Andrew Omobamidele D Strasbourg (loan from Notts Forest) b.2002

[tommy_c12000]

Another great game today in Norwich’s 1-0 win. Wonderful to see his recovery after such a concerning/uncertain injury. Along with Collins, he is a must have starter for us

[third policeman]

Top quality player who should be playing in the Premiership. Everyday transfer gossip is linking Premier League clubs with CB's playing in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal......when there's a player of outstanding quality on their doorstep.

[JR89]

Top quality player who should be playing in the Premiership. Everyday transfer gossip is linking Premier League clubs with CB's playing in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal......when there's a player of outstanding quality on their doorstep.

Sure Burnley were the only team to come in for Collins even though you had Fletcher telling United this kid is gonna be top class 12 months earlier. Hopefully himself and O'Shea avoid injury this season because it will be a good battle between both to see who starts in March alongside Collins and Egan.

[samhaydenjr]

First goal of the season, getting Norwich's equalizer in their 2-1 win against Birmingham - Scott Hogan had opened the scoring for Birmingham: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62641669

[dr_peepee]

Featured along with Ogbene in the five early season breakout Championship stars

https://www.football365.com/news/4m-defender-26-goal-striker-among-five-early-season-breakout-stars-in-championship

[Olé Olé]

https://theathletic.com/3611530/2022/09/21/andrew-omobamidele-norwich/

Andrew Omobamidele looks like Norwich’s next big thing

[Demesne Lad]

Dean Smith hopes to have Omobamidele back fit (from an ankle injury) after the World Cup break and is looking to get Idah back training during the same break. (Norfolklive.co.uk, 22 Oct)

[tommy_c12000]

Nice to see him start again today, he really needs an extended run of games. He has had a worrying time of injuries for such a young player. Idah on the bench, another guy who could do with a solid run of games (and goals)

[tommy_c12000]

Very poor half from Norwich. Luton unlucky not to be winning. Big Andy showing some ring rust but overall doing okay. Hopefully we will see Idah before long, Norwich need to change something.

[tommy_c12000]

Idah on at half time, tommy is calling it today..

[tommy_c12000]

Bad loss by Norwich, 2-1 to Luton. Idah didn’t do much when he came on

[CSAD]

Bad loss by Norwich, 2-1 to Luton. Idah didn’t do much when he came on

What he didn’t do is the best thing to happen this season…not get injured.

[paul_oshea]

Bad loss by Norwich, 2-1 to Luton. Idah didn’t do much when he came on

That's par for the course. Not sure what his level is but he's not premier League or championship level

[Snapshot]

That's par for the course. Not sure what his level is but he's not premier League or championship level
Goodwill for Idah is unanimous, but optimism he'll be a key player is based more in desperation than realism. And despite early highs, Omobamidele looks shy of EPL standard. O'Shea also borderline. A minor comfort is we need no longer be embarrassed by formerly perceived goalkeeping and CD riches.

[pineapple stu]

Smith has been sacked by Norwich anyway, so interesting to see what happens next with the two guys.

Had a look at the Norwich forum after yesterday's game and general impression of Idah was poor; one post was that he should go back to the LoI (I know he never played it, but it was a general impression of his standard) and others were equally dismissive of what he had to offer.

That said, the entire place was trying to outdo itself in terms of pessimism, so always worth taking forum views with a bit of a pinch of salt. Similarly derisive comments about Bazunu on the Southampton forum.

[irishfan86]

Given the injuries Idah and Omabamidele have had, I wouldn't be writing either of them off just yet or evaluating them for where they are right now. Both have unique attributes that any manager would be interested in in young players. Given I imagine they are among the lower earners in and around the Norwich first team, there's a natural incentive to hope it works out. Obviously at this point they need to prove their durability and consistency, but in terms of talent I believe both can be premier league players at some point in their careers.

[tommy_c12000]

Big Andy is a class act. But has been out of the game for several months, if he stays healthy then he will play at a higher level than Championship. Yesterday he was still dusting off the cobwebs.

I never fancied Idah underage, didn’t have a natural first touch. But he grew on me and surprised me with how he developed his game. Unfortunately he’s had a torrid time with injury, would need a full season of football to see where he lands. The bit part minutes at Norwich have resulted in stagnation, he has done most his development in an irish shirt actually. Just as he was showing some promise in the premier league he got injured. Will need to see how the second part of the season goes for him, but he’s at a crucial juncture, he needs regular starts not bit part minutes.

[CSAD]

Big Andy is a class act. But has been out of the game for several months, if he stays healthy then he will play at a higher level than Championship. Yesterday he was still dusting off the cobwebs.

I never fancied Idah underage, didn’t have a natural first touch. But he grew on me and surprised me with how he developed his game. Unfortunately he’s had a torrid time with injury, would need a full season of football to see where he lands. The bit part minutes at Norwich have resulted in stagnation, he has done most his development in an irish shirt actually. Just as he was showing some promise in the premier league he got injured. Will need to see how the second part of the season goes for him, but he’s at a crucial juncture, he needs regular starts not bit part minutes.

Well Idah probably has no choice but to fight for his position at Norwich as what team at any relevant level would take a player with his injury record on loan? Since Covid happened I have counted 4 separate periods where he has had a significant period out of the game. He’s played 31 minutes of league football in 10 months before yesterday, why would any team take a shot on someone with an injury record that bad even on loan? My betting is he’ll get another bad injury by March and that will be him done for the season.

The blessing for him could be with a new manager coming it could be a clean slate for everyone and maybe that’s what he needs.

[Olé Olé]

Omobamidele doesn't start tonight but Idah does and duly scores. Hopefully that quells some of the reactionary posters (POS) from earlier in the week writing Idah off on the back of his first run after a lengthy lay off.

[Stuttgart88]

Omobamidele looked very good when he came on quite late against Watford. I think the Watford goal was more a collective defence failing - stranded forward after a corner - compounded by an error by McCullum(?). Omobamidele tried hard to cut out the square ball, and wasn't far off, after breaking a gut to get back. But he looks very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

I only saw from 70 mins onwards and Idah had a decent right footed shot about a metre wide. He has a worrying inability to attract the ball though, imho. I'd question his reading of the game and positional sense. Chris Sutton tweeted that the Norwich front three just didn't interact at all well and Pukki had little support. That was fair based on what I saw.

[paul_oshea]

Omobamidele doesn't start tonight but Idah does and duly scores. Hopefully that quells some of the reactionary posters (POS) from earlier in the week writing Idah off on the back of his first run after a lengthy lay off.

Theres nothing reactionary about what I said, I've watched enough of him to see that he isnt all that good and doesnt use his pace better. There's nothing to suggest he'll be a decent Championship striker nevermind EPL of course he could be a late bloomer but he's not progressed from 21s football.

[Razors left peg]

Theres nothing reactionary about what I said, I've watched enough of him to see that he isnt all that good and doesnt use his pace better. There's nothing to suggest he'll be a decent Championship striker nevermind EPL of course he could be a late bloomer but he's not progressed from 21s football.

I think he was progressing last season and was on a decent run of form before the injury. You would worry that too many injuries at a young age could hinder him and he needs a clear run now.

[samhaydenjr]

Theres nothing reactionary about what I said, I've watched enough of him to see that he isnt all that good and doesnt use his pace better. There's nothing to suggest he'll be a decent Championship striker nevermind EPL of course he could be a late bloomer but he's not progressed from 21s football.

Well... there is the fact that he has scored about once every 200 minutes at senior club level

[paul_oshea]

I think he was progressing last season and was on a decent run of form before the injury. You would worry that too many injuries at a young age could hinder him and he needs a clear run now.

Without wanting to sound facetious Terry Dixon was a very good prospect at one stage, one patella dislocation followed by another a couple of years later and we all know what happened there...

[Razors left peg]

Without wanting to sound facetious Terry Dixon was a very good prospect at one stage, one patella dislocation followed by another a couple of years later and we all know what happened there...

Comparing Terry Dixon to Idah is b0ll0cks of the highest order.

Dixon was a great youth prospect who never made it to senior football properly because of injuries. Idah has played well in Premiership and at international level and has shown he can compete in men's football. Yeah he's just back from a bad injury and we all hope it doesn't become a regular thing but comparing him to Terry Dixon just sounds like you're on a wind up

[CSAD]

Comparing Terry Dixon to Idah is b0ll0cks of the highest order.

Dixon was a great youth prospect who never made it to senior football properly because of injuries. Idah has played well in Premiership and at international level and has shown he can compete in men's football. Yeah he's just back from a bad injury and we all hope it doesn't become a regular thing but comparing him to Terry Dixon just sounds like you're on a wind up

Well Idah’s stats as an underage player is far more impressive than Dixons, it seems the only thing Dixon had going for him is he played in the past so it automatically rated higher due to grass is greener syndrome.

[tetsujin1979]

Every player is one bad injury away from retiring.

[paul_oshea]

Well Idah’s stats as an underage player is far more impressive than Dixons, it seems the only thing Dixon had going for him is he played in the past so it automatically rated higher due to grass is greener syndrome.

19 pages on foot.ie would disagree with that. When Dixon was called up by Staunton a snotty teenager there was fanfare not seen in a long time on here and other media. You can have high hopes for all sorts of players , whether they're good enough or not injuries can prevent finding that out either way.

In Terry Dixon's case that ended up being a career at Stevenage and Dover or somewhere like that

[CSAD]

19 pages on foot.ie would disagree with that. When Dixon was called up by Staunton a snotty teenager there was fanfare not seen in a long time on here and other media.

Based on 0 senior appearances…the bar must not have been very high back then for a young player to be considered a prospect.

What changed in the next 15 years for us to not have the deluded optimism in 2022 that we had back then?

[paul_oshea]

Getting called up to a senior squad at 16 does that kind of thing

[CSAD]

Getting called up to a senior squad at 16 does that kind of thing

The sentence “let’s not get ahead of ourselves” should have been applied back then like it is today.

I just find it amusing how those on here try to minimize Idah’s potential and the treat Dixon as a high prospect when Idah’s done far more as an underage prospect and at the age of 21 has done more in his career than Dixon ever did. Either the bar was incredibly low back then or the bar is being set very high today to be considered a decent prospect.

[Razors left peg]

Dixon was an exciting prospect because he was called up at 16, but it was never based on any footballing ability that anyone of us seen, just stories of how good he was.

I still dont see why there was any reason to compare him to Idah. Keith O'Neill might be a better example if you are looking for a player whos career was destroyed by injury after we all seen he was a very good player and had proven it at a decent level. Even at that we have nothing to suggest that Idah will be like that, yes hes had a bad injury, which can happen to anyone. We of course hope that he doesnt have any more long term ones, but hes 21 and has played plenty of 1st team football already and looks like he could be an excellent player.

[CSAD]

Dixon was an exciting prospect because he was called up at 16, but it was never based on any footballing ability that anyone of us seen, just stories of how good he was.

I still dont see why there was any reason to compare him to Idah. Keith O'Neill might be a better example if you are looking for a player whos career was destroyed by injury after we all seen he was a very good player and had proven it at a decent level. Even at that we have nothing to suggest that Idah will be like that, yes hes had a bad injury, which can happen to anyone. We of course hope that he doesnt have any more long term ones, but hes 21 and has played plenty of 1st team football already and looks like he could be an excellent player.

That was at a time when the Irish manager was handing out caps like confetti though… Anyone can tell stories but it’s all irrelevant without evidence.

At least Keith O’Neill has a body of evidence to go on.

Well if he’s 21 and already has 50 appearances for a top championship team/ bottom half premiership side despite having 4 massive injury lay offs then that’s not a bad start. He just needs to keep improving and hopes that he doesn’t get too many long term injuries.

[Razors left peg]

That was at a time when the Irish manager was handing out caps like confetti though… Anyone can tell stories but it’s all irrelevant without evidence.

At least Keith O’Neill has a body of evidence to go on.

Well if he’s 21 and already has 50 appearances for a top championship team/ bottom half premiership side despite having 4 massive injury lay offs then that’s not a bad start. He just needs to keep improving and hopes that he doesn’t get too many long term injuries.

I dont think Staunton was giving out caps any more than other managers in fairness to him, outside of the infamous US tour when Lapria got call up. I do remember being in the stands for game against I think Holland, but I could be wrong there, and being disappointed when we didnt get to see him. It was all paper talk at the time and I supposed there wasnt the access to under age games that there is today with Twitter etc so there definitely was a buzz about him.

[tetsujin1979]

I was at the Dutch game too. Dixon warmed up with the other subs at half time. He was doing keepie-uppies for about five minutes and I don't think the ball touched the ground in all that time

[CSAD]

I was at the Dutch game too. Dixon warmed up with the other subs at half time. He was doing keepie-uppies for about five minutes and I don't think the ball touched the ground in all that time

To be fair when the best thing you can say about a player is the amount of keepie-uppies he can do in a warm up then it doesn’t really bode well for the player.

[gastric]

To be fair when the best thing you can say about a player is the amount of keepie-uppies he can do in a warm up then it doesn’t really bode well for the player.
A bit harsh on a bloke whose knee ended what could have possibly been a great career.

[CSAD]

A bit harsh on a bloke whose knee ended what could have possibly been a great career.

Or he could have been a total flop like so many other promising players in the past.

You think that’s harsh just look at some of the stuff said about Idah on this forum…a player who has been far better as a youth player and don’t far more in his career as a teenager than Dixon ever did.

[tetsujin1979]

To be fair when the best thing you can say about a player is the amount of keepie-uppies he can do in a warm up then it doesn’t really bode well for the player.
That's the best thing I can say about him in that game. The only other time I saw him play was an under 21 game against Armenia. He came on in the second half and set up a goal. This was when he was at West Ham and they were managing his game time.

[CSAD]

That's the best thing I can say about him in that game. The only other time I saw him play was an under 21 game against Armenia. He came on in the second half and set up a goal. This was when he was at West Ham and they were managing his game time.

That’s okay I guess, but again comparatively is that really much to write home about compared to any of our youth strikers today?

[tommy_c12000]

Watched 60 minutes of this game until Idah was subbed. Big Andy back to his best in my opinion, he was improved from last outing. I expect him to continue to start here on in with new guy in charge. Idah did some good link play, one half chance. Gave ball away cheaply a couple of times. Looks fit though. Just needs some consistent starts and I think the goals will come

[Eirambler]

Another Grant Hanley special for Norwich today, hard to believe he was being picked over Omobamidele in recent weeks.

[paul_oshea]

Dixon was an exciting prospect because he was called up at 16, but it was never based on any footballing ability that anyone of us seen, just stories of how good he was.

I still dont see why there was any reason to compare him to Idah. Keith O'Neill might be a better example if you are looking for a player whos career was destroyed by injury after we all seen he was a very good player and had proven it at a decent level. Even at that we have nothing to suggest that Idah will be like that, yes hes had a bad injury, which can happen to anyone. We of course hope that he doesnt have any more long term ones, but hes 21 and has played plenty of 1st team football already and looks like he could be an excellent player.

I wasn't directly comparing him to Idah, I was more drawing on the point that fans and people get caught up in this hysteria about prospects and then how injuries are perceived to play a big part whether you've no idea or not that a player is good enough or not. And I wouldn't compare O'Neill to Idah either, there wasn't huge fanfare around him but he had a few appearances and his goals to game ratio for ireland was much better than Idahs - probably because we had decent options up front then or perceived decent options given what came before(aldridge/quinn) and after(keane/duff).

[pineapple stu]

Lots of random online talk linking him with a move to Nottingham Forest in the summer. Sounds a bit of a sideways move really, especially if Forest go down.

Has been on the bench the last two games after getting his place back following injury earlier in the season; seems he was subbed off for Ben Gibson at half-time against Wigan a couple of weeks ago and Gibson has started since. Not sure what's happened there?

[Razors left peg]

Probably a bit similar to Collins at Wolves. Young center halves dont start regularly for a reason, managers like experience in that position, especially in a team under pressure, and sometimes young defenders decision making isnt brilliant.

I think both will still be brilliant in the long term.

[CraftyToePoke]

Lots of random online talk linking him with a move to Nottingham Forest in the summer. Sounds a bit of a sideways move really, especially if Forest go down.

Was a lot of chatter about Leicester City enquiring about him in January too but Norwich wouldn't deal. Leicester went with Souttar from Stoke for about 15 million instead.

[pineapple stu]

Still benched by Norwich - hasn't started a game in nearly two months - but on before halftime due to injury to Grant Hanley

Might mean he gets a couple of starts to finish the season

[Eirambler]

Two Norwich centre backs gone off injured so he should get some decent game time now.

[pineapple stu]

Strangely, the Norwich forum is saying Omobamidele has the captain's armband now

[pineapple stu]

Starts and captains the side against Rotherham today. Idah still on the bench though. Ogbene and Coventry in the opposition line-up, with Kelly on the bench.