Ollie Norburn joins Wigan Athletic on loan ✍️
Wigan Athletic have signed Ollie Norburn from Blackpool on loan until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Wigan Athletic have signed Ollie Norburn from Blackpool on loan until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Shaun Maloney has been dealing with a midfield injury crisis over the last month. Matt Smith, Baba Adeeko, Tyrese Francois, and Kai Payne have all been ruled out for at least the next month.
The former Shrewsbury Town, Peterborough United, and Blackpool captain will now bring depth and leadership to the Latics midfield.
🗓️ Born: 26th October 1992 (Age: 32)
👕 Position: Centre Midfielder
👟 Strong Foot: Right
Part One: An overview of Norburn’s career.
Part Two: Norburn’s role at Wigan.
An overview of Norburn’s career ⚽️
Bolton-born Ollie Norburn began his youth career at Chelsea’s Academy before switching to Leicester City for better opportunities to play. After progressing through the youth scholarship levels, the 18-year-old signed a professional contract in Summer 2011.
To gain his first experience at a senior level, Norburn joined League Two side, Bristol Rovers, on a one-month youth loan in September 2011. ✍️
Norburn made his senior debut on October 14th 2011 with a 4-minute cameo off the bench in a 5-2 victory over Rotherham United.
After two more appearances, Rovers opted to extend the loan deal for another two months. Norburn made 5 League Two appearances for 1 FA Cup appearance before returning to Leicester for the remainder of the campaign - although he was not able to make a first team appearance for the Foxes.
On July 4th 2012, Norburn made the permanent switch from Leicester City to Bristol Rovers 🤝🏻
Norburn started in 25 of his 35 appearances throughout the 2012/13 League Two season and scored his first senior goal in a 3-1 victory over Northampton Town in early October. ⚽️
The midfielder finished the campaign with 3 goals and 3 assists in the league, with a single appearance in both the FA Cup and League Cup.
Unfortunately, the 2013/14 campaign was more difficult for Norburn as he was restricted to just 16 starts in the league before not playing a single minute after New Year’s Day.
On July 22nd 2014, Norburn signed for John Sheridan’s Plymouth Argyle after departing Rovers by mutual consent. 🟢
“[Norburn] has got lots of things that I really like in his game. He has got a lovely range of passing. He is a good age, a good size, and he has got all the attributes I am looking for in a midfield player.”
John Sheridan speaking to Plymouth Argyle
The midfielder struggled for consistent game time in the 2014/15 campaign, managing just 14 appearances with 7 starts in League Two. After just one season, he left the Pilgrims in the Summer.
National League side, Guiseley, allowed Norburn to train with them over pre-season before manager, Mark Bower, secured the midfielder’s signature in November 2015. 🟡
Norburn featured 20 times throughout the remainder of the season, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.
For the third consecutive Summer, Norburn was looking for a new club and joined Macclesfield Town who were also in the National League. 🔵
The midfielder scored on debut in a 2-0 victory over Torquay and made 21 starts in 24 appearances as he helped Town finish 9th - a one-position upgrade from their previous campaign.
Norburn netted 5 times and provided 2 assists in the league, with goals in both FA Trophy semi-final legs and an equaliser in the final, which they lost to York City.
The Silkmen then offered him a new contract in the Summer but Norburn turned it down to join Tranmere Rovers on a two-year deal instead - the team he netted against twice in the FA Trophy semi-finals a season earlier ✍️
The 2017/18 campaign saw Norburn make 42 appearances, all starts, for his highest amount of minutes in a season to date. He scored 4 goals and assisted 4 more as Tranmere finished second and won promotion to League Two via the playoffs - 10 points behind his former employers and champions, Macclesfield Town. Football is a funny old game.
On August 9th 2018, Ollie Norburn signed for Shrewsbury Town in League One, who were being managed by former Macclesfield Town gaffer, John Askey ✍️
Norburn started in 39 of his 41 league appearances and was made captain from February onwards. The midfielder netted 9 times - many of them penalties - and provided 3 more assists as the Salop finished 18th in the division, just two points above the drop zone.
The 2019/20 campaign was an extremely tough one for Norburn as personal family matters meant that he had to take time away from the club. However, he did make 17 more appearances in the league and scored 3 goals while wearing the captain’s armband.
Over the 2020/21 campaign, Norburn made 37 starts in 39 appearances for the Salop, extending his run of relatively injury-free campaigns. The captain scored four times - including a goal at home to Wigan Athletic - and assisted one more as Shrewsbury finished 17th.
On August 10th 2021, Norburn signed for Peterborough United on a three-year deal to play for Darren Ferguson ✍️
“He is a really good character and leader, just what we needed. He is someone that offers a physicality in the midfield. He is a strong boy and someone that can play as well.”
Darren Ferguson speaking to Peterborough United
Norburn made 34 starts in 36 appearances and was named as the new club captain in December 2021. ©️
Unfortunately, a knee injury ruled the midfielder out from April until the end of the campaign. Posh were then relegated from the Championship along with Derby County and Barnsley - just five points from safety.
Norburn’s knee injury kept him out of the 2022/23 League One season until mid-February 2023 before returning to play his former club, Plymouth Argyle.
He made 16 consecutive appearances with 12 starts until the end of the campaign and helped Posh finish in the final Play-Off spot. Unfortunately, Norburn played the full duration of the two semi-final legs against Sheffield Wednesday where Posh let a 4-0 first leg advantage fall away to crash out in the second leg on penalties…
On June 23rd 2023, Norburn made the move back up to the north-west to sign for Blackpool on a two-year contract 🍊
“I like to class myself as a leader and I’ve got a big desire to do well here and play a part in getting this Club back where it should be”
Ollie Norburn speaking to Blackpool in 2023
Neil Critchley handed Norburn the captain armband for their 2023/24 League One campaign. The midfielder started in 31 of his 34 appearances, in between spells on the sidelines through a hamstring injury, netting once and providing two assists as he led the Tangerines to 8th place - just three points from 6th.
Unfortunately, this season has not gone to plan for Norburn due to another hamstring injury. After making four appearances in the first five games, Steve Bruce released an update in mid-September:
“Norburn will be a big loss to us. It will be a month at least before we see him. It is very disappointing. It is his hamstring. It is a frustrating one because it’s a muscle injury, which is never great.”
Steve Bruce speaking to The Gazette | September 2024
The 32-year-old returned to action in mid-November, making four appearances up to mid-December before remaining on the bench until this loan move away from the club.
📊 Ollie Norburn’s Career Stats
🔵 Shrewsbury Town | 116 Apps | 18 Goals | 7 Assists
🏴☠️ Bristol Rovers | 65 Apps | 4 Goals | 4 Assists
🔵 Peterborough United | 56 Apps | 0 Goals | 2 Assists
🍊 Blackpool | 52 Apps | 1 Goal | 3 Assists
⚪️ Tranmere Rovers | 46 Apps | 4 Goals | 4 Assists
🔵 Macclesfield | 27 Apps | 8 Goals | 2 Assists
🟡 Guiseley FC | 20 Apps | 3 Goals | 4 Assists
🟢 Plymouth Argyle | 19 Apps | 0 Goals | 3 Assists
Norburn’s role at Wigan 🤝
As injuries started mounting in our midfield over recent weeks, another midfielder to provide depth and rotation options became necessary.
So far this season, Norburn has made eight appearances with six starts but missed the majority of September and the entirety of October with a hamstring injury and subsequent fitness issues.
While this can be concerning, as we are adding a player who has recently dealt with injuries to an injury-hit midfield, I see Norburn as more of a rotation option rather than a regular starter who we will rely on for consistently high minutes per game.
Wigan Athletic’s centre-midfield options.
Jon Mellish (Age: 27)
Matt Smith (Age: 24) - Long-term injury.
Tyrese Francois (Age: 24) - Long-term injury.
Scott Smith (Age: 23)
Jensen Weir (Age: 22)
Baba Adeeko (Age: 21) - Long-term injury.
Kai Payne (Age: 20) - Long-term injury.
The arrival of Jon Mellish, who can play both midfielder and defender, along with Scott Smith, Jensen Weir, and now Ollie Norburn, should allow us to get through to March at the very earliest when we can start to see Baba Adeeko come back into the frame and potentially Tyrese Francois and Kai Payne.
Maloney has been setting the Latics up to be focused mainly on wing play, but we have seen at times that our midfield are being asked to be on the front foot and make breaks through the middle either with direct runs or penetrating passes.
I have not seen enough from Norburn to suggest that he will be a playmaker as we have seen from Matt Smith, but I am looking forward to watching his defensive work rate and ensuring that opponents find our midfield a tough place to be with little time allowed on the ball.
The 32-year-old has won 21 of his 35 ground duels and 5 of his 10 aerial duels so far this season. This puts his duel win rate at 54%, which is higher than Jensen Weir's (47%), Matt Smith's (44%), Baba Adeeko's (42%), and Scott Smith's (39%).
Tyrese Francois still leads the way for midfielders with over 300 minutes with a 63% win rate. Kai Payne has a 75% win rate but has played just 45 minutes.
The Latics need to become more resolute in the middle of the park as we look to start turning more losses into draws and more draws into wins. Norburn, I feel, will be a great option to bring on when trying to see a game out but can also help us get an early grip of the midfield if he starts.
Norburn is out of contract in the summer, and if he impresses while showing strong leadership qualities, perhaps there is a contract that can be put on the table for him for another season or two as he winds down his career.
Wigan Athletic host Blackpool on April 27th, and I believe Norburn will not be allowed to feature in this game. However, as I said before, we should have players back from injury by this time to bulk the squad out.
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Oliver Norburn!
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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