Oxford reject bid by Bristol Rovers for striker James Constable
BRISTOL Rovers manager Mark McGhee has had a bid to sign Oxford United striker James Constable rejected.
Constable, 27, was Oxford's top scorer with 11 goals last season and has two years remaining on his contract at Rovers' League Two rivals.
-
James Constable
Constable, pictured, almost left the club during the January transfer window after Oxford accepted an offer believed to be in the region of £200,000 from Swindon Town for the striker.
Oxford chairman Kelvin Thomas said: "James has attracted interest from a variety of clubs and further interest is not really a surprise. We have received a formal offer from Rovers but have turned it down."
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
McGhee is believed to be in the market for another striker after releasing veteran forward Scott McGleish at the end of the season.
Malmesbury-born Constable has a proven goalscoring record in the lower leagues after netting 149 times in 313 senior games. He started his career as a part-timer at Southern League Cirencester Town, but moved on to Chippenham Town after scoring 30 goals in 70 games.
His first foray into the professional game came when he was signed in 2005 by Walsall, where he only managed five goals in 29 games.
Two seasons later, Constable dropped out of the league again to join Kidderminster Harriers. A total of 30 goals in 60 games, however, facilitated a move to Shrewsbury Town and a return to League Two.
Constable joined Oxford, initially on loan, in the 2008-09 campaign and has since become a fans' favourite and skippered the side, scoring 80 times in four seasons.
McGhee, meanwhile, is still waiting to finds out if player-of-the-year Danny Woodards and Wayne Brown will put pen-to-paper on the new deals offered to the out-of-contract pair at the end of the season.
In-demand wideman Mustapha Carayol has also been offered new and improved terms, while McGhee has confirmed he is also hoping to tie up long-terms deal for Leicester City defenders Tom Parkes and Cian Bolger.
Comments
by Oldfrank
Sunday, June 03 2012, 6:44PM
“You'll be pleased to hear I'm making progress on solving the the Higgsaw puzzle.
A few years ago we were told we were an established League 1 side and were signing Championship quality players and heading upwards. We actually signed what turned out to be League 1 quality players like Hughes, Blizzard, Sawyer etc and went down.
Now we are an established League 2 side and we are told we are building a side capable of competing in League 1 and heading upwards again. So in Higgspeak it makes complete sense to sign someone like Constable for a lot of money because he is a proven Conference and League 2 player.
I will write again when I have further unraveled the mysteries of all the hard work going on behind the scenes, the tracking of players for a long time and the beating off competition from League 1 and Championship clubs.”
by GasDownUnder
Sunday, June 03 2012, 4:53AM
“Manc G
Got it - Cheers”
by Bluebluemoon
Saturday, June 02 2012, 7:28AM
“Rednem and Marksy.. i agree he may be no oil painting( yes i get the constable artist thing) but as long as he can put the ball in the back of the net he's fine for me..Do you just go along to watch the City just to look at the players legs/thighs ? i bet you miss them tight shorts of the late 80's ?”
by ARBIE0489
Friday, June 01 2012, 5:13PM
“Marksy....How many players on the books at Trashton.......scored eleven goals LAST SEASON ???”
by marksy1
Friday, June 01 2012, 5:02PM
“by RedNemesis1
"James Constable: he's not exactly an oil painting ."
I was thinking that as well, plus he only scored 11 goals last season in league 2 and now the Rovers are after him. I've heard his nickname is lucky!”
by RedNemesis1
Thursday, May 31 2012, 10:20PM
“James Constable: he's not exactly an oil painting .”
by manchestergas
Thursday, May 31 2012, 9:45PM
“GDU - yeah, 5 pre-season fixtures so far. All on the official gas website”
by SimpleStan
Thursday, May 31 2012, 6:47PM
“@ Oldfrank
KNICKERS”
by Oldfrank
Thursday, May 31 2012, 4:30PM
“Best for me not to comment on the Constable signing.
I've been advised that anything I say may be taken down...............”
by JoeFrankie
Thursday, May 31 2012, 1:58PM
“Where are we getting the money for this bid from. Sounds like we're spending the Muzzy money already..................which is not a problem. If Muzzy wants to go (or his agent wants him to go) there's not a lot we can do. Make sure we get top dollar for him and make sure we spend it wisely.”