Night Falls on Kortedala

By: timmyg | February 2nd, 2009

Or on the transfer window, I should say.

Well no striker is heading to this part of SW6, nor is there some big last-second signing. Instead, just lots of arriving and departing loan deals. Whether that’s because of the economy or Woy’s prudence is unclear. But I still maintain we could have used another target man to compete with Zamora.

Jimmy Bullard aside, here’s my take on all the deals.

Packing the bags

Bouazza: Birmingham City, Loan
Was gone anyway, but it’s more his switch from struggling Charlton to cruising Brum City that raises the eyebrows. Did Woy figure it would be best to for the lad to be an ‘idiot amongst geniuses’ rather than a ‘genius amongst idiots’? Who knows.

Andranik: Barnsley, Loan
Another eye-browser. He just – and I mean like within the last 5 minutes – got back to running let alone match fitness, and now he’s off to Barnsley. Had he been healthy all season, I wouldn’t second guess it. But now? Alas…

Andreasen: Hannover 96, Loan
Like yesterday’s Superbowl, you just knew the outcome. And so Andreasen left the club after never really making a mark. Granted it’s a loan, but does anyone see him coming back? This is odd considering he only had six league appearances this season – all off the bench – and two starts in cup games. Last season he had nine starts and four substitution appearances, but does anyone remember those? I sure don’t.

Seol Ki-Hyeon: Al-Hilal, Loan
For someone as milk-carton prone as Seol, is going to Saudi Arabia really the best option?

Adrian Leijer: Norwich City, Loan
His appearance on the Fulham Christmas video was the first time I’d ever seen him, so that’s good to know he exists at least.

Then there’s TJ Moncur, Gabriel Zakuani, Robert Milsom, and Lee Cook but none of them made any first team appearances.

Filling the lockers

DaCourt: Inter, Loan
From what I understand, he used to be a quality player. But, like Jari Litmanen last year, he’s also quite old. This move is obviously just to provide cover for Etuhu and Murphy, but what if he gets drilled in the ear at practice and is out for weeks? Fulham doesn’t have any backup central midfielders on the books, unless you consider Baird as a proper deputizer.

Barnes: Derby, Loan
He scored those two goals against Manchester United in the Carling Cup, so we know we can play. But several injury woes have set him back in the past, and a 2 million quid loan fee – that could go up to 4 million based on appearances – gives me a tummy ache. If he produces, good; if not, then B-U-S-T.

Gray: Fulham, Loan
Another vexing deal. He made just one appearance all season, starting in the third round of the FA Cup. I understand the move is to free up another loan spot for an Englishman, but the deadline’s been over for a few hours and no replacement was named. So what was the point?

Omozusi: Norwich, Loan
Featured a bit under Sanchez, and then vanished under Woy. He’s a good player, but he’s young and thus makes mistakes (see last year’s home fixture against Newcastle, and the FA Cup match against Leicester City two years ago). Probably won’t feature in any first-team matches, but at least he’ll have the opportunity to train more under Woy.