The Importance Of O'Toole [Opinion]

Lifted from: twitter.com

The main transfer story this summer has been the drawn out pursuit of former loan star John-Joe O'Toole from Colchester United. We offered him a contract in April but a series of obstacles are complicating the transfer. It is believed Colchester do not want to pay up his remaining year's contract in order for him to join us but they are open to the idea of offloading him. Our interest in acquiring him is so strong that they may also be playing hard-ball in order to obtain a transfer fee. It's turning into quite a saga.

Manager John Ward yesterday reiterated his desire to remain patient in order to sign O'Toole, suggesting he retains some confidence that a deal can be struck. He explained that signing a senior midfield player is his sole priority this summer in the transfer market and if a move for O'Toole fails to materialise he will turn to one of his other targets. Who they may be is anybody's guess but presumably the manager does not rate them as highly as he does JJ. With this in mind, how important would his signing be for the club ahead of next season? Could nobody else do the same job?

There will undoubtedly be midfielders in Leagues One and Two who can play the box-to-box role with ease but almost all of them will be under contract. Nick Higgs implied that the club would not be prepared to stump up significant transfer fees this summer and this will restrict who is available to us. The out-of-contract players are our most likely options but very few, if any, are what can be described as box-to-box. It means that if we pursue one of them, they are more than likely going to specialise in either the defensive side or the attacking side of midfield. Is that really what we need?

I would say not. Particularly after we have gotten used to having a genuinely top player running the show in that position. This, to me, makes O'Toole the outstanding candidate because we have the potential to bring in a player for next to nothing on a permanent deal - if we're prepared to be 'patient'. This is a good position to be in because the fact he is even considering us suggests there is hope. A player of his undeniable talents should not be playing in League Two, he knows that and we know that. He would not entertain a move to this level in normal circumstances and the fact he is contemplating uprooting his life to move to Bristol is purely because of his loan experience with the club last season. He was given a run of games and was encouraged to express himself, something he was not given on the substitutes bench at Colchester. The support and love from Gasheads will also have struck a chord  and I think that genuinely surprised him as he wasn't expecting to be loved as much as he was. In his mind initially, he wanted a few games of football before returning to the U's. It would not have crossed his mind that he would enjoy himself as much as he did. With all this, and the fact he has seen first hand the potential of the team and the club, we have established ourselves as a genuine possibility to him. He doesn't want to be playing at this level ideally but he knows exactly what he would be getting with us and would be the main man, a situation I think he would thrive in.

O'Toole's presence would also have a massive impact on Gasheads as well. Everybody loves him and it's fair to say that his signing would encourage plenty of non-season ticket holders to commit to buying one. No other signing would please Gasheads anywhere near as much and the club know this. Not only would he provide quality on the pitch, uniting his team-mates, he would also help to excite thousands of Gasheads in time for the new season.

What he brings to the table all-round is huge and for as long as there is a chance of us signing him I completely trust Ward's decision to pursue him. I can appreciate fully why he is our number 1 target and I feel he is the best, and perhaps only, man for the job. I concede that it's overwhelmingly frustrating not to hear of any progress and potentially missing out on other players as a result but the club have confidence we can get him and that's good enough for me.

What do you think Gasheads? Agree or disagree?