In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that had many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.
Glenn Roeder’s time in charge of Norwich City is unlikely to be recalled fondly by the Carrow Road faithful, winning just 20 of his 65 games in charge and being associated with their ignominious relegation to League One in 2009. However, he did leave one lasting legacy at the Canaries in the form of an Irish midfielder by the name of Wes Hoolahan.
The Dublin native cost a mere £250,000 from Blackpool in August 2008 and, while unfortunately being a part of the team that dropped to the third tier, he made amends by then playing a key role in successive promotions as they regained their Premier League status in 2011. In the two promotion-winning campaigns, he tallied 21 goals and 20 assists, doing his fair share to lift Norwich out of the doldrums (via TransferMarkt).
It was a sign of how huge an influence the playmaker had at Carrow Road that, within just four years of joining, he was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame. His reputation with the Canaries faithful threatened to turn sour during the 2013/14 season when he submitted a transfer request amid reported interest from Aston Villa and reacted modestly to scoring against them a few weeks later.
Hoolahan stuck with Norwich in the Championship, though, after they dropped out of the top flight and, having signed a contract extension at Carrow Road at the start of 2014/15, he helped them to an immediate return to the Premier League, his third promotion with the club.
A third relegation would follow a year later but his performances earned him a place in Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad, scoring against Sweden at the tournament. He was a cause celebre among Irish pundit Eamon Dunphy, a man with a reputation for withering put-downs of many players and managers but who once gleefully said of Hoolahan: “He’s my love child!”
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Two years later, the veteran midfielder announced at the end of his 10th season with the Canaries that he would be leaving once the 2017/18 campaign finished. His Carrow Road send-off saw him captain the team to a 2-1 win over Leeds in which he scored (as per BBC), a fitting way to bow out for a tremendous servant who experienced numerous ups and downs during his decade in East Anglia.
Now 38 and playing with Newcastle Jets in Australia, Hoolahan clocked up 54 goals and 78 appearances in 351 games for Norwich. Having cost only £250,000 when he signed in 2008, his transfer fee ultimately worked out at only £712.25 per game. Roeder can at least afford himself the satisfaction of making one of the smartest signings in the Canaries’ modern history.
Norwich fans, just how good was Hoolahan in his time at the club? Comment below with your views!
