The Bounce Match Yesterday

[chilledbear 16]

Haven't seen this on the Board

 

 

IAN Maxwell watched his Partick Thistle side taken apart by Rangers yesterday, with trialists Nacer Barazite and Georgie Welcome starring as Beauty and the Beast.

 

The Jags player-coach took charge of the First Division side in a 5-0 closed-door defeat at Murray Park.

 

And he gave the pair rave reviews and insists both could earn deals with the Ibrox club.

 

Rangers also had Dutch winger Etienne Esajas on show but the former Sheffield Wednesday man didn't catch the eye.

 

And Maxwell believes ex-Calais midfielder Salim Kerkar - another trialist who had been recommended by his friend and countryman Ibrox star Madjid Bougherra - could land a deal from Walter Smith.

 

Maxwell was underwhelmed by Honduran striker Welcome's general play but says it's impossible not to be impressed by his scoring instinct - as he bagged a hat-trick.

 

He said: "All his goals were different. For his first he lashed in a shot after brilliant play by Barazite. His second came from a back-post header after a corner and for his third he ran through and finished after outmuscling our young defender before sticking it away.

 

"He certainly doesn't possess a particularly good touch but he's a real handful as he's a big lump of a boy.

 

"He's strong, always tries to back into defenders and get in their faces. He does the ugly part of a striker's play well but there is no finesse about him.

 

"Welcome has all the requirements to be an effective target man as the one thing he showed was an instinct for a goal.

 

"It says it all that he fell well short of standing out - yet here we are still talking about the fact he scored a hat-trick.

 

"It's the kind of situation Kris Boyd found himself in. He'd be given a critical review yet he'd be carrying the match ball away with him at the end."

 

And Maxwell was full of praise for Arsenal's Barazite.

 

He said: "Barazite is a class act. He has a wonderful touch and grace about his play and picks his passes brilliantly.

 

Sensation "But it's his ability to play in the hole and the difficulty we had in picking him up that caught my eye.

"He was given a free role and was on the left, the right and the centre and operated in areas where nobody really wants to pick you up.

 

"Defensively he isn't going to work back the park but he has such great feet and he's big and strong. He has a wee bit of everything and was head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch.

 

"He had the trademark poise and elegant touch on the ball and was exactly what I would expect from an Arsenal player. He's a star turn and could be a sensation in Scottish football.

 

"I'm sure Rangers will be pulling out all the stops to get him. He could be a key man for them and a huge influence in a creative role from midfield.

 

"Esajas was quiet and never really managed to get too involved.

 

"But we knew all about Kerkar. He played for Motherwell last week and terrorised us.

 

"At Murray Park he scored but wasn't as effective. He's direct, strong and talented and could be an option for Rangers."

[pete 2,499]

This guy Barazite looks to being the jewel find of the summer. To be honest we could also do with a player like Welcome as well that roughs up the defenders as described above if he can also score.

[Zappa 0]

Thanks for posting that CB!

 

Am I right in thinking that Barazite is a potential loan signing? If so, it sounds like he's worth taking on loan for a season!

[Frankie 8,151]

Barazite sounds like the ideal option while Welcome is interesting as well...

 

[Gribz 743]

Like everyone else Barazite sounds very appealing, rarely does a Arsenal youngster not have potential.

 

Welcome seems like a Darcheville kind of player.

 

Add Jelavic in and we are looking much stronger.

[craig 5,199]

With Barazite impresssing he would be a welcome addition, especially as it seems he can play anywhere across the middle. With our threadbare squad we, unfortunately, are in need of numbers - and if a new player has the versatility that he seems to have then he becomes an even better option.

[CraigRFC 0]

Barazite does sound a player but I feel he is a player we don't need at the moment. We have all been asking for a winger and Barazite isn't that type of player, he won't really offer us that much width as he is wide player that likes to cut in most times.

 

If we can't get an out and out winger I would gladly take him as he is better than our current options.

[stewarty 1,876]

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks/walter-smiith-says-no-deal-as-trialists-fail-to-impress-1.1049026

 

Rangers are unlikely to offer deals to any of the four trialists who played in a bounce match against Partick Thistle at Murray Park yesterday.

Manager Walter Smith ran the rule over the various candidates bidding to secure moves to the SPL champions.

Although they won the match against the Jags 5-0, it wasn’t enough to convince Smith that any of them can make a major impact. Honduran striker Georgie Welcome, who has been here for a fortnight training, netted a hat-trick.

Although he appears to be someone who could be developed into a decent player in the future, he isn’t quite at the level Rangers are looking for just now.

It’s thought he will now head to France within the next few days to see if he can fix up a club there.

But the door has not been closed, and if Rangers fail to bring in any new strikers nearer the end of the transfer window then he could still be offered a deal.

And although Arsenal’s Dutch Under-21 star Nacer Barazite looked decent enough, he doesn’t possess the pace or directness Smith wants from a wide player.

It’s understood Smith might take one last look at Barazite before making a final decision on whether or not to take him on loan but, at this stage, that looks unlikely.

Another Dutch winger, Etienne Esajas, looked well off the pace, as did French midfielder Salim Kerkar and will not be pursued.

Jags assistant manager Ian Maxwell was impressed with Welcome, even though Rangers are in no rush to sign him.

“He looks a handful,” he said. “He is quite direct, he is well over 6ft and is a big lump of a guy, but he looks quick. I don’t think he is going to cut off and link, I think he is going to cause you problems in behind and look for crosses into the box.

“Bounce games are terrible to judge anyone on because there is no real tempo to it, it is not competitive and it doesn’t really mean anything.

“But he scored a few goals and caused us problems.”

Barazite featured for an inexperienced Gers side against Glentoran last week and Maxwell reckons felt Dutchman could be one to watch.

He said: “He looked like a typical Arsenal player, he had a nice touch and was good with his feet. I thought he was a good size and had a bit of pace about him.

“He is very composed on the ball and he looks like he could be a decent player. He can play off the front two or across the midfield in the areas that are hard to pick up.”

For Thistle, the return of Jackie McNamara from his broken leg will have been a welcome sight and the former Celtic man came through unscathed.

Maxwell added: “Jackie got the 45 minutes and that was the main reason for us playing the game. He had a couple of good tackles and he seemed to stand up fine.”

[stewarty 1,876]

Strange one. Everyone seems positive that taking a punt on Barazite would be no bad thing. Then we get this!

[Frankie 8,151]

No quotes so bold statement from ET...