Post by eusebio13 on Jul 30, 2010 6:29:46 GMT
www.thisisbristol.co.uk/football/STEWART-SET-SEAL-CITY/article-2473410-detail/article.html?
STEWART SET TO SEAL CITY MOVE
BRISTOL City manager Steve Coppell hopes to complete the signing of Queens Park Rangers defender Damion Stewart today.
Stewart, a 29-year-old 6ft 3in centre-back, has made 151 league appearances for the West London club and has been capped 36 times by Jamaica.
He joined QPR from Jamaican club Harbour View after a season-long loan spell at Bradford City and is seen as an experienced replacement for Jamie McCombe, the 6ft 5in central defender who left to join Huddersfield last month.
Coppell will hope Stewart's signing is the first part of a triple swoop, as he is also targeting a right-back and a goalkeeper. Right-back Nicky Hunt returns to Ashton Gate today to complete his transfer from Premier League Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. And the Robins are still very much in the hunt to sign England goalkeeper David James, who has been offered a one-year deal at Ashton Gate after leaving Portsmouth.
City face competition from Sunderland and Fulham for the 39-year-old former Aston Villa and Liverpool keeper's signature. But speculation that James has already agreed a deal with Black Cats boss Steve Bruce remains unsubstantiated.
James, who last played in England's 4-1 World Cup defeat to Germany in South Africa a month ago, has yet to decide his future and is still considering City's offer.
Hunt will serve as a like-for-like replacement for Bradley Orr, who last night completed his long-anticipated move to QPR.
City's requirement for a tall, first-ball-winning central defender is equally pressing. The injury that has ruled Louis Carey out of pre-season, allied to McCombe's departure, has left City short of defensive cover and midfielders Cole Skuse and Kalifa Cisse have been forced to operate as makeshift centre-backs in a number of friendly fixtures.
Having worked furiously behind the scenes all week in an attempt to strengthen a depleted squad, manager Coppell is confident he will have two new defenders on board in time for tomorrow's final dress rehearsal against Premier League newcomers Blackpool at Ashton Gate.
Coppell has voiced his fears over the mounting manpower crisis which is threatening to derail the club's pre-season preparations.
City launch their campaign against newly-promoted Millwall a week tomorrow and Coppell is resigned to the fact he will be unable to select his strongest side.
A glut of injuries to key players and the departures of Orr, Paul Hartley and McCombe have served to place undue pressure upon a squad which suddenly appears wafer thin.
"How worrying is it? Very worrying, because I wanted to start big," admitted Coppell, who described his injury-ravaged squad as "skeletal" after midfielder Cisse and on-trial left-back Tom Williams joined the ranks of the walking wounded during Wednesday's pre-season friendly encounter with Yeovil Town at Huish Park.
"My biggest concern is that we are now down to the bare bones. The squad was already thin, but these latest injuries mean numbers are now extremely low. The way pre-season has evolved, it has not been ideal preparation."
Coppell warned: "Unless we bulk up, we could lose a stride at the start of the season.
"Obviously, as a new manager coming in, I would like to start the season strongly. But we need new input before that can happen.
"I have spent from nine in the morning to six in the evening making calls to try and do business and generate interest. Names are being thrown around, but it's a game of chess and negotiation and that is not my job.
"I try and suggest targets, some more forcibly than others, but I realise the financial restraints and I realise the difficulties of trying to do business with certain clubs.
"At the moment, we are chasing deals and it is always hard in those circumstances."
Although Coppell insisted he has "a good idea" of his strongest line-up, the need to rotate tired bodies will prevent him from starting with his best team when Premier League newcomers Blackpool provide the opposition in City's final pre-season dress rehearsal at Ashton Gate tomorrow (3pm).
He said: "I cannot afford to overload and I will be making a lot of changes during the game. The starting 11 will bear no resemblance to what I think is the strongest 11. If you asked me now to name the strongest 11, I wouldn't be able to."
STEWART SET TO SEAL CITY MOVE
BRISTOL City manager Steve Coppell hopes to complete the signing of Queens Park Rangers defender Damion Stewart today.
Stewart, a 29-year-old 6ft 3in centre-back, has made 151 league appearances for the West London club and has been capped 36 times by Jamaica.
He joined QPR from Jamaican club Harbour View after a season-long loan spell at Bradford City and is seen as an experienced replacement for Jamie McCombe, the 6ft 5in central defender who left to join Huddersfield last month.
Coppell will hope Stewart's signing is the first part of a triple swoop, as he is also targeting a right-back and a goalkeeper. Right-back Nicky Hunt returns to Ashton Gate today to complete his transfer from Premier League Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. And the Robins are still very much in the hunt to sign England goalkeeper David James, who has been offered a one-year deal at Ashton Gate after leaving Portsmouth.
City face competition from Sunderland and Fulham for the 39-year-old former Aston Villa and Liverpool keeper's signature. But speculation that James has already agreed a deal with Black Cats boss Steve Bruce remains unsubstantiated.
James, who last played in England's 4-1 World Cup defeat to Germany in South Africa a month ago, has yet to decide his future and is still considering City's offer.
Hunt will serve as a like-for-like replacement for Bradley Orr, who last night completed his long-anticipated move to QPR.
City's requirement for a tall, first-ball-winning central defender is equally pressing. The injury that has ruled Louis Carey out of pre-season, allied to McCombe's departure, has left City short of defensive cover and midfielders Cole Skuse and Kalifa Cisse have been forced to operate as makeshift centre-backs in a number of friendly fixtures.
Having worked furiously behind the scenes all week in an attempt to strengthen a depleted squad, manager Coppell is confident he will have two new defenders on board in time for tomorrow's final dress rehearsal against Premier League newcomers Blackpool at Ashton Gate.
Coppell has voiced his fears over the mounting manpower crisis which is threatening to derail the club's pre-season preparations.
City launch their campaign against newly-promoted Millwall a week tomorrow and Coppell is resigned to the fact he will be unable to select his strongest side.
A glut of injuries to key players and the departures of Orr, Paul Hartley and McCombe have served to place undue pressure upon a squad which suddenly appears wafer thin.
"How worrying is it? Very worrying, because I wanted to start big," admitted Coppell, who described his injury-ravaged squad as "skeletal" after midfielder Cisse and on-trial left-back Tom Williams joined the ranks of the walking wounded during Wednesday's pre-season friendly encounter with Yeovil Town at Huish Park.
"My biggest concern is that we are now down to the bare bones. The squad was already thin, but these latest injuries mean numbers are now extremely low. The way pre-season has evolved, it has not been ideal preparation."
Coppell warned: "Unless we bulk up, we could lose a stride at the start of the season.
"Obviously, as a new manager coming in, I would like to start the season strongly. But we need new input before that can happen.
"I have spent from nine in the morning to six in the evening making calls to try and do business and generate interest. Names are being thrown around, but it's a game of chess and negotiation and that is not my job.
"I try and suggest targets, some more forcibly than others, but I realise the financial restraints and I realise the difficulties of trying to do business with certain clubs.
"At the moment, we are chasing deals and it is always hard in those circumstances."
Although Coppell insisted he has "a good idea" of his strongest line-up, the need to rotate tired bodies will prevent him from starting with his best team when Premier League newcomers Blackpool provide the opposition in City's final pre-season dress rehearsal at Ashton Gate tomorrow (3pm).
He said: "I cannot afford to overload and I will be making a lot of changes during the game. The starting 11 will bear no resemblance to what I think is the strongest 11. If you asked me now to name the strongest 11, I wouldn't be able to."
