David Amoo

[Rockford's Love Child]

Signed on a six month contract today. Personally I think this is a great signing and suggests PJ has been prepared to stump up some additional cash to aid the promotion bid.

He is quick and can play wide and up front and also scored goals in his time at Bury.

PNE fans are less than complimentary about him but I sense that a player of his nature would not have suited their physical approach.

 

[SonkORLY?]

excellent!

 

[Boz]

Signed on a 6 month deal from PNE.

A winger with lots of pace, who started at Liverpool. Ronnie tried to sign him in the summer. However given we've already ABB, McGurk, Thompson, Robinson and Kirby, who are all wide players of sorts, a slightly puzzling signing.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

He can play up front as well, which may be where RM intends to use him. Of the wide players you mention, only ABB has pace and he is currently injured (excluding Thompson who is not really in the picture at the moment).

We have lacked pace in attacking areas since the injuries to ABB and Akpro, so the signing makes sense to me.

More surprising to me is the number of talented players that Preston have pushed aside in recent months - Hume, Sodje now Amoo. I find Westley's management style bizarre to say the least, particularly given that he only signed two of those players in the summer.

 

[Ian]

Who? Well, lets hope he aids the promotion push. He's versitile which is good. If he's what Ronnie says, fast, skilful, can score goals etc then it will only help the team. Always good to have new faces too, keeps the squad fresh.

Definitely stick him upfront, it's a position we need to fill more than any other. I would still look for an out and out striker, and then this guy can be utilised elsewhere, most notably on the wing where we do need pace to compensate for the absence of ABB.

I have lots of faith in Ronnie's signings so no doubt he'll be excellent

 

[drwhoman]

A good signing particularly as the club can reassess in six months. A guy who ALMOST made it at Liverpool after being signed from Millwall at 16. As for Preston, they made so many signings in the summer that team spirit must have been a real issue which might explain why some of these guys have left so quickly. I still think the defence will be suspect until Gibson gets back.

 

[Boz]

O'Halloran is fairly pacey up front too. I don't think Amoo is primarily a front man and he won't come close to the number of goals a Cassidy would have got us. I hope that this isn't the totality of forward line reinforcements we're bringing in.[-o<

If we were going for Preston cast-offs, Sodje, who's gone to Scunny might have been more prolific. Graham Westley certainly seems to treat players like a kid with too many toys. Their current mid-table obscurity reflects that.

 

[SonkORLY?]

O'Halloran is fairly pacey up front too. I don't think Amoo is primarily a front man and he won't come close to the number of goals a Cassidy would have got us. I hope that this isn't the totality of forward line reinforcements we're bringing in.[-o<

If we were going for Preston cast-offs, Sodje, who's gone to Scunny might have been more prolific. Graham Westley certainly seems to treat players like a kid with too many toys. Their current mid-table obscurity reflects that.

I'm sure Ronnie is well aware that we've just lost our top scorer, and that Amoo is primarily a winger, but you can only sign players that are realistically available. A club of our size, regardless of our league position, obviously aren't gonna be able to go out and just sign some striker who is a proven 1 in 2 goalscorer at this level.

Cassidy has contributed around a quarter of our league goals this season which isn't unusually high and suggests that, while he was obviously a fantastic asset, we have other players in the squad regularly contributing at that end of the pitch. Amoo brings some qualities Cassidy didn't have which will lead to goals for others, and has a much better pedigree than O'Halloran - so I don't really think comparisons can be made. And we were previously lacking in pace, so I'm happy enough, and expected worse. Always nicer to have permanent players on your books too.

 

[Ian]

A club of our size, regardless of our league position, obviously aren't gonna be able to go out and just sign some striker who is a proven 1 in 2 goalscorer at this level. .

Jose Baxter fits this description perfectly..

 

[SonkORLY?]

True and I did think that while i was posting - but for one he's not a striker and for two he's not a "Moore" player and wouldn't fit into his 4-4-2, so can't see us ever signing him. I also kinda think he could earn more money elsewhere and am not sure we could afford to replace a cheap loanee with someone like him. For all we know, Ronnie might have tried.

I do love me a bit of Baxter, though. I think he's great. I'd change system to accommodate him behind a striker. I think every great side needs an exotic playmaker called Jose playing drifting between midfield and attack, even if he's a deceptively named fat kid from Bootle.

You know what, imagine if we did sign him though. Nevermind L1 we'd win the Champions League.

 

[Boz]

I'm sure Ronnie is well aware that we've just lost our top scorer, and that Amoo is primarily a winger, but you can only sign players that are realistically available. A club of our size, regardless of our league position, obviously aren't gonna be able to go out and just sign some striker who is a proven 1 in 2 goalscorer at this level.

Cassidy has contributed around a quarter of our league goals this season which isn't unusually high and suggests that, while he was obviously a fantastic asset, we have other players in the squad regularly contributing at that end of the pitch. Amoo brings some qualities Cassidy didn't have which will lead to goals for others, and has a much better pedigree than O'Halloran - so I don't really think comparisons can be made. And we were previously lacking in pace, so I'm happy enough, and expected worse. Always nicer to have permanent players on your books too.

My point about O'Halloran was simply that he provides pace up front; don't claim he's anywhere near Cassidy's standards. Amoo's career history to date doesn't suggest much hope for him as a striker; only a handful of goals. Preston fans don't appear devastated by his departure, although I don't attach too much weight to their views. After all, Bell-Baggie was meant to be rubbish and he didn't do too badly before his injury.

What concerns me is that Amoo will be played up front rather than our best fit forward Cole Stockton. Given a regular start, Stockton's capable of hitting double figures for the season. Posters on here have highlighted the need for a decent striker as a priority in the promotion push. Amoo doesn't fit that bill, whatever his other talents may be. I'm a little surprised that you're happy atm, would that remain the position if there were no more additions to the squad before the window shuts?

 

[Ian]

We should be doing as much as possible to strengthen the team for the second half of the season.

Who knows when we'll be in this position again.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I would imagine that Amoo would partner Stockton if he was played up front, unless we are obliged to play O'Halloran under the loan agreement.

Amoo's goalscoring stats may not be impressive, but how good were Akpro's before he came to us ? Ronnie has managed to progress a number of players beyond all expectations this season - Akpro, Baggie, Zoum - and it would not surprise me if Amoo became a regular scorer for us. He will be playing in a side that loves to counter attack and plays the ball on the floor, which he should love after spending six months with Westley's hoofball merchants.

Even if we don't make any further additions, this is still a better signing than any I anticipated. The most I expected was another unproven 17 / 18 year old from a Championship side, so Amoo's arrival shows real ambition to me. He may not be as prolific a scorer as Cassidy, but as has been pointed out above, he has other talents which Jake does not and gives us another quality option in attack.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Ronnie has said today that he is waiting for a call from Dean Saunders to confirm whether or not Cassidy will come back to us. If not, it seems we will definitely bring in another loan striker, and may also get a midfielder in to cover Wallace's absence, as he has had a further setback with his injury.

So, it seems the squad strengthening is not over and PJ certainly seems to be pushing the boat out.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

At first, this signing had me baffled. Thinking about it, I can see that Westley's transfer policy was flawed - too much money spent with too little thought. He's just the latest in a long line of quality players to leave Preston.

I also wonder about whether we need another "winger". All I can say is that John McMahon knows Amoo well and Ronnie does not waste money, so potentially this could be a great signing.

While a six-month contract appears to make it a low-risk signing, my big concern is that if he's a success he'll leave for more money at the end of the season. In fact, most of our decent players will be out of contract in June. But that's debate for later on another forum.

 

[Boz]

RLC, have some memory of Ronnie saying O'Halloran having to play as part of his loan deal. While JLAA has been more prolific than expected, he has always been seen as a striker, whereas Amoo seems to have played mostly on the wing.

 

[Ian]

RLC, have some memory of Ronnie saying O'Halloran having to play as part of his loan deal.

Thats a nonsense that is. Being forced to play a player. If you loan someone, you should have the option of playing him or not.

 

[roverstillidie]

The usual deal they have with loans is if we play them, the parent clubs pays their wages for that week, if they don't play we pay the wage for that week. I suspect that's what Ronnie is referring to, not been forced to play him.