---
title: "Transfers that shook the club: Norwich City and Wes Hoolahan"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/transfers-that-shook-the-club-norwich-wes-hoolahan/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Features"
published: "2020-06-28T18:30:20Z"
modified: "2020-06-28T18:30:20Z"
---

# Transfers that shook the club: Norwich City and Wes Hoolahan

**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](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/glenn-roeder/leistungsdatenDetail/trainer/2853/verein_id/1123/datum_zu/2007-10-30/datum_ab/2009-01-14) and being associated with their [ignominious relegation to League One](https://www.ex-canaries.co.uk/players/roeder.htm#:~:text=Roeder%20savd%20Norwich%20from%20relegation,own%20imprint%20on%20the%20team.) 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](https://theathletic.co.uk/1304156/2019/11/26/the-2010s-norwichs-team-of-the-decade/) 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](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-hoolahan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/24589)).

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](https://web.archive.org/web/20120426052045/http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/History/0%2C%2C10355~2693083%2C00.html). His reputation with the Canaries faithful threatened to turn sour during the 2013/14 season when he [submitted a transfer request](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/25839843) amid reported interest from Aston Villa and [reacted modestly to scoring against them](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26488530) 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](https://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/wes-hoolahan-signs-new-norwich-city-contract-1811043.aspx) 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](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-hoolahan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/24589).

A [third relegation would follow](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-hoolahan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/24589) a year later but his performances earned him a place in Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad, [scoring against Sweden](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36457309) at the tournament. He was a [cause celebre among Irish pundit Eamon Dunphy](https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/the-eamon-dunphy-file-on-the-wonder-of-wes-hoolahan-1.3384605), 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!](https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/the-eamon-dunphy-file-on-the-wonder-of-wes-hoolahan-1.3384605)”

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Two years later, the veteran midfielder [announced](https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/canaries-hoolahan-exit-1-5487750) 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](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43846722)), 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](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-hoolahan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/24589/verein/1123) 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!***