Summer Transfer thread - fun while it lasted!

[der Berliner 3,744]

Well, for some reason I do believe that the whole Goodwillie stuff was sort of a smokescreen to cover other dealings. Possibly somewhat naive, but still a gut feeling. That is not to say we aren't interested in getting Goodwillie too, since he sure is a good striker after all.

[rbr 1,256]

some smoke screen going back 4 times and eventually bidding in excess of what we could have gotten him for 10 days ago

[Zappa 0]

I think we should look at other targets. I very much doubt we will get Goodwillie now. I also believe we need a striker because in the first 3 games that lack of use with Healy and Hemmings says it all for me, especially the first 2 games when we needed a goal.

 

Healy and Hemmings were on the bench when we went out of the Scottish cup in the east end last season when we desperately needed a striker or two on the pitch to get us back in the game. The fact that neither of them were brought on doesn't mean that Walter didn't think they were good enough though, it just means that he didn't want to put a striker on the pitch.

 

I'm not exactly sure what Ally is doing with them. He gave Hemmings a decent amount of game time in pre-season and by all accounts he did really well, showing that he definitely has something to offer us. His movement was superb because he kept breaking the offside trap and he scored and assisted as well. I really think he will feature for us this season. Probably not on a regular basis, but he surely deserves a chance here and there. It's not ideal for developing these young guys and that's maybe why the likes of Fleck hasn't lived up to so may expectations of the fans, but I'll be happy enough if they get some decent chances like getting a start or at least 30 mins in some cup games.

 

I think Healy is mainly back on the books in case Jelavic and Lafferty both end up being injured at the same time.

[Darthter 542]

My concern with Goodwillie, is that if he comes in, there's a chance he'll go straight into the team up front.

That would then break up the developing partnership of Jelavic & Naismith. I don't think Goodwillie will enjoy sitting on the bench too much!!!

 

I say let him go, and focus on the other targets....

[dambuster 0]

Very poor show, amateurish in the extreme, I fear for the future if this is the mark of our executives abilities.

[bmck 117]

It's hardly amateurish to try and get a good deal. It can't always work. And all this "we could have got him for cheaper earlier" is conjecture. What we hear in the media is all part of the circus of negotiations, not the truth. We can't have known what we would have got him for, have no knowledge of whether they would have procrastinated to allow other clubs to bid, whether another club would have immediately outbid us etc. The only time we'll be able to see how well we've done in the transfer market will be when it has closed, and we look at who we have and how much we paid for them. We already have our best players signed up on long contracts, have brought in Lee Wallace for 1.5 million below the just-give-them-how-much-they-want fee, and Ortiz and Goian have came in for under a million between them - on first impressions, they seem fair value for that money. Patience!

[dambuster 0]

We paid 5 times our original offer for Wallace, our owner is on record as saying �£2 million is to steep for Goodwillie, you call it what you like, I will call it amateurish in the extreme.

[bmck 117]

We paid 5 times our original offer for Wallace,

 

And got him for half the asking price.

 

our owner is on record as saying �£2 million is to steep for Goodwillie,

 

Maybe he thinks it is, and many fans share this opinion (or did until they got embarrased we hadn't signed him), maybe he was trying to force their hand. Who knows.

 

you call it what you like,

 

I'll go for 'negotiations'.

 

I will call it amateurish in the extreme.

 

Everyone's entitled to their opinions. I think he's being responsible. I'd rather this than pay anyone anything they asked and end up back in the financial rut.

[ian1964 10,724]

The fact that there has been no sighting of Hemmings, Healy or Beattie in the first three games tells me that we actually need 2 strikers. I would say one to go straight into the team with Jelavic and another as back-up alongside Lafferty.

 

I would have to disagree with here mate. Lafferty deserves his chance of partnering Jelavic rather than being just a back up. Jelavic & Lafferty looked good together last season and allowing Naismith to drop deeper but also allowing Naismith to support the front two,which he does an excellent job of.

[ian1964 10,724]

The striker’s Scotland career was put on hold after he was charged with a serious sexual assault in January, but the charge was dropped last week because of insufficient evidence.

 

That development sparked increased activity on the transfer front for the forward, who has two years left on his contract.

 

Rangers could also lose Madjid Bougherra, their Algerian centre-half, before the end of the week. Lekhwiya, champions of Qatar, believe they have had a �£3m offer accepted by Rangers and hope to seal the deal after the Ibrox club play the second leg of their Champions League qualifying tie against Malmo in Sweden on Wednesday.

 

Bougherra, who has a year left of his Ibrox contract, will earn �£35,000-a-week tax-free. Rangers have opted to sell the defender and he will travel to Qatar after the club return from Sweden.

 

Billel Walid Al Hatmi, Lekhwiya’s sporting director, said: “We have reached agreement with Rangers, but still have a couple of minor details to sort out with Madjid. The transfer is not quite official, but it will be very soon.

 

“I don’t want to go fully into details about the negotiations, but any small details that still have to be sorted are not big enough to prevent the transfer from happening.”

 

Ally McCoist, the Rangers manager, has insisted he wants the defender to stay at the club, but Al Hatmi said: “I have heard what the Rangers manager has said, but it is not him we are in discussions with – it’s our counterparts in the Scottish club.

 

“It is only respectful we deal directly with their directors. They have agreed to sell him. I expect the transfer to be concluded before the end of the week.”

Rangers, though, have appeared to cool their interest in Wesley Verhoek, the ADO Den Haag player. The Ibrox club have had a �£1m offer rejected for the 24-year-old and they are now assessing David Odonkor, the 27-year-old Germany internationalist, who has been training at Murray Park.

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/battle-goes-to-the-wire-over-2-8m-striker-goodwillie-1.1115018