Rob Wildey gives his view on all things Blues on Monday 29 June.
Eugh. It’s Monday again. But it wasn’t a bad week after all, was it? A couple of new faces and a body between the sticks. Panic over. Hopefully, we’ll see more signings this week. I hear Sergio Ramos is available for £64m. Maybe Real Madrid would consider a swap deal involving the much sough-after right-back, Neal Eardley?!
I am of the opinion that Blues are a decent centre half, a striker and a Robert Tesche away from having a good Championship squad. Tesche was a vital player in the second half of last season. With the German in the team, Blues were a better passing side with higher ball retention so please please please please get the deal done. If indeed the club do have the financial muscle to get the deal over the line, that is. And like I said, another striker wouldn’t go amiss, maybe someone of the Nikola Zigic mould but who can actually win a header.
A fair bit of dead wood still exists in the squad. The aforementioned Eardley – who has had more injuries than Darren Anderton – Mark Duffy who is only deemed good enough when the opponents are of the Blyth Spartans ilk and David Edgar. Yes, funny one, that. Edgar is actually a very decent player but apparently, he and Rowett do not see ‘eye-to-eye’. It’s a shame, because Edgar would be as suited to Michael Morrison as ham is to a Greggs crusty baguette. But due to the supposed personality clash, that may be a non-starter. And if manager’s continue to see Lee Novak as a graduate from the Arjen Robben school of wingers, he may as well be added to the ‘surplus to requirements’ pile. Novak is not a wide players. He is a dab hand in goal, though!
Finances are available to support Gary Rowett in his quest for new blood, according to Panos Pavlakis. In previous summers, Blues have offered less cash than a Greek ATM but this time it seems different. Rowett has been working tirelessly (he reckons his phone bill was £700 which leads me to believe he may want to change providers) to make deals happen, us fans have been waiting and expecting tirelessly.
My biggest hope is that a cash injection doesn’t come from the sale of The Don (Clayton Donaldson) to Leeds or Reading. Suggestions that Blues have put a £2m price tag on his head are laughable, where would we find an adequate replacement for our top goalscorer, our player of the season and our talisman? And how much of that £2m would actually be re-invested in the team. Would we be left signing a freebie from Forest Green Rovers? Social media comments last night suggested that Rowett laughs off talk of Donaldson leaving. ‘No chance’ he says.
I have chewed your ear off for for long enough now. This column will be a regular monday feature on this very site, so be sure to come back an check out my ramblings next Monday. Hopefully, I can shed some light on an otherwise dreary day. No one likes Monday’s, do they?
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