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Novak the Latest to Join the Clark Revolution
Lee Clark continued his preparations for the new season by tying up the signing of Lee Novak on a Bosman free transfer from his former club, Huddersfield Town. The 24-year-old will sign a three-year deal with Blues formally on July 1.
Novak becomes the fourth signing of the summer after Andrew Shinnie, Oliver Lee and Darren Randolph. Whilst none of them will cost Blues money in transfer fees, I have to say that I am fairly impressed with Blues’ transfer business so far. Clark evidently has done his homework and gone for his targets as quickly as possible to ensure Blues hit the ground running in pre-season.
Of course it helps that unlike last season, Blues are not under a transfer embargo. Last year Blues couldn’t even sign a Bosman player properly until July 4 due to the non-release of their accounts and as such had to move quickly in the couple of weeks between the lifting of the embargo and the start of pre-season, signing who they could. The uncertainty also meant that it was difficult to pick up players in the break, meaning that they undoubtedly missed out on targets that became available at the end of May last year. Blues pre-season is earlier than last season and because of that, Blues have a shorter time to get the squad together.
One thing that definitely pleases me is that all the signings we have made so far are in the right sort of age range – Novak is 24, Randolph 26, Shinnie 23 and Lee 21. One of the chief complaints about last season was the lack of players in the “prime of their careers”, with the majority who were available at times seemingly either rookie teenagers or senior pros in the 30+ bracket.
Furthermore, all the players have come to Blues looking to push on their careers – to improve on what they have already achieved and to maybe see if they can make another step upwards. In our current position we cannot complain if we’re a stepping stone to greater things and I’m of the belief that it will help the club in the short term if we can sign players cheaply who achieve and can be sold for larger sums.
It’s also evident we’re not looking on these shores – de Gelderlander reported yesterday that Blues recently looked at released NEC goalkeeper Kelle Roos. He enjoyed his trial at Blues but one would think with the signing of Darren Randolph coupled with Colin Doyle’s new contract that we won’t be pursuing the 20-year-old Dutchman any further.
I’ve said it before, but I am actually looking forwards to the new season. I don’t expect us to achieve anything but I have this inkling, this feeling in my gut that maybe it’ll be more enjoyable because I’m not expecting anything. If we get a bunch of young players who work hard and try their best, who play with pride and passion then right now I think that’s the most we can ask for. I’m almost excited to see who we bring in next.
Tags: Andrew Shinnie, Darren Randolph, Kelle Roos, Lee Clark, Lee Novak, Oliver Lee
56 Responses to “Novak the Latest to Join the Clark Revolution”
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al
love your positivity, but I think if we want blues to be the club we all remember, we need to take action and boycott the club to drive it into administration, to give money now only prolongs the agony.
Sorry Darren, I renewed my season ticket on Monday
Lead from the front dan- hopefully more will make that personal choice which in effect is in the best interest of the club-.. :-) so looking forward to this season because this is rise of the blue boys….kro
I couldn’t disagree more, do you actually realise the implications for the club and staff if we go into administration. What we need is for all true supporters to get behind the club and help the new young players that Clark is bringing in. I’m totally with Almajir, I have no great expectations for this season but I’m sure this young team will give their best every match. I urge all those that can afford it to renew or buy a season ticket.
Agreed John. Administration is just a word people use when talking about football clubs thinking it is an immediate remedy to a clubs problems. Administration is not necessarily a magic wand and it can be a very painful time for a club, it’s staff and fans. Many clubs have not ever really recovered from it. Be careful what you wish for…
Thats got to be the most dull negative first comment I have heard, shame on you, I have never been a Clarke lover but i take my hat off to him, I’m impressed with these signings, And yes it is actually bringing that excited feeling for the new season!!!
We really need to get Zigic off the wage bill its killing the club but I dont see anyone coming in for him. Love what he has done for us and thanks for the memories but you arnt worth the wage!
Forget Zigic its Pannu’s wages, expenses and fees that we need to be rid off.
What will be will be and it will work itself out in the end for that reason I will renew as
I look forward to watching the Blues whatever the circumstances.
Plus if I don’t go my son could get out of the habit and become a United or Chelsea fan like some of his school mates.
Signings and organisation from LC are encouraging
It still angers and puzzles me in equal measures why people from the MIdlands with no family connection would choose to “support” a London club. Baffling. What do they take away from the experiencing of not going to games, only watch on the tv and bragging saying that “we” won this or that trophy? It’s not like you’re a part of something. I believe they’re missing out on so many great shared experiences by not supporting their local / family club.
Thats as spot on as it gets!
Dan what I like what clark is doing is giving us more options. Sorry to say he also wants people he can depend on…….. gets this blend right just maybe we can achieve slightly more………clark wants success, we as fans want success, all we need is clark to find players who want success……. Not just warm up the bench……..
Anyone noticed the latest reason for not going doing the rounds?
‘To drive these people out’
There will always be an excuse for these people who just won’t admit they no longer have any interest
I am losing interest because of other fans trying to put me on a guilt trip.
Stay Positive, Pannu and Yeung will sell the club eventually but not going down in the interim just doesn’t make sense.
The more fans that are there, the more likely someone is to buy the club.
If he gets sent down for Money Laundering I don’t think he will have a choice
boring………
I agree that administration should be avoided at all costs. Why force the club down further? Even with admin there’s no guarantee of a decent new owner, or any new owner.
IMO English football is much of a muchness at present, apart from the top 6 in the Prem. If you can put together a team of hungry players, who will fight for the shirt, and get them organised, you’ve got a shout. The players should have some talent of course, but can you honestly say you saw an outstanding team or player in the Championship last season?
Hopefully the signs are good with our own youngsters, add a few hungry young & older players & you never know.
Totally agree. Administration should be avoided at all costs.
Fair point about a stand out championship team although Cardiff, Watford and Hull were excellent at times. One of the surprises for me was the two games against Ipswich. Granted we were awful in both but I think they’ll do well next year. I might have a punt on them to get promoted.
Totally in agreement. I to am strangely optimistic (and that is coming from a glass half empty person!) that just maybe we will surprise a few and do rather better than expected. Don’t forget we have 5 loans to add to the squad yet still. A bit of quality there with perhaps ferguson and Morrison back and who knows what can happen on the pitch?
A moderate improvement in our home form from last season and we could be pushing for a play off even? It will be tough tho. There will be some ‘big’ clubs in the division with decent managers. Lets hope we don’t need as many points to stay up first.
I was disappointed we couldn’t get 250k from somewhere tho to sign Caddis.
I think the point is go if you want to but if not, dont claim to be a fan. How can you be fanatical and then opt not to go? Besdies my comment I am bored of the same conversations.
In terms of signings, I am more than interested to see what loan options we will go for. I have said it before- I would like to see James Vaughan in on loan, who played with Novask last year.
Lets just qualify one thing here you don’t need to be season ticket holder to be a fan. There are many reasons people cant get to ALL the games. Anybody who has watched blues and follows them is a fan. In fact anyone posting on here is a fan I would think. Just some people seem to want to insist on claiming they are bigger fans than others which IMO is just juvenile.
Quality. I did chuckle reading that. Always good to stamp out the playground boasting :)
Absolutely right Evesham Blue,surely if people didn’t care they wouldn’t bother clicking on the name of their club or spending their time posting here about the latest going on.
Looks like a busy summer for Clark,lets hope he can get things right with the limited resources he has at his disposal & also bring out the best in last seasons flop signings & under performers.
well said Evesham
Evesham- when did I say non season ticket holders are not fans? I still believe that being a fan means you are fanatical and being someone who makes the whole effort to click a button is about as much of a fan as someone who watches a team on TV. I dont think any person is supperior to anyone else, but I do think people make all kinds of excuses not to go. Fair enough, but in many of those cases they are not supporting the club through think and thin. As for non-season ticket holders- I never said that, so please dont put words in my mouth.
I come from Evesham myself and used to spend an hour or so going to each game and then the same back. This does not make me more of a fan who lives next door- but how can a fan be one who does not bother going? There are many claiming not to go for all sorts of reasons- and I for one do not believe that a lot will be suddenly be flocking back once we have a new owner. They might if we are in a division higher. Is that a proper fan in your book?
Nicely put Pete………
Darren you couldn’t be more wrong. The only people who suffer if you boycott the club will be the club staff who lose their jobs and the local suppliers who find their orders from the club drying up.
I don’t often agree with Paul Carter, but in this case he’s right. If you don’t want to go, or can’t afford to, or are not able to then fine but don’t encourage other people not to go. This isn’t Tesco. Falling sales will not result in a change on teh board of Birmingham City
I am genuinely excited for this new season. I think we’ve made some excellent moves for players already and there is a plethora of free players out there just waiting to be plucked. With blues beating other teams to these players signatures it just feels like clark has told them look we might be in a difficult situation now but good things are on the horizon. We’ve gone from the dads army to the brat pack and with these hungry llayers and younger bluenoses eager to prove themselves i cant wsit to see what we can achieve. Lee has had his taste of the championship bitter at times but hes done well and now knows what is expected in this division and with a young gelled team and the right tactics i see no reason why we wont be competing at the top this season. Lets get behind the team and show them who we are. Exciting times plus the new kits are always something to look forward to lol. KRO
Been a while since I posted, what`s the general view on Lee Clark these days?. The main reason for my post was to offer a Town Fan`s view on Novak so here goes!.
First of all, he goes with our thanks and best wishes, he is a cracking Lad and I am pleased for him that he has secured a three-year contract at a Club the size and stature of Birmingham City, I am also rather surprised……………..
Novak has been an excellent servant and a great signing for us, if every Player we had played with the same passion and effort then we would be Premier League Champions by now!, you always get 100% and your Fans I am sure will see and appreciate that.
He has not scored that many goals for us, however, the goals he does score are often important and indeed memorable in terms of quality. It is also fair to say that he has never really had a decent run in the side, playing a `bit-part` role for us in the main and deserves a decent run in a side and a chance to settle in to playing week in week out in a settles Team.
He played for us on the wing and up more so up front and personally, I see him as a front Man. he is taller than you think and can head a ball as well as being good with his feet.
The ongoing dabate all last season with Town Fans was, is he good enough for the Championship? and it really was a 50/50 split, well maybe slightly more of the view that he wasn`t. An extremely good League 1 Player, definitely, a good Championship player?, the jury is probably still out, however, appearances towards the end of the season were better than earlier in the season and to be fair he looked good at the end of the season.
I was in the camp of not thinking he is good enough to take Town forward and am still of that view so was not disappointed to see him go from purely a playing perspective. As a lad, I am disappointed to see him go and we could do with a few more that have his heart and attitude.
Will he do a job for you?, you know, he just might if he is given a chance of a run in the side. I cannot see him getting you 20 goals, however, he will I am sure get 10 – 15 and needs to play alongside a real proven 25 goals+ a season Man and you might just have `unearthed` more talent than we have been able to get from him at this level.
I for one wish him all the best and hope he proves to be a resounding success for you.
I hope this post proves to be of interest!.
Nice to see some positive comments towards an outgoing player.
Thank you :)
HT Fan,
Just out of interest what were Novak’s performances like when playing under Lee Clark?
A lot of strikers need games and confidence and just hope Clark’s confidence in him will result in him raising his game
Lee Clark`s management here was akin to a `bingo hall`, he had that many Players at his disposal, he put the names in that ball thing they use at bingo halls and pulled numbers out. If your number came out, you Played (and if you made one mistake, you were banished out on loan, talk about petulant management and stifling Player confidence as they were all shit scared to make a mistake). Clark was notorious for never playing a settled side and signed for us a quite unbelievable 44 (fourty four) Players in less than three years (including loan signings).
Novak was no exception, he was used as a bit part Player, however, he `played` for Clark and clearly there is a relationship there (no doubt the North east connection so you have no problems there). Novak was not first choice for Clark at league 1 level this my surprise at him signing him at Championship level. If anybody though can get the best out of him I believe Clark can which can only be a good thing as he is a good Player.
Re Clark, I think you have got a better manager than we ever saw, I was absolutely delirious with joy when we got rid of him. Think he made most of his mistakes with us and you Guys are feeling the benefit of that experience as I thought he did really well for you last season.
Thanks for your honest imput, Huddersfield fan;,
All we can ask for really, is an honest hard working 2nd striker, — 10 to 15, goals from him will do, !!.
Novak. No where near good enough at championship level. Had numerous opportunities when Vaughan and Beckford were injured but never took them. No pace, always offside and not a great record on 1 v 1’s. On the plus note, a smashing guy, 100% effort every game, will run through brick walls for you but is that enough ? Great L1 striker, but found out at this level
You may be right, but can I just remind you that the Spurs Fans three years ago were slagging Bale off as useless..Would you turn him down now ?
Hi Chas, apples and oranges I think. I think LC will do a good job again next season, and he seems to be doing OK with no money. I think it may make a proper manager out of him, as give him money and he’s like a spoilt kid. Clueless. LN will get a tremendous reception when he comes back with Blues but I don’t think he’s a massive loss for us, but as a second striker he may do a job. I’ll stick my neck out and say an 8 goal season for him, and I wish him and BCFC good luck next season
Totally agree Dan, I’m looking forward to the rest of our new squad coming in and indeed the new season. It makes a change not to have any great expectations, maybe the team will play better without any massive pressure to go up.
Can only hope some of our fans are patient enough to give LC and the team a chance, sadly last season to many couldn’t wait to complain.
KRO
There are some very interesting comments shown about the recent signings and also the commitment to the Blues.
I agree that some of us cannot get to many games in a season, be it because of work commitments, cost or other reasons.
For myself I am contracted to work here in Kazakhstan for the next 2 years, and only get back to Birmingham for 4 weeks in a year, but I go down to Stans at every opportunity, usually only twice for home games.
Blues will do well next year, no one really expected too much last season, but it is a case of next year consolidating, educating the younger players to exceed expectations and to believe that they have the ability to excel beyond expectations, and if the true fans get behind the team, then despite the handicap of the present board and it’s legal wrangles (Yeung will be guilty) the traditional song of the Blues will be loud and clear; Keep Right on to the End of the Road. So to all you Blues fans wherever you are, keep the faith, we have been in almost worse positions with money, but the mighty Blues will keep coming back.
Lets get real here Novak is 24 and scored a grant total of 3 correction 4 goals last season ,hes not going to help at all he tries but lacks quality.
I said last night and I repeat it I would have preffered Kim Novak
As I commented on a previous thread:
Lee Novak career:
Newcastle Blue Star: 47 games… 29 goals
Gateshead: 18 games… 16 goals
Huddersfield: 144 games… 34 goals
Gateshead (loan) 14 games… 10 goals.
He didn’t score that many last season because he was used sparingly. Lee Clark has worked with the player before, so I trust his judgement.
Tony, you are getting as bad as your mate.Give it a bit of a rest, you are not going to change anyone’s opinion, so stop trying to make yourself look clever.
Renewed. Without question or doubt. I am a supporter. Positive things are hapening and will continue to happen. Get behind the team.
what the hell do some off you so called supporters expect.
weve no money to spend and lee goes out and gets shinnie
amd novak who buy the way will prove a lot off you wromg
by being off champiomship quality. get real and stop slagging
every new signing clark makes.
were not off the 2003/4/5 mould we all no that but as i said
yesterday give the manager and is young side a bloody chance
for gods sake.
if you dont like what lees doing without any budget dont bother
renewing your season ticket and stay well away ok.KRO.
Good post!
well i for one will be renewing my season ticket and bringing along my under 10 daughter to inject the next generation of bluenose into my blood family. LC will do fine and i for one will be supporting my team as i have done for 40 years thro thick and thin see you all in August. (and prob July at some friendlies)
i will be there in july and august and for the rest off the season 71.
KRO.
Can afford to renew my season ticket this year, so will be doing that!
Just an idea LC, if we could bring in a strong holding cm, play him alongside Shinnie and Morrison (if we can get him back on loan). Then Redmond and Burke on the wings with Novak upfront. That sounds like a great attacking side to me.
We got Novak. We got Novak. Our carpets are dirty because we got Novak.
Great chant – not mine though.
I think he’ll be quite decent. I hear he is pretty creative and his unselfish work is the main reason his strike partner scores plenty.
looks like king and novak could be prolific dont you thimk?
KRO.
Full of optimism for next season.
Good to see we are doing the business early doors.
Lee has his chance to create a team in his own image.
He deserves his chance in my opinion.
A lesser man would have walked by now for sure.
I take your conments on board however the point you are all missing is Carson will hold onto this club until someone gives him his 80 m back. Administration would force a transfer of ownership which can’t be any worse than the lack of money we have now. The club will be bled dry for years to come. The trial will go on for years too
A mate of mine saw Novak play for Gateshead and said he would one day play for Blues.
Not sure how on Earth his guess came off, but it’s good to see it come off and for Blues to grab another player with something to prove. DJ Campbell plotted a similar course from non-league to an established league club to Blues – I’m sure people doubted him at the time, but he didn’t do too badly at this level.
I too am impressed withe the recent signings, but think there should be a note of caution about Novak. His goal scoring record in the in League and below was pretty good, but last season in the Championship he did find it a bit harder going. Hopefully the experience of a season the the Championship has battle hardened him.
Glad to see my opinion of Clark confirmed by a Huddersfield supporter ,akin to a bingo hall I think he said. Well I have been saying that all season.
Thats why they call me seldom wrong tony
You jumped on one opinion from hudderfield fan……..you make me laugh. ……tony
Almajir,
I have changed my tune somewhat; whilst I see the first few games of the new season being not to successful I have a feeling in my water that once “bedded in” we will press on and could finish in the top 6.
Here’s hoping.
Goody