What role for Jamie Cureton next season?

We have heard from Jamie Cureton for the first time in a while. The 33-year-old striker – who failed to feature too much at the end of last season – has come out and said that he can’t afford another wasted campaign.

Cureton will be 34 in August and is clearly coming towards the end of his professional football career. He has one year to run on his current deal and has yet to discuss his future with Norwich boss Bryan Gunn.

There is a distinct possibility that Cureton could be well down the striker pecking order again this season though with Cody MacDonald and Chris Martin both fighting for a place in the team. Then, there are any new attacking players that join the club between now and August.

If this proves to be the case, it seems as though Jamie will not be happy. He is at the stage of his career where he has to be playing games. Overall, he says that he needs this year to be a ‘really big year’ for himself and for Norwich City.

In an ideal world, Cureton would be ‘playing every week and scoring goals’ at Carrow Road, but if this doesn’t become the reality – he may well have to move on.

Personally, I would love to see him doing well again. Regardless of whether I think he can still perform week in week out, I have always been a fan of Cureton’s character and passion for Norwich City.

The fact that he has over 130 goals at League One level during his career shouldn’t count for nothing either. He is an experienced head and one who has performed at this level before, so perhaps he can do so again.

To be honest though, I see Cureton’s role as a limited one. He would be a good player to have on the bench, a good player to make an impact late on in a game and a good player for the youngsters to look up to.

From what he has been saying though, it seems that this isn’t what he wants. He needs to be playing every single week. Should this turn out not to be the case (and it seems a good football bet that it probably won’t), maybe it is time for Cureton to look elsewhere.

by Thomas Rooney

Fixtures are out as League One life sinks in

So, the fixtures are out and it’s Colchester, Exeter, Brentford, Wycombe and Hartlepool for Norwich City in August. One glamour tie after another I’m sure you will agree! If Canary fans didn’t know it before, they know now that life in League One isn’t going to be easy.

Long trips, small grounds, poor pitches and aggressive opposition are attributes that Norwich will have to face time and time again next season. It’s going to be grim. Even if we upset the football odds and do well, it is going to be ugly. Nothing wrong with that really, but it is going to take some getting used to.

For what it’s worth, I think Colchester at home is a decent game to start with. Any game at Carrow Road first up would have been welcome, but one against a team we hammered 5-1 not so long ago is even better.

Colchester will bring plenty of fans with them as well so it should be an excellent atmosphere. Considering I live in Colchester, I will be travelling up with them and sharing a few beers with them before the game. It seemed inevitable to me that we would get them in the first game. I’m confident of three points though.

As for who will be lining up for us on the opening day, well that has changed a bit since my last post. After I banged on about everything being quiet, we signed two players in quick succession. First up was Matthew Gill from Exeter and then Welsh international midfielder Owain Tudur Jones signed from Swansea City yesterday.

Both of these signings have experience of the lower leagues and even though they might not excite us a great deal, they can do a job for us. They both play in midfield, so perhaps this suggests that Mr Clingan will be on his way before long. We shall see.

Overall, it is a very strange time to be a Norwich City fan. I have absolutely no idea how we are going to do next season. I couldn’t even hazard a guess. The fixture list hasn’t altered this either. We will deal with the ‘different’ opposition well or we won’t.

Ask me at the end of August. At least I will know how many points we picked up against Colchester, Exeter, Brentford, Wycombe and Hartlepool then.

Nothing much to report

Even by Norwich’s standards, the opening part to the summer has been extremely quiet. There has been no player / manager interviews for weeks, nobody has joined the club, barely anyone has left it and talk of financial investments is nowhere to be seen.

There has been the odd rumour here and there, but nothing concrete. Nevertheless, I’m going to attempt to come up with five interesting Norwich City related things that have happened in the last couple of weeks. Bear with me….

1)      Mark Fotheringham playing in Spain – The former Norwich skipper (I still can’t believe he was either) is apparently training with Spanish club Espanyol. Derby are also interested in his signature. The fact he is in demand baffles me.

2)      Mark Bosnich being linked – I had to check the date when I saw this one. Bosnich – who hasn’t played football in England since 2001 – hasapparently met with Ian Crook with regards to making a comeback. Remarkably, he is still only 37, but give me a break!

3)      Norwich in League One on NewsNow – This was a very depressing moment for me. To check the latest Norwich news (in hope rather than expectation) I went to the Championship section of NewsNow, much like I have done for a number of years now. However, we weren’t there. We have been moved to the League One section. Ouch.

4)      Joe Lewis is an England striker – The former Norwich keeper came on in England Under-21’s friendly against Azerbaijan as an outfield player. Lewis played the final few minutes of the 7-0 win leading the line for Stuart Pearce’s men. Very bizarre indeed! Maybe the fact he wanted to play up front is why we let him go?

5)      A player we may never have been interested in the first place joins MK Dons – Crewe defender Dan Woodards has decided to move to Milton Keynes after ‘reportedly’ turning down the chance to join Norwich. Amazing stuff eh? Pretty much sums up the uneventful summer for Norwich so far.

So, there you have it. I managed to come up with five relatively interesting things about our club. My advice though is to enjoy the World Twenty20, enjoy the Ashes and enjoy Wimbledon. This is because it is likely to be a while before anything significant happens down at Carrow Road.

By Thomas Rooney

Hull to organise farewell game for club legend

From the BBC Football website…

Departing striker Dean Windass will get a final chance to say goodbye to Hull City supporters when the club host a benefit game this summer.

The full details of the match are yet to be confirmed but the 40-year-old is set to pull on an amber and black shirt for the final time in August.

Windass wrote himself into Tigers folklore when he scored the goal which took the club into the Premier League.

He scored once for Hull in the top flight against Portsmouth in November.

Windass joined Oldham Athletic on loan in January but his time at Boundary Park ended when John Sheridan left as manager.

He has recently been linked with a coaching role at Darlington in League Two.

I know it was over a year ago so we should all be over it by now, but it would have been nice if our club had done something similar for Mr. Huckerby wouldn’t it?

Should Greeno be England number one?

Former Canary goalkeeper Robert Green will apparently start against Kazakhstan thanks to David James’ injury, but The Guardian has a poll up asking whether people believe Greeno should be England’s number one goalkeeper anyway.

You can vote here – you know what to do…

Gunn’s (reported) transfer targets

It is that time of year again. For the next couple of months, transfer speculation will be the main headline maker when it comes to football in England. It is what keeps Sky Sports News in business over the summer and it is what keeps interest in football high.

Even though Norwich City’s transfer activity won’t be high on the public interest, for us fans preparing for life in League One, it seems a safe football bet that it will be one of the most important transfer window for a number of years.

How we react to relegation could determine our long-term future and how we react to relegation will be determined by the squad of players we have. Therefore, it is crucial that Bryan Gunn and co spend whatever money they have very wisely indeed.

As I have mentioned on here before, we need a group of contracted players who are committed to Norwich City. Obviously they have to have the ability to excel at League One level as well. So, let’s look at who Gunn has reportedly been eyeing so far this summer.

Grant Holt, Shrewsbury, Striker – The former Nottingham Forest man is one of the more recent names to be linked with a move to Carrow Road. Holt was the top scorer in League Two last season with 20 goals in 43 appearances.

Miguel Angel Llera, MK Dons, Defender – The 29-year-old central defender is, according to reports, considering a contract offer from Norwich after turning down a new deal atMK Dons. At 6ft 4in, he is a commanding presence and could be exactly what the Canaries defence needs.

Michael Nelson, Hartlepool, Defender – If these rumours are to be believed, it seems that Gunn is keen to strengthen the defence more than anything else. Nelson is stalling over a new deal at Hartlepool and has an excellent reputation as one of the best defenders in League One.

Dan Woodards, Crewe Alexandra, Defender – Much like Nelson, it seems as though Woodards is delaying signing a new deal at his current club and this is attracting the interest of Gunn. The 25-year-old can operate anywhere across the defence, although he prefers to play at right-back.

These are the main names that have been mentioned so far. However, another one I heard doing the rounds was Dean Windass! Not sure what to make of that one!

Anyway, until anything is confirmed, it is quite hard to comment on Gunn’s transfer policy. Let’s be patient and see what develops over the next few weeks.

By Thomas Rooney

Follow Thomas Rooney on Twitter @Thomas_Rooney.

Congratulations to Burnley

Just a quick one today. Huge congratulations to Burnley. They defeated Sheffield United 1-0 at Wembley on Monday in the Championship play-off final to win promotion to the Premier League. It was 100% deserved and caps off a fantastic season for them.

Owen Coyle’s men have played attractive football all season and were a joy to watch in their two very high profile cup runs. I had said for a while that they would win promotion via the play-offs and I am glad that I have been proved correct.

Part of my pleasure in watching Burnley win the final, admittedly, was my dislike of Sheffield United. They made far too much of the ‘Carlos Tevez affair’ and seem to think they had a god-given right to return to the top flight as a result. Well, football doesn’t work like that I’m afraid!

Anyway – back to Burnley. They have proven that anyone can win promotion from the Championship if they go the right way about it. You need an ambitious manager, a committed set of contracted players and one or two superstars.

They don’t have the biggest fan base, they don’t have a very nice stadium and they aren’t a very big club. This is irrelevant though and it is about time that a lot of people start realising this. People harping on about the big clubs and the big fan bases are wasting their time. It means nothing as far as success goes.

Stoke City, Hull City and Burnley will all be a league above Newcastle next season and this sums everything up. Well done to Tony Pulis, Phil Brown and Owen Coyle. They have all performed wonders.

Norwich are a team that should take note of success like this. Our fans have been going on and on for years now about the 20,000 season tickets that are sold every year. Well, it means nothing. Our relatively big fan base means nothing. Our apparent status as a ‘big club’ means nothing.

We need to stop thinking that our loyalty as fans needs to be rewarded. We need a group of honest professionals who are contracted and committed to the club. Dare I say it; we need to follow the Burnley model. Who’d have thought it?

by Thomas Rooney

Fed up of talking about it

Now that Norwich City’s horrendous season is over, it is now officially the cricket season for me. Instead of worrying about who Norwich are going to lose to each week, I will either be playing or watching the wonderful sport of cricket.

I say it is wonderful, because it doesn’t come with half as much stress or disappointment. I enjoy playing the game immensely and when it comes to watching my team (be that Essex or England) it is never anything other than an enjoyable day out – regardless of how the cricket goes.

The amount of times a Saturday has been ruined by Norwich’s fortunes is ridiculous and I am fed up with it. After last season, I am fed up of even talking about it.

Yes, we are in League One. Yes, most of our better players will leave. No, we haven’t got any money and no, Bryan Gunn probably wasn’t the best appointment.

However, there is now nothing we can do about it until August. More to the point, there is nothing we can worry about until August. That’s over two months worth of weekends that can’t be ruined by football – marvellous.

As long as we have 18-22 committed and contracted players by the time the big kick-off comes around, I will be happy. Loans can and will be used, but should only be seen as additions to the squad. Last season, the loan signings made up the squad and we paid the price.

Other than checking the official site for transfer news though, I’m not worrying myself with Norwich City for a couple of months. Enough of that was endured last season and let’s be honest, it seems a good football bet that enough of that will be endured next season.

For now, let’s forget it ever happened, enjoy the summer and worry about the fact that we are in Division Three with an unproven manager some other time.

By Thomas Rooney

Carlos Tevez: The Latin Darren Huckerby

Harry Pearson’s latest column over in the Guardian focuses on something us City fans are becoming a little too familiar with: loan signings.

Specifically regarding when fans fall for a loan signing, which Pearson says is like a kid bringing a stray puppy home – you know it has to go back.

It’s a decent read, and any mention of the Canary messiah, the “Tevez of the Trent” can only be a good thing.

You can read it here.

Who stays and who goes in Carrow Road shake up?

Much talk since Norwich City’s relegation to League One has been about whether Bryan Gunn will stay on as manager next season. In fact, the whole coaching set-up is far from certain at this moment in time.

While we are on that subject, what on earth is taking so long? The way I see it is that the people who are sitting in these ‘meetings’ to decide the club’s future are all under pressure for their positions. Roger Munby, Delia Smith, Neil Doncaster, Bryan Gunn etc.

None of them are secure in their roles or fully backed by the club’s supporters, so what are they talking about? My biggest fear is that they are sitting down and trying to work out the best way to tell everyone that they are going to keep things exactly as they are.

Anyway, what I wanted to discuss today was the players. Considering the vast amount of loan players we had have gone back, there isn’t much left in terms of a playing squad. However, let’s go through it and see who will be here next year.

David Marshall – Stay.
Jon Otsemobor – Stay.
Adam Drury – Time to let him move on.
Dejan Stefanovic – Leave.
Lee Croft – Leave.
Sammy Clingan – Leave.
Jamie Cureton – Stay.
Gary Doherty – Stay.
Wesley Hoolahan – Stay (Depends if Leeds go up or not though).
Simon Lappin – Leave.
Darel Russell – Stay.
Matty Pattison – Stay.
Cody McDonald – Stay.
Michael Spillane – Stay.
Carl Cort – Leave.
Korey Smith – Stay.
Chris Martin – Stay.

As you will be aware, even if as many as I have suggested stay at the club, the squad is small to say the least. Other than the players mentioned, there is the likes of Tom Adeyemi, Luke Daley, Kris Renton and Damon Lathrope who could potentially push for a place.

Other than that, it is going to be a case of wheeling and dealing in the transfer market to put together a half decent squad. Of the loan players, only Alan Lee and Jason Shackell could possibly return on a more permanent basis, but this depends on the financial situation at the time.

Whatever happens in terms of a manager, it seems a safe football bet that they need to sort it out sooner rather than later because whoever is in charge needs as much time as possible to sort this squad out.

By Thomas Rooney