Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The mystery thickens; time to bring in added investigative wattage


The clock is ticking indeed! We noted below the curious disappearance of Benny Feilhaber from Derby's lineups so far this year despite the team's early struggles. Thought we might have an answer when a popular Derby County FC site reported this morning that Benny was set to make his Rams debut tonight in a Carling Cup matchup with Championship side Blackpool (great name). Again, the article reports that the manager stated that Benny had settled in well!

Come match time, and, voila, no Benny! Not even on the bench. This is getting kind of odd considering there has been no comment from the team. Is Benny, much like Frank and Joe above, tied up in some haunted mansion? I'm sending a telegram up Bayport way to get some extra help on this puzzler.

2 comments:

Scotto said...

Only comment I've so far found re Benny's non-appearance last night was from the manager, who said he would probably take part in the reserves match against Tottenham tonight.
Hmmm.
Okay, so my conspiracy theory for the day: Benny is currently transfer bait. The deadline approacheth and Derby are desparate. Maybe, just maybe, Benny is part of some deal and the manager doesn't want him making a positive showing in front of the currently discontented fans.
I realize this scenario doesn't make much sense, but then again, neither does Derby at the moment. Perhaps witholding him last night was to keep him from being cup tied.

Possible alternative explanation: he's gaining match fitness (he has faded consistently in US matches). Counter: maybe, but why not have him available as a sub?

Matt and Allie said...

the only problem w/ the "transfer bait" theory is that I vaguely recall some limitations on the number of times a player can transfer in a given year. This was a significant factor in delaying Mascherano's transfer to Liverpool. I'll have to dig up the exact rule, but it has something to do with playing for 3 or more teams in any given year.