[Archived] Rovers Side 2005-06

[stuwilky]

One person was talking about THOMPSON, now its turned into Todd, without anyone noticeing!!!

[Manchester Blue]

one person who i wouldn't mind leaving in the summer is Thompson. With the exception of the Colchester match (and maybe everton) i can't remember seeing him have a good game.

Today he was absolutely aweful...he was jogging around letting the game pass him by and when he lost the ball he would simply jogg back instead of trying to win in back. He failed to get a single cross into the danger area, and his passing in general wasn't good.

It seems to me that he is totally unfit, and i dont think anyone who was at the game today can object to that, and as all the other players seem to get fitter, he goes backwards. All this points to a bad attitude, and someone who thinks he is better, and more important to the team than he actually is. W e do not need these 'big time charlies' at our club'...especially after what happened during the latter Hodgeson and Brian Kidd era.

Niisa's gone too imo.

Sadly we've said for weeks about Thommo being a headless chicken and contributing nothing to the team. This game was just one of too many for him at present and he is a liability we can't afford at present.

[Eddie]

Thompson was a bit selfish today and didn't deliver the ball as soon as he should have, but his dribbling skills, passing ability and shot still make him one of our few genuine attacking threats. In recent weeks I've actually felt like we've been seeing more and more of the Thompson of old, but just my opinion I suppose.

[roversWASmylife]

Thompson hasn't impressed me that much this season.

Against Arsenal summed it up. Thompson does have the ability to play well however, at times he doesn't know when to release the ball.

For too long he holds on to the ball for too long and doesn't pass it when he should and tries to do something fancy, not good enough.

[tsnuf]

Against Arsenal, he reminded me a bit of the old, not-as-good Joe Cole. He gets into great positions, but his final ball has been horrendous.

[James No. 7]

One person was talking about THOMPSON, now its turned into Todd, without anyone noticeing!!!

FFS, I could have sworn it read Todd. Apologies. Though, what would you expect from someone at 5:45AM?!

Edited March 20, 2005 by James No. 7

[James No. 7]

Insert James No. 7 misperception due to fatigue here.

Insert cn_barlow counter-rant here.

Nevermind. I thought it read Todd. Agree about the comments when they are attributed to Thompson!, although I am not entirely sure about getting rid of him...

Edited March 20, 2005 by James No. 7

[LeChuck]

Get Damien Francis in, he is an awesome attacking midfielder with a physical presence, also has 7 goals for Norwich this year from midfield and looks really good every time he plays...this includes Division One.

Get him and Savage in midfield, someone proven up front and a competent left back and we are a top 8 team again.

This summer is such a huge test for Sparky, he simply has to get this right otherwise he's not right for the job. 4-5-1 is a "make the best of what you have" type formation, it's not something we should be building on.

Edited March 20, 2005 by LeChuck

[Ricky]

Lets hope WBA go down and then put in a cheeky bid for Earnshaw and Koumas. I think Earnshaw would be a good player to play alongside Stead, far better option than Bellamy.

[AussieinUk]

..I think Earnshaw would be a good player to play alongside Stead, far better option than Bellamy.

and alot cheaper too I bet!

Although ideally, I would like both Earnshaw and Bellamy at the club.

My thoughts on "transfers out" are:

Jansen

Gray

Matteo

Douglas

Bothroyd

Amoruso

Short

Bring in Koumas for the midfield and maybe Wes Brown or Gabbidion (sp?)

Leaving us with:

Friedal/Enkleman

Neill/Nelsen Mokoena/Todd Johansson/[Gabbidion/Brown]/Gresko/McEveley

Reid/Emerton/Thompson/Savage/Koumas/Tugay/Pedersen/Flitcroft

Gallagher/Stead/Dickov/Bellamy/Earnshaw

Anyway thats what i would like to see for the next season

[waggy]

what about the guy from wba gera,my dad was at ewood early yesterday and the arsenal stewards reckon keane off spurs is on his way to ewood in the summer

[greggyk]

if we did bring in both Earnshaw and Bellamy, we would have the smallest strikers in the premeiship. Imagine if we played 3 up front, Dickov,Earnshaw and Bellamy.

[cn_barlow]

what about the guy from wba gera,my dad was at ewood early yesterday and the arsenal stewards reckon keane off spurs is on his way to ewood in the summer  

i like the look of Gera, he's still pretty young aswell isn't he? and the captain of his country?! plus he can play down the middle or and the right of midfield.

As for Keane/Bellamy/Earnshaw.....we could probably only afford one of these, i'd go for one of the first two.

However, the guy who sits next to me knows gally's family and he said gally's been telling everyone he's off to sunderland in the summer! So maybe two of those three!

Edited March 20, 2005 by cn_barlow

[den]

Are we talking about the Earnshaw that usually sits on the bench at West Brom?

[cn_barlow]

although i'm not particlualy keen on Earnshaw, he has scored 13 goals this season for arguably the worst team in the league.

[Darwen Rover]

Ideal (and realistic) team for next season:

Friedel

Neill Nelson Todd Johansson

Reid Savage Parker MGP

Bellamy Stead

Subs:

Enckellmen

Spektor

Mokoena

Emerton

Dickov

Remember guys we only have £5 million, which by the looks of it will get us Bellamy only (as he is doing so well with Celtic).

Think the others should be loan deals, biggest let down so far in my opinion has been Thompson, this lad should be in the england squad, what has happened to him???

[yellowsubmarine]

Are we talking about the Earnshaw that usually sits on the bench at West Brom?

They are talking about that Earnshaw who came off the bench and scored a hat trick in the second half against Charlton.

[den]

although i'm not particlualy keen on Earnshaw, he has scored 13 goals this season for arguably the worst team in the league.

Didn't Dickov do the same for Leicester last season?

[chris]

although i'm not particlualy keen on Earnshaw, he has scored 13 goals this season for arguably the worst team in the league.

Didn't Dickov do the same for Leicester last season?

I think Bent and Dickov both got 10 last season in the league for Foxes, and 37 yr old Les Ferdinard got 7 goals or around that, so what excuse do our other strikers have this season.

Earnshaw has barely started more then 10-12 games, mainly sub, and didn't play first 2-3 months of the season, so 13 is pretty good.

Edited March 20, 2005 by chris

[Big A]

Why does everyone want Koumas? He's hardly set the world alight at West Brom and I can't see where he'd play for us.

A decent striker or two, another central midfielder and a left back is what I'd like to see in the summer.

[S15]

Remember guys we only have £5 million

I think we'll have more than that.

[1864roverite]

I am pretty certain that Rovers have a far bigger budget than £5m. After all it was the lateness of the ferguson deal that stopped us from making a signing of a striker.

add £3m for Fergy

add £1.3m for the FA Cup run

add £2m in saved wages from the players out of contract and leavers

add £4m insurance money from the Dahlin affair

PLUS

next seasons transfer budget.

realistic ? It certainly is

[G Somerset Rover]

I think we need a big clear out this summer, and possibly to bring in a left back, a right back to compete with neil, a central midfielder and two strikers. I'd also look into the possibility of letting Emo go, if we can find a replacement.

Out:

Amo

Gray

Matteo

Thompson

Tugay

Gallagher-I honestly don't think that he's cut out for this level

Ins:

Halls-haven't seen enough of him but sounds promising

Parker

Keane or Bellamy

And then a second striker; maybe Tristan or Pandiani

As for a left back I really don't know-Ball is too injury prone and has proven nothing for years so I think he should be a no go. I'd also be tempted to let Dickov go. He's done all that can be expected, but unless he can sit on the bench week in week out then i'd say let him go and use Stead to compete with the new guys.

Edited March 20, 2005 by Somerset Rover!

[joey_big_nose]

Ideal (and realistic) team for next season:

Friedel

Neill Nelson Todd Johansson

Reid Savage Parker MGP

Bellamy Stead

Subs:

Enckellmen

Spektor

Mokoena

Emerton

Dickov

Remember guys we only have £5 million, which by the looks of it will get us Bellamy only (as he is doing so well with Celtic).

Think the others should be loan deals, biggest let down so far in my opinion has been Thompson, this lad should be in the england squad, what has happened to him???

I would say that Parker would be a supremely unrealistic buy. I cannot see him coming to us as clubs far higher in the table will want to have a look. He will also want to stay in London if he can. Everton, Liverpool (if Gerrard leaves), Newcastle, Spurs will all be very interested.

Saying that Hughes should have a go, just to see. Maybe he can persuade him.

Also I doubt Johansson and Stead will be starters next season, Hughes prefers Matteo over Nissa and Stead is obviously not rated that highly by Sparky (which is fair enough really, if you look at his form this season). I think Hughes will look for a left back to be ahead of Matteo and Johansson.

We desperately need a bit of creativity in central midfield but no names really come to mind. Hughes should have a bit of a look around as I am sure he is. I think it not outsode the realms of possibility that both Bellamy and Carew could turn up in the summer.

If decent bids come in I cannot see Hughes being opposed to the sale of Thompson, Emerton, Johansson, Amoruso, Gray, Flitcroft and, unfortunately, Stead. In reality all could stay as I cannot see anyone paying that much for them.

[tcj_jones]

What we have to consider is that Dickov will most likely be a first team regular again next season. If this is the case then it is a poor reflection on the ambition of this club because he is by no means a top 10, or even top 17, player. What we need to look for is a player that can play alongside Dickov rather than Stead and I do not know anybody who would be able to work well with him.

I agree with Ricky that a Stead / Earnshaw partnership would be excellent; youth with experience at premiership level and who compliment each other well.

Johansson looked poor at Arsenal and with his contract seemingly not up for renewal, I'd say a left back is very much a priority.