4th
September 2005: I'm sure I was not alone when I retired
on Wednesday evening in the belief that Albion had failed in their
bid to bring in a defender before the closure of the transfer window.
The most likely target, Igor Tudor, had agreed to go to Serie A side,
Siena, on loan apparently leaving Robson empty handed. But, lo and
behold, the next morning brought the news that the Baggies had smashed
their transfer record for a defender by signing Luton's Curtis Davies
for £3 million just three minutes before the window closed.
Nicknamed "Baby Rio", he was also apparently being watched
by Tottenham, Fulham and Birmingham City, but only Albion were prepared
to match the asking price. Given that we paid the same sum for a proven
Championship goalscorer, it does seem a little on the high side for
a defender with only six appearances in the second level of English
football, but he has youth very much on his side and Robson's transfer
record has been good so far.
I confess to knowing little about the 20-year-old centre back but
the statistics make impressive reading. Although he's only in his
first season in the Championship, he was the Powerade League One
Player of the Year and featured in the PFA League One Team of the
Year. Since his debut in November 2003, Davies has made 59 starts,
3 appearances as a sub and scored two goals, the second of which
was the winner against Millwall in his last appearance for the Hatters.
His former manager, Mike Newell, certainly believes that Curtis
is ready for Premiership football, but then he would have to say
that to justify the asking price. I certainly don't expect him to
get into the side in the immediate future, but if he can display
the signs of an old head on young shoulders the way that Kieran
Richardson did last season, he could break into the team before
too long. Of course, until he does play, there is no way of knowing
how he will cope against Premiership forwards, so if Gaardsoe's
form does not pick up in the short term, he may get a chance sooner
rather than later.
It adds that little bit more competition for the central defensive
partnership with two "Big Dave"s waiting their chance.
Apparently, Davies was also nicknamed Big Dave after the man from
the Pot Noodle ad, but sensibly, he is willing to relinquish the
rights to it given the size of Mr Moore!
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