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Trialists


Papa Shango

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Following on from all the ex player threads we've had on here recently, I was wondering if people can remember any notable players we've had on trial over the years that we haven't ended up signing? I saw Darren Carter play for us in pre season at Barnet last year and thought he looked pretty decent. I remember under Redknapp we had former Skate Valery Mezague and Rui Marques along with Greek winger Pantelis Konstantinidis (Had to look up his name). Can anyone remember any more? Anyone decent we missed out on?

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Good question. I'll just bullet all the one's I can think of....

 

Souness trialled about 10 players when he 1st joined.....Flo & Ostenstadt were just 2 of them. He may've had Pavel Kuka & Paulo Alves over too.

 

Seem to remember a big Hungarian defender a while ago too (Not Liptak).

 

Did we have Mark Fotheringham here under Burley?

 

We had a young Portugese winger a few years ago, and I can't for the life of me remember his name...

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Don't think he was on trial, but Strachan said we had on opportunity to buy him before he went to Marseille (And a year before his £24m transfer to Chelsea) but we decided against it in the end.

 

Yeah, I think you're right there. I believe RL would only pay £2m for Drogba but his club wanted £3.5m or something.

 

Also, we just missed out on Adebayor (Lowe didn't like his attitude, allegedly) and Rosicky (Lowe wouldn't sanction £10m bid for him - or something to that effect)

 

And all this from someone who actually didn't rabidly dislike the rosy-cheeked one :)

 

We also missed out on Mido because he wasn't too impressed with Sturrock's egg butty and flip-flops... allegedly :-o

Edited by Crab Lungs
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Yeah, I think you're right there. I believe RL would only pay £2m for Drogba but his club wanted £3.5m or something.

 

Also, we just missed out on Adebayor (Lowe didn't like his attitude, allegedly) and Rosicky (Lowe wouldn't sanction £10m bid for him - or something to that effect)

 

And all this from someone who actually didn't rabidly dislike the rosy-cheeked one :)

 

We also missed out on Mido because he wasn't too impressed with Sturrock's egg butty and flip-flops... allegedly :-o

 

Do wish people would check there facts before posting rubish Mido had a work permit application turned down.

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Anyone remember Tscheu La Ling? (Spelling?)

 

Certainly do. Had legs like tree-trunks. came from a Dutch club but Lord Lawrie did'nt sign him for some reason. Think he only played one game for the first team. A cup gameof of some decription, but seemed quite useful. Think the name was Tchu La Ling, he was of Far Eastern extraction, but I beleive he was actually a Dutch national.

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not sure if i'm right but wasnt Drogba on trial here once?

 

I believe he was..but I remember reading that RL didn't want to sign him because he thought he had " a bit of an attitude "

 

*?! **/?!!?*!!! (I'm lost for words) sorry Rupert. Thanks for the stadium but you got that one wrong, but then again you did buy Delgado for £3 million --------what a coup, that was !

 

RULE no.1 in the book of Soccer Management . Chairman should stay in the Boardroom..and out of the dressing room !

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I seem to recall he got rave reviews in our Academy side that season, but we got screwed by the Home Office who wouldn't give him a work permit after his youth contract ran out...yet he later got it sorted and came back to the UK.

Although he didn't perform well in those trials, I am fairly certain he would have been a real hit had he stayed in the Saints regime at the time.

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I remember an entire summer we were linked with Marc Vivien-Foe, as were Man Utd.

 

Ended up breaking his leg and moving to WHU a year later, I believe?

 

Wasn't that the year we sold Kevin davies? I think we were also linked heavily with Matt Jansen at the time.

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No. But we were trying to get Damarcus Beasley over one summer but couldn't agree terms with MLS IIRC...

 

 

 

I know there was some toing and froing that summer and we never concluded the deal, but I'm sure he played in our tour of Austria???/Switzerland????/Alpine region??? that summer as an acquaintance had to courier his boots over!!!!!!!

 

Or perhaps he never made it in the end (but his boots did)!!!!!!

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I know there was some toing and froing that summer and we never concluded the deal, but I'm sure he played in our tour of Austria???/Switzerland????/Alpine region??? that summer as an acquaintance had to courier his boots over!!!!!!!

 

Or perhaps he never made it in the end (but his boots did)!!!!!!

 

Maybe? Don't remember him being on trial, but my memory's getting increasingly less reliable now I'm I'm my 30's!!

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Neither were on trial with us, they both signed.

Do people actually know what "trialists" means?

 

I'm pretty sure both played for the reserves or in friendlies before signing.

 

And I do know what a triallist is, I was one once (and got signed). :)

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I remember 'way back when' in the LMac era, 1980ish we had a pre-season friendly against Bompey and it was reported that we were going to play a 'mystery trialist/signing'. Now Lawrie had brought so many quality players to our ranks we were all filed with great anticipation. As if we all needed any more encouragement to make the mid-week, pay on the gate journey 30 miles west. The expectancy rose when the A4 team sheet didn't reveal our right-wingers name either and we were finally put out of our misery when the stadia announcer revealed that 'Andy Rogers' (I think his name was) was the big secret. Needless to say I guess but he was rubbish yet we signed him anyway and I think he never started a game again before we sold him to PA.

The game itself was so bad that from half time onwards 'The lads' were asking the stewards to let us all out. Half way through the second half all the gates were opened and our lot marched straight up to the home end and 'took' it without a punch being thrown.

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I'll never forget that one, based on the fact that it's all Alpine went on about it alllllll summer.

 

The faliure to sign Ruud Knol ended our season before it started apparentley!

 

Lol, think he signed for Bristol and rarely played... but was still the player we really needed to have signed :o)

 

Incidentally, off topic but, I noticed that Leandre Griffit is now struggling to get games in the MLS at the moment, I really thought he was going to be some player and that saggy face ruined him, but appears that despite his pace and technical ability he hasn't made the grade? Maybe an attitude problem there?

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I was at the La Ling friendly...wasnt it against Gothenburg or someone like that and finished 4-4.I think la Ling got a hatrick but not a contract out of it.

 

Dead right Ibizasaint. It wasn't announced until the night of the game and he played an absolute blinder (I was aged 13 and watching from the Archers), supporters assumed that he was Chinese at the time, but he was in fact a Dutchman and a star at Ajax. Surplus to requirements after Cruyff returned hence the trial at Saints. To this day I don't know what else he could have done to get a contract (shades of MLT in that infamous England B match). Great night at the Dell though, pure entertainment!...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tschen_La_Ling

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