Stoke take Aston Villa forward John Carew on Season-Long Loan

Well this is a little unexpected. I assume that we all anticipated that John Carew, when he left, would be gone for good. But multiple sources, including ESPN and Sky, are reporting that Carew is headed to Stoke on a season-long loan. There's no talk of making it permanent, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

Stoke's gaffer, Tony Pulis, really seems to think he's pulled off quite the deal here. From the Sky article:

"On top of that, he was Aston Villa's leading scorer last season with 17 goals, so we have acquired a striker with outstanding pedigree."

Old Yeller may have been a prize-winning purebred lab, but his pedigree didn't prevent him from being, well, old. And that's the problem with Carew. It's not that he isn't proven, it's that he's been in unbelievably bad form this season. He's just getting old.

So, like everyone else (I imagine), I'd like to wish Carew the best of luck. In the sum of all things, what he has done for Villa has been undeniably positive. But we've moved on now, to better things. Things like Darren Bent. Thanks for your help John, but enjoy Stoke! Stay there for a while. Maybe even finish your career there. It's better than taking you out back ourselves.