army of the Barclay.

All of a sudden the roar of the tannoy overshadowed the chants as the official announcements were made, my anticipation grew. Then the teams started to make their way on to the pitch welcomed by a deafening roar of cheers and clapping... I remember not being able to see a whole lot, my dad picked me up so I could see... "kick it off, throw it in, have a little scrimage, keep it low, splendid rush, bravo, win or die... ON THE BALL CITY, never mind the danger, steady on, nows your chance, hurrah we've scored, city... city... city" echoed throughout the ground as the whistle blew...

I concede the rest of it is a bit of blur... I know we were leading 2 or three times... and I know Southampton drew level in the 90th minute and went on to score the winning goal late in injury time... What I do remember is the feeling of hurt and pain on the ride home... the rollercoaster of emotions of one minute being overcome with joy and happiness and then seconds later having it torn away from you... the mixture of anger, impatience, frustration, elation, bitterness... truthfully I know of no other thing that can give you this range of emotions!

I remember crying like a baby when I got home to our house in Peterborough... the drive seemed to take forever... I laid down on the couch, still sporting with pride my yellow and green scarf, and cried... unashamedly! Very soon I fell asleep, the range of emotions had tired me out. As I fell asleep the old chaps words range around my head "remember this feeling boy, you'll need it in the bad times!"...

And so began my now 28 year love affair with our boys in Yellow! I like to think I have seen it all now... I was just old enough to remember our fur-ray in Europe... followed my relegation, years of championship obscurity, the chase years, the bellamy and roberts years, the ashton years, the worthington years, the hope that period gave, our short and sweet return to the prem... our subsequent relegation back to the Championship, the dark days of Glen Roeder, the unthinkable relegation to league one... the lambert years, Grant Holt, consecutive promotions, we are premier league say we are premier league, the amazing first year, the dark summer of lambert's departure, the frustration of last year and now the anticipation for what could be the most exciting year in Norwich City history... and that brings us up to date...

Join me on this, the most exciting of #ncfc journeys!

ON THE BALL CITY!!!!!!!

Follow me on twitter @chrisdeighton