Chris Hutchings has today soothed some of the deadline day pangs by bringing in free agent Salomon Olembe. The Cameroon international has signed on a one year deal and plays at, wait for it… left back. The deal is subject to international clearance but, as the player has been without a club since June, that should be a formality.
Olembe started off in European football with Nantes, where after four years he earned a move to Marseille. After a good start, changes in team management have seen him in and out of favour on the Cote D’ Azure. In amongst his Wikipedia approved 67(1) appearances came two loan spells, the second being in the football hotbed of Qatar.
The first and most notable of his loan spells was at Leeds. His time there was during Peter Reid’s ill-fated spell as manager. If you don’t remember 2003/04 was a major stopping point in the club’s demise.
Recovering from the revelations of just how much the fish tank (oh, and the squad) had cost, the departure of their manager and a haemorrhage of talent, Leeds were left to survive on a thin stew of loan deals and kids, ultimately slipping out of the top flight.
Word from Elland Road is quiet, I guess they’ve got other things on their mind, but at least no one is laughing at us, which makes a change. What has been said is positive and it seems that the African may have been one of the bight lights of that ill fated season.
Olembe’s 60 caps and appearances in two world cups for his country suggest that the lad might be able to play. Importantly he can speak English, and even though it may not have been that successful, his time in Yorkshire will have given him some idea of English life and Premiership football.
Any road, Chris Hutchings rates him. Despite a worrying assurance that the new boy faces stern competition from Kevin Kilbane, the manager reckons Olembe as a clever player with a good left foot, who is quick and a strong tackler. He even goes as far as labelling him the final piece of the jigsaw.
For those of you who aren’t exactly buoyed by the manager’s confidence, let me remind you of a certain Pascal Chimbonda. Hardly a well known, or well loved figure, he became a key part of that first season’s success. Until I’ve seen this lad player then I’m assuming he can do the same, and warming myself with the knowledge that Killer can’t be our best left back.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE PIE AT NIGHT PODCAST
We promise you that it’s easier to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t have to rely on us to remind you when a new episode comes out.
Apple sorts can find it on iTunes here – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-pie-at-night-podcast/id1097853442?mt=2
If you prefer a different podcast app then just search for “The Pie at Night Podcast”.
You can also find us on Stitcher, here – http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-pie-at-night-pocast/the-pie-at-night-podcast
If you’re that way out, you can find and subscribe to our RSS feed here – http://feeds.feedburner.com/thepieatnight
And if you just want to take pot luck then you can find all our episodes on our Soundcloud page
