Farewell to the Flying Finn?

By Kym Smith on May 30, 08 12:48 PM in

Although at the time of writing, the news hasn't been broken by the club yet, it would appear from the Finnish news and Hannover96's website that Mikael Forssell has signed a three-year contract with them.

If confirmed, this marks the end of Forssell's association of just under five years with Birmingham City. He joined us at the beginning of our second campaign in the Premier League in August 2003 as a loanee from Chelsea.

That season, rather embarrassingly for them, he was their top scorer as he scored seventeen goals in our best showing in the top flight.

Sadly, his time at Birmingham was dogged by a long period of injury and much anxiety for the fans as many of us feared that he would never return to full fitness again. Dispirited by the time it took him to recover, he was a forlorn figure on the pitch during his brief appearances.

I was one of the people who never lost faith in his ability and was pleased that he opted to stay with us during our last Championship season. It was evident over the last 12 months that his sharpness was starting to return, although he had to be nursed carefully back to first-team action. It remains to be seen whether he will ever become a "90-minute" player again who is capable of withstanding a full season.

In truth, we nearly lost Forssell last year as he was on the verge of returning to Germany then, but Alex McLeish's arrival seemed to revitalise his prospects, particularly when he was able to forge a partnership with James McFadden.

He crowned his career in the Premier League in our home demolition of Spurs by scoring his first hat-trick at that level - one for the purist; one from each foot and a header.

He has been a great striker for Blues and was a huge favourite with the fans. In his loan season with us, he was possibly one of the most talented players I have seen with us in recent years. Forssell is a clinical finisher, but the injury problems may have continued to haunt him, particularly in the more rumbustious atmosphere of the Championship.

There is always a time for a player to move on; he has given us some fantastic displays and I hope that he remembers us fondly from time to time, as he was most definitely taken to our hearts. I think I'm glad that he is off to play in the Bundesliga rather than staying in England; at least he won't be able to come back to haunt us in a FA Cup tie next year!

Thanks for the memories, Mikael; I'm sure we will be keeping an eye on you from afar.