This page lists the details of those professionals who have been deemed
possible disciples at McDiarmid (as inspired by the Great Striker Search
of 97) but then vanished into the Twilight Zone of the Trialist. Also we
look at the myriad of players the media have linked us with and the
various transfer rumours which abound in the media (usually after we play
the Old Firm) of players leaving the Hallowed Halls of Saintdom.
If anyone has any more info / data on the players listed below (or names
of new entries) e-mail me at
webmaster@grange.demon.co.uk
|
Who ? |
Where Did This One Come From ? |
So What Happened? |
End Result? |
 |
Sverrir Sverrisson |
Somewhere in Iceland (internationalist) |
His employers (and club sponsors) gave him a promotion in a saga of
X-Files Conspiracy levels. Just as well we're not managed by Tommy Burns
eh? |
Turned Saints Down |
 |
Chamu Musanhu |
Zimbabwe |
Midfield internationalist who was a big hit at McD and looked set
to sign. Then he vanished. Totally. Really spooky. Now at Dynamos FC in
Zimbabwe 1st Div. |
Vanished Without Trace |
| No Picture Available |
Mario Dorner |
Austria |
One of the legendary anonymous Austrians in the spring who
eventually went to Motherwell on a 3-month deal because they offered
more Schillings. Then got the boot. Tragic innit? |
Went To Motherwell |
| No Picture Available |
Fabrice Monakino |
French Winger |
As one of the first of the post-Bosman trialists Saints actually
signed him for a month but then he got injured and the deal was off.
Made one appearance on the subs bench |
INJURED |
 |
Simon Davey |
Preston North End |
Welsh midfielder who played one trial then vanished. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Roger Guy Nzamba |
Trieste (Gabonese Internationalist) |
Played a few games then vanished. Despite the Italian tag, the
player was in the lower divisions and was found to have scored only 4
goals in 3 years. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Kai Aberlee |
Liberian (via Dundee Utd) |
The Arabs didn't want him so we gave him a go. Played OK /
brilliant / crap depending on who you speak to. |
REJECTED |
 |
Tommy "Wolf" Wright
(actually signed!!!!) |
Leeds / Bradford / Oldham |
Ex-Scotland U-21 (ie about 11 years ago) and played for Leeds,
Leicester, Bradford and Oldham. Born in Fife but apparently a "Celtic
man" (cue dodgy profile before the game on 27/12). Has signed till
the end of the season. Any connection with TVs Gladiators is purely
coincidental. Released on 03/03/98 after the signing of McMahon. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! -
Then got freed !!!! |
 |
Luis Cassule |
Angola / Portugal |
Set to sign for Saints having impressed on several occasions but
then got injured in a reserve match. Was then found to have major
nationality / passport problems which would have meant too much red
tape. Last seen on trial for Kilmarnock reserves. |
INJURED - Then REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Eric Fortes |
Marseille |
Once seen in the West Stand at the end of the 96-97 season but then
disappeared. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Ze Armindo |
Portugal |
Unknown winger who trialed v Hearts reserves on 12/3/98. Previously
on trial at Bolton. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Rodrigo Maura |
Portugal |
See Ze Armindo above. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Craig Ferdoz |
Brechin City |
Young striker linked by the Sun with both Saints and Scumdee. Seems
set to join another lower Division Scottish Club instead. |
Turned Saints Down |
|
Target |
Who is He ? |
Background |
End Result ? |
 |
Lars-Gunnar Karlstrand |
Vastra Frolunda, the legendary Swedish moaners |
Epic 6-month saga which didn't go through due to muggings / Ted the
Rottweiler / Dundee cake-loving mother (delete as applicable). Suffice
to say if he ever plays against Saints we're talking Dallas levels of
hate !! Kept the Courier in Saints stories for weeks. |
REJECTED (But Still Alive!!) |
 |
Tomas Rosenqvist |
Vastra Frolunda |
22-yr old team-mate of Karlstrand but at least honest enough to
admit he didn't want to move abroad. |
Turned Us Down |
 |
Barry Lavety |
St. Mirren in 96 and Hibs in 97. |
Turned us down in 96 on personal terms and moved to Hibs where due
to injury and manager Jim Duffy seemed set to move to McD. Then suddenly
Hibs were supposed to owe him money and the deal was off. He won't get a
third chance. |
Turned Us Down Twice |
| No Picture Available |
Gary McSwegan |
Dundee Utd |
Part of the Great Striker Search of 97, ex-Hun McSwegan
unfortunately hit form as we went for him. |
Rumour |
| No Picture Available |
Kevin Thomas |
Hearts |
Another target Luggy keeps aiming for but who keeps turning us
down. Last seen in the Jambo / QPR reserves. |
Turned Us Down Twice |
| No Picture Available |
Jim Hamilton |
Hearts / Dundee depending on the paper. |
Sturrock made a move for the player when he was set to leave
Scumdee but he picked the Gorgie Needle-Scarred instead. |
Turned Us Down |
| No Picture Available |
ONeil Donaldson |
Sheff. Wed |
Everyone thought this was a Scottish media joke (given that ONeil
and Donaldson still played for Saints at the time), but the man does
exist. Didn't sign though. |
REJECTED |
 |
Chris Freestone |
Middlesbrough Reserves |
Reserve striker who seemed to be getting lined up for a move North
but then his a slump in form and Luggy got cold feet. |
REJECTED |
 |
Scott Taylor |
Bolton Reserves |
(See entry for Freestone). |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Tommy Coyne |
Motherwell |
Rumoured move as part of the Great Striker Search which dissipated
quickly at the sight of the £500,000 price-tag for the 35-yr old. |
Rumour - False |
 |
Gary Bollan |
Evil Empire |
Current Rangers Reserve veteran (24) who couldn't agree personal
terms (ie we asked him to wash). Interest by the media resurfaced after
Callum went to Blackburn - Bollan eventually signed for £100,000. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! |
| No Picture Available |
Stephen Boyack |
Evil Empire |
Rangers Youth Product (1985-1997) who decided he preferred cleaning
McCoists boots. |
Turned Us Down |
 |
Thomas Andersson
(actually signed!!!!) |
Vasteras (Sweden) |
Had a trial with Birmingham City and scored 2 in 2 games but
decided to try his luck in Perth. Was actually watched by Luggy 18
months ago when he score a hat-trick !!! Signed till the end of the
season. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! - then
freed. |
| No Picture Available |
Scott Booth |
Borussia Dortmund |
Ex-Aberdeen striker whos been rumoured to be signing for most of
the Scottish Premier league in an effort to get first team football for
the World Cup - last seen on loan to Utrecht. |
Rumour - went to Utrecht |
| No Picture Available |
Stevie Crawford |
Hibs |
Ex-Raith striker who is rumoured to be being lined up for the trip
to Perth if Hibs go down |
Rumour |
 |
Sean Devine(he's the ugly one on the right) |
Barnet
(sponsored by Loaded hence the picture) |
Totally unknown striker whos apparently rated at £500,000
according to the Sun. Given that the rumour surfaced the day we made
1.75m from the sale of Callum its not to be taken seriously.
Rejected by Luggy as too expensive. |
REJECTED |
| No Picture Available |
Jamie McQuilken |
Hibs |
99th-choice left-back becomes the first name in the "who's
going to replace Callum" tabloid press rumour mill. |
Rumour |
 |
Paulo Dos Reis |
River Plate |
Argentinian midfielder who was on trial with Celtic and Man City.
Played a closed-doors match v Forfar. 20yr old described as a Liam Brady
left-sided player. Looks set to be offered a 1yr deal from 98-99.
Update - deal offered on 1 July. |
REJECTED |
 |
Martine Gomez |
Rosario |
18-yr old Argentinian striker from Independiente over to keep Dos
Rais company. As of 19/02 negotiations had begun with their agents...
Looks set to be offered a 1yr deal from 98-99 |
REJECTED |
 |
Scott Wilson |
Rangers |
22/02 story in News of the World expects us to make moves for the
Rangers youth product. Latest is that he has requested a transfer but
seems set to move to QPR or Huddersfield. |
|
| No Picture Available |
Pablo Modica |
Rosario Central |
Argentinian youth player (6ft 2 winger) who's interesting Saints.
Looks set to be signed on loan until the end of the season before a
long-term decision is made.
Like Dos Reis, a deal was offered for one year in July 98 subject to
work permits etc. |
REJECTED |
 |
Gerard McMahon |
Stoke City |
25yr old, 5ft 11 N Ireland winger whos played for Spurs. A fee of
£85,000 has been agreed and only personal terms need to be
discussed. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! |
 |
Davide Xausa |
No Fixed Abode |
Canadian striker who was on trial with Stoke. Signed till the end
of the season. Only 22 hes rated as one of their rising stars and has
been capped at U-20 and U-23 level. He also turned down Sporting Lisbon
to go to Uni in the States. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! |
 |
Paddy Connolly |
Airdrie |
The one we keep on trying to sign but still prefers Airdrie to
Perth. Ex-Arab kid who Luggy rates highly. Update on 13/03/98 has him
set to sign in a £300,000 deal. Signed on 14/3 for 250,000 on a 3
yrs deal. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! |
| No Picture Available |
Amani Dove |
AZ |
No details but wages are a major problem |
Rumour - False |
| No Picture Available |
Robert van der Weert |
AZ |
No details but wages are a major problem |
Rumour - False |
 |
Marcel Keizer |
Carbuur |
Dutch 2nd Division and 29 yr old midfielder - out of contract in
summer 98 so a possible target. |
Rumour - False |
 |
Frank Berghuis |
Carbuur |
Dutch 2nd Division and 24 yr old left-winger - out of contract in
summer 98 so a possible target. |
Rumour - False |
 |
Rene van Rijswijk |
Carbuur |
Dutch 2nd Division and 26 yr old winger - out of contract in summer
98 so a possible target. |
Rumour - False |
| No Picture Available |
Mark Perry |
Dundee Utd |
Pure Perth rumour that the 25-year old central defender will move
to McD on freedom of contract in the summer. |
|
| No Picture Available |
Grant Brebner |
HIVBees / Man Utd |
Latest rumour from the media with Saints in the running to land the
£200,000-rated midfielder. |
Turned Us Down |
| No Picture Available |
Laurent Djaffo |
Ayr United. |
Rumour in the Sunday Mason. |
|
| No Picture Available |
Andonis Damigos |
Somewhere in Greece - Apollonia Athinan if WWW research is correct. |
Greek defender whos now a free agent. According to the Sun he's
flown to Perth to join the boys for pre-season training. |
|
 |
Daren Dods |
Hibs (under Bosman) |
Rumour has it that the HIVBee defender will sign by the end of June
Signed a 3-year contract with the Forces of Light on July 1st. |
BECAME A SAINTEE !!!! |
| No Picture Available |
Gary McSwegan |
Dundee Utd |
Available under the Bosman ruling in September the ex-Rangers
striker is rumoured to be a Luggy target. |
|
|
Player |
Off To ? |
The Truth |
Has He Gone Yet ?? |
 |
Callum Davison
(actually signed!!!!) |
Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Bolton, Spurs, Wolves,
both Sheff clubs.....so far (also a joint move to Sheff Wed with
Phizzy). Despite speculation regarding a move to the OF Callum signed
for Blackburn Rovers on 10th Feb 98 for £1.75million. |
He's been watched by most of the clubs mentioned and it has to be
said that Saints look set to lose him at some point in the future for
£1m+. Selection for the France 98 squad would probably finalise
things. (update after Hearts match on 12/01 - valuation now £3m -
Courier). |
Yes - Boo Hoo. |
 |
George O'Boyle |
Summer 97 - Hibs and Hearts. Also Celtic (according to the Star).
As of March 98 Dundee Utd were in the running - denied later by the
Gerbil. |
What do you think? It was a v-e-r-y slow news day. As to the Arabs
story Luggy said that there was "nothing concrete" in it -
make of that what you will. |
No |
 |
Roddy Grant |
Motherwell as part of a swap deal for Tommy Coyne |
Bollocks. Even Luggy knows a Legend cannot leave. |
No |
 |
Alan Main |
Celtic |
As part of the Scott, Main and Georgio deal after we played them in
August. Total crap but some journalists need any rumours. |
No |
 |
Philip Scott |
Celtic, Sheff Utd, Sheff Wed. |
Celtic was part of the Saints Trio deal in August. More probable is
a move to England with several scouts watching Phizzy so far this
season. |
No |
 |
Danny Griffin |
Derby, Notts Forest, Liverpool, Celtic |
Had the same speculation about his future that Davison is getting
just now and was the target of a £1m bid from Derby in Summer 96
which he turned down as he felt it wasn't the right move at the time. |
No |
 |
Gary Farquhar |
Teuchter Land |
Very likely to happen as for some strange reason Luggy doesn't like
to play him. |
Yes (9 months later) |
 |
Attila Sekerlioglou |
Saarbrucken |
Latest Sunday rumour from the Hunday Mason.
Eventually left on a free in June 1998. |
No |
 |
Steve Tosh |
Raith Rovers |
Story in the Sun on 19/3 said that Raith were preparing to sign
Tosh for a "knock-down" price. Tosher has trained with the
club but no deal has been struck yet. Eventually went on 31/3/98 for
£30K. |
Yes |
 |
Alan Kernaghan |
Reading |
Sun story with new Royals boss Tommy "eeeeeeehh" Burns
apparently set on signing Father Dougal in the summer. |
|
|
Gary Farquhar |
Cogeyland |
Rumoured subject of a bid from the Scum prior to the March 98
deadline but Luggy refused to sell. |
|
 |
Leigh Jenkinson |
Breda, Nijmegen |
Out of contract in June 98 and already linked with a possible move
to a dutch club.
Eventually joined Wigan in June 98. |
Yes |