normthebarman
02-01-2007, 03:56 AM
Well, transfer deadline day has been and gone and the big surprise is......well, quite a lot actually.
First off, Rangers were beaten to the signature of Hearts and Scotland midfielder by arch rivals Celtic, in a deal worth £1 million pounds. Hartley was tipped to move to Ibrox with Rangers and ex-Scotland manager, Walter Smith, keen to land the talented midfielder. Hartley, who was part of the infamous Ricarton three (players who'd criticised the management of the Tynecastle club) joined ex-team mate Steven Pressley at Parkhead.
One drawback for Celtic, however, was the loss of last seasons player of the year, Shaun Maloney, to Aston Villa for a mere £1 million pounds. Maloney's old boss Martin O'Neill had signed Maloney on a pre-contract agreement forcing the Parkhead club to cash in while they can. Maloney now joins ex-Parkhead idol, the Bulgarian Stillian Petrov at Villa Park.
Rangers however, did sign Hibs starlet Kevin Thompson in a deal worth over £2 million pounds. The skillful youngster has stated that he looks forward to joining Scotland and Rangers captain Barry Ferguson in midfield. Rather controversially, however, Thompson also stated that the thought of staying at Easter Road had made him feel "physically sick". He also reported that he would love to see former team mate Scott Brown join him at Ibrox.
Still at Ibrox, Thomas Buffel's move to Hanover broke down and the Belgian will be staying at Ibrox for a while longer. Those who are leaving, however, include goalkeepr Lionel Letizi and Frenchman Jeremy Clement.
Motherwell have lost Irishman Richie Foran to the English side Southend, in a £150,000 pound move. Manager Maurice Malpas stated his disappointment at losing the player, who has scored 14 goals this season, mainly from midfield. They have, however, signed Hungarian under-21 player, Krisztian Vadocz on loan until the end of the season.
St Mirren have compensated for the loss of Simon Lappin to Norwich, by signing Stephen O'Donnell and Eddie Malone from Clyde. Celtic fans will remember Malone, as he scored one of the goals in Celtics embarrassing defeat to Clyde in last years cup match, which also happened to be Roy Keanes debut for the club.
At Tynecastle, where most of the attention has been this past week, one of the surprises has been the fact that Scotland goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, has not left the club. Gordon had been left out of the Hearts squad against Rangers amid speculation that he would be leaving. Hearts had reportedly refused a £4 million pound offer from Chris Coleman's Fulham, believing that he was worth a reportedly £10 million pounds. Gordon however, who has another 2 years left on his contract, has stated that he his quite happy at the Tynecastle club.
Striker Michel Pospisil has also refused a £150,000 pound move to Bristol City. Pospisil stated that he was very impressed by the sides facilities and manager but wanted to wait until the end of the season and prove his worth at the Edinburgh club.
Georgian midfielder Gogita Gogua has not signed for the club as hoped, as his work permit has been refused. The fact that Georgia are not in FIFA's top 70 nations was a major contributing factor.
Hearts have, however, followed up their usual trend of signing players from club owner Vladimir Romanov's other side FBK Kaunas, with captain and central defender, 31 year old Tomas Kancelskis and 21 year old midfielder Linas Pilibiatis joining on loan until the end of the season.
The biggest signing, however, was Ghanian midfielder Laryea Kingston. The player, who was rated higher than Michael Essien when he was younger, has a somewhat more chequered past, with suspensions being a dark cloud hanging over his career.
All in all, it's been a rather busy period for Scottish clubs in this years January transfer window. Whether any of the players make an impact is still to be seen.
First off, Rangers were beaten to the signature of Hearts and Scotland midfielder by arch rivals Celtic, in a deal worth £1 million pounds. Hartley was tipped to move to Ibrox with Rangers and ex-Scotland manager, Walter Smith, keen to land the talented midfielder. Hartley, who was part of the infamous Ricarton three (players who'd criticised the management of the Tynecastle club) joined ex-team mate Steven Pressley at Parkhead.
One drawback for Celtic, however, was the loss of last seasons player of the year, Shaun Maloney, to Aston Villa for a mere £1 million pounds. Maloney's old boss Martin O'Neill had signed Maloney on a pre-contract agreement forcing the Parkhead club to cash in while they can. Maloney now joins ex-Parkhead idol, the Bulgarian Stillian Petrov at Villa Park.
Rangers however, did sign Hibs starlet Kevin Thompson in a deal worth over £2 million pounds. The skillful youngster has stated that he looks forward to joining Scotland and Rangers captain Barry Ferguson in midfield. Rather controversially, however, Thompson also stated that the thought of staying at Easter Road had made him feel "physically sick". He also reported that he would love to see former team mate Scott Brown join him at Ibrox.
Still at Ibrox, Thomas Buffel's move to Hanover broke down and the Belgian will be staying at Ibrox for a while longer. Those who are leaving, however, include goalkeepr Lionel Letizi and Frenchman Jeremy Clement.
Motherwell have lost Irishman Richie Foran to the English side Southend, in a £150,000 pound move. Manager Maurice Malpas stated his disappointment at losing the player, who has scored 14 goals this season, mainly from midfield. They have, however, signed Hungarian under-21 player, Krisztian Vadocz on loan until the end of the season.
St Mirren have compensated for the loss of Simon Lappin to Norwich, by signing Stephen O'Donnell and Eddie Malone from Clyde. Celtic fans will remember Malone, as he scored one of the goals in Celtics embarrassing defeat to Clyde in last years cup match, which also happened to be Roy Keanes debut for the club.
At Tynecastle, where most of the attention has been this past week, one of the surprises has been the fact that Scotland goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, has not left the club. Gordon had been left out of the Hearts squad against Rangers amid speculation that he would be leaving. Hearts had reportedly refused a £4 million pound offer from Chris Coleman's Fulham, believing that he was worth a reportedly £10 million pounds. Gordon however, who has another 2 years left on his contract, has stated that he his quite happy at the Tynecastle club.
Striker Michel Pospisil has also refused a £150,000 pound move to Bristol City. Pospisil stated that he was very impressed by the sides facilities and manager but wanted to wait until the end of the season and prove his worth at the Edinburgh club.
Georgian midfielder Gogita Gogua has not signed for the club as hoped, as his work permit has been refused. The fact that Georgia are not in FIFA's top 70 nations was a major contributing factor.
Hearts have, however, followed up their usual trend of signing players from club owner Vladimir Romanov's other side FBK Kaunas, with captain and central defender, 31 year old Tomas Kancelskis and 21 year old midfielder Linas Pilibiatis joining on loan until the end of the season.
The biggest signing, however, was Ghanian midfielder Laryea Kingston. The player, who was rated higher than Michael Essien when he was younger, has a somewhat more chequered past, with suspensions being a dark cloud hanging over his career.
All in all, it's been a rather busy period for Scottish clubs in this years January transfer window. Whether any of the players make an impact is still to be seen.