Will Zat Knight sign that new contract. A town waits with baited breath. Plus, maybe a new goalkeeper to take over Jussi’s seat on the bench. Exciting.
Afternoon all. Bank holiday weekend and not much about, so we’ll crack on and then go and enjoy the rain, shall we?
You’ll have probably received the email letter from the chairman, which has said little more than the interview on the website did. A case of overdoing it or trying to keep people informed? I’d lean more towards the former as opposed to the latter. Eddie Davies backing? Check. Loan signings? Check. Hope to see you all next season? Check. It’s as if they fear that you haven’t been to official website for a while.
He also speaks about getting some experience in to go with the youth and the club are being linked with Andy Lonergan, the Leeds keeper. With Mad Man Warnock at the helm at Elland Road, he’ll be looking to do a Big Sam and plunder his former clubs and it seems likely that Paddy Kenny will be moving back to Yorkshire. This will mean no place for Lonergan and he should become available.
With Jussi’s departure, the average age of the goalkeeping squad falls to just over twenty one and it makes sense to bring in someone to back up Adam Bogdan until Rob Lainton or Jay Lynch are able to do it themselves. Lonergan has eleven years experience at this level and would be a good signing if it went through. Obviously, at this time of the year, there are a lot of ifs and buts around and this one looks like it depends more on QPR than anyone else. So, we’ll see.
Today is the day when we should also hear if Zat Knight has decided to grace us with his presence next season after being given on of OC’s famous ‘deadlines’. Views on keeping Knight on are mixed, some seeing the benefit in having an experienced central defender at the club with David Wheater’s injury forcing them into a major rethink on Knight’s qualities. I am not one of them. He would still have been the same player whether or not Wheater was injured and the fact that Wheater is does not make him a better player. I do not think he is upper Championship level, let alone Premier League, and the club have made a mistake in offering him new, albeit reduced, terms. We would gain more bringing in a new partner for Tim Ream. We don’t want our other American player to be continually looking over his shoulder to see where Knight is. Or, more appropriately, isn’t.
If only we still had Gary Cahill. It’s a shame for him that he won’t be going to the Euro’s as it would have capped a quite incredible season for him. I know that that I have said in the past that, as he no longer plays for us, we should really not pay too much attention to his trials and tribulations. I still felt for him though. Maybe I’m getting soft.
And, on that note, I’m off to the shops. Well, it’s the Jubilee after all.
God Save Hayley McQueen.