Moody McCarthy Gets His Way - Big Sam to Move for Former Rover?
by Nigel Lane
It seems that moody striker Benni McCarthy has gotten his way at last. He has spoken for some time about wanting a move away from Ewood Park and has now won a move to West Ham, albeit through some rather unprofessional behaviour. McCarthy has failed to turn up for training the past few days, instead travelling to London to force through his move to the capital. This is a disappointing end to an era in McCarthy's career which has seen him score 37 goals in 109 appearance since joining Blackburn in the summer of 2006. His first season with the club was nothing short of sensational. The South African striker scored a total of 24 goals, 18 of them in the league, making him the second highest scorer in the Premier League for the season. Since then however, the goals have dried up considerably. Injuries and periods of poor fitness levels have restricted his opportunities to start games. The departure of Mark Hughes also seemed to have a negative effect on McCarthy, and he never appeared to build a positive working relationship with either Paul Ince or Sam Allardyce. The final straw appeared to be Allardyce's recent treatment of McCarthy, demanding that he come in ahead of the rest of the squad for early-morning fitness training. Blackburn have reportedly managed to recoup most of the £2.5m they paid to Porto when signing McCarthy in 2006.
Whether Sam Allardyce now has the time to use the money received from West Ham to bring in a new striker remains to be seen. If he cannot, then Rovers are left with Roberts, Di Santo and the ever-improving Niko Kalinic battling it out for first team football for the rest of the season. Rumours of a move for James Beattie may well resurface, and don't be too surprised if Sam tries to tempt the former Rovers man back to Ewood Park. His physical presence and strong work ethic suit Allardyce's preferred style of play, and Beattie may well be keen to move on following last month's reported bust-up with manager Tony Pulis.
One player that Big Sam has managed to bring in is Yildiray Basturk, compatriot of former Rovers legend Tugay. Basturk has joined on a free transfer after falling out of favour at Stuttgart this season. The 31 year old attacking midfielder has 49 international caps to his name and will hopefully add some creativity to the Rovers midfield, which can look seriously bereft of ideas whenever David Dunn is unavailable.
Speaking of David Dunn, the good news for Rovers fans is that the talented midfielder, born just 5 miles from Blackburn in Great Harwood, has committed his future to the club by signing a new 2 and a half year contract. The deal will see Dunn remain with Rovers until at least July 2012.
Overall, if Rovers fail to bring in a new striker to replace the departing McCarthy, then goals may be hard to come by between now and May. They haven't exactly been flowing this season, so losing one goalscorer from the squad is hardly going to help the situation. Having said that, it will be difficult for Sam Allardyce to find a decent striker for around £3m who would be willing to move in January and whose club would be willing to sell him. James Beattie seems to be the only realistic target and while the prospect of a second Ewood Park spell for Beattie might not set the pulses of Rovers fans racing, he might just be the kind of player needed to partner Kalinic up front and bring the goals to guide Blackburn into the top half of the table, well clear of the relegation dog fight.
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