Striker

[merse btpir]

Well I'm telling you he has and since when did news from either the club or the Herald Express ever get out before BTPIR gives it?

[Lloyder5]

Has he?? no confirmation on that as the club tells the fans nothing.

On the website now.

[DB57]

Awaiting international clearance.

[Teigngull]

Excuse my ignorance but if Mr Gnabouyou was born in Marseilles which ,the last time I looked is in France, why does he have to wait for international clearance ? As a French citizen surely he is allowed to move & work freely within the European union ?

[CraigUnder]

Excuse my ignorance but if Mr Gnabouyou was born in Marseilles which ,the last time I looked is in France, why does he have to wait for international clearance ? As a French citizen surely he is allowed to move & work freely within the European union ?

Maybe its because he last played in Finland so the Finnish FA hold his player registration?

[Jerry]

Excuse my ignorance but if Mr Gnabouyou was born in Marseilles which ,the last time I looked is in France, why does he have to wait for international clearance ? As a French citizen surely he is allowed to move & work freely within the European union ?

Nothing to do with the EU or his nationality. It's a FIFA regulation that players require clearance if their previous club came under the jurisdiction of a foreign association. We've had to do the same when signing English players from Welsh clubs in the past (Shaun Harrad from Wrexham for example). I also remember we had to wait several weeks for some young Irish lads to be eligible to play even for our youth teams. As usual the smaller the club the longer these things seem to take. :}

http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-gov ... -clearance

[arcadia]

It's because he needs to get clearance to play in an English league it would be the same if he was from any other country or lower league.

[Dazza]

Does it matter. ? Now there is all this crap about him having to train with the squad properly before playing for real. It's just a repeat of our 'New Zealand here I come' experience imv. It's total bullshit. Blissett left at Christmas and it's taken us a year to get anything approaching bringing in a hold up forward who actually plays. It's totally ridiculous- it's taken us to the bottom of the league yet again- and fans deserve far far better than this total tonk from successive managers.

[Caldwellanddobson]

Whilst I understand your frustration I’m pretty sure you’ll find we were close to the bottom of the league with Nathan Blissett in the team and it was Keiffer Moore who made the difference when he joined on loan from FGR. Just saying...

[merse btpir]

Does it matter. ? Now there is all this crap about him having to train with the squad properly before playing for real.

How is it 'crap'?

The manager has told you how important it is for the new striker to hit the ground running so give him a chance; he needs a modicum of familiarity with the pattern of play, logging in to the body language of his team mates and other important factor in a striker's needs to be able to read what his team mates are doing and about to do next.

You've been on this Blissett obsession for ages; get over it his transfer target value was triggered and there was nothing the club could do about it save get taken to court for breach of contract.

The shoe is on the other foot now with a 'trigger clause' bid put in for another striker that is currently being disputed by the player's club ~ let's see where that one goes.

[Dazza]

All very logical Merse ( except if you lose games because you don't score goals ).

Yes let's see where the our 'trigger' situation goes. After Christmas if at all is my guess.

[desperado]

Talking of strikers as per the thread, I see two of our ex strikers featured for Motherwell today in the
Scottish League Cup Final against Celtic. Ryan Bowman played and Alex Fisher was on the bench.

[yellowmonkey]

Whens he turning up then surely doesnt take this long?

[Rjc70]

Whens he turning up then surely doesnt take this long?

In terms of numbers, we have Reid, Keating, Pittman, Gnabouyou and the two loanees, McQuoid and Murphy who can play this role. That is a large roster. However, I agree this is the area that most requires improvement. That much seems obvious given our lack of goals.

I can't see Murphy having his loan extended and expect him (and Evans) to soon go back to FGR. Owers likes McQuoid, who has been everpresent and Reid has had a good run in the side. Perhaps it is hoped Gnabouyou will come good after a serious run-out in the FA Trophy? Maybe we have to shift outwards to get someone in? He hasn't appeared to fancy Pittman much.

[Jamie Ndah Is God]

Plymouth Argyle's Alex Fletcher is a very decent prospect. He's only 18 and seems to have that goalscorer's instinct. He came off the bench a few weeks ago to head in a consolation goal at the end of the game and before that scored a quality volley against Chelsea's U18 side in the pointless Cheapskate Trophy (he scored 2 that night). Derek Adams however is killing the lad's development by giving him next to no game time, and on the rare occasion he does play, deploys him in his flawed one up front formation where his ultra defensive tactics leave the sole striker completely isolated. In Fletcher's case it is infuriating as he clearly has potential and goals in him. Would love to see him on loan at Torquay