Ben Haim departure confirmed

From mcfc.co.uk:

Tal Ben Haim has joined Portsmouth on a free transfer.

The experienced 27-year-old Israeli international defender who made his name in this country at Bolton Wanderers, managed just nine starts for City following his switch from Chelsea last year. He spent the end of last season on loan at Sunderland.

Confirmation of the mornings rumours and brings an end to a fairly miserable time at the club for Ben Haim. At the time of his signing he did look to be a useful addition to the squad that was being assembled.

It became clear though that despite arriving on Hughes' watch, the deal was being put in place prior to his arrival and Ben Haim quickly fell foul of Hughes and was identified as one of the trio of rebels to go behind Hughes' back.

Since leaving Bolton his career really has been on the slide and has now been jettisoned by both ourselves and Chelsea, yet he could be a useful pick up for Portsmouth though as they to try to get their season back on track after the off-field upheaval and loss of key players.

Ben Haim claims Portsmouth move completed

From BBC Sport:

Manchester City defender Tal Ben Haim says he has signed a four-year contract with Premier League rivals Portsmouth.

Pompey, currently bottom of the table after losing all four league games, have not confirmed the deal, but Ben Haim is relishing a move to the club.

"It's a big challenge," said the 27-year-old Israeli international. "I think we can turn things around."

The centre-back, who has had spells with Bolton and Chelsea, last featured for Manchester City in December.

Still no official word from either club, but you imagine this is a done deal.

Deadline day round up - Ben Haim departs

Tal Ben-Haim is heading to Sunderland on loan until the end
of the season.
The Israeli international defender moved to City from Chelsea
in the summer, and has made a total of 14 starts.

>>mcfc.co.uk

A very brief article on the clubs official site announcing the departure, which probably sums up perfectly Ben Haim's current standing at the club.

Brought in at virtually the same time as Hughes, it is apparant that he was not a 'Hughes signing', and after featuring early in the season Hughes quickly lost faith and of course Ben Haim all but threw away his City career with his decision to complain about Hughes to Garry Cook.

Although it is only a loan deal, surely we have seen the last of him in a City shirt.

Ben Haim signing confirmed

Manchester City have signed the Israel defender Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea on a four-year contract, ending a 13-month stay in London during which he made just 10 Premier League starts and was fined for criticising the club's management. The fee for the 26-year-old is officially undisclosed, although it was previously reported that City were preparing a £5m bid.

>>guardian.co.uk

Merely confirmation of what had been widely expected given reports over the past few days, although the undisclosed fee adds a little intrigue as to whether the touted figure of £5 million was paid.

A good player, and one who lost his way at Chelsea a little following Jose Mourinho's departure but will add depth to an area which, whilst strong, is a little light.

As I've posted before though, it will be interesting to see exactly where he will fit in, and what impact this will have on the current incumbents (most likely Micah Richards and Vedran Corluka. It is unlikely Ben Haim will switch one bench for another so it could be that Mark Hughes is preparing to push either Richards or Corluka into midfield - which for me, could be a big risk unless he does opt for a 4-5-1 formation - perhaps with two holding midfielders to allow the creative talents of Petrov and Elano to really flourish.

Although he won't feature tomorrow evening in the second leg against EB/Streymour, it may become a little clearer over the next ten days when we have a packed week of pre-season fixtures.

Carry On Captain

Not, thankfullly, a camp cinema jolly-up set aboard a cruise ship, but an endorsement from Mark Hughes for Richard Dunne's leadership qualities as he announced Dunne's re-appointment as captain for the forthcoming season.

Said Hughes of Dunne:

"There was absolutely no reason for me to change the captaincy this season," said Hughes.

"It was important for me to understand Richard's situation when I arrived here and to get it resolved and now everyone is happy.

"I have been delighted with the response that Richard has made since he has signed.

"He has been part of this squad and this club for a long, long time and I felt it was important that we made sure he would continue to be a big part of things.

"The strength and the pace that he has at the back will be one of the keys to the way we play this year."

It caught me by surprise on reading the story as I'd not even countered the possibility of Dunne being replaced as captain. Looking at the squad as well there are not a host of stand out candidates you could envisage doing the job, although Hughes will have to find a temporary stand in for the opening pair of games due to Dunne's suspension.

It was also interesting to see Hughes mention that 'strength and pace...will be one of the keys to the way we play this year', ideal given the partnership of Dunne and Richards, but strange given that speculation regarding us signing Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

I don't imagine Ben Haim would be too keen on swapping the stands at Stamford Bridge for the bench at Eastlands, so would his signing mean a move positional change for Micah Richards - moving him into central midfield to fulfill the 'Essien' style role that every club is seemingly scouring the world for?

Whilst I don't doubt he would do a job in that position - and there is a school of thought to suggest ultimately he will settle there, I don't think he would offer enough in terms of creativity that would be demanded from that position if we are to line up in a 4-4-2 formation.

I don't also see Hughes wanting to break up the partnership that despite the talents of Petrov and Elano was really the key for us last season and a big reason why we faded so badly last season when Richards lost form and then was sidelined through injury, but as we edge towards the season and the pre-season games come thick and fast we may well have a clearer idea.