The lowdown on Tamika
In light of United's latest signing, HU-FC.co.uk asked Glynis Wright of Grorty Dick, the West Bromwich Albion fanzine, for the lowdown on Tamika Mkandiwire.
Here's what she had to say:
"His full name is Tamika Mkandwire (everyone here calls him 'Tam' for obvious reasons!) and he's a rather classy defender, who is strong both in the air and on the ground. He's not afraid of tackling as necessary, either, so he should suit the Conference, and with a name like that, I bet referees will be rather reluctant to stick his name in their book!
"He's the son of a Nigerian missionary (his mum) and spent a good deal of his early years in London, and Albion are his only club. It'll come as no surprise whatsoever to learn he's one of the excellent crop of Albion youngsters brought through by both John Trewick, and your present coach, Richard O'Kelly, before they left. Around three years ago, he was part of the side that won a youth trophy (not the FA Youth Cup) at Wembley. I'm not sure of his current status right now, but he either has to be a third year YT, or a junior professional; he seems to have been part and parcel of the set-up for an awfully-long time.
"Last season, he played around 40 competitive games in our back three, both at reserve and youth team level. As our second-string play in the northern section of the Premier Reserve League at the moment, that meant he was pitched in against the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Newcastle and (spit!) Villa. The last one excepted, no mugs, as you'll readily agree. We really punched above our weight as well last season, finishing just below halfway in that league, with only one away defeat after November. When you consider the calibre of the opposition at that level, effectively, you're getting a Second or Third Division player.
"The probable reason we're letting him go out on loan is the current lack of opportunities for youngsters at our club. This is partly due to our manager's seeming indifference to the encouragement of young talent, plus the fact we have many players before him in the pecking-order. Concerning the former, our kids train separately from the seniors, manager Gary Megson rarely watches the second-team in action (only spotted three times last term, which is direct contrast to other Premiership managers, who regularly watch their kids), and to get a chance in the first team, half the regular first-string would have to drop dead from bubonic plague, or something, before The Dear Leader would feel obliged to give any of our kids a go! The last home-grown player to make it at Albion was Adam Chambers, who made his League debut around three seasons ago. As far as the latter goes, I believe there are about eight imports before him in the queue.
"He does have an unusual line in hairstyles - those dreadlocks have to be seen to be believed - but I'm convinced he'll do a bloody good job for you. And, of course, both he and Danny Carey-Bartram were second-string muckers together. Richard O'Kelly was at The Hawthorns the other week, when we played Man Urinal reserves. We guessed he was in shopping-mode; now we know why!"