Darius Vassell in Ankara

Posted on | July 2, 2009 | No Comments

Well, as I’ve said many times before, we’re still waiting for Dr Al Fahim to complete the Portsmouth takeover. Players have left, and some fans are getting worried that we haven’t yet brought in any replacements. Despite Aaron Mokoena’s claims and the fact that he is listed as having joined Pompey in Sky Sports News’ transfer sidebar, am I right in saying that his transfer has never been officially confirmed? Just popping over to the official site….no, nothing. Don’t worry, the reason we have not brought in replacements is that we need the new manager to identify them. We also need the takeover to go through before we can appoint a manager. Simple.

We seem to have been linked with every mediocre player under the sun recently, but I think this is just paper talk. The only out of contract player whose future remains unresolved at the moment is Sol Campbell. Despite his comments today about the instability of the club off the pitch, I believe he would be well advised to sit tight for another week or so and wait for the takeover to complete. Surely we can all see by now that Dr Al Fahim is serious, and barring last minute hitches, he will buy the club soon. This could prompt a bright new future. I can’t quite understand why people keep referring to the fact the club is unstable when it is about to change hands!

Anyway, back to the post title…..Darius Vassell has recntly been in Turkey to make his mind up about a move to Ankaragucu. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on Turkish football, but I have heard of Trabzonspor. I have never heard of Ankaragucu. They must be the Turkish league’s answer to Portsmouth, about to reach for the sky and looking for a big signing. I wouldn’t immediately identify Darius as the man to fit the bill but each to their own. What’s clear from the You Tube video at the end of this post is that it’s going to be very very difficult of rhim to pull out of the deal now! He already has god like status in Ankara, but if you watch his face I’m not sure he is entirely comfortable with that. This footage , from what I understand, doesn’t even show his confirmed signing. He is just there to make his decision!

This got me thinking about other British players moving abroad. I think Matt Derbyshire has just gone to Olympiakos. I haven’t seen any footage but I wonder how he was received out there. I believe he did well in his loan spell last season. Shame really, I’ve always thought he was a good penalty box striker and thought there would have been more interest in him from other Premier League clubs.

Paul Gascoigne was obviously taken to the hearts of the Lazio fans when he moved there, but he was a world famous footballer at the time. I’m sure I remember that Kevin Keegan was a cult hero at SV Hamburg but again he was European Footballer of the Year at the time.

I was actually thinking more of the journeyman type player who ended up being a cult hero in a strange location. As you can probably tell by now, this post is slightly under prepared, but the Vassell video made me chuckle and I had to share it with you. The only other example that comes to mind is from just a couple of years ago when Colin Kazim Richards suddenly appeared at Fenerbahce and then in the Turkish national team! His illustrious career had previously seen him at Brighton and Sheffield United (and maybe more), but since that brief renaissance in the 2008 Champions League (a goal against Chelsea) and his appearnace in the European Championships or Turkey, he seems to have disappeared again.

Anyaway, I don’t know what will become of Darius Vassell in Ankara, but it will be an interesting ride if this video is anything to go by! Watch it from 1.30 to about 3.45. (The club executive at the end doesn’t seem quite as excited as the fans!)

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