2026/27 Ins & Outs Discussion

[SteelmaninOZ]

2 hours ago, purestate said:

The source is Football Insider which lists Just as an Australian international. 🙈 I’m sure some clubs will be monitoring Elijah but this is an example of the worst lazy journalism to shoehorn old firm into article. 

But we all know Elijah is a kiwi international 

[Mad Dog]

11 hours ago, thewelllfan said:

The reality is we're not going to improve that area because of the 2 we have there plus Jordan McGhee who can also play there. They're also 2 different type of RB's Sparrow is more attacking gets himself into decent areas going forward where as SOD is a bit more defensive and has simplified his game which has made him look better. I think people are getting carried away with how good we've been this season our target each season as stated by the board is 10th. The majority of the time we qualify for Europe is because 1 or 2 out of Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen have a poor season. We've also surely got to be looking at the seasons under Graham Alexander and SK where we've had like 30 contracted players with about 10 of them not making more than 5 appearances. I think 2 per position with academy players making up the squad when we get injuries is the approach we should be taking hence the reason I don't see us signing another RB.

We currently have two right backs and two left backs. SODs is a right back who is a more than adequate emergency centre half and JK who can do a reasonable job covering on the left. Longelo we know is excellent on his day, whereas Wilson may not be up to the task and is getting very little chance to develop at Raith. I'd try to move Wilson on find a better backup option for that position. Sparrow is a midfielder who can cover at right back, but he's not great there, and he's even worse at left back. McGhee is a midfielder that can do a job at centre half and I like him, so I hope he sticks around for a while.

[wunderwell]

10 hours ago, Mad Dog said:

We currently have two right backs and two left backs. SODs is a right back who is a more than adequate emergency centre half and JK who can do a reasonable job covering on the left. Longelo we know is excellent on his day, whereas Wilson may not be up to the task and is getting very little chance to develop at Raith. I'd try to move Wilson on find a better backup option for that position. Sparrow is a midfielder who can cover at right back, but he's not great there, and he's even worse at left back. McGhee is a midfielder that can do a job at centre half and I like him, so I hope he sticks around for a while.

I think that's a bit harsh on Sparrow at RB - he's been pretty solid and makes some really good last ditch tackles. 
2 mistakes v Hibs and Celtic have just put a little blot on his report card of late

(And to add I know it's not just yourself that has said it)

[Kmcalpin]

Johnny Koutroumbis has signed a new 2 year deal. A good bit of business. 

[wellsince75]

13 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Johnny Koutroumbis has signed a new 2 year deal. A good bit of business. 

Agree - he’s proven to be a very decent player - we’ve certainly missed him in the last month or so 

[Spit_It_Out]

Fantastic news really like Johnny think he has been really good for us getting forward and been pretty consistent aswell.

[texanwellfan]

Is that a sign that JBA might be staying? I’m hoping he is waiting to cement a place in Europe amd then commit to Another season

[Orinoco]

Brilliant he has decided to stay. Our previous manager was a clown to freeze him out.

Johnny's been missed of late. He is defensively our best right back. He reads the game well and theres scope for improvement going forward. 

 

[weeyin]

Good news on Johnny K. Hope there is more to follow as we get towards the end of the season, and not too much waiting around for offer acceptances.

[grizzlyg]

3 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

Johnny Koutroumbis has signed a new 2 year deal. A good bit of business. 

Yup, happy with that 

[Stuwell2]

Great news, a great asset at RB & LB - Love his statement 

“I’ve got a big smile on my face,” Koutroumbis added.

“I’m so happy to stay at this club at a time when it’s going in an exciting direction. Everything is in such a good place, and there is a lot of potential for us going forward.“

[well_said]

2 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Brilliant he has decided to stay. Our previous manager was a clown to freeze him out.

Johnny's been missed of late. He is defensively our best right back. He reads the game well and theres scope for improvement going forward. 

 

Our previous manager was just a clown , end of.

[grumpy]

3 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Brilliant he has decided to stay. Our previous manager was a clown to freeze him out.

Johnny's been missed of late. He is defensively our best right back. He reads the game well and theres scope for improvement going forward. 

 

 

40 minutes ago, well_said said:

Our previous manager was just a clown , end of.

I don't know why everyone dislikes Wimmer so much.

[joewarkfanclub]

Good piece of business.

A good full back at our level and probably still room to develop.

Hopefully the sign of things to come.

[Mad Dog]

On current form there'll be no interest in our manager or our star players, so with a proper striker and another left back, we can look forward to an even better season next year.

[Kmcalpin]

Whats our current thinking on ins and outs in the summer? 

My personal view is:

Oxborough: transfer out or loan

Wilson: will leave either permanently or on loan

Gordon: will leave at the end of his contract

Welsh: will return to Celtic

Slattery: will move on

Halliday: will move on

Robinson: will move on

Nicholson: will move on.

That clears the decks quite a bit and leaves a few gaps to fill in the squad, especially in defence and midfield. It would pare down our squad to about 19. Our striking department also needs strengthening.  Our first 11 isn't too bad but we do lack quality in depth. 

Overall, we need more height and physicality in the squad as we've found out to our cost recently. That could be difficult to source as big physical players who can play a bit don't come cheap.

In addition to that I'd also try to move on Charles Cook and Hendry although that might not be easy. 

Others like Just, JT, and Watt may also attract interest and move - who knows? 

Finally, lets get Olly Whyte's contract extended.  

 

 

  

[Orinoco]

Hendry has offered nothing so far. Is that due to injury, who knows? But like Cook seems to be injury prone. Squad players at best.

We need to improve on our 1st eleven and those in it currently can be our squad backup. Only way to move forward.

If Gordon cant get a game over aging right backs then its probably time for him to move on to get regular playing time. 

Nicholson. Depends on his wages but he will never be more than backup.

Halliday is probably a good guy to have around but given he has not featured even in emergencies he aint going to play. Coaching role? Depends if he wants to drop down a division and keep playing.

Slattery will chase the money and Welsh will go back as you said.

Robinson has not kicked a ball in a season and half?? He might get back fit but to what level? The jury was out on him prior to injury and i cant see how that improves going forward.

Ox will move for first team football and good luck to him!

So almost every position bar right back needs additions. 

Could be a busy summer. Hopefully Jens commits to us next season and allows us to chase our targets and bring them in early.

For talk about physicality and height. We need to remember we still have the best defence in league and dont lose many games. All that with apparent weaknesses! Getting technically gifted giants will be challenging. 

Players who can actually cross a ball or hit a dead ball would be nice.

Probably players who can run with the ball at pace is also a must.

Going to be interesting how we continue our project.

[FirParkCornerExile]

On 4/4/2026 at 5:04 PM, Mad Dog said:

On current form there'll be no interest in our manager or our star players, so with a proper striker and another left back, we can look forward to an even better season next year.

There will 100% be interest in Just , Watt and Twanda , albeit the money offered for Twanda might have dropped quite a bit  

[grizzlyg]

I would sell Cooke, Hendry and JT if we get offered at least £3 million.  Ox, Gordon, Halliday, Robinson, Slattery i think will be off also and Welsh will return to Sellik but would love it if we could get some kind of deal for him

[Spiderpig]

10 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

I would sell Cooke, Hendry and JT if we get offered at least £3 million.  Ox, Gordon, Halliday, Robinson, Slattery i think will be off also and Welsh will return to Sellik but would love it if we could get some kind of deal for him

Welsh will probably be looking for a new club and the certain pay cut that that brings as i dont think he has a future at Celtic, so a deal to keep him at Fir park  might be within our budget.

Assuming of course he has no offers from England or anywhere else offering more money than we can afford, time will tell.

[MFC-craig]

As far as I can see there are two paths this summer: first Askou goes and we cash in on the players we have before a new manager can come in I.e Just, maswanhise, Watt move on. Secondly if Askou stays we looks to keep 2/3 of those players (likely Just and Watt as both have a club option of an extra year).

plently of players to be moved on in any case, of those expiring in the summer I’d keep Slattery if possible and everyone else can go.

Henry, Charles-Cook and Robinson will likely be on a good wage and can ideally move on. 
 

[wunderwell]

I'd give Charles Cook a little bit more time. 

I was very excited about this signing but he has been underwhelming.

He has impressive previous history and perhaps is just lacking confidence. 
 

 

[grizzlyg]

1 hour ago, wunderwell said:

I'd give Charles Cook a little bit more time. 

I was very excited about this signing but he has been underwhelming.

He has impressive previous history and perhaps is just lacking confidence. 
 

 

Not convinced pal. Apart from a great strike in league cup has not been very good, just my opinion 

[thewelllfan]

The base of our squad for next season is:

GK - Ward, Connolly

Def - SOD, Sparrow, JK, McGinn, McGhee, Longelo

CM - Watt, Preistman, Fadinger, Whyte

RW - Said, Ross

LW - RCC

St - Bjorgolfsson, Hendry

 

If we can get RCC anywhere near the player he was at County he'd be one of the best wide players in the division.

 

That leaves us needing :-

 

- 2 CBS, LB, 2 AMF, LW, St (Play across front 3 type)