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Constable set for Oxford loan deal
Tuesday 8th July 2008, 1:25PM BST.
Shrewsbury striker James Constable today looked set to join Oxford on a season long loan – just seven months after his arrival from Kidderminster.
Constable was set to finalise the move to the Blue Square Premier outfit this afternoon after Town’s recent spending on strikers.
He found the net four times for Town since joining for a sizeable undisclosed fee in the January transfer window.
And Town manager Paul Simpson insists the 23-year-old forward could still have a role to play in Shrewsbury’s future.
“When the enquiry came in, Oxford wanted to do a permanent deal but that’s not something I would agree to because I can see something in James,” said Simpson.
“He is still very inexperienced at this level so hopefully a year of first-team football will do him the world of good.
“Oxford are having a good go at it this year and hopefully James can play a big part in that.
“I will certainly monitor how he is doing and I’ve told him that.”
Constable arrived from Aggborough under the double deal which saw goalkeeper Scott Bevan make the same switch, and as the most significant of former manager’s Gary Peters’ January captures.
He bagged a brace in the memorable 3-3 draw against MK Dons, and also found the net against Brentford and Wrexham.
But first-team opportunities have been at a premium and Town’s striking department has been boosted by the arrival of Grant Holt and Richard Walker and the return of Michael Symes from a loan spell at Macclesfield.
One striker who is back at Shrewsbury, for the time being at least, is Guy Madjo.
The Cameroon forward was on trial at Go Ahead Eagles at the end of last week, but that spell with the Dutch club has come to nothing.
“Guy was back training with us yesterday,” confirmed Simpson.
“Go Ahead Eagles decided that they were not going to take him.
“Another Dutch club wanted to take him for a week but, with him being on trial, we hadn’t seen Guy yet so he was back with us yesterday.”
By James Garrison
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does anyone else think this might be a mistake? I rate Constable.
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I agree. He played very well in the reserves against west brom and hasn’t a decent chance over all. we should at least keep his contract and think of him for the future
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Wrong man to go on loan…. let Symes go instead.
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Keep Constable over Hibbert & Madjo surely?
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Mmmm, Symes showed little when on loan to Macc & Constable has more potential ? I wonder how easy to recall him before the end of the loan, to cover for injuries & or if he is on top form ?
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Does seem an odd decision. Lets hope he does come back a better player.
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Symes will flourish under Simpson……..I hope!
Before his sending off in the 2006/2007 season against Mansfield(I think)he was a class act and to be honest probably too good for STFC but he wasn’t the first or only player who suffered a dip in form under the guidance of Gary Peters.
A great touch for such a big lad, comfortable on the ball and clever with it………another case I think of a reasonable player in a poor team who suffered loss of form, at least with a poor player in a decent team there’s a chance that he’ll experience the reversal and become better.
Some of our younger players will flourish under Simpson and will become far better having been given the opportunity to play alongside some older and wiser more experienced heads, something that was so obviously lacking under the last manager.
Prove ‘em all wrong Michael, you’re still a class act.
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Living now in the town where Constable’s career started (Chippenham Town) I have seen quite a bit of him, and I think he can cut it too. We’ve had a bad history of ageing quickfix men who’ve disappointed recently, e.g. Stallard and Hurst. Constable would be a sound young investment for the future.
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Simmo has made a tough decision but I hope to see Constable back with us in the future. If Symes gets his head straight he could be a class act, fingers crossed !
Up the Town !
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Bit strange to see Constable go to a conference club on loan – I’m not sure how playing at a lower level will improve him as a player. Would have though training alongside Holt and Walker, and making some appearances off the bench would be more beneficial for Constable’s development as a player. One minor downside of Simpson as manager is that he’s not great at developing young players, so maybe that’s why Constable has moved on.
Think Symes can still do a job for us, but throughout his career he’s had long running injury problems which resurfaced last season. He needs to play regularly to hit top form and at the moment its hard to see him getting too many games ahead of Walker and Holt unless they are injured.
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Watched Constable play monday night for us in a friendly and he scored a great stikers goal.
Its not strange for a league 2 player to play in the conference as there is little difference between the top sides in the bsp and league 2. If you also look at our gates we get more supoorters than most league 2 sides and also some of the league 1 teams too! Thanks for the loan and good luck for the season to come !!
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how many strikers do we need, they will end up like spurs – these players need regualr games not super sub appearances to get on a goal scoring run
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