stewarty

1 hour ago, Frankie said:

I quite like it but the Boxt arm decal is really bad across the strips...

I don’t mind it on the 3rd strip, and it doesn’t seem too bad on the away, but it’s awful on the home for me. 
 

If we bring in the Turk and the suggestion that Borna is open to a move, we'll need another LB surely?  Or is Devine ready to be a dependable backup?

21 minutes ago, buster. said:

See what Gersnetters can do @Gonzo79

😄

Now do it with Ronaldo!

5 minutes ago, Uilleam said:

Is it the kind of appointment which will reset the relationship between Club 1872 and large swathes of the support?

 

Far be it from me to speculate, but if I was a betting man.....

 

 

I don't know him personally, but I know he stood up and spoke out when we needed voices like his, at a personal cost.  He deserves respect for that.

But...

C1872 have been an utter shambles for a while now, not least with their failure to properly address the concerns raised from the EGM last year.  On the surface, this feels like a populist move to try and increase their profile among the rank and file rather than properly address the clear governance issues that are at the heart of the issues raised by the EGM requisitioners, which in my view were perfectly reasonable.  A well governed organisation would have been able to handle those issues with ease and well before they got to the stage they did.  

I've no axe to grind with Craig but my initial reaction is that this is potentially a strange move.  Craig himself has been openly critical of aspects of club management, as I and I'm sure many others have been, but it doesn't seem like the kind of appointment that is going to reset the relationship between the club and C1872.

Happy to be corrected of course.

23 minutes ago, Uilleam said:

I believe that we had an interest in him. 

The hooped whores offered St Mirren more dough, apparently; the lad spoke to the bush kangaroo, in person, and still found it in himself to say "No, thanks". 

My researcher reports that the boy is from Covenanter Country, in Ayrshire, and that his family are Rangers through and through. 

 

He is certainly admired as a player, and, it seems, would walk barefoot over broken glass to play for Rangers. 

 

What's not to like?

The main thing is whether he's good enough.

I think if he's going to get first team football at StBoo, he is probably going to develop quicker than within our U-18/B teams so it sounds like he's either getting really good advice about his long term career or he has indeed said "No Thanks, ya bunch of wanks"; or of course, both!  

2 hours ago, compo said:

It amazes me that our club/ fans are now happy to settle for second best a few decent displays doesn’t compensate for a sub standard league challenge and plenty of dross performances.

By the way I cleared £1040 ar Ayr races today 😊

Get your tips out for the boys!

1 minute ago, buster. said:

Yes, just looked at UEFA rules and that is it.

 

Don't know how the beeb can get that wrong 😉 Even if it were for seeding, we would have played in Glasgow, second leg.

 

The BBC getting something wrong about Rangers?  Nope, don't believe you 😁

Happy with that.   Though my worry is mainly up front and whether Colak starts the season well, given we won't have Alfredo or likely Roofe available, and Sakala has had niggles too.

3 minutes ago, Malangsob said:

 If one man calls you an a**hole, that's an opinion, if ten do, it's probably the truth.

Yeah mate, we've all read your posts! 😁

Just kidding... though football fans and forums are notoriously fickle playgrounds and the internet is not reality.  We just need to wait and see how players perform.   Many signings have been received to much expectation, excitement and acclaim, but not even been close to working out.  Filip Sebo anyone?

2 minutes ago, buster. said:

I'll drive the ambulance down for him !!

 

Reinvesting his wage in a striker more likely to be fit would be a plus.

Given the state that Derby are in, and in league 1, I suspect we will still be covering the lion share of his wage. Seems an odd one at this stage.  I’d rather we sold and recovered some of the fee paid. 

5 minutes ago, craig said:

This is an interesting philosophy, and one that I subscribed to as well.  However, I was having beers with the former Watford Academy director last week (now the Wales women's assistant manager) and he actually disagrees with this approach and his reasoning is compelling.  For a player, and even a team, having the same philosophy only works so long as the first team has the same philosophy and, when it doesnt, those players now need to be re-trained in differing formations and tactics.  If you look at us, that is true because GvB's style differs from Gerrard's.  And is probably true of all clubs.  The Watford guys reasoning is sound in that players need to be flexible to different approaches and by not having that flexibility will hurt players when a change inevitably occurs.

 

By contrast, my son's head coach at his Academy was brought onto the Leeds payroll by Bielsa to do what we have done, Leeds didnt have a consistent philosophy from Academy to First Team - so he was brought in to put into place a structure that saw the Academy play the same way, same philosophy as the first team.  When Bielsa got fired, he got fired too because Marshe doesnt want that or isnt interested in it - the coach got picked up immediately by Peterbrough for the U18 & U23 coaching role.

 

So it is clearly a subject which is torn, even within the pro ranks.

Interesting.

Coaches like Gio though, flex their tactics depending on the opposition, so I'm not sure its so much that there are rigid playing styles throughout the club, more about the core elements of the club's philosophy being applied and adapted within different game situations.  

44 minutes ago, Malangsob said:

 

NERD!

 

 

 

So this guy is going to coach the coaches or something? 

 

Where does he fit in specifically? 

That was my reading of it, or at least my reading of at least one aspect of his role.   Teaching the coaches how to be better coaches, as well as ensuring they have a consistent outlook in terms of the football philosophy of the club.

32 minutes ago, buster. said:

Listened to the first few minutes of a video of him being interviewed.

 

Can't say it excited me but at least the board are supporting Gio in this.

 

I guess it is about 'smart investment', trying to maximise the coaches input, so as to better improve players and ultimately add value.

 

 

Obviously never heard of the guy and I can imagine the subject matter being quite dry... but to me the idea of having a clear footballing strategy and ensuring all of our coaching staff are being developed as much as we develop our players, is core to the sustainability of the club.

Welcome young Rabbi. 

18 minutes ago, buster. said:

Most important team to worry about is ourselves.

  

If we are at it, we can go into any tie with confidence.

 

If we haven't sorted our business, fully prepared, players settled in/recovered and aren't fully up to speed then we will probably struggle regardless of opponent.

 

Agreed.  As said, there's no easy ties.  In Gio we must trust.

Anyone but Monaco for me.  Though they'll all be tricky ties.

Add in unknowns in terms of the sports direct settlement and no doubt increased edmiston house building costs.

Would have been helpful if the club did a half year statement but I don’t think we’ve done so for a couple of years. 

1 hour ago, Bill said:

I'm still not clear what the Aribo deal is. It sounds like £6m paid in 3 annual tranches, with adding that take it up towards £10m in total. If that's the case, it will have only a small impact on next season's cash flow. Or have I got that wrong?

I’m guessing that some of the instalments may be based on appearances and perhaps  some other performance measures like cup wins, European qualification or appearances… but overall that’s roughly what my take has been based the various reports around.  

10 minutes ago, buster. said:

Not official but it was fairly widely discussed at the time.

As you said yourself, signing-on fee plus agents fee, etc

The outlay isn't just the development fee.

 

A Bosman doesn't usually come free either

Lundstram will have got a fair wedge at the outset.

For sure, I just dont recall that detail and it doesn't seem to be common knowledge as these things tend to be mentioned.

5 minutes ago, buster. said:

Yes, they come up here for a reason.

 

Aribo is a case in point.

The development fee paid to Charlton was somewhere around 300K and that is being used in conjunction with a 10M incoming fee.

 

The actual truth is somewhat different.

There was a package put together (including buy out price) that went into seven figures to attract Joe to come up here and the initial fee we are receiving is 6M (with potential add-ons which could take the fee way to 10M or apparently even beyond). 

 

We need to establish a reputation for providing players who can flourish in the EPL or we won't get the value we should. It's almost brand like, that clubs are prepared to pay extra for. unfortunately, the same player would be sold by Celtic for more than we could because they have a proven track record. Van Dyyk put them on the map and this week we employed the scout who informed Celtic about the Dutch defender.

 

Another important factor is the average age of signings. 

Where did you get this information?  Haven't seen it discussed.

13 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

What these signings do do dodoo is strengthen areas of the pitch in which we are quite light, for next to nothing. In that regard, I'm happy. 

 

However, let me whinge! I just don't like the profile of these guys. 

 

Hopefully we sign some guys with the correct profile - and then I'll be quite content with these guys. 

I think your whinge is fair, but it should be seen in context of the overall squad composition at the end of the window.   We need to blend the young guns with experienced pros in their prime, with the older heads who lead the dressing room and set the standards.

I think we also need to bear in mind when looking at the overall summer spend that the likes of Lawrence will no doubt have negotiated a sign-on fee and/or higher wages since he's a free agent.  

Welcome to Ibrox! 

A good attacking midfield goal threat it seems.