• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

lord norwood

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I can believe this story has legs. Wednesday desperately need a striker they can afford in the upcoming transfer window. Nors is on form and presumably affordable, as his transfer value will be zero in a few months. I agree that at his age, James would jump at the move to a big club two divisions higher - although both clubs could be playing in the same league next year. ;)

I think it depends on how much money is on offer whether Rovers accept or let the contract run down. Also, if the player really wants to go, it may be better to cash in now. Hopefully, at least some of the money can be spent on a replacement, so it won't adversely affect our promotion push.

Ironically, if we do progress on Monday, the money will be less of an issue and we could hold out. But I think if Wednesday make a fair offer and James can't wait, we'd be better letting him go. Whatever happens, he'll remain a Rovers legend.
 

drwhoman

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Agree with you BBTC. If Wednesday do want him it will be early in the window as I imagine they will not want him cup tied. This might give us some leverage in the price. With all due respect to our team, I doubt if it matters much if he plays or not if we end up facing Spurs. Our optimum result would be a draw and another game in London but Spurs are not a run of the mill Premiership side. I would be pleasantly surprised if it was not a damage limitation exercise. Negative perhaps but trying to be realistic. I imagine MM will already have thoughts on a possible replacement.
 

Boz

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I wouldn't begrudge Norwood a move, after his heroics dragging us over the line and back into the FL. Wonder whether he could do better than Wednesday though, a lot of dissatisfaction with the manager there atm.
 
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I wouldn't begrudge Norwood a move, after his heroics dragging us over the line and back into the FL. Wonder whether he could do better than Wednesday though, a lot of dissatisfaction with the manager there atm.
Taking on a player aged 28 who only scored his first league goal in August, moving him up two divisions into a struggling side and expecting him to carry on scoring straight away is risky - for club and player. I wouldn't expect any bigger clubs to come in for him in January.
 
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Taking on a player aged 28 who only scored his first league goal in August, moving him up two divisions into a struggling side and expecting him to carry on scoring straight away is risky - for club and player. I wouldn't expect any bigger clubs to come in for him in January.
I think it is highly likely Championship / top League One clubs will make bids for him in January. 300,000 - 500,000 is peanuts to some of them, so what would they have to lose by stealing a march on their rivals ?
 

Boz

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Taking on a player aged 28 who only scored his first league goal in August, moving him up two divisions into a struggling side and expecting him to carry on scoring straight away is risky - for club and player. I wouldn't expect any bigger clubs to come in for him in January.
I agree that bigger clubs may not come in for him, but as RLC suggests, there may be more interest than simply the Owls. If that is the case, then they may provide a more stable environment than Hillsborough could turn out for James.
 

drwhoman

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Fair comment Boz. If people are desperate they will take a punt even if he is inexperienced at a higher level. Cook is doing ok albeit in L1. In that regard, there are a few money bags in that league.
 

drwhoman

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Talk of Ipswich being interested which raises the question. Might James stay if we are promoted? After all, Ipswich are likely to be playing in League One next season!
 

Ian

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@drwhoman i think there would be a very good chance if we were to achieve promotion.
 
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@drwhoman i think there would be a very good chance if we were to achieve promotion.
I am not so sure. Ipswich and clubs like them can offer him significantly more money than us and have the potential to be back in the Championship in the near future.
 
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I am not so sure. Ipswich and clubs like them can offer him significantly more money than us and have the potential to be back in the Championship in the near future.
My thoughts exactly. There is no way we could compete financially with the wages that richer clubs like Ipswich can offer. It would be stupid to spend (say) four or five players' budget on Nors, leaving the squad short.
 

drwhoman

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I take the points everyone has made but he is 28 and he clearly thrives in out team. Still - all conjecture at this stage!
 

Boz

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Very hard to know where Norwood will end up. Think he'd be fine at L1 level and would be interested to see how he might cope in the Championship. While financially, he'd do well at Ipswich, they're going to need a significant re-building programme and like Sunderland might find it quite a challenge to get back up at the first attempt.
 

bigmart

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He will have his pick from a number of clubs who will all be able to offer a lot more money than we can, even if we got promoted I cannot see him staying.
 
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Having read all the above, he would do well to look at how Cook's and Norburn's teams have fared. They appeared to be on the up last summer but things can change so quickly. Moneywise they may be a bit better off but careerwise another season at PP might have been more beneficial.
 
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Having read all the above, he would do well to look at how Cook's and Norburn's teams have fared. They appeared to be on the up last summer but things can change so quickly. Moneywise they may be a bit better off but careerwise another season at PP might have been more beneficial.
Norwood will get a better move than either Cook or Norburn and will be offered substantially more money than those two. There is no comparison between Ipswich and Sunderland and a club like Walsall.

He will be able to command a salary in the hundreds of thousands per annum next season and I will be astonished if he stays here. That is not intended as a criticism of Norwood. That kind of money is life-changing for any lower division player, particularly somebody like James who has spent virtually all of his career earning peanuts in non-league football, and I don't see how he could turn it down. I would not if I was a Tranmere player, and I am a lifelong supporter !

Norwood's career will be over relatively shortly anyway, and his stock might never be higher than it is this summer. What if he goes off the boil next season, or gets injured ? This might be his one and only opportunity to make a decent living from the game.
 
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RLC, I don't dispute what you say. The point I made was that he needs to think not just about the money but the potential and direction the club is going.
 
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RLC, I don't dispute what you say. The point I made was that he needs to think not just about the money but the potential and direction the club is going.
I think that will be secondary though. He might choose Sunderland over Ipswich if he thinks they have more chance of promotion, but he won't choose us over Ipswich if they offer to pay him three times more than we do !
 

drwhoman

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Agree BBTC. The contra to my initial thought is that at. 28 he will want to maximise his income. I suspect that like many players he may not have another remunerative profession to fall back on when he retires.
 

Charlton1975

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I for one really hope he gets a move that will change his life financially. as it would bean incredible reward for all of those years in NL, and the hard work he has put in to improve and step up this season.

the signing on fee is likely to be significant too as he will be out of contract.

Mickey will already have started to think about next season and improving the squad further, with striking options being identified, which hopefully we can get in quickly.

Now what we need is a big push to the end of the season, with Nors getting a last minute winner in the play off final in his last game!
 
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