The leftback slot is something we've struggled with for years, so to have someone in at this stage of the summer is a welcome boost. The 24-year-old Travner joined Watford last summer from NK Celje, who he had been at with the majority of his career. However, a change of management saw him struggle to break into the team and he had trials in countries as varied as America and Norway as he tried to get himself a game.
Travner is mainly a leftback but can also play at centre half and left midfield if required. This Youtube clip of him certainly seems to be encouraging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRE_xPxogiA
The last player we had on loan from an English club was Chris Birchall a few years ago and he was pretty poor, so let's hope Travner is better than him. The fact he'll have all but a few days of pre-season with the squad should help. There are suggestions there are also talks to bring another couple of players to Saints from clubs in England, although there's no indication as to who they are.
Last season David Barron played at leftback most of the time, and before him it was the godawful Mo Camara. When we've gone 4-4-2 in recent years, the other folk playing in that slot have been Alan Reid and Ian Maxwell, neither of whom was a natural leftback. We also had Eddie Malone, but he was only here for five minutes. By my reckoning, the last leftback we had who was any good and got a game was Laurie Ellis - and he left a full five years ago.
Well done Danny Lennon on addressing this problem position. Next up, how about a right winger?
Story source: The Official St. Mirren Website