Savage Signs

[Hasta]

We're away at birmingham next Saturday and all inidcations are that, contarary to Birminghams wishes, Savage is eligable to play.

At what point during next week will Sullivan, Gould, Brady and Bruce start bitching ???

[thenodrog]

We're away at birmingham next Saturday and all inidcations are that, contarary to Birminghams wishes, Savage is eligable to play.

At what point during next week will Sullivan, Gould, Brady and Bruce start bitching ???

When they get the estimated cost of policing the game attributable to their own stupid comments!

[Glenn]

Have Birminigham settled their argument with the local police ? I remember not too long ago that the police refused to marshall around the ground because of an unsettled bill for polcing inside the ground.

[cn174]

Well the last couple of times we've been to Brum there have been no police, instead there has been a private security firm doing their job.

[neekoy]

Has anyone changed their feelings about this signing?

I will give him another 6 months, but I still don't think he is the right man for the job

[philipl]

I don't know what the latest moaning about Brum playing him in the Reserves was about.

A warning to Sparky because he sees his position under threat from The Axe if the forwards signings result in Rovers playing 4-4-2 again?

An attempt to unsettle some "stars" at Brum as they extend the size of their squad.

A journalist stuck a microphone in front of him so he said something?

Unless there has been a dramatic ageing or loss of desire for the game, I saw enough of him in a Brum shirt to know he is a hugely effective player when fully fit.

[thenodrog]

Unless there has been a dramatic ageing or loss of desire for the game, I saw enough of him in a Brum shirt to know he is a hugely effective player when fully fit.

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Agreed but I suggest editing the word 'effective' and replacing it with the more

accurate 'influential' Philip. In short we have not signed a great player but rather a tough tackling player who puts in 100% in every game and leads by example from the front. In short a captain.

[92er]

My opinion is that we have seen nothing since his signing to suggest it was the right thing to do in January.He has missed a lot of games,when he has played he appears not to have been match fit and I still have my "headless chicken" image of him. If his fans, and there are many on this board,as well as Hughes, are right, I suspect we could have got a player who is likely to have no sell on value for a cheaper price in the summer.

[bellamy11]

I saw it in the Spurs game.

Since his arrival, Savage looks like he's been trying too hard. He has mentioned on more than one occasion that he wants to justify what is a large amount of money for a player of his ilk and age. Take the Bolton game for example - awful challenge within a minute of the start and countless attempts at sweeping passes that went wrong.

He has always looked commited but he has also looked like his next booking is a matter of seconds away. He has an incredible discipline not to get sent off, but he comprimises his style when he gets booked early, as happened against Burnley.

Against Spurs had had what was easily his best game in the shirt. His tackling was controlled and ferocious in equal measure and on three or four occasions he absolutely floored one of their players and emerged with the ball at his feet. Adding these spectacular tackles to the countless other smaller ones which nipped Spurs in the bud before they could get the ball to Keane, Kanute and Defoe and we get the player Sparky spent so much of his budget on.

Next season I expect him to go from strength to strength. There will always be people who criticise him and there will always be people who praise him, but within a few months of the new season I expect the majority to fall heavily on the side of praise.

[Blue blood]

I really wasn't convincenced when we signed him, doubt he'll be value for money, and in hindsight hasn't been a great signing. However he's been injured, and just before he got injured he was begining to win me over. I think the guy has class and if it was not for injuries then we may well have been a place or two higher.

I think his situation is very similar to both Ferguson and Stead. Like Ferguson he's been the big signing and has had some unfortunate injury problems, which combined with high expectations is always a bad mix. Most people seemed to take every encouraging thing that winging barry did as a sign of his class and that he just needed to get over his injury problems. Think the same standards should apply to Savage, there have been glimpses that the guy is good and does possess the talent, and like Ferguson we should only judge him when fully fit and he's had a run of games.

Like stead in front of goal, there is the problem of trying too hard. The harder one tries, the more one thinks about what they are attempting to do, and thus the more nervous they become and the harder it is to get it right. Football is based a lot on natural talent, and thinking too much about the basics is likely to hamper the guy. Come the new season with hopefully a new signing or two to take the expectations pressure off, Savage will be able to settle down to his nasty effective best.

Added to which, Hughes in the transfer market has proved a good judge of character. Unlike Souness who could be very hit and miss, Hughes has a near infallible reputation in the transfer market. If Hughes believes Savage is the man for the job then we should have faith in the guy for a bit longer.

[broadsword]

Added to which, Hughes in the transfer market has proved a good judge of character. Unlike Souness who could be very hit and miss, Hughes has a near infallible reputation in the transfer market. If Hughes believes Savage is the man for the job then we should have faith in the guy for a bit longer.

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Souness started off with an incredible run in the transfer market, everyone was a winner (and that's no lie!)

Just goes to show how things can change ...

[vyeo]

i don't know if its me, but has anyone thought that perhaps, unlike most of us who sees mokoena as being best suited to a defensive midfield role, hughes doesnt, and instead still sees him as being a centre back? (explains the release of short and nissa, the latter who really baffles me.) if this were the case, then savage's place will be no issue, and in any case, i'm pretty sure he'd be one of the first names on hughes' team sheet anyway. on the other hand, mokoena could be seen as the player who plays in away matches, where we adopt a more conservative 451, and serve as a convenient midfield or defence spare in the home games, assuming we go 442 then.

[Philly Rover ®]

I think that's a very valid point, vyeo.

I'd been wondering how Hughesey was planning to construct his side next season... I wanted a 4-4-2 but I also wanted to keep Mokoena in the holding midfield role if possible, since it certainly seemed he had a knack for the position. Your suggestion would allow him to play a considerable amount whilst still allowing Rovers to "take the risks" that Sparky claimed they are going to next year.

His positioning at center back may still scare some people, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if Hughes planned to use him there a lot more next year (when Nelsen and/or Todd is unavailable).

[BRFC4EVA]

Give him a chance everyone. He needs a good pre-season training and he could end up having a excellent yr next season. Please dont judge too early, we do that too much on hear. Bring this thread back next summer!

[LeChuck]

As this seems to be a Savage/Brum thread...

Birmingham chairman David Sullivan has threatened legal action against Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. (The Sun)

Does anyone have any idea what that's about? Maybe because they won't let them have Andy Johnson back...bless.

[greggyk]

link

is it me-or does he look a bit like David Brent from the Office

[philipl]

Whilst Savage's image was appearing in the role of a tart and vicar all rolled into one ("modelling" the new away kit), he was also having groin surgery yesterday.

[thenodrog]

Whilst Savage's image was appearing in the role of a tart and vicar all rolled into one ("modelling" the new away kit), he was also having groin surgery yesterday.

321664[/snapback]

If that cures him then good. He certainly wasnt the player who started with us after that injury. I wonder if Dickov has been under the knife too?

[philipl]

Dickov was a muscle strain rather than a tear. Could not be repaired surgically but needed at least four weeks complete rest.

[bellamy11]

BBC are saying that Savage wishes to return to international football. He admits in the article that he doesn't want to cut short his international career because of his temper and an over-reaction, but may still be stubborn enough to wait for an apology from Toshack.

[promoted2001]

Hahaha what a muppet, hope he plays well next season though

[modes98]

Hahaha what a muppet

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Would say the same about the poster of that comment!

Sav is the bigger man by admitting he was wrong to rush a decision like that! Somehow i think tosh won't have him back straight away!

[OscarRaven]

Is it just me or does anyone else think £3m for Savage looks like an even bigger waste of money now we are scratching around for a million quid and needing to sell a very young and potentially talented player in Jon Stead to raise it?

The fact Charlton are interested in taking a gamble on him at £1.8m and were not for free is a disgrace. Yes the headcount is too high but reducing it at all costs is a little short sighted. Anyway Stead money has no doubt been earmarked as Amoruso's pay-off.

Football is sick.

[RevidgeBlue]

I would agree that I can't see why we're letting a young striker with great potential like Stead go for the sake of a fee that could possibly rise to £1.8m.

I do not agree that Savage is a waste of money. In a recent interview with the LET he was refreshingly honest about his time at Ewood thus far stating that he hasn't shown anything like his best form due to injury. He said that whilst obviously no Gerrard, Keane or Viera, he believes he is the best player of his type in the Premiership and compares favourably with anyone else. I expect him to show that next season.

Must say Savage is getting a lot of stick for one injury hit half season compared with the likes of Emerton and Neill who have been pretty abysmal for most of the last two campaigns.

[T4E]

Nail on the head again Mr Revidge.