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Transfer in and outs


ferben1994

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At last night's meeting, John Robertson gave some interesting comments around the signing of players and his attitude towards developing the youngsters.  Firstly, on the negative side, he echoed the Chairman's earlier comments about the budget being around £1 million less than last year.  That obviously makes recruitment difficult when current players are already on relatively high earnings. Location is also a major problem and he said that there had been several players who had turned down offers because they wanted to stay in the central belt where there would be numerous clubs in commuting distance of where they live.  He mentioned one that signed for a Division 1 side rather than move.  He says that he has been helped by a scouting network he has.  

He talked about the mental fragility of a lot of players.  They are nervous about making mistakes and he used this to explain why the team seemed to lose a bit of their drive once we got into the the lead against Morton.  It was far removed from complacency or sitting back and defending the lead; what I understood he was saying was that players get anxious when they get into the lead because they will be criticised more for not winning if the have gone into the lead first.  This perhaps highlights both a nervousness about the expectations of results here and, on a personal level, the fact that for many of our players, they know they need to succeed here for their careers to develop.

Related to that, he talked briefly about the difference between what he sees on the training ground and what happens on the park.  I guess the unsaid message there was for the fans to go easy on some of the players because he knows what they are capable of, and having fans on their backs all the time just piles more pressure on them makes it more difficult for them to perform to the level they do in training.

His attitude to youth follows on from that.  "if they are good enough, they are old enough" is what he said.  He explained why he was keen on getting the kids out on loan to HL clubs and supportive of the idea of getting a colts team in the HL.  He is wanting to toughen the kids up and put them under pressure by playing with men in games that really matter.  He said that a few of the new recruits (Calder, Elsdon, Chalmers - I think, and maybe others) had never played a first team match before they came here!  Think about it!  What a culture shock it must be to find yourself in front of a vocal crowd and see your name in the paper as making a mistake that cost your team the game.  These new recruits need time to get used to these new pressures and he is confident that as they do, they will develop well.  Similarly, getting that first team experience rather then playing in the development league will toughen the kids up and make them ready mentally for first team football when they are good enough to be picked.  It all made a lot of sense to me.

Danny spoke really enthusiastically about how good some of the young kids coming through are.  There does seem to have been a bit of a disconnect in recent years and lads seemed to have moved on elsewhere, but he felt there were several lads who should be good enough to feature before too long.  This was echoed by the manager who suggested that for a couple, this may be as soon as next match!

It was all fascinating and largely encouraging stuff.  But for me, the message to fans has to be that many of our young players (and by young I don't mean just the teenagers) are very nervous and seriously lacking in confidence.  They desperately need our support and our patience.  

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Absolutely, DD. they need experience and encouragement. 

I remember when, as a much younger man in the early stages of my career, and being thrust into an upper echelon type of job, I admit that I was somewhat apprehensive because I did not know what to expect and what the result of my work would be. e,g.could my intelligence and ability work out in this totally new rarefied atmosphere and could I continue to progress. Nobody likes to fail and go backwards.

It does take time and encouragement and the odd  friendly word in my ear helped a lot. Within a few years all was as easy as pie and I had been given further responsibility which I enjoyed. However, if one is lazy then failure can be knocking at your door pronto quick. I have a lot of time for a person who tries and tries even if it is clear that he/she  maybe doesn't quite have that winning ability as much as some other players. But a lazy person will not reach the top unless he or she is very well connected. In footie this is highly unlikely because  he can't hide on the pitch.

So, if John R is a motivator and a helpmeet then we may  be in for watching a few good 'uns in the future. Is there any other alternative.?:smile:

 

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We signed Trafford then a day or so later signed Coll Donaldson as well. Neither of these signings have been announced by the club for some reason.

There was rumoured interest in Ross County youngster Greg Morrison but, as mentioned above, this move looks like it is off.

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On 8/22/2017 at 10:18 PM, DoofersDad said:

He said that a few of the new recruits (Calder, Elsdon, Chalmers - I think, and maybe others) had never played a first team match before they came here!  Think about it!  What a culture shock it must be to find yourself in front of a vocal crowd and see your name in the paper as making a mistake that cost your team the game.  These new recruits need time to get used to these new pressures and he is confident that as they do, they will develop well.  Similarly, getting that first team experience rather then playing in the development league will toughen the kids up and make them ready mentally for first team football when they are good enough to be picked.  It all made a lot of sense to me.

Really interesting to hear how detailed and candid Robbo's analysis was  of the challenges the squad is facing. If those were the players he mentioned that hadn't had first team experience, however, then he's incorrect. Chalmers played quite frequently for both Falkirk and Motherwell, I think; pretty sure he played against us, in fact. And Calder made a few appearances for Dundee, and also Doncaster, I think. Not sure about the likes of Oakley or Seedorf though. 

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39 minutes ago, alternative maryhill said:

Really interesting to hear how detailed and candid Robbo's analysis was  of the challenges the squad is facing. If those were the players he mentioned that hadn't had first team experience, however, then he's incorrect. Chalmers played quite frequently for both Falkirk and Motherwell, I think; pretty sure he played against us, in fact. And Calder made a few appearances for Dundee, and also Doncaster, I think. Not sure about the likes of Oakley or Seedorf though. 

Both have played senior football before us although Oakleys senior career seems to have had more injuries than games.

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What is OFW up to? At the Q&A session Robbo said that OFW had received several offers but has turned them all down. Seemingly he wants a move to the States. He has been asked to play for us on a couple of occasions but apparently picked up injuries in training the days before. He had however told the Welsh management that he was fit for the World Cup qualifiers.  (Robbo kept a straight face when telling us this - well, almost). It now turns out that he's not been selected for the squad!  :lol: 

FFS. If he wants to be choosy about a contract and if he wants to play for his country, then he needs to prove on the park that he is worth it. If he is not playing, then he'll be lucky to be offered a contract any better than Ridgers has got with us. Currently, that is more than he deserves. 

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1 hour ago, DoofersDad said:

What is OFW up to? At the Q&A session Robbo said that OFW had received several offers but has turned them all down. Seemingly he wants a move to the States. He has been asked to play for us on a couple of occasions but apparently picked up injuries in training the days before. He had however told the Welsh management that he was fit for the World Cup qualifiers.  (Robbo kept a straight face when telling us this - well, almost). It now turns out that he's not been selected for the squad!  :lol: 

FFS. If he wants to be choosy about a contract and if he wants to play for his country, then he needs to prove on the park that he is worth it. If he is not playing, then he'll be lucky to be offered a contract any better than Ridgers has got with us. Currently, that is more than he deserves. 

Hopefully reality will hit home for him soon before he costs us too much more. What a melt! 

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Surely we can ditch OFW for breaching his contract if he is refusing to play? Get him sent to the physio and if they don't find anything wrong with him then get him out the door.

 

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If I recall correctly from the open night, Robbo said that Fon Williams had a release clause in his contract if ICT got relegated, so why is he still here? Should he not be a free agent now? Surely he can't have it both ways. He doesn't want to play but wants paid! And as I recall when Robbo was talking about the new players bedding in and it would take time, a supporter down the front said, play your best defender Raven then, and if I heard correctly, Robbo's answer was, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. I know he said that his legs have gone, but he still has an experienced defensive brain and he can be an influence to the younger players. In my opinion you always need a blend of youth and experience. Time will tell.

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I think what is especially concerning is that instead of picking a team on talent, ability or experience we are picking them based on finances. That is a desperate situation to be in.

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Yes we tend to forget that quite a lot of these players have had very limited careers, and we have had quite a turnover, yet we are hoping that they will gell instantly and give us a promotion winning effort. Given our limited financial muscle we have clearly punched well above our weight in recent years which has raised expections amongst us all that can't be achieved in the short term. We now have very few 'senior' players of which Warren is probably past his peak (and getting injured a fair bit), Raven is I think considered past his (Hughes obviously thought that, Robbo perhaps the same) I think some fans want him in for his experience and that SC goal! That leaves Vigurs and who (?) to provide the foundation and encouragement for the younger players. The situation with OFW seems worse than I thought.

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15 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

If I recall correctly from the open night, Robbo said that Fon Williams had a release clause in his contract if ICT got relegated, so why is he still here? Should he not be a free agent now? Surely he can't have it both ways. He doesn't want to play but wants paid! And as I recall when Robbo was talking about the new players bedding in and it would take time, a supporter down the front said, play your best defender Raven then, and if I heard correctly, Robbo's answer was, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. I know he said that his legs have gone, but he still has an experienced defensive brain and he can be an influence to the younger players. In my opinion you always need a blend of youth and experience. Time will tell.

I believe a relegation release clause basically just means that he's free to leave without compensation if the club get relegated and another club offers him a deal. It's not a contract termination. He'd be perfectly entitled to sit out the rest of his deal unless the club choose to release him, and they'd probably have to give him a severance package.

At the moment it seems he's essentially placed himself on gardening leave. His contract is being paid but hes not really involved. Mind you, I don't know how that sells himself to other clubs as a model pro.

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On 17/08/2017 at 10:23 AM, bdu98196 said:

I think for around 2000 of us winning the SC was an anti-climax the real stand out was the results and drama of being at the semi. In many ways we were expected to win the final and made hard work of it in a relatively forgettable game

Sort of know what you mean - the semi final was a far better game...BUT...I'll never forget the final either - have watched it countless times since then too!

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