Transfer Deadline Day: Michael O'Halloran signs until 2020

[RANGERRAB 3,654]

The Pole is only on a six month contract, this could allow Kelly to go on loan for some game time.

 

It seems Bell is finished.

 

I don't see Gostomski being content just to sit on the bench. If he's as good as he's being made out to be Foderingham will have serious competition for the GK jersey

Edited January 3, 2016 by RANGERRAB

[craig 5,199]

It would appear that this can tell us two things. One, that Bell is either finished with injuries, or Warburton doesnt rate him (perhaps his attitude to recovery?). It also tells us that he doesnt believe in Kelly.

 

I thought Kelly was fairly well thought of, as indeed is McCrorie behind him, so I would have thought another keeper in their way towards the first team will send out a poor message to them also.

 

Of course the third option is that Wes wants to move or that Warbs isnt overly impressed with him either and this guy is going to be his number one.

 

Time will tell.

 

McCrorie and Kelly are very young. Lots of time to prove themselves. McGregor a good example. I think he rates Foderingham. I certainly do. I think his distribution is excellent, his control with ball at feet excellent, shot stopping is very solid too. Crosses are his problem area right now, but he is still young too so plenty of time to develop.

 

As you say though... Time will tell

[pete 2,499]

The Pole is only on a six month contract, this could allow Kelly to go on loan for some game time.

 

It seems Bell is finished.

 

As in Webster finished or really finished?

[forlanssister 3,114]

Variation on Ye Olde taxi driver theme...

 

One of our Polish tenants just told my wife he was a good signing, had several offers from various places but was blown away by Rangers.

[colinstein 294]

we've got a goalie and a wide right mid field/ winger so far

So McKay/ Wallace double act on the left and the same on the right with Tav and the new guy

sounds like a plan

[Tannochsidebear 2,405]

These short-term low-level signings have me perplexed.

 

Are they just squad thickeners to see us through this season? If so, what does that say about his previous comments about pathway to first team for our development and fringe players? Does it mean he thinks Bell & Kelly, and Templeton

& Oduwa (Miller too has been playing wide forward) are pish, and that we have no players to play a wide role coming from the development squad and so need this level of player, neither of which has any decent track record in the game, just to get us through another 20 games? Given both are only being handed 5 month contracts, that must be the assumption.

 

If the above is wrong, is this really the quality he believes is required to challenge the scum next season? It surely cannot be the case or we are in big trouble. The saving grace is again the length of contract indicates a short term fix. What this then does not do is continue the rebuilding of the squad with an eye on next season. We must add 6-8 players who are improvements on our current squad for next season, perhaps more when you consider the 3 loanees who will be leaving and some players running out of contract who won't be asked to stay on. If Warburton is to be taken at his word that he doesn't like doing that as it upsets the harmony, then he has to bring some of these in during this window so as not to have a huge disruption in pre-season. If he brings in 3-4 in January, then why are we also bringing in two very ordinary players who won't feature next season.

 

It is all very confusing as there appear to be contradictions all over the place from Warburtons earlier statements and his recent actions. Thoughts bears? Am I missing something?

[RANGERRAB 3,654]

I see nothing wrong in the Forrester & Gostomski signings. Yes they've been given short term deals but if they impress I'm sure they'll be offered longer deals.At least it's not exorbitant McCoist deals over 3 or 4 years

 

We've got 4 players out of contract at the end of the season(Law, Templeton, Shiels & Clark) & it doesn't look like they'll be offered new deals so new players need to be sourced from somewhere.It doesn't look like Bell features in MW's plans hence the Gostomski signing.

 

Of the 3 loan signings only Ball has impressed so they'll need replaced too.

[pete 2,499]

I am not sure the keeper is from a low level Lech Poznan are not a bad level and Polish keepers have been quite reasonable in the past. These players also only got a 6 month contract so they are obviously being looked at to see what level they are. Warburton obviously knows Forrester and he was a former England youth internationalist so I think Warburton is possibly thinking he has more to offer than he has shown. Some players fall away from the level they should reach for different reasons so I guess Warburton has seen something in him as a youth player that he thinks he can possibly bring it out of him. Look at Barrie McKay. If Warburton had not seen something in him then he could have withered away in the lower leagues. Now we are talking about him as a future Scotland player. Many young players fall away because of their attitude and if you can turn that round as they get older then you may have a gem on your hands. Again Barrie McKay is a good example.

[Big Jaws 570]

These short-term low-level signings have me perplexed.

 

Are they just squad thickeners to see us through this season? If so, what does that say about his previous comments about pathway to first team for our development and fringe players? Does it mean he thinks Bell & Kelly, and Templeton

& Oduwa (Miller too has been playing wide forward) are pish, and that we have no players to play a wide role coming from the development squad and so need this level of player, neither of which has any decent track record in the game, just to get us through another 20 games? Given both are only being handed 5 month contracts, that must be the assumption.

 

If the above is wrong, is this really the quality he believes is required to challenge the scum next season? It surely cannot be the case or we are in big trouble. The saving grace is again the length of contract indicates a short term fix. What this then does not do is continue the rebuilding of the squad with an eye on next season. We must add 6-8 players who are improvements on our current squad for next season, perhaps more when you consider the 3 loanees who will be leaving and some players running out of contract who won't be asked to stay on. If Warburton is to be taken at his word that he doesn't like doing that as it upsets the harmony, then he has to bring some of these in during this window so as not to have a huge disruption in pre-season. If he brings in 3-4 in January, then why are we also bringing in two very ordinary players who won't feature next season.

 

It is all very confusing as there appear to be contradictions all over the place from Warburtons earlier statements and his recent actions. Thoughts bears? Am I missing something?

 

My first post on Gersnet so I hope its no too controversial an introduction.

 

 

We need to get our head out of where it has been for the last couple of decades with sometimes extravagant, expensive flop fodder.

 

 

I think Warburton is using his experience from his previous field here and is cautiously speculating. You can sort of follow it through the carefully chosen language he uses in some of his interviews where he talks about transfers and the loan market for example. He says it gives us access to the type of player we simply cant afford. We're not in Kansas no more Toto, or more aptly 'the 90's'. Not that they are automatically better players than what we already have per se'. Just that the markets are shrinking. At the moment we're competing against both the SPFL and the English leagues for a smaller pool of available players and it is far too expensive, in more ways than one, to place your budget on what could potentially be a 10-100/1 shot.

 

 

I think he's being cute here, we need cover, not just for injury's and suspensions but for terrain also. In fact Scottish football has gotten to the stage, over the last 20 odd years, of breeding Barry Ferguson type players (physique wise) because of the heavy pitches in the months from October to Jan and again in the months from late Feb to early May where very few of the slighter built players perform well on heavy pitches. There are exceptions of course but I'm sure you've heard it yourself in your circles. He needs tae beef up a bit or he's powder puff, too lightweight. Zalalem for example is a lovely neat and tidy player but his slump in form seems to have coincidently begun as the rains did and he'll probably come back to a right good game as the pitches dry out from March onward.

 

 

If you seen the state of Dens park at all for that derby on Sat? Forrester is a wee stocky guy and by the looks of him could cover the ground as needed and would be excellent cover across 7, 8, 10, 11 especially in the type of boggy terrain (e.g. at Dens park), with no bounce, in the next couple of months. To my mind Warbs is taking a punt here but not just a guess type of punt. Its more calculated and pragmatic than that. What's the worst case scenario? We could get a player who cant quite cut it. That's OK we let him go in the next window as the limited contract allows. Not much of a loss over all. Or he does make an impression in which case we sign him on a more permanent basis or conversely move him on before his contact expires for a couple of hundred grand, in that tight market. 200k is nothing in the English market and if he was up to par for them many English clubs would bite the hand off you to take him for that type of money but for us, right now, its a healthy chunk of change.

 

 

There's a fair bit of business to be done in this window yet and I'm sure if Warburton can get what he thinks he needs then he will. Otherwise he'll wait. The only position I think we need is DM but I'm not Warburton so I don't know exactly how he feels about that position or whether he feels he already has someone to cover that role or not. I'll wait and see who and what he does before I become overly concerned.

[pete 2,499]

My first post on Gersnet so I hope its no too controversial an introduction.

 

 

We need to get our head out of where it has been for the last couple of decades with sometimes extravagant, expensive flop fodder.

 

 

I think Warburton is using his experience from his previous field here and is cautiously speculating. You can sort of follow it through the carefully chosen language he uses in some of his interviews where he talks about transfers and the loan market for example. He says it gives us access to the type of player we simply cant afford. We're not in Kansas no more Toto, or more aptly 'the 90's'. Not that they are automatically better players than what we already have per se'. Just that the markets are shrinking. At the moment we're competing against both the SPFL and the English leagues for a smaller pool of available players and it is far too expensive, in more ways than one, to place your budget on what could potentially be a 10-100/1 shot.

 

 

I think he's being cute here, we need cover, not just for injury's and suspensions but for terrain also. In fact Scottish football has gotten to the stage, over the last 20 odd years, of breeding Barry Ferguson type players (physique wise) because of the heavy pitches in the months from October to Jan and again in the months from late Feb to early May where very few of the slighter built players perform well on heavy pitches. There are exceptions of course but I'm sure you've heard it yourself in your circles. He needs tae beef up a bit or he's powder puff, too lightweight. Zalalem for example is a lovely neat and tidy player but his slump in form seems to have coincidently begun as the rains did and he'll probably come back to a right good game as the pitches dry out from March onward.

 

 

If you seen the state of Dens park at all for that derby on Sat? Forrester is a wee stocky guy and by the looks of him could cover the ground as needed and would be excellent cover across 7, 8, 10, 11 especially in the type of boggy terrain (e.g. at Dens park), with no bounce, in the next couple of months. To my mind Warbs is taking a punt here but not just a guess type of punt. Its more calculated and pragmatic than that. What's the worst case scenario? We could get a player who cant quite cut it. That's OK we let him go in the next window as the limited contract allows. Not much of a loss over all. Or he does make an impression in which case we sign him on a more permanent basis or conversely move him on before his contact expires for a couple of hundred grand, in that tight market. 200k is nothing in the English market and if he was up to par for them many English clubs would bite the hand off you to take him for that type of money but for us, right now, its a healthy chunk of change.

 

 

There's a fair bit of business to be done in this window yet and I'm sure if Warburton can get what he thinks he needs then he will. Otherwise he'll wait. The only position I think we need is DM but I'm not Warburton so I don't know exactly how he feels about that position or whether he feels he already has someone to cover that role or not. I'll wait and see who and what he does before I become overly concerned.

 

It was an excellent post for discussion. Welcome! looking forward to more posts from you.

Edited January 4, 2016 by pete