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Australian International to Join Town Friday, 28th Aug 2015 15:09
Town have revealed that free agent Australian international winger Tommy Oar is joining the club.
The 23-year-old is due at the club over the weekend having left Dutch side FC Utrecht - where he made 105 Eredivisie appearances, scoring four goals - after five years in the summer.
The Queenslander was previously with the Brisbane Roar, having played youth football with Palm Beach and QAS.
Manager Mick McCarthy told Ipswich Player: “We have watched Tommy a few times and checked him out on our scouting system. We have done our due diligence on him and he will be a good signing for us.
“I spoke to [former Holland international] Jan Wouters, who worked with him at Utrecht, and he gave him a glowing report.
“He is quick and direct and puts some great crosses in. He does all the tracking back as well. I’m delighted to have him. He’s a full Australian international and he will add to the competition here.”
Oar has won 25 full caps, scoring two goals, having made his international debut in March 2010.
He was a member of this year's Asian Cup-winning squad but played only one game from the bench.
Oar was included in the 28-man provisional squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but didn't make the final cut.
Having been in the squad for the U20 World Cup in Colombia in 2011, he then started all three of the Socceroos' games at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Oar was recently close to joining Athletic Bilbao but the deal fell through as he was deemed to have insufficient Basque heritage, despite his paternal grandparents having come from the region.
Athletic only recruit players from the Basque country or who have come through their youth system.
Oar also received interest from clubs in the Middle East and elsewhere abroad, and had also been linked with Brighton, Hull City and Fulham.
Photo: Action Images
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My only complaint is when there are international breaks he and Tommy have to go half way around the world and this makes their recovery time far more taxing that Euro internationals.
Right, bear with me here (and I sincerely apologise for posting such drivel) because I hate threads and posts about songs for players, which invariably are utter tripe....however, this guy...
"everything is OARsome, everything is cool when you're part of a team"
Like I said. Not one for the older contingent, but the youngster (and those with youngsters) will certainly know it.
Exciting times for us with players being signed left right and centre and with no fuss in the media. Hopefully another gem unearthed by Mick and Terry.
Interesting article about him from 2 months ago. I particularly enjoyed this quote from his agent: "His future in mind, Oar is seeking consistent game time at a club that offers good development and has faith in his ability ... A lot of focus is on England at the moment, but also other countries like Germany, Italy and Spain are still open,” said Jansen, who also confirmed a number of Championship sides had been rejected by Oar. “It's not about the money, it's about the development of his career,” Jansen continued, saying Oar would not earn the big money in Europe, but is happy to forfeit the payday for better opportunity to excel."
According to this page (and Google Translate) Tommy Oar only played 18 times last season not through injury, but because he was going out on a free the club did not want to put him in the shop window. He has the highest rate of assists in the team, the most opportunities created and loses the ball one of the least of any of the players in the Dutch league from what I can tell.
This site quoted earlier http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/david-mcgoldrick/profil/spieler/35416 has McGoldrick at £800K, Sears and Murhy under £600K and would place this one as by far our most valuable player and much better than Niles or Fraser. I suspect it is inaccurate but perhaps this could be a real quality signing.
As for finally getting wingers in, MM has clearly tried in the past without them working out. Let's hope this one does.
He's our third Aussie. I thought has was the second, but I'd forgotten Andy Bernal, who was the first. The second was Vlado Bosiniski, signed in 1992 with Bontcho, born in Macedonia but a full Oz international.
Brilliant signing: this is potentially a world-class player. I remember seeing him and being impressed on Oz tv a few years back, and judging from the video he's come on leaps and bounds. Interesting to compare the players MM gets for nothing with, er, Balotelli and others of his ilk.