Swankie

[davieG]

FOOTBALL: FOXES ON TRAIL OF SWANKIE

Feb 13 2005

LEICESTER boss Craig Levein is tracking Arbroath hitkid Gavin Swankie.

Levein has been monitoring the 21-year-old for some time and had him watched in last week's 3-2 win at Berwick.

The striker is out of contract in the summer and has also been targeted by Partick Thistle manager Dick Campbell, who had a £30,000 bid knocked back when he was in charge at Brechin.

An Abroath spokesman said: 'Gavin is a fantastic talent and it would take a sizeable amount of money for clubs to get him right now.'

[foxesfan69]

Never heard of him to be honest. But 21 sounds a good age again.

[davieG]

Lichties winger attracting the attention of Leicester’s Levein

Gavin Swankie.

ARBROATH WINGER Gavin Swankie’s rich vein of form has caught the eye of Leicester City boss Craig Levein, writes Andrew Jarret.

Levein had the 21-year-old watched during the Lichties’ recent 3-2 victory at Berwick, and he will no doubt have been informed of the player’s outstanding contributions at Brechin last week and against Alloa on Saturday.

Levein is no stranger to the product of the youth policy at Gayfield, having taken fellow Arbroath protege Andy Webster to his former club Hearts.

Swankie, who has made clear his desire to achieve full-time football, is also highly rated by new Partick Thistle boss Dick Campbell.

Partick chairman Brian McMaster expressed an interest in the striker’s availability before the transfer window but admitted that it would require a “change of policy” at Firhill if they were to actually buy a player.

The Gayfield committee have heard nothing since, although they note that Thistle have signed two players that they did not have to pay for.

Arbroath chairman John Christison admits that he is a little surprised Swankie is still at the club.

“There’s no doubt he could play at a higher level, but there’s just not the money in football that there used to be,” he said.

“If it were four or five years ago I don’t think he’d still be at Gayfield. Teams are reluctant to take a chance on players these days, but in my view they wouldn’t be taking a chance on Gavin.

“Obviously he is an integral part of our team, but we are a club that does not stand in the way of players who have an opportunity to further their career.

“You only have to look at Andy Webster. The club is immensely proud to have given him his start.”

Christison said he hoped that Swankie would achieve his ambition of full-time football.

“I was very disappointed that Partick failed to get back in touch, even if just out of courtesy,” he continued.

“Berwick chairman Robert Wilson told us that Leicester had someone watching Gavin but unfortunately he took a couple of heavy knocks during that game and was subbed at half-time.

“Since then he’s been outstanding, and if he keeps playing the way he is at the moment he’s bound to cause interest.”

[Chandler]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

[Scow]

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

Like Makin and Gemmill I suppose?

[shen]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

I think he's doing the right thing and keeping an eye out for talent in Scotland 'cause he simply knows it best. He'll obviously expand his knowledge about the English Leagues, and afterall he has already been abroad and plucked players like De Vries, who you have to say turned out to be a little gem for Hearts.

[Simon]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

I think its clear you dont like Levein. And after only, how many did you say, 15 games in charge? Why is this?

[shen]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

I think its clear you dont like Levein. And after only, how many did you say, 15 games in charge? Why is this?

66990[/snapback]

Because he is attention seeking and wishes to 'punish' us 'fickle boneheads' for 'driving out' a certain Micky Adams, who, in Chandler's mind, was a great manager who was the answer for the clubs problem. He is trying to enlighten us and convince us that Craig Levein isn't doing a good job and that he certainly won't be able to in the future either. Why he keeps insisting, I really don't know. He doesn't get much support to his arguments on these boards, mainly because he refuses to see the positives and acts arrogantly. I personally think that he just likes standing out of the masses, and this is his way of being a Leicester fan. I don't really mind too much. His arguments do bring some counterbalance to the boards and he usually gets a reaction, so all credit to him. Most people just take his rants with a grain of salt though, as few people see as bleak a future for the club as our pessimistic Chandler does

[Alexikokopops]

Lichties winger attracting the attention of Leicester’s Levein

Gavin Swankie.

ARBROATH WINGER Gavin Swankie’s rich vein of form has caught the eye of Leicester City boss Craig Levein, writes Andrew Jarret.

Levein had the 21-year-old watched during the Lichties’ recent 3-2 victory at Berwick, and he will no doubt have been informed of the player’s outstanding contributions at Brechin last week and against Alloa on Saturday.

Levein is no stranger to the product of the youth policy at Gayfield, having taken fellow Arbroath protege Andy Webster to his former club Hearts.

Swankie, who has made clear his desire to achieve full-time football, is also highly rated by new Partick Thistle boss Dick Campbell.

Partick chairman Brian McMaster expressed an interest in the striker’s availability before the transfer window but admitted that it would require a “change of policy†at Firhill if they were to actually buy a player.

.............

66783[/snapback]

So is he a winger or a striker?

[Simon]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

I think its clear you dont like Levein. And after only, how many did you say, 15 games in charge? Why is this?

66990[/snapback]

Because he is attention seeking and wishes to 'punish' us 'fickle boneheads' for 'driving out' a certain Micky Adams, who, in Chandler's mind, was a great manager who was the answer for the clubs problem. He is trying to enlighten us and convince us that Craig Levein isn't doing a good job and that he certainly won't be able to in the future either. Why he keeps insisting, I really don't know. He doesn't get much support to his arguments on these boards, mainly because he refuses to see the positives and acts arrogantly. I personally think that he just likes standing out of the masses, and this is his way of being a Leicester fan. I don't really mind too much. His arguments do bring some counterbalance to the boards and he usually gets a reaction, so all credit to him. Most people just take his rants with a grain of salt though, as few people see as bleak a future for the club as our pessimistic Chandler does

67036[/snapback]

Fair enough I guess. The fact he knew I'd posted back about this and on another thread, show hes either arrogant or has no back up for his points (possibly both). I liked Mickey Adams, but him wanting to give Levein no time yet would have given Adams more time is glaring contradiction to me...

[Benji]

Chandler, stephen hughes has done more in his match and a half than 70% of micky's players have done since arriving here

[BartonFox]

If this kid was as good as he is being hyped up to be then the Huns and the Bhoys would be Glasgow Kissing each other to get at him.

Instead it is the Jags that are doing the stalking. Oh dear! That tells us all we need to know. This report is beginning to confirm my deepest fears about CL. He is out of his depth. His eye for a player is about as good as the man who brought us the greatest Nigerian ever to be sent home from an international training camp.

Wise up Craig. There's no talent now on the dark side of the wall. The days of the Law's, the Baxter's and the Dalgleish's are gone forever.

Don't you know there's a better class of dross here in the Championship?

66954[/snapback]

In we go for a bite.........................

Pish, as usual. There is talent 'on the dark side' and just because the Old Scum don't show an interest it doesn't mean they aren't there. MON was never a real fan of the younger player during his days at Leicester unless they were exceptional.

Levein had great success on his last raid of Arbroath and that player is still a viable traget for the summer. Andy Webster is now an established international and one of the few to perform well during the Vogts era.

[Ric Flair]

After doing a spot of research I have found out that this lad is quite a talent. It appears he doesn't score many goals and is more lethal on either wing than upfront but Arbroath fans say he has an obscene amount of assists to his name during his short career. His contract is up at the end of the season and Arbroath say they'll be lucky to get £15k if they leave it until the summer.

All the fans say he's good enough for the SPL and that would indicate he could cut it at championship level. They also say he is alot more advanced than Webster was when Levein picked him up from Arbroath, so if Levein can work wonders on Swankie pants we could see a good player. He has been quoted as the Scottish Cristiano Ronaldo and can take a player on 9 times out of 10.

Looking to see some footage of the lad if I can, i'll let you know if I can get hold of any.

Get him in.

[Chandler]

Somethings you ought to know about the Smokies and Mr Wanky.

Just as well you covered yourself about Wankies' goal scoring prowess Hoof. He's found the onion bag a whole THREE times this season (er one better that that other prolific striker commonly referred to as MDV)

Arbroath are currently one place above a relegation slot in SL 2 (having played two games more than the team just below who only need a point to overhaul them). If you have never had the misfortune to see football at this level let me enlighten you.

At very best the standard is about one league BELOW Vauxhall Conference standard. Arbroath's best home gate this season is not 28,849, nor is it 18,849. It's not even 8,849. It's 849. 849! So there's no need to look for slightly over sized fish in slightly under sized Scottish lochs.

You can always fish for dabs in Hinckley puddle or Coalvillle gravel pit.

[shen]

Somethings you ought to know about the Smokies and Mr Wanky.

Just as well you covered yourself about Wankies' goal scoring prowess Hoof. He's found the onion bag a whole THREE times this season (er one better that that other prolific striker commonly referred to as MDV)

Arbroath are currently one place above a relegation slot in SL 2 (having played two games more than the team just below who only need a point to overhaul them). If you have never had the misfortune to see football at this level let me enlighten you.

At very best the standard is about one league BELOW Vauxhall Conference standard. Arbroath's best home gate this season is not 28,849, nor is it 18,849. It's not even 8,849. It's 849. 849! So there's no need to look for slightly over sized fish in slightly under sized Scottish lochs.

You can always fish for dabs in Hinckley puddle or Coalvillle gravel pit.

69707[/snapback]

Well the talent has to come from somewhere... they all start small don't they Chandler?

[Chandler]

Somethings you ought to know about the Smokies and Mr Wanky.

Just as well you covered yourself about Wankies' goal scoring prowess Hoof. He's found the onion bag a whole THREE times this season (er one better that that other prolific striker commonly referred to as MDV)

Arbroath are currently one place above a relegation slot in SL 2 (having played two games more than the team just below who only need a point to overhaul them). If you have never had the misfortune to see football at this level let me enlighten you.

At very best the standard is about one league BELOW Vauxhall Conference standard. Arbroath's best home gate this season is not 28,849, nor is it 18,849. It's not even 8,849. It's 849. 849! So there's no need to look for slightly over sized fish in slightly under sized Scottish lochs.

You can always fish for dabs in Hinckley puddle or Coalvillle gravel pit.

69707[/snapback]

Well the talent has to come from somewhere... they all start small don't they Chandler?

69709[/snapback]

Unfortunately, that 'somewhere' is increasingly the Prem, the Championship or overseas. You might get the odd exceptional young talent or late developer from div 1. But that is very rare.

The thing that worries me about Levein is that he seems oblivious to this truth. MON got away with it because he had a real eye for a player, because he imported gradually and because he handled players very well.

Taylor, of course, ballsed the whole thing up and paid the price. Watch out Craig!

[shen]

Somethings you ought to know about the Smokies and Mr Wanky.

Just as well you covered yourself about Wankies' goal scoring prowess Hoof. He's found the onion bag a whole THREE times this season (er one better that that other prolific striker commonly referred to as MDV)

Arbroath are currently one place above a relegation slot in SL 2 (having played two games more than the team just below who only need a point to overhaul them). If you have never had the misfortune to see football at this level let me enlighten you.

At very best the standard is about one league BELOW Vauxhall Conference standard. Arbroath's best home gate this season is not 28,849, nor is it 18,849. It's not even 8,849. It's 849. 849! So there's no need to look for slightly over sized fish in slightly under sized Scottish lochs.

You can always fish for dabs in Hinckley puddle or Coalvillle gravel pit.

69707[/snapback]

Well the talent has to come from somewhere... they all start small don't they Chandler?

69709[/snapback]

Unfortunately, that 'somewhere' is increasingly the Prem, the Championship or overseas. You might get the odd exceptional young talent or late developer from div 1. But that is very rare.

The thing that worries me about Levein is that he seems oblivious to this truth. MON got away with it because he had a real eye for a player, because he imported gradually and because he handled players very well.

Taylor, of course, ballsed the whole thing up and paid the price. Watch out Craig!

69722[/snapback]

I think CL is sound and his backroom staff seems competent. You can't really expect CL to know too much about the lower English leagues. He's only 40 and has spent his recent years managing Scottish teams with very little or no transfer budget. So English transfer targets have been pretty much unrealistic.

Rob Kelly will know abit about the Leagues that CL doesn't which must benefit the club. Besides, CL's capture of MDV, Kisnorbo etc. proves he's not afraid to go for foreign blood. MA only signed 1 player from outside the UK too, so we're not worse off in that department IMO.

But the bottom line is that Swankie doesn't pose much of a risk. He's much like Junior Lewis, Damien Delaney and Kevin Ellison...they didn't cost us anything really, and, although they all turned out below par, we could strike gold one day...

[Ric Flair]

Somethings you ought to know about the Smokies and Mr Wanky.

Just as well you covered yourself about Wankies' goal scoring prowess Hoof. He's found the onion bag a whole THREE times this season (er one better that that other prolific striker commonly referred to as MDV)

Arbroath are currently one place above a relegation slot in SL 2 (having played two games more than the team just below who only need a point to overhaul them). If you have never had the misfortune to see football at this level let me enlighten you.

At very best the standard is about one league BELOW Vauxhall Conference standard. Arbroath's best home gate this season is not 28,849, nor is it 18,849. It's not even 8,849. It's 849. 849! So there's no need to look for slightly over sized fish in slightly under sized Scottish lochs.

You can always fish for dabs in Hinckley puddle or Coalvillle gravel pit.

69707[/snapback]

I know what your saying mate and of course there in cause for debate on whether this chap would cut it at this level. He might not, he might. I don't know that and I bet all the money I have (not alot as paul daniels would say) that your not anymore clued up on this lad either. 9 times out of 10 players playing at Arbroaths level would never make the grade at the level Leicester play at, infact it's probably 9.9 out of 10. You do get the odd player playing non-league football or playing in the lower leagues in scotland, ireland and many countries around the world that have the potential to be quality players. Alan Smith ( ex city and arsenal), Les Ferdinand and Ian Wright both played non-league football before they made the big time, so have plenty of others. Roy Keane did too I think in ireland?!

Swankie might be 21 and at that age it's make or break time, usually your picked up earlier than that if your any good but some slip through un-noticed. Levein may well have a good eye for a player, look at Webster, Gordon and a few others he bought in from Arbroath and Cowdenbeath respectively.

Jury is obviously out on him, but football is enterprise and enterprise is all about risk taking. £15,000 is peanuts mate, worth a gamble if Levein thinks he's worth it.