I concur. Whenever I've seen Samson he's looked decent (in fact I seem to remember him putting in a few outstanding performances against us when he was at St Mirren).
If Ripley isn't back down the road in January it's a completely unnecessary signing, but if he is, then I think he'll be a good enough first choice pick until the end of the season at least. Would give him a bit of time to get used to the surroundings and back 4 etc. as well.
Whether you agree or not, Baraclough obviously really doesn't rate Twardzik...and I tend to agree.