Walsall sign Matthew Gill on loan
Friday 21st January 2011, 1:00PM GMT.
Walsall have signed Norwich midfielder Matthew Gill on loan as they fight to stay in League One.
New manager Dean Smith has moved quickly to beef up his threadbare squad and the 30-year-old goes straight into the squad for tomorrow’s trip to his former club Exeter.
Gill will spend an initial month at the Banks’s Stadium and Smith is pleased to have got his man.
He said: “Matthew is a player that I have been aware of for a while. He’s someone whose got energy, can keep the ball moving and will cover a lot of ground for us.
“He’s an experienced lad who has played in something like 370 League games, so his understanding and know-how is going to be important for us in the matches that lie ahead.
“This is a position that needs strengthening and I am delighted to be able to bring in someone of his calibre.”
The former Peterborough and Notts County star made 164 appearances for Exeter before a 2009 summer move to Norwich, but failed to establish himself at Carrow Road.
Gill was loaned back to Posh earlier this season and has made six appearances for the promotion-chasing Canaries this term.
The midfielder arrives with the Saddlers desperate for bodies, after the exits of Steve Jones and Ryan McGivern.
Left-back McGivern was recalled by Manchester City midway through his season-long loan after struggling to break into the side.
Winger Jones, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has joined Motherwell on loan until the end of the season.
The 34-year-old had struggled for fitness this term and only made 16 appearances, so has linked up with his former Bradford manager Stuart McCall in Scotland.
Jones said: “I would like to thank everyone at the club for the support and backing that they have given me over the past 18 months or so.
“It really has meant a lot to me and I have made some good friends here.”
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That should be ‘someone who’s got energy’, not ‘someone whose got energy’.
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Good start Deano – you have hopefully done in 1 day as manager what Hutchings couldn’t do in 5 months i.e. strengthen our midfield. A couple more additions wouldn’t go amiss. Good luck to Steve Jones – he looked very good at times but he was injured too often to make any lasting impression…just another injury-prone player we have taken a gamble on and lost! I hope Walker signs on for rest of season – how about player-coach? Good luck to the lads tomorrow. C’mon you Reds!
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Spot on, Saddlertd – we’ve needed a midfielder for an embarrassingly long time.
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Agree, potentially good signing although yet another loan is dissapointing for the longer term.
We really need guys like this who have experience.
What we do not need at this stage are any more kids…from Premiership nurseries,we need battlers whether they are from Gateshead or Truro who know how to get stuck in and do a job for us !!
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Welcome Matthew and good luck Dean – I hope you’re both ready for a bumpy ride.
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Colin, I agree another loan, but in our situation if we did go down…god forbid, if we did sign these players outright and went down we potentially have a higher wage bill and players that nobody wants.
UTS!
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Reports from previous clubs say he not very good. Fans remain optimistic even though the evidence shows hes naff, not a very good start dean. I know your scraping the bottom of the barrel but at least get a player that has proved hes at least OK, not bad, quite useful, will do a job, etc etc etc.
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I am beginning to feel a little more hopeful and I hope everyone will start supportng Deano. It will probably take a few games to get the players going the way he wants them to go. A midfielder of quality is a good start.
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Know nothing about him. hope he’s decent
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