Fair weather fan

Well that's my excuse for not seeing the demolition of Port Vale. The rain was incredible that night and brought to mind one of my first ever games as a Fulham season ticket holder - a very damp night against Bolton Wanderers when the elements helped Tony Warner produce a monumental clanger allowing the opposition to score.
Still the 6-0 scoreline was very encouraging as was another fightback from a losing position up at Blackpool. The real reason I've not contributed recently is a) the international week and b) we've been redesigning the magazine that I work on and it has been a huge time and resource vacuum.
There's been more ins than outs before the transfer window finished and the biggest deal was Paul Konchesky decamping to Liverpool for £3m and a couple of youth prospects. I was never a massive fan of Konchesky but he was solid and reliable and had his best season in a Fulham shirt the season just gone. Before that one too few many key goals had been conceded from his side as his concentration wavered, but I think that might have also been down to the fact that during his time at the Cottage there was never any real competition for the left back slot. He should do alright at Liverpool, but his transfer shows how problematic things are at Anfield.
To replace Konch, Hughes has signed up Mexican full back Carlos Salcido. At 30 years old, he is hardly a spring chicken but for £2m Fulham have now got an international standard defender (77 caps) who appears quite loyal given that he has only had two clubs in ten years. Apparently he is also quite dangerous going forward, so that might give the team added bite.
Another international defender who has joined the ranks is the Algerian Rafik Halliche who also comes with a good pedigree. How he will fit into the side containing two centre halves who work brilliantly together will remain to be seen, but there will be proper competition for the two positions - especially when Senderos returns. I wonder if Baird is now classified as a midfielder?
As for the two kids that arrived as part of the Konchesky deal, Alex Kacaniklic and Lauri Dalla Valle, the later has got a very good reputation - in fact Liverpool fans have been really annoyed that they've let him go. But the last wonder kid signed from Liverpool - Christopher Buchtmann - left to join FC Koln after just five months at the club. Hopefully the two new additions will be around slightly longer.
I'm looking forward  to the Wolves game tomorrow. Shame I won't be there - I have a wedding to attend in Eastbourne.