To give credit where it is well and truly due, Norwich City have certainly played their part in the lives of the gossip-mongers over the last seven days and that is for sure.
Gary dealt with the only concrete issue yesterday, the arrival of 22-year-old Spanish prospect Borja Sainz from Turkey’s Giresunspor, the latest in a line of young wingers to arrive at Carrow Road with promise and expectations in abundance.
The reality can often be that these players recently have not enjoyed the success everybody hoped for, but I’ll heartily endorse Gary’s bienvenido, Borja! of yesterday.
I’m moving straight on to a report from Scotland’s Daily Record which suggests that City have joined Celtic, West Ham, and Forest in trying to either buy or bring in on loan Portuguese winger Carlos Borges (top left).
The Portuguese has impressed in the Citizens’ under-21 side, but his price tag could be an issue for Norwich after the report attached an £11million valuation to the 19-year-old, says the Record, which adds that it is unclear whether Borges would be available on a loan deal, with only 12 months left on his current deal at the Etihad.
Yet another precocious young winger with a €10 million golden weight around his neck?
I would respectfully suggest to the Daily Record that while the other three mentioned clubs could afford the youngster and the world and his cat knows that the Hoops will be looking to replace Jota, either Cesare or Lucretia Borja might be closer to the mark when it comes to dear old NCFC!
Another definitely in the building is young Chilean keeper Vicente Reyes, who has joined from MLS outfit [more on one of those later] Atlanta United and will go straight into the development group.
Reyes, who has chosen to play for Chile although he is eligible for the USMNT too as he was born in South Carolina, said:
“I spoke to the keeper coach [Ed Wootten] and said I want to take it day-by-day, and not to get ahead of myself. I can’t wait to get started here.”
And another one for the development squad is in the hutch according to Hamilton chairman Allan Maitland, who seemingly confirmed Norwich City’s signing of the Scottish club’s 16-year-old midfielder Gabriel Forsyth (top right) on the Accies’ official website:
“I would confirm that I have this week reached final agreements with Norwich and Leeds Utd for the formal transfer of Gabriel Forsyth and Josh McDonald retrospectively.” ***
My final piece of media speculation surrounds yet another young winger, this time in the shape of Brazilian Gustavo Mosquito. His club, Corinthians, are hinting that he is now available to negotiate a pre-contract deal with any interested parties, and there are suggestions in the land of the Samba that City are among those interested.
Mosquito has not played since October last year as he recovers from an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his knee.
We’ve been to that particular well too many times for me to hope that anything concrete comes out of this particular rumour, I’m afraid.
Every yin of arrival must of necessity be accompanied by its encumbent yang of departure of course.
Chelsea have finally completed the signing of young forward Alex Matos on a free, despite us paying for 99% of his development. Sometimes football isn’t fair – unless you’re still one of the PL’s big hitters, which Chelsea are despite drawing the curtains on their poorest season in ages, albeit one that we as Norwich supporters would have killed for.
Despite what the odd City fan might think, to finish 13th in the PL is far, far better than to finish in the same position in the Championship.
Much to the chagrin of MFW’s Finnish friend 1×2, Teemu Pukki has chosen to join his Huuhkajat colleague Robin Lod at MLS side Minnesota United. Like 1×2 I was rather hoping Teemu might have chosen something a little bit more challenging but on a personal level there are a couple of leagues out there that he didn’t join for which I am grateful, so good luck Teemu and may you enjoy the rest of your career.
Max Aarons seems to be sustaining the interest of both Fulham and West Ham but despite a bit of low-level pot-stirring out there in the media, nobody has anything of any substance worth mentioning on that front. Max’s 27th and final game for England under-21s is scheduled to be against Israel in Georgia on Wednesday and it is terrific to think that he has been a Norwich City player for all 27 of those caps.
Meanwhile, James Maddison has completed his move to Tottenham.
The midfielder has joined Spurs from Leicester in a deal worth roughly £45 million, which means we will net 15 per cent of £22.5 million, which works out to total over £3 million for City in an important add-on negotiated with the Foxes by none other than a Stuart Webber, who was very much in his prime at the time.
I’ll move onto a trio of confirmed fixtures now if I may, which together amount to a short pre-season tour.
City will face AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday, July 19, the game to be played at the home of Dutch amateur side VV Dirkshorn against a club that finished fourth in the Eredivisie last season and reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Eventual competition winners West Ham knocked out the Dutch side in a two-legged semi-final marred by crowd trouble in Holland, of course.
The Canaries then head to Germany to face Christoph Zimmermann‘s newly-promoted Bundesliga side Darmstadt at their Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor on Wednesday, July 12 before finishing the trip against 2.Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern on Saturday, July 15.
Back in Blighty, Sky have already been messing about with the domestic fixtures – but quite why these two particular matches have been scheduled for live coverage is beyond me.
Possibly the first is just about fathomable in that we turned in our best performance of the season against Millwall [it didn’t have much serious competition] and it was a cracking game so maybe that’s why the Carrow Road clash has been moved back a day from Saturday, August 19 to Sunday, August 20 with a 1200 kick-off.
Our trip to Bristol City has also been moved back a day, from Saturday, December 2 to Sunday, December 3, this time with a 1330 kick-off. CFC somewhat mysteriously says: “The change comes to avoid a potential clash with an event at Ashton Gate stadium.”
Nope, me neither.
I’ve tried very hard to avoid the issue but cannot totally ignore it. It is quite possible that by the time you read this Leeds United have officially announced the appointment of Daniel Farke as their new head coach. The Leeds lads are smart and realise that it’s a case of where there’s a case of a Farke there might pretty soon be a Stuart Webber.
To Ell and Back [a kind of MFW-ish website with a Yorkshire accent I would guess] came up with a pretty good article on that very subject. I enjoyed reading it and will happily quote author Tim [not Noel the former White] Whelan:
“…All of which sounds very encouraging, given that he [Farke] does manage to get us back into the promised land of the Premier League, the 49ers would undoubtedly be able to call on far greater resources than Delia and Co.
“The only worrying aspect of the above is that Stuart Webber has been reported to be a candidate to be our next director of football. Having just got rid of one DoF with a patchy record in the transfer market, we don’t need another one!”
Now hold on there a mo, Tim. You do need Stuart Webber. You need him more than you could ever imagine. Your Club needs Stuart Webber and it needs him rightnow!!!
There is no Close Season Quote of the Week winner today, more a Polite Exchange of the Week winner, said exchange taking place between MFW reader [and also now writer too] Bernie Owen and yours truly over the weekend about the new away shirt.
- Me: I think this one looks pretty good;
- Bernie: It’s better than last year’s;
- Me: So’s my old leather bike jacket!
Absolutely anybody who has seen me in that jacket will know straight away how much I disliked last season’s away kit 
*** I apologise for any suffering caused to supporters of Norwich City Football Club by mentioning ourselves and Leeds United in the same sentence but in the first instance it was a direct quote from Mr Maitland so had to be used in that context.
The second occurrence was equally unavoidable, if only because I enjoyed repeating what Tim Whelan had to say! This topic is going to become hotter than hell itself very shortly and I fear we are all going to have to live with thinking and talking about it for quite a while yet as the reality of a Webber-Farke link-up at Carrow Road will have [possibly dire] consequences for all of us.
I’ll leave you with this, in homage to my infamous leather jacket:
Morning MR P good sum up of all the news and supposed happenings, I’ll add to your list, Max was booked in the latest U23 game and will miss the semi-final because of this booking his second of the tournament. The Headline said Aarons misses the Semi, thank goodness, not an injury. The under-whelming Rasica is said to be going to spurn Germany and the Premier League to stay where he is, the level of the game must be lower for him to shine. as Roy Kent would say in Ted lasso **** **
By the looks of it, we are going to have plenty of wingers, think we need a centre forward, but two of those wide boys will probably be on their bikes, Tzolis and Płacheta. neither has shown much promise that there is more to eke out. Only the speed and the skill to run a little like Chris Waddle on the ball. (Well Tzolis reminded me of him)
Have a good week
Mrning Lad
Thanks for the update on Max – what a shame for him.
You’re probably speaking with the only footy fan in the UK who has never seen Ted Lasso so that reference went over my head I’m afraid!
You’re spot on when you compare the Bundesliga to the Turkish Super Lig, although the one thing they have in common that they are both competitive. The few recent excerpts I’ve seen from Turkish football prove things can get a bit tasty 🙂
Tzolis a bit like Chris Waddle? I’ll be diplomatic and say that tuthfully I haven’t seen enough of Tzolis to make such a judgement.
Cheers
Hi Martin. Max misses the semi final owing to his 2 bookings……so the 27th cap will have to wait until the final IF England get through and IF he is picked.
Interesting that the greatly revered Ollie Skipp can’t make the first pick for the u21s…. Maybe he isn’t as good as our yellow and Green specs suggest?
Hi Nick
Thanks to you also for putting me right on Max – I didn’t pick up on it until this morning.
Maybe Ollie Skipp was simply one of those players who saw the stars align for him while he was here. He certainly enjoyed himseld immensely when he played for us and I’ll never forget that iage of him celebrating the Title with a beer in one hand and a hospital issue walking aid in the other!
Cheers
I can truly understand why Leeds would choose Farke. I have made no secret of the fact I didn’t agree with him being thrown under the bus.
I cant however see how on earth anyone connected with Leeds or indeed Farke himself would want to work with the man who kept him supplied with blanks right up till the one he used post Brentford.
It is beyond me. I wouldn’t trust Webber with my lunch money, he’s a bin dipper maybe he’ll end up where he belongs one day ?
Hi Kurt
I was from the school of thought that felt Farke suffered through being starved of resources more than anything else, but apart from the actual timing of the dismissal following the win over Brentford I felt it was time for him to go.
If only I’d known at the time what rubbish his departure would lead to…
I can only imagine Webber must have said something like *no fan funding at Leeds Danny Boy, I’ll open the shop for you* or something like that and Farke has fallen for it.
Bin dipper? Skip diver? Methinks we’re about to find out.
Cheers
Morning Martin,
This is not remotely related to your post this morning but do you think a swap deal involving Stuart Webber for Nick Hammond (currently with Leeds on short term till October) is likely. Hammond was well thought of at Celtic and worked on similar short term basis at Newcastle. It sort of makes sense.
Morning Andy
I can honestly say I’ve never thought of it, no, but I kind of see how you could at least try and forge a chain from the links.
Yes, Hammond was well thought of at Celtic, and Desmond is not an easy guy to please.
I have to throw the spanner in the works though,
Would somebody like Hammond consider working for Delia, even short term?
Cheers
Marty, it‘s going to be cheap hard working old dependables with a sprinkling of South American hopefuls who we can flog on for a profit, it‘s the self funding way cha cha. With Webber soon on his bike perhaps the import of injured speculation players will cease and Adams will make himself useful with the development of young players, and a decent loan player if we can afford one. We don‘t seem to be making much headway on the sales front but I‘m sure the men in suits are working hard to secured their percentages and some handshakes will soon take place.
Hi Cuty
I’m not sure who wrote the Pink-un article today, but the headline is interesting to say the least
City’s ‘Transfer Stategy is about the Profit Margin’ surely as a proclaimed self funding club it’s all about the profit Margin.
Typo error ‘should have read ‘City’s Transfer Strategy is not about the Profit Margin’
We’ll soon be trying t emulate the ethos of the Rochdale Pioneers at this rate – and look at what just happened to Rochdale 🙂
Well, in our case it isn’t the profit margin that is of overall concern, more the reduction of the defecit coun I would say.
considering we made a very high loss, even selling players for a profit, what on earth will happen if no profit is the new mantra The whole club is a disastrous joke that isn’t funny for us supporters….perhaps for other clubs.
People inside and out are laughing at us and that’s for sure.
I’m getting like you though – the *joke* has worn a bit thin of late
I guess we all have perspectives dominated by our direct experience. Yours is clearly different from mine.
Working in London and living 10-15 miles out, I’ve a circle of friends who follow a variety of teams. Without exception they’re sympathetic to Norwich, admire Delia’s commitment to the club and wish our model could be competitive. None is laughing at our troubles; all wish us well.
As I say, just my experience.
Hi Stew
You must have picked the right social circle while I did otherwise, I suppose – and as you quite rightly say, there’s no substitute for [personal] experience.
To balance out my reply to Canary Lad I should add that almost every friend or acquaintance who laughs at me [or more accurately what I represent, a Norwich City supporter] also feels sorry for me, which is sometimes harder to take in its way.
Friends, eh?
Cheers
Hi Stewart
I keep in touch with a vast number of friends from London clubs who I’ve worked with for many years. Most admire City’s early Premiership exploits, nearly winning it but finishing 3rd, doing well in Europe, and then there are those that loved our style under Farke.
Their underlying question is, ‘why does someone that can’t afford to run a club not sell up and let the club get a better financially equipped owner?’
We have been held back by a lack of financial muscle for 28 years and their mantra that no one is interested was blown out of the water by their own financial director, and even Coventry’s new owner admitted he offered on more that one occasion to invest or buy them out. So who’s telling little porkies?
Some people just don’t see the wood for the trees.
Sorry if this doesn’t suit the way you look at things, but opinions are just that – opinions – and we all have them.
I don’t see how buying youngsters largely unknown to those not working within professional football can be considered without the fact that these days many of them are signed because they might, just might, yield a handsome profit in the future.
Anything they can offer us in terms of performances with the first team is thought of as a bonus, surely not the other way round.
Hi Cutty
That’s probably the way *forward*, if we care to call it that.
I have always been against signing players who arrive injured, but my arguent is often countered by those who woud cite Emi and to a lesser extent Sara as examples that it can work.
The sales will come, as soon as night follows day. Let’s hope we get rid of plenty of chaff along with the wheat!
Cheers
Hi Martin
Well the England cricket team showed some spirit yesterday a little to later in the batting order to win the game.
2 down 3 to go but not all lost and a Beefy Headingly just might be on the cards, and a few MCC members called out the Aussies for a Bairstow stumping what a great watch.
So many rumours about the Webber/Farke link up at the Loiners(I still can’t understand how the people from Leeds get that name) but the FA are still pondering the 49ers ownership having owned 44% for the last 3 years surely all the checkers were done then or can you invest but not be owners without those checks??
The City squad seems to be taking somewhat a strange shape in more wingers than any team needs,out going seems to be extremely slowly but could it be that just maybe Webber wants Aaron’s and Omobamidele at Leeds to give Farke a couple of known faces and quality or would that be construed or seen as fixing the books ??
As I think Cuty said will Delia wave a fond farewell with no compo or fight to get compo for an early departure to the North Yorkshire Dale’s and leave city without a replacement.
Lots of speculation will be popping it’s ugly head over the parapets of the lion & Castle Beer wall especially after a few over priced self served pints.
Only a Delia Franchise could come up with such a crazy idea.
You can watch Bairstow trying to run out Labushagne in exactly the same way in the same match.
Yes Alex how many wingers do we need.
Hi Bernie
We’ve had some great wingers in the past, from Jimmy Neighbour to Emi Buendia, but none of the current crop are anywhere near where you’d like them to be.
There was so much more to Emi than my nominal term of *winger* might suggest.
Cheers
Hi Alex
I tried my hardest to present the week’s news without majoring on Webber,
In fact, if the Leeds lad Tim hadn’t made me laugh with a smart comment about the man I think I would have got away without mentioning him at all 🙂
As and when Leeds announce the arrival of Daniel Farke, surely even Delia and Michael must realise, belatedly, that he has to go there and then.
As for the pub that isn’t a pub, I can see it quietly being forgotten about tbh.
Cheers
Nice work MP as always!
Perhaps you, MFW, and/or your charming, intelligent & perspicacious readership can tell me why 47 of the last 50 signings have been wingers, especially when the gaping hole is – and has been for 5 years (Skipp season aside) – a blummen CDM!!!
It’s like the club recruiters are bad darts players who constantly aim for double top and keep scoring single one.
Surely it’s not just me who thinks this is the most important vacancy in the side!!
Perhaps it is. I know I’m irrelevant, but perhaps I’m invisible too. Hello? Hello? CDM anyone? CDM! CDM!! CDM!!!
I may make a flag and go on a personal march outside Carrow Road… “Give me a ‘C’!’ – (Silence)
Having a second team in spurs I can remember many years ago Ossie Ardilas as manager under Allan Sugar and he was quoted atthe time as saying something along the lines we will out score anyone, we need a midfield of creators to push forward our defenders defend no one else.
Maybe that’s going to be the wagner way, or as he said Sorensen has to take command of his best position as a CDM with McLean along side or has Stacey come into do that job if the lad from Motherwell joins ??
As you know well by now Spurs are my second team too, and under Ardiles the *defence* went missing en masse.
Now where did I see that occurring on a regular basis only last season?
🙂
I keep reading in the paper that the country is short of all sorts of people – doctors and nurses, immigration officers, fruit pickers, prison officers, maths teachers; you name it, we aint got it.
I think they should add defensive midfielders to the list. There aren’t that many about really. We have never, as far as I recall in 50 years, produced one of at least Championship quality in our own academy. I suspect it’s the same elsewhere. Maybe Gibbs will be the first.
In the last 20 years I can only think of Gary Holt and Tettey actually on the books, and Alex averaged fewer than 30 games a season, which shows how often he was unavailable. And we borrowed Skipp for one year.
It will be interesting to see if they can mould Lungi into the role. He’s an intelligent lad and does read the game well; whether he has the physicality to get up and down the pitch quick enough and/or the strength to get tackles in without picking up a string of bookings and injuries remains to be seen. It would be nice to see him playing one dedicated role week in week out, rather than having to chop and change all the while.
Hi Keith
All hopes seem to rest on Lungi at the moment [see my comment to See-Through of Spixworth [below] but I’m not sure that’s my favourite position in which to try a player and *hope he’s alright* if I’m honest.
Maybe we should try and find a specialist if only as cover. As with anybody who wishes to live and work in the UK I don’t care where that person might come from and possibly somebody like Gary Megson or Gary O’Neill at the end of their career would do just fine.
The modern equivalent of Jan Molby need not apply 🙂
If ever the ability to read the game, ascuired by experience, is vital to a position it is central defensive midfield!
Cheers
Hi Trunchy
I’m not too sure flags and marches [whether personal or otherwise] are the best things to be involved with right now and I’d steer cear of that particular approach for a while if I were you 🙂
No, I don’t know what the current obsession with [largely untried] wingers is all about either. Perhaps there’s a special offer on them in a secret clubcard kind of deal that we now nothing about.
I see the Pink Un is rehashing Wagner’s old comments about DCM being Lungi Sorensen’s best position this morning – maybe that is a gentle way of telling us: *We’re not buying anybody for this vital, specialised position yet again this season*.
I should be driving through your village tomorrow morning so I’ll make sure I yell a friendly greeting as I do so 😉
Cheers
Bristol City v Norwich has not been switched because Sky have picked it – their selections haven’t been made beyond August yet. It’s for an unspecified reason – who knows, possibly rugby? (Although those fixtures haven’t been released to the public yet.) It’s the FA Cup second round that weekend, and Bristol Rovers might get a home tie which doesn’t end up being a Saturday 3pm kick-off either!
Hi O-t a s-t h
The possibility of a clash with either Bristol Rugby or Barton’s Piratical types didn’t immediately occur at time of writing.
Thanks for setting the record straight – appreciated.
Cheers
The lesser spotted DCM………perhaps the more avid readers who know stuff could help this old codger out. I would love a list of current DCMs plying their trade at roughly our level ie aspirational mid championship.
All I know is that the top level DCMs go for something like £40-100+m. Rice’s fee more than many top strikers. This suggests that they are rarer than hen’s teeth.
However, given their value, why don’t our Academy teams feature two in every squad? We know that SW said the Academy teams often play 2 strikers so as to develop more of the most valued role, even at the expense of team coordination and effectiveness. I. Think we have been missing a trick.
Nick, as I commented above, our academy hasn’t produced 2 in 50 years, never mind every season! But at that age I guess they all think they’re going to be Lionel Messi
Indeed. When I was a boy who wanted to play such an apparently boring role? Until Makelele sp? made Chelsea so good, I didn’t really think much of that position.
That can be a very real problem for youngsters, as in who wants to be George Cohen when they could be Jimmy Greaves in my era.
Quite what age that mindset largely disappears at I don’t know, but I suspect quite late on in life with some players!
CDM at Norwich all ours have a glass and a half in them .
Being diabetic, I’ll pretend I don’t understand this joke!
I wish I didn’t understand it either – it’s one of those ever-increasing occasions when I really feel my age!
Skippy did have a vague reminiscence to the original Milky Bar Kid if you look closely 🙂
Or even resemblance – it’s been a long day 🙂