FABB LEAVES – AND FANS REACT Birmingham City supporters appear to be of a similar opinion when it comes to the exit of Diego Fabbrini. The Italian has left Blues for good, having had previous loan spells at Spezia Calcio and then Real Oviedo. Fabbrini, 28, has agreed a deal to sign for Romanian side FC Botosani as a free agent, after Blues and the player mutually agreed to cancel his contract. Gary Rowett brought Fabbrini to the club initially, on a loan deal from Watford – he impressed, as well as other loanees Rob Kiernan and Robert Tesche. Like the latter, he returned to Blues on a permanent basis under the management of Rowett, but the midfielder never produced the same level of performance and has now left St Andrew’s. Blues fans appear to be pleased that another member of the “bomb squad” has been kicked off the books – Fabbrini follows fellow out of favour players Andy Shinnie, Tesche, Jonathan Grounds and Greg Stewart out of the club. They do, though, regret that the club never got sufficient value for their money. Birmingham Fan TV: More off the wage bill. Slowly but surely eliminating the deadwood. Josh MacDonald: Never understood why players who clearly have some talent always flop at Blues. Controlled every game he played when he was on loan, complete disaster when he signed permanently. Oliver Newman: Gutted @fabbrini_diego was a favourite of mine @BCFC. I know we have to balance the books but we are missing that playmaker who can pass, dribble, make things happen. I saw that in Fabbrini. Best of luck in the future, #thankyou for the memories. Lee Povey: I hope he finds some form and gains some confidence. Good luck @diegofabbrini31 . Sorry its didn’t work out. James Wu-Tang: Major disappointment. Had high hopes for him when he signed Harry : Deserved no contract nor a place here at this club. Refused to play, trained on his own. Clearly not a favourite within the squad. Nick Xydias: What a dreadful waste of money Fabbrini has proved to be. Terrible signing. READ MORE LOAN WATCH Birmingham City’s summer transfer business included plenty of loan departures. The likes of Cheikh Ndoye, Jonathan Grounds and Greg Stewart were sent out to play their football away from St Andrew’s as Blues looked to chop down the wage bill by getting rid of unwanted players. Young hopefuls such as Corey O’Keeffe and Ronan Hale are also away on temporary deals as they reach vital points in their respective careers. Here’s where they all are – and how they’re getting on. GREG STEWART Stewart has only played once for Kilmarnock but he’s already made quite the impression at his new club. The winger made his debut for Killie on Saturday against Aberdeen, the side he played for last season. Stewart scored a brilliant solo goal to make it 2-0, dancing through the defence before finishing in style with a chip over the goakeeper. Our colleagues at the Daily Record described his debut by writing: “It was a scriptwriter’s dream. Former player returns to Pittodrie on his debut for new side Kilmarnock and proceeds to show them precisely what he didn’t do enough of in his frustrating spell with the Dons. “A terrific goal that hopefully signifies happier times to come for Stewart.” Appearances: 1 Goals: 1 NICOLAI BROCK-MADSEN Like Stewart, Brock-Madsen is playing his football north of the border. The striker was sent to Scottish Premiership side St Mirren for the season. Brock-Madsen has been a regular for the Buddies since joining, starting three league matches and a League Cup tie, though he’s yet to score. However, change is said to on the way at winless St Mirren with Alan Stubbs reportedly set to be axed after just three months in charge and be replaced by Jim McIntyre. Appearances: 4 Goals: 0 JONATHAN GROUNDS Grounds joined Blues’ Championship rivals Bolton Wanderers. He said at the time: “It has been tough. I had a difficult back end to last season with an injury I had and never really got going again last year. “The aim was to go into pre-season and really start afresh, but I never really got that opportunity. “The manager (Phil Parkinson) said that was one of the positions he was trying to strengthen. He only had one player who could play there. Hopefully I can come in, do what I need to do, show everybody what I am about and get as many games as I can.” The full-back made his debut in a Carabao Cup defeat against Leeds United and kept his place in the starting XI for Bolton’s Championship match against Sheffield United. But after the Blades ran out 3-0 winners, Grounds was replaced in the side by Andrew Taylor for the trip to Preston North End before appearing as a second-half substitute in the 2-2 draw. Appearances: 3 Goals: 0 CHEIKH NDOYE Ndoye’s departure saw the midfielder make a return to Angers, the Ligue 1 club he joined Blues from a year ago. The 32-year-old is a firm fans’ favourite at the club and has been thrust straight back into the side since making the move. Ndoye came off the bench for his second Angers ‘debut’, a 1-0 defeat to Rennes, and has started the next two games in which Angers have lost to PSG and beaten Lille. His Blues contract expires at the end of the season. Appearances: 3 Goals: 0 poll loading WHAT WILL THE OUTCOME OF BLUES V ALBION BE? 3000+ VOTES SO FAR Blues win Albion win Draw CHEICK KEITA Keita, who joined Blues from Italian second division side Virtus Entella last January, signed for Belgian Pro League side Eupen on a season-loan. He’s become a regular for the side and after a terrible start to the season with four consecutive defeats, Eupen have racked up consecutive victories – and Keita scored the winner against Mouscron a fortnight ago. The left-back opened the scoring on 29 minutes with his first ever senior goal and Eupen held out for three points. They beat Standard Liege on Saturday with Keita starting his sixth game of the season. Appearances: 6 Goals: 1 THE YOUNGSTERS Midfielders Corey O’Keeffe and Luke Maxwell are at Solihull Moors until early next year. O’Keeffe, 20, has made three appearances for the National League side, including one off the bench, and is yet to score. Maxwell, 21, has featured in six matches, four times as a substitute, bagging two goals. 19-year-old Ronan Hale has scored seven times in 25 games for League of Ireland Derry City and is due to return in November, Steve Seddon, 20, has played once for League Two side Stevenage in his loan spell which lasts until January, and 21-year-old Dom Bernard has played eight games for Aldershot in the National League. He’s also due to return in January. Source link The post Fans react to Birmingham City announcement and updates on Ndoye, Stewart and Grounds appeared first on 10z Soccer. #BirminghamCity #RobKiernan #GaryRowett
