The Madjid's gone

Well, that was a turn-up for the books; after several months of on-off transfers to Real Betis and then West Brom. Madjid Bougherra moves in several hours to Glasgow Rangers. It looks like a good deal all-round as we get £2.5m and Madjid may get Champions League football.

I suspect Rangers inability to conclude other recent deals with English clubs may have helped our cause. Their last minute failure to agree terms with Sean Davis and Danny Shittu questioned their ability to compete with Premier League clubs and Walter Smith acknowledged as much. No such problem with Championship Charlton.

Wyn Grant has already commented that Bougherra was a quality player for us but not outstanding and I think that sums him up perfectly. For £2.5m, I think we have done a reasonable deal although it leaves us short in central defence (we expect a loan signing replacement shortly).

Like Chris Iwelumo, Madjid Bougherra leaves Charlton with his head held high. He did his best whilst wearing red and showed signs of a becoming a top flight defender. The promotional videos we got to see from his days at Sheffield Wednesday and Crewe via You Tube were probably a little misleading with regards to what he was actually capable of and he had to work hard to step up to Premiership level football before settling in the Championship. We didn't see his marauding abilities but I'll settle for the fact that he was playing to order and he was occasionally guilty of costly lapses in concentration. Other than that, he was strong and quick enough to provide central support for his partner and I think Rangers will offer him better prospects than West Brom. He can dominate his position in the SPL and concentrate on saving his performances for high profile European games when they come along.

He'll be welcomed back to the Valley should we draw Rangers in the next few years....