OK, so I'm getting worried...

[Brian Fantana]

I don't think there is no activity but I seem to disagree with others over how muuch activity we need, I think the worst thing we could do is go mad and add players left right and centre whereas one or two well placed signings would be plenty for me.

I think we need to remeber how good the squad we have is and not panick...but some on certain message boads seem to have already hit the panick button.

 

[Lavanche]

SHA while I agree with you that too much new players is dangerous, I must say that not many team have survived without strenghtening their team. Swansea and Southampton are good examples of building team with good scouting and decent youth setup. Both lost many of their important players, but with decent market activity they managed to build respectable squads.

Team spirit and well knitted team doesn't mean anything without talent and skill to beat your opponents.

I believe we have a decent squad in terms of attitude and balance and mayby we dont need to splash the cash, but in my opinion we need to renew if we want to maintain. Either we buy skill to get straight in to the first team or we buy talent on the bench to give use more options and tactical variations and grow up to be key players of future.

Just take a look other teams and compare our first elevens. We are material wise clearly in bottom five. Thankfully this game is only 50% about material, but wouldn't hurt a bit get few decent options more even if it would cost us a bit more than McNally would like us to pay.

 

[Din]

Am I worried? Yes, slightly. However what concerns me a little is whether we can get the new players that we need in the next 2 weeks before the season starts. I would think it highly unlikely. I have complete faith in the club to get the right players in at a good price. It would be ideal though if we could sign the players we need before the Palace game. However, considering we still need a left winger, a centre back, a striker, and hopefully a new right back as well as possibly a back-up left back, I doubt that we will.

I have no doubt that there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, but if we were to just show a little bit of progress, an accepted bid for someone for example, then that would probably calm a lot of fans down.

 

[Scott]

I think there seems to be a lot of similarity in the attitudes of AN to Paul Lambert in not spending especially big money on big name players, but rather going for hungry young players who want to make it, just hope Alex Neil has a little more loyalty about him than Paul Lambert did! Lambert was a cracking appointment but nearly all his work was undone by Hughton especially, but now we have a manager in a similar situation to Lambert. Neil knows what he is doing and I'm pretty sure he knows who he wants in his team, I also don't think he will be one to wait around for players to make their minds up if they want to come to Norwich.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

I wonder if some of the difficulty is the manager. Just think back to when Alex Neil was first appointed. Most of us said 'Alex who?'

We now know Alex Neil and admire his qualities. But the rest of the football world outside Hamilton and Norwich still wont know him from Adam.

He hasnt played with greats or for great clubs, so he has no old-boys network to tap into for favours or advice.

That must be a challenge to convince players to come when they dont know him, and if they look him up they'll see he's the second youngest manager in the country, only has 2 years managerial experience and never played at a very high level.

You then look at what our club has to offer compared to our rivals - a likely relegation battle, small stadium, mediocre wages, no major city nearby.

Contrast that with other clubs  and what they can offer. We all love the club, but we're little known to most of the football world - beyond the offer of regular football in the Premiership, we have little draw on first inspection.

That is a challenge for us this season. Neil is building a reputation, but at the moment he has little so he might struggle in terms of recruiting quality players who have other options.

 

[Yellow Fever]

By all accounts, Brady did want to come, so I'm not sure that AN is a problem really, except that he doesn't have the 'old boy network' outside of Scotland. It didn't seem to bother Dorrans or Mulumbu though, except that they have only signed short-term contracts. There's also the fact that we are a 'newly promoted club' and all that goes with that.

Our biggest need is cover/competition for Olsson and I think that will be sorted soon, probably with Alonso, who can also play at LM and CB. Other than that a quality CB is needed and that might be harder to achieve. My other choice would be an AM, unless AN feels Wes and Andreu are sufficient. I'm happy with Elliot Bennett as the extra option at RB while still backing up Redmond at RW.

 

[KeiranShikari]

No, I don't want to join a Premier League team for loads of money because the manager is a literally who and I'd have to drive for 3 hours in my fancy sports car to get to London.

 

[Yellow Fever]

3 hours?

 

[KeiranShikari]

Rounded up. h34r:

 

[Dubai Mark]

I'm thinking that if players are having to think about all of this as reasons not to come, then we dont want them anyway. I am very happy to wait a little longer for the players that want to come here and that the manager wants, and I am guessing he is pretty picky, hence that Argie being turned away. 

Also, I really do think that many are under estimating the quality of a lot of players in the City squad, even though we do certainly need two or three more key additions.

 

[Yellow Fever]

I agree DM, especially about getting the right sort of player to fit into the squad ethos - one bad apple and all that!

I'm pleased to see in the Pink'un that AN is keen on developing Elliot Bennett's skill's as a RB. It's like getting a right-sided Brady for free and I think he can do a good job there. Two or three more players, as you say, and we'll be there.

 

[eatonparkboy]

There has to be some truth in the feeling that our club, the manager and our prospects will not impress a big percentage of players. Maybe those players are not is what is required for a club like ours which prefers for stars to emerge from the ranks rather than a marquee signing, such as RVW, whose light fades very quickly, although his demise can be partly excused.

But we must temper the excitement and success of last season and our rise to prominence once more with the knowledge that the odds favour us being one of the clubs whose success will be measured in getting into the top half of the table and a decent run in the cup(s). But as we know from history, even 10th in the table can be one win from the relegation pack. And at the moment we appear to be returning to an arguably stronger Prem with virtually the same squad that was relegated from the same league

So while I am not worried, I am concerned that the only signings we have made were in areas that you could argue we already had adequate cover but in positions we all feel concerned about, there has been little rumour let alone movement.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

No, I don't want to join a Premier League team for loads of money because the manager is a literally who and I'd have to drive for 3 hours in my fancy sports car to get to London.

I think you've missed my point - Im saying if a player has other Premier League options, our lack of reputation might be a hinderance. Who would you be most excited about contacting you? Ronald Koeman? Michael Laudrup? (I know he's moved on now but he was a big name at a small club like ours) or Alex Neil?

Im not being insulting to Alex, but most players wont have heard of him, unlike the other examples I've cited.

Your example only makes my argument look silly if we're the only club calling. And I did explicitly say players who had other options

 

[KeiranShikari]

I'm not being overly serious tbh, I know there are positives to having more reputable managers and certainly those with nice contact lists. I just think that the Premier League and it's riches speak louder than that most of the time. I also think that once most players speak to Neil they'll be suitably impressed. 

 

[Gaffer]

I don't think the manager is a negative factor. Google his name and you'll get a bunch of 'the next big thing' type articles, which would appeal to a lot of players. And Norwich the city and the club is a lot more attractive than some gloomy post-industrial northern city with a half empty stadium.

 

[SussexYellow]

Well if they want a reference for our Alex they could go to the League Managers Association website and check out their performance table for last season. They will not have to look that hard to find him - right at the top just above Mourinho. So I do not think the manager is the crucial issue.

But player's may see a potential relegation scrap on the horizon, and weigh that against the terms being offered which in Norwich's case probably involve divisional wages. So a nice wage packet now may not turn out to be so lucrative in twelve months. Could put a few off. But may be less of an issue as the window draws to a close and better offers have not materialised!

 

[Dubai Mark]

Just want to point out that this thread includes many different views, but without any point scorong, personal agenda's or personal attacks......unlike that other place..... how refreshing!

 

[KeiranShikari]

If were were keeping score I think I'd be winning tbh.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

I wonder if some of the difficulty is the manager. Just think back to when Alex Neil was first appointed. Most of us said 'Alex who?'

We now know Alex Neil and admire his qualities. But the rest of the football world outside Hamilton and Norwich still wont know him from Adam.

He hasnt played with greats or for great clubs, so he has no old-boys network to tap into for favours or advice.

That must be a challenge to convince players to come when they dont know him, and if they look him up they'll see he's the second youngest manager in the country, only has 2 years managerial experience and never played at a very high level.

You then look at what our club has to offer compared to our rivals - a likely relegation battle, small stadium, mediocre wages, no major city nearby.

Contrast that with other clubs  and what they can offer. We all love the club, but we're little known to most of the football world - beyond the offer of regular football in the Premiership, we have little draw on first inspection.

That is a challenge for us this season. Neil is building a reputation, but at the moment he has little so he might struggle in terms of recruiting quality players who have other options.

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/2483/9932499/Stoke-CEO-speaks-of-Barca-relationship

Have just read this article. This is what I meant when I said that Alex Neil's fledgling reputation means this kind of thing is unlikely to happen when it comes to recruiting players. Most managers have a reputation as either a boss, a player, or links to old clubs. Neil doesnt have any of that yet as he's just cutting his teeth

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

So where do we stand on this on the eve of the big kick-off?

I think Crystal Palace will provide a good test of all areas of our team on opening day and how we perform may well dictate the remaining transfer activity. It wouldnt be the first time a team has been been worried by their opening day performance and gone out and bought quickly (Im thinking 5-0 Fulham - and Hughtons excellent repsonse to that in bringing in defensive reinforcements).

Palace have the attacking flare to properly test our defence. If Bassong looks sluggish, Martin all over the place, Whittker badly outpaced and Toffolo/Brady horribly exposed I think we could well see some defensive reinforcements coming in.

Many people are concerned about the lack of a new striker - Less so for me, Im confident Jerome can perform well and score the goals we need, and I think we have other players who can make important striking contributions. The midfield is strong and more balanced than it was with Brady coming in - Im not worried here, but wouldnt it have been nice if there was some truth to the Quintero links!

Ruddy is Ruddy, sometimes looks like one of the best keepers in the world, sometimes less effective that a piece of wet tissue paper, but he's a proven keeper and he's more often reliable than he isnt and when on form is superb.

The defence does concern me though. Olsson I think is superb but it might be a while before we have the Olsson we all know back, and the lack of a proven understudy there is a concern. The lack of pace at rightback concerns me also, although Wisdomo probably addresses that. Bassong has looked sluggish most times I've seen him, I still hope the quality player is in there and that we will see him at his best. Id be concerned if we didnt. Russ isnt a terrible centre-back - but he's not a great one either. I remain unconvinced about Bennett and Turner seems past his best now it would seem.

Im surprised and slightly concerned we've got to this point with only Wisdom coming in in the defensive ranks. Crystal Palace I think will reliably show whether that is an unfounded concern or not. Im still hoping we pull a Virgil van Dijk out of somewhere.

I think we'll know where we stand far better by 5pm tomorrow