July 1st 2013. A gorgeous Dutchman took to the hallowed turf of Carrow Road, with a yellow and green scarf around his neck, and an £8.5m price tag over his head. This man is of course the one and only ‘O Lobo’, ‘The Wolf’, Mr. Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
Big things were expected from the 24-year-old, and impressive scoring record in Portugal, that many expected him to carry over to England. However, as we all know to well, this never occurred. A single goal on his debut, and an injury hampered first season meant that the Wolf was no longer howling.
Neil Adams decided to ship him out to France, and have him spend a season on loan at St. Etienne. A bang average spell in Ligue 1 saw him net nine times, and Les Verts decided not to bring Ricky’s torrid time in England to a permanent conclusion, rejecting the option to buy him.
He returned to a Premier League Norwich, riding high on the joy of a play-off final success. Could the Dutchman be reinvigorated by Alex Neil, much like Sebastien Bassong? He joined up with the squad, and had a promising pre-season, scoring against Cambridge United, and some thought Ricky could play a role in the campaign to maintain the Canaries Premier League status. However, it seemed that it would be the same old thing. Ricky didn’t feature in any squads for the first three matches of the season, and was even banished to the reserves.
Roll on Rotherham, a Capital One Cup second round clash, and who was leading the line? Ricky. A game overshadowed by the off the pitch antics of Lewis Grabban saw Norwich progressing 2-1 victors, with a Van Wolfswinkel goal being the winner.
This led to him making the bench against Southampton, with it seeming that his Norwich career could be being rebuilt. However, in a move few saw coming, Ricky was sent out on loan to a European team yet again, this time Real Betis of La Liga. He has seen on 156 minutes of game time for Betis, and has been sat warming the bench on regular occasions. This is why I pose the question, is it time for Ricky to be recalled?
Norwich currently have five strikers in their ranks, Dieumerci Mbokani, Cameron Jerome, Lewis Grabban, Kyle Lafferty and Jamar Loza. Loza has recently returned from a loan spell with Stevenage, and it would be unsurprising if he leaves for a temporary spell at another Football League club in the near future.
This leaves Norwich with four strikers. Lewis Grabban is nowhere near Premier League quality, as has been proven. Neil seems afraid to play Kyle Lafferty for some bizarre reason, leaving Norwich with only two legitimate striking options.Cameron Jerome has been poor in the games that he has played so far this season, missing easy chances, losing the ball and generally being a liability while on the pitch. Norwich’s only Premier League quality striker is Dieumerci Mbokani.
So, with Norwich having such a lack of strikers, is it time to bring The Wolf back to the pack?
He is a skillful striker, with a finishing ability that Norwich lack after letting go of Gary Hooper. Yes, he isn’t the strongest of players, but neither is Wes Hoolahan, and he can make it in the team week in week out.
I’m not saying Ricky should jump straight in the team ahead of Mbokani, but he is clearly better than at least Lewis Grabban, and very possibly Kyle Lafferty. Van Wolfswinkel would make an excellent impact player, someone to shake things up, and confuse opposition defenses.
So, it seems there would be great sense in bringing back ‘O Lobo’ to Carrow Road. Will it ever happen, that seems unlikely, however, we can but dream of Van Wolfswinkel making commentators lives hell once again.
