Fulham's Finest

Looks like it was a touch windy at Motspur Park, and those trade winds blew in Giorgos Karagounis from Greece.

Fulham have announced the signing of midfielder Giorgos Karagounis on a free transfer from Panathinaikos until the end of the season.

Given the current state of the midfield, Karagounis is an excellent signing with a wealth of experience, and looks set to gain a significant amount of playing time.  While he’s 35, and certainly isn’t bringing down the average age of the club, that’s not what this signing is about.

With an obvious lack of midfielders, the club right now needs bodies and this is an experienced and quality body.  Obviously Jol didn’t plan to be this short in the middle of the pitch, and people complaining about how Danny Murphy’s a better option than Karagounis are just flat out ignorant.

While Martin Jol is partly to blame for the midfield situation, some of the things that happened couldn’t be helped, and now we’re left looking to move forward.

Remember this as well: Karagounis’s deal runs until the end of the year. That’s what Fulham wanted to give Danny Murphy as well, until Blackburn swooped in and gave him a second year. So this is essentially what Jol wanted.

Karagounis has 120 appearances for his national team as well as many memorable moments there as captain.  He’s been referred to as “a dogged worker in midfield and a deliverer of fine set plays” which will play perfectly into this club.  While he’s not the creative mind we need, I doubt someone like that exists on the free transfer market and this will have to do in that department until January when Jol can find a few more long-term solutions.