Monday, July 05, 2010

Perch hooked

With pre-season training officially starting today for all but a handful of our players, it's inevitably time for our attentions to turn towards next season which, lest we forget, starts at Old Trafford in 42 days time (subject to TV buggeration factor).

It's pleasing then to see our first new signing of the summer arrive, and it's a permanent addition at that. Step forward James Perch, a player we unsuccessfully tried to pick up in January, but who now makes the journey up from Nottingham Forest in time to start running along Longsands Beach with his new colleagues.

From what I saw of him last season, Perch looked a solid, committed defender - one whom Billy Davies was keen to hold onto, and who played a blinder when we beat Forest in March. He should provide cover both at centre-back and right-back, which gives us some cover for Danny Simpson who is due to miss the early part of the season as he struggles to recover from his summer op. He can also allegedly play in central midfield - so presumably provides limited cover for Alan Smith as a midfield anchor.

Of course, whether a player who had limited opportunities at Forest last season is going to be good enough to become a fixture in our side as we battle for Premier League survival is open to question, but at least it's another body through the door on presumably modest wages (that's modest in a football sense - not in a real world sense, obviously). It does though mean we've added at least some of the defensive cover I identified as a priority back in May, although if we think one player can cover three of the gaps I noted in our squad, then we're in for a long, hard season.
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