Has Marc Tierney Overtaken Wes Hoolahan as Norwich City’s Most Important Player?

Before this season started Norwich City supporters probably regarded Wes Hoolahan as the club's most talented and best player. Certain other players in the Norwich City squad were not deemed good enough for the Premier League. However, several players in the Norwich City squad have proved themselves to be more than good enough to star in the Premier League.

One of those players in Norwich left-back Marc Tierney. So far this season, Tierney has started every game in the Premier League. Therefore, as far as Paul Lambert is concerned he is a very important part of the team. Obvious the main reason he has started every game is his consistency of performance.

Tierney offers the perfect blend of defensive stability and attacking threat. Both of these qualities have been seen in abundance so far this season. There is certainly a connection between opposing attacking right wingers ineffectiveness and Tierney's performance. However, when the opportunities present themselves Tierney also gets forward down the left hand side. This brilliant play was demonstrated against Sunderland, When Tierney crossed for Steve Morison to hit the winning goal.

Tierney is certainly an early contender for player of the season and is quickly making himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet. Tierney has recently been linked with a possible international career. This is likely to be with the Republic of Ireland, but if Tierney keeps performing at his current level then England may well be interested. England may want to monitor the situation very carefully, because if he plays a competitive international for Ireland then he would no longer be eligible to play for England.

Wes Hoolahan is clearly a very talented player and Norwich City fans enjoy watching him. However, he is not necessarily the man for all occasions. Already this season, Paul Lambert has chosen to leave the Irishman out on occasion. This is, of course, in contrast to Marc Tierney that now appears to be an automatic starter when fit.

Paul Lambert is certainly learning quickly in the Premier League and he will certainly be pleased to see how well Tierney has adapted to playing at this level. Tierney's performances this season makes the manager's decision to play him an easy one. If Norwich survives in the Premier League then the supporters may very well believe that Marc Tierney has played a bigger part than Wes Hoolahan.

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