In a League One Summer Transfer Window dominated by the financial might of Birmingham City, perhaps one of the underrated deals made was to bring Ollie Norwood to Stockport County.
A two-time promotion winner with Sheffield United, the 33-year-old found himself quickly out of favour at Bramall Lane with the sacking of Paul Heckingbottom leading to a return for Chris Wilder. Under the South Yorkshire native, Norwood only made four appearances as The Blades were condemned to relegation from the Premier League.
Finding himself without a club, the former Huddersfield Town man quickly went on trial with Stockport County and shortly after found himself a permanent player at Edgeley Park. In an interview with Sky Sports’ Dan Long, the Northern Irish international discussed what drew him to make the switch to The Hatters. He said: “The security of a three-year deal is one thing, but there are other factors: I live locally and I’ve got a young family who I’ve dragged around the country in the past, so it’s about settling down,” he says.
“The biggest factor for me – and I genuinely mean this – is the ambition of the owner, where he sees the football club going in and what he wants to achieve.
“I’ve really enjoyed being back in an environment with a team. It’s really exciting as a senior player to come in and help. Hopefully, I can do my bit, pass on little bits of knowledge and we can all be successful together.
“This is a team that wants to kick on and isn’t happy just staying in the league without ambition.”
The reigning League Two champions have done just that, with Dave Challinor’s side placed sixth after nine games and have only lost once this season to Leyton Orient. Norwood has appeared seven times since joining in August, already eclipsing the number of minutes he got under Wilder in Sheffield.
After three starts in his first three games at the club, he has since slipped into more of a rotational position within the squad, being an unused substitute in County’s most recent game against Greater Manchester rivals Wigan Athletic. They face Charlton Athletic in their next game, who finally brought down the juggernaut in Birmingham at The Valley last time out.
Norwood also praised the culture around the club, adding: “The way we play, the way we set-up and the details that are given to the players is at as high a level as anything I’ve been involved with,” Norwood continues.
“We’re doing everything right, it’s just a case of finding that balance – not getting too carried away when we win and when we lose, asking where we can be better.
“That means nit-picking at times, but it’s got to be like that to drive the standards. To get where we want to get to, everybody’s got to be all in.”
Writer’s View
It was sad to see the way Oliver Norwood’s career at Sheffield United came to a close. He is rightfully a well-regarded figure in the red half of the Steel City so for him to be frozen out at a critical time like the relegation battle last season would have hurt. He is now at Stockport County, a club firmly on the rise and are already exceeding expectations since their ascent into League One. They have already proven themselves to be a force and are deservedly in the play-off places at this formative stage of the season.
He is a high-quality player but has maybe not had as many minutes as expected from a player dropping down a division to play. However, it is a real testament to the quality Dave Challinor has at his disposal, with Will Collar, Callum Camps, Nick Powell and Lewis Bate also being capable of competing at the top of this league. Injuries will play a big part naturally so it is certain that Norwood will continue to rack up appearances in the future and with two more years on his deal is likely to continue to do so no matter what league The Hatters find themselves in.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
