It’s been a little while since I updated this blog but things have actually got better in the past few weeks since our 3-1 win over Cardiff. Not only do we sit at the top of the Championship table following our unbeaten start to the season but we have also completed a historic signing with the former Valencia winger Vicente Rodríguez joining the Seagulls on a free transfer.
I mentioned in my last blog that these are heady days for Albion supporters but the arrival of Vicente really does reinforce this.
I will have to hold my hand up and admit that until last week Vicente wasn’t really on my radar. I may have unwittingly seen him play at some point but in all honesty I couldn’t name many Spanish footballers beyond the obvious stars. So when the transfer story first broke I did what most football fans do in this situation and typed his name into Wikipedia.
On the face of it I was expecting someone similar to Fransico Sandaza to pop up. A non-descript Spanish reserve team player with potential. Instead up popped a former Spanish international who had won the Spanish league and cup titles along with European success in UEFA cup and Super Cup along with regular Champions league experience. Real Madrid, no less, bid 36 million euros for the winger back in 2004!
The 30 year old may not be joining the Seagulls in his prime but none the less the Albion have pulled off a major transfer coup and once again in the face of stiff opposition from the likes of Leicester, Torino and Celtic. A player with such experience and talent could have joined almost any club at our level and many of a higher standing but once again Gus Poyet has worked his magic.
Had a player of Vicente’s quality not joined us during the transfer window I don’t think anyone would have been worried. In fact an attacking midfielder wasn’t really a position we were desperately looking to fill but when a good player becomes available it would be foolish to turn the opportunity down. The squad today is as strong as it’s ever been in my Albion supporting lifetime and you get the feeling this is just the start.
Most Albion fans would have started the season dreaming that promotion was an outside possibility. It may still be just that but on the evidence of what we have seen so far that dream might not be as far-fetched as it first seemed.
