[Link] Johnny Russell

Who cares. He's gone now and Lenny probably had a few good reasons for not signing him, probably not to do with his performances on the pitch.

 

Do you know something we don't?

 

Quite annoyed we missed out on him. Think he'll be like McCarthy/Fletcher in that he came from a smaller Scottish team, we seemed to be interested, went to England fairly young and I think he'll turn out to be a really good player, playing for a bottom half EPL team.

 

We didn't miss out on him.

 

Annoyed at this. Good chance to get some homegrown talent in our team for a relatively low price.

 

Why the * does everyone talk about McCarthy and Fletcher? Does my nut in

 

I think Lennon has left Russell in mind that he'd be competing with Watt and must favour Watt.. Fair enough as long as we get a direct replacement for hooper if he goes. Personaly would have liked Russell but would he play each week?

 

I hope to see more of Watt next season whatever happens.

 

Same. I wanted us to sign Russell, especially for the low fee, but McCarthy is no great shakes - wans't even anywhere near the best player in a relegated Wigan side and Fletcher isn't better than Hooper, plus he's injured atm anyway.

 

Would rather give Watt more gametime. Watt is a cracking talent who will develop faster with more gametime.

 

Rather disappointing

Aw well

 

The * has 90 pace!

 

Exactly, I like Russell, but I don't think he's miles ahead of Watt. Watt just needs more time, He has 4 years on Russell

 

JOHNNY RUSSELL did not hold out for a move to Celtic, after Derby proved how much they wanted him.
Dundee United hitman Russell completed a £750,000 switch to the Rams yesterday.
Russell, 23, said: “There was other interest and some people said I should hold off but Derby came in, put all their cards on the table and made me feel wanted.
“That is the difference from any other club, Derby showed how much they wanted me here.
“They flew me here from my holiday to see the place.
“Hearing their plans for Derby, and for me going forwards, made it the right move for me.
“They told me how much they want me to be a part of things and where they see me helping them next season.
“That is what made my mind up and it became an easy decision.”
Celtic had asked United to keep them informed of Russell’s situation, but no offer from the Hoops was made. Italian side Catania also had bids thrown out for the 20-goal hitman.
Russell had a year left at Tannadice, but the Arabs chose to flog their hitman when he rejected an extension.
The move, pieced together by Viola FC, sees Russell become Nigel Clough’s third summer signing as Derby bid for promotion to the Premier League next season.
Russell, who penned a four-year deal, added: “It has not been preying on my mind much. I knew about the bid when I was on holiday, so being out there gave me time to think about things.
“I saw Pride Park on Sunday night and it’s just a great stadium.
“Then I saw the training facilities today and it is a really top club from that point of view.
“Now I can head back out and enjoy the rest of my holiday before it is back to business and pre-season on June 26.”
Russell, at Tannadice for over a decade, said: “I would not be where I was if it was not for United.
“As much as I’m delighted to sign for Derby I’m still sad I have left Tannadice and the people there.
“The staff and fans have been brilliant with me from day one so it will be hard to turn my back on that.”
Meanwhile, United chairman Stephen Thompson has revealed Russell’s departure means he has now slashed the club’s debt by half.
Thompson said: “This is a good deal for us and will allow us to pay down more of our debt.
“We have halved that figure in five years so we are moving in the right direction.”


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4963569/Russ-Ram-raid.html#ixzz2VrMEMIi0

/thread?

 

I'm hoping the reason we didn't go for Russell is that we're going to be seeing a lot more of Tony Watt, as well as Bahrudin Atajic.

Either way, I'm disappointed we didn't sign Johnny.

 

I hope he does well at Derby...

 

:smiley-laughing002::smiley-laughing002:

 

Good luck to him.

 

Good luck to him, the lads Celtic daft. Hope he proves a success down there.

 

Lenny was asked "Do you like Johnny Russell?" He said, "We always liked him....as a player."
You can read into that, it could just be nothing, but he may have had a run in with him at some point. Something happened somewhere along the lines to put Lenny off signing him.

But right at this moment, the striking roles are all filled. That might change with Hooper and Stokes not signed up on longer deals, but it's a hard sell to H & S if we go and sign another striker.

Balde is an easy one, they'll know he can help them get more goals, maybe Russell would just rock the boat at an awkward time.

If Stokes had signed for another club and we had a big bid come in for Hooper then maybe we look at Russell as a replacement, but my opinion is there are better targets available if it does come to that.