www.totalrl.com/gossip-radford-keen-gaskell/

www.totalrl.com/gossip-radford-keen-gaskell/

How do you manufacture a deal for 2 out of contract players?

Maybe a sweetener for a player to go to a certain club? I dunno. Don't shoot the messenger.

Comment wasn't aimed at you, just at the article. It doesn't add up, ooc players are free to do what they wish.

Have to agree. If both were under contract for next year, then a swap could be on the cards. However as both are OOC then either can move without the need for the other to go in the opposite direction.

Personally, I've been resigned to the fact that we're likely to lose players such as Gaskell if we spend longer than 2 years outside of SL. The only real hope I can see of us keeping him and the other players considering moves is dependant on the new coach and what he brings to the club.

That's the key argument against Disko until the end of the year. Show the environment they'll be in. Won't work for all those we want to keep but it might tip the balance for those who are teetering.

If the clubs are looking to broker a deal, it might mean that this will happen mid-season.

The article suggests we will eventually sign Pryce, but the article insinuates that the deal may conclude before the players are OOC.

If a club was interested in obtaining Gaskell, they may stand a better chance by thrashing out a deal mid-season, meaning your not 1 club out of "x" amount vying for the same signature.

I agree. It’s important we get the right coach in if we’re not to go downhill rapidly.

It may just be a case of Pryce wanting to finish his career at Odsal, Gaskell wanting to move to an SL club, Hull need a HB as Pryce is leaving to join us. May not be an actual swap but just us signing Pryce as a free agent and Gaskell signing for Hull as a free agent.

Leon will be 35/36 in 2017. Him taking Gaskell’s place is a significant downgrade. If he was coming back he’d better be cheap.

^ This exactly.

I would imagine Leon coming to us next season whether anyone is coming the other way or not. If this happens at the end of the season then, as Gaskell is OOC fair play to him, whereas we would be really getting a bum deal if it were to happen in the next couple of months.

Offloading/swapping/selling the [uonly [/udedicated half on our books for a much older, and injury prone ex-star seems a really stupid thing to do.

Shhhhh Ferres may be reading...... Don't give him ideas that will top his 'We don't need a 7' lightbulb moment...

Losing Gaskell and downgrading to Pryce screams 'we are settling for Championship level' whichever way I look at this...

Can I ask how you rate Gaskell? SL standard HB?

Without a doubt. Given he's spent the majority of last year and this year as a sole half back he has gone a little off the boil recently as he seems a little burnt out being our only creative player. A move where he's not required to win games on his own will probably spark him back to being able to win games on his own.
But the Bradford management idea of "we don't need a 7" has really dented Gaskell's effectiveness.

We're fans, our opinions aren't worth the cyberspace they're printed on. It's agents and clubs who seem to rate players, not us - we just take our cue from them.

SL but bottom half, say 8th, 9th or 10th.

Speak for yourself!

So do we all agree he's too good for 11th placed Leeds

Pryce when fit is a top 8 SL halfback, so if your opinion of Gaskell is correct you are getting an upgrade, keeping him fit is the major problem, although hasn't Gaskell has his fair share of injury problems?

Only my opinion.
As a direct swap fro Pryce it would be hard to say who would get the better deal. Pryce isn't going to get any younger but Gaskells injuries were usually caused by him having to do work that he wouldn't normally be expected to do in a SL side. One major injury was caused by a back elbow to the face by a prop forward and one by a last ditch tackle where he cracked himself against the post.

A straight swap now gaskell for leon wpuld be a downgrade Imo. Gaskell out for leon and a decent 7 would be an overall upgrade. Like rreddog says gaskells injuries have mainly been impact injuries whereas leons you suspect are more due to age and it wont be any easier for him to have a full season next year. Whatever happens I would like to see leon in a bulls shirt again but I'm more and more p!ssed off about our lack of a scrum half.

It was a bit tongue in cheek to be honest, think Pryce would be a good short term signing for you for a year, haven't seen enough of Gaskell to say if he is good enough for a too 4 SL side, which is what we are aiming for and should achieve this year. We have Sneyd who had been outstanding in recent weeks, but needs a half with him, someone with pace and can back up would be ideal as we make loads of breaks, but with the exception of Shaul we rarely finish them off.

Id say Gaskell would be a very very good fit for you alongside Sneyd, and to be fair I don't think there would be any Bulls fan begrudge Gaskell going to a top half super league side next year, hes shown good loyalty playing for us in the Championship but he should be playing super league. We just need him to see out this year with us for us to have a shot in the middle 8's. Leon could come home now though and play 7 alongside Gaskell for the rest of the season and we'd have the tallest half back pairing in the history of RL.

With ease.

Playing alongside a half back that can put him in some space or with one to beat, he will either go through, beat the defender or make some space for those outside him.

He'd into any super league side imo.

He isn't the type to direct play though, so if your looking to play him on one side of the field and your 7 on the other then you'll be disappointed. He's a traditional stand off and nothing else imo.