Dowie gets his men
By Dave Moore
Updated Friday, 28th November 2003
Double signing eases selection problems
Iain Dowie has got his two new men. The loan signings of
Fulham’s Mark Hudson and Bolton Wanderer’s attacking midfielder Jermaine Johnson (pictured) have both been completed. As Athletic are in administration, Chief Executive Alan Hardy first had to prove to the Football League that Athletic didn’t have 16 fully fit professionals. With the Sheridan brothers, Paul Murray, David Eyres, Chris Killen and Matty Appleby all injured, it left the Latics with just 14 professionals including youngsters Danny Hall and Adam Griffin.
Dowie praised Fulham boss Chris Coleman for his assistance in helping to bring Hudson back for his second spell at Boundary Park. Hudson signed a one month deal and the deal means he will not be cup-tied for the visit of
Blackpool in the FA Cup. Dowie said, “Mark is a quality defender and fits in with my ethos of passing the ball. He has pace, is composed and is a quality defender.” Hudson has now recovered from injury and is keeping his promise to the Latics that he would return.
Jamaican International Jermaine Johnson has been a long term target for Dowie who described him as, “An exciting player with tremendous pace, good technical ability and is unpredictable as a lot of what he does is off the cuff. I watched a video of Bolton’s game against
Arsenal and Jermaine was fantastic, destroying them on his own. He is an exciting player with tremendous pace, good technical ability and is unpredictable as a lot of what he does is off the cuff. I have seen him on a lot of occasions and he has been a threat. I am very grateful to Sam for letting us have him.” Johnson has made twelve Premiership appearances for Bolton and will move to Athletic for three months.
