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Brian Graham signs!


jaggy
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8 minutes ago, dl1971 said:

Dont understand some questioning the length of the contact. Takes him to a mere 34. Plenty of strikers older than that continue to make a contribution and plenty in the past. Let's be positive that the team is looking far better ( on paper ) than recently. 

 A club like ours rarely hands out 1 year plus contracts. When we do it's to players we can potentially sell on while under contract for a profit, or at least break even on the deal on expiration. Whatever value Graham has today come 34 year old it will be considerably less.  As said elsewhere I've a lot of faith in McCall when it comes to contracts but on face value us giving a 32 year old an extended (for us) is surely worth remarking about.

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43 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

 A club like ours rarely hands out 1 year plus contracts. When we do it's to players we can potentially sell on while under contract for a profit, or at least break even on the deal on expiration. Whatever value Graham has today come 34 year old it will be considerably less.  As said elsewhere I've a lot of faith in McCall when it comes to contracts but on face value us giving a 32 year old an extended (for us) is surely worth remarking about.

Worth remarking about but not the tired old insinuation that anyone over 30 is past it. As for our record of selling anyone on in their late 20s or early 30s is pretty much zilch. The value will be on the pitch if he plays his part in next 2 years. 

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I think it's a great move. Also I have to agree with algarvejag, the length of contract may well be what won us his signature. How often do we go in for players only to lose out to other clubs of a similar size to ourselves. Rudden is a great example of the excellent job mcall is doing I fully expected someone else to scupper that deal and beat us to it. I can't remember a window this positive for us.

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13 hours ago, dl1971 said:

Worth remarking about but not the tired old insinuation that anyone over 30 is past it. As for our record of selling anyone on in their late 20s or early 30s is pretty much zilch. The value will be on the pitch if he plays his part in next 2 years. 

The insinuation is tired because it is over 30 years old.  It is a perfectly good insinuation. But no more than that.

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Good signing in a number of ways. Purely speculation on my part but Graham, who is not a prolific goalscorer, can offer us a number of possibilities:

- at last a real centre forward who can receive and hold balls from defence 

- bring other players into play, Rudden and advancing midfielders, for example" a fit Gordon 

- in the box, provide an aerial threat - the occasional goal and enable Rudden to play off him

- different tactical options - I would love McCall to go to a 433 formation when he feels we can  with Graham in the centre and  2 strikers playing off him on either side (have never felt one up front worked for us or that we rarely get enough players into the box when attacking); ramifications for elsewhere like Midfield but worth a try against the likes of Arbroath, Alloa, Morton etc. 

Welcome to Firhill Brian. 

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I am of a more cautionary persuasion as regards this signing - indeed it might be appropriate in this particular week to mis-quote another Brian's mother and suggest that "He isn't the Messiah, he is a journeyman player who might prove to useful in our fight to avoid relegation"

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15 minutes ago, JeanieD said:

I am of a more cautionary persuasion as regards this signing - indeed it might be appropriate in this particular week to mis-quote another Brian's mother and suggest that "He isn't the Messiah, he is a journeyman player who might prove to useful in our fight to avoid relegation"

Got to agree with you , I’m a bit more cautious especially as he isn’t a prolific goal scorer , 8 goals in Ross County’s championship team and 4 goals this season so far , hopefully his experience will help Zak Rudden .

Edited by jlsarmy
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10 minutes ago, jlsarmy said:

Got to agree with you , I’m a bit more cautious especially as he isn’t a prolific goal scorer , 8 goals in Ross County’s championship team and 4 goals this season so far , hopefully his experience will help Zak Rudden .

Got to be noted though that a lot of Graham's appearances last season were from the bench and scoring 10 goals and above is really hard in this league. Only 6 players achieved this last season and no club have more than one in that list.

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1 hour ago, Alan Murray said:

Got to be noted though that a lot of Graham's appearances last season were from the bench 

Then as JeanieD says he isn't the Messiah.  By my reckoning Messiahs would start every game.

More to the point would be knowing Graham's record of assists, particularly in recent seasons. I'm not expecting a high goal return from BG. I see him more as causing a nuisance to defences, playing in more mobile players thru hold up play and providing enough assists.

One thing we've been guilty of this season is losing the ball too often in attack. We've got a shaky enough defence without providing opponents so many counter opportunities. Cardle & Miller have particularly been guilty of giving the ball away too easily and in return wrong footing their teammates. Graham should be far less extravagant with the ball. 

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Brian Graham career total 140 goals in 412 appearances  (average 2.94 appearances per goal). 20 in 61 in the last season and a half with Ross County.

Kenny Miller career total 267 goals in 809 appearances (average 3.03 appearances per goal). 10 in 32 this season with Thistle. 9 in 36 with Livingston/Dundee last season.

It's marginal, but those stats suggest that maybe iMac has got us a better goal threat than some are giving Brian Graham credit for.

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