[Archived] Paul Gallagher - Gone

[Montfort]

I remember watching Gallagher in the reserves when he was a young player and one particular game when he scored a hat trick. I think he has the second best reserve scoring record after James Beattie. He seemed at that time to have that happy knack for a forward of putting the ball in the net by a variety of means. But he never pushed on. Making it in the premiership is very difficult but he should have made more of an impact with one of the loan clubs. I think it has been a while since most of us have had any hopes for him. Will keep an eye out for his name and hope he does well at Leicester

[berkshireblue]

Yeah...how many starts did he make?

Matty was good enough....still is....bet you weren't saying that when he was popping up with important goals a couple of seasons back...he even made England U21.

Exactly my point SparkyMarky!!! Matty was great when he came on the scene but never pushed on same as Gally

Matt became too lightweight

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I'm not worried about Gally going, the games moved on . He's an out and out goal poacher, 20 years ago he would have been big time. He's not a winger ( no real pace), he's not a midfielder ( not mobile enough ). A team that can afford to play him off a big striker and a team that gets plenty of balls in the box will benefit from having the Gally's of this world. We aren't that team and neither is most of the Premiership.

[dopper69]

Jesus Wept. Some on here need to get a grip. We've just flooged a 25 year old striker/winger/plonker who has only managed to play in one international freindly for Scotland against the mighty Wales.

He wont be missed.

PS - Good luck at Leicester

[Kelbo]

I'm not worried about Gally going, the games moved on . He's an out and out goal poacher, 20 years ago he would have been big time. He's not a winger ( no real pace), he's not a midfielder ( not mobile enough ). A team that can afford to play him off a big striker and a team that gets plenty of balls in the box will benefit from having the Gally's of this world. We aren't that team and neither is most of the Premiership.

Thats a good point,

I do feel though that Gallys mentality is his problem, his ability is without question!

[American]

Not to belabor a point tonight, but from what everyone says about him, Souness was right about his attitude being what would hold him back.

[Sparky Marky]

Fair enough, but I just feel with him and maybe more so with Matty, too quick to get rid of them...We missed his goals last season.

[den]

I don't get the belief that Gally had the ability to make it in the Prem, but not the application. I would go the opposite.

[MarkBRFC]

Can someone please explain to me when did Gally started being an option for central midfield?

He made a good pass in 2004 or something, so people on here are adamant that he could make a good central midfielder.

The cold, hard facts are, that he isnt, and never will be good enough to play in the premier league.

[S15]

Not to belabor a point tonight, but from what everyone says about him, Souness was right about his attitude being what would hold him back.

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[JAL]

Gally was nt good enough - fact - 8 goals 74 appearances for a striker

Matty was nt good enough - fact

Makes economical sense - Salgado's experience and prescence as a holding midfielder well worth it..

We ve got Reid, Emerton, Dunn and Grella returning soon, add in Salgado, Andrews and Nzoni ( who had more influence on a game on Saturday than Gally ever had ) and we have more than enough midfielders

Gally was surplus to requirements, disappointing but head must rule heart

Spot on berkshireblue, I think the most important thing is Blackburn Rovers Football Club gave them both a chance to begin a professional career which they repaid the club with their honest efforts and eventually brought in such relatively 'high' transfer fees.

Well done to both lads and good luck. If the club could be bring two local lads like these through every ten years or so it would be great for the local area absolutely great.

[rover6]

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To my mind, Souness (the harbinger of great evils) could have done much better for Gallagher than giving him a 5 year contract so early. That was just asking for the guy to go off the rails.

It is a shame what happened to Gallagher. I believe that one of the biggest problems was that he put on weight and lost that bit of pace that he had when he was at his best in the reserves. Also, his attitude wasn't great.

[Amo]

To my mind, Souness (the harbinger of great evils) could have done much better for Gallagher than giving him a 5 year contract so early. That was just asking for the guy to go off the rails.

Also, the harbinger of our only trophy for almost 15 years.

You may have a point, but the responsibility lies firmly with Gallagher. His career was in his own hands, and he didn't quite take the chances presented to him. Badda bing!

[Shabani]

It was Hughes that gave Gallagher a 4 year deal till 2010 when he'd done nothing to deserve it

[S15]

Yeah, King Souey had much better judgement, just ask Johnny Douglas.

[FourLaneBlue]

More than any other home-grown player we've let go in the last few seasons I wonder whether we're going to regret this one. Gallagher's a talent. Whether his attitude is right I don't know, but he's looked good in the brief cameo's he's made so far this season (including pre-season). Got a feeling we may regret this.

Maybe but I am not so sure. There have now been four managers that have decided in the end to dispense with the services of Gally albeit usually on loan. While one was useless the other three are all seasoned managers. There has to be reason why they all thought he was worth a punt but then realised that in fact it was not going to be.

The problem with Gally is where he would play. No way is he centre forward material in the Prem where the tendency has always been towards either tall targetmen or small, nippy goal poachers. Maybe central midfield would be an option but wouldn't the game pass him by too often?

In the end I think he will end up as a winger. The only other possibility is as an attacking midfielder but that would only be in the lower leagues. For a top-flight club to support such a player they have to be something special. While Paul has shown potential to be a player he has never quite shown the potential to be that special. Clubs build their teams around top-class attacking midfielders. Can you imagine one restructuring their whole team to accomodate Gally?

Always a shame to see a promising local lad shipped out and I remember when he came on against Chelsea as a sub years ago (did we draw 2-2?) but if it is not going to work out then why let it drag on? In the case of Gallagher he was our longest-serving player on the books. Yet since making his debut in 2002...how many games did he average each season for us? Not a lot...

[Bobby G]

Good decision to offload. Not good enough at this level no matter how much sentiments we feel for him being a local lad.