Ferguson Hands in Transfer Request

[streakyb]

As for the striker situation, like all managers say. Its hard to find a striker that will make a difference in the January window.

Fully agree. What strikers were there that moved? Which ones woudl have joined us?

We should only get players that will improve the squad, not dross like Souness would have felt pressured into buying due to fans pressure (i.e we must have a left winger, ok, here is De Pedro)

[jim mk2]

Some observations:

A bad day for Blackburn Rovers on and off the field.

First and foremost, we have lost a key player in the fight against relegation. There is now a gaping hole in midfield that neither Savage nor Flitcroft are capable of filling.

Like the loss of Dunn, Duff and Cole, the departure of another leading player also sends a further bad message to the Blackburn public .... and the board wonders why crowd numbers are dwindling.

With regards to the transfer itself, Williams has been made to look the fool he is (again) by Murray.

His "tough" negotiating stance was shown to be nothing more than bluster and he has been given the runaround by Murray both in the buying and selling of Ferguson at a cost to Rovers of £2 million.

An amateur versus the professional.

In addition, the outcome of this saga was obvious from the start, although not to philipl and his cohorts.

An amateur versus the professional messageboard members.

[streakyb]

Some observations:

A bad day for Blackburn Rovers on and off the field.

First and foremost, we have lost a key player in the fight against relegation. There is now a gaping hole in midfield that neither Savage nor Flitcroft are capable of filling.

Like the loss of Dunn, Duff and Cole, the departure of another leading player also sends a further bad message to the Blackburn public .... and the board wonders why crowd numbers are dwindling.

With regards to the transfer itself, Williams has been made to look the fool he is (again) by Murray.

His "tough" negotiating stance was shown to be nothing more than bluster and he has been given the runaround by Murray both in the buying and selling of Ferguson at a cost to Rovers of £2 million.

An amateur versus the professional.

In addition, the outcome of this saga was obvious from the start, although not to philipl and his cohorts.

An amateur versus the professional messageboard members.

A lot o fpeople, myslef included, will argue about Ferguson imporatnce on the pitch. Savage will replace him.

Finally what more could Williams have done, he held out for as long as possible to get as much as he could for a player. This player has made it abundtantly clear that he wanted to play for Rangers and no other club. His comments since re-signing to them has made it clear that he was proabably never fully comitted to the Rovers acuse and would have been at all comiited if we kept him to the summer. Ferguson wanted out.

Even if we did keep him to the summer, paying him a fortune in wages for a non comiited player, Rangers still would not have upped the offer. The had us my the proverbials and there was very little we could do about it.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

How can anyone have a go at JW - he did the best he could. As may people have pointed out we have saved at least half a seasons wages - and when he left in the summer (which we all know he would have) - how much we would have got then ?

The real villain in all this is Fergie (thus named because he acts like a stuck up woman). I don't blame him for wanting to go home to Glasgow - that is his perocative. But contrast how he and his agent handled it in comparison to Berg when he left for United. Berg knew that United wanted him - he wanted to go - but he kept it all under wraps, let the board know - and allowed us to get a fair price and a replacement in (Henchoz) without involving the press or unduly forcing Rovers hand (a true gentleman).

I wouldn't like to say what my opinion of Fergie is - if at the end of the season we are placed in mid-table, and Tommo has established himself in centre-mid - who cares

[thenodrog]

As for Fergie, I've seen him run the show against, Feyenoord, Paris St Germain, PSV etc - comparable I'd say with at least - the very least - half the Premiership clubs.

Well I watched him against the Dutch and he looked like a youth team player..... but then they all did.

2 questions

1. Would gers want him back so much if he was just some johnny foreigner or are the supporters of that club under some sort of delusion that he is one of the all-time great Scottish midfielders comparable to the likes of souness, bremner Mackay baxter etc?

2. Is he gonna wear that daft dead cat on his heeeed again? What was it anyway Rob Roys sporran or something?

[Ferguson16]

is shota averladze part of the deal, as i have heard he's signed for rovers...

[Rovermatt]

A lot o fpeople, myslef included, will argue about Ferguson imporatnce on the pitch. Savage will replace him.

No, he won't. Savage has neither the talent nor the discipline to do the job that Ferguson was capable of doing. We will now have to rely on the increasingly erratic Tugay to pass the ball from A to B (maybe).

[streakyb]

A lot  o fpeople, myslef included, will argue about Ferguson imporatnce on the pitch. Savage will replace him.

No, he won't. Savage has neither the talent nor the discipline to do the job that Ferguson was capable of doing. We will now have to rely on the increasingly erratic Tugay to pass the ball from A to B (maybe).

I didnt mean Savage as a direct replacment, more of a replacements as heart of the midfiled. Have to rely on Thommo or Tugs for creativity.

You also hit the nail squarely on the hear about Ferguson. As you said

Feguson was capable of doing

Same he didnt show his capability more. Never lived up to his potential or our expectations.

Also never undersatnd this complaint abuot Savage and discipline when Ferguson got as many reds for us as Savage has done in his entire career

[RoyRover]

We have certainly been diddled here. Only £5 million, for a player who Williams said they wouldn't sell for anything less than £6 million, with only £4.5 million being guaranteed! I just don't understand why they buckled at the last minute. It wasn't like we were able to sign a replacement, once he left, because there wasn't enough time. Smart move. This is so similar to sales of Duff and Dunn and Blackburn's inability to hold onto its best players doesn't inspire the fans about the ambitions of the club. Why should we give our best players to other teams? We are going to miss him and there is no way that any of our other midfielders can replace his creative ability.

What's even more embarrasing is the idea of getting Shota Averladze in return, as if he is going to solve our goal scoring problems. He doesn't start for Rangers, he hasn't been a prolific goal scorer in Scotland, so he has no chance down here. He was good when he was at Ajax, but that was a long time ago. If Blackburn were going to get one of Rngers players, then it should have been Prso. Williams should have said that if Rangers wanted one of our best players, then we wanted likewise.

Also, Birmingham signed Walter Pandiani on loan until the end of the season! That's where we should have been concentrating our efforts.

[Guest Kamy100]

Yup Pandiani signed for Brum. Great deal for them as he is a fantastic striker.

Edited February 1, 2005 by Kamy100

[broadsword]

Those that are criticising the board I feel are very harsh.

Yep, we let him go for less than we said we would. Do none of you know the principles of bartering? You initially demand a price more than you're willing to sell at, the other party scoffs at this and makes a derisory offer, eventually you meet somewhere in the middle.

There are still major weaknesses in the squad, especially up front, I can only hope that Mark has got plans to improve it, but that his targets aren't available until the Summer.

To those who think John Williams is a fool, really, what would you have done? Kept hold of Ferguson? He clearly didn'ty want to play for us anymore, his behaviour was disgraceful. If that level of de-motivation wasn't enough, he would've been barracked by the crowd big-time, no doubt about it for me. So if he wasn't staying, then he had to go. Given Ferguson's determination to go, the amount of time left in the window, and Rangers' derisory initial offer, I think we did the best we could.

[AndyC]

Some observations:

A bad day for Blackburn Rovers on and off the field.

First and foremost, we have lost a key player in the fight against relegation. There is now a gaping hole in midfield that neither Savage nor Flitcroft are capable of filling.

Like the loss of Dunn, Duff and Cole, the departure of another leading player also sends a further bad message to the Blackburn public .... and the board wonders why crowd numbers are dwindling.

With regards to the transfer itself, Williams has been made to look the fool he is (again) by Murray.

His "tough" negotiating stance was shown to be nothing more than bluster and he has been given the runaround by Murray both in the buying and selling of Ferguson at a cost to Rovers of £2 million.

An amateur versus the professional.

In addition, the outcome of this saga was obvious from the start, although not to philipl and his cohorts.

An amateur versus the professional messageboard members.

Can't really agree with that Jim or Revige.

JW never said that we were holding out for what we paid for him. If you re read his quotes, he said the original Rangers offer was no where near what he was worth considering we paid £6.5 for him 18 months ago.

He may have implied he wanted £6.5, but he never actually said that. No one in his right mind would expect us to get £6.5 for a player that frankly bottled it in the premier league. I think the £5 mill is actually a good bit of business considering. At least it gives us some money to strengthen in the summer.

And don't worry about relegation - there are 4 clubs that are far worse than us!

Yes - he was our tidiest midfielder, but how many games did he actually outperform the opposition?

I don't even want to blame Souness for paying £6.5, because at the time - he was highly rated and coveted by so many clubs. Everyone was holding their breath to see if he could cut it with the lampards, keanes and gerrards, but sadly - he never could.

Would he have done that in a better team? Who knows!

But to blame JW is just daft and you are both jumping on your 'we hate JW' bandwagon again.

Fergies heart has not been in this club all season. Anyone watching him could tell that. hughes might have said he wanted him to stay, but i wouldn't be surprised if he really doesn't mind that he's gone. It allows him to re build the team around people he wants there.

The only real shame in this transfer window is that we couldn't get another striker in.

[Hughesy]

So did we get Arveladze or not?

[Bobby G]

of course not.

[coffeeman]

The days of Souey are over, therefore no Arveladze.

I'm sure with him still in charge, we'd say thank you to both him and Ball, with no money involved.

This Hughes guy aint that easy to fool

[joey_big_nose]

Murray forced Williams' hand?

I DONT THINK SO.

It was Murray who said you wouldnt pay a penny over 3 million.

We got a further 1.5-2 million out of you.So thats a significant increase,dont you think?

A club with a great history?Well ya of course you play in a league where two teams contest the title each year.Big deal.You have been a failure in Europe,for a club of your "size" and "history".

Your best player couldnt make it at our level,and it was too much for him to handle.

What are you happy about?

Murray isn't stupid. I'll bet he knew he'd need to pay more than the original derisory offer - but the moment he put in a bid and Ferguson was interested then Williams was on a loser. Keep Ferguson or lose money - he had no choice and was forced to make a decision. It's that simple.

Failure in Europe - something we both have in common then And remember - it's not that long since only two sides were dominating your league now it's just the one !

As for Fergie, I've seen him run the show against, Feyenoord, Paris St Germain, PSV etc - comparable I'd say with at least - the very least - half the Premiership clubs. I do have some sympathy with Rovers supporters as I always like to see them do well but i think it's unfortunate that barry seems to be one of those players who performs better in surroundings he's familiar with.

Ferguson is a good player but there is no doubt he is moving backwards, not forwards, going back to the SPL. No matter how you dress it up, in football terms it is the north of the boarder that is the backwater. Rangers and Celtic in terms of playing staff only posess the resources of a mid to lower table premier league side (a case in point- apart from Larsson and Miller what SPL players have gone on to play for top clubs in the last two years?).

We are weak up front but in terms of the team in general their is not a lot to choose between us and the mighty Gers...

I suppose he just doesnt like a challenge.

[teapreacher]

he will resume the captaincy(presumably) of one of the biggest clubs in the world rather than playing for a poor provincial team who's support starts leaving fifteen minutes before the game ends.

[broadsword]

Hahahahahahahhahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Put your handbag down sweetie! We might be small but we don't have pretensions of glamour.

"One of the biggest clubs in the World" - What a hoot! You're in Scotland for a start!

[FourLaneBlue]

Belt up teapreacher, neither of the Old Firm are anywhere near being one of "the biggest clubs in the world". You're not even up there with the likes of Ajax never mind the real big clubs of the world such as Man United, Barcelona, the Milan clubs etc and at least Celtic have won the European Cup even if it was in the days of the Beatles, your lot hasn't even reached the final. Until you leave the SPL (and that won't happen for a hell of a long time) you'll have to be content with saying "we could one day be big you know".

To be fair, your comments about Rovers aren't too far from the truth mind...

Edited February 1, 2005 by FourLaneBlue

[teapreacher]

it wouldn't be so bad if they left by a back exit - but to see them walking round the pitch must be very disheartening.

[T4E]

Who cares, he was never that good for us anyway.

And I for one am glad we didnt rush out and buy a striker at the last minute. Thats how we ended up with Bothroyd.

[stuwilky]

he will resume the captaincy(presumably) of one of the biggest clubs in the world rather than playing for a poor provincial team who's support starts leaving fifteen minutes before the game ends.

For someone who clearly is at wetting pants stage with this you appear not to pay much attention.....

Rangers official site "Ferguson doesnt want captaincy back"

Ho hum.

Edited February 1, 2005 by stuwilky

[teapreacher]

Klos is injured so he will probably be the captain 'til Stefan returns.

[streakyb]

Klos is injured so he will probably be the captain 'til Stefan returns.

He has said that Alex Rae will be as he doesnt want it.

[stuwilky]

Klos is injured so he will probably be the captain 'til Stefan returns.

I merely took the cue from his quotes on the rangers official website.

Now If you know better than Barry then smashing. And quite frankly I dont care.

Alex Rae is captain in Klos' absence is he not.