Happy shopper - how Paul Lambert is way ahead of Nigel Worthington in the summer sales

Paul Lambert has been the second busiest Premier League manager this summer making five permanent signings and one on loan since the end of last season.
It’s in sharp contrast both to the other promoted duo of Swansea and QPR who have made just two signings between them (both Swansea) and to the summer of 2004 when Norwich City fans last went on their summer holidays with a Premier League season in front of them.
By July 11, 2004, with Greece’s recent Euro 2004 victory fresh in the memory, Nigel Worthington had made just two signings, grabbing David Bentley on a season long loan from Arsenal on June 3 and signing Youseff Safri (pictured) from Coventry in a £500,000 deal on June 24.
By contrast between May 27 and today, Paul Lambert has snapped up James Vaughan, Steve Morison, Elliott Bennett, Bradley Johnson and Anthony Pilkington, plus signed Ritchie De Laet on a season-long loan.
So we’ve got four more players already in place than the summer of 2004 and only Sunderland’s Steve Bruce has been busier, signing nine players so far.
Five Premier League clubs, Chelsea, QPR, Everton, Stoke and Aston Villa have yet to sign anyone and three further clubs, Tottenham, Bolton and Blackburn have each signed one player yet not spent any cash. Norwich have signed more players on their own than half the teams in the Premier League!
Whether this makes us better prepared for the forthcoming campaign is anybody’s guess, but Paul Lambert has certainly done just what he did last term and got in and out with his business early.
The signings he’s made so far certainly look great players for the future, though there is still plenty of time for him to sign more players, and perhaps, like Nigel Worthington, they’ll be players with more experience.
Wednesday will be the seventh anniversary of the £250,000 signing of Simon Charlton from Bolton who was soon followed into Carrow Road by veteran Dane Thomas Helveg who signed on a free from Inter on July 22.
Mattias Jonsson signed from Brondby on August 5 2004 and with the season already underway, Worthington made Gary Doherty his last summer signing, snapping up the then 24 year-old from Tottenham on August 20.
With 51 days until the transfer deadline closes, it’s clear that Lambert is way ahead of Worthington in the transfer market as he attempts to do what Worthy couldn’t do and keep Norwich in the top flight for two successive seasons.