After the signing of strapping free transfer Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Phil Brown was quoted as saying he’s considering one or two other unattached players. But who should we go for?
We don’t need another forward now. We have enough ‘big man’ strikers (Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Fagan, Folan) and the little fellas to play off him (Ghilas, Geovanni, Barmby). There’s enough flexibility to pair up two of the hulks with one of the ball players dropping into midfield.
If swine flu ruled those seven out, we could card Featherstone and Garcia up top with Cousin stepping up to bench-warming duties.
Midfield is a weak point, though. Dietmar Hamman may be worth a look to check if he can plug the gap left by Ashbee’s injury. Boateng tries and succeeds sometimes; Marney and Olofinjana are not that type of player.
The right side of midfield also looks sketchy. Ghilas and Fagan can play there but neither are wingers. Former Everton player Andy van der Meijde is available and will presumably have dinked a few balls in for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in matches for The Netherlands over the years.
If we need full-back cover then Lauren and Lucas Neill are still without clubs. However, my own top tip, for what it’s worth, would be Michael Ball, released by Manchester City this summer.
He’s still only 29 and plays primarily at left-back but also in the middle. Most importantly he’s a nasty bastard and was vice-captain at Middle Eastlands last season, so he could give us the leadership that’s lacking without Ash in there.
He also has international experience – he possesses one more England cap than Michael Turner ever will and he represented Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, finishing second.
Finally, he ticks the most important box in the checklist for Hull City signings – he’s had some long-term knee injuries during his career.
What’s not to love about all that?
Hull City blog - The Three O'Clock At Kempton 