My final All-Time Norwich City XI is almost complete.
But a great meal needs a fabulous dessert to finish it off and this is why forwards, strikers and other attacking positions are needed to complete the set.
A tough choice
As stated before the reason that my all-time Norwich City XI is 4-4-2 is not because I am particularly wedded to the past (I’m a big fan of the Dutch style where the positions and more flowing) but mainly for the self-serving indulgence of wanting to include more than one striker.
Finding the right balance is hard. Do you go for a little and large combo like Rob Earnshaw and Peter Crouch?
Maybe you could be a wild card and throw in Nelson Olivera or Marc Libbra (please note that this is a joke, I won’t actually be doing that).
Comparing eras
The other difficulty is in comparing eras. Chris Sutton is significant due to being the then most expensive footballer at £5m, which now would barely get you a thumbs up from an Arsenal bench-warmer.
Iwan Roberts was a terrific presence and his book All I Want For Christmas is a fun read.
There is also the option to have someone in behind such as Wes Hoolahan or James Maddison to make up for their exclusion elsewhere.
While I struggle to reconcile what happened to my good time boy Josh Sargent he should still be mentioned due to his contribution on the pitch and not his unfortunately timed text messaging.
The final choice
Ultimately, though, I have decided to base this on personality and pure bias. Teemu Pukki was not only a great goalscorer, but he was also someone who brightened up the pitch. I want that energy in my team.
This also extends to the total legend and delight that is Grant Holt. The player who Paul Lambert once described as “the worst in training” was one of those freak players who shouldn’t work but did.
A wind-up merchant, a battering ram and a sheer force of personality, I had to have him!
But what do you think? Next up we have the final Norwich City XI and who I think should represent this ragtag bunch of misfits.
Let me know who your selection would be and who would be the ideal gaffer to lead this final crew to glory!
