Just now, The Evil Dead said:

That's not the issue. The issue is squad depth is poor. When the likes of Paton, Faal, Shipley and Debrah are who youre turning to, it's not good. Hopefully, these four additions will help us to rotate effectively during a very busy period of fixtures, without a (hopefully) huge drop off.

You say that about Faal, but if he were not injured he'd still be here I imagine. Perish the thought

23 minutes ago, Emile said:

I have a friend involved with Everton's academy - says Eli is more of a left back than a centre back FYI 

I was thinking about this the other day. Brady seems to want us to play 4-4-2 but was left with a load of wingbacks by Mr Moore. He seems to be sorted on the right with Kyle John (who looks a natural RB to me) but both Headley and Gordon, while good attacking can be dodgy defensively. So, a move for a more defensive, classical left-back (rather than a wingback) makes a lot of sense to me. 

7 minutes ago, Guppys left peg said:

Ruari on his way back to Scotland then. The dream pairing of him and Uche Ikpeazu 😅

 

It will be interesting to see how many games he plays whilst he is at St Johnstone though as they have already signed 2 strikers in this window and also have the top goalscorer in the league, in fact they have 8 strikers at the club so you have to question if they really need Ruari and if this loan spell will be successful or not I just hope it doesn't turn out like his loan spell at Dundee United which truth by told didn't go that well and in the end didn't really benefit him or us. 

So, if Ruari is joining St Johnstone on loan then Vale Whispers was completely off the mark when they said that he was joining Fleetwood. 

2 minutes ago, ValiantHan said:

I just hope it doesn't turn out like his loan spell at Dundee United which truth by told didn't go that well and in the end didn't really benefit him or us. 

He came back a slightly better player (just comparing his appearances this season vs last with us, he had more impact for us a league above where he started out). His manager was Jim Goodwin at Dundee United though. Makes Moore look like Don Carlo. 

4 minutes ago, ValiantHan said:

It will be interesting to see how many games he plays whilst he is at St Johnstone though as they have already signed 2 strikers in this window and also have the top goalscorer in the league, in fact they have 8 strikers at the club so you have to question if they really need Ruari and if this loan spell will be successful or not I just hope it doesn't turn out like his loan spell at Dundee United which truth by told didn't go that well and in the end didn't really benefit him or us. 

My guess this might be more with a view to a permanent move in the summer and if he can’t force his way into the reckoning then it’s not a great reflection either really. Either way I suspect his time at Vale is going to be now done regardless as clear Brady doesn’t see a future for him, not for the lack of trying but it’s time to move one.

Just now, NW9Valiant said:

He came back a slightly better player (just comparing his appearances this season vs last with us, he had more impact for us a league above where he started out). His manager was Jim Goodwin at Dundee United though. Makes Moore look like Don Carlo. 

Tbh Jim Goodwin didn't play to Ruari's strengths at all.

7 minutes ago, ValiantHan said:

It will be interesting to see how many games he plays whilst he is at St Johnstone though as they have already signed 2 strikers in this window and also have the top goalscorer in the league, in fact they have 8 strikers at the club so you have to question if they really need Ruari and if this loan spell will be successful or not I just hope it doesn't turn out like his loan spell at Dundee United which truth by told didn't go that well and in the end didn't really benefit him or us. 

Sorry, best place for him.🤫

I imagine Ruari might be Adama Sidibeh's replacement who left St Johnstone last week and joined Stockport for an undisclosed fee. 

1 hour ago, Shropshire_Valiant said:

I'm not saying Paton would have done what Tolaj did with more chances and undoubtedly Tolaj is the more complete footballer as he has proved since and at Plymouth but I think it just shows if a player is messed about in and out of the side/not played in their best position what can happen.  

It looks like it's going to be an irrelevance anyway as Paton is probably on his way out but I do believe he's been shafted somewhat(like others) by Moore pressing the button on his roulette wheel team selector.  He seemed to come back fit and hungry this season and deserved the 2 or 3 starts he got in that partnership with Cole then was promptly dropped, scored goals in the cup games then doesn't get starts in the league off the back of them in a side that lacks goals?  Always said there's a player in there somewhere at least at League Two level and I hope he proves it.

The Moore decision that completely baffled me with Paton was dropping him after both him and Cole scored at Exeter. That game was clearly a chance to get a partnership going upfront (like he did with Tolaj/Stockley the previous season) but Moore went back to his beloved rotation and out went Paton.

Paton may not be good enough but he deserved a run at that point so he at least had a chance to show his ability. I think the point with Tolaj is really well made. At Christmas 2024 time, there was a lot of criticism of Tolaj's form because he'd been mucked about - in and out of the side, played out of position. It was only when played as a pair upfront that he clicked. Paton has had the first part (mucked about and played out of position) without the second part - a run in his best position for a few games.

Paton may still not have made it but I guess we may never know now. Incidentally, he's contracted till 2027 though I suspect if this move does happen there may well be an option to buy. 

12 hours ago, MBE said:

Exactly this and its GOOD BUSINESS sense.

From a football standpoint I hate it but it’s the only move the club could reasonably make.

 

If they had good business sense they would have removed DM sooner, backed the new manager in the january transfer window and generally done the necessary to secure our league one status. This is not good business sense its damage control made necessary by lack of good business sense.

I have said before that I love RP, but at this point, for him, I hope any loan move becomes permanent because if he comes back again at the beginning of next season, he will still be in the same quagmire that he is in now, and that really wont do him any good in his prime years.

Just such a shame that successive managers don't really know what to do with him 🙈🙈🙈

Re KS comments in post above, I agree, we are in damage control territory now, but in terms of this position, I think we are being pretty responsible in the market - low risk short deals on up and coming youngsters with no long term deals either way, massive earners off our hands who didnt want to be here - coupled with an upturn in form (I know its only 1 game 😂😂😂)

Imagine how the mood would shift if we were to take 6 spunkies off Wimbledon and Burton in the space of 5 days😍😍😍😍

Edited February 2Feb 2 by New Years Revolution

22 minutes ago, robf said:

I was thinking about this the other day. Brady seems to want us to play 4-4-2 but was left with a load of wingbacks by Mr Moore. He seems to be sorted on the right with Kyle John (who looks a natural RB to me) but both Headley and Gordon, while good attacking can be dodgy defensively. So, a move for a more defensive, classical left-back (rather than a wingback) makes a lot of sense to me. 

Agree. Although I think Gordon is good enough defensively though and will be our starting LB going forward.

I think Brady sees Headley as more of a winger however, hence the need for the loanee from Everton to give us cover at LB.

4 minutes ago, robf said:

The Moore decision that completely baffled me with Paton was dropping him after both him and Cole scored at Exeter. That game was clearly a chance to get a partnership going upfront (like he did with Tolaj/Stockley the previous season) but Moore went back to his beloved rotation and out went Paton.

Paton may not be good enough but he deserved a run at that point so he at least had a chance to show his ability. I think the point with Tolaj is really well made. At Christmas 2024 time, there was a lot of criticism of Tolaj's form because he'd been mucked about - in and out of the side, played out of position. It was only when played as a pair upfront that he clicked. Paton has had the first part (mucked about and played out of position) without the second part - a run in his best position for a few games.

Paton may still not have made it but I guess we may never know now. Incidentally, he's contracted till 2027 though I suspect if this move does happen there may well be an option to buy. 

Spot on and matches my thoughts exactly. Patons pass for Cole to score the second was one of the passes of the season and I remember being excited by what looked like a potential partnership between them then DM spun the wheel and paton was out.

I do feel sorry for Paton and I'd echo Rob's thoughts. He should have been given a longer run of games, either in a two up front or at 10, because at times he's looked really good. Instead he's stuck out on the wings or bombed altogether. 

Good luck to him in Scotland, there's a player in there somewhere just waiting for a chance.