Kyle McFadzean left Coventry City to join Blackburn Rovers
However, as you can see above, the club made an intriguing departure during the window with the departure of seasoned center-half Kyle McFadzean.
Before the transfer deadline, the 36-year-old left the CBS Arena to sign a free transfer to Blackburn Rovers.
Considering that McFadzean’s departure was made possible by the Sky Blues’ permission to go, we were curious about the opinions of Coventry City fans over this choice.
We chatted with FLW’s Sky Blues fan analyst Neil Littlewood to gain his insight about McFadzean’s exit in order to better comprehend it.
The ideal moment for McFadzean to depart
The veteran defender’s exit left Neil feeling “absolutely gutted to see Fadz go, it feels like the end of an era,” as he told FLW.
“How helpful he has been to the club. An incredible man, a mountain.”
But the timing couldn’t have been more ideal. After missing games in November, he hasn’t featured on the field this season and hasn’t looked nearly as good as he did in the previous two years, when he was perhaps our greatest defender.
“When we added three centre halves in the summer, including Joel Latibeaudiere, who can fill that kind of role, you could see the writing was on the wall. It feels like a little part of the torch has been passed thanks to Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching, who have both been really fantastic.
“He hasn’t grumbled, he hasn’t complained, but I think at his age, he needs to be playing football at this point of his career, and he deserves that.”
Neil is pleased with the way the club handled the matter and believes the time was appropriate.
“I’m glad that the club handled it the way that they did,” he said.
“They let him go, gave him the free move, and didn’t try to get in his path.
He’s been friends with Dom Hyam since they both attended Cov, and based on the interviews he’s done, it looks like he’ll be staying up there with Dom Hyam.
From that perspective, it’s encouraging to see that he will at last resume playing football and be content.
“And well done, Blackburn. They have an absolute stalwart in the form of a seasoned center-half who should aid them for the remainder of the season—let’s just hope it’s not the season’s second-to-last game when we visit.
The writing is on the wall, though, as we must travel to Blackburn away, just like we did the previous year, if we want to qualify for the play-offs.
“I’m not expecting a Ben Wilson goal, but I’ll take a Kyle McFadzean own-goal in the 89th minute.”
McFadzean’s career in numbers at Coventry
Although it died out in the end, and it was probably the right time for him to retire, as mentioned by Neil above, we must not forget what a magnificent career McFadzean had with the Sky Blues.
The defender, who participated in League One and the Championship with the team and was instrumental in their recent rise, leaves the CBS Arena.
In fact, McFadzean has made 171 appearances in all competitions since 2019.
For the rest of the season, it will be intriguing to see how he does at Blackburn.
