A look back over the season with an early look to the season ahead.

There's no doubting that this season was a real roller-coaster for City fans, we started with the permanent appointment of Neil Adams (despite having ZERO experience and almost deliberately trying to get us relegated whilst showing the board he could play for a draw against the likes of Chelsea when a win was needed), this lead to an opening day defeat against Wolves, followed by a strong run of results which saw us win 6 and draw 2 out of an 8 game run of form. However, this run of form couldn't continue and in fact abruptly ended with a poor 1-0 home defeat against Charlton and then dragged on for a 10 game period where we managed a single win and 4 draws.

There was another short upturn in form in December, with us winning 3 out of 4 games (including 5-0 and 6-1 results against Huddersfield and Millwall), only for this to be halted again with a home defeat against Reading just before the new year.

It was at this point that rumours began stating that the NCFC board were becoming very uneasy at Adams tenure and our somewhat worrying league position at the time, and thus before the inevitable axe could fall, Adams did the honourable thing and fell onto his own sword and resigned on the 5^th of Jan.

Rumours then abounded about who would be chosen as his replacement, names from across Europe, the UK leagues and even the unemployment centres were touted around, and then from seemingly out of nowhere the club appointed the relatively unknown Alex Neil from Hamilton Academicals, a 33 year old former Barnsley player with just 2 years experience under his belt as a manager!

I was sceptical at first, in fact I was downright rude at times in regards to the appointment (something I soon came to regret), and in truth I couldn't have got it more wrong.

Neil's appointment galvanised a squad that should have been challenging for one of the automatic promotion slots instead of dithering around in mid-table, into a side that looked capable of beating ANY team in the league when on song, and thus began an outstanding run of results where we lost just THREE games out of the next 25, culminating in a 3^rd place finish and victory in the play-off final against Boro. (Special mention should also go to stuffing Ipswich in the play-off semi-final, which I'm sure delighted their fans just as much as it did ours!).

It was a truly outstanding turnaround that Neil accomplished, and indeed many felt that he was just as worthy (if not more so) of winning the LMA manager of the year instead of Eddie Howe, certainly if we were to just base it on win %, then Neil would probably be rated as one of the best managers in Europe (if not the world), with an incredible 68% win rate since taking the helm at Norwich.

But as impressive as Neil's achievement has been, the work now has to start on the season to come. A return back to the Premier League's riches and crazy money means that squad improvement is going to be essential, and we cannot afford to have another high profile failure like we did last time with the signing of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (who I still rate as a good player who was badly misused by Chris Hughton).

Notable departures include back left back Javier Garrido, 3^rd choice Goalkeeper Mark Bunn, veteran centre half Carlos Cuellar and 'pinemaster' Luciano Becchio. In all honesty, the only player we're likely to miss from those released is Garrido, as he offered unspectacular cover for Martin Olsson in the LB position, and the question here is whether Alex Neil is in the market for a new player in the position (I like the look of either Baba Abdul Rahman from Augsburg, or Arthur Masuaka from Olympiacos) or if he's going to show faith in young Harry Toffolo who's impressed for both the U21 team and whilst on loan at Swindon.

Indeed, it's not just the left back position that's come under scrutiny from fans, as over the season question marks have been raised about the ability of both Russell Martin as a centre back and Steven Whittaker in the right back position. It could certainly be argued that these concerns are somewhat strange considering that we finished with the 3^rd best defensive record in the league, yet I also share some of these concerns having seen some of the individual errors and mistakes that the players may get away with in the championship, that they won't in the Premier League.

Tottenham's young USA starlet DeAndre Yedlin is one of the main names linked with the RB position currently held by Whittaker, and this would certainly give us great competition in the slot as well as offering us incredible pace down that side.

In the middle of defence however, far less names are floating around, and although most fans would agree that a strong, ball playing centre back should be one of the main targets on Neil's shopping list, and whilst there are good young players out there like Niklas Sule, Terence Kongolo and Jonathan Tah, it's likely that experience will be preferable, with suggestions like Younes Kaboul being high on many supporters own suggestion lists.

We have already made two signings so far, by spending 4 million to make Graham Dorrans loan move permanent, and we've also signed his West Brom teammate Youssouf Mulumbu on a free transfer. I think both represent excellent value for money and undoubtedly improve our squad depth in the middle of the park, indeed Mulumbu will offer much needed cover and competition for Alex Tettey who has been one of our stand out players for the past couple of years, but who has struggled with injuries on occasion.

With Jonny Howson, Gary O'Neil and the fully fit again Vadis Odidja-Ofoe, the centre of the pitch looks relatively well covered, but sadly this isn't so much the case when moving out wide.

Clearly the key player here is England U21 superstar Nathan Redmond, who's continued improvement and superb performances for both club and country are likely to have one of the bigger names in football come knocking sooner rather than later. Indeed should Raheem Sterling leave Liverpool to join Man City, early rumours suggest that a 15-20 million pound bid from Liverpool would likely be forthcoming for Redmond's signature – a move that we seriously don't want to happen.

All this waxing lyrical about Redmond however shouldn't overshadow the player who quite rightly won this years Player of the Season – Bradley Johnson. Make no mistake, I've slated Johnson's passing accuracy and technical attributes ever since he signed for the club (whilst respecting his work rate, desire and attitude), but his movement out towards the left hand side combined with vastly improved shooting accuracy has made Johnson almost undroppable for us, and indeed his 15 goal haul from midfield is one of the key factors of our immediate premiership return, and full credit has to be given to the guy for this.

The problem comes when one of these two wide players becomes injured/suspended, leaving us looking VERY thin on the ground with replacements. Former Brighton winger Elliot Bennett has managed just a handful of games in the last 2 years due to injury and being out of favour, the young Murphy brothers whilst possessing clear potential are simply not ready for premier league football in my honest opinion, and Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty has never convinced in a wing role and is likely to be moved on anyway in the next month or so.

Reports linking Swansea's Nathan Dyer with a move east look to be little more than idle gossip at this stage, and despite my own personal preference, I have to admit that it's doubtful that Man Utd will allow us to bring Adnan Januzaj in on anything but a loan (if at all), yet surely this would solve much of the wing issues, with the player being comfortable on both wings as well as having the potential to provide cover in a more traditional no 10 position for the gracefully ageing Wes Hoolahan.

Alex Neil's own signing from former side Hamilton, Tony Andreu has failed to convince at all in the limited minutes he's played, but at the minute he appears to be off the pace and not physically strong enough to cope with the level he's moved to, but there's still plenty of time for this to change going forwards.

Speaking of forwards, this is the position that I think EVERY fan is concerned about.

Cameron Jerome is moving back into the prem after his best ever goalscoring season, yet it's not unreasonable to question his ability to maintain his excellent form, having previously failed to do so when playing at that level for Stoke, Birmingham and Crystal Palace. I think we've seen the player that Stoke and Birmingham fans knew was in there, but couldn't seem to consistently appear, and if Alex Neil can keep Jerome focused and scoring, it looks like one of the bargain signings of the season (something to thank Neil Adams for I guess...)

Beyond this you have the unknown quantity of Lewis Grabban at this level, and seeing as how I question his finishing ability at a lower level, I have serious concerns about what he can do in the prem. Indeed I can easily see Grabban becoming the new Simeon Jackson – great effort, great work rate, but not enough goals or quality to justify a regular place.

We also have a different option available in Gary Hooper, a player with clear finishing ability and good movement, but who simply doesn't fit into the target man role that Neil likes to play ahead of a midfield 5. Whilst there may be some merit in suggesting a more withdrawn role playing off Jerome or Grabban, it's clear that a front two is something that Alex Neil doesn't favour unless we're chasing a game near the end, when it could be 2, 3 or even 4 upfront!

I've also got to address the elephant in the room, and that's record signing Ricky Van Wolfsinkel. Loaned out to St. Etienne for the season with a view to a permanent move afterwards, the 'Wolf' has failed to impress his French suitors and returns to Carrow Road uncertain of what the future holds. Talk has been mentioned of a return to Sporting Lisbon – the club we signed him from and where his best goalscoring years were found, and indeed this would seem a sensible move for the player, to return to a club where he knows he can score and where the fans still love him. Personally I'd like to see what he can do under a manager that isn't trying to play him in completely the wrong way in an utterly negative, defensive fashion, but much like Hooper, he simply doesn't seem to fit into the style of play that Alex Neil is expected to utilise again this season, leaving him as little more than a very expensive bench warmer.

That leaves us looking at potentially signing a left back, centre back, right back, left winger, right winger and 2 strikers – not a cheap shopping list when you have a fund of approx 25-30 million and are looking to improve on what you already have rather than simply find decent cover options.

Due to their very nature, most of the time the lion's share of that expenditure would be expected to be on a striker, and whilst options like Charlie Austin provide a proven threat at this level, they come at a huge price, and one which I think we can avoid.

We may have been slightly burnt on the Van Wolfswinkel deal, but I firmly believe that the continent is the place to shop when it comes to strikers. Indeed, sides like West Ham and Swansea have shown what's possible with signings like Sakho and Bony, and it's simply down to Neil and the scouting team to get out there and see what they can find to fit the bill.

We've also already been heavily linked with Mulumbu's DR Congo teammate Dieumerci Mbokani, and if we really wanted to look for a proven premier league striker with great experience, then surely we need to look no further than Dimitar Berbatov who's been released by Monaco and is apparently looking for a move back to England. Clearly wages would be massive, and he'd probably expect a multi-million pound signing on fee (much like Swansea have reportedly paid nearly £6 million to Andre Ayew who they've signed this summer on a 'free' transfer), but at least you're getting a proven entity with undoubted quality and who has never relied on pace to perform – hence his advancing age is less of an issue that it would be for a player like Walcott for example.

It's early days on the transfer side of things and we're all waiting expectantly to see which players walk into Colney over the next month or so, but with the core squad that's taken us back up, an outstanding young manager with the desire and hunger to perform with the very best, and a few shrewd signings thrown into the mix, I'm very confident that we can not only stay up this season, but kick on from there and truly establish ourselves back in the top flight again.