Ferguson Hands in Transfer Request

[RangerRover]

I have no problem with a player who, after leaving a club to supposedly better himself , returns home. Sometimes it's a gamble but if it doesn't work out at least he can look back at the end of his career and say at least he gave it a go. Unfortunately for Barry, he'll be remembered by the Rovers faithful as a player who didn't put enough effort into "giving it a go".

If you put your heart and soul into the game, give your all even though you may not be technically gifted or as pacey as others, supporters appreciate the effort and I'd imagine winning over fans would provide any individual footballer with a great deal of satisfaction. For example, Paul Dickov may not be the greatest striker in the Premiership but work rate and attitude will not go unnoticed amongst even the Wenger's and Ferguson's when it comes to discussing how to stop the opposition. Now there is a player who will look back on his career and be proud that he gave it his best shot.

For some reason, I don't think most of this will matter to Barry. Number one must come first - no one else matters. Sign a five year contract at Ibrox - fans ? - who cares, I'm off. Rovers need him at a crucial part of their season - fans - they mean nothing to me - I'm off.

Hanging in there when the going gets tough is the real test of character. Looks like Fergie decided he's a failure.

[roversWASmylife]

If he doesn't want to play for us, let him as long as we get a decent transfer fee from his, nothing less than we paid for him, unless we can get some players in for his transfer.

I want players who want to play for Blackburn Rovers.

When Ferguson came to Rovers, I was very excited about his arrival.

Whatever he has said in the last few months mean nothing, he's handed in a transfer request so let him go.

I just have a feeling that he may go to Newcastle. I can remember Souness after the Rovers v Newcastle game saying something about signing a player, something suspicious there.

[Philly Rover ®]

Having said that, RangerRover, what are your thoughts on having him back?

Thanks for an honest and sensible post by the way.

[LeChuck]

Don't know anyone has mentioned this, but...

What are the chances of Everton coming in for Ferguson? Surely it must be pretty high? They tried to sign him when we did and desperately want a replacement for Gravesen, we also know they have money.

Hopefully they'll enter the race and push the price up like they did when we bought him.

[brfcshabba]

Has anyone discussed the possibility of Rovers rejecting the transfer request and waiting till the summer?

It was a point Andy Neild from telegraph made

[Izzitnot]

sounds like robbie savage and birmingham

no seriously player power has taken over football, all about mney and agents

10 years ago players didnt want to leave clubs they were forced to leave, nowadays it is the other way round

i think the majority of the problems lie with agents, they get offers which include massive fees and they just brain wash players into moving

[RangerRover]

Having said that, RangerRover, what are your thoughts on having him back?

Thanks for an honest and sensible post by the way.

To answer your question, Philly Rover.

Rangers have a glut of players who can play in the midfield area - Alex Rae, , Mladenovic, Namouchi, Ricksen, Djordijc, Hughes,Burke (mid/right wing) - Gavin Rae when he returns from injury. There will be a place for Ferguson who will no doubt find things easier back home and possibly adopt a more positive playing attitude. Winning ways in the majority of his games will convince him he's fulfilling his potential once again and I doubt if anyone will convince him otherwise.

Personally, if familiar surroundings make him a more effective player for Rangers then I can't argue with that since we have other midfielders who are not as influential in our poor league as Barry was.

I should add that I'm still not convinced he'd take such a dramatic drop in wages to return North of the Border. Maybe he's Newcastle bound and taking the "Blackburn feeder club" trademark with him - as he joins Boumssong.

[colin]

I know of three people called Ferguson involved in English football.

I now don't like all of them to various degrees.

Co-incidence? Or is there something out there?

[thenodrog]

Ferguson is a shameless, treacherous, unprincipled disgrace to football.

His actions have been disgusting.

Especially so the time that he played with that dead cat glued to his head!

He looked such a stupid tawt that I can only think that he must have been doing it for a bet!

[neekoy]

Scum!!!!!

I feel like a Birmingham fan

Edited January 19, 2005 by neekoy

[thenodrog]

First of all Fregie is a great player! (admittedly, he has only showed flashes of this since the injury).

Secondly, no one yet knows the real reason for handing in the transfer request.

It could be family related, if so you have to ADMIRE the guy's bottle because he would know that he would get stick (from all quarters south of the border, as well as one half of Glasgow) for returning to Scotland.

God knows who the great 'Fregie' is TDI but as a player Fergy is at best 'moderate'.

Admire his bottle?!?>! Dont you mean be aghast at his lack of it? Easiest thing in the world is to run away from adversity.......... most difficult is to live with the knowledge that you did for the rest of your life. He must know that his kids / grand kids will take the ###### behind his back in years to come.

Anyway TDI I dunno why I've responded cos if I rem correctly you thought the greatest conman on the planet Corrado Grabbi was absolutely sh1t hot! Didn't you?

[RevidgeBlue]

Completely agree with Tris and Philip L.

Does Ferguson look like a £7.5m player? Maybe not but he's certainly the best we currently have by a long chalk. I'm surprised by the vehemence of the reaction against him. The prospect of him and Savage in the midfield is an exciting one. (even if only for a half a season)

Rovers hold all the aces on this one. Ferguson is under contract for a substantial amount of time until mid 2007, it's not like his contract is due to suddenly expire leaving us high and dry.

If Rangers want him that badly before the end of the transfer window, let them pay through the nose. Otherwise Ferguson should be told that he will have to be professional until another club comes in with an offer that is acceptable to Rovers.

It would be madness to let him go now for a knockdown fee.

That said, if Ferguson was to be replaced by say, Scott Parker it would be a case of Barry who?

[thenodrog]

I know of three people called Ferguson involved in English football.

I now don't like all of them to various degrees.

Co-incidence? Or is there something out there?

Dunno Colin but my disappointment regarding losing Barry Ferguson, Footballer and Captain of Scotland the Brave ( ) is a million times less than it was at losing MIKE Ferguson!

Now he just was a proper football player!

[AussieinUk]

Does Ferguson look like a £7.5m player? Maybe not but he's certainly the best we currently have by a long chalk. I'm surprised by the vehemence of the reaction against him. The prospect of him and Savage in the midfield is an exciting one. (even if only for a half a season)

Rovers hold all the aces on this one. Ferguson is under contract for a substantial amount of time until mid 2007, it's not like his contract is due to suddenly expire leaving us high and dry.

If Rangers want him that badly before the end of the transfer window, let them pay through the nose. Otherwise Ferguson should be told that he will have to be professional until another club comes in with an offer that is acceptable to Rovers.

It would be madness to let him go now for a knockdown fee.

I agree with all you said there Rev, but how much is realistic for Barry if we cannot accept knockdown fee? somehwere in the region £5-6.5m? I would hope at least £5m.

I think Rovers could have quite a kitty for the end of this season. Don't forget we are getting the $4.5m in April (dahlin insurance), plus the £1.2m from the Beattie sale... (Throw in a few sales with Gresko and Amoruso)

Can someone also answer, Does barry lose all his sign on fees, now that he has placed a transfer request in? And if Barry goes, who would be the highest paid in the club now?

Edited January 19, 2005 by AussieinUk

[Radagast]

That's annoying. Makes you wonder if Savage was intended to be a partner or a replacement.

Those saying he will be no loss are diluded - Barry Ferguson is our best midfield player. Talk about your lack of commitment/ambition/etc. Very, very disappointed.

[Tris]

Sky Sports have worked out that Barry Ferguson has cost us £200k PER GAME that he played!

That's very clever of them.

Because if he stays for the totality of his contract, he'll maybe play another 80 - 90 games.

And if he doesn't, Rovers could get any amount of money for him, to be decided - at whatever point in time - by the Rovers board.

So Sky Sports can - in a neat phrase - go (don't use that word etc) themselves.

[MickeFIN]

Who have been our captains before barry 90s and 80s about??????

Flitty,sherwood

batty,moran?

please answer me

[LeChuck]

Does Ferguson look like a £7.5m player? Maybe not but he's certainly the best we currently have by a long chalk. I'm surprised by the vehemence of the reaction against him. The prospect of him and Savage in the midfield is an exciting one. (even if only for a half a season)

Why is Ferguson any better than Thompson? Thommo can do pretty much everything better than Ferguson...shooting, aggression, through balls, movement...

If Thommo is properly fit now (don't forget, the last operation was done by Steadman who sorted the careers of Shearer/Van Nistelrooy etc) then he is a better player than Ferguson by quite some distance in my opinion.

[Tris]

Can't believe Tris & Philipl (and others) still want Ferguson to stay.

Stop right there and read the posts.

They ALL refer to the terms on which he may or may not be sold.

Not a single post from me (or Pl) advocates him "staying"

And specifically to my post which you refer to, I suggest that he is sat down by Hughes and Williams, and told to suffer Lancashire until the summer. When the money we owe Rangers is due.

Rovers MUST NOT succumb to any Rangers offer which uses the August "installment" payment as an element.

If for no other reason then because £2.5 mill over 8 months generates six figure £££ interest. That's proper money which makes fans gripes about cup replay prices look daft.

Rovers hand is further strengthened because Ferguson has another 2.5 years to run on his contract.

He seems so weak of character that it would be quite impossible for him to "rot in the reserves" at Rovers - or even threaten to do that. If (as alleged) his home life is a misery cos his family can't settle ....

.... and the quotes he made about wanting to leave Glasgow problems behind ....

.... and he changes his mind about such matters every few weeks ....

- if I were John Williams (and he's no fool) I'd sit Fergie down and point out some facts.

1. The current offer from Rangers is a crap joke.

2. It's actually worse than a crap joke, given they (Rangers) were the beneficiaries of the money going the other way in 2003.

3. In the absence of a proper offer - Mr Ferguson / Mr Viola - here are your options:

A] this is my favourite - f*** off and die

B] this is my 2nd favourite : ..... >

If Rangers fail to cough up, then - for once - Rovers hold all the aces.

Ferguson - judging by what we know - only wants a move to Rangers.

Rangers (it seems) can only afford him if they use the 2.5 mill due in August as part of the deal.

But Ferguson has handed in a transfer request. In January. Rovers are surely now legally entitled to flog the guy to anyone who bids an acceptable amount.

If Ferguson rejects any move, Rovers can hold him to his contract, or maybe even cite the fact he requested a move, and cancel his wages NOW.

But if his family is so important, then Ferguson will do the best for his family.

I suggest he sends them back to Glasgow. And I suggest Rovers make him train with the U18s for the next 2 and a half years.

Because if the family is important, he won't break a contract which provides for them so handsomely. Just 2 hours drive away.

And Rovers current board just won't accept having the ###### ripped by Ferguson or anyone else.

All of which must be good news, because Ferguson is clearly so WEAK of character that he'll have no answer.

John Viola may have lots of answers, but, on the face of it, he has bugger all options. Rovers hold every single ace, and won't even need the jokers.

Edited January 19, 2005 by Tris

[James No. 7]

Notice how the people involved in the administration of Rovers are not going around acting like idiots because of this Ferguson saga...unlike our Birmingham counterparts with the Savage affair.

Anyway, I'm not very disappointed with Ferguson going.

Firstly, his reputation indicated that he was "too big for Blackburn", relegation battlers, so it was to be expected.

Secondly, he hardly set the Premiership alight (he was very average), and I think that if a good amount is paid for him (in fact, I expect a good amount to be paid for him), Hughes will effectively use the money to make the squad stronger than before.

[Paul]

Good post Tris.

Revidge

Does Ferguson look like a £7.5m player? Maybe not but he's certainly the best we currently have by a long chalk. I'm surprised by the vehemence of the reaction against him. The prospect of him and Savage in the midfield is an exciting one. (even if only for a half a season)

Despite my dislike and doubt of Ferguson's ability since day one I would agree with you Rev, except on the fans reaction to Ferguson. In an age when we are expected to pay through the nose for football, turn up for KO at any time of the day or night, watch average, lazy players earn £1m+ each season etc, etc. I think the fans reaction to the departure of certain players is fully justified.

In Ferguson's case he was either lieing in early December or is lieing now. I don't expect loyalty, I don't expect the players to care about Rovers but I do expect players to respect the club as their employer. It's perfectly clear BF is another player who has been taking the p!ss since he arrived. We have a new manager and suddenly Ferguson can't stand the heat.

In our hearts we know the players have no respect for the fans or the club and will leave at the drop of another signing on fee. For those who behave in a proper manner, e.g Berg, there is no problem, those who chose to lie and set themselves up deserve everything that comes their way.

Run around kissing the badge by all means but don't take us for fools.

Barry Ferguson has three options:

1. Stay at Blackburn Rovers and prove he has the b*lls to be a top class player. For this I would support and respect him

2. Go back to Scotland and be a failure for the rest of his career, fiddling around in a second-rate team, in a second-rate league and "starring" in crucial games at Kilmarnock. I will watch for and enjoy every bit of his failure - for a few months at least

3. Move to another PL cluband prove himself there.

How many of us would feel happy if we sat at home, looking back at our job/work in the knowledge that we ran away from the challenge? Not many if we are honest with ourselves.

[dave birch]

Good points there, Paul.

Maybe now's the time to re introduce the "Home" Internationals

[FourLaneBlue]

The problem with keeping Ferguson until the summer against his wishes and playing him means we would have to rely on him giving his all, despite him seeming to have his heart residing somewhere in Ibrox.

Ferguson is a good player but not a great one. The club could make an example of him and shove him in the reserves but what good will it do us? More money lost on the deal plus more wages paid and let's make no bones about it, Ferguson the club captain will be on plenty of money. It's not a question of coping without Barry Ferguson the player, it may more boil down to having instead to cope without having a sulking Barry Ferguson at the club, maybe not giving his all (would Viola and Murray encourage him to do his best for Rovers just to push up the price Rangers would eventually have to pay?) and, more importantly, keeping players out of the team who are dying to run around for the cause of the club. If a player is unhappy at a club and wants to leave then we have to get rid. The only measures the board could take against this (shoving the player in the reserves) would just lead to a financial loss to ourselves.

Assuming it is Rangers that his heart is set on and that they don't have much money to actually splash around at the moment then maybe we should be looking at their players to swap. We don't seem to need too many more central defenders or midfielders as the quantity is certainly there if perhaps the quality is not. So, for these positions, maybe as part of the deal we could get new personnel to help strengthen...

Left Back - Michael Ball, seemingly not wanted too much at Rangers. Once a hot prospect but injury has knocked him back time and again. Still only turned 25 a few months ago though and we do seem to need a left back if Gray is a little part of Hughes' plans as he has been these last few months.

Right Back - Fernando Rickson. Reputation as a bit of a nutter but has looked decent whenever I've seen him. Dutch international with only six months or so left on his contract. Maybe those who see Rangers regularly can say more about him?

Strikers - Dado Prso and Nacho Novo. Signing Prso seemed a bit of a coup for Rangers and we do need a quality striker. Could either of these be that man? Would they come here or would Rangers ever allow them to leave?

Any other Rangers players we could sorely use who they may allow to leave?

Ferguson wants to leave so it's all about getting the best deal for Rovers. Maybe we will have to take that in the form of players rather than cash though.

Edited January 19, 2005 by FourLaneBlue

[moerpho]

I have to admit I'm guilty of being one of those who tried to con myself into believing Ferguson was as good a player as mr. Souness claimed and that he would justify his transfer-fee. I always hoped that Ferguson would provide stinging attacking runs into the oppositions box, score vital goals, provide killer passes (like Tugay when in form), score the occasional setpiece goal and be the kind of captain that could turn a game around on his own by pure grit if nothing else, but I have to admit that to date I haven't seen him do any of this (albeit only on TV). He has been dissapointing to say the least and right now I wouldn't be the least bit sorry to see him go and the sooner the better. I'm worried that if he stays 'till summer he might cause unrest in the team if Hughes lets him keep his captaincy and seeing as we've still got some way to go before another season in the PL is secured, we need a captain who is ready for a scrap and WANTS to play for the club and the manager. For me this would be Savage - at least until summer. Keeping Ferguson (both as player and captain) could cost the club in terms of were we finish on the table. 4 places is 2 milll£ and an uninspired Ferguson could easily be the negative difference. It's not very likely that he will increase in value over the next months so if someone comes in with a bid of 3.5 - 4 mill£ I say let him go. Perhaps JW should call Brady at Brum an inform her that Ferguson in not for sale at any price - at least not for less than 6 mill£?

[jim mk2]

All the above is irrelevant.

Ferguson's wife is unhappy away from the extended family in Scotland and, as we all know, if you want peace and harmony at home you have to go along with the wishes of 'er indoors.

The club should let him go before the end of the month for as high a fee as possible. As I said previously, if Rangers really do want him they will come up with the money.