What Darren Huckerby once said about Norwich City star Wes Hoolahan says everything | OneFootball

Darren Huckerby was a coach at the Norwich youth academy during the back end of Hoolahan's Carrow Road tenure

Darren Huckerby and Wes Hoolahan's Norwich City careers just missed each other, but the two had a great mutual respect.

Huckerby departed Carrow Road in favour of the MLS and the San Jose Earthquakes at the end of the 2007/08 Championship campaign, whilst Hoolahan made the move to the Canaries from Blackpool in the summer of 2008.

The Irishman went on to establish himself as one of not just Norwich's, but the EFL's best over the following decade or so, and Huckerby was able to watch Hoolahan up close as part of the Canaries' coaching staff after he returned to the club as an Academy coach in 2015.

During the 2016/17 campaign, Hoolahan and Norwich were adjusting to life back in the Championship following a sole campaign in the Premier League, and had started the season well, sitting top after 12 games.

It was after that 12th game against Rotherham United that Huckerby took to what was then known as Twitter to heap some necessary praise on Hoolahan.

Norwich's 3-1 win over Rotherham was their sixth victory in the last seven games, and it put them atop the Championship.

Hoolahan opened the scoring before setting up Cameron Jerome for the second. It was the second time already that season that the then-34-year-old had scored and assisted in one game, after doing so on the opening day in a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Taking to Twitter, then-Academy coach Huckerby wrote, "Absolute pleasure watching Wes Hoolahan at work, 4 foot and nobody can get near him. #NcfcGreat," taking a small jibe at his five-foot-six stature, but also praising his wizardry on the ball.

A Norwich great is exactly what Hoolahan is. The 2016/17 campaign was his ninth at the club since his arrival from Blackpool, and it was a journey which took him from League One all the way to the Premier League...twice.

He had made over 250 league appearances for the Canaries after that win over Rotherham, and he went on to make an extra season-and-a-half's worth before he departed the club at the end of the following season.

The Irishman aged like a fine wine, and finished the 2016/17 term with seven goals, 11 assists and an eventual club Player of the Year that season, despite being in his mid-30s. Norwich may have tailed off throughout the campaign, finishing eighth, but Hoolahan showed that season why many coined him 'the Irish Messi.'

Wes Hoolahan will go down in history as a Norwich City legend

Having made over 350 appearances in a yellow and green shirt, 112 of them being in the Premier League (the fourth most out of any Norwich player), Hoolahan will undoubtedly live in the annals of Carrow Road.

Despite his first season at the club ending in relegation to League One, his 11-goal, 13-assist season in his sophomore year helped propel them back to the second tier at the first time of asking, and it was all upwards from there.

Many actually regard Hoolahan as one of the greatest midfielders in Championship history, and it was the consistency of his performances, whether he was 25 or 35, which makes him so well-respected among EFL fans. Simply put, you could bet on him to contribute to 15 goals every season, no matter his age.

Rotherham found that out one night back in October 2016. Darren Huckerby and everyone watching knew that.