And so the transfer merry-go-round begins. Will City be taking the ride and paying for the luxury seats? Or will the club be more content to look on from the sidelines and occasionally hop on in the economy section?
While some fans seem convinced that spending big bucks is the way to Premier stability, others – including myself – would prefer a more cautious and pragmatic approach to squad building and strengthening.
For the first season back in the Premier League in 2011-12, the club spent tidily but not big – at least compared to some. The result was a thrilling and ultimately successful adventure.
In early 2012, Ipswich youth product Ryan Bennett cost top dollar at £3.2 million but has never cemented his name on the team sheet under four managers – just 30 odd league games under his belt.
Clearly David McNally and Paul Lambert saw great potential in a young and upcoming English defender and we should applaud them for that.
It is difficult however to see Ryan getting his foot in the door now and even more difficult to see the club recuperating anywhere near that three and a bit million if Alex Neil decides he’s surplus to requirement.
Jonny Howson at £2million has taken longer maybe than most expected perhaps to really settle in but increasingly looks like a snip at twice that price. Is Jordan Henderson better? I don’t think so.
Steve Morison cost a whopping £2.5 million – he flickered now and again but since heading off to pastures new has almost disappeared without trace, leaving that price we paid seem a little silly.
Elliot Bennett cost a cool £1.5 million. As with the other Bennett boy, he has never become a favourite under succeeding management teams. Again, a heavy price tag to bear it seems.
Finally, Daniel Ayala at £800k didn’t cut it and was soon on his way. While he was a rock for Middlesbrough last season, Cameron Jerome’s opener at Wembley made our former Spanish centre-back look a bit lightweight.
In summary – with the odd exception – a few million was dished out for little return, such is the ‘no guarantee’ nature of any transfer.
What would have happened if Lambert had stayed? That’s the multi-million pound question with no answer.
As the 2015/16 season all too slowly ticks round, the club is in an altogether different financial landscape to back then.
Parachute payment? Thank you very much although it feels dirty to be rewarded for getting relegated.
Promotion TV money? Again, thank you very much although it does seem an obscene slice of a more obscene Sky/BT pie considering that the aftershocks of the global economic crisis are still being suffered by many outside of the wacky world of the English Premier League.
As the Greek economy teeters on the precipice of catastrophe, the cash floodgates are about to burst open in a flood of comings and goings of proven and unproven talent.
And while on that subject… anyone fancy a vaguely ironic footballer’s anagram?
MONEY STRING
Clue – defender, 50 odd games in the Championship, worth £8 million quid (apparently).
If anyone wasn’t aware that Bournemouth had a Russian billionaire owner, then surely now it’s obvious.
Yes, after just one full season in the second tier, Tractor Boy Tyrone Mings has put pen to paper and waved goodbye to the dreaming spires of Ipswich (ahem).
It’s an extraordinary price tag for someone so young and so inexperienced. I guess our equivalent would be Ryan Bennett. Will history repeat?
I wish master Mings good luck. I hope his career flourishes down on the south coast now he’s left McCarthy’s bargain bin squad. God knows Roy Hodgson could do with an alternative to Chris Smalling or Phil Jagielka.
And fair play to Bournemouth from the angle of buying British and investing in youth when the overriding temptation with most PL clubs would be to go abroad and go experienced for a centre back at that kind of eye-popping transfer fee.
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling is valued at £50million by Liverpool.
Crazy money even in crazy money times. For those of a certain age, the phrase “too much too young” sung to a two tone Ska beat springs to mind.
Of course, all of a yellow and green persuasion are still suffering from the shock of eight million pounds worth of striker scoring just one goal before heading across the Channel on loan.
The hype that was built up around him at the time seemed a bit silly but in hindsight was embarrassing. Who knows, Ricky van Wolfswinkel may even get a second chance over the coming months, become a firm fan favourite at last and earn every penny that eight million pounds worth of transfer brings.
But I’m not holding my breath.
Ultimately, what got us to 12th place in 2011-12 was a sensibly assembled squad without big bucks stars under the leadership of an inspired Scottish coach. Same again would be great.
While the tens of millions reward for play-off glory may be in the bank account of Norwich City FC, I hope that we don’t all get blinded by or envious of the multi million pound deals which will be flashing up on our screens.
We don’t want a Greek tragedy on our hands in Norfolk.
Great points there Russell. The 11-12 team was indeed built on ‘journeymen’ (horrible and demeaning phrase, but you know what I mean). The likes of Fox, Crofts and Jonners in midfield, Ward and Barnett at the back, Russ and the lad who went to Bolton at FB (sorry can’t recall his name now), and Pilks and Little Benno on the wings. But of course as well as Morrison and Simeon up front, we had the Legend.
And hardly ever in that season did we look possibilities to go down. Great year!!
Whilst it’s easy to understand why many consider parachute payments to be a reward for failure, especially fans from those Championship clubs who don’t benefit from such receipts, it’s worth reflecting that TV monies reduce from over £60m to £24m upon relegation.
Even allowing for the reported 40% wages reductions our players wages incurred following demotion, it’s highly likely that the club still would have suffered a loss during the current financial year.
Crazy monies I know, but, worth reflecting upon.
I entirely agree that the road to success for a club like City is not paved with marquee signings. It requires good steady players to become better reliable players – like John Ruddy, Russell Martin Bradley Johnson and Jonny Howson.The success of the 1991-92 side was based on players who all improved together and who played like a team.
We need some good reinforcements who are always ready to play. Steve Bruce said that one of the reasons Man United came calling for him was that he missed so few games through injury. We have lost players like Fer and Pilkington who missed many games through injury. As a result their loss was not as great as it might have appeared.
Lets live within our means but also give ourselves the best chance of PL survival. OTBC
You forget Pilkington too, at about £2M. I thought was excellent buy for nearly two seasons, scored crucial 7-8 goals in each of first two years, and plenty of assists. Was good example of young/hungry lower league bargain who could step up a division (or two). Was shame for him (and us) that injuries seemed to affect more recent form.
Good stuff, Russ. A well-argued piece, and a welcome antidote to the ‘spend, spend, spend’ brigade.
And yet. The gap between the Premier League and the rest grows wider each year. No-one should underestimate the value of team spirit and belief (QPR have perhaps finally learned it) – but it’s tougher each year to thrive on that alone. It needs to be married to quality, and probably more quality than our squad currently possesses.
Would Virgil van Dijk improve our chances of succeeding? Little doubt in my mind that the answer’s yes. I can’t help thinking about January 2014, when we and Hull were in similar positions a few points above the relegation zone. They spent significantly Jelavic and Long, and survived comfortably. We brought in Yobo and Gutierrez on loan, and sank to the Championship.
For all that the current Premier league TV deal is obscene, it will be replaced in a year’s time by a 70% higher one. Plenty of our rivals will be calculating that they should the boat out to ensure survival this year.
I’m not arguing we should follow their example of high-risk spending. But if we don’t go some way in that direction, we may find we’re struggling. And when you struggle, the virtues of team spirit and togetherness come under a strain that we would much rather avoid.
It’s quite a balancing act!
I agree with just about that has been written above except the ones on Ryan Bennett.
It is about time he was give a chance to prove himself so far every time he gets into the side he gets a med to long term , injury let’s all hope he gets the chance and shows the potential that made him a £3.5m signing, I still think we owe on this as there was at the time a load of add on,s to get to that amount
Cheers for the comments.
Dan R – Marc Tierney? Of course, we still haven’t replaced the talisman up front who gave us the ‘x’ factor that season (and before). The performances at Anfield, White Hart Lane and the Emirates will be especially hard to top.
Gary F. – swings and roundabouts as you say. I think previous experiences will make McNally more prudent in any wheeler dealings to come but clearly some of that vast pot must be spent.
Douglas – it’s the sign of a great coach to maximise the potential from a squad that doesn’t make the headlines. That’s what’s so curious about Lambert’s decline and fall at Villa where that vim and vigour displayed by his Norwich sides was woefully absent at the end.
Pab – bad miss from me on Pilks. Scored some fine and important goals but I don’t think we paid over the odds for him. Once more, Lambert got the best from his man. I don’t think the overall standard of the PL is any higher than now than in 2011-12 – recent Champions League failings back that.
Stewart – twas only a brief reprieve for Hull! Long is long gone and Jelavic is probably on his way. Brucie’s numerous expensive signings last season failed to stop them imploding. I don’t see that much top dollar quality out there so I’m looking forward to being surprised. I think Alex Neil can raise everyone in the squad another 20-30% and hopefully avoid spending 5+ million on signings.
I have a lot of sympathy for Ryan Bennett. I think he has a lot of ability, but isn’t as naturally intelligent as Martin. At the highest levels what’s between the ears is as important as physical strength and agility.
I had hoped he would be able to get a run in the Championship, learn the trade week in week out, and cement his place. But injury scuppered that.
What will be interesting is to see what happens to him and other fringe players that Neil inherited, and in one case (Andrieu) purchased.
Just because many of them did not play between January and May doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t in future.
As well as Andrieu, there’s 2 Bennetts, Miguel and McGrandles, Ofoe and the Murphy boys, with Thompson and Toffolo returning from loan too. Then there’s a possible return for RVW.
Neil is expert at getting the best out of players – if he feels there is genuine potential in any of these guys, I reckon he’ll give them a chance to prove it. Miguel intrigues me most – there must surely be something there to develop else he wouldn’t have got to Arsenal and Spain U-21 in the first place. If anyone can make something of him then Neil can.
It seems that none of us expects much from RvW, despite the motivational powers of Alex Neil. We may be right, but let’s not be too conclusive too soon. After all, but for an extraordinary save by McGregor and Snoddy snatching a penalty from his hands, RvW might have started his City career with 3 in 3, and who knows from there?
Other Prem teams were certainly admiring the Wolf when we signed him. It seemed like a coup for us at the time, so there must be something there.
Yes, Hull certainly imploded last year. But was that because of their expensive signings, or perhaps because many of those signings got injured? If we look at the success stories of the Premier League that we might emulate (e.g. Swansea or Soton), they’ve combined two things: optimising their home-grown resources, and selectively spending big. Without the latter, they’d be at best yo-yo clubs.
Arguments can be made both ways. I remember the year we waited far too long to sign Ashton and it was too little too late as we struggled with lack of quality up front for half a season.
We clearly don’t want to waste money but we do want to spend it on genuine quality. And there is the rub…it’s a fine line between the two
Tyrone Mings – the name that just keeps on giving;
TRY SIGN OMEN, STING ME RONY, YET NORM SIGN, STORMING YEN, MINNTY OGRES, MINGEY SNORT, NO TYRES MING, STONE MY RING, MENS GRIN TOY.
..what a difference a fully fit Snodgrass would have made to the Hull Tigers or whatever they are called these days.
Imagine losing Bradderz for a whole season..doesn’t bare thinking about.
Ed (10) “I remember the year we waited far too long to sign Ashton”
I worked in Crewe at the time and a colleague was very well connected in the club. He subsequently told me, and I am 99% sure he was right, that Crewe were absolutely determined not to sell until the January window by which time they felt his value would have increased considerably from the summer – they were right.
Because Doncaster and co went on to mismanage the club in the few years after that – up to then they had actually done OK – it’s one of those bits of history that seems to have been rewritten to make it look as though they were incompetent, but that wasn’t the case. Where they really went off the rails was in the 4 seasons after relegation from the Premiership.
Anna (11) – Perhaps they confused him with Pavarotti, and word went out:
SIGN MY TENOR
I’d take a marquee 20 mil signing. Preferably someone who is on the downside of their career but is a team player with great experience and willing to nurture the squad. van Persie? Gerrard (not available). Players of that ilk who could possibly contribute at Colney as well as at Carrow Road.
Tongue in cheek I think we should spend 250 million on Suarez and score more goals than the current top 6 combined
Re. Lambert at Villa – I am firmly of the belief that when he joined Norwich he was an unknown quantity, managing a bigger club at a higher level where, for a couple of seasons, he was able to spring surprises on other clubs and we at Norwich were delighted to be back in the Prem and happy to outscore the opposition. At Villa he was a known quantity and they had high expectations and the crowd were used to Premier League football and had an expectation of this continuing. The Board at Villa had the fear of it finishing and Lambert got scared. Simple as. He lost his bravery and willingness to win games by scoring more than the opposition and this resulted in ‘Hughtonesque’ football. Noone in the Premier League last season had scored less than Villa by a long way. Lambert is a good manager but left Norwich at least a season (if not two) too soon. He would be a good fit for Leicester I reckon or would have been good for West Ham. Personally, though, I think Alex Neil, though similar to Lambert, will be a bigger longer lasting success. OTBC
Stewart(13) – think Bournemouth have hit the wrong note with that signing. Somewhere between a tenner and 8 million would have been more sensible.
Geoff(14) – if van Persie comes to Carrow Road, I will run naked down Prince of Wales Road smothered in jam.
Best signing of the 11/12 season was Bradley and he didn’t cost a bean transfer fee wise.
It’s hard to argue with the need to spend. The point made by Stewart re the Jan ’14 transfer window is one that doesn’t get mentioned much, but I see it as a huge part of the problem in that season. Hull, and other clubs, spent considerable sums on players who came in and made a difference, at that time, and kept them up. We, on the other hand, were sorely lacking in cutting edge and the powers that be thought Gutierrez would solve that. A clear case of delusion if ever there was one.
I’m not sure about Swansea as big spenders, though. Saints, yes, but apart from Bony (and he turned them a profit) Swansea have been very shrewd (Michu for £2m?!) unless I’m forgetting something.
Ben (17): You’re right that Swansea turned a nice profit on Bony – but they could hardly be sure of that when they paid £12m for him in July 2013. In the same month they paid £5m for Jonjo Shelvey, and a year earlier £5.5m for Pablo Hernandes. Not astronomical fees, but pretty significant.
Enjoyable article. A minor point, but I disagree on the Steve Morison judgement. I don’t think 2.5m is particularly ‘whopping’ even by our standards back then. I would also suggest that he more than paid the money back as a good number of his goals that season were in matches we got points from.
Van Persie is exactly the type of signing we should avoid at all costs, and I’m sure Sir Alex is of the same opinion. Mind you, someone on here suggested Daryl Murphy. In all seriousness. Incredible!
Talking of Ipsw*ch, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with their windfall. Once they’ve stopped pinching themselves.
If only we’d spent a few mill more and got Bony rather than the Wolf, as were the rumours. Where would we be now? Actually I’m ecstatic with where we are now so who cares?
The acquisitions of the likes of Swansea and Saints are the model for us, for sure.
I was a champion of Howson when he had a lot of naysayers, and I like your column Mr. Saunders, but no way in a million years is he at the level of Henderson. Dream on.