[Archived] Rovers Side 2005-06

[Bazzathegreat]

Apart from the last few games and rovers run in the Fa cup this season has been a bit of a let-down ( although sparky is doing a cracking job at the mo ). so I thourght it was maybe time to do thread on what the squad may look like with activity over the summer and who/who should not be retained. and where Rovers need to be strenghtened

Quite on overhaul needed as we have got alot of deadwood amongst alot of good players the Defence looks sorted for years to come, so we need to strenghten elsewhere in order to avoid a re-run of the last 2 seasons I also hear we have money to spend via Dahlin Insurance, Mardy Boys sale, Beatie sell-on

OUTS

Gray-Not up to Prem standard anymore

Amo- I'm sorry youre too clumsmy and slow

Short- Whether he will retire or not is one thing , but make him a coach or move on

Tugay-Great player at Rovers , but can see him gong back to play in Istanbul

Gresko- A player of great potential ( you don't play for , Bayer, Inter or Parma if you're a mug) but hasn't cut the mustard

Douglas-Not up to prem standards

Emerton- Yes Emerton , if we can get 4mill for him and replace him with i.e Routledge we have Thommo and reidy to fill in also, too inconsistent

Flitty- For the reported wages hees on dosent represent good value any longer -Replace with a younger model

Gally- Im sorry but i've tried with him , he just dosent do it for me, never done anything to suggest he has a prem future

Dickov- thanks for all your efforts paul but you'll turn 34 next year and if rovers want to succeed we will need better quality up front ( not to say i dont like him, because i think he is one of the main reasons while we will stop up, just his age and quality lets him down )

Bothroyd- are u Heskey but 10 times worse

Keep them

Nissa- I think has done a steady jobso keep him

Matty? Im not reminiscing about the old timesI dont think hees been given a fair crack of the whip, whats 1 yr extension gonna hurt, he still gives 110% and is still young ( needs to take a pay cut though )

Players in

A young RB to give Lucas some competition John Halls ( Stoke )

A left back-maybe Spector on loan

Creative CM- Maybe Scott Parker- If heed go,Brum then he would come to us

Cover im Mid RW/LW- Kris Commons Forest for a nominal fee

CF- our weakness- Pandiani, Bellamy, Trisatin or a Cheaper Quick skillful player Caser Delgado ( Cruz Azul ), or Rob Earnshaw if WBA go down on the cheap

Edited March 7, 2005 by Bazzathegreat

[LeChuck]

This is what I think will happen, not what I'd do.

Out:

Amoruso

Short

Tugay

Johansson*

Jansen*

Bothroyd

Gray

*personally I'd keep these and flog Matteo

Leaving us with a first team of (at a rough guess):

Goalkeepers (3): Friedel, Enckelman, Yelldell

Defenders (7): Neill, Todd, Nelsen, Matteo, Mokoena, McEveley, Gresko

Midfielders (6): Thompson, Emerton, Reid, Flitcroft, Savage, Pedersen

Strikers (4): Stead, Dickov, Gallagher, Johnson

Looking at that list, we need the following players:

A young right back to compete with Neill

A quality central midfielder with creative qualities

A quality striker with a physical presence (unless of Bellamy quality)

With £5 million to spend and a vastly reduced wage bill, this will be a good test of how well Hughes can use money. What is blindly obvious to me is that squad players are of no use to us, we need people who will go straight into the starting 11 and be better than what we have.

[modes98]

Ifwe hope to compete higher up the table or even stablise around where we are we need to try and minimise losing players to only those who just aren't worth keeping.

Dickov, emerton, douglas, gally and maybe even flitty should all stay if only to keep the numbers up of able replacements. To call for dickov to leave is obsurd we have to hold onto our top scorer even at 34. Gally is still young and with time you never know at least he is scoring. Douglas has not been given a chance and i think he deserves one at least. Emerton although he is frustrating as we improve as a team he will along with stead they are very good in spells and need to have others playing well to set them off, earlier in the season he was on fire but now mgp is, swings and roundabouts, still better than reid or thommo on the right, prefer reid as a attacking mid centre.

Out for certain has to be: Amo, Short, Gray

Depending on wage cuts: Jansen, Tugay

Playing til the last day for a deal: Johansson

and bothroyd will be returned as a loan player to italy!

[Bazzathegreat]

This is what I think will happen, not what I'd do.

Out:

Amoruso

Short

Tugay

Johansson*

Jansen*

Bothroyd

Gray

*personally I'd keep these and flog Matteo

Leaving us with a first team of (at a rough guess):

Goalkeepers (3): Friedel, Enckelman, Yelldell

Defenders (7): Neill, Todd, Nelsen, Matteo, Mokoena, McEveley, Gresko

Midfielders (6): Thompson, Emerton, Reid, Flitcroft, Savage, Pedersen

Strikers (4): Stead, Dickov, Gallagher, Johnson

Looking at that list, we need the following players:

A young right back to compete with Neill

A quality central midfielder with creative qualities

A quality striker with a physical presence (unless of Bellamy quality)

With £5 million to spend and a vastly reduced wage bill, this will be a good test of how well Hughes can use money. What is blindly obvious to me is that squad players are of no use to us, we need people who will go straight into the starting 11 and be better than what we have.

Oh yeah forgot Matteo

Outs

Matteo -another conman on too much money

[Yorkshire Blue]

OUTS

Gray-Not up to Prem standard anymore

Amo- I'm sorry youre too clumsmy and slow

Short- Whether he will retire or not is one thing , but make him a coach or move on

Tugay-Great player at Rovers , but can see him gong back to play in Istanbul

Gresko- A player of great potential ( you don't play for , Bayer, Inter or Parma if you're a mug) but hasn't cut the mustard

Douglas-Not up to prem standards

Emerton- Yes Emerton , if we can get 4mill for him and replace him with i.e Routledge we have Thommo and reidy to fill in also, too inconsistent

Flitty- For the reported wages hees on dosent represent good value any longer -Replace with a younger model

Gally- Im sorry but i've tried with him , he just dosent do it for me, never done anything to suggest he has a prem future

Dickov- thanks for all your efforts paul but you'll turn 34 next year and if rovers want to succeed we will need better quality up front ( not to say i dont like him, because i think he is one of the main reasons while we will stop up, just his age and quality lets him down )

Bothroyd- are u Heskey but 10 times worse

Keep them

Nissa- I think has done a steady jobso keep him

Matty? Im not reminiscing about the old timesI dont think hees been given a fair crack of the whip, whats 1 yr extension gonna hurt, he still gives 110% and is still young ( needs to take a pay cut though )

Can't agree on many points here...

Out: Gray, Amo, Short, Tugay, Bothroyd - fair enough. Too long in the tooth or not good enough.

Gresko needs another chance with a proper left-sided midfielder, which we now have. It would be utterly stupid to spend all that time and money getting his cruciate sorted out, then give him away in the summer. He wouldn't command a very big transfer fee, if any at all.

Douglas showed in the latter stages of 2003/4 that he has the potential to be Premiership standard. How can you say that he isn't on the basis of a handful of appearances this season? Keep him, loan him out if he's not quite in the first team squad.

Emerton. Who's going to pay £4m? For the fee we'd get I think we'd be better off with him in the squad.

Flitty. Blue and white through and through. Would die for the shirt. Combative midfielder who showed yesterday that he can still play a big part.

Gally. Being made a scapegoat for the recent lack of goals. You try playing alongside Dickov. Still has a lot to offer.

Dickov has earned another season.

Keep Jansen? Sentimental claptrap!

Keep Nissa. No problem at all with that. I don't know what the lad has to do to earn a bit of credit.

If we get rid of everyone you suggest we'll have a smaller squad than Burnley! Wierd that just as things start looking up, everyone has to go...

[James No. 7]

OUTS

Gally- Im sorry but i've tried with him , he just dosent do it for me, never done anything to suggest he has a prem future

Really, now!

Paul Gallagher has only been in the senior squad for not even two seasons, and yet you still want to get rid of him.

You have hardly given him a chance.

Have a look at his record... he has only started in five league games this season (six substitute appearances), scoring two goals. (Add to that one more goal from a League Cup substitute appearance.)

That is hardly enough game time to gauge such a conclusion, especially since he is only 21 years of age.

But let us not forget that he has improved since last season in terms of goal rate per game, in which he scored three goals from twelve league starts (14 substitute appearances).

I find that improvement fairly good, especially since he has been paired with Paul Dickov for most of that time, who none of our strikers has paired well with.

Gallagher also has the added bonus of having time on his side, and that is more than a good enough reason to give him a couple of more seasons to prove if he is good enough.

I am glad that we have Mark Hughes as our manager, as he is a patient man who is willing work with players and give them a chance to prove themselves.

We have already reaped the benefits of this philosophy under Hughes' management, especially in the cases of Morten Gamst Pedersen and Andy Todd, so long may it continue.

[krislu]

OUTS

Gray

Amo

Short

Tugay

Gresko

Douglas

Emerton

Flitty

Gally

Dickov

Bothroyd

Gray, Amo, Short, Tugay and Bothroyd will leave, there is no question about that. Why should we let Gally and Dickov go? We surely wont get much money for them...

[philipl]

All Hughes' comments are indicating that he is open minded about his squad and so he should be with ten league games and at least one cup game to go before the season end.

The only things we can say with reasonable certainty:

He is looking for a striker,

Amoruso, Short, Tugay and Flitcroft are unlikely to receive contract extensions but I think Short is the only contract expiry this summer from that list,

Bothroyd is unlikely to be purchased from Perugia,

Hughes will attempt to transfer out Gray if he can find a Coca Cola bottle big enough for his wages. Douglas might also be sold if a reasonable offer is received.

I suspect there might be a big clear out of younger players from the Academy/Reserves to clear the decks for a new intake.

I also think the situation with Nissa and Jansen reflects a new reality of economics for top level football clubs- I wouldn't be surprised to see Nissa offered a new deal at Ewood after his agent has had a chance to look around for alternatives and Jansen might get a month by month contract to give him a chance to re-establish himself once he has overcome the latest injury set back.

[Jan]

and Jansen might get a month by month contract to give him a chance to re-establish himself once he has overcome the latest injury set back.

You honestly thing Hughes is that foolishly sentimental? I don't. Hughes brought Jansen back (as he knew what he WAS) when he arrived. He found out what a mistake that was very quickly and Matty has not, quite rightly, been anywhere near the first team since.

Sad, but goodbye and lets move on. The people who want Matty back are grasping on to a past that's as thin as air. He's NOT as good as any of the other current strikers, he can't concentrate on a game for 90 minutes, has no positional sense and finds it difficult to cope. Any money spent on him would be a waste, and I don't think any other team will take a chance on him- except perhaps Carlisle.

[LeChuck]

You honestly thing Hughes is that foolishly sentimental? I don't. Hughes brought Jansen back (as he knew what he WAS) when he arrived. He found out what a mistake that was very quickly and Matty has not, quite rightly, been anywhere near the first team since.

What the hell are you on about?

Jansen was playing when he was fit, he went off injured against Birmingham and hasn't been available for selection since. On this season's form, he deserves to be here as much as anyone else.

Rather than being treated more favourly because of who he is, I think the opposite is now true. If you swapped over Gallagher and Jansen's form I think the responses would still be the same because of the accident and the 'he's finished' theory.

[Hughesy]

I would like Rovers to look at bringing in Craig Bellamy or Alan Smith – Smith hasn’t played much for United and he has some very tough competition there. Also Hughes has good links with Ferguson which could help him broker a deal. I would also love someone in the mould of Chris Sutton but not too sure who we could go for on that one..

Id also then like to see us look for a creative midfielder. Some one who has the passing abilities of Tugay, but can also shoot on site of goal and also take free kicks.

We also need to look at bringing in a right back to provide competition for the mediocre Lucas Neill.

Finally id like to see rovers to make a move for Gabbidon of Cardiff as they are in financial trouble and could agree to a cut price deal.

Outs – Jansen, Amoruso, Gray, Short, Tugay or Flitcroft (But only 1 of the midfield should be allowed to leave this summer)

[roversWASmylife]

This is going to be a busy summer for Hughes.

I'd start of with getting a player who can compete with Neill, hopefully a better full back than Neill who eventually will replace him. For, too long Neill hasn't been anything more than average.

A left full back wouldn't go a miss for a bit of variety.

A right winger and possibly a midfielder, I'd look at Koumas of W.B.A.

Tugay could be off, hasn't played as well and has showed he can't play like he did every week.

And a striker who's physically strong. I'd let Jansen go, no matter how much of a good player he has been to the club you've got to look at the future and can anyone honestly see him in the future like he was before 2002?

With the transfer funds of around £5M, I'm glad we have Hughes and not Souness to spend our money. Hughes has already brought in some good players for very little money, more of the same please.

[stuwilky]

So we want at least one striker, a midfielder, a winger, a right back, a left back, a clear out of the academy, 11 existing pro's to go, and all with a budget of £5m.

Hmmmm, I think a lot of people will be disappointed.

I certainly will be if Nissa doesnt get a renewed contract. Nissa has been excellent this last 18 months or so, he has played in a number of positions, hes young, and he is reliable. If we dont hang on to him it will be a shame.

[roversWASmylife]

In an ideal world, yes.

I'm sure Hughes has a list of who he wants and who he wants to get rid of, but he's not going to get everything he wants.

Promoting a few players from the Academy must be in the back of Hughes's mind, save a few quid there.

I'd like to see Koumas at Ewood, Routledge is probably wanting to stay in London and won't consider moving up here.

[LeftWinger]

OUTS

Gray-Not up to Prem standard anymore

Amo- I'm sorry youre too clumsmy and slow

Short- Whether he will retire or not is one thing , but make him a coach or move on

Tugay-Great player at Rovers , but can see him gong back to play in Istanbul

Gresko- A player of great potential ( you don't play for , Bayer, Inter or Parma if you're a mug) but hasn't cut the mustard

Douglas-Not up to prem standards

Emerton- Yes Emerton , if we can get 4mill for him and replace him with i.e Routledge we have Thommo and reidy to fill in also, too inconsistent

Flitty- For the reported wages hees on dosent represent good value any longer -Replace with a younger model

Gally- Im sorry but i've tried with him , he just dosent do it for me, never done anything to suggest he has a prem future

Dickov- thanks for all your efforts paul but you'll turn 34 next year and if rovers want to succeed we will need better quality up front ( not to say i dont like him, because i think he is one of the main reasons while we will stop up, just his age and quality lets him down )

Bothroyd- are u Heskey but 10 times worse

Keep them

Nissa- I think has done a steady jobso keep him

Matty? Im not reminiscing about the old timesI dont think hees been given a fair crack of the whip, whats 1 yr extension gonna hurt, he still gives 110%  and is still young ( needs to take a pay cut though )

Can't agree on many points here...

Out: Gray, Amo, Short, Tugay, Bothroyd - fair enough. Too long in the tooth or not good enough.

Gresko needs another chance with a proper left-sided midfielder, which we now have. It would be utterly stupid to spend all that time and money getting his cruciate sorted out, then give him away in the summer. He wouldn't command a very big transfer fee, if any at all.

Douglas showed in the latter stages of 2003/4 that he has the potential to be Premiership standard. How can you say that he isn't on the basis of a handful of appearances this season? Keep him, loan him out if he's not quite in the first team squad.

Emerton. Who's going to pay £4m? For the fee we'd get I think we'd be better off with him in the squad.

Flitty. Blue and white through and through. Would die for the shirt. Combative midfielder who showed yesterday that he can still play a big part.

Gally. Being made a scapegoat for the recent lack of goals. You try playing alongside Dickov. Still has a lot to offer.

Dickov has earned another season.

Keep Jansen? Sentimental claptrap!

Keep Nissa. No problem at all with that. I don't know what the lad has to do to earn a bit of credit.

If we get rid of everyone you suggest we'll have a smaller squad than Burnley! Wierd that just as things start looking up, everyone has to go...

Thanks yorkshire blue- you just saved me a long post:)

[vyeo]

this is what i think will happen:

almost definitely out: Amo - possibly on a free transfer back to rangers

Gray - free as well, to anyone who wants him really

Short - Contract expired

Tugay - Contract expired

Jansen - Contract expired

Bothroyd - Started promisingly.. what happened?

if it were up to me, i'd get rid of donkey matteo as well... but sparky seems to be a fan of his, and his first choice left back for now.

nissa's contract is up as well, and i really hope we give him a new one, and he's proved very useful at centreback, and is slowly improving as left back, so he'd provide good cover.

jansen, i'd offer a pay-as-you-play deal for another season. yes he may not be the player he was in 2002, but he's still shown (in his few appearances this season) that he's still able to play abit. also, he was in the team up to the 3-3 draw with brum, after which he's supposedly injured up to now. don't think he'd be averse to such a deal really, in the light of how well we've treated him, and the genuine affection he seems to have for us.

emerton, the enigma. if we can get anything near 4m for him, i'd get rid. spurs seemingly have a truckload of cash to spend, and are rumoured to be interested. if they stump up the cash, i'd let emerton go. better still, get them to swap either of keane or davies... which isnt entirely impossible, considering the number of players they have got (and are bringing in on bosmans).

agree with 'roverismylife' about koumas. hughes knows him, and we could possibly be looking at him as tugay's replacement. neat player and can play abit as well.

striker-wise, i really really hope we can get bellamy. notwithstanding his temperament, he never seemed to have given hughes a problem with wales. so if hughes can keep him in check, he'd be an asset. if possible, bring in a big target man type of player as well.. perhaps for a nominal fee or a bosman. no idea who's available, but we certainly need to add some muscle up front. stead i'm still unsure about, but gally i rate. he will never be able to lead the line with his lack of strength and pace, but he's proven himself rather useful as a second striker, laying off neat little passes and popping up for tap-ins. i think right now, he's actually our best finisher; certainly much better than dickov in this department. as for dickov, i appreciate what he's done for us this season, but if anyone offers us any sort of money (200k and above), i'd get rid. yes he gives everything for the cause, but he will never be a part of a team aiming for anything more than relegation in the premiership.

[Hughesy]

I pray we get Bellamy and Henri Camara. I would really like to see them 2 together up front

[RoyRover]

I do believe that we will be getting rid of more players than we wil be getting in and I do think that we wil be playing more or less the same line up, with a few exceptions. I think that Rovers need to get rid of alot of the dead wood in the team:

Matteo

Amoruso

Gresko?(I'd be inclined to keep him, but if he were to leave I wouldn't be that bothered)

Short

Douglas

Tugay?(He can be used as a squad player, he isn't able to play every match, if the club were to sell him and bring in a replacement, I'd be happy)

Flitcroft(He's been a loyal servant, but there are better players about who can do his job)

Bothroyd

Jansen?(If we kept him I'd be happy, injuries have kept him out of the side and I'd like to see what he could do with a run in the team. But if he left, I'd have no complaints.

This will be Hughes real chance to bring in the players he wants, and to form a team that he wants. With so many defenders possibly leaving, I'd say that Hughes would look at bringing in a new left back and another centre back. I'd also like to see two new midfielders, one defensive and another attacking. If reports are to be believe, Bellamy looks like he is coming to us. I'd also like us to bring in another striker, possibly from abroad. Alexander Frei is a player who I've seen on a number of occasions. He is fast, strong, good in the air and is a great finisher. Last season, he scored 20 goals for Rennes, while this season he has got 12.

So, I've put 9 down to leave and 6 to come in, which would reduce our squad by 3. I don't see this as a problem, as many of the players listed don't get a game anyway. It could be a very interesting summer.

[waggy]

i think chelski may revamp there forward line this summer,kezman or gudjonson would do for me

[RoyRover]

nissa's contract is up as well, and i really hope we give him a new one, and he's proved very useful at centreback, and is slowly improving as left back, so he'd provide good cover.

agree with 'roverismylife' about koumas. hughes knows him, and we could possibly be looking at him as tugay's replacement. neat player and can play abit as well.

I too think that Nissa has done more than enough to earn himself a new contract. When Hughes first came in, the first thing that he did was to sure up the defence. Todd and Johansson were playing together and it was their performances, which stopped the team leaking so many goals. Since Nelsen has arrived, Johansson has been playing at left back, partly because Matteo has been injured. But I feel much more comfortable when Johansson is playing, than when Matteo is. He can play in both positions, which makes him a very good utility player and one that all teams need.

As for Koumas, I wouldn't really want someone, who can't get on for WBA.

[Bobby G]

If Johansson leaves we need a left back.

Id get one center back to replace both of Short and Amoruso as that would mean we would have 4 center backs.

Id get one central midfielder and two strikers especially if Tugay leaves and Jansen too.

[waggy]

i would like to see

amo

flitty

short

tugay

dikov

enckelman

jansen

douglas

matteo

gresko

betty

gray

all move on in the summer

[neophox]

These will leave:

Bothroyd (injured too much, hasn't show much because of that)

Short (out of contract to Sheff U)

Gray (will move on a free transfer in the summer)

Amoruso (will probably also leave and go back to Italy)

Tugay (back to Turkey as his contract expires)

Douglas (is heading for a div 1 side in the summer surely)

David Yelldell (hasn't impressed enough)

These will maybe leave depending on contract negotiations:

Johansson (has played very well recently and will get a contract surely)

Flitcroft (he's out of contract in the summer so he may be heading for Fulham)

Jansen (contract negotiations is on, month to month contract)

Gresko (he needs to get a new chance under Hughes, maybe he's a much stronger player after this injury and can prove a big hit)

I want out:

Matteo (he has no place in the team anymore , out out out)

Loaned out:

Barker (he will get a new contract and get some experience outside the premiership, A new Andy Cole)

Gallacher (may also be loaned out for experience)

McEverly (needs more experience too grow)

Team next season:

If we don't ge new players we still have a good team but Im sure we buy some new players.

Goalies: Friedel, Enckelman

Defenders: Lucas Neill, Ryan Nelsen, Aaron Mokoena, Andy Todd, Nisse Johansson, Dominic Matteo, James McEverly + new signings.

Midfelders: Brett Emerton, Robbie Savage, Steven Reid, M Gamst Pedersen, David Thompson + new signings.

Strikers: Jon Stead, Paul Dickov, Jemal Johnson, Paul Gallacher. + new signing.

We'll probably sign:

1-2 strikers

1 midfelder (

1-2 defenders

1 goalkeeper

Cheers

[mark]

He's NOT as good as any of the other current strikers, he can't concentrate on a game for 90 minutes, has no positional sense and finds it difficult to cope.

vogue, bandwagon criticisms based on little first hand evidence and frustration at our lack of goals! before we can judge he needs a decent run in the team!

dickov has only 6 outfield goals this season from 27 games (25 starts); jansen has 2 goals (one as a sub) from 7 games, only 3 were starts.

if matty had started (had he been fit) a further 25 games he would have found more than additional 4 goals. simple as. and doubtless he'd have put away at least 3 of the pens.

can anyone with more time than me find minutes to goals ratio - that would silence some critics who regard PAUL DICKOV as a hero!

writing him of demonstrates how fickle fans can be because the facts prove he has not had a fair crack!

remember his goal against liverpool last year? he has youth, class and stats over dickov, how can he be justifiably written off?

Edited March 8, 2005 by mark

[krislu]

i would like to see

amo

flitty

short

tugay

dikov

enckelman

jansen

douglas

matteo

gresko

betty

gray

all move on in the summer

amo - agree, will never be any good

flitty - perfect squad player! Still got a year left in him imo

short - agree, too old

tugay - agree, been a good player for the club though

dikov - another perfect squadplayer imo ,great to have on for the last 20min

enckelman - what's he done wrong? Keep him!

jansen - agree, we have enough mediocre strikers

douglas - would rather loan him out for a year, and see if he improves..

matteo - OH YES, the sooner he's gone the better

gresko - should be given a chance under Hughes, he might turn out good

betty - who?

gray - agree, deadwood!