• 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

Birmingham Mail wise enough to keep the door wide open for Taylor to still return to Norwich.

13th December 2007 By Latest News Leave a Comment

Please share

City officials could be in for a long and fraught night of negotiations as QPR waited in the wings to steal their thunder and whip Martin Taylor out of Birmingham's hands.

Blues this morning announced on their own, official website that the 28-year-old centre-half was heading back to St Andrews – his month-long loan spell at Norwich officially over.

With the emergency loan window shut since November 22, it means that Taylor will now find himself sat firmly in Birmingham's reserves until at least January 1 when the full-time transfer window reopens – at which point Rangers could throw their Formula One money at the six-foot four-inch defender.

Figures of ?1.25 million have already been mentioned come January.

However, all might not be wholly lost; that today's 'He's coming back…' statement could yet be part of the whole negotiating process with the Canaries understood to have until midnight tonight before which they must lodge the required paperwork for a second, concurrent month's loan.

The Birmingham Evening Mail tonight likewise kept the door wide open for further twists in the tale – a move born of weary experience given the games certain people can play at St Andrews.

Their line was to land the ball firmly in Tiny's court – suggesting that Norwich's November Player of the Month was leaning more towards returning to Norfolk for a second month's loan.

Blues, by contrast, were far more interested in anyone who could slap some hard cash on the table come January 1.

?Blues would prefer a straight cash transfer in order to boost new boss Alex McLeish's transfer kitty, but Taylor had been leaning towards another month's loan,? the paper reported tonight.

?Now QPR have also entered the hunt and they have money to spend after the takeover by Formula One magnates Flavio Bria-tore and Bernie Ecclestone.?

All of which would fit with Roeder's remark the other week that Taylor had a London club on his tail but ?knowing Martin Taylor like I do? the Northumberland-born defender would not want a move to London.

Not while there's a mini Geordie Nation in charge of the Canaries. And under the likes of Lee Clark and Paul Stephenson, Taylor is thoroughly enjoying his new life in the limelight at Carrow Road.

Particularly given the fact that he's been playing in front of 25,000-strong full houses every week and may yet sense something good going on under Roeder's charge.

The whole picture is complicated further by the fact that Taylor still has two-and-a-half years left on his contract at Blues; that the hopes of the Gold and Sullivan clans of a Far Eastern takeover riding to their rescue appear about to be dashed; that with no more than ?3 million reported to be in Alex McLeish's New Year transfer kitty, hard-nosed chief executive Karren Brady will be desperate to find any guaranteed, cash-buyer for the first of January – with Rangers clearly fitting that bill.

Given that McLeish himself has already all but burnt his bridges with the player by declaring that he was surplus to requirements without ever actually seeing him play, Taylor will be in no hurry to return up the A14.

Nor, if Roeder is to be believed, is he in any hurry at all to pack his bags for the bright lights and house prices of West London.

Indeed, sources at Carrow Road confirm the Birmingham Evening Mail's impression that Taylor fancies an extended tour of duty in Norfolk.

It will, therefore, come down to a battle of wills between player and Blues chief executive – and which one of them digs their heels in the deeper tonight.

Brady will gun for a Rangers cash deal for January 1; Taylor – provided the money Norfolk-wise is right – may stick out for a return to Roeder's arms. 'I'm not moving to London. End of…'

Does that and Brady will have to go back to Norwich to try and broker a deal. Provided Norwich think they have the player firmly on board – and that he will be as good as any word that he's already given to Roeder – then the Canaries could prise the better end of the bargain out of Blues.

That all said, he won't be going anywhere for anything much less than ?1 million – not with those two-and-a-half years to run.

Either way, all the available evidence points to a long night with everything – and everyone – still in the balance.

Last season Taylor was a mainstay alongside Radhi Jaidi at the heart of a Birmingham defence that helped claim the club's Championship promotion success; this season, however, and he has made just one appearance for Blues this season, in the Carling Cup at Blackburn Rovers.

That was under the now-departed Steve Bruce; McLeish isn't even bothered about seeing him play; he just wants cash for his own players in the New Year.

There was one, final telling line in tonight's piece in The Mail. ?The centre-half does not want to rush a decision but keep his options open, although it seems something could give one way or the other tomorrow….?

Which probably points to a story that has a way to run yet.


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

ryanpearce5 Ryan Pearce @ryanpearce5 ·
3 Apr

If usual tricks = being kicked in the penalty area and not getting a penalty then yeah 😂 #ncfc

Reply on Twitter 1642899144267243522 Retweet on Twitter 1642899144267243522 Like on Twitter 1642899144267243522 1 Twitter 1642899144267243522
norwichcityes Norwich City FC en español @norwichcityes ·
3 Apr

Partidazo el que nos espera este viernes 🔥🔥🔥.

Vamos con todo por esos tres puntos #NCFC 💛💚

Reply on Twitter 1642897241835798529 Retweet on Twitter 1642897241835798529 Like on Twitter 1642897241835798529 2 Twitter 1642897241835798529
fan_banter Fan Banter @fan_banter ·
3 Apr

Boreham Wood mocked over bizarre announcement parting with stadium caterers - https://fanbanter.co.uk/boreham-wood-mocked-over-bizarre-announcement-parting-with-stadium-caterers/

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

Reply on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Retweet on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Like on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Twitter 1642893716791894019
norwichcityfc Norwich City FC @norwichcityfc ·
3 Apr

🤝 Connection with the club
📈 Growth of women's team
🏟 Carrow Road fixture

@NorwichCityWFC general manager Flo Allen answers your questions in the latest episode of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ⬇️

#NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1642889121868783616 Retweet on Twitter 1642889121868783616 2 Like on Twitter 1642889121868783616 18 Twitter 1642889121868783616
norwichcityacad Norwich City Academy @norwichcityacad ·
3 Apr

🏟️ The Under-21s make their return to Carrow Road later this month in a #PL2 clash against Southampton 👊

Secure your FREE ticket for our final game of the 2022/23 campaign ⬇️

#NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1642886378743537666 Retweet on Twitter 1642886378743537666 Like on Twitter 1642886378743537666 1 Twitter 1642886378743537666
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