It is difficult to overstate the importance of this signing.
Not only is Fonte our current captain,
but he stepped down one level to sign for us.
We signed a premier league caliber center half for just over a million
pounds while we were in League One. This was an important expression of intent both
by Fonte and by the club.
Had this not happened, it is easy to see it taking at least
one more season to get back to the premier league. It is also easy to see Crystal Palace getting
there first and retaining Clyne.
Obviously, that would not have been good for us. Of course, Fonte also
played a part in winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy which is still our only recent
silverware—and part of a good song to sing when playing Chelsea.
I found the comments following the article very
interesting. Everyone seemed to be
enthusiastically happy about signing Jose Fonte. That would never happen these days which is a shame.
I cannot comment on how I felt about this signing in real
time because it occurred before I (quite frankly) ever even heard of the
club. (The story of when and how I
became a fan can be found here.)
On the other hand, I cannot see how I would have been anything but thrilled by this
signing if I had been a fan. I was
certainly thrilled by the re-signing of Fonte this summer and, except for one
back pass, generally thrilled by the way he has played this year.
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