Norwich City preview

Finally, the international break is over. Seems like months ago we humiliated Fulham in front of the Sky cameras so tomorrow has been a long time coming. If we can pick up where we left off against the Cottagers, we could be in for a treat.

Bad news - Andy Carroll is still injured and looks like he'll miss at least another game after tomorrow's match. Good news - Yossi is in place to make his debut, Jarvis looks to be available again following his recent injury and Noble's contract should be sorted sooner rather than later.

All things considered, I don't think we could have asked for a better start from our first 3 games. 6 points in 3 games is a great start for more or less any top flight team so considering our main goal would've been staying up this season, I personally wasn't expecting any more than what we've got.

I think Yossi will be handed his first start since returning, it looks like Cole making his 150th start for the club is a no brainer and if he's 100% fit Jarvis will slot straight back into the team.

Where it was arguable the main position we needed to strengthen, it seems Sam has a bit of a selection headache on the wings all of a sudden, which as the cliche goes; every manager wants. We've got Jarvis, Taylor, Vaz Te and Maiga all fighting for 2 positions and that may not sound like a lot but I don't think any of them would be happy as a squad player. Unless Taylor is moved back into the left-back position he played so well while Linda was injured, which in my opinion is a better option than our usual left back in the first place.

Also, you have to wonder exactly where Benayoun will fit in? This is my prediction for tomorrow's game:




















Now, unless he shoves him out wide, he'll have to go with a flat 5 in midfield and replace Noble, Diame or Nolan with him who would each be missed. Noble for his tireless effort, Diame for his sheer power and fearless tackling and Nolan because 1. Sam Allardyce is in love with him and 2. he does score a lot of goals (mostly tap ins, but they all count).

I suppose we'll have to wait and see!

Up the hammers!

Not a bad start

So, that was quite a transfer window for us. BFS bagged his two main transfer targets (in the end) and even managed to reel in Yossi which went down very well with the fans!

There are a few people who are concerned about the possible financial consequences of these signings. Yossi was a snip - we're paying £20k of his reported £92k wages until Christmas when we will start paying £45k which for a player of his quality, is a bargain these days.

BUT, is Matt Jarvis really worth the reported £10.75m? I'm not so sure, personally I would have preferred Adam Johnson and Sunderland didn't pay much more for him than we did for Jarvis.

Then there's the (not so) small issue of Andy Carroll's wages. When it looked like we wouldn't sign him, Sullivan came out and said they were willing to risk our finances on him. So does that mean that they have taken a huge risk in bringing him in? Well, the obvious answer is yes but how big is the risk?

I think it'll pay off, that he'll join us next summer (providing the 'pool don't get desperate and recall him) and that with both the best crosser of the ball in Jarvis and the best aerial player in the league, we'll have the foundations in place to achieve something in the coming years.

I couldn't have dreamed of a better start with 2 wins and 2 clean sheets from 2 home league games - against decent teams as well I might add - and who can honestly say they'd be happy with finishing 17th now? In my opinion, if we do our season will be considered a failure with the players we have now. I'm not getting carried away and immediately predicting a top half finish but we definitely shouldn't be among the bottom 5 teams.

My prediction is that we'll finish 12th, far safe from the struggling teams but also far from the European places. Hopefully if we're in a stable league position by January BFS will at least attempt a cup run because we all know he didn't want the distraction last year as we aimed for promotion as we were dumped out by lower league opposition in both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle.

Onwards and upwards, as they say!