If anyone needed any further proof that the mentality of our beloved yellows is changing, then their ears should certainly have pricked up around 1 o’clock this afternoon. When for second time this summer, and even more amazingly for the second time before the end of May. The transfer press conference buzz began again, followed soon after by a strapping 25 year old centre back signed on a free, for two years commencing July 1st.
Lambert’s latest signal of intent is Elliott Ward, Coventry’s first million pound player for five years when he signed from West Ham in June 2006. He later became their captain and penalty taker, before falling out of favour under recently axed boss Chris Coleman. You may remember him coincidently as a transfer target for Glenn Roeder back in December 2008, when all we seemed to have to offer was a homesick David Bell, who ended up at the Ricoh Arena anyway. Failing to fulfill Roeder’s prediction of a long and very successful career at Norwich. Recently Ward has followed a similar path to Jason Shackell, taking available loan opportunities to keep fresh. He impressed at Doncaster, especially on his debut when he scored an overhead kick Michael Nelson would’ve been proud of, before he moved on to Preston before his contract ran out this summer.
Just a random thought to intersect with; do we worry if our two main central defenders are famed for scoring overhead kicks? Ward’s is below.
Our second signing and our second former captain, he certainly is a Lambert type player. They seemed in total harmony at this afternoon’s press conference, the BBC has videos which suggest Ward is either a no nonsense defender, or a defender who can speak nothing but nonsense. He does call us a big club though, early yellow points secured. Even more so when you scour the web and realise that he had numerous other offers. Doncaster were keen to make his loan a permanent arrangement whilst Sheffield United reportedly held talks earlier this week. It’s very encouraging that we are preferred to these clubs, it really does add to my optimism about the new season when players are clearly taken in by what Lambert, and presumably McNally are saying.
Having seen him play a few times for Coventry, I think we’ve completed a great bit of business. You don’t get to be a popular club captain at a championship side before your 25 without some serious credentials. He’s strong and imposing, technical and adapt in front of goal as well as defending it. He’ll fit in with the ethos of our side as well as every time I’ve seen him he’s always looked to play the ball out of defence, even when it was obvious he had been instructed not to. As I mentioned the other day, we were always due to sign a centre half. As a replacement for Doherty, I’d say we’ve probably improved, five years younger and with a more impressive recent championship pedigree. In short I’m very pleased, but for more reasons than may be obvious. The better half of Mr Little Norwich is a Coventry fan and I am well aware of (if not a little bit uncomfortable with) the fact that she fancies the pants off Mr Ward. So it adds another interesting talking point to what will be two of my most anticipated fixtures of our return to the Championship.
An interesting side note to the Ward arrival press conference was tweeted earlier by the Pink’Un’s Michael J Bailey with regard to Darel Russell. It seems the longer Darel takes considering his offers, the more frustrated the powers that be at ‘Fortress Carrow’ become. Bailey commented that he was “not sure me asking PL about Rusty went down too well. Ho hum” Ho Hum indeed, but what seems obvious is the longer this goes on, the less likely we are to see Russell back in a city shirt. Lambert certainly isn’t waiting until August to get his squad in place. Someone has a summer in front of the football planned surely, and doesn’t he deserve it.
Little Norwich 