• 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

Grant swoops for Rochdale keeper Gilks in second Bosman arrival of the summer

27th June 2007 By Latest News Leave a Comment

Please share

Two years after he was first scheduled to arrive in Norfolk, Rochdale keeper Matt Gilks was this morning officially unveiled as Norwich's City's second transfer arrival of the summer.

The 25-year-old – available on a free transfer after seeing out his two-year deal with the League Two club ? has signed a two-year deal and was originally one of Nigel Worthington's top targets in the summer of 2005 as everyone, Robert Green included, expected City's England international keeper to stay in the Premiership and not join the Canaries back in the fun and games of the Championship.

In the event, however, top flight buyers proved few and far between for Green and once Gilks decided to continue his goalkeeping education at Spotland and signed another two-year deal with The Dale, so his move to Norfolk was shelved.

Come this summer, however, and Norwich's goalkeeping department had a bright new addition – one that, inevitably, casts a further question mark over Paul Gallacher's long-term future at the club if City boss Peter Grant continues his long-standing interest in Celtic's David Marshall.

The early indications were that Gilks was not instead of Marshall, more healthy competition for the 22-year-old Bhoys keeper.

Back in the North-West, Dale boss Keith Hill had long resigned himself to Gilks' exit. There appeared to be little or no hard feelings as Hill recognised that the one-time Rochdale youth product had come to the stage in his career when he needed to spread his wings.

“I'd love to keep Gilksy, but we have to be realistic and say he's probably worthy of playing at a higher level,” Hill told the Rochdale Observer recently. “Whether or not he's going to get that opportunity I don't know.

“We'll do everything we can to try to retain his services, but if we don't we'll move on. We won't dwell on what might be, we'll do our best to keep him but if we don't, there's other goalkeepers out there.”

It was, however, Hill's predecessor Steve Parkin who had the harder fight on his hands – persuading the 6ft 1in keeper to sign a new deal in 2005 with both Norwich and near-neighbours Bolton Wanderers reported to be monitoring developments.

“Matt Gilks is developing into an outstanding keeper, though he's not there yet and I hope he continues his development with us,” said Parkin, speaking back in the summer of 2005.

“It's his decision if he wants to stay with us now, but whoever decides to get involved in transfer talks with him will have to pay a bob or too.”

Then aged under 24 years of age, any interested party would have had to have paid a tribunal-set compensation figure to The Spotland club; two years on and the Canaries can happily grab one of the lower league's brightest goalkeeping prospects on a free – just as they have done with one-time Liverpool youth full-back Jon Otsemobor.

Much more to follow…


Please share

Filed Under: Latest news

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

blakleyfreddie Freddie Blakley II @blakleyfreddie ·
42m

Good game this week @NorthCarolinaFC. @GMclaughlin_ the ref was blind. All the penalties they did to you she didn't call waa a shame. Louis Perez has talent. And cannot wait to see what he does this year. I got one word for you.....RAAAAFFFAAA @rafaduizit. #ncfc

Reply on Twitter 1642338798389325825 Retweet on Twitter 1642338798389325825 Like on Twitter 1642338798389325825 Twitter 1642338798389325825
gwelham18 Gareth Welham @gwelham18 ·
45m

Next season Ipswich do the double on us #NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1642338040390594563 Retweet on Twitter 1642338040390594563 Like on Twitter 1642338040390594563 Twitter 1642338040390594563
gleeder1 Graham Leeder 🔰 @gleeder1 ·
3h

If Webber's job title was 'Operations Director' then he could rightly be proud of the training facility at #ncfc , however he is Sporting Director which also emcompasses recruitment and for that reason he can't be given any more transfer windows. Time to go. #webberout

Reply on Twitter 1642304800044843010 Retweet on Twitter 1642304800044843010 Like on Twitter 1642304800044843010 1 Twitter 1642304800044843010
ncfc_cam cam @ncfc_cam ·
3h

I mean this is a very hot take 🤣

But whilst on the subject, I’d be intrigued to see Daniel at a big club with big players.

I’d argue at #NCFC his system and tactics were only flawed because the personnel wasn’t good enough. With the right players, it’d be special.

Reply on Twitter 1642304754528165888 Retweet on Twitter 1642304754528165888 Like on Twitter 1642304754528165888 2 Twitter 1642304754528165888
ncfc_adam Adam @ncfc_adam ·
4h

God twitter’s a depressing place when #ncfc lose. Even worse when that lot are doing so well

Reply on Twitter 1642296322630795265 Retweet on Twitter 1642296322630795265 Like on Twitter 1642296322630795265 Twitter 1642296322630795265
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