It’s been announced today that Olivier Kapo will finally leave the club after two relatively unsuccessful campaigns. He scored his only league goal towards the end of the 08-09 season in a defeat to Chelsea, and quite a good one it was too. Unfortunately it takes more than a single goal to make a good player, and on too many occasions Kapo, or ‘Krappo‘ as I liked to call him, flattered to deceive. A shame, considering he cost Steve Bruce more than £3 million back in 2007. I think we can chalk that one up as a net loss.

Jason Koumas: On his way

Also seemingly on his way out is Jason Koumas, who shall spend the forthcoming season on loan to Cardiff City, where I am sure he shall do extremely well. He seems to thrive in the Championship environment, but struggles for consistency at the higher levels these days.

At an initial price tag of £5.2 million, I would say Jase also failed to live up to expectations in the long term. He did score one more than Kapo, though, and will be remembered for his goal against Aston Villa in the first game of last season. At least his time at the club wasn’t a complete failure, more of a disappointment.

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And we’re back for another season of horrible photos! Except this time they’ll be even worse and perhaps even non-existent. Here’s a selection from the warmup for Wednesday night’s encounter with our La Liga opponents, who brought with them an enthusiasm and laid-back Spanish style that even seemed to have an effect on the weather. By this I mean it didn’t rain. Much.

The best of these pics will be available on the Illarterate Flickr channel soon, so check that out if you get the chance.