January transfer rumours!

[Number 9]

Just reading and listening to Farke comments regarding Russ is enough to tell me there wasn't a good relationship between the two of them. Unless we were in the room, it's all just speculation about he said / she said type thing.

However, Farke is managing the first team, any players wanting to be part of that need to do things Farke's way, same as any manager / employee situation.

 

[morty]

This is what someone posted on the pinkun saying that there are some at the club that will be pleased to see the back of him

I likened the situation to Matt Jackson. Outwardly a lovely club man and captain respected by all. But actually the truth was that the players all hated him. That was told to me by a player.

 

[Number 9]

Have things improved since Russ been sidelined?

We will have to wait to see if anything improves after he leaves the club. 

Anyone know anything about this Marcus Edwards? 

 

[morty]

Have things improved since Russ been sidelined?

We will have to wait to see if anything improves after he leaves the club. 

Anyone know anything about this Marcus Edwards? 

Spurs rate him very, very highly. Attacking midfielder, very tricky, and not too dissimilar to Maddison, great on the ball and direct.

 

[Number 9]

Will reserve judgement on him, having not played any games. Farke suggesting it will take him a while to get used to the Championship, he's only here for a few months....

 

[morty]

Will reserve judgement on him, having not played any games. Farke suggesting it will take him a while to get used to the Championship, he's only here for a few months....

Absolute no brainer for me, he will be on peanuts, and if he works out, all well and good.

 

[Fenway Frank]

Bit of an issue with his attitude, I would think that Spurs are sending him to us to sort that out.

 

[morty]

Bit of an issue with his attitude, I would think that Spurs are sending him to us to sort that out.

I'm not quite sure what that says about us that he is being sent here as punishment 

 

[Number 9]

Absolute no brainer for me, he will be on peanuts, and if he works out, all well and good.

loan fee plus wages - peanuts aint cheap in the shop but will appear good value compared with loan players!

 

[hogesar]

Nah. Not having it. Russ is an absolute brown noser, and Farke has seen through it. Using his "Oh he is such a nice guy and is Mister Norwich City" to get a contract he didn't deserve, when we all know he hasn't really been good enough for at least 18 months. 

eh? But Russ hasnt changed at all as a person in the last 3 years yet neither you or anyone else has mentioned it until hes leaving. 

i mean if we are going to take kicks at every player that leaves under the new regime then youll be saying we had no decent players or personalities in the squad. 

Again, rather than deal with your guesswork id rather go on facts. 

For example, Maddison telling me how much Russ had helped him, without me mentioning Russ in the conversation at all. Ill follow that up with all of Russ' community work too.

And if he has managed to trick our current Sporting Director and Head Coach into a contract he didnt deserve, then that blame lies with those two, not him.

 

[morty]

eh? But Russ hasnt changed at all as a person in the last 3 years yet neither you or anyone else has mentioned it until hes leaving. 

i mean if we are going to take kicks at every player that leaves under the new regime then youll be saying we had no decent players or personalities in the squad. 

Again, rather than deal with your guesswork id rather go on facts. 

For example, Maddison telling me how much Russ had helped him, without me mentioning Russ in the conversation at all. Ill follow that up with all of Russ' community work too.

And if he has managed to trick our current Sporting Director and Head Coach into a contract he didnt deserve, then that blame lies with those two, not him.

For the record, I am utterly indifferent to Russ. He was a decent right back, and a not so decent centre back. When I look back at success in recent years, is his name at the forefront as someone who was 100% crucial to it all? No, not really. But he has been built up into some kind of God based on how nice a guy he supposedly is, completely ignoring the fact that he has been an average footballer. This whole "loyalty" thing is an absolute nonsense, he is paid very well for what he does, and does all the extra bits that any captain at any club would likely do.

Again, I have absolutely nothing against the guy, but the fawning over him borders on cringeworthy. I'll say "Cheers Russ and all the best" and thats his lot.

And I suspect the deal was either already on the table or it was an automatic trigger, I do not believe for one minute that Webber would see a contract extension as good business.

 

[Number 9]

I've never been able to understand why the conversation around Russ can get so polarised.

A section of fans will leap to his defence blindly without  any regard of the facts, whilst there are those who hold him personally responsible for any and all trauma our club has experienced during living memory, again without letting facts cloud their judgement.

The truth is probably in the middle, however boring that may be.

The facts show that over the years, long serving or iconic players have often left city under a cloud, or let's say, less than ideal circumstances. It's par for the course.

What I'm looking forward to is seeing bodies come into the team as replacements, and not just loanees with potential, proper talent which can hit the ground running.

 

[morty]

I think at times the scapegoating of Russ has been way off, there were times that none of our defenders covered themselves in glory. Like I said, I have been mostly indifferent to him, he has had his good games and bad games, truth be told he has not been quite good enough for a long while, but somehow hung in there. Was he a good enough captain? Sometimes frankly no. Is he iconic, like a Huckerby, a Crook, a Roberts, no, he really isn't.

I am just amazed at people, a lot of who shared my indifference for a long while, have suddenly elevated him to some kind of deity. A future manager, we must find a job for him when he retires etc etc etc.

I wish him the best of luck, but I'm not particularly bothered to see him go, far less have him come back again. I'm more sad to see Cam go frankly.

 

[GJP]

So many things.

But what troubled me at the time was that run of games in AN's Prem season where Russ had a bad game at CB in a back 4. The next game he was put in at RB and he was terrible. So the next game we then play a back 3 and he's the "sweeper" of it. 

And I think it was when we had Man City in the cup at home. We got a freekick about 30+ yards out and Russ decided to try a shot (which was well wide). What was all that about? 

 

[Din]

To be fair we probably won't ever know the full truth about Rus (though I'd love to find out  ). He comes across as a model pro who loves the club and he might well be, but there have been these whispers for a little while now that maybe he's not what he seems. If he has been told by Farke he'll never play for the club again that is odd, but unfortunately unless one of them says something after Martin leaves then it's all rumours.

I actually have a mate who does Physiotherapy at the UEA, who has started an internship at the club this month, and is working first hand with the players, so I'm gonna be relying on him to give me the low-down on these sort of gossipy situations in the next few weeks aha.

The fact of the matter is though, he's not good enough, and hasn't been for years (Martin that is, not my mate). Same applies to Naismith. It's almost irrelevant what their influence is in the dressing room now because the best thing for all parties is for them to leave. Martin sounds like it'll be done soon to be fair. I wish him well despite all the rumours because he was a key part of our rise from League 1. Unfortunately he's just stayed a bit too long.

 

[Din]

As for Marcus Edwards, I'm pretty happy with this signing. I still expect us to spend a bit of money on a winger this month, but as initial cover for Maddison and Murphy, and hopefully someone who can break into the team after a while, think it's a good signing. Pochettino called him mini-Messi and on a Spurs forum they have a thread about him titled 'Messi with an Afro'. Watched a few videos and it's clear he's got ability and has been tearing it up at youth level, hopefully now he can replicate that at professional level. Think it may take him a bit of time though to properly get up to speed with the level though, which is perhaps a bit of a concern seeing as we only have him on loan for half a season. Hence why I think we should definitely be looking to sign another winger who can come straight into the side.

Loads of fans on Twitter and the other place bemoaning the fact that he's never played at senior level before. Worth noting neither had Gunn before he came here.

On Jerome, I wish him all the best. He has some obvious flaws but for a £1.5m signing which we're not even going to lose any money on even at 31 years old, he's proved to be a superb signing, arguably the best thing Neil Adams ever did as our manager. He's always had a role in this squad however it's clear that he's not suited to our new style, and unfortunately has regressed as a player overall. When called upon this season though he's given his all as he always has, and I'm sure he can still do a job at this level though in the right team, but now is the best time for him to go. As I said though, I wish him well.

 

[Number 9]

I think at times the scapegoating of Russ has been way off, there were times that none of our defenders covered themselves in glory. Like I said, I have been mostly indifferent to him, he has had his good games and bad games, truth be told he has not been quite good enough for a long while, but somehow hung in there. Was he a good enough captain? Sometimes frankly no. Is he iconic, like a Huckerby, a Crook, a Roberts, no, he really isn't.

I am just amazed at people, a lot of who shared my indifference for a long while, have suddenly elevated him to some kind of deity. A future manager, we must find a job for him when he retires etc etc etc.

I wish him the best of luck, but I'm not particularly bothered to see him go, far less have him come back again. I'm more sad to see Cam go frankly.

Was he a good enough captain?

Thats what I struggle with regarding Russ.

A captain should be the best at his job and then an inspiration to the other players. He may be good with the under eights and the community visits, but he hasn't been a leader on the grass.

 

[Fenway Frank]

Was Russ given his new contract before Webber and Farke or after ? 

 

[Canaryboy]

Perhaps there isn't a fall out at all and "never play for Farke again" doesn't necessarily mean that its a clash of personalities, but poorly communicated or poorly translated. 

Farke: "I love you as a man and you are a great captain, but I play football this way and you are more suited to that way, so your role is now off the pitch"

Martin: "I really want to be playing regularly so think I will look to play elsewhere"

Farke (in his mind): "That's good, he's transfer listed himself - saves me a job". 

But this is another thing which grates me about Russell Martin to be honest. The club have used him to throw in front of the camera so much that he now feels at liberty to open his gob whenever he wants.... shouldn't be in the crowd giving info to fans should he? 

So even if this has been turned into something that it isn't (a big conspiracy about a rebellion) it has been fueled somewhat by Russell Martin having conversations with away fans in the stands  :huh:

Does feel like he has an agenda if he is going to start attending matches and giving information to fans. We've always been quite hot on being careful what comes out in the press. 

Unless this is a Webber quirk.... "Go and sit with the fans, make them feel closer to the players". Can't see it myself though! 

I'm leaning towards Martin stirring the pot because he feels entitled to a starting spot, because he thinks he is better than he is, but he hasn't got one... but can't entirely rule out that this is a big misunderstanding. We are a supporter base after all which managed to propagate a rumour that Dean Ashton was bumming Jason Shackell... just because they were mates and would drink together down Prince of Wales Road  :wacko:

 

[Canaryboy]

So the next game we then play a back 3 and he's the "sweeper" of it.

That's actually the best game I've ever seen Russell Martin have at centre back though!