der Berliner

... seems to be a freebie soon and ... fits the bill: Achilles tendon surgery - Return unknown 😝

I for one wouldn't mind Shankland, as he's certainly a finisher and proven scorer in Scotland ... where we have to earn our corn. I would likewise prefer him to play alongside another striker though, be it Colak or another centre-forward. Sakala should stay on either "wing"/left-right-sided-attack-slot/however you want to call it. Hearts will sure want some hard cash, but 3-4m should be enough. So far, we have done well in the free-transfer market and there are enough strikers at the end of their contracts too, this list is just the 23-30 year old age bracket. Still, someone who knows the way about in Scotland might be a reasonable shout.

Anyone on here who really thinks we are buying someone for 7m+ this summer?

Since we paid some €55k for him, that should be possible.

Added that laughable Haji Wright rejected 7 m bid in the OP. IN - Haji Wright (25) - ST, US/Liberia, Antalyaspor - contract till 6/2025 - LINK - TM

Wee sidenote ... we stuck to the one-striker trash and our prime legend Alfredo, and ended up empty-handed for ages. We got Cedric Itten, hardly ever played him like we should have and now that he is back in Switzerland with Young Boys, he played 39 games, scored 23 goals and assisted another 12. They snatched the title, playing a 4-4-2 diamond. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but this one-striker thing against packed defences only works if people contribute and that one striker does his job. We were probably champions in terms of possession and chances created over the last 4 seasons ... which is as useful as keeping stats on yards thrown by American Football quarterbacks and going bananas about that, without said quarterbacks winning anything.

That's the difference between the women leagues around Europe, and even in Germany.

The point is that we play far too many shot-shy or aim-impaired people against packed defenses, and usually only one striker. I would assume that Beale is really going with three at the back, one able CM and a lot of forward power in the Scottish league next season, to end that drought in front of goal.

Josh Windass ... I seem to remember that we "utilized" him in a wide-left role more often than not. Now 29, he's played 42 games for the Owls this season, 18 of which as centre-forward (9 goals, 5 assists), 13 as attacking midfielder (5 goals, 1 assists), the rest elsewhere on the left or right (2 goals, 1 assist). His overall stats show that he's been an attacking midfielder more often than not, and in 132 games as such, scored a decent enough 40 goals and 23 assists. I know that people want us to see big names arrive, entertainers and skill-ladden folk. At the end of the day, we first and foremost need to get people who do the job at home, who comfortable get us over the line against the likes of St. Johnstone, Hibs, or Motherwell. The last three or four seasons, we had neat people, who were essentially only able to drag us over the line in these games, if at all. Whatever happens in Europe is fine, but we constantly failed to build a team for the home lessons. And if we can snatch a freebie called Josh Windass to do this, so be it. After all, it's been some time since he last pulled on a blue jersey in Glasgow.

A couple of strikers link ... IN - Iké Ugbo (24) - ST, England/Canada, ESTAC Troyes - contract till 6/2026 - LINK - TM (3.5m wanted) IN - Tasos Douvikas (23) - ST, Greece, Utrecht - contract till 6/2025 - LINK - TM (seeningly 6m plus wanted)

Always keep in mind: transfermarkt has these "market values" just to compare him to other, similar players. While they can count in various factors like league, team, goals scored, length of contract, they cannot and do not evaluate what he is "worth" for a team and what other teams are willing to pay. Thus, we can slap a 6 m fee on his head if we want to, and if people happen by and pay that fine. If teams come in with 4m and we deem that okay, so be it.

Nice Cantwell corner and header from Raskin for the prime predator Colak. Three rather good goals for and neat ending of the season.

Can we please stop going after Sakala 😝

Lundstram have played as a centre-back before! 6 times in his 437 professional games. I would hazard a guess that this is essentially a test for next season and that 3-at-the-back option, so testing him in that auxiliary CB role. Not ideal, IMHO, but we shall see. Good to see Colak back.

... and one has to keep in mind that these young people more or less live on instagram and somesuch, so it's better not to spend that much life energy checking out their every whim every other hour. I prefer webcams on tectonic plate move devices.

Well, his contribution in goals and assists outshines the leaving favourite by quite a distance this season. Despite playing 1,100 less minutes.

I would include Lawrence here, as well as shifting Sakala to the wing-attack slot and play him constantly.

Why we tried to play with but one centre-half is beyond me, but anyways ... Looks like the Arabs are doomed, while 101. mins at Easter Road couldn't help the Scum ... not all is doom and gloom then 😉

The last 10 to 15 mins was begging them to get one, utterly frustrating. We should have buried them 5 or 6-1, instead of that, we concede a silly late goal. Anyways, for long spells quite a bit of entertaining and good football. Bar for Alfredo's curse in front of goal, and some neat saves, not that bad. Cantwell looks the first player that I have seen in 2000 in Blue that can play on either wing, behind the striker and even deeper in midfield. More of that please, Mr. Beale.

So much "breadless art" as we say over here, not least in the final third. What a fine pass by Morelos, a bit of luck and Can(t)well dinks it in the corner. Well deserved. We may have to watch our leaving party, or they might leave the field earlier than expected.

What use is Kamara?

Any Rangers player appeared from the changing rooms yet?

Just as Ibrox is rocking from "Simply the Best", news come through that Tina Turner has passed away ...

Farewell tour ... McGregor Tavernier - Souttar - King - Ridvan Lundstram - Raskin - Kamara Cantwell - Morelos - Sakala Subs: McCrorie - Hagi, Jack, Matondo, Wright, Barisic, Arfield, Devine, Lowry

Regarding Tillman ... we were always some sort of stepping stone / proving ground for a upcoming Bayern talent, who had no hope of cutting it against these multi-million stars (or against others in the German national side - hence opting for the US). But we gave him a platform to show his raw talents, which he did. Now it is more or less up to him to see what sort of attention he has attracted, not least in the lower levels of the EPL, the Bundesliga, or in warmer climates. Ultimately, we have Hagi, Cantwell, Lowry, and Dowell all looking for a similar role in our future midfield. Wright looks to be heading to Preston. Sad to see him go, same as with Arfield. A decent squad player to have, usually brought a spark to our attack, and IMHO used far too sparingly ... not least when we stuck in so many crafters against packed defences, instead of attackers. Hence we toiled to low-score wins or draws. All the best to him!