Wes Hoolahan

[DelboyVilla]

 

 

 

 

Hard to get exited about this one.

That Hoolahan is the one we are sitting and waiting on as "the" signing this window makes me sad for so many reasons.

 

You just need to do one fairly sizable adjustment to your  - probably long held - ideas of how 'big' we are and it will feel like a pretty good signing !

 

 

No it won't, and we are bigger than this.

 

Ah well, tried to help.

 

As to the bit in bold - patently not!

 

 

I know what you are saying, but we really should not belittle our past achievements.

Plenty of others will do that for us!

 

 

 

We are big we just have a small time owner!

[Big_John_10]

I'm just hoping our scouting has come up with more than a guy who used to play for the manager.

I hope this isn't our only option for an AM.

[KjParton]

Where has the original Wiz gone? I miss the info he passed us.

 

'You won't get Lambert'

'You won't get Culverhouse and Karsa'.

Those were the days

[samjp26]

 

 

After everything Lambert did for that club I think it is so sad that they're acting like children.

No offence Son of Wiz but from a business perspective it only makes sense to sell a 31 year old who isn't getting any game time, any normal club would do it.

I hope the fans aren't going to turn on Wes for wanting the move either, you can't really blame him considering his current position in the squad.

While I kind of agree, I'd imagine that statement would be met with the same kind of reaction that you'd see on here if Sunderland fans said the same about Oneill.

I also think that if the shoe was on the other foot our fan base would also be demanding that we refuse to do business with a club trying to take our player who had poached our manager and youth prospect.

 

 

Well I know I wouldn't be demanding that we refuse to do business, especially if our manager had got us into the Premier League and solidified our position there.

 

We didnt 'poach' Lambert either, we are a bigger a club and in turn a bigger challenge in respect to our league standings over the last few years. Nobody can blame Lambert for coming to us, it is just pathetic.

Edited January 23, 2014 by samjp26

[Shillzz]

 

 

 

After everything Lambert did for that club I think it is so sad that they're acting like children.

No offence Son of Wiz but from a business perspective it only makes sense to sell a 31 year old who isn't getting any game time, any normal club would do it.

I hope the fans aren't going to turn on Wes for wanting the move either, you can't really blame him considering his current position in the squad.

While I kind of agree, I'd imagine that statement would be met with the same kind of reaction that you'd see on here if Sunderland fans said the same about Oneill.

I also think that if the shoe was on the other foot our fan base would also be demanding that we refuse to do business with a club trying to take our player who had poached our manager and youth prospect.

 

 

Well I know I wouldn't be demanding that we refuse to do business, especially if our manager had got us into the Premier League and solidified our position there.

 

 

In fairness, the bitterness pales into insignificance when you consider the backlash against Barry (a lifelong servant to the club at the time) moving to Liverpool. That wasn't exactly our finest hour. (Basically all fans have it in them to act like dicks, ourselves included).

Edited January 23, 2014 by Shillzz

[samjp26]

A lifelong servant as you point out, at a time where we were fighting for European competition positions. Hoolahan was brought into Norwich by Lambert, a bit different IMO.

[LondonLax]

A lifelong servant as you point out, at a time where we were fighting for European competition positions. Hoolahan was brought into Norwich by Lambert, a bit different IMO.

It's very easy to say 'Oh we wouldn't behave that way' without actually being put in their situation.

I strongly suspect the majority of posters on here would demand we don't do business with them if the roles were actually reversed.

[AntrimBlack]

 

 

 

 

After everything Lambert did for that club I think it is so sad that they're acting like children.

No offence Son of Wiz but from a business perspective it only makes sense to sell a 31 year old who isn't getting any game time, any normal club would do it.

I hope the fans aren't going to turn on Wes for wanting the move either, you can't really blame him considering his current position in the squad.

While I kind of agree, I'd imagine that statement would be met with the same kind of reaction that you'd see on here if Sunderland fans said the same about Oneill.

I also think that if the shoe was on the other foot our fan base would also be demanding that we refuse to do business with a club trying to take our player who had poached our manager and youth prospect.

 

 

Well I know I wouldn't be demanding that we refuse to do business, especially if our manager had got us into the Premier League and solidified our position there.

 

 

In fairness, the bitterness pales into insignificance when you consider the backlash against Barry (a lifelong servant to the club at the time) moving to Liverpool. That wasn't exactly our finest hour. (Basically all fans have it in them to act like dicks, ourselves included).

 

 

Barry was great for us for many years, and should have been sent on his way to better things with our thanks and best wishes.

[Shillzz]

^ Exactly.

[DelboyVilla]

I'm just hoping our scouting has come up with more than a guy who used to play for the manager.

I hope this isn't our only option for an AM.

 

Seriously who is our main scout at the mo?

[coda]

Barry's two-page whinge in that News of the World rag wasn't his finest hour.

[DelboyVilla]

 

 

 

 

 

After everything Lambert did for that club I think it is so sad that they're acting like children.

No offence Son of Wiz but from a business perspective it only makes sense to sell a 31 year old who isn't getting any game time, any normal club would do it.

I hope the fans aren't going to turn on Wes for wanting the move either, you can't really blame him considering his current position in the squad.

While I kind of agree, I'd imagine that statement would be met with the same kind of reaction that you'd see on here if Sunderland fans said the same about Oneill.

I also think that if the shoe was on the other foot our fan base would also be demanding that we refuse to do business with a club trying to take our player who had poached our manager and youth prospect.

 

 

Well I know I wouldn't be demanding that we refuse to do business, especially if our manager had got us into the Premier League and solidified our position there.

 

 

In fairness, the bitterness pales into insignificance when you consider the backlash against Barry (a lifelong servant to the club at the time) moving to Liverpool. That wasn't exactly our finest hour. (Basically all fans have it in them to act like dicks, ourselves included).

 

 

Barry was great for us for many years, and should have been sent on his way to better things with our thanks and best wishes.

 

 

 

We did him a favour not selling him to the wreath layers! We sent him off to City where he has actually won medals and he went with most fans blessing. Win Win all round!

[VillaForever1970]

The bad blood between Villa and City makes Wes’s desire to move to the second city ever more unlikely

Thu 23 Jan 14 by Mick Dennis

Norwich City have complained formally to Aston Villa about their pursuit of Wes Hoolahan – and have received a curt reply.

The exchange of letters between the two clubs demonstrates the deterioration of relations between them and explains why Norwich, who have rejected a transfer request from Hoolahan, are especially determined not to sell him to Villa.

Norwich wrote complaining that Villa manager Paul Lambert had publicly extolled Hoolahan’s ability, despite the Norfolk club saying he is not for sale. Villa wrote back merely acknowledging the receipt of the Norwich letter and “noting its contents”.

The acrimony between the two clubs stems from events after Lambert left Norwich for Villa 19 months ago. There was an escalating series of bad-tempered exchanges between Lambert, people representing him, and Norwich chief executive David McNally and chairman Alan Bowkett.

There was more bad blood when reserve goalkeeper Jed Steer followed Lambert to Villa Park last summer.

Then Villa bid £750,000 for Hoolahan at about the time the 31-year-old Republic of Ireland midfielder reported that he had picked up an injury and could not play in the FA Cup third round tie against Fulham. Hoolahan also told Norwich staff, verbally, that he wanted to join Villa.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton told the Norwich board he wants to keep Hoolahan, who had just forced his way into the first team. So Norwich told the player they had no intention of selling him and refused at first to even talk with Villa about the bid until after a tribunal hearing about goalkeeper Steer. Once that tribunal had made its ruling – that Villa must pay £450,000 immediately and, in theory could hand over up to £1.75m – Norwich rejected the offer for Hoolahan.

The popular midfielder – the only survivor from the era before Lambert lifted Norwich 54 places in three seasons – reported that he was fit but “not in the right frame of mind” to play. Despite that, Hughton has continued to select him as a sub.

This week Hoolahan submitted a written transfer request, but insisted: “There has not been any big row or anything.”

Norwich rejected the request and have told him again that they do not intend to sell him. That remains the position privately as well as publicly. I understand that the only circumstances in which they might be prepared to part with Hoolahan in this transfer window is if they could sign someone better at his sort of role – operating centrally just behind the main striker. Even then they would want at least £3m for Hoolahan and would still not want Villa to be his destination. They regard Villa as direct rivals in their attempt to secure a fourth successive season in the Premier League.

In 2009, soon after he had arrived at Norwich , Lambert tried to sell Hoolahan. And, if the Scot had remained in charge at Carrow Road for the summer in which he moved to Villa, he would have sold Grant Holt – the striker with whom he has now been reunited.

Lambert’s list of players he wanted to move on had already been presented to the Norwich board when he decamped to Villa. Holt was on that list.

In the event, however, Lambert left and new Norwich manager Chris Hughton gave Holt a new contract. The striker stayed for one season under Hughton in the Premier League before joining Wigan for £2m last summer. After scoring just twice in 19 appearances for Wigan he accepted a loan move to Villa for the rest of the season.

Click

[Smithy07]

Having come back on here for the first time since the Lambert saga to see what the views were re Hoolahan just had to respond to the suggestions that we are being petty or acting like a "small town club" by not agreeing to sell you a good player for a pittance. Fact is:

 

1. We don't need or want to sell this player so will only do so if the price is right;

2. Your reported offer for him is derisory - you don't get proven premier league creative midfielders for £750,000 or even the £1.5m some reports have cited, especially in January from teams who have no need to sell;

3. There probably is an element of not wanting to sell to Lambert/Villa as well. part of this will be down to relations over how Lambert's move was manufactured/handled and bad blood flowing from that. The other part is probably down to the fact that it appears you have unsettled our player and are trying to get him on the cheap in much the same way you tried to do with the manager. Given this, I don;t blame the club for taking a stance that they are not going to let Villa get their way and sign one of our players on the cheap though grubby tactics.

 

Put in a decent offer in the proper way and I am sure that it will be considered but it will have to be a very good offer because we do not need the money and he's a good player. Also because of the Lambert situation and the way you (and possibly Wes's agent) have gone about this it would probably have to be a better offer than it might otherwise have been. Until you do that, all of the rest of this circus (including the transfer request) is irrelevant. 

 

Good little player if you do stump up some proper cash and get him. A bit inconsistent and not suited to every game but when on song he runs the show. Personally I hope he stays because he's a firm favourite with Norwich fans and we would rather see his current unhappiness cured through more time on the pitch for us. Most of us would rather the manager left than Wes. Unfortunately that's now not going to happen this season. Of course whether or not things have now gone too far down the line with Wes for him to be brought back into the side remains to be seen.

[Wainy316]

 

 

 

 

 

 

After everything Lambert did for that club I think it is so sad that they're acting like children.

No offence Son of Wiz but from a business perspective it only makes sense to sell a 31 year old who isn't getting any game time, any normal club would do it.

I hope the fans aren't going to turn on Wes for wanting the move either, you can't really blame him considering his current position in the squad.

While I kind of agree, I'd imagine that statement would be met with the same kind of reaction that you'd see on here if Sunderland fans said the same about Oneill.

I also think that if the shoe was on the other foot our fan base would also be demanding that we refuse to do business with a club trying to take our player who had poached our manager and youth prospect.

 

 

Well I know I wouldn't be demanding that we refuse to do business, especially if our manager had got us into the Premier League and solidified our position there.

 

 

In fairness, the bitterness pales into insignificance when you consider the backlash against Barry (a lifelong servant to the club at the time) moving to Liverpool. That wasn't exactly our finest hour. (Basically all fans have it in them to act like dicks, ourselves included).

 

 

Barry was great for us for many years, and should have been sent on his way to better things with our thanks and best wishes.

 

 

 

We did him a favour not selling him to the wreath layers! We sent him off to City where he has actually won medals and he went with most fans blessing. Win Win all round!

 

 

If you actually think back to that summer he definitely didn't leave with the fans blessing.  He was roundly booed when we played in the 1-1 at VP and the memorable image of that fan waving money at him when he was taking a corner.

[Nigel]

Having come back on here for the first time since the Lambert saga to see what the views were re Hoolahan just had to respond to the suggestions that we are being petty or acting like a "small town club" by not agreeing to sell you a good player for a pittance. Fact is:

 

1. We don't need or want to sell this player so will only do so if the price is right;

2. Your reported offer for him is derisory - you don't get proven premier league creative midfielders for £750,000 or even the £1.5m some reports have cited, especially in January from teams who have no need to sell;

3. There probably is an element of not wanting to sell to Lambert/Villa as well. part of this will be down to relations over how Lambert's move was manufactured/handled and bad blood flowing from that. The other part is probably down to the fact that it appears you have unsettled our player and are trying to get him on the cheap in much the same way you tried to do with the manager. Given this, I don;t blame the club for taking a stance that they are not going to let Villa get their way and sign one of our players on the cheap though grubby tactics.

 

Put in a decent offer in the proper way and I am sure that it will be considered but it will have to be a very good offer because we do not need the money and he's a good player. Also because of the Lambert situation and the way you (and possibly Wes's agent) have gone about this it would probably have to be a better offer than it might otherwise have been. Until you do that, all of the rest of this circus (including the transfer request) is irrelevant. 

 

Good little player if you do stump up some proper cash and get him. A bit inconsistent and not suited to every game but when on song he runs the show. Personally I hope he stays because he's a firm favourite with Norwich fans and we would rather see his current unhappiness cured through more time on the pitch for us. Most of us would rather the manager left than Wes. Unfortunately that's now not going to happen this season. Of course whether or not things have now gone too far down the line with Wes for him to be brought back into the side remains to be seen.

Welcome back! What would you consider a decent offer?

[Nabby]

Having come back on here for the first time since the Lambert saga to see what the views were re Hoolahan just had to respond to the suggestions that we are being petty or acting like a "small town club" by not agreeing to sell you a good player for a pittance. Fact is:

 

1. We don't need or want to sell this player so will only do so if the price is right;

2. Your reported offer for him is derisory - you don't get proven premier league creative midfielders for £750,000 or even the £1.5m some reports have cited, especially in January from teams who have no need to sell;

3. There probably is an element of not wanting to sell to Lambert/Villa as well. part of this will be down to relations over how Lambert's move was manufactured/handled and bad blood flowing from that. The other part is probably down to the fact that it appears you have unsettled our player and are trying to get him on the cheap in much the same way you tried to do with the manager. Given this, I don;t blame the club for taking a stance that they are not going to let Villa get their way and sign one of our players on the cheap though grubby tactics.

 

Put in a decent offer in the proper way and I am sure that it will be considered but it will have to be a very good offer because we do not need the money and he's a good player. Also because of the Lambert situation and the way you (and possibly Wes's agent) have gone about this it would probably have to be a better offer than it might otherwise have been. Until you do that, all of the rest of this circus (including the transfer request) is irrelevant. 

 

Good little player if you do stump up some proper cash and get him. A bit inconsistent and not suited to every game but when on song he runs the show. Personally I hope he stays because he's a firm favourite with Norwich fans and we would rather see his current unhappiness cured through more time on the pitch for us. Most of us would rather the manager left than Wes. Unfortunately that's now not going to happen this season. Of course whether or not things have now gone too far down the line with Wes for him to be brought back into the side remains to be seen.

 

 

Personally I would have thought him barely playing and other midfielder's being bought would have been more unsettling  to the player than our interest ..

[villa89]

 you don't get proven premier league creative midfielders for £750,000 or even the £1.5m some reports have cited, especially in January from teams who have no need to sell;

.

 

It could be argued that he's not proven at premier league level, given that he doesn't get into the Norwich team every week. Also he's 31 so that reduces his price hugely.

[Daveburnside]

Get over it Naaaarch you got dumped by Lambo for a bigger club! Theres a pecking order. Know your place! 

[Smithy07]

In response to the queries above:

 

I would have thought £3-4 million might make us interested.

 

Before your offer came in he had started the last two games and starred against Manchester United. Villa offer gets leaked and suddenly he declares himself injured for the Cup game. It is correct to say that had he been entirely happy at the club then there may not have been an opportunity for Villa to try and exploit and part of his unhappiness (shared by fans) will be down to the lack of playing time under Hughton this season. he's been in and out of the team before though and not agitated for a move like this so i would say whatever discussions have been ongoing with his agent behind the scenes appear to have unsettled him.

 

He is a proven premier league player. he's not playing at the moment because we are playing 4-4-2 and he simply doesn't fit in that formation because he's not quick enough to play on the wing and he's not physical enough to play as part of a midfield 2. he has to play as part of a 3 man midfield or behind the striker in the second striker role. his absence from the team is nothing to do with his ability to hack it at this level merely the way Hughton has been setting us up. when he has played he has done well and against Man U was the best player on the pitch (on either side) but unfortunately our manager does not use Wes as much as most of us would like him to.