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City on the road to making a full recovery after summer surgery. But the proof will be in the pudding…

31st July 2008 By Tom Haylett Leave a Comment

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So, with just over a week until the Championship season gets under way (where does the summer go?), how are City shaping up in their quest to compete at the right end of the table?

I think everybody would agree that the squad is stronger, if not much bigger than this time last year.

You would like to think Arturo Lupoli will be more prolific than Chris Brown (not hard I know). And, fingers crossed, our Glenn's next striking acquisition will fare better than Peter Grant's big punt of last summer, David Strihavka.

In defence, there is genuine competition for places and that is something we haven't seen for a long, long while.

It seems like Gary Doherty and Jason Shackell have been at the heart of the backline for decades, but with Dejan Stefanovic, John Kennedy and Elliot Omozusi all arriving in Norfolk, it will be interesting to see who he plumps for as his first choice pairing.

Another fascinating contest will be for the full-back gigs. Step forward Messrs Otsemobor, Omozusi, Bertrand and Drury – assuming the latter makes his long-awaited comeback from injury.

The competition in the middle of the park is possibly even fiercer ? with the additions of David Bell, the supremely talented Wes Hoolahan and Sammy Clingan. No-one can genuinely say their place in the side is guaranteed.

And with the squad being kept firmly on their toes, that could be the difference between a mid-table finish and, dare I say it, somewhere nearer the top six.

While any sort of improvement on last year's showing would be acceptable, can you honestly say that the promotion-winning squads of Hull City and Stoke City were considerably stronger than City's right now?

With little money to play with, Roeder should, in my opinion, congratulate himself on a job well done in terms of his summer recruitment.

As he admitted on a TalkSport interview yesterday, his biggest outlay was ?400,000 on Luton's winger Bell and the capture of Hoolahan for around the ?250,000 mark ? with several other clubs sniffing around – looks like being a key bit of business.

And while certain sections of the City support will always moan and groan about the merits of loan signings, let's face it, it's part and parcel of the modern game ? especially at Championship level.

Tony Pulis' Stoke got promoted on the back of some inspired short-term additions and in this day and age, you've got to be cute; you've got to play the game.

“There's a loophole in the system that can be exploited and we have exploited it,” Pulis said back in May, speaking to the Independent.

“I think last year, when we took Lee Hendrie and Patrik Berger on loan, that freshened the whole football club up. Something had to be done because it was just drifting along, and I think that turned it last year.

“We haven't got the money that Charlton, West Brom, Watford or Sheffield United have got. So we have to do it a different way, we have to be cleverer, we have to be cuter, we have to do it within a wage structure that suits this football club.”

Many other second tier teams have also gone for the short-term fix and with the cash-rich Premier League boys calling the shots, us Championship lot have got to make do with the best of the rest.

West Brom deservedly won the Championship last year with loanees Roman Bednar, Luke Moore, Do Heon Kim all playing their part.

And the catalyst for Hull's promotion charge ? which ended in that glorious play-off win at Wembley – was Manchester United's very own Fraizer Campbell.

Without him and Phil Brown's constant harassment of Sir Alex Ferguson to let his starlet out to play, the Tigers would be joining the Canaries in trying to scrabble their way into the Promised Land.

They certainly wouldn't have been targeting the likes of George Boateng, Bernard Mendy and Anthony Gardner.

That is why this year's Norfolk loan rangers could be just be what the Canaries need to get them off to a flying start in what is sure to be another topsy-turvy Championship season.

We all know what Ryan Bertrand brings to the party. If there's a better full-back at this level, I've yet to see him.

And if Kennedy can recapture the form he showed when breaking into the Celtic and Scotland sides a few years ago, then City will reap the rewards.

It is, of course, early days yet and time will tell whether Roeder's transfer dealings will prove to be successful.

But, by reshaping a squad which was on its knees at the start of the summer, he's given the Canaries half a chance.


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Filed Under: Tom Haylett

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