Sammy Clingan (Nottm Forest)
Wes Hoolahan (Blackpool)
Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea) - LOAN TO 1st JANUARY
Dejan Stefanovic (Fulham)
Elliot Omozusi (Fulham) - SEASON LONG LOAN

Norwich got off to a start almost as bad as our last time out with just nine points from the opening sixteen games. That saw the end of Peter Grant as manager and former QPR defender Glen Roeder took over.

Roeder had an instant impact getting the players to believe in themselves and added some quality on loan.

The likes of Huckerby, Dublin and Cureton began to shine along with youngsters on loan such as Ched Evans. They went on a run of one defeat in fifteen games and that pushed them from bottom three to the brink of the top six by mid January.

Roeder continued to add in some quality loan players such as Kierra Gibbs from Arsenal but just as they looked safe they took their foot off the gas and were sucked into trouble in the final few weeks before a thrashing against QPR secured them in the Championship for another year.

Norwich are one of the un fancied sides this season but Glenn Roeder has quietly gone about rebuilding his squad which is starting to look the part.

They have lost the creativity of Darren Huckerby out wide but in Wes Hoolahan they had a more than capable replacement who may well be the signing of the summer at just £250,000.

Roeder has firepower in his side with Jamie Cureton a more than capable goal scorer and some really good young talent in midfield.
It is at the back where they struggle with Gary Doherty still somehow earning a wage as a professional footballer.

Roeder has looked to shore up the back with the signing of Stefanovic from Fulham and has once again used the loan system to bring in promising defenders from the premiership.

Roeder's relationship with the likes of Arsene Wenger could prove useful again and his shrewd dealings in the loan market will be crucial for them.

I think they'll do well this year and comfortably finish in the top half but at the moment I think they lack the quality especially at the back to push for the playoffs.

PREDICTION: 10th in the Championship

I asked Norwich fans on an unofficial message board for their thoughts on the new season and here is what they had to say.

How do you think Norwich will fare this season?

I think we'll build on last year and be a top half side possibly playoffs if we get investment

Who are your players to watch out for?

Mark Fotheringham and Jon Ostemobor

Is your Manager the right man for the job?

Yes, he has a good eye for players and good contacts with Premiership clubs which helped us get some quality in last season

Which three teams will be promoted this season?

Birmingham, Sheffield United and QPR

Which teams will be relegated?

Southampton, Plymouth and Blackpool

How do you think QPR will fare this season?

Promoted in the playoffs

Jamie Cureton was top scorer for Norwich last season and he had a disappointing spell at QPR a few years back. He arrived with a grand fanfare as fans pledged money so the club could buy him and raised the £50,000 transfer fee with such events as a sponsored walk to Brentford.

Cureton repaid that with two very late goals to win us a game against Port Vale but he played a small part for the rest of the season as Furlong and Gallen got the goals which won us promotion. He had a poor first full season with the highlight being a hat trick against Coventry and the low a red card against his old club Reading.

Cureton left the club on a free transfer to Swindon but has done well since scoring plenty of goals for Colchester and now Norwich.

Zesh Rehmann may now be on loan at Blackpool but earlier in his career he was giving Norwich fans heart failure with his defending back in 2006.

Norwich manager Glenn Roeder is of course a former QPR player. Roeder was captain of the 1982 side which got the FA Cup final. Roeder missed the replay of that game due to a red card he received towards the end of the season.

Since this web site started we've met nine times and only been on the winning side three times.

The first win came in the 1998/99 season when Gavin Peacock and Paul Murray scored two excellent goals to avenge the defeat at Carrow Road. That defeat at Carrow Road was an exciting game which was 3-2 to the hone side before the half an hour mark. A Craig Bellamy hat trick proved to much for us in the end.

The following season Norwich ran out winners again at Carrow Road in the annual Boxing Day fixture. The match was over shadowed though by a spitting incident as a Norwich player spits at a QPR fan and Richard Langley got sent off in the last few minutes. The return game was better for Rangers a 2-2 draw with Chris Kiwomya scoring twice.

Our relegation season in Division one saw Norwich do the double over us. Caretaker manager Nigel Worthington brought his side to Loftus Road hoping to make his job permanent. Rangers played well and led 2-1 at half time thanks to Wardley and Carlisle but as usual we threw it away after the break and lost 3-2. The return game a few weeks later was pretty uneventful and Norwich, surprise surprise, won 1-0.

Rangers thrashed Norwich at home in the 2005/06 with three goals in the first half. Marc Nygaard, Paul Furlong and Georges Santos got the goals and in the end it could and should have been a bigger scoreline.

The away game was very frustrating. With Rangers on a poor run we shocked Norwich and ourselves by going 2-0 up thanks to quality goals from Ainsworth and Cook. We were well in command and unlucky not to add a third goal before the defence fell apart and we let in three goals in the last ten minutes to go home with nothing.

In 2006 under John Gregory we saw a thriller at Loftus Road. Rangers went ahead through Jimmy Smith before being pegged back. Martin Rowlands gave us th elead before Dion Dublin got his annual goal against us and we fell behind 3-2 before a late Rowlands goal earned us a point.

The return game was dire as Dublin scored again and most fans wondered why they bothered going.

Last season Rangers were without a win when the two sides met in October and under Mick Harford we saw home debuts for Rowan Vine and Martin Cranie. It was a tough and at times dull match but a Martin Rowlands penalty won it for Rangers in one of Peter Grant's last games in charge.

The return game was one to forget for Rangers. Damion Stewart was sent off after five minutes which left us in trouble and we went on to lose 3-0.

Click on the match for a report of the game from this web site.