Norwich V Bournemouth at Carrow Road: Match Preview

11 September 2015 13:31
Norwich V Bournemouth - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.

Alex Neil wants everyone to draw a line under Lewis Grabban issue

Norwich manager Alex Neil will offer Lewis Grabban a clean slate after the striker returned to training following a club suspension for walking out on the team.

Grabban was reprimanded after he left the squad hotel ahead of the Capital One Cup match at Rotherham last month, the 27-year-old reportedly unhappy at Norwich rejecting three bids from former club Bournemouth.

The player issued a public apology late on Thursday night, declaring his determination to "train hard, let my football do the talking and to do everything I can to help Norwich City do well."

While Grabban - signed from Bournemouth in the summer of 2014, helping the Canaries win promotion via the play-offs - will not feature in the squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League match against his old club at Carrow Road, Neil hopes everyone can now put the matter behind them.

"Lewis broke the rules and he has been punished. He accepted that he has done wrong and has paid the consequences of that," said Neil.

"At the moment he is training to get his match fitness up, and will continue to pay his dues until he works his way back into the squad, so as far as I am concerned, the matter is pretty much done."

Neil agrees with Cherries boss Eddie Howe there should be no reason for any animosity between the two newly-promoted clubs when they go head to head on Saturday.

He said: "Eddie is the manager of Bournemouth and I am the manager of Norwich, we both will want to go and win the game, but there are certainly no hard feelings between the clubs, football is business."

Norwich brought in Congo forward Dieumerci Mbokani on loan from Dynamo Kiev ahead of the transfer deadline.

"He has looked good in training, is big and strong and offers us something different from what we have got, so I am hoping he will be a useful addition to what we have got," said Neil, who suggested the 29-year-old would probably be among the substitutes.

Norwich forward Kyle Lafferty impressed during the international break, scoring for Northern Ireland as they closed in on qualification for Euro 2016.

The 27-year-old, who spent time on loan at Turkish side Rizespor last season, has yet to feature for Norwich this season following recovery from a knee problem.

Neil said: "It is good that he has got minutes under his belt and Kyle is the same as any other player, he trains with the first team squad on a regular basis and puts himself into contention."

Howe has revealed his confidence that new signing Glenn Murray can inspire Bournemouth to Premier League safety.

The B#4million Bournemouth striker was recruited from Crystal Palace towards the end of the transfer window after a summer-long pursuit.

Alongside the promising Callum Wilson, presently the highest English goalscorer in the division, Murray is considered capable of scoring the goals that Bournemouth have deserved in previous Premier League fixtures but that have so far eluded them, and Howe believes that the striker will prove exactly what they have required.

"Glenn has a proven track record of scoring goals in the Premier League, is an experienced striker and has been there and done it," Howe said.

"He also gives us a slightly different dimension to our play. He is a predator but also scores goals from crosses which is something we have been missing.

"Every striker's brought in to try and chip in with goals. It's not the be-all-and-end-all, as long as they're contributing to the team, but it is a big part of what their job is.

"If you look at his track record, it's very impressive. His goalscoring return to games [played], he's managed to step up with every challenge that's been placed upon him, and reacted positively to that, and I think he'll fit in well to what we do here.

"Any striker, you're hoping can have a real impact on our season. I believe we've got really good attacking options. When you look at the strikers, they're all slightly different, they've all got their strengths and the areas they can help us; most of them are fully integrated into how we work.

"Obviously we're going to get Glenn used to our way of working and used to our way of playing, but I'm excited to see them all play together.

"It's [a transfer] we've chased for the majority of the summer so to finally get it over the line was very pleasing."

Source: PAR