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Who is going to fill in the gaps?	Posted by David Snowball at Friday, February 01, 2008
UNLESS Albion pull a rabbit out of the hat before Saturday's home game with bogey side Crewe Alexandra, the omens don't look good for a result to begin the climb into play-off contention. Captain Dean Hammond has departed to Colchester for £250,000 - a good deal in the circumstances, but it leaves a gaping hole in the centre of midfield, particularly as it occurred in tandem with the news that the injured Paul Reid and Tommy Fraser will both be out for several weeks. I note that Steve Lomas was released by Gillingham before the midnight transfer deadline, so is free to join whoever he wants.In the same way we captured Bas Savage from the same club this time last year, it might be a decent move to make to fill the gap. Lomas is 34 but he's experienced and could probably do a job in the short term. The only other options for the midfield berth alongside new boy Steve Thomson are Doug Loft or Kerry Mayo - but in reality Wilkins will probably move El-Abd out of the back four to fill the gap, and bring back Butters alongside Elphick. It doesn't sound like one of our window signings, Shane McFaul is ready to make the step up yet. A week ago when everyone was reeling at the shock news that Albion had shelled out £300,000 on one player, there were many left wondering how they could afford it. Now we know the answer. Even if it was a temporary loan from the poker-playing Tony Bloom, he'll have been repaid swiftly from the proceeds of the sale of Hammond, Alex Revell and Nathan Elder. If you look at the figures we know about, we've brought in £435,000 and spent £300,000, which represents a tidy profit - even though the squad must surely now be weaker than when the window opened. So, surprise, surprise, when Dick Knight raised expectations when he mentioned the serious contract negotiations with five new players on his post-Mansfield SCR appearance, in the final analysis the Albion faithful feel gutted because he failed to mention the departures which would happen simultaneously. Elder's appearance in the starting line-up on Tuesday evening was obviously nothing to do with the team's needs - it was simply putting him in the shop window to see which of Wycombe or Brentford would part with the most cash. Why else would you not play your £300,000 new signing - oh, yes, sorry, he was a bit tired after the travelling. Do me a favour! Anyway, with Elder gone, the stage is set for Glenn Murray's full debut on Saturday and let's hope he makes a goalscoring start because everyone associated with the club needs a big lift after all the shenanigans of the past month. Nick Turrell February 1 Labels: News 08-09, Nick Turrell