James Norwood

[Rockfords Love Child]

Early days yet guys. Plenty of time.

Yes, I am not concerned. Aside from Peterborough, nobody has made any significant signings yet. Offers will have been made and we might be holding some news back to soften the blow of Norwood's departure.

 

[bigmart]

Apparently has passed his medical today and will be announced as an Ipswich player in the next couple of days according to several sources

 

[Rockfords Love Child]

Apparently has passed his medical today and will be announced as an Ipswich player in the next couple of days according to several sources

I am sure we have delayed making announcements so that we have something positive to report when he goes.

 

[Sparky]

All out in the open now. Good luck James but we move on. Let’s hope we have a decent replacement lined up

 

[Cowshed Kid]

Yep.
Nice words from Nors... as we would expect.
Now let's find ourselves another hero.

 

[Sparky]

Emotional watching Nors last interview. Love the way when he’s asked about highlights the first thing he mentions is relegating Chester!!

 

[Rockfords Love Child]

Nors himself seems quite emotional in the interview, and when he says he would like to come back here in some capacity in future, I think he is genuine. He had a special rapport with the fans here which he won't have with a far more demanding fanbase at a bigger club like Ipswich, however successful he is.

However, I don't blame him for making the move at all. Good luck James.

 

[Sparky]

Will be interesting how he gets on at Ipswich. After relegation their fans will expect promotion so he’ll have to hit the ground running.

 

[Ian]

Strange seeing him in a blue shirt, but I wish him all the luck. One of the best signings we've made for years, a huge part of our recent revival and he's given us great memories and times, some of the best watching Rovers. Now we have the difficult task of replacing him but we have MM so who knows what's around the corner. Onwards and upwards!

 

[bigmart]

The pressure on Ipswich and all of the squad will be huge this coming season as the fans will demand they go up but I think he will thrive and do well for them

 

[Boz]

Can’t blame him going, though still unsure it was the best move for James from a footballing rather than financial perspective. We’ll see. just hope that our games against Ipswich aren’t at significant moments in the season.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Can’t blame him going, though still unsure it was the best move for James from a footballing rather than financial perspective. We’ll see. just hope that our games against Ipswich aren’t at significant moments in the season.

I agree, Boz. The deal will certainly set him up for life. It could work out well and Ipswich go straight back up with James as their leading scorer. On the other hand, we remember what happened to Andy Cook. If he can get off to a good start and score early on, he'll endear himself to the fans. If not, they may see him as a hardworking but ineffective striker. My prediction is that his skill and confidence will see him through. As for his team, I am not convinced they will bounce back up. Paul Lambert has a massive job on his hands turning things around. He is very experienced, but has not had much success of late.

 

[Ian]

I think it'll take James a few games to settle in, like at Tranmere when initially he was trying too hard. The goals will come though. You wonder what quality he'll have around him.

 

[Mungy's Hairdresser]

Endearing himself to the club already I’ve noticed on twitter because mutual TRFC followers have encouraged it into my newsfeed. If I had the choice of losing MM (manager), MM (CB) or the Lord I’d have opted to retain the first two & we have. Always said building from the back is the key!

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Endearing himself to the club already I’ve noticed on twitter because mutual TRFC followers have encouraged it into my newsfeed. If I had the choice of losing MM (manager), MM (CB) or the Lord I’d have opted to retain the first two & we have. Always said building from the back is the key!

A great post, MH. It's got me thinking.

I would agree that hanging on to Micky is the top priority. If he left, finding a suitable replacement would not be easy. Even if we succeeded, the new man would certainly make changes to the system, the squad and the backroom staff. All of this would be costly and disruptive before we got any benefit. Finding another striker to replace Nors would be easy by comparison.

Keeping Manny is a great boost, especially with Ellis out for so long. However, given the choice, I'd have kept Nors. Reliable goalscorers are much more difficult to find than good defenders. Think how many good strikers we have had in the last ten years, then think about the defenders.