And, in many ways, that's the $64 million question facing the Canaries as they gear up for the start of the 2008-2009 Championship campaign.

Here we go again, but is it really going to be like it was before?

Can we expect anything different from the Norfolk side this season after Glenn Roeder's furious summer in the transfer market?

And, I have to say, right now I think the answer might be 'Yes..!'
While the club may have seen Peter Cullum's billions disappear over the horizon – along with Darren Huckerby – there is, nevertheless, a better-than-average sense of expectation following City into battle at the Ricoh tomorrow.

Because among the dozen or so new faces that will be wearing the Canary Yellow once this summer's transfer window slams shut, there will be at least three who aren't too much like anything that we've seen before.

Arturo Lupoli, Wes Hoolahan and 'OJ' – Omar Koroma – stand out from the usual Championship crowd in that all three have that little bit extra to their game.

Lupoli doesn't get to Arsenal as a 17-year-old without being a bit special; Hoolahan has looked a bit special every time I have seen him play; likewise with 'OJ' - you aren't prised out of Gambia, married and signed up on a two-year deal by old Harry Redknapp if you're not a bit special.

How match-fit Lupoli and OJ are is a big question; how long it will take for this particular Canary squad to gel together is another big question; who is still to fill that big striker role is a third.

So for all the welcome transfer activity that this summer has brought, for now at least there are as many questions as there are potential answers.

But at least Roeder has potential answers up his sleeve – not gaping holes.

Dejan Stefanovic and the two on-loan full-backs add more potential answers to Norwich's traditional defensive frailties.

But how long it is going to take before the Class of 08-09 clicks into meaningful gear?

The best teams tend to be those that have grown together through a period of evolution; and that's the one thing that is missing from City's locker this summer.

So buckle up for another long and tortuous ride; and if it means a shaky start before a strong finish, then so be it...

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