Souttar signs pre-contract with Rangers (Super Thread)

[Rudy T]

1 minute ago, tian447 said:

 

Of course it is, but what's the ****ing point in bringing the entire atmosphere of a game down to being about one player, and moaning like **** for 90 minutes instead of supporting the team?  I'm not about to let one person ruin the rest of my season and next season whenever we play them. 

 

**** that. 

He shouldn’t be in a position to be abused. He’s chosen Rangers and reading their statement this has been in the pipeline for some time. He could’ve signed a short extension with a release amount but no just shaft the club who looked after him. So if there’s no money coming then sit him in his house for 6 months. Not a chance he’ll be committed to us in every game, he’s a liability from this point forward.

[Gambo]

Tbh honest, can't see him playing a full 90 for us. 

Fans will speak.

[Tales1874]

9 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:

Fwiw anyone condoning a injury to him is an arsehole. Simple as that. He is a human being first and foremost, a family man. This is only football there is more to life than a ****ing transfer. 

I would be happy with a dead leg. For real though don’t want him in the team any more give Moore his spot. 

[jr ewing]

2 minutes ago, Boy Daniel said:

Heart of Midlothian Football Club notes Rangers Football Club’s announcement of John Souttar’s pre-contract signing.

The club reiterates that John is an important member of the first-team squad and will remain so until the end of the season unless a significant and satisfactory offer is made during the January transfer window.

No further comment will be made at this time. 
 

My reading of that statement is we didn’t know much if anything about it. It’s an unhappy with John statement.

 

 

Disappointed 😞 

[JamboRossi79]

3 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Didn’t read that in it at all. We knew he was going for a medical. We must have known that if he passed the medical he would sign a pre-contract. 

How could you not read that when we literally refer to the announcement by Sevco ? Cmon really? The club doesn’t even wish him well or thank him for his service, FFS we even wished Roberts well at Well. This has ended badly from the clubs point of view no doubt about it.

 

Heart of Midlothian Football Club notes Rangers Football Club’s announcement of John Souttar’s pre-contract signing

[Rogue Daddy]

4 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:

Soutar shouldn’t be playing anymore games. Not because I have anything against him leaving or even choosing to go to Rangers but purely from a club perspective. 
 

1.-  His mind is elsewhere now. He will be playing within himself to reduce his chances of getting injured. 
 

2.- The fans will be raging and Soutar playing is only going to create a toxic atmosphere at tynecastle. We don’t need that. 
 

3- we need to find the right balance with what we have going forward. Soutar isn’t going to be part of that. 
 

4.- how do the team feel about Soutar leaving for a rival club? 
 

5.- why do we want to continue to develop and help a player who will be playing for a rival club? 
 

6.- can we trust soapy now? His heart is elsewhere now and will he risk a 50/50 for us now? Doubt it. 

Let John train, stay fit, use our facilities but he is ofski and that’s how we need to to treat this. 

 

This 👆 he shouldn’t pull on a Hearts jersey again. I’m not one for booing or wishing injuries on players.. but he’s surely played his last game for us… for all of the above!
Hugely disappointed with JS with how this has panned out. If sevco were always his 1st option, why not just wait until the summer, keep his head down for the rest of the season and concentrate on his football? 

I really can’t see how we can play him. Instead (if no fee is agreed) sevco will get a non-match fit player in 6 months, and JS will not get near the Scottish team. Mess. 

[Texaco]

4 minutes ago, PhoenixHearts said:

Got a bad feeling this whole thing could have a knock on effect for the rest of the season. It'll be a subconscious thing but I can see it weighing in the heads of the players and coaching staff and we may find it much tougher. We've seemingly had great chemistry on and off the pitch with a tight knit group but this is gonna throw it all off kilter. Just like how the fans are arguing, there will be players and coaches both commending or resenting Souttar over this move. And we may falter as a result.

All because one player has decided to be a selfish prick and put himself before the club.

That is why he should be no where near Tynecastle on Tue. If he plays and we don't win a big rift will be torn between the club and the fans. The whole thing will become a bigger mud slinging mess. Is Neilson ready to gamble that much? My view is the players that have re-signed will try thier hearts out on Tue to prove a point and the fans will be right behind the team.  Use dropping Souter as positive motivation to galvanize the team and fans. 

[gorgie rd eh11]

If they don't give us decent money then sit him in the stand. It's worth the financial hit.

[Mollo]

The player holds all the cards these days. But I wish he’d said outright “I want away” (maybe he did?)

 

But the club could have come out publicly and said we were listening to offers for a player who wants to move on. 
 

Maybe thing wouldn’t have been any different. But it would have at least felt like the club had the clubs interest at heart. Sad times. 
 

For me; no chance do we play him. Every player for every minute needs to be thinking about Hearts.

[Ccjambo1874]

Would rather take £0 and let his contract run with zero football being played between now and the summer. Save for a 2 minute cameo in the cup so he is cup tied.

 

Because its Rangers I'd want at least £1m to let him go. Can't ever have a rival penny pinching our players on the cheap. Which I can understand as we'd not be arsed if we were to do the same. But at the end of the day it's up to our club to stand firm and have the value met. Which I expect us to do.

[Gambo]

Club can say all they want,   he ain't *** welcome in a Hearts strip no more.

[simplesimon]

I genuinely don't see why we would continue to rehabiltate Souttar to benefit Rangers and incur appearance fees etc.  He's good at bringing the ball out of defence, so will suit Rangers possession game.  I dont think he's that good defensively, slow to turn, slow sprint, prone to misjudgent.  He's no Levein, Weir or Maclaren, more a donkey dave

[fila]

We need to offload now for a fee , which will also free up his salary cost. RN then starts to build his defence for the future around the new signings , to play him again would be a mistake .

I do think we come to an agreement with them! 

[MattyK82]

3 minutes ago, Ccjambo1874 said:

Would rather take £0 and let his contract run with zero football being played between now and the summer. Save for a 2 minute cameo in the cup so he is cup tied.

 

Because its Rangers I'd want at least £1m to let him go. Can't ever have a rival penny pinching our players on the cheap. Which I can understand as we'd not be arsed if we were to do the same. But at the end of the day it's up to our club to stand firm and have the value met. Which I expect us to do.

He will only be cup tied if he moves this month and plays v AT a week tomorrow 

[Jim Panzee]

Surely we need to play Moore instead of soutter?

 

The sooner the defence and the whole team get used to playing without soutter the better surely???

 

It's not a petulance thing - just practical

[Hansel]

If he continues to play it makes the club look weak. 

 

He should be left to rot in the reserves and force fed pies so he's out of shape when he arrives at Ibrox

Edited January 14, 2022 by Ted (Theodore) Logan
Messed up

[jbee647]

 

 

People will give him stick at first

As soon as Hearts start winning games then mostfans will forget about it and just get on with supporting the club

its what football fans do, we are fickle, it’s our right to be fickle and change our opinion per every 90mins.

Besides anyone booing while Hearts are winning is just going to look and sound stupid

There is no such thing as loyalty amongst football players anymore, surely even the most fanatical brainwashed fans must realise this nowadays.

[bigsuperslim1874]

Why would you sign Kingsley, Halkett and Smith….and then play Souttar and potentially drop one of the three who actually want to be here?! I just can’t see that. The more I think about it - the 1st team squad comment also covers being benched/not making the match day squad. All this just serves to create unrest we don’t need - get rid now or bin onto the bench. He should NOT play ahead of the three renewals or Moore.

Edited January 14, 2022 by bigsuperslim1874

[Henroddy]

6 minutes ago, Gambo said:

Club can say all they want,   he ain't *** welcome in a Hearts strip no more.

This 100%

[Lone Striker]

Its the worst outcome for us if Rangers don't make an acceptable offer this window to take him.    

 

But  some folk on this thread need to calm down a bit - the anger towards JS is ridiculous.

 

Everyone knew he intended to leave and make more money  - "booooo he should be loyal to us for how we supported his rehabs"

 

He's given consideration to  all the clubs who registered an interest - "boooo   a new contract with us will get him more money than he's on now ".

 

He's decided Rangers are the best option for whatever reasons - "booooo   he's a hun rat now,  hope Porto injures him"

 

 

 

Desperate stuff.  

 

 

[Rudy T]

2 minutes ago, fila said:

We need to offload now for a fee , which will also free up his salary cost. RN then starts to build his defence for the future around the new signings , to play him again would be a mistake .

I do think we come to an agreement with them! 

We can’t dictate that, if Rangers don’t want to pay we can’t force their hand. They’re getting him for nothing at the end of the season and there’s hee haw we can do.

 

He should never play for us again regardless. He’s really shat on us from a great height.

[bigsuperslim1874]

16 minutes ago, Captain Sausage said:

Disappointing to lose our best defender across the M8. 
 

His positioning isn’t the best, but he’s a damn good centre back. He will do well at Rangers where they’ll use him to build from the back. 
 

Players hold all the cards these days - it’s emotive for fans but if you’re in his shoes, who wouldn’t grab the cash and security?! 
 

Only thing we can do is make a choice on whether to play him or not. He’s our best defender, but is he likely to shirk out of challenges in case of injury? 
 

If we drop him, he will likely miss out on selection for the WC qualifying squad and potentially the WC itself. It’s probably the only card the club has left to play. 
 

Sad times. 

Stats have shown Kingsley to be a far better performer that Souttar this season…by a fair bit.

[Japan Jambo]

1 hour ago, Clark Griswold said:

Right who did this? 😅

 

 

 

not sure about the hygiene here - I saw a rat raking the bins for something to eat 

[Gambo]

7 minutes ago, jbee647 said:

 

 

People will give him stick at first

As soon as Hearts start winning games then mostfans will forget about it and just get on with supporting the club

its what football fans do, we are fickle, it’s our right to be fickle and change our opinion per every 90mins.

Besides anyone booing while Hearts are winning is just going to look and sound stupid

There is no such thing as loyalty amongst football players anymore, surely even the most fanatical brainwashed fans must realise this nowadays.

I think you will find that if we play Souttar, Neilson will be thankful fans were not allowed in stadiums last season. Hearts fans love Heart of Midlothian FC.

[Rudy T]

Just now, Lone Striker said:

Its the worst outcome for us if Rangers don't make an acceptable offer this window to take him.    

 

But  some folk on this thread need to calm down a bit - the anger towards JS is ridiculous.

 

Everyone knew he intended to leave and make more money  - "booooo he should be loyal to us for how we supported his rehabs"

 

He's given consideration to  all the clubs who registered an interest - "boooo   a new contract with us will get him more money than he's on now ".

 

He's decided Rangers are the best option for whatever reasons - "booooo   he's a hun rat now,  hope Porto injures him"

 

 

 

Desperate stuff.  

 

 

Or he signed a new deal with a release clause to show a bit of gratitude to a club that’s helped rebuild his career.

[Guest ToqueJambo]

23 minutes ago, Boy Daniel said:

Heart of Midlothian Football Club notes Rangers Football Club’s announcement of John Souttar’s pre-contract signing.

The club reiterates that John is an important member of the first-team squad and will remain so until the end of the season unless a significant and satisfactory offer is made during the January transfer window.

No further comment will be made at this time. 
 

My reading of that statement is we didn’t know much if anything about it. It’s an unhappy with John statement.

 

 

 

Think we're trying to force Rangers hand. I think our preference now is as good a fee as possible so we can focus on the players staying and finding a Souttar replacement. People are worrying far too much about something that may not happen in terms of Souttar's form from now on. If his standards drop he'll be dropped.

 

And worth remembering Halkett played very well for Livvi in the centre of a back 3. Although we'll need to replace Souttar's passing and breaking from deep if he goes in January.

Edited January 14, 2022 by ToqueJambo

[22games nro]

1 hour ago, Nookie Bear said:

Play him at Auchinleck Talbot to get him cup tied. 

100%

[jambopilms]

He isn't our best defender. 

[Pans Jambo]

21 minutes ago, Captain Sausage said:

Disappointing to lose our best defender across the M8. 
 

His positioning isn’t the best, but he’s a damn good centre back. He will do well at Rangers where they’ll use him to build from the back. 
 

Players hold all the cards these days - it’s emotive for fans but if you’re in his shoes, who wouldn’t grab the cash and security?! 
 

Only thing we can do is make a choice on whether to play him or not. He’s our best defender, but is he likely to shirk out of challenges in case of injury? 
 

If we drop him, he will likely miss out on selection for the WC qualifying squad and potentially the WC itself. It’s probably the only card the club has left to play. 
 

Sad times. 

Who gives a feck about his world cup chances now? Hes shat all over his bed. Let him rub his own puss all over it. Hes done!

[Guest ToqueJambo]

Just now, Pans Jambo said:

Who gives a feck about his world cup chances now? Hes shat all over his bed. Let him rub his own puss all over it. Hes done!

 

As a Scotland fan I do!

[NLTFTh]

Good bye, don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out. 

 

Only Hearts. 

[RENE]

21 minutes ago, JamboRossi79 said:

How could you not read that when we literally refer to the announcement by Sevco ? Cmon really? The club doesn’t even wish him well or thank him for his service, FFS we even wished Roberts well at Well. This has ended badly from the clubs point of view no doubt about it.

 

Heart of Midlothian Football Club notes Rangers Football Club’s announcement of John Souttar’s pre-contract signing

The club didn't wish him well because he's still our player till end of season.   

[cookieboy]

31 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Not nearly enough. 

but he's leaving for nothing at season end 

[Rudolf]

15 minutes ago, simplesimon said:

I genuinely don't see why we would continue to rehabiltate Souttar to benefit Rangers and incur appearance fees etc.  He's good at bringing the ball out of defence, so will suit Rangers possession game.  I dont think he's that good defensively, slow to turn, slow sprint, prone to misjudgent.  He's no Levein, Weir or Maclaren, more a donkey dave

He couldn’t lace big Slim’s boots 

[Rannoch]

He’s taken the easiest option, a league he knows very well and where there is little opposition. Obviously a decision to make the most money with the least risk/ challenge. Whilst I can understand his risk averse approach, it’s a shame, because in England he’d have been noticed and quite likely would have been Premier League bound. 

[Neil Mccanns Wand]

2 hours ago, Juho_Makela_Goal_Machine said:

 

Same could be said for any player who is brought in on loan though, they would rather be playing for their parent club. Fact is Souttar has faced so many setbacks in his career so far and has overcome them to become a top player, that shows the measure of the guy. I've no doubt he would rather go to Rangers now, but equally I believe he would still give 100% for Hearts in his remaining time here. Could well be proved wrong though, still doesn't make me comfortable with taking peanuts from a rival club for a key player.

Difference is loan players want to be here. Souttar doesn’t 

[j1964m]

Been hearing Prince Andrew is to sign for Rangers saying he will have a good chance of keeping his titles as well if he signs

[Hansel]

Just now, Rudolf said:

He couldn’t lace big Slim’s boots 

Brian Laudrup said he's the best defender he played against in his time in Scotland

[Guest ToqueJambo]

Just now, Neil Mccanns Wand said:

Difference is loan players want to be here. Souttar doesn’t 

 

He doesn't want to be here next season. 

[JTJ]

Rangers are likely to ask us to pay them £100k to take him off our hands. Cue media "Free John from his Tynecastle Hell" headlines.

 

I'm joking, I think......

[Sid]

We need to take the emotion out of this.
Souttar has made his decision on what he believes is best for him. 
We need to do what’s best for us. 
We still have work to do to secure third.  

We either get them to pay a big fee or we play him as he is the best central defender we have. 
We play him every minute of every game and hope he gets an injury in the last game of the season which cements our third place which keeps him sidelined for the duration of the Rangers contract. 
win-win for us.  

[Rudy T]

6 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

As a Scotland fan I do!

He's just signed for Rangers you can be sure he’ll be in every Scotland squad from now on.

[Savage Vince]

3 minutes ago, Rudolf said:

He couldn’t lace big Slim’s boots 

 

Well said. Dave McPherson was a great servant to HMFC and is a cup winning legend. 

[Rannoch]

Shame because all Jambos would’ve taken such pride and followed him with excitement in the English Prem. Now, he can GTF

[PortyBeach]

12 minutes ago, fila said:

We need to offload now for a fee , which will also free up his salary cost. RN then starts to build his defence for the future around the new signings , to play him again would be a mistake .

I do think we come to an agreement with them! 

Does a pre-contract mean TRFC can just sit things out until Souttar’s Hearts contract expires and then sign him for nothing?

What does that perhaps tell us about TRFC’s finances?

[Francis Albert]

A lot of anger on here. But for me if Rangers don't make an acceptable offer he plays out the season and he plays on the same basis as every other player ... If he is contributing to the team and giving his all he plays and if not he doesn't. 

We have lost a lot better players than Soutter too cheaply.

 

[Guest ToqueJambo]

1 minute ago, Rudy T said:

He's just signed for Rangers you can be sure he’ll be in every Scotland squad from now on.

 

Hope so. He would have been with us to be fair and was on the cusp of establishing himself when he got injured. We were the club that made him an international - another reason for him to play out of his skin for us if he stays the rest of the season.

[Don Dan]

Based on my reading of the Clubs statement I wonder if Sevco could be done for tapping up a player?

[Jambo92]

Its sore to lose Souttar but its a unique situation.  We are on the wrong end of the deal on this occasion, but the only chance we had was to throw a contract at him when he was crocked. 

We could sell and his career could be over in under a month with another injury and we have done a brilliant deal, of course I don't wish that on him but just shows the uniqueness of the situation.

He's a very good footballer but replacable, since he's been with us he's been part of some terrible times so he's not some irreplaceable player.  When the dust settles it probably makes sense to take Rangers offer and move on.  If not let's maximise his ability, without relying on it till the summer.

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, Rannoch said:

Shame because all Jambos would’ve taken such pride and followed him with excitement in the English Prem. Now, he can GTF

Speak for yourself, and he’s not good enough to play in the EPL hence the level of clubs bidding for his signature, championship level at best. 
Players only get everyone best wishers when they leave if they've achieved something or we get value for money, none of that has happened.