Peter Ramage brought in to bolster Blasters' defence

FOR KERALA BLASTERS fans, when it rains, it pours. After a long spell of inaction, the Sachin Tendulkar co-owned has made a number of overseas signings, and the latest player to be picked up is a player all the way from Whitley Bay, England, who has spent his career playing in the top 3 tiers of English football at multiple prominent clubs.

Delighted to have signed for @KBFCOfficial ! New chapter and experience I can't wait to get stuck into! Thanks for all the well wishes 🇮🇳⚽️

— Peter Ramage (@peterramage83) August 24, 2015

The 31 year old, 6 foot 1 defender spent 8 years in the academy and youth system of Newcastle United, where he played alongside fellow Blasters player Michael Chopra. He made it to the first team in 2004 under newly appointed manager Graeme Souness. A schoolmate of Newcastle star Steven Taylor, the two became a partner in the Toons defence, carrying on for four seasons in his boyhood club. He became a first team regular in 2005-06, but his last yeat with the Magpies was fraught with injuries. In the summer of 2008, manager Kevin Keegan wanted to keep Ramage at the club, but could not assure him of a regular enough place at the first team, resulting in him joining Queens Park Rangers. Overall he made 51 league appearances for Newcastle. 

It was at QPR that Ramage got his first goal in his senior career. He became a regular starter for them in the Championship but when the club gained promotion to the Premier League in the 2011-12 season, he was sent off to Crystal Palace and Birmingham City, who were in the Championship, for the remainder of his contract. Subsequently Ramage signed for Crystal Palace in summer 2012, and played a crucial part in the campaign that got them promoted to the Premier League. However, Ramage was loaned out to Barnsley; first in Championship, then at League One following their relegation. He remained there until his recruitment by Kerala Blasters. 

While there is no doubt that the stout presence of Peter Ramage in the Blasters defence alongside Bruno Perone and Sandesh Jhingan is a good thing, but the unpredictability factor about him is that he has never played for a team outside England. However, at 31, he is not beyond the age of adaptability. But it will be a job cut out for the physio as he has never experienced the kind of intense scheduling and frequent travelling that ISL demands, something that has caused exhaustion and injuries among many foreign players.