Liam Lawrence has moved to us from Shrewsbury: http://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/article/liam-lawrence-signs-for-the-club-2888454.aspx Would rather have heard of a striker (ie Gaffney) or a first choice 'keeper signing, but everyone seems pleased with this. (Could be 'bye 'bye Lines though.)
According to the write up on the web site he has taken a wage cut to play for us and is under contract until the end of the season with another year if we are promoted. he can play anywhere across the pitch in a midfield role be it a 2, 3 or a 4. He was in the Shrewsbury team that got automatic promotion last season and has played in all divisions 500 appearances and in Greece as well as 15 intl caps. With that sort of experience he should be a great asset to the club. He says he is a winner and that is the type of players that we should be looking for. All we need now is a striker Goalkeeper and cover at the back for Lee Brown seeing as our reserve is out on loan at Bath City. Those are my thoughts do feel free to disagree
I asked what they thought of Liam Lawrence over on the Shrewsbury board: "Lawrence is a class above. Capable of finding space, beating a man (even though lacking in pace) and dictating play. In my opinion....a huge loss for Shrewsbury." Sounds good to me
I know its in the link already provided but in case someone hasnt read all of it in, here is what DC, Higgs and Lawrence have said today.... DC said: “I believe his signing is a fantastic coup for the club and to bring someone of his calibre in, on a contract until the end of the season with no fee involved, is massive for me. I think we did lose a little bit of experience when Andy left and although Lee Mansell is doing a fantastic job for us Liam will be a huge help to us on and off the pitch. I really feel that his signing is a superb piece of business for the club. Gone are the days when we pay ridiculous wages to 34 year old footballers. All that Liam wants to do is to come in and play football and he comes here on a lot less money than he’s on at Shrewsbury. Should we gain promotion, his reward will be another one year contract and that’s his incentive. He can play anywhere across the midfield whether that be in a three, a two, or a four, so he adds competition for places to the squad as well as bringing quality and calmness. He’s a very confident lad and he wants to be here to try to help us push on in the second half of the season. I know his character and what he’s about on the football pitch. He’s a winner, and I love winners.” Higgs said: “First of all I would like to welcome Liam to the Memorial Stadium. I’m sure that our supporters are looking forward to seeing him in action for us and I wish him every success during his time with here. He is a player with a great pedigree, having appeared in the top flight with both Sunderland and Stoke, and I’m sure his experience will be of great benefit to our squad. Liam is a very welcome, and quality, addition to the squad that Darrell is building for a sustained challenge on a top seven place in League Two. In addition to the experience he has gained from playing in The Premiership, he has played at this level as well, having been a member of Shrewsbury Town’s promotion winning side last season.” Lawrence said: “I spoke to the gaffer a few weeks ago and after speaking to Shrewsbury I thought it might be time to move on. Darrell looked after me as a youngster at Mansfield and I learnt a lot from him then and hope that continues now. I played with Marcus Stewart for a couple of years at Sunderland and we won promotion during my time there. I also played under Tony Pulis at Stoke and he brought in Gerry Francis who I enjoyed working with. I have a great deal of experience to offer, I’m a winner and want to do well. I turned 34 a few weeks ago, but there is still petrol in the tank and fire in the belly. I hope I can bring something to the table and help them get promoted. I hate losing, even in training! But in terms of helping out the younger players, I’ll be happy to give them benefit of my experience as I get to know them. I think it’s important that they are aware of values and the ins and outs of the game. I actually feel that it’s about grinding out results, especially at this stage of the season. The immediate aim has to be to keep the current run going and if we can do that it should be an interesting end to the season. Having spoken to Darrell and Marcus I got a real sense that this is a club that’s going places and I’m glad to be here and hope I can help.”
Great info reading that above. Im actually more positive ab out this signing now. Contract is just to the end of this season which im shocked that the player accepted because he could be left with no club in the summer. Fair shout to him in accepting that and if he wants to be here, he has to perform and get us up.
I would just get Greenslade back from loan. No point wasting money on wages getting in someone else in my opinion. But agree with a striker and keeper although Mildenhall is not doing so bad at the moment.
Great link Gastro, looks as though we have signed a bit of quality, knows how to take penalties as well, could be useful at Wembley at the end of the season if the GAS decide to do it the hard way again
This shows how much more attractive a club is when there is a sniff of a promotion chance in the air.
Its good to have an early signing in the door instead of last day signings. It gives us an extra few games with the new player throughout January. Those games could be the difference between going up or going down for teams
