With around fifteen hours to go as I write this article, the January Transfer Window is in it`s last knockings.
“Thank goodness!” I hear you cry.
I have mixed feelings about the window, myself. It provides a huge amount of work and effort on my part to keep up with all the rumours, let alone the comings and goings, and there have been plenty of both, but in the other hand, as a fan, I love it.
I know there`s a lot to suggest that it isn`t the best way of doing business but you`ve got to admit that it brings some drama to the game in general.
Sanchez to City, no United, was probably the biggest drama, rivalled only by Pritchard to Huddersfield (!) in the world of all things yellow and green.
The business so far from Norwich City hasn`t been too bad.
The Christmas time dinner meeting between Onel Hernandez and Daniel Farke shows that the majority of transfers are thought about and often set in motion, months in advance.
There are some knee jerk ones, like Sanchez to United or Pritchard to Norwich, eighteen months ago but often things are planned, believe it or not.
There are now thirteen Norwich players out on loan, for a variety of reasons. Some are young and gaining the first team experience they couldn`t get here, like Matthews, Godfrey and Cantwell, while others aren`t playing and are earning a fortune for doing very little.
Martin, Naismith and Wildschut, we`re looking at you.
The Norwich City team of next season will look very different again from what we have now. The biggest and most significant change looks likely to be the loss of James Maddison, a player who has almost single handedly provided most of this season`s “highs.”
The three young players I mentioned above seem to have big futures at Carrow Road. We probably won`t be able to keep Angus Gunn, so Matthews looks a good bet to be the City number one next season.
Ben Godfrey is earning rave reviews with Shrewsbury and is all ready to replace Alex Tettey, who will most likely leave in June, and Todd Cantwell is a playmaker who has Maddison, Wes Hoolahan and Moritz Leitner in his way at the moment but I am encouraged that Farke said “he`s in my plans for next season.”
I expect today to be fairly quiet on the Canary front.
I think we`ve done all our business, unless a mega money offer comes in for someone, with Maddison being the obvious candidate for that. In a perfect world, we could do with a right back and a striker and keep Madders.
I`m not keen on just having two strikers and don`t buy the “it`s hard to keep them all happy” when you only play one up top, theory. If Oliveira gets injured then Dennis Srbeny will have a lot on his shoulders and that`s before you even consider the step up in quality and moving to a new country. Even if it`s just promoting Tristan Abrahams to the first team squad on occasions, the strikers need some help.
I would like another right back and not just back up to Ivo Pinto. Harrison Reed`s outstanding cameo in Pinto`s place last weekend may just have convinced Mr Webber that we can get by there but in the long term, I don`t think Pinto is great in the position anyway.
His pace is a massive part of his game and gets him both in and out of trouble but his end product needs the most working on. Time and again he gets to the byline but cuts inside rather than sending a cross into the box.
“Get it in the mixer!” is what I say.
So, fifteen odd hours to go and it`s been emotional.
Enjoy your day 🙂
OTBC
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