Gunn Bangs any Norwich Hopes

Norwich’s fall from grace maybe unpleasant for fans but I believe that the Canneries won’t be flying high in League One either with the permanent appointment of Bryan Gunn as manager.

Ian Butterworth and Ian Crook will try to help Gunn to master their return to the Championship but for a club of the stature of Norwich I feel this appointment is rather weak. They took over from Glenn Roeder in January 2009 and failed to save the club even though being in a fairly good position to do so.

And losing 4-2 to bottom of the table Charlton on the last day of the season gives no indication that this squad is even good enough for League One. This was a game they desperately had to win and they ultimately failed. It showed no heart or desire.

Now he has spoken of his intentions of using younger players and not relying on the loan system. It is clever thinking but those young players weren’t there last term, he must have some gems that he is going to introduce. But if he manages to pull it off he will be doing very well, he knows there is no a great deal of money to use, if any, so he will have all his hopes on these youngsters. He will need to demand full authority in that dressing room, which I don’t think he will have. A new man would demand instant respect, and the players that are left would need to prove something.

Many influential players are out of contract and will move on to pastures new; goalkeeper David Marshall and Lee Croft will be leaving so they will be difficult to replace. Youngsters will not be able to step into these huge shoes.

On Gunn’s side, he will know all about how Norwich operates; he was at Norwich when they ventured into Europe in the early 1990s and he remembers the good time but I think the board just decided to cut costs and make the cheap appointment instead of gambling on an experienced manager, one more equipped for the role.

(Champ Corner, Football FanCast, 2009)

Cort of Injury

The man can’t get a break, well apart from a break in his body that is.

Carl Cort has been through it all. Can you believe he is actually 31 years old?
He currently plays, well sort off, for Norwich City after coming back from a brief spell playing in Spain.

Now he has been ruled out for the rest of the season after having an operation on his foot. And ‘being ruled out for the season’ is far too common phrase for Cort as his, once, promising career has never shot off in the manner it should have.

Sir Bobby Robson saw enough to splash £7 million pound on the man, a ruthless streak in the England U21’s did not evolve too much. His record of 8 goals in 12 games didn’t do enough to get the nod into the senior set up as his career nosedived from then.

It’s remarkable that a player that promised so much never materialised to his potential especially after all the money that was spent on him. Cort is a very tall striker that could hold the ball up and finish when called upon; Glenn Roeder noticed these traits and obviously thought he could have been some use for his struggling side.

Now Roeder has gone, and so has faith for Cort.

Norwich City’s league position don’t lie and a single goal from Cort has not really made the impact everyone was hoping. Norwich are struggling and signing a player of the calibre of Cort was certainly bold and interesting but it ultimately failed.

Cort is once again out of contract in the summer and he will be looking to improve his fitness and try to stay off the treatment table for at least a week.

But this may have been his last serious shot for Championship football as not many teams have the funds to finance an injury prone player that will only play an handful of games.

No Bright spot in Norfolk

While their bitter rivals Ipswich Town can boast that they have an ex-Barcelona player in their ranks in a surge for playoffs, Norwich can seemingly boast that there third win from four games have taken them out of the relegation zone.
The Old Farm pairing rivalry is intense and in recent years they have matched each other in most areas, both spent forgettable spells in the Premier League, well Ipswich’s quest in European Football was something unordinary, and have been many managers come and go.
Nowadays, both clubs have fallen quicker than Delia Smith’s popularity as they are stuck in melancholy of the Championship and it looks unlikely that there will be a return to the top flight in the near future.
Ipswich are vying better of the two at the moment as their latest win over promotion chasing Reading shows a lot of character as there is living proof that they have the foundations of a decent team. Many fans were calling for the head of manager Jim Magilton earlier in the season but he has resurrected the dying team and are back in a late dash for the playoffs.
Having the audacity to bring Samba star Giovanni Dos Santos was something remarkable and he can certainly add flair and creativity to the Town’s attack. He may need a few games to settle but he would clearly be player too good for the division.
If players like Jon Stead, Tommy Miller, and David Norris can adapt to Dos Santos’s quick feet they can be a force to be reckoned with but this move may have been a few months to late to make a real impression on the playoff mix up.
Two wins on the bounce against Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle have given the Canaries a huge boost heading into the pinnacle part of the season. They have moved up to the dizzy height of 20th as these wins have gave them a real chance of staying up.
Seeing that the armband was rebranded and given back to its rightful owner Gary Doherty was a smart step. And It came as no surprise that this reappointment coincides with Norwich’s recent good form after previous captain Mark Fotheringham was ruthlessly stripped of the title.
They have no ‘Dos Santos’ to speak off but they have their very own on loan gem to speak off - the arrival of Reading striker David Mooney. Since joining, he has looked a real threat up front, as two goals in as many games have rekindled Norwich’s fortunes.
Both will stay in this division as Ipswich will end up missing out of the playoff and Norwich will have enough to stay up. In all, nothing much to drink too in Norfolk or Suffolk.