January transfer window ( Now closed )

[Agentjambo]

30 minutes ago, Sub4TiddlerMurray said:

We need two great CB's and push Halkett into midfield alongside Irving

What makes you think Halkett will be any better in midfield? 

[hmfc_liam06]

Forget spending £150k on a striker who isn't going to be a guaranteed starter and buy 2 CBs instead.

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

7 minutes ago, Agentjambo said:

What makes you think Halkett will be any better in midfield? 

 

He has good close control and rarely loses possession when he carries the ball. He can spot a great pass too. His physicality and competitiveness are what we are missing in that department. And, being further forward, he can also get goals. Remember when he was out top scorer for a while. I think he'd be great in our engine room. In our back line he is suspect at set pieces and the ball over the top. I'd prefer to see two very good CB's that can properly shut up shop when we need it (like Cheltenham's Ben Tozer did tonight).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Sub4TiddlerMurray
spelling

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

That's it! Ben Tozer and Jimmy Dunne.....if only

[Famous 1874]

As I and many other posters have suggested we need a centre back and to be more specific, a centre back that loves defending. 

Halkett - more of a striker than he is a centre back, simply can’t defend - slow and poor positioning but strong in the air

Berra - finished and has been for a while 

Popescu - jury out 

Souttar - seriously injury prone and more of a ‘modern day’ centre back that excels in bringing the ball out from the back

[biffy]

We have more than enough going forward to win this league whether you think it’s good enough or not we do. Our issues is shipping easy goals from a lot of poor defending so for me the obvious thing to do is sort the defence first 

[jambogirlglasgow]

3 hours ago, Tatlock said:

If we get the Walsall striker before Tuesday we’ll probably start him at centre half

He couldn’t be worse than we’ve got. 

[Batistuta87]

Anyone know what's going on with Lewis Moore? Saw him in B&M in Livingston today so he's obviously nowhere near the team if he's on a day off on a match day. Surely worth giving him a run-out instead of playing Frear who is absolute mince.  

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Just now, Batistuta87 said:

Anyone know what's going on with Lewis Moore? Saw him in B&M in Livingston today so he's obviously nowhere near the team if he's on a day off on a match day. Surely worth giving him a run-out instead of playing Frear who is absolute mince.  

 

 

He probably jumped in his car, turned on the radio and had a right good chuckle.

 

And you couldn't blame him.

[iainmac]

37 minutes ago, Famous 1874 said:

As I and many other posters have suggested we need a centre back and to be more specific, a centre back that loves defending. 

Halkett - more of a striker than he is a centre back, simply can’t defend - slow and poor positioning but strong in the air

Berra - finished and has been for a while 

Popescu - jury out 

Souttar - seriously injury prone and more of a ‘modern day’ centre back that excels in bringing the ball out from the back

 

The jury's been out, had their lunch, back in & delivered their verdict! 

[kingantti1874]

Would go sign O’Donnell for RB, move Mikey into CB .. that’s one .. go sign Stuart Findlay that’s 2

[Famous 1874]

22 minutes ago, iainmac said:

 

The jury's been out, had their lunch, back in & delivered their verdict! 

Probably true mate. Certainly didn’t cover himself in glory for the third today 

[bobby bombscare]

4 hours ago, jr ewing said:

Missed Lee today. 

I think a lot more than people realised! he wasn't quick but was in that team for a reason. Irving/Halliday are not the best pairing as neither is a fantastic defensive option to  sit in front of the back 4. I'm still not convinced what Halliday is bringing to the teams other than a hate for teams that play in green and white..

 

Would be good to see a CB and another midfielder in before the end of the window. Not sure that will happen though. Especially when running on championship money and no guarantee of fans returning any time soon!

Edited January 23, 2021 by bobby bombscare

[Pasquale for King]

3 hours ago, Sub4TiddlerMurray said:

We need two great CB's and push Halkett out the club ASAP

FTFY

[Pasquale for King]

Definitely should be focusing on getting a CH in on loan before the window closes. 
If Walsall don’t want to do business and he won’t sign a pre contract move on. 

[JamboAl]

21 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Definitely should be focusing on getting a CH in on loan before the window closes. 
If Walsall don’t want to do business and he won’t sign a pre contract move on. 

RN was reported ae having 2 targets (which may have been for Walsall'e benefit) so, if correct, let's go for No 2 on Monday afternoon if no progress in the morning.

I see a slight problem however in that I feel that the manager should always have the final say on signings and Robbie's record ( Frear, Roberts, Halliday) does not fill one full of confidence.  i am waiting also for Lee's promised replacement.

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

4 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

Anyone know what's going on with Lewis Moore? Saw him in B&M in Livingston today so he's obviously nowhere near the team if he's on a day off on a match day. Surely worth giving him a run-out instead of playing Frear who is absolute mince.  

 

 

He's not good enough either.

[Jamboj1]

Mentioned the other week not to be surprised if we sign a CB this window, I now believe we will now look to bring one in due to form and the injury to Berra we have been looking at a loan from down south if we can’t get one of our summer targets this window. 👍🏻

[Seymour M Hersh]

GOOD CENTRE BACKS NOW FFS!!!!!!!

[Cut The Crap]

12 hours ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

Do not give Neilson any more money. He’s clueless and he has no idea how to build a team. He has enough to get promoted. Then he can GTF

Correct. Any player with potential should also be warned off coming in to our setup. Where promising careers go to die.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

5 hours ago, Jamboj1 said:

Mentioned the other week not to be surprised if we sign a CB this window, I now believe we will now look to bring one in due to form and the injury to Berra we have been looking at a loan from down south if we can’t get one of our summer targets this window. 👍🏻

It should be a far higher priority than spending another 6 figures on another Center forward. Sign Lafferty for 6 months on the cheap, stop gap, rather see him play games than Frear Roberts Walker Henderson. Then figure out the forwards in the summer. 

 

But invest, heavily at CB. I’d go as far as to say it’s make or break for Neilson and it should’ve been the priority irrespective of Berra getting injured. You say “due to form” it’s not form Berra has been finished for the best part of 3 years. And Halkett, do me a favour. The guy has been an ever present in our miserable slide to where we are now. If Neilson actually thought at any point these guys were good enough, then I definitely fear for him. 

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

Signing Kyle Lafferty as a stop gap for 6 months isn't what we need as we would just need to address the shortage of strikers again in the summer.  We need someone in now who can help us longer term. Lafferty doesn't fit the profile either.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Dr. Sheldon Cooper

[bobby bombscare]

35 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

It should be a far higher priority than spending another 6 figures on another Center forward. Sign Lafferty for 6 months on the cheap, stop gap, rather see him play games than Frear Roberts Walker Henderson. Then figure out the forwards in the summer. 

 

But invest, heavily at CB. I’d go as far as to say it’s make or break for Neilson and it should’ve been the priority irrespective of Berra getting injured. You say “due to form” it’s not form Berra has been finished for the best part of 3 years. And Halkett, do me a favour. The guy has been an ever present in our miserable slide to where we are now. If Neilson actually thought at any point these guys were good enough, then I definitely fear for him. 

Keep the pensioner away from this team and just let him retire already. We have enough goals in the team to win the championship. We've scored a decent number of goals in pretty much every game we've played. If we stopped letting 2 goals in every game against the likes of Raith and Arbroath then we would be absolutely fine. 

We're not in a hurry to get this boy from down south and we certainly don't need Lafferty with his 10 combined goals since leaving us. 

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Just now, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

Signing Kyle Lafferty as a stop gap for 6 months isn't what we need as we would just need to address the shortage of strikers again in the summer.  We need someone in now who can help us longer term. Lafferty doesn't fit the profile either.

To me it is perfectly fine to address it in the summer. I am talking about getting promotion here, Center back for me is fast becoming an emergency situation. 

[Leveins Battalion]

Youth,energy,desire,hunger,fight,pride.

 

Just sign some guys with these traits,some guys who play for the badge.

[bobby bombscare]

1 minute ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

To me it is perfectly fine to address it in the summer. I am talking about getting promotion here, Center back for me is fast becoming an emergency situation. 

I'll get pelters for this.. but i thinks Popescu is our best CB at the moment. I don't think it's a coincidence that from the day Halkett arrived we have had defensive issues. He is constantly beat for pace, constantly caught out of position and constantly makes poor decisions. Popescu makes just as many poor decisions, but at least he is dominant in the air and has the pace to catch players if he's caught out of position or beaten. 

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

3 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

To me it is perfectly fine to address it in the summer. I am talking about getting promotion here, Center back for me is fast becoming an emergency situation. 

 

We will win the league with what we have, which is why getting someone in now who can settle and be fully prepared for next season is something that will be hugely beneficial to us.

 

For me playing Haring at centre half for the time being should be seriously considered, particularly if we get the box to box midfielder we are looking for.  He is comfortable on the ball and will allow us to play 5/10 yards further up the park as Irving won't need to stand on top of one of our centre halves due to his poor distribution.

[savage]

I am not now that convinced we will canter to the title

[Deevers]

11 hours ago, kingantti1874 said:

Would go sign O’Donnell for RB, move Mikey into CB .. that’s one .. go sign Stuart Findlay that’s 2

This for me. Get both and replace our current centre back pairing. 

[JamboJoker98]

Enough with this Lafferty chat, sick of signing over 30s who come here with no desire or hunger - they've been there and done that and know they're at the tale end of their careers. We need guys with desire and hunger to make it in their careers that want to come and make an impression.

 

Our performances against Dundee, Dunfermline and Rath need to be a wake up call (again) that overall this squad wil struggle in the Premier League.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Just now, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

 

We will win the league with what we have, which is why getting someone in now who can settle and be fully prepared for next season is something that will be hugely beneficial to us.

 

For me playing Haring at centre half for the time being should be seriously considered, particularly if we get the box to box midfielder we are looking for.  He is comfortable on the ball and will allow us to play 5/10 yards further up the park as Irving won't need to stand on top of one of our centre halves due to his poor distribution.

Haring at DM behind both Irving and Halliday would get us higher up the pitch IMO. Maybe he can slot in at CB but I’d be trying him at DM in a 3 man midfield with the other 2 pushed up higher first. In the immediate term we need to protect the Center halves

 

And even whatever we try with Haring, still doesn’t change the fact that we need a new CB far more urgently than we need a new CF which is why I say, Lafferty for 6 months, fine do a job as plan B. And he can play on the left side of a front 3 as well so, options. Meanwhile the far more urgent priority has to be stop leaking ****ing goals. Cant believe we’re even bothering so much about Center forwards, we’re averaging 3 goals scored a game. 

[jambonian]

Said since the start of the season that defence is the most important part of any team. You don't lose goals then you don't lose games, even if it means a match finishes 0-0. Last i heard from Neilson was that he's looking to add another midfielder. FFS, we've plenty to choose from already, even if the balance isn't right, bringing in another one isn't going to stop us losing goals. It's like he doesn't see central defence as any sort of priority at all. He sorts it now or we carry on as we are, that's the options. If not then he needs to take a long hard look at himself and work out if he's actually up to the job. I couldn't care if he stays or goes in all honesty but this defensive problem has been staring him in the face since he walked in the door, a hangover from Levein and Stendel's time at the club. 

Whilst Popescu isn't good enough he is right-sided so probably an understudy for Souttar. Why Neilson insists in playing him left side i'll never know. We're back to square pegs in round holes yet again, Levein-style. There are dozens and dozens of defenders available all over the place, there's surely one within out budget to replace Berra out there waiting for a club somewhere. 

[hans]

1 minute ago, JamboJoker98 said:

Enough with this Lafferty chat, sick of signing over 30s who come here with no desire or hunger - they've been there and done that and know they're at the tale end of their careers. We need guys with desire and hunger to make it in their careers that want to come and make an impression.

 

Our performances against Dundee, Dunfermline and Rath need to be a wake up call (again) that overall this squad wil struggle in the Premier League.

it is struggling now in the championship, need some strength and heart brought in ,that team would crumble if got in fight to come up

 

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

2 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

Haring at DM behind both Irving and Halliday would get us higher up the pitch IMO. Maybe he can slot in at CB but I’d be trying him at DM in a 3 man midfield with the other 2 pushed up higher first. In the immediate term we need to protect the Center halves

 

And even whatever we try with Haring, still doesn’t change the fact that we need a new CB far more urgently than we need a new CF which is why I say, Lafferty for 6 months, fine do a job as plan B. And he can play on the left side of a front 3 as well so, options. Meanwhile the far more urgent priority has to be stop leaking ****ing goals. Cant believe we’re even bothering so much about Center forwards, we’re averaging 3 goals scored a game. 

 

The midfield 3 idea could work, but would prefer to see a box to box player in place of Halliday as theres no real attacking impetus if those 3 play together.

 

We've just signed GMS who is naturally a left winger, we shouldn't be signing Lafferty on the basis he can play there for a few games.  A striker to get us further up the park when we can't play through midfield is still a priority.

 

1 minute ago, jambonian said:

Said since the start of the season that defence is the most important part of any team. You don't lose goals then you don't lose games, even if it means a match finishes 0-0. Last i heard from Neilson was that he's looking to add another midfielder. FFS, we've plenty to choose from already, even if the balance isn't right, bringing in another one isn't going to stop us losing goals. It's like he doesn't see central defence as any sort of priority at all. He sorts it now or we carry on as we are, that's the options. If not then he needs to take a long hard look at himself and work out if he's actually up to the job. I couldn't care if he stays or goes in all honesty but this defensive problem has been staring him in the face since he walked in the door, a hangover from Levein and Stendel's time at the club. 

Whilst Popescu isn't good enough he is right-sided so probably an understudy for Souttar. Why Neilson insists in playing him left side i'll never know. We're back to square pegs in round holes yet again, Levein-style. There are dozens and dozens of defenders available all over the place, there's surely one within out budget to replace Berra out there waiting for a club somewhere. 

 

Playing a centre half at centre half isn't a square peg in a round hole. There's not one player in that team who is playing in a role they're uncomfortable in.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

 

The midfield 3 idea could work, but would prefer to see a box to box player in place of Halliday as theres no real attacking impetus if those 3 play together.

 

We've just signed GMS who is naturally a left winger, we shouldn't be signing Lafferty on the basis he can play there for a few games.  A striker to get us further up the park when we can't play through midfield is still a priority.

 

 

Playing a centre half at centre half isn't a square peg in a round hole. There's not one player in that team who is playing in a role they're uncomfortable in.

As i say though, we’re averaging 3 goals scored per game even yesterday our Center forward scored 2. A Center forward is not going to change our style of play. Only Center halves and Center mids can do that (agree we need another Center mid). The only reason I can see that we might need another CF is to Chuck on as plan B if we need a goal. 
 

Priority has to be to get the leak plugged at CB 

Edited January 24, 2021 by A_A wehatethehibs

[CMc]

The Management have to stop looking at the quality of the squad on paper or in a best-case scenario. 
 

much as I hate to admit it, both Haring and Souttar have career altering injuries. Berra has run his race. And he limped, hobbled and crawled the last few miles of it. 
 

These guys cannot be part of the planning. If they ever come good again, it is a bonus. 
 

My worry is, the thinking is, “all we need is for two of them to be fit and on form at the same time and we’re good”. Absolutely no guarantee this will ever happen. 
 

We need to buy in AT LEAST one more CB, then these guys can challenge them for a place if ever fit. They should not be even theoretical starters for planning purposes. 
 

Christophe can coach and be a good influence in training. 

[jambonian]

Thing that pisses me off more than anything is that most of the clubs in the Championship, even some in the lower end of the Premier would bite your hand off for some of the players we have at the club. It seems they come to us and decide to just play practice matches against our opponents. You might get away with that against the Alloa's or Arbroath's of this world but you won't when you come up against any team with any fight about them and see you as a scalp. And it's not just a Robbie thing, it's been going on since 2016. AFter yesterday when we could've been further ahead in the table it is now vital we don't lose at Raith on Tuesday night. They've put this pressure on themselves, now it's time for them to man up or get the furk out.

[CMc]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

 

The midfield 3 idea could work, but would prefer to see a box to box player in place of Halliday as theres no real attacking impetus if those 3 play together.

 

We've just signed GMS who is naturally a left winger, we shouldn't be signing Lafferty on the basis he can play there for a few games.  A striker to get us further up the park when we can't play through midfield is still a priority.

 

completely agree - if Haring can get 100% fit, he’s the perfect foil for Irving but they absolutely need a runner linking them to the attack and overlapping the forwards. 
 

Both really good players when in form, but both in the strolling type. 
 

Need a high energy player to get between the lines on attack and press and harass off the ball. 

[Cruyff]

RN needs to sign a CB, a RCM and a ST urgently. 

[wavydavy]

27 minutes ago, bobby bombscare said:

I'll get pelters for this.. but i thinks Popescu is our best CB at the moment. I don't think it's a coincidence that from the day Halkett arrived we have had defensive issues. He is constantly beat for pace, constantly caught out of position and constantly makes poor decisions. Popescu makes just as many poor decisions, but at least he is dominant in the air and has the pace to catch players if he's caught out of position or beaten. 

 

If truth be known one is as bad as the other. Popescu takes risks trying to run with the ball out of defense and gets caught out far too often and gives the ball away in dangerous positions.

 

Halkett is too slow and needs to lose a stone or so in weight and look more interested.

 

We need two new centre backs, two attacking midfielders who can play for 90 minutes and another striker.

 

Most of all we need a rocket up those players backsides. The sort of perfrormaces like yesterdays happen far too often and we all know that teams have off days but it is so predictable that we always let the fans down when we should be hammering teams.

 

When I saw all the predictions yesterday about 5 - 0 etc I started to cringe knowing that we were setting ourselves up yet again for another glorious failure.

 

We have been like this for far too long now and it needs to stop.

 

It is maybe time for Robbie to be tough with the players and do what he did the first time around when he had them back for extra training in the afternoon's.

 

Lets face it with Covid19 they hardly have a lot to do and they certainly need to be working on their game.

[jambonian]

Just now, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

 

The midfield 3 idea could work, but would prefer to see a box to box player in place of Halliday as theres no real attacking impetus if those 3 play together.

 

We've just signed GMS who is naturally a left winger, we shouldn't be signing Lafferty on the basis he can play there for a few games.  A striker to get us further up the park when we can't play through midfield is still a priority.

 

 

Playing a centre half at centre half isn't a square peg in a round hole. There's not one player in that team who is playing in a role they're uncomfortable in.

 

 I beg to differ. It's always better to play players on their strongest side. Last season at Falkirk, we played Dikamona on the left and during the match he looked extremely uncomfortable doing so, and it could've cost us, nearly did. There are loads of left-sided central defenders out there to look for. We have Souttar, Popescu and Smith to an extent who is naturally right-sided, Halkett isn't really the answer so that leaves Berra the only natural left-sided defender. 

The square peg thing...even here and now we have fans making suggestions on who should we put together to play in midfield three's, defensive midfield, someone attacking, the best system  etc...which in some ways proves the point. Put him there, put him here, put him over there...it's ridiculous. You sign the right players and there's no need to sign any old  players just to "fit in" a system. 

[kimosavi]

Why would anyone wanna sign for us 

 

We Can't Cross a ball, we can't defend we can't take a corner. 95% of  them need 12 touches to receive a pass. None of them fight for their team mates, none of them wanna play for 90 minutes 

 

That's no a club I wanna be playing for 

[wavydavy]

8 minutes ago, CMc said:

completely agree - if Haring can get 100% fit, he’s the perfect foil for Irving but they absolutely need a runner linking them to the attack and overlapping the forwards. 
 

Both really good players when in form, but both in the strolling type. 
 

Need a high energy player to get between the lines on attack and press and harass off the ball. 

 

Hearts are a bit like a retirement home for half fit football players or ones who can't be arsed anymore.

 

Yes guys if you want an easy time try and get your agent to get you a 3/4 year deal at Hearts where you will have great wages and be able to do fcuk all most of the time without any pressure.

[Deevers]

5 minutes ago, wavydavy said:

 

Hearts are a bit like a retirement home for half fit football players or ones who can't be arsed anymore.

 

Yes guys if you want an easy time try and get your agent to get you a 3/4 year deal at Hearts where you will have great wages and be able to do fcuk all most of the time without any pressure.

I had hoped that was finished with Leveins departure. The only player who should be on long contracts are the youngsters who look like being regulars in the first team and might make us big bucks in transfers down south.  Irving for instance should be on at least a three year deal.

[MattyK82]

[Cigaro]

Barry Anderson saying we've agreed terms with Adebayo

[wavydavy]

13 minutes ago, CMc said:

completely agree - if Haring can get 100% fit, he’s the perfect foil for Irving but they absolutely need a runner linking them to the attack and overlapping the forwards. 
 

Both really good players when in form, but both in the strolling type. 
 

Need a high energy player to get between the lines on attack and press and harass off the ball. 

 

He's not going to get fit sitting on the bench. Why is he on the bench in the first place? I will say it is because Robbie knows he is far from fit and never will be. He showed this during the Dundee game. He is far too slow to play alongside two other players who are also slow in Irving and Halliday.

 

Ok I know some other posters on here claim you don't have to be quick but for me it certainly makes a big difference if you have a bit of pace and can move the ball around quickly.

 

Raith had one day of training in almost two weeks and yesterday was the first game they had played this year and yet we play the ball around backwards and sideways playing riight into their hands.

 

We should have been running them all over the park to exhaust them but we looked more exhausted than them near the end.

 

Every one of those players and the Coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves not just for that performance yesterday but for the others such as the Dundee game and the Dunfermline and Alloa games where we bottled it again.

 

A rude wakeup call is required for everyone involved in the playing and coaching staff at Hearts.

[wavydavy]

2 minutes ago, Deevers said:

I had hoped that was finished with Leveins departure. The only player who should be on long contracts are the youngsters who look like being regulars in the first team and might make us big bucks in transfers down south.  Irving for instance should be on at least a three year deal.

 

I would love to know who these youngsters are?

[wavydavy]

2 minutes ago, Cigaro said:

Barry Anderson saying we've agreed terms with Adebayo

 

Do Walsall know though?

[jr ewing]

50 minutes ago, Dr. Sheldon Cooper said:

 

We will win the league with what we have, which is why getting someone in now who can settle and be fully prepared for next season is something that will be hugely beneficial to us.

 

For me playing Haring at centre half for the time being should be seriously considered, particularly if we get the box to box midfielder we are looking for.  He is comfortable on the ball and will allow us to play 5/10 yards further up the park as Irving won't need to stand on top of one of our centre halves due to his poor distribution.

How much do we lose if we don't get up? Invest now and be done with it.