Bescot Banter columnist Scott Brotherton takes a look at the recent return of Febian Brandy;I couldn't believe it when I found out that Febian was returning, especially after the way he left. I was certain it was just the media spinning the transfer rumour mill again until I saw the story for myself.
It was only a few weeks ago that Brandy was the target of intense booing by the Saddlers fans when Sheffield United came to town. I admit that I was jeering him too when he came on from the bench for a few minutes, but I don’t blame him for choosing a move to Blades. In hindsight it looks a silly choice for him to go to Sheffield who are in a relegation dogfight, but last season they were well up there and in contention. Pre-season they must have been penned as favourites for at least a play-off place and Brandy couldn’t have predicted their amazing reversal in fortunes.
He has also had a rotten season on a personal level, getting sent off twice so far and being pushed out of the first-team as a result. Brandy was bought by new Blades manager David Weir, but he only lasted 13 games at the helm and the winger hardly endeared himself to the new boss by seeing red in Nigel Clough’s first game in charge. It comes as no surprise then that he has been left out in the cold after such a poor first impression, especially considering the quality of players at Bramall Lane and the depth of their squad.
A good argument put forward by Dean Smith is that Febian gets better in the second half of a season and it’s hard to disagree with that based on last season’s displays. He was almost anonymous for the first half of the campaign and then suddenly became an unstoppable force after Christmas.
Besides, after the messy way in which things ended for him in the Midlands, Brandy probably feels as if he owes Deano. We can only hope that he will repay the manager’s faith and willingness to give him another chance.
The signing of Brandy has been called a gamble by some but surely it can’t hurt the squad to have another player competing for a place in the first team. The competition is also extremely good between the wingers with Lalkovic, Hemmings, Baxendale, Gray and now Brandy all fighting it out for just the two spots in the starting eleven. Febian already knows almost the whole squad too as it hasn’t changed much since 2012/13, so he can slot in seamlessly and get back to what he does best.
I couldn’t believe it when I found out that he is still only 24 years old. Having been at Manchester United, played in Greece, and had a couple of seasons in the Football League it was a shock to find out that he is still so young. Brandy’s has been a faltering career so far but he still has plenty of years left to put it back on track.
Let’s face it, the pace of an in-form Lalkovic and Brandy down the flanks is a truly mouth-watering prospect so we can only hope this will become a reality.
Football fans are a fickle bunch and Walsall supporters will soon warm to Brandy again if he produces what he did last campaign. Deano seems to get the best out of Febian and if there’s anyone who can motivate him to produce some brilliance then it is the Ginger Mourinho.
By: Scott Brotherton