merged: Adam Rooney

[rovercaley]

story has it that stoke city are the ones holding things up - the lad wants to go

[Kingsmills]

I guess he's their player if they want the option of racalling him in January that seems fair enough.

[tm4tj]

Courier has it that Grassa and his counterpart John Rudge were deep in talks, but it was looking unlikely that a deal will be done before the opener at Aberdeen. It looks like what we have now, will be the squad, with Rooney being the only addition once a deal has been agreed.

[caley100]

Also looks like nowt is going to happen in the defence dept, with only Rory to cover in attack we are indeed pretty short, Brew will no doubt come out with the usual ' confidence in his players ' quote at some point.

Well i'm not so confident at the mo'

[tm4tj]

Strangely enough..........

The heading in todays Courier is:- Caley Thistle boss believes youth team products have the chance to show their potential this season.

And an even bigger heading is:- Young players can do the job-Brewster

Edited August 8, 2008 by themann4thejob

[RiG]

*Reluctant to pay a large slice of his wages*

[RossP]

I like the cut of Barrowman's jib; some positive comments

To be honest i'm quite looking forward to seeing the likes of Garry Wood and Rory McAllister pushing for a starting role. It gives me more hope than relying on Callum Elliot and Stevie Crawford anyway!

Who knows, maybe even Shane Sutherland could take a place on the bench?

*Disclaimer* I'm in a rather good mood and really looking forward to tomorrow. There's a chance i'll be back to being miserable on sunday*

[caley100]

This all smacks of cheap! Brew has known that we needed 2 new strikers even before Marius went, and although he signed what could be a good player in Barrowman, we are left with this crap with loans for this one and maybe that one, piddly offers for first div players make me wonder if the board do indeed have any desire to stay SPL.

We have also got a glaring problem in defence which was so apparent last season yet all we have done is sign a dodgy left back on a free, again this smacks of cheap, and does nothing to address the poor defensive record.

As i said the old ' confidence in youth / old players ' is thrown out in an attempt to bolster confidence, which may give the media something to write about but thats about all.

I will be in Aberdeen tomorrow cheering the team on, but will more nervous that i would like to be.

[kencar]

Also looks like nowt is going to happen in the defence dept, with only Rory to cover in attack we are indeed pretty short, Brew will no doubt come out with the usual ' confidence in his players ' quote at some point.

Well i'm not so confident at the mo'

'Happy with the current squad' and 'confident in the players we have' are phrases I don't like to hear as they are usually only used when you've failed to sign anyone you were after!

Still there are stll 3 weeks of the transfer window left to go

[Bush]

'Happy with the current squad' and 'confident in the players we have' are phrases I don't like to hear as they are usually only used when you've failed to sign anyone you were after!

Still there are stll 3 weeks of the transfer window left to go

I agree that Brewster seems to be putting a brave face on it. After all, the current failure to secure Rooney's services is down to money and nothing to do with a lack of vision from Brewster to identify/attract the player. The Board/DoF hold the pursestrings and this is what is causing the delay/failure in signing Rooney - a pretty poor show given our need for some talent / experience and particularly given the freeing up of cash/wages since Niculae's departure.

I know we have to live within a tight budget, but you must sometimes speculate to accumulate. A lack of investment in players will have an impact on the pitch and therefore on the bank balance. Come on Board, get a grip!

[kencar]

Of course we have no way of knowing how much Stoke are wanting. For all we know they might be after silly money and the board are being prudent rather than tight fisted! Maybe?!?

I think the vast majority of us would be happier taking a gamble on Rooney (a player most of us have never seen) than Elliot though

[BinghamLegend]

Get yer finger oot

Dear Mr Santa Claus,

I feel our defence is error struin and thats before the season starts. A dodds solid type character is needed and just one striker with track record of doing something other than running about like a headless chicken, then supoerb, i'll be happy.

Cheers Alan :thumb04:

[RiG]

I think the vast majority of us would be happier taking a gamble on Rooney (a player most of us have never seen) than Elliot though

Definitely. I would be pretty disappointed if we went back in for Elliot. I'd rather have Rooney here than the Edinburgh Mincer.

[RichieKass]

Definitely. I would be pretty disappointed if we went back in for Elliot. I'd rather have Rooney here than the Edinburgh Mincer.

Well said

[CaleyD]

Still waiting on the 3 or 4 signings to strengthen the squad we were told we would get once Marius had been sold....that could at least have been seen as progress and justification for the sale.

Forget who it was that said it first....but it's certainly looking more and more like us just "making do".

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

You are becoming too militant Don !! Is this the first time that we have been sold down the feckin river ?

My man from Stoke wants to keep Rooney as a loan out but he tells me that it is all down to spondoolachs and agreeing what percentage of the wage is down to Stoke.

[Libero]

if Rooney doesnt sign maybe we could borrow a couple of strikers from dundee untied, thats them signed another one in Roy O?Donovan from Sunderland

[RiG]

You are becoming too militant Don !! Is this the first time that we have been sold down the feckin river ?

My man from Stoke wants to keep Rooney as a loan out but he tells me that it is all down to spondoolachs and agreeing what percentage of the wage is down to Stoke.

That certainly seems to be the sticking point according to the P & J today. Doesn't sound like we want to pay much for the guy.

Agree with Don as well. We need to strengthen the squad. Defence and attack is a bit of a concern to say the least

[Harry Chibber]

That certainly seems to be the sticking point according to the P & J today. Doesn't sound like we want to pay much for the guy.

Agree with Don as well. We need to strengthen the squad. Defence and attack is a bit of a concern to say the least :thumb04:

I am of the belief we could definitely do with a centre half but... Jamie Duff was superb against Burnley when he came on for McGuire, he had Akinbiyi in his back pocket and Akinbiyi (incase you haven't seen him) is very quick and a giant of a player

I think if I was in charge a centre half would have been priority as soon as the transfer window opened but maybe Brew has seen enough in Duff to think he has what it takes.... just a thought

... also, clubs try to look for players at the end of the transfer window to avoid paying an unnecessary 2/3 weeks of wages, not saying that's what Brew is up to but it could explain why the Rooooooney transfer is being delayed to the last possible moment

[caley100]

II think if I was in charge a centre half would have been priority as soon as the transfer window opened but maybe Brew has seen enough in Duff to think he has what it takes.... just a thought

I wonder how long it take/or how many Mcguire feckups will happen before Duff gets a game though?

[alternative maryhill]

I am of the belief we could definitely do with a centre half but... Jamie Duff was superb against Burnley when he came on for McGuire, he had Akinbiyi in his back pocket and Akinbiyi (incase you haven't seen him) is very quick and a giant of a player

I think if I was in charge a centre half would have been priority as soon as the transfer window opened but maybe Brew has seen enough in Duff to think he has what it takes.... just a thought

... also, clubs try to look for players at the end of the transfer window to avoid paying an unnecessary 2/3 weeks of wages, not saying that's what Brew is up to but it could explain why the Rooooooney transfer is being delayed to the last possible moment

That crossed my mind too. Brewster might well be holding his fire to see how the likes of McAllister and Duff perform if they're given chances in the early games. He was able to bring in players at the last minute last season when he had to, after all - although I'd prefer better signings than McGuire and Malkowski this time around. If that what he's doing, though, it's a risky strategy for the sake of a few quid.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

From the Stoke Sun:

ADAM Rooney has bagged two goals in three games on trial at Inverness Caledonian Thistle to strengthen his chances of a loan move ? and of emulating Irish compatriot Anthony Stokes.

The 20-year-old Dubliner soon found the net on Caley's week-long trip to Denmark to bolster his case for a season-long move north of the border.

And a season in the Scottish Premier League will invite comparisons with Stokes ? his fellow Irish under-21 striker ? following his success with Falkirk to earn a big-money move from Arsenal's reserves to Sunderland.

Rooney packed his bags for Scotland to seek the next stage in his fledgling career following loan spells in League Two at Chesterfield and Bury last term.

?I think I will join Caley Thistle,? he commented, ?and I really enjoyed my week in Denmark with all the team. I spoke to Tony Pulis about this season and, as they got promotion to the Premier League, they want to strengthen their squad.

.?They want to bring more experienced players in, so it makes it more difficult for me to play. Last year I was in League Two and, although it is good to get games, I think the SPL is a better standard.

?It would be good to play in it, especially as there are big teams in it such as Celtic and Rangers.

?I don't think Stoke are pushing me out, they just want me to get experience and games. The more I play, the more I develop.?

Rooney, whose contract at the Britannia Stadium expires next summer, would gladly settle for a repeat of the 14 goals in 16 games Stokes managed when on loan at Falkirk two seasons ago.

?I got into the Irish set-up at the end of under-17 level and moved all the way up to the under-21s.

?I played up front with Anthony Stokes for the Irish team and he did very well for Falkirk.

?He went to Scotland and did well and I would like to do the same as him. He scored a lot of goals and then moved on to Sunderland.

?I know a couple of players in Scotland, Jon Daly and Sean Dillon at Dundee United, as my brother Mark played with them when he was younger.

?I also know Celtic's Jim O'Brien and Darren O'Dea from the Irish team and they all have good things to say about the SPL.

?Hopefully I can come up to Scotland and score goals and that would put pressure on the manager at Stoke to have a better look at me down there

Contract ends next summer - That may be the push as well fer the 6 month loan period

[alternative maryhill]

Don't see why a 6 month limit should put the club off - if he is the next Stokes and gets us a few goals before January, that could go a long way to keeping us up. Would also mean we wouldn't be paying a % of his wages for a full year. 6 months might buy us time to bring Wood and McAllister on a bit.

[Alex MacLeod]

Its a difficult one to comment on without knowing how much the lad earns or what % we are expected to pay. I think Stoke see real potential in him, possibly as a means of earning a good transfer fee in january, so they dont want to commit him to a longer loan than that. We probably fear paying over the norm because we'd see no return if they sell him. Maybe we should just bite the bullet and put in a transfer bid now. Take a chance like we have on others.

Reading between the lines though, and the fact the accounts have not been released yet, makes me think the purse strings are being well and truely tightened

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

They are holding the accounts back becos they originally calculated them in Euros rather than sterling - plus they have to be scutinised by the Orion Group to ensure that they are valid.