When Cameron Jermone signed for Norwich on the 20th August 2014, there were certainly some mixed reactions towards the signing and whether City had wasted the rumoured £1.5 million, which could have been spent more wisely. However, a year on, there’s little doubt that Neil Adams’ played an important part in City’s promotion to the Premier League in May by purchasing the most crucial signing of the campaign.
At the time, it was understandable that Jerome was not necessarily seen as a signing to excite fans when Robert Snodgrass, Leroy Fer and Anthony Pilkington had already walked through the exit door to Hull City, QPR and Cardiff City respectively. In fact, Fer’s club record transfer to the London side happened only 90 minutes prior, leaving a wound in the heart of many of City’s fans.
To exaggerate the heartache, City were still recovering on the striker front, with Grant Holt leaving in July 2013 and Gary Hooper and Ricky Van Wolfswinkel struggling to step up in the top flight.
Tweets in response to the signing of Cameron Jerome only highlighted this attitude towards strikers – “how many strikers do Norwich want?”, “looks like Hooper could be leaving” and even tweets questioning David McNally’s ambition in “selling our best players (Fer) and buying second rate players”, with some calling Jerome a “Stoke reject”. Cameron Jerome came to the club with the capability to score in the Championship – he had proven that during his time at Cardiff City and Birmingham City by scoring a total of 40 goals in the league, with an average of 10 goals per season. However, his best season in the Championship was around 10 years ago – where he scored 18 goals for Cardiff in the 2005/06 season. And since his move to the top flight, Jerome only successfully reached more than 10 League goals in 2009/10 at Birmingham City – he never reached above or near that target in any of his other Premier League seasons.
To be frank, there were questions raised and sooner rather than later, they were quickly answered the way any new striker wants to win praise off fans. Maybe a goal in the 14th minute of his debut against Crawley Town in the Capital One Cup second round shouldn’t be judged but by the time, he scored a goal in City’s 4-2 victory against Cardiff, along with two brace’s against Brentford and Birmingham, the excitement in City’s strike-force and potential ambition for the season ahead certainly started to return.
By the end of the season, Cameron Jerome had scored 19 goals, with 5 assists – the most in his career. He became a crucial player in City’s lineup and a name all too familiar on the team sheet. And with a two Play Off games against Ipswich Town before a potential trip to Wembley for the Canaries, a month goal drought for the 29 year old didn’t exactly relax the nerves.
Funnily enough, Jerome’s drought came to an end when City started advertising for a Play Off hero. The most important assist of his career was the result of a tussle with Ipswich’s Tommy Smith before Jerome’s pace ensured the only place the ball would be meeting was Jonny Howson’s foot – which was perfectly placed to slot it home.
To think that would be the only impact Jerome would make in the Play Offs would be wrong. He, like Redmond, wanted to become a Play Off hero. A combination of the duo would finish in Jerome scoring his 20th goal of the season and securing a 3-1 victory for the Canaries, which saw Norwich beat their local rivals and reach Wembley after a thrilling Play Off semi-final.
What would follow after that needs little repeating. One goal with one attempt on target would leave a lifetime of goosebumps. Taking ex-City defender Daniel Ayala off guard and quite literally, off his feet, Jermone once again outpaced his opponent and ensured a one-on-one situation with Middlesbrough’s Konstantopoulous would end with only one version in the history books.
After the game, City’s chairman Alan Bowkett revealed Jerome’s disappointment in not being made Player of the Season, with the striker left wondering what he had to do to become exactly that. The answer from Bowkett was “score the winning goal at Wembley”. He did just that but it was all too late, with the awards already announced. Bradley Johnson and Wes Hoolahan beat Jermone to first and second place, but in Jerome’s most successful season of his career, there is little doubt he would change a single thing.
His form and confidence carried through to preseason, where Jermone added a hatrick against Gorleston and a brace against Hitchin Town, before scoring the winning goal against Brentford.
His absence from the starting lineup against Crystal Palace raised questions towards Alex Neil’s mindset, with the manager opting for Lewis Grabban upfront, with Jerome left, alongside Hooper, on the bench – it turned out the striker was not 100% fit and understandably, didn’t want to be risked in this first game of the season. However, with City’s failure to score and no favours being offered by the now-infamous Simon Hooper, Norwich were 2-0 behind by 48 minutes. This was despite Norwich’s dominance against Alan Pardew’s side in both possession and total shots.
The substitution of Jermone and Redmond in replacement for Grabban and Tettey would soon see a defeat in the first game of the season hard to swallow for everyone linked to City – a goal by Redmond would see the Canaries be given a life line and although Jerome only had two attempts at goal, his input was still acknowledged by the City faithful. Jerome could have also started his 8th Premier League campaign in a rather memorable fashion had an over-the-head-kick from the 6ft striker not been deemed dangerous by the officials.
The inclusion of Jerome in the starting XI against Sunderland was more than predictable, to say the least, but whilst the team were flying at 3-1 and once again, being in complete dominance with 56% possession and 19 shots by the end of the game, it was Jermone who saw his two shots miss the target. He was replaced by Grabban in the 68th minute, who also failed to get his single shot on target.
Cameron Jerome will be vital this campaign – although his impact has been limited to some extent so far. Although his offside awareness lacks – as witnessed against Crystal Palace and Sunderland – his ability to bully, overpower and outpace the opponent’s defence, along with playing in Alex Neil’s preferred one-upfront role will be crucial. Likewise, so will his ability to make use of a break or failure in the opponent’s defence to his advantage when opportunities may be considerably limited against the tougher opponents.
Jerome, more so than Gary Hooper and Lewis Grabban, has also made an impact as a super sub for City. Only three of his nine substitute appearances did Jerome fail to shoot – those were against Birmingham (67th minute), Wolves (82nd minute) and Rotherham (76 minute). He has also scored in three in his substitute apearances. Bearing in mind, he started nearly 80% of games.
With City rumoured with strikers across Europe, it is no surprise to suggest that City are still hunting for their Number 9. Links (which have not been shutdown as of yet) to Dwight Gayle at Palace and Dieumerci Mbokani at Dynamo Kyiv could provide insight into what City are after regarding strikers but could also cause confusion with both Gayle and Mbokani different ends of the spectrum.
Dwight Gayle could become another Gary Hooper and Lewis Grabban, and see his ability to finish off goals benched and similarly to Gary Hooper, his record as a super sub can’t exactly be praised – with four goals in 29 substitute appearances, and all four of those goals appearing in his first season at Palace. His 5ft 9in height may also see him face similar challenges as Gary Hooper has, with an obvious difference to Jerome’s physical appearance.
On the other hand, Dieumerci Mbokani’s identical height to Cameron Jerome may see Norwich gain almost a backup – maybe, even a Plan A – with the player able to use his power, height and strength to his advantage. His statistics are just what City could be after – he can score and he can also certainly assist – in fact, he scored 16 goals and assisted 11 in 33 appearances for Dynamo Kyiv. Whether he can make it over in the Premier League may become the ultimate hurdle.
However, the current question of this article is regarding an English striker, who put his signature to paper last August, and it will remain: Will Cameron Jerome step up in the top-flight or was last season was a one off?
It could be said to be unknown territory until mid-season. He spent more games as a substitute for Stoke than a regular and never set fire alight in the Premier League when
he was on loan at Crystal Palace. He proved himself at Championship level. And at the moment, he remains the favourite in City’s strike force to use his strengths to his ability to help keep the Premier League dream alive for the Canaries.
