A new signing is always exciting.
Even as I approach pensionable age I still feel a little flutter when somebody fresh comes through the glass doors at Colney, especially if they are a holding midfielder with Premiership quality and, whisper it quietly, a Brazilian attacking midfielder, which in itself will become a first for the Canaries.
However, this is Norwich City and I must admit to more than a little concern over the fitness of both these players. And oh boy, this club has got previous for making rickets over signing players they knew had potentially serious physical concerns when they bought them.
“Isaac Hayden trained the first week with us but he got a little bit of swelling on the knee, so we were a bit concerned about that and we’re just resting him at the moment,” said Dean Smith just before the lads flew back from their Bavarian training camp yesterday.
Now call me cynical – and some MFW readers often quite rightly do just that – but this already sets off those alarm bells. Hayden arrived with a knee injury and it doesn’t look like all is rosy in the garden in this respect. Far from it.
And then reports emanating from Brazil on Saturday suggested that while Sara was originally considered to be ahead of schedule on his recovery from an ankle injury and heading for the Fine City asap, things have changed to the degree that he will remain in his native country for at least three weeks to complete his recovery before allegedly being available “in August”.
Then yesterday, a further report says he’s coming over next week for a medical and not returning. As Gary said yesterday, a Paddy Davitt #No Circus is usually accurate but I’m never convinced until the horse is in the stable. I’m cynical, remember 😀
If ever a club had previous for this kind of signing it is us.
In recent times alone we only have to think of Matt Jarvis, Mathias Normann and Sam Byram who were signed with known histories of susceptibility to injuries. Jarvis shone brightly for about three weeks never to be seen again, Normann was good while he briefly stayed fit and although Byram seems fit again for now he has missed some 18 months out through injury.
There is no way in the world that I am attaching any blame to any of these players or indeed making any criticism of them but the facts remain these were extremely risky signings in the first place. It could be countered that we might never have been able to recruit such high-quality players with their kind of pedigree if there had not been said injury issues in the first place but this approach is still one heck of a gamble.
Some wag on social media recently referred to Sara as “the new Jarvis”, which I thought was both unfair and hardly constructive but something deep down inside tells me that he made a badly-expressed but nonetheless valid point.
On an upbeat note, it was particularly good to see all three yellows ruled out through injury at a relatively early stage last season back in varying degrees of action in Bavaria.
Adam Idah was largely working on a personal rehabilitation programme while Josh Sargent managed to get some minutes under his belt on the field of play.
Andrew Omobamidele was pencilled in for half an hour against SSV Jahn Regensburg but failed to appear with Smith saying later that he is still being managed carefully after his season-ending back injury. There are less than three weeks to go until we turn up in Cardiff so let’s hope our medicos have got it right.
Something tells me young Andrew will have a big role to play in 2022-23.
Don’t get me wrong, I sincerely hope that both Isaac and Gabby have long, productive and indeed enjoyable careers here in East Anglia.
But when players are signed with niggling injuries I tend to have equally niggling doubts.
Not everybody can be fireproof like Wessi, Holty or Bradley Johnson of course. But all three went on to have long and very successful careers with all three of them hitting their peak while in NR1.
Bradders is still playing and a 40-year-old Hoolahan has yet to announce his retirement. Maybe it’s down to constitution, maybe it’s down to luck but all three came in for some right batterings*** in their time and invariably came out the other side with both heads and tails up.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that all goes well for the new lads this season and they don’t get to know the first names of the NCFC medical team.
*** Yes, I know., Holty and Bradley could dish it out as well. Mr. Johnson often got his retaliation in first and heaven help a lightweight centre-back who came across our Grant!
I really hope this Elvis Costello masterful version of the old Sam & Dave song doesn’t apply to any of our squad this season:
Morning Martin you said you would believe it when the horse is in the stable I believe it should be the knackers yard give our recent injury history .The Brazilian is doomed as he cost more than £2mil never had a good un more than that klose would have been but injury put pay to that familiar story .looks like sinan getting a chance about time .keep frying mate 👌
Morning to you too Kev
Yeah it’s appropriate to reference the knackers’yard – I liked that one 🙂
I just think it’s a bad habit for the club to have and we can only hope for the best.
Cheers mate
Until I got to your footnote, Martin, I was mentally preparing a comment along the lines of “good luck to anyone who tried to give Bradders a battering”. I think we got rid of the wrong person, if the rumours around at the time are true. With his reading of the game, his breaking up play, and a fair share of goals, he was worth more to us than the alternative.
Hi Jim
I could almost have included Wessi in the footnote – he could be a tough little $od when he felt the need to be.
How ironic that the other party has been captain of his side for a while and is now back in the PL. Despite that I agree with you – we got rid of the wrong player at the time.
Cheers
Trouble is, if you wait for the perfect signing they may never come along – especially in the market we shop in. If Hayden hadn’t had that injury last season he might still be in the Saudi Sportswash XI.
I share the pessimism though!
Hi Bruce
There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with being pesseimistic as over 50 years of following NCFC I kind of equate it with a wierd kind of realism 🙂
Love the *Saudi Sportswash* reference – too true.
Cheers
‘She runs a bit rough mate, but just needs a tune up’, the times I heard that when looking for a bargain banger. Secondhand car salesmen, dodgy horse traders and sellers of injured footballers should be approached with caution and a tight grip on the wallet, buyer beware. The games come thick and fast in the Chump and generally it’s standing room only in the treatment room. So like you Marty I’m nervous with these two signings, wish them well of course but I wouldn’t let Webber anywhere near my dosh if I was looking for an investment.
Hi Cutty
Caveat emptor indeed – in extremis when it comes to footballing bloodstock.
Webber reminds me of a financial advisor I once knew. He must have struck a few deals, but not with anybody he knew in the pub.
We weren’t daft.
Cheers
All players are susceptible to injuries, if they pass the medical they should be OK,some players don’t have any luck. The medical team have done a great job with Byram, some of his challenges have been amazing but would explain why he gets injured,if only we had a midfielder who could tackle like that. Tettey had problems with fitness but also had problems with bookings.Howson was signed in the middle of a long term injury but was worth the wait.Buendia took a while to make his debut because of injury. I think Norman-and Kabak were last minute loan risks, because we hadn’t signed the players we wanted.
Hi Gil
Yes some very fair points there, particularly the ones about Byram and Tettey.
i agree with you about Normann and Kabak as well – but for penny-pinching on Ajer, Kabak would never have been necessary in the first place.
Thanks – good comment.
My thoughts exactly Mr P, is it because we can only get a little bit quaility at a price we can afford. Mind you buying a Brazilian on Clearpay or Zilch (My sons quip) does seem we are at the bottom of the barrell, counting the pennies in the sludge. But we beat WBA to him, reports from their area suggest they have dodged a bullet. Remains to be seen, given our history of signings I am not holding my breath.
It is an exciting move if the lad is fit and no reoccurence of the injury that required surgery, same with Hayden although we have not shelled out for him as a purchase Yet.
Re… Johno, Holty. I will add Hucks to my list, shows how some managers, Rodent, Whoton and Neil, I feel get things so wrong. None of them really set the world alight while here. Is a tad unfair on Neil.
Noticed Krul never took part in Germany, he did walk through the doors on Tuesday or Wednesday, I didn’t see his name in any of the team sessions.
Very pleased to hear that Sinani and Hernandez being mentioned in dispatches from Smith. Saw a fair bit of Sinani from catching Hudderfield on my streaming apps, linked play from back to front with a decent first touch, and knew where the goal was. Mr Argos we know what he can bring to the party, would be good to see him used .
As to returning players from long term injuries, I do wonder if we are fed the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
Right off to the garage the coolest place
Krul definitely an example of an injury risk that paid off. No one else would touch him at the time but for me he’s alongside pukki and buendia as best value signings that we’ve made over the last few years.
Hi Tom
MFW comment of the day award for that reference.
It’s a retrospective writer’s moment for me as in *how the feck didn’t I put that into the article as a counterbalance!*
Nice one
Hi Lad
Great mention of Hucks.
He was always vulnerable to the last-ditch chop on the edge of the box or on the byline but he seemed to get up and get on with it. No surprise that a hip injury ended his career after the pasting his body absorbed.
Yes, Sinani and Onel could yet prove useful assets this season.
As for veracity with injury updates we only know what we are told and that is often very little for obvious reasons. Can’t blame the club for keeping schtum on that front for a variety of reasons that we will all understand.
Cheers
When they relaid the pitch a few years ago, they sold off bits of it as souvenirs, so I bought a couple of square feet of turf down in front of the Snakepit, set it into my back lawn, and told everyone that it was where Hucks got chopped down all the time.
It feels like signing players with a history of injuries is a lottery, but that’s probably being a bit unfair to the medical department. Truth is though you win some, you lose some. For example Pilkington hadn’t played for several months when we signed him after a nasty injury, but he was fine (though the knock-on effects may have hampered him later in his career). Jarvis was a disaster.
It looked for a long time as though Byram was going to be Louis-Jean the second; I would cross my fingers that Sam’s past the worst, but they’re too arthritic. At a guess Hayden may follow in Tettey’s footsteps. He was plagued with injuries before he joined us and averaged around 25 games a season. I don’t think we’ll see much more than that from Isaac, but when we do he’ll be similarly influential.
Hi Keith
I remember very well that Pilkington was signed in this matter but only referenced recent incomings in the article but you make a great point there.
We certainly got the best from his career, which I hope doesn’t make him sound like some kind of commodity. That particular gamble paid off handsomely.
Louis-Jean I’d put alongside Matthew Rush in a funny kind of way.
I bet nearly all of our younger readers won’t remember either of them!
Cheers
Hi Martin
For us old Generation at times Cities recruitment reminds me of Emergency Ward 1o a long forgotten TV show and early Medical Soap.
My questions as follows:
Could we afford any of these players if they didn’t have a history of injuries
Answer: Not under our present ownship.
Would these players have come to city without their injury history
Answer: Again no their ambitions would have been higher
Have we got our monies worth out of these players
Answer: Not in my opinion and the cost of Private Medical isn’t cheap.
Over the years we also signed Luke Chadwick £200k from Stoke never lasted his contract again a serious knee injury he is quote as saying he moved to City as his Wife wanted to live back in Cambridge.
One paper today is extolling Sara and how many from South America have been a success in the Championship so have we got a gem well I will hold my judgement on that, another Red Top has said city are in safe hands with Dean Smith having won promotion before with Villa but that was with an unimpressive team against an ever poorer team in Derby County so again I will hold judgement.
Footnote
Webber jetted over to Brazil at the last moment to ensure a successful conclusion to the transfer no mention of a visit to any mountains I must have a cynical streak somewhere as well
Hi Alex
A couple of other guys on here today have mentioned how well Alex Tettey and Anthony Pilkington turned out to be when signed under similar circumstances.
Mind you I was struggling to think of any other one until Tom [above] mentioned Tim Krul so I am sure there will be a few others out there as well.
Cheers
AlexB Quick question mate, wasn’t Chadwick injured at that lot down the road, clashed with a advertising board for something after a tackle from Master Bates Ipswich defender. Peter Grant was angry that the boards were too close.. Dislocated shoulder as well spent 2 nights in their hospital. Not sure he was same after that. I remember as I was there. having coffee thrown over me on way out.
From what I understand city got a loan deal to see hoe he had recovered from a small knee injury, and he proved in just over a month he was fit for purpose of playing, he then as you say crashed into a hoarding aggravated the earlier injury and was never the same again.
Did player at a lower level for a few more seasons MK Dons and Cambridge before going into non league
Wouldn’t it just be great if these two signings met our needs and gave good value.
Hi Andy
I endorse that view despite the slightly depressive tone of the original article!
Cheers
The song is a soundtrack of my youth in many ways!
I know every team has injuries through the season, but we always seem to have plenty before a competitive game is played.
Hopefully we’ll have a strong squad available for Cardiff, Dean Smith needs a good start-he has to get the fans on board and keep them there.
Hi Don
You’re so right, we need a good start for the reasons you mention.
Looking at the fixtures, it doesn’t look unachievable……
Enjoy Millwall at Carrow Road – I’ll explain later 🙂
Cheers
Martin your thoughts are much the same as mine.
Anybody can get caught once but to turn it into an annual event makes one wonder how efficient our recruitment process is.
When you look at videos of the latest two you think great signings and then a little later you see mention of a current injury problem and it’s groundhog days!
Hi John
Yes that’s the way I see it too but some posts today have indicated that it hasn’t always worked out that way for us.
What concerns me is that the likes of Pilkington and Tettey were signed long before the dawn of the Webber era but you have to hope for the best.
We might be lucky.
Cheers
There Martin is the crux of the matter. Under Delia you luck all the time just to keep going but unfortunately luck usually goes in phases.
All we can hope for is that none of the injuries are too serious, but any injury pre-season is a concern.
Let’s hope our Irish contingent are both fit to play in just under 3 weeks time!!
Hi Ed
From the way it looks to me both Adam and Andrew are still struggling a little bit although quite understandably we don’t [as supporters] get the full picture.
Here’s hoping.
Cheers
Good morning Martin.
I am glad I am not the only person on here who is a little bit worried by our two most recent signings carrying injuries.
I thought I was being the typical old Cumudgen that I am😂
It is a real worry though as you say we have been here before in typical “Along Come Norwich” fashion.
You mention Matt Jarvis who looked brilliant for us when he first came but then became more elusive than Lord Lucan. Of course I felt sorry for the lad but taking up commentary duties in Darkest Suffolk was not a good move.
And I swear on Dean Aston’s twitter account he said “don’t sign Matt Jarvis” around that time which swiftly disappeared from his said account as soon as we did sign the lad. Inside injury knowledge from Deano ?
With Sera, Hayden, Idah and Omobamidele all carrying injuries and question marks over Aarons, Pukki, Cantwell and Hanley it is not an ideal situation for Dean Smith.
Daniel Farke team gave the Championship clubs a head start in both our Championship wins, I would not like to see a slow start this time.
The natives could get restless.
Hi Tim
This article stems from quite a few conversations I have had with fellow Yellows over the last few weeks and we universally agreed that purchasing the injured [or indeed injury prone] wasn’t ideal for a return to the Championship.
In medical terms I am in the position to say that I have a little knowledge, which can of course be dangerous as the old saying goes 🙂
The one thing I know for sure however is that if a muscular or ligament problem does not completely repair and enjoy a period of rest coupled with gradual [supervised by physios] return to former performance levels that’s game over.
There’s also a lingering psychological situation as well, particularly regarding knee and ankle injuries. As a Sunday League player who managed to break both ankles – at different times, ha! – I know that feeling so what it’s like for a pro heaven knows.
A rather gloomy cheers 🙂