2026/27 Ins & Outs Discussion

[Kmcalpin]

Rumour on P & B that Callum Hendry may move back to St Johnstone in the summer. 

[joewarkfanclub]

14 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Rumour on P & B that Callum Hendry may move back to St Johnstone in the summer. 

Best for both parties.

A bit like Stama, just hasnt worked out.

Also too injury prone to be serviceable for us.

If the Saintees want him we should facilitate this.

[thewelllfan]

If St Johnstone want Hendry I wouldn't stand in his way, can see Liam Gordon going there as well to be honest.

This summer we are probably going to have a rebuild on our hands again with the amount leaving on frees or players who may be sold.

At the moment we should be signing :

- 2 x New CB (Welsh goes back to Celtic, Gordon and Balmer OOC)

- 1 x LB (Longelo needs competition and Wilson is probably not Premiership level)

- 1/2 CM (Need 1/2 CM Watt may leave and Whyte may not sign a new deal).

- 2 AMF (If Just leaves and Slattery doesn't sign a new deal)

- 1 RW

- 1 LW

-2 x ST (If Hendry and Maswanhise leave)

Players Leaving :

Slattery, Gordon, Balmer, Nicholson, Robinson, Halliday - Contract Expiry

Oxborough, Wilson - Loaned out/Released

Stama, Maswanhise, Just, Watt, Hendry - Potentially sold.

Welsh - Returns to Celtic. 

[Orinoco]

Hendry like Cook always seemed to be injured. Hard for them to get a run in the team never mind finding form.

Every signing is a risk. Can we take the risk next season on them being fit?

Maybe best to try something different.

[FirParkCornerExile]

See Theo Bair has been loaned out to Swiss Club Lausanne Sport. 6 goals in 13 games a decent start but unsurprisingly he didn't have it for the French top league. 

[mfc88]

Any thoughts on ward being with us/ not being with us next season? Haven't heard anything concrete, but hard to imagine his ability to play combined with the clean sheet record going unnoticed. No idea what sort of fee he could command either.

[Spiderpig]

49 minutes ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

See Theo Bair has been loaned out to Swiss Club Lausanne Sport. 6 goals in 13 games a decent start but unsurprisingly he didn't have it for the French top league. 

He was a one season wonder, that we cashed in on at the right time.

[Kmcalpin]

9 minutes ago, mfc88 said:

Any thoughts on ward being with us/ not being with us next season? Haven't heard anything concrete, but hard to imagine his ability to play combined with the clean sheet record going unnoticed. No idea what sort of fee he could command either.

I wouldn't think there will be queues of clubs after him. Much of our clean sheet record was down to our style of play. 

[FirParkCornerExile]

8 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

He was a one season wonder, that we cashed in on at the right time.

Correct and I'm starting to think we should do the same with Manwanhise

[thewelllfan]

46 minutes ago, mfc88 said:

Any thoughts on ward being with us/ not being with us next season? Haven't heard anything concrete, but hard to imagine his ability to play combined with the clean sheet record going unnoticed. No idea what sort of fee he could command either.

I think if a bid came in the 1.5M range he'd be off. He's been good for us but I feel he always has a mistake in him. If he is off I'd be having a look at Prior from Livi or McCracken at Dundee who's OOC. Oxborough also was a solid enough keeper for us when he was starting last season so I wouldn't mind him getting another go.

[grizzlyg]

1 hour ago, mfc88 said:

Any thoughts on ward being with us/ not being with us next season? Haven't heard anything concrete, but hard to imagine his ability to play combined with the clean sheet record going unnoticed. No idea what sort of fee he could command either.

Just my opinion but if we got offered over a million then take it. I have never been a huge fan and if JBA wants keepers to be an extra outfield player then better options out there.

[grizzlyg]

36 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

I think if a bid came in the 1.5M range he'd be off. He's been good for us but I feel he always has a mistake in him. If he is off I'd be having a look at Prior from Livi or McCracken at Dundee who's OOC. Oxborough also was a solid enough keeper for us when he was starting last season so I wouldn't mind him getting another go.

Mccracken? Jeez no....don't rate him at all

[thewelllfan]

1 minute ago, grizzlyg said:

Mccracken? Jeez no....don't rate him at all

I've only watched him a few times but he's been good most of those times he's earned Dundee 4 points against us by making some big saves in the games, made a few decent saves in the derby game I watched and the game they beat Celtic. He's also young and Scottish so we could make some money from him if we can platform in a way he takes 1 of the back-up keeper slots in the National Team.

[grizzlyg]

1 minute ago, thewelllfan said:

I've only watched him a few times but he's been good most of those times he's earned Dundee 4 points against us by making some big saves in the games, made a few decent saves in the derby game I watched and the game they beat Celtic. He's also young and Scottish so we could make some money from him if we can platform in a way he takes 1 of the back-up keeper slots in the National Team.

Agree with your reasons pal, just not for me

[bobbybingo]

32 minutes ago, thewelllfan said:

I think if a bid came in the 1.5M range he'd be off. He's been good for us but I feel he always has a mistake in him. If he is off I'd be having a look at Prior from Livi or McCracken at Dundee who's OOC. Oxborough also was a solid enough keeper for us when he was starting last season so I wouldn't mind him getting another go.

Can't say I've been paying much attention to opposition keepers, but had a wee look at their passing accuracy stats for the last couple of games.

Ward was between 70-80%, McCracken 50-60% and Prior around 40% for both matches.

Could be to do with how many long balls they're hitting, but given what happened with Oxborough, you'd wonder if they're the type of keeper Jens would be after.

[thewelllfan]

29 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Can't say I've been paying much attention to opposition keepers, but had a wee look at their passing accuracy stats for the last couple of games.

Ward was between 70-80%, McCracken 50-60% and Prior around 40% for both matches.

Could be to do with how many long balls they're hitting, but given what happened with Oxborough, you'd wonder if they're the type of keeper Jens would be after.

I've not seen loads of either I've just thought both GK's have been decent in the games I've seen them in. I'd imagine both Gk's passing accuracy would improve in our side. Ox last season was a decent keeper for us before his injury and if Ward was to leave I'd be comfortable enough with Ox starting for us again. Might be harsh but Connolly is not for me at all. Too small and that performance against Aberdeen left a lot to be desired.

[grizzlyg]

For me we signed Maswanhise and Ward for no fee.  If we could get say total of £4 million combined for pair of them then its great business and you give JBA half of that to spend 

[Kmcalpin]

I think if we were offered £500k for Ward he'd be off. 

McCracken? No way. He's always got a blunder in him, just not against us. Not rated by Dundee fans I know.

[Spiderpig]

3 hours ago, thewelllfan said:

I think if a bid came in the 1.5M range he'd be off. He's been good for us but I feel he always has a mistake in him. If he is off I'd be having a look at Prior from Livi or McCracken at Dundee who's OOC. Oxborough also was a solid enough keeper for us when he was starting last season so I wouldn't mind him getting another go.

Prior from Livingston, the team at the bottom the league, heading for the championship with the most goals conceded so far, aye ok then 🤦‍♂️

[grizzlyg]

1 hour ago, Spiderpig said:

Prior from Livingston, the team at the bottom the league, heading for the championship with the most goals conceded so far, aye ok then 🤦‍♂️

To be fair they aren't bottom purely down to the goalkeeper.  He looks decent but wouldn't be one i would be interested in

[weeyin]

On 4/11/2026 at 11:40 AM, purestate said:

JT showing today why it’s unlikely he will  go for big money.   Whether lack of an offer us fans would want means he might stay for further development who knows 

I said earlier in the season that JT has not convinced me, despite his goals this season. This is one of the reasons.

[David]

On 4/7/2026 at 2:19 PM, Happyhonest said:

So maybe a transfer kitty of AT LEAST 6 million between the  sale of jt and either watt or just.  Please not Fad as I really think he is instrumental in what we do.  

Even if we were to get a strong headline fee for someone like JT or Watt, it very rarely lands as a lump sum that can immediately be reinvested. More often than not, these deals are structured over a number of years, with staged payments and add-ons tied to appearances, performance, or team success. So while the “£X million” figure looks healthy on paper, the reality is that only a portion of that is available in the short term. It’s not always as simple as selling a player and having that full amount ready to spend in the same window.

On 4/7/2026 at 5:22 PM, stv said:

Yes but he could look at the long term and remember how many prospects have left us too soon instead of learning their trade with regular first team football. Too numerous to mention those who have left early and disappeared into the footballing back waters.

Young players are, by definition, not the finished product. Some develop, some plateau, and some fall away entirely. It’s easy to say they should stay, play regularly, and improve, but there’s just as much risk in that path as there is in moving on early. If a better financial offer comes in, especially from a higher level, it’s completely understandable for the player to take it. They’re being asked to secure their future, often on the back of a short window of opportunity.

An agent will almost always frame it that way: take the deal, bank the money, and go and test yourself in a better environment, better facilities, potentially higher standards in training, and the chance to develop alongside stronger players.

Jake Hastie is probably a good example of how this can play out. At the time, a lot of people felt he left too early. But looking at it now, he secured a four-year deal on wages we couldn’t have matched. When he came back on loan, and in his spells elsewhere, he didn’t really show that he was going to make it at our level. So from his perspective, he maximised his earning potential at the right time. The alternative could easily have been staying, not kicking on, and ending up at a lower level anyway, just without the financial security he got from that move.

None of this is to say we shouldn’t want to keep our best young players as long as possible. Of course we should. But the reality is there are financial and career dynamics at play that make these situations far less black and white than they sometimes seem, especially from the players perspective.

[0Neils40yarder]

On 4/12/2026 at 4:33 PM, FirParkCornerExile said:

Correct and I'm starting to think we should do the same with Manwanhise

Ive said that for long enough