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The Queen of the South thread


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20 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Where's he said he's scouting the North of England as a matter of interest?

He said in the open goal interview about potentially broadening the “traditional” scope of recruitment and that he has a few contacts down south who keep him informed about players in the lower leagues.

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35 minutes ago, QoS99 said:

He said in the open goal interview about potentially broadening the “traditional” scope of recruitment and that he has a few contacts down south who keep him informed about players in the lower leagues.

Yes, but I'm fairly sure he wasn't referring specifically to the North of England in that interview. Suspect it was mostly much further south. Just querying where the suggestion of North of England has come from.

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8 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yes, but I'm fairly sure he wasn't referring specifically to the North of England in that interview. Suspect it was mostly much further south. Just querying where the suggestion of North of England has come from.

Brings back Ruben 

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10 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Where's he said he's scouting the North of England as a matter of interest?

 

9 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yes, but I'm fairly sure he wasn't referring specifically to the North of England in that interview. Suspect it was mostly much further south. Just querying where the suggestion of North of England has come from.

He never specified north of England tbf. He just said he has people down in England looking at non-league players. It doesn't necessarily mean the north of England of course. I just can't see many players from way down south relocating up here but you never know I suppose. 

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26 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

 

He never specified north of England tbf. He just said he has people down in England looking at non-league players. It doesn't necessarily mean the north of England of course. I just can't see many players from way down south relocating up here but you never know I suppose. 

Obileye, Nortey, Debayo were all from London. Chima was Coventry or thereabouts I think. Granted Pybus was Newcastle area but he moved to Hamilton anyway.

There's a far bigger market of players in the South and with Bartley coming from Reading I think its much more likely his connections are South East, although he may have ex teammates all over I suppose. At the end of the day, it's unlikely anyone's commuting from even the North East to train in Hamilton daily (though Jordan Marshall did for his last year to be fair, he lived in Dumfries before that though). If you're relocating it doesnt make much odds where from. 

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15 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Obileye, Nortey, Debayo were all from London. Chima was Coventry or thereabouts I think. Granted Pybus was Newcastle area but he moved to Hamilton anyway.

There's a far bigger market of players in the South and with Bartley coming from Reading I think its much more likely his connections are South East, although he may have ex teammates all over I suppose. At the end of the day, it's unlikely anyone's commuting from even the North East to train in Hamilton daily (though Jordan Marshall did for his last year to be fair, he lived in Dumfries before that though). If you're relocating it doesnt make much odds where from. 

I suppose so. I'm maybe just not seeing QoS as such a draw. Hopefully players don't have the same attitude! 

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56 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

I suppose so. I'm maybe just not seeing QoS as such a draw. Hopefully players don't have the same attitude! 

Aye, we're not exactly Barcelona tbf.  Joking aside, if you take big Obileye as an example, he's come up to QOS and played well, stood out and been noticed and quickly picked up by Livingston.  Now he's playing in the Premiership up here in front of (much as I loathe them) 50k and 60k crowds with huge TV audiences.  Compare that if he'd stayed down south where he'd likely be bouncing around the many competitive non-league set-ups and receiving a fraction of the exposure he's had up here.  So there's an argument that the Scottish leagues offer a possible quick route to future success.  No talented player from down south is signing for the likes of QOS thinking of a long-term stay - we're going to be seen as a short-term stepping stone and display window towards greater things.  Now I've no great issue with that if its a win-win for both parties.

Just gotta hope that Marvin and his contacts can filter out the dross - remember that the English outnumber us 10:1, so they'll theoretically (I know, this is overly simplified statistical bollocks) produce 10 times as many talented players, but crucially they'll also produce 10 times as much dross - so we need to be careful.

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Ayr seem to have gone down this route and signed a lot of players from the English lower leagues. I always think of it as a more 'hit and miss' strategy. For every Dipo Akinyemi you'll get a Ryan Gondoh who is shipped back down the road a few weeks later. It must be a lot harder to truly judge their level as it's very difficult to know what a comparative league in England is to Scottish League 1.

Overall they seem to have done pretty well out of it though, from the little I've seen/heard guys like Dipo, Dempsey and their keeper Albinson are their better players who all came from relative obscurity (from a Scottish fan point of view). I definitely agree with Otis Blue that, if it goes well for the player, it's a fast track to a higher level for them. Goes without saying that it's reliant on having a huge amount of faith in your contacts down south.

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3 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Obileye, Nortey, Debayo were all from London. Chima was Coventry or thereabouts I think. Granted Pybus was Newcastle area but he moved to Hamilton anyway.

Substitute Ruben for Obileye in the above and you can see that recruiting from England hasn't exactly been our forte in recent years. 

I suppose you could argue that Connelly, Shields and the inconsistent Fitzpatrick came from English clubs but they had significant experience in Scotland before joining Queens and AJ was probably much more aware of their abilities.

That said, Bartley's January recruitment suggests that he actually targets specific players rather than chancing his arm on random trialists or players being whored around by their agents.

Edited by Slipmat
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9 minutes ago, Slipmat said:

Substitute Ruben for Obileye in the above and you can see that recruiting from England hasn't exactly been our forte in recent years. 

I suppose you could argue that Connelly, Shields and the inconsistent Fitzpatrick came from English clubs but they had significant experience in Scotland before joining Queens and AJ was probably much more aware of their abilities.

That said, Bartley's January recruitment suggests that he actually targets specific players rather than chancing his arm on random trialists or players being whored around by their agents.

I missed Ruben! Add another to the London list. To be fair, if Nortey had ever been properly fit I think he'd have done well too.

I don't think Connelly, Shields or Fitzy are really the same. They were all moving "home" rather than moving away from home. It's a different mindset.

You could potentially add Ben Liddle to the list I suppose. He was on loan but he knew he was leaving Bristol Rovers and it was an opportunity to put himself in the shop window too. I wouldn't really count Izzy Jones, Sam Folarin or Sol Brynn who were all on short term loans and knew they were returning to Boro.

Ayo was a major success obviously and Pybus did ok without exactly setting the heather alight (as long as you don't ask @19QOS19 😆). And like I said above Nortey would have been decent if he'd not been virtually permanently unfit. Liddle, Debayo and Ruben weren't quite at that level though and Chima was a complete bust.

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2 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

Ayr seem to have gone down this route and signed a lot of players from the English lower leagues. I always think of it as a more 'hit and miss' strategy. For every Dipo Akinyemi you'll get a Ryan Gondoh who is shipped back down the road a few weeks later. It must be a lot harder to truly judge their level as it's very difficult to know what a comparative league in England is to Scottish League 1.

Overall they seem to have done pretty well out of it though, from the little I've seen/heard guys like Dipo, Dempsey and their keeper Albinson are their better players who all came from relative obscurity (from a Scottish fan point of view). I definitely agree with Otis Blue that, if it goes well for the player, it's a fast track to a higher level for them. Goes without saying that it's reliant on having a huge amount of faith in your contacts down south.

Queens have certainly had their fair share of recruits from the English non-leagues who have fallen well short of the standard required at our level over the years (see various posts above).  Wasn't the Hartley led Falkirk disaster also partly due to signing a pile of duds from the English non/lower leagues?  As I said in my OP, there's a lot of talent but even more dross down there - so the manager has to have a very keen eye for a player, but it's a market not to ignore.

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Has the kit designs for next season been released yet?

 I thought they were usually shown about the time of the sponsorship draw. I can’t remember seeing them this year though. 

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2 hours ago, qos_75 said:

Has the kit designs for next season been released yet?

 I thought they were usually shown about the time of the sponsorship draw. I can’t remember seeing them this year though. 

They have not. They haven't been released at the shirt draw for a few years. 

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Just now, ALOREBURNE said:

0B8043C0-9173-4C66-AB5B-C74E07AD0C4F.jpeg

I was impressed with Church last season and think he would be a good signing.

I'd be majorly worried if he is Bartley's LAST summer signing though!  😟 🤣

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43 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

I think the last time they were revealed at the Shirt Draw was the 2018 draw for the Centenary Shirt.

I dont know. I just know I asked the same question last week :D 

In other news, Cochrane has signed for two years

https://www.qosfc.com/news-6087

Very happy with that. 

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14 minutes ago, Homer Thompson said:

I dont know. I just know I asked the same question last week :D 

In other news, Cochrane has signed for two years

https://www.qosfc.com/news-6087

Very happy with that. 

Brilliant news! Cochrane is a player I've liked since day 1 but have always said "there's a player in there, I'm just not sure what his best role is". MB has come in and Cochrane has been brilliant. He seems to have found it in him. A very good signing and 2 years is great news IMO. 

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