Hull City have been in obvious need of strengthening lately, and the arrivals of both Kevin Kilbane and Manucho represent some astute business by Phil Brown.
Kilbane is a fine footballer, if not necessarily highly gifted, and his level-headed approach down our left flank will be a sharp contrast to the slightly tunnel-visioned style of Peter Halmosi, who is not taking the chances he has recently been offered.
Manucho, meanwhile, is an Angolan centre forward who hasn't been able to earn enough faith from Sir Alex Ferguson to pull on a Manchester United strip with anything resembling regularity. At 25, he needs to playing more often, and given our excellent recent record for taking fringe Manchester United strikers and developing their talents, one hopes the benefit felt by Manucho's arrival will be three-fold, just as it was when Fraizer Campbell did the business for the Tigers last season.
Manucho's arrival does rule out a return to the KC Stadium for Paul McShane, unless Brown feels the ginger-haired defender is worth a punt as a permanent acquisition. Manucho has taken McShane's place on the loan list, and the presence of Kamil Zayatte and Marlon King means the quota is again complete. The pursual of Steve Finnan, which the manager says is still alive despite worries regarding his medical, could put paid to any lingering interest in McShane, temporary or otherwise.
We still need a central defender and one hopes we get one quickly, as McShane has gone, Zayatte is suspended and Anthony Gardner remains forever crocked. This is unless Wayne Brown is our secret weapon for the visit of Arsenal...
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