Gidley Arrives : Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:22 pm  

Good to see that he is here before Christmas to settle in and get down to pre season training with the squad. Am i wrong in thinking that generally the Aussie lads didnt come back for pre season till after Christmas normally? I think i saw Sandow in one of the recent squad training pictures, so it looks like everyone is here and training apart from the England lads and ones recovering from surgery?

Re: Gidley Arrives : Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:14 pm  

I'm really looking forward to Gidley providing us with brains and leadership we've been missing over the past season or 2.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:33 pm  

A lot of aussies are pretty straight talking and will tell you if there is a problem. Most brits will hide behind the stiff upper lip and gripe behind the scenes if there is any beef. Then the problem festers and gets worse and then hold a clear the air meeting. I can't see Michael Monaghan holding back if he had a problem and I hope that Gidley is the same. I think Tony Smith needs a character like that in the squad to help ensure that people's attitudes are on track. I hope Gidley gets to work with that soon because the ability is there in this squad it is just attitude and application that needs nailing down.

[Winslade's Offload]

Re: Gidley Arrives : Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:39 pm  

Yes, I am really looking forward to seeing this guy play, but I am expecting see him playing FB when Ratchford returns. Ratchford doesn't want the FB position simply because he is after an England shirt and there is too much competition there already.

I am also a bit surprised that there has been quite so much negativity about our chances for 2016. We do have quite a lot of lucky dip purchases, players that might suddenly kick on and come good (Wheeler, Cox, Bailey etc). But surely we have a stronger squad than last year ? I fancy we should make 4th but we will need a few of our younger players ( R&B Evans, Laithwaite, Hughes, Philbin etc) to kick on and really establish themselves.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Thu Nov 26, 2015 7:06 pm  

Winslade's Offload wrote:

Yes, I am really looking forward to seeing this guy play, but I am expecting see him playing FB when Ratchford returns. Ratchford doesn't want the FB position simply because he is after an England shirt and there is too much competition there already.

I am also a bit surprised that there has been quite so much negativity about our chances for 2016. We do have quite a lot of lucky dip purchases, players that might suddenly kick on and come good (Wheeler, Cox, Bailey etc). But surely we have a stronger squad than last year ? I fancy we should make 4th but we will need a few of our younger players ( R&B Evans, Laithwaite, Hughes, Philbin etc) to kick on and really establish themselves.

Couldn't agree more with hopefully a more or less settled side, none of the young players have let the side down yet all doing what is asked of them.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:10 am  

Winslade's Offload wrote:

Yes, I am really looking forward to seeing this guy play, but I am expecting see him playing FB when Ratchford returns. Ratchford doesn't want the FB position simply because he is after an England shirt and there is too much competition there already.

I am also a bit surprised that there has been quite so much negativity about our chances for 2016. We do have quite a lot of lucky dip purchases, players that might suddenly kick on and come good (Wheeler, Cox, Bailey etc). But surely we have a stronger squad than last year ? I fancy we should make 4th but we will need a few of our younger players ( R&B Evans, Laithwaite, Hughes, Philbin etc) to kick on and really establish themselves.

Agree with this. I've been dipping in and out of the forum for a few weeks and most posts have been been hysterical whingeing. Not every one of our signings will be a masterstroke, but this one should bring in some real brains and composure which is something we lacked in spades in 2015.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:50 pm  

Bet he's loving the weather.....

Re: Gidley Arrives : Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:42 am  

Kevin Turvey wrote:

Bet he's loving the weather.....

If he was in Blackpool today, he'd be loving the surf. Better than ewt he'd get in Bondi.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:43 am  

He describes himself as an adrenaline junkie who like exciting/ dangerous hobbies - but I don't think he'll getting too many adrenaline rushes at IKEA or the Trafford Centre or the various other venues that we Brits inhabit at this time of year.

Re: Gidley Arrives : Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:54 am  

silver2 wrote:

He describes himself as an adrenaline junkie who like exciting/ dangerous hobbies - but I don't think he'll getting too many adrenaline rushes at IKEA or the Trafford Centre or the various other venues that we Brits inhabit at this time of year.

Have they got rid of the skiing place next door to the TC? That might do the trick.

To be honest most of our players get the old heartbeat racing through caffeine abuse at Costa Coffee - I'm sure he will settle in fine.