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Gunn left to ponder his options as Doc’s appeal awaits and Fergie Jnr steals in for Mr Chester

10th February 2009 By Latest News Leave a Comment

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The Canaries will hear later today whether their appeal against Gary Doherty's red card has been successful as all eyes now turn towards Bryan Gunn's promise of a fresh face ahead of Saturday's Championship trip to Preston North End.

With the Football League's very own 'emergency loan' window now open again after a week's cooling off period following January's frantic spin on the transfer merry-go-round, the big name reported to be in Gunn's sights has, of course, been Stoke City's Andrew Davies.

Indeed – according to some reports – the 24-year-old centre-half was actually en route to Norfolk on deadline day last week only for Stephen Kelly's proposed switch to the Britannia Ground from Birmingham City to fall foul of the weather.

At which point Potters boss Tony Pulis pulled the plug on Davies' proposed loan switch until the Football Association finally sanctioned the Kelly switch some 48 hours earlier.

All then looked set fair for Davies' arrival this week once the loan window re-opened. Until little more than 20 minutes into Stoke's trip to the Stadium Of Light on Saturday at which point Ryan Shawcross pulled his back and had to hobble out of the contest – one of three enforced substitutions for the visitors within the game's opening 30 minutes.

With Danny Higginbotham boasting a calf strain, Rory Delap in the midst of a three-match ban and Kelly slapped straight into the team, this weekend's 2-0 defeat by the Black Cats merely left Pulis with all manner of injuries and suspensions littered across his desk – and little indication this morning that he was about to let Davies come out to play.

Last year's Player of the Season at Southampton wouldn't have come cheap either, after signing a big, fat Premiership-style deal last summer only for injury to put his Potters career on hold.

“The ball isn't running for us away from home at the moment and I'm struggling to put my finger on it,” Pulis told the club's official website, as he looked ever more intent on keeping all his playing cards to himself.

One other name might have crossed Gunn's mind of late – certainly if, as expected, he had ever made a phone call to his long-time mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

James Chester.

The 20-year-old, Old Trafford starlet would have fitted Gunn's needs to a 'T' in the sense that he was probably the next Ryan Shawcross to emerge off the United conveyor belt having been granted his Reds debut in front of 75,000 fans in that Carling Cup semi-final clash with Derby County.

And shone, according to football's most successful managerial knight

“James came on at a difficult time against Derby and he had to do some serious defending as we had started to struggle a bit,” Sir Alex told reporters afterwards.

“But it's important we find out about our young players and he did very well. He showed an excellent temperament for the big occasion,” he added.

“It's always a big test for a young boy to play in front of 75,000, but he came through it. He's a very capable player who has developed into a good, strong athlete.”

Given the fact that Chester has skippered United's reserve team this season under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suggests he has all the leadership qualities that the new City chief might be looking for.

And, according to the player himself, he also loves a tackle – something that will be big in demand in the bottom six of the Championship for the next three months.

“I like to put a tackle in that's for sure,” said Chester. “I always give 100 per cent.”

The sting, alas, came in the final sentence as someone else came a-knocking at the old man's door looking for a bright, young athletic centre-half – Darren Ferguson; Posh boss and son of.

“Peterborough should be a good move for me right now,” said Chester, as he agreed a one-month loan deal at London Road last Monday and left the City chief to thumb through his battered contacts book again.

He has, at least, got the Australian Adrian Leijer up his sleeve; Jonathan Grounds heads back to Middlesbrough at the start of March. Or even before – he is now on a 24-hour recall.

“We did ask Middlesbrough the question – whether we could have him through until the end of the season,” said Gunn, speaking after Saturday's first defeat of his managerial reign.

“But he's a Middlesbrough player; we totally understand that and they're free to take him back anytime between now and through to March 7.

“So with the Gary Doherty and Jonathan situation, we need to look at that closely. But we've got Adrian Leijer in from Fulham and he's someone who is impressing in training.”

He will also need to impress in today's reserve team clash with Birmingham City in which the likes of Leijer, Cody McDonald, Alan Gow and Chris Killen can all top up their game time ahead of the weekend haul to Deepdale.

“I'll be an interested admirer,” said Gunn.


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