• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Football Writer

My Football Writer Norwich City news… comment… analysis

Norwich City – news, comment and analysis

Find the best betting sites
  • Home
  • About us
  • The Team
  • Archives Index
  • Patreon
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contact us

Come the glorious day, comrades. Come the glorious day and they will be the very first to go…

11th June 2007 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Please share

Stan hates the summer. The weather's alright (most of the time), there's a chance to have a beer outside, and life slows down a bit.

But, in the footballing world, the rumour-mill goes into overdrive, the papers are filled with names and clubs linked in the most tenuous fashion, and we have to make do with England games against semi-made up countries to pass the time. (As for alternatives, just don't let Stan anywhere near the subject of tennis…)

With regard to our own beloved heroes, Stan's response to all the potential 'new faces' and the rumours suggesting Earnie or whoever is about to enter the 'Old Boys Club' is ambivalent.

On the one hand, Stan should be grateful for such football-related chit-chat. Years back, when Stan was in shorts and passing the long school holiday kicking his own ball about, the local newspapers (and even the nationals to a degree) simply dropped football from the back page.

There was nothing to report unless a player was bought or sold; a manager sacked or hired.

As a result, young Stan was bored and eager for even a sniff of a City story.

Nowadays, however, in our age of rolling news and micro-information overload, every day brings some piece of unsubstantiated nothing-or-other.

Already this summer, we have been linked with approximately 20 players. Indeed, given Peter Grant's obvious predilections, we have been systematically linked to every player with a Scots birth-certificate, who has played at some time or other in Scotland, and even with someone simply named 'Scotland'.

From the other side, our own star turns, especially Earnie, have been linked to the usual suspects of newly-promoted cannon fodder.

Every day another story, of which approximately five or six will have substance come the start of August.

Most annoying, of course, is the role of the agents in all this.

Thus, just when Stan was day-dreaming of a Sutton-Earnie combo kicking off the season, Sutty's agent throws his two-penneth into the ring and pops that particular bubble – at least temporarily.

More importantly, the summer – even more than the January transfer window – brings the agent centre-stage and highlights the parasitical role they play within the modern game.

Not only do they drive the media circus, but they hike up the financial stakes that will – ultimately – simply add to our burden as supposed 'customers'.

Now, in Stan's imagined socialist republic, agents would, first, be up against the same wall as the landlords and estate agents (or swinging from the same lamp-posts as the solicitors and business consultants)…

And, second, their role in football would be given over entirely to the players' trade union, the PFA, to safeguard the players' interests – but not take a (huge) financial cut – during any transfer activity.

Won't happen of course, but such thoughts currently seem more appealing than Jamie Cureton in an Ipswich shirt.

Stan shouldn't worry – it'll be all over in a few weeks.

But, amidst the rumours, names and scare-mongering, there remains the very real fact that we do need new faces at Carrow Road, and those new faces need to be the
right ones to take our club up the table in 2007-8.

Back in May (possibly May 2005, thinking about it), Stan reckoned that we needed at least a new goal-keeper, right-back, centre-back, centre-midfielder and centre-forward in order to progress.

The first two of these seem to be in process – Otsemobor and Marshall. The striker situation also seems to be high on the club's priority list, although Sharp looks more Wolves-bound and the Earnie rumours may cause further complications.

In midfield, a few names have been bandied about – one of who picked Doncaster over us, which kind of sums up our journey over the past three years.

But with Safs often needing to lie down, and with his being booked in at the African Nations this season, a hard-tackling midfielder is an essential purchase.

For Stan, however, it's at the back that we need to most focused on the transfer market. Put bluntly, Doc and Shacks does not work; something has to give.

Dublin can't play every game, and we all know he'd rather be up the other end of the pitch in any case. Yet, for all that Stan has just said, it is this crucial position about which the rumour-mill is most quiet.

That makes Stan a worried man. And until a tried-and-tested centre-back is imported into Colney, then Stan will continue to fear for our prospects next season.

Oh happy days ?


Please share

Filed Under: Column, Stanley

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FIND MY FOOTBALL WRITER ON

As featured on NewsNow: Norwich City news” style=

Norwich City News 24/7

#NCFC LATEST

saund65 Canaries Caption It @saund65 ·
23m

Happy 34th birthday to former #NCFC striker *Ricky van Wolfswinkel*.
28 games & 2 goals (2013-16).
*10 years* this year since signing.
Currently at @fctwente

2

Reply on Twitter 1618878468963565570 Retweet on Twitter 1618878468963565570 Like on Twitter 1618878468963565570 1 Twitter 1618878468963565570
jaemistyles Jaemi Styles @jaemistyles ·
27m

Sound advice from @iwanroberts73 in the EDP. @ToddCantwell_10 has the biggest opportunity in his career at Rangers. - #ncfc

Develop your career - then your brand, - without a career - there is no brand to buy in to.

Reply on Twitter 1618877413324357635 Retweet on Twitter 1618877413324357635 Like on Twitter 1618877413324357635 Twitter 1618877413324357635
theyellows_com 🔰 TheYellows 🔰 @theyellows_com ·
37m

How I think we line-up against Burnley tomorrow 🔰 #NCFC

Use our app to pick-your-team 👉 https://theyellows.com/onelink

Reply on Twitter 1618874825144926209 Retweet on Twitter 1618874825144926209 Like on Twitter 1618874825144926209 9 Twitter 1618874825144926209
fan_banter Fan Banter @fan_banter ·
40m

Cardiff set to appoint third manager of season - much loved player to be assistant - https://fanbanter.co.uk/cardiff-close-to-appointing-third-manager-of-season-much-loved-player-to-become-assistant/

#watfordfc #ncfc #twitterclarets #safc #rufc #wafc #bcfc #rovers #utmp #bristolcity #ccfc #pusb #htafc #hcafc #coyh #boro #millwall #qpr #readingfc #twitterblades #scfc

Reply on Twitter 1618874070400917505 Retweet on Twitter 1618874070400917505 Like on Twitter 1618874070400917505 Twitter 1618874070400917505
norwichcitylive Norwich City Live @norwichcitylive ·
56m

Norwich City's U21 players have been sent a warning ahead of facing Leeds United 🧐

#NCFC #LUFC

https://www.norfolklive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/norwich-city-leeds-united-warning-8078226

Reply on Twitter 1618870169710825478 Retweet on Twitter 1618870169710825478 Like on Twitter 1618870169710825478 Twitter 1618870169710825478
Load More...

Copyright © 2023 21VC Ltd | All rights reserved | Not to be reproduced without prior permission.

Disclaimer: The information on this website consists of personal opinions. Whilst we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained on these Web pages is accurate and correct at the time of writing we do not accept any liability whatsover for any loss or damage caused by reliance on this information.

We do not accept any responsibility for information contained in other websites to which this site links. We strongly advise users to check any information before acting or relying on it.

Developed and Hosted by