Ray Parlour has signed for league strugglers Hull City in what must be seen as one of the major coups of the season involving a Championship club.
The ex-Arsenal and England midfielder signed on the dotted line last Friday after being released by Premiership side Middlesbrough and Tigers boss Phil Brown sees the capture as vital in the clubs battle to avoid the drop, stating that the midfield was an area in which the side needed to improve.
City, who currently lie 20th in the table, had been linked with ex-Southampton attacking midfielder David Prutton. Prutton, who was born in Hull, moved to Nottingham Forest last month and pressure was culminating as it appeared City were losing out on players to other clubs, however Brown moved to rubbish these claims stating that he never spoke to Prutton about a possible move.
The arrival of the experienced Parlour will seek to improve the Yorkshire clubs current position in the table and his Championship bow came against league leaders Derby County, and despite only being introduced in the last thirty minutes, he managed to help his new side to an impressive point, the KC outfit scoring an equaliser in the dying embers at Pride Park to make it 2-2.
WOLVES' CLYDE QUITS
Wolverhampton and Northern Ireland defender Mark Clyde has unfortunately quit professional football after losing a persistent fight against injury.
Reactive arthritis is believed to be the link between injuries including a swollen ankle, as well as injuries to his knees, hamstring and hip, which has eventually led him to the decision that "enough is enough."
The Wolves academy product had been forced to make a similar decision previously when doctors advised him to either take medication in an attempt to cure the problems or hang up his boots permanently after initially promising results, the tablets failed to cure Clyde.
The defender, only 24 years of age missed the entirety of last season, however this season, started off positively for the right back, playing in the opening three games before an injury against Preston forced him to call it a day.
LEEDS LAD LEAKS LINEUP
After winning for only the third time in almost three months, you'd expect Elland Road to be a pretty happy place, however boss Dennis Wise was in no mood for happiness despite his sides impressive 2-1 triumph over Crystal Palace.
Leeds United is not a club unfamiliar with controversy and adversity, and this weekend saw another event to add to that long list, after a United player is believed to have leaked the side the Leeds man was going to field against the Selhurst Park outfit.
In his post-match interview, Wise implicitly stated that the player in question will never represent the Yorkshire club again.
In the game, Leeds found themselves two up with only eight minutes remaining through goals from defender Matt Heath and striker Robbie Blake, however Leon Cort slammed in a close-range header to make the last few minutes uncomfortable for United.
Leeds remain bottom but the gap between them and safety has reduced to just two points.
RESULTS ROUND-UP
West Brom drew 1-1 at home to Southampton, which saw them leapfrog Preston into second place, who lost at home 1-0 to the hands of Wolves. The Baggies moved back down to third on Sunday however after Birmingham won their first league game since Boxing Day after a 1-0 triumph over Stoke. Cardiff managed to hold onto their place in the play-offs, a 2-2 away draw against Coventry was enough to fend off Sunderland, who won 2-0 away against Plymouth.
Colchester won yet again to keep the pressure on the play-off sides, a 3-0 away trouncing of Barnsley. Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday played out a draw at Turf Moor, 1-1 the final score. Norwich's game against Luton was called off due to inclement conditions at Kenilworth Road. Friday saw Southend win by the biggest margin of the weekend, a 5-0 annihilation of fellow strugglers QPR.
The next article in our new Championship Review series will hit ITFM early next week.