Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe

[skijumptoes]

Hah, in reality i bet there's nowhere near £4m on the balance sheet left from the sale of Fer and potential purchase of Vadis.

 

[BarclayBoy88]

I think 4 mil is quite a bit for a championship club to be spending, you've only got to hear McCarthy before the ipswich match he put things in to perspective for me discussing how much we'd paid for Grabban etc. and yes, of course we're favourites to go up - it's a no brainer.

If we had been sat here in this league for years and saw a team spending millions around their squad like we have i think we'd be thinking the same thing, this is not the prem, 4 million is a ton of money!

Also, if the player wanted the move and the club wanted it (Which appears to be the case),this deal no doubt favours the player in terms of his (and his agent?) personal demands.

The thing is, we are in this privileged position in this leagues thanks to doing things right in the first place on a limited budget. We signed the right people at the right time when we were in league one and back in the Championship, to enable us to get to the Premier League, this relates to both playing staff and management staff. I have absolutely no sympathy for what Mick is saying, parachute payments are a reward for the fantastic achievement of getting promoted.

£4 million is a lot of money but we bought players at the right time, nurtured them, then sold them for a profit. We also cleared our debt and didn't spend a stupid amount of money when we got to the Prem. Mick can moan all he likes about the disparity but he needs to point the finger at his own board rather than any other clubs.

 

[shaun_wilkinson]

£4m is a hugely ambitious sum of money for a Championship team to spend, delighted (if this goes through) that the club appreciates the need to adequately replace Fer. 

This will probably the 2nd highest fee paid by a Championship club for a player this season, second to McCormack, can anybody think of any others?

Get £8m for an injury prone player who doesn't want to be here... £4m on the replacement, £4m in the bank to help cover any holes in the budget, sounds good to me!

I didn't think we would be spending anywhere near £4m on a player at this point at all! I really thought the Fee would be more than £4m for a player that (after doing some research) clearly has a lot of people talking him up, Kompany being one of them.

It will be an amazing piece of business if we can pull this one off.

 

[skijumptoes]

But still, seeing things from a common sense perspective you can see how within a couple of years moved from thinking a 4 million signing at this level is ridiculous, to now thinking it's reasonable....  Premiership is hugely distorted really, and if we were still there no doubt this type of deal would've cost us the full release clause.

I think parachute payments are a terrible idea and the money in this game is so top heavy it's ridiculous.  It encourages clubs to stretch beyond their limits and this whole parachute system is an unfair fix to protect those poor decisions.  And it really shoves two fingers up at clubs who are developing a squad over multiple seasons to become successful, correctly working within their financial restraints.

As a Norwich supporter i'm loving it, don't get me wrong, but i found what McCarthy had to say quite humbling and made me appreciate the privileged position we're in and gave me a sense of perspective.

 

[Agent Dale Cooper]

But still, seeing things from a common sense perspective you can see how within a couple of years moved from thinking a 4 million signing at this level is ridiculous, to now thinking it's reasonable....  Premiership is hugely distorted really, and if we were still there no doubt this type of deal would've cost us the full release clause.

I think parachute payments are a terrible idea and the money in this game is so top heavy it's ridiculous.  It encourages clubs to stretch beyond their limits and this whole parachute system is an unfair fix to protect those poor decisions.  And it really shoves two fingers up at clubs who are developing a squad over multiple seasons to become successful, correctly working within their financial restraints.

As a Norwich supporter i'm loving it, don't get me wrong, but i found what McCarthy had to say quite humbling and made me appreciate the privileged position we're in and gave me a sense of perspective.

Absolutely spot on mate, agree with every word.

 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green]

I doubt the fee will be as high as £4m - that is the price Villa negotiated with Club Brugge a while back before they pulled out of the deal.

Brugge are pretty desperate to sell Odjidja and he is pretty desperate to leave so I can Norwich getting a good price on him initially, with some bonuses should they be promoted etc.

Whilst Odjidja has a big reputation there is a reason why Fulham, Villa, WBA have all come close to signing him and then walking away, also his form over the last 6 - 12 months hasn't been great. He has been rated as a promising player with high potential for some time, but has never really delivered on a consistent basis. Also, the Belgium caps came because he was talking about playing for Ghana, whom he was also eligible, and Belgium wanted to stop him from doing that in the future - he hasn't been that close to getting in the national team for some time now.

Whilst he could end up being a great signing for Norwich, he isn't going to come in and tear up the league straight away - he still has a huge amount to prove and most certainly isn't on the same level as someone like Fer. Hopefully Norwich get the deal tied down soon and aren't gazumped by a Prem team. 

 

[shaun_wilkinson]

I doubt the fee will be as high as £4m - that is the price Villa negotiated with Club Brugge a while back before they pulled out of the deal.

Brugge are pretty desperate to sell Odjidja and he is pretty desperate to leave so I can Norwich getting a good price on him initially, with some bonuses should they be promoted etc.

Whilst Odjidja has a big reputation there is a reason why Fulham, Villa, WBA have all come close to signing him and then walking away, also his form over the last 6 - 12 months hasn't been great. He has been rated as a promising player with high potential for some time, but has never really delivered on a consistent basis. Also, the Belgium caps came because he was talking about playing for Ghana, whom he was also eligible, and Belgium wanted to stop him from doing that in the future - he hasn't been that close to getting in the national team for some time now.

Whilst he could end up being a great signing for Norwich, he isn't going to come in and tear up the league straight away - he still has a huge amount to prove and most certainly isn't on the same level as someone like Fer. Hopefully Norwich get the deal tied down soon and aren't gazumped by a Prem team. 

I personally think he will turn out to be a better player than Fer was for us. He seems to have so much more energy and he has clearly got a hit on him. We shall see... 

 

[skijumptoes]

I didn't think we would be spending anywhere near £4m on a player at this point at all! I really thought the Fee would be more than £4m for a player that (after doing some research) clearly has a lot of people talking him up, Kompany being one of them.

It will be an amazing piece of business if we can pull this one off.

If we 'pull this off', it will be because no premiership clubs wanted him.  Anyone here actually seen him play consistently and can truly comment on his ability? Cause i haven't a clue what he's like.  Many people said that Kei Kamara was the new Drogba, Fotheringham was a wizard, Redmond will tear this division apart in his sleep and Van Wolfswinkel was a goal machine worthy of his price tag.  It would need more than Kompany saying somethings good for me to spend 4 million pounds on.

We're putting 4 mil on a player who's not played this country let alone this division, has only experience in the belgian league after failing to get appearances in Germany, resulting in him playing 4th tier footy in Hamburger's second team and from what i've heard he can be extremely inconsistent.

Not knocking the player by any means and certainly not knocking the club for taking the gamble, and am hugely excited to have him joining and believe he will be a great success.  But the point i am trying to make is at this level it's quite an outlay, and towards the absolute max you would expect a club to pay, it's not a bargain by any means - and in no way could i say if it's an amazing piece of business or not, if i were to make a comment like that it's just guesswork based on the opinions of others.

Hope you're right though, and always love to hear you positivity.

 

[KeiranShikari]

I haven't seen him play at all but I have asked somebody that has. Apparently he doesn't get forward as much as the highlight video would lead you to believe. He is strong defensively and a decent passer (we have been calling out for a defensive midfielder that could pass the ball forwards for years now). The warning regarding him was that he is somewhat temperamental and inconsistent.

 

[skijumptoes]

..So those who know anything about him, who in the current starting 11 would he realistically be replacing? Johnson?  I've heard all sorts from people saying he's a defensive midfielder, he's a box to box type.. he's an attacking midfielder etc.  I think people get easily excited with foreign talent because of the 'unknown' factor, and so they fill it with dreams and hope, like i did with Cody McDonald..    Oh Cody!!!!

Fact is, he will be playing in an english system and won't have it easy like i've seen on youtube, someone will make their mark very early if he tries skipping round them, and he certainly won't be playing in a team with that much 'european' movement and technically deft flicks through to him.

Must admit i only saw one video and he was running through statues and smashing the ball in the top corner, but that was from 2010 so no doubt he's games changed since then.  I then started to think about the excitement watching Ricky's videos before signing and decide to not watch anymore.  ...I wasn't crying.

 

[KeiranShikari]

Will probably place either Tettey or Johnson, the first one to dip in form. Or I suppose he might out and out replace Tettey with him moving somewhere else.

 

[shaun_wilkinson]

Will probably place either Tettey or Johnson, the first one to dip in form. Or I suppose he might out and out replace Tettey with him moving somewhere else.

It's all about options/competition for me and having the players for a plan B. Losing Tettey would be a disaster.

 

[Andy]

If we lose Hooper I will sigh. If we lose Redmond I will shed a tear. If we lose Tettey I will sob uncontrollably.

 

[skijumptoes]

Let's not underestimate what Johnson has done for us thus far this season too.  But if that's where this guy plays, 4 million says that he'll be replacing one of them regardless if he comes in.  Cover for Hoolahan would be a better plan B for me right now with the likes of Howson to come back.

..Maybe Adams/Scouts see's him more suited as an attacking midfielder?  And maybe the player does himself also, maybe contributing to the reason he feels 'bored'.

 

[KeiranShikari]

I don't think so. The two central midfielders in the current set up are hardly shackled back though, they are clearly expected to join in with the attacking. If he does, as I expect, have more than Tettey and Johnson going forward then that will only be good news for us.

I certainly can't see him, Johnson and Tettey in the same side.

Wouldn't be surprised if Howson was to be used as direct competition with Hoolahan.

 

[skijumptoes]

Is this guy any good at breaking down opponents play then?  i.e. is he good at intercepting plays? Does he put tackles in?  While the two we have there at the moment don't look shackled down, they have to be capable of playing that role as every game has spells where you're pushed back against it.  If we're looking to attack on the break you need players who can break attacks down and distribute quick.

He looks physically solid and has plenty of energy, but we have that already in Tettey, and a battler in Johnson who's on top of his game.  Vadis appears to me as much more suited to attack from deep, but like i say i've only watched a 3-4 year old video of him running round cones disguised as defenders.

But what i've watched, he's got/had a wicked shot on him and fancy footwork.  He's going to have to be pretty darn good to replace Tettey in the middle.

 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green]

Odjidja can play anywhere along the '3' behind a striker.

He has played a more central midfield role in the past, but is more often utilised further up the pitch for the past year or so.

I think he'll come in to provide competition to Hoolahan, but also the left/right wing role that Lafferty has been playing in. Norwich are going to have a huge amount of options from central midfield forward by the end of the window it seems, not really sure how Adams is going to keep them all happy and focused, but if he can then Norwich should have the best attacking team in the Championship. (If they are planning on keeping the Whittaker and Martin duo on the right side of defence then Norwich will probably need 3 goals a game to make sure of victory).

 

[KeiranShikari]

Was simply told that he is a solid defensive midfielder that can build attacks and from what we've seen in the videos he can break forward and score goals. Not sure what part of his defensive game is strongest but with his physical attributes you'd imagine he's good at shrugging people off the ball.  I agree that he'll probably be attacking from deep and that he's going to have to be really impressive to knock Tettey out on current form.

I'll ask more in depth about him when/if we get an announcement.

 

[skijumptoes]

Thanks Bethnal, that makes much more sense to me seeing the little i have of the guy, and leaves me much more excited for us to sign him.  

It wasn't making sense with what my eyes were seeing and what i was reading in regards to how he plays.  Not a straight replacement for Fer at all in reality.  If he could fit in behind the strikers in that hole then that would be superb, going forward we can't rely on Hoolahan to be pulling the strings many seasons beyond this.

Out of curiosity, have you seen him play yourself? And if so, is his temper an issue?  I'm really intrigued by what he offers.

 

[KeiranShikari]

Well, football is a game of opinions. I look forward for making mine.

From the conflicting stories on this one it certainly looks like it could end up like Fer. He was not a number 10.