JIMMY RAISES THE BAR!

Canaries unveil big gun signing to rile up rivals

HIGH-PROFILE arrival Sylvan Ebanks-Blake says he has been impressed with his new manager and teammates after beginning life at Southern League Central Premier side Barwell this week.

The 32-year-old hitman made his debut for the Canaries in a 2-1 victory against Banbury United on Tuesday night amidst a wave of social media interest.

Ebanks-Blake made over 200 appearances for Wolves – 76 of those in the Premier League – while also turning out for the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town and Chesterfield.

A brief foray in NonLeague brought brief spells at AFC Telford United and Halesowen Town, but now Ebanks-Blake has been picking out by Canaries boss Jimmy Ginnelly as the man to spearhead a play-off challenge.

This Saturday, the highprofile front man will lead the Barwell attack in a crunch local derby against Premier Central high-fliers Coalville Town in the FA Trophy and the former Manchester United Academy star can’t wait to get going.

“I’m delighted to sign for the club,” Ebanks-Blake told the club’s website. “I spoke to the manager yesterday and he convinced me to come down.

“He knows a couple of good friends of mine and he just said ‘come in and play’ so I made the decision to come in and play tonight, and we got a good result.

Hurdles

“We’ve got lads here who can handle the football, get the ball on the floor and play the right way. We’ve come from behind today and showed real character. I know there’s a lot of injuries, that’s what I was told when I came through the door, but we’ve got some good players and some good squad depth there.” Ebanks-Blake’s arrival brought a timely sense of relief for Ginnelly, who has somehow kept the Canaries knocking on the door of the play-off places despite being forced to use over 30 players already this term through injury, international clearances and non-availability.

But the Barwell boss admits that a clash against big rivals Coalville, currently lying second in the division and just 10 miles down the road, wasn’t exactly ideal at this time.

“We’ve had a lot of hurdles to overcome, so I’m delighted to still be hanging on the coattails,” Ginnelly said.

“We could have done without a game of this magnitude though at this stage, to be honest. Coalville spent a lot of money to put a good side together and it’s going to be tough. We know each other very well, their management team, Adam Stevens and Danny Martin, are good mates of mine, so it will be an intriguing matchup, but we’ll go in a massive underdogs.

“Bringing Sylvan in has given everyone a massive lift. He’s a good character to have around, a down-toearth fella and with his experience in the dressing room, he’s a massive player for me now.

“He wants minutes more than money and hopefully he can inspire us to help put one over our rivals and give the fans something to cheer.”