Eustace & Rangers ‘trial’ each other, Foderingham signs
Rangers have today confirmed the
signing on a three-year deal of former Swindon
Town and Fulham goalkeeper Wes
Foderingham, and a month’s trial (for both sides) of former Derby County
midfielder John Eustace at Murray
Park.
The addition of Foderingham will
see competition for current number one Cammy Bell, whose inconsistent displays
last season attracted certain levels of criticism, or indeed manager Mark Warburton
may have earmarked the 24-year old as a replacement for the ex-Killie stopper,
who could conceivably be demoted to deputy.
The Eustace scenario, however, is
bizarre – rarely do players trial the club they are training at, with trials
tending to be the host running the rule over the player in question. In this
case Rangers’ press release is curious;
“Both sides to make further and proper
assessments (of each other).”
In other words, Eustace is
trialing Rangers as much as the club are trialing him, and with fitness doubts
being a concern at Rangers’ end the club are insuring against it being a
problem;
“This extra time will also allow the Club’s
medical experts and coaching staff scope to study John’s fitness levels before
any agreement can become binding.”
Nothing wrong with being
thorough, but it is not a frequent occurrence to see such a statement about a
player who is training at Murray Park (or anywhere else), and the ‘audition’,
if we can articulate it that way, seems to be Eustace testing the club as much as it is him.