[Archived] Nickos Thread

[they_think_its_all_rover]

Hilarious stuff on BBC 606 Blackburn page;

Some guy claiming to be "in the know" with lots of contacts has posted this;

"As we move into the final week of the transfer window, I understand that there is likely to be a number of comings and goings at Ewood Park.

The following is a list of possible moves that I have heard strong whispers about. I am not saying that they will all happen. I am merely stating that enquiries/offers have been made.

Possible INS

- Abu Diaby (Arsenal) Lack of first team opportunities are wrecking his chances of participating for France at Euro 08. Wenger is believed to be sympathetic and will let him go for £6.5million.

- Moussa Dembele (AZ Alkmaar) This Belgian striker has a prolific scoring record in the Belgian & Dutch leagues. A fee between the clubs has been agreed apparently.

- Brad Guzan (Chivas USA) Blackburn clearly have a penchant for American keepers called Brad. This is a done deal, although dont expect to see much of Guzan until next season, since he will be loaned to Chivas for the MLS season.

- Alfonso Alves (Heerenveen) Middlesbrough have had an £8million offer turned down for the Dutch leagues leading scorer. Depending upon what happens with Santa Cruz & Dembele, Hughes may be prepared to table a £9.5million offer.

- Sami Hyppia (Liverpool) Unlikely to have his contract renewed by Liverpool, Hyppia would be good short term value @ £400k.

- Derek Riordan (Celtic) Frozen out by Strachan, this talented winger/striker, who was the SPL's leading scorer when with Hibs, has turned down a move to West Brom in the hope that a Prem team will come in for him. A fee of £1.5million should seal the deal.

- Jason Koumas (Wigan) Enigmatic Welsh player who is a big fan of Hughes, who got the best out of Koumas for Wales. Wigan will have to drop the £5million price tag though.

- Franceso Totti (Roma) At 31, he may be past his best, but it would still be a huge signing if Hughes can pull this off. Roma & Totti are both looking to cash in, and I understand that an offer in the region of £7.5million has already been tabled, although I gather that Napoli, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Newcastle and Portsmouth are also interested.

LIKELY OUTS

- Bentley (Newcastle) Keegan to make an offer that Hughes will find hard to refuse.

- Pedersen (Racing Santander)

- Santa Cruz (Man Utd) If Ferguson's attempt to get Berbatov falls through, expect him to sign Blackburn's leading scorer.

- Nelsen (Newcastle) Keegan's spending spree continues, although I understand that Hughes will make him pay a premium rate fee.

Latest News - Blackburn have turned down an offer of £9million for Bentley - Holding out for £11.5million. Chelsea are hovering. Totti has turned down Blackburns offer. Will go to Liverpool or Chelsea - Dembele, Guzan & Riordan will all sign this week. Watch this space."

:lol:

[revolutionrock!]

Hilarious stuff on BBC 606 Blackburn page;

Some guy claiming to be "in the know" with lots of contacts has posted this;

:lol:

How much money does he think we have ??

Wouldnt swap RSC for any of the mentioned strikers anyway.

Apparently Arsenal are sniffing around at Guzan.

[USABlue]

Presumably Mr Mixon will get paid more for front page stories rather than titbits on pages 48 and 49!

Regretably not.

That's good nicko, you'd just waste it making silly bets anyway

[Hi Mack]

Hes spot on

They have all just signed for a combined fee of 30million.

Totti i mean come on haha!

riordan dingles are after him!

[revolutionrock!]

Hes spot on

They have all just signed for a combined fee of 30million.

Totti i mean come on haha!

riordan dingles are after him!

He looks like a dingle

[AndyC]

Hate to interrupt the hum of transfer excitement and go abstract, but I wonder whether we are currently witnessing the future of the press.

Advertising revenues are on the wane and the internet is threatening paper power - so why not ensconce your reporters in vibrant and preferably obsessive net forum communities to ingratiate, titilate, and generally dangle carrots (other biennials are available) to sell papers. And in the process and perhaps, more importantly, you mould a respectable human face onto to a previously impersonal and suspect brand - a marketing man's dream.

Before anyone or Nickos Dabizas himself slams my cynicism, I'm not saying Nickos is thinking like this but you have to say it has changed the face of this board - if only during transfer season. The usual rigid rules about no multiple threads for one topic and avoiding OT (what is OT in a Nickos Thread?) have been cast aside to allow this exception and this thread is perhaps the only many people read these days. I wonder whether sales of Nickos' paper have increased amongst Rovers readership since he got his own permanent slice of the cake.

What will it be next? Reporters from the Sun.... heaven forbid, the Times or Guardian wrestling for access to BRFCS... and perhaps, money will resolve the contest and moderators will be enriched and a monopoly granted to the highest bidder.

Pioneers, that's what we are.

The crux of my meanderings is that I am openly wondering where the line between commercial self-promotion and interesting insight lies, if it does lie at all. In a world in which advertising is as common as oxygen, should we allow this little haven to succumb?

its a discussion that should be on the icbinf thread!

what you're talking about here, is actually being used by many brands to try and influence and create brand ambassadors for their companies. Microsoft have been at the forefront of this, by introducing bloggers who have 'opened up' to the techies out there in order to explain the background to product releases, reasons why they pursued certain strategies etc..

it's helped to stem some of the negativity...

anyay - this is a football thread, so i wont go on!

[broadsword]

Hilarious stuff on BBC 606 Blackburn page;

Some guy claiming to be "in the know" with lots of contacts has posted this;

:lol:

Wow, someone's been at the 12" spliffs ...

[AndyC]

Wow, someone's been at the 12" spliffs ...

totti for rovers .

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[tony gale's mic]

i can see what you're getting at rover6, but how many people read this messageboard daily compared to the mirror's circulation? sure nicko usually says 'you'll have to buy the people to find this out first', but thats because it only takes one newspaper editor to read this forum and steal the scoop. but you dont have to buy the paper to get the stories, they get put on here anyway.

doubtless there's one or two here who have started buying the paper because of this thread, but the effects would be so negligible its hardly worth the time and effort for nicko to make these thousands of posts.

[revolutionrock!]

i can see what you're getting at rover6, but how many people read this messageboard daily compared to the mirror's circulation? sure nicko usually says 'you'll have to buy the people to find this out first', but thats because it only takes one newspaper editor to read this forum and steal the scoop. but you dont have to buy the paper to get the stories, they get put on here anyway.

doubtless there's one or two here who have started buying the paper because of this thread, but the effects would be so negligible its hardly worth the time and effort for nicko to make these thousands of posts.

I bought the people today , but i wont be buying it again.

Any paper which has "CLARETS" on the front page should be banned.

But pictures of Denise Van Houten on page 3 made up for that

[AlanK]

I'm not saying Nicko is cynically advertising. Clearly, there is a great appetite from us obsessives for table crumbs and more which he may provide. (But, note, an obsessive audience is more easily accommodated.)

However, I just think that the people who run this messageboard should keep a close eye on posts which are de facto advertisings. This isn't really happening but there is scope for it, imo, down the line (not necessarily from Nicko but from anyone who sees the commercial benefits of such threads as this). I haven't checked the messageboard rules but I'm sure there's something there about commercial self-publication.

If just scrolled back a few pages and found this from Nicko. Sure, providing interesting info and posted in good faith. HOWEVER, does this threaten the boundary of advertising ? IF so, have the moderators officially given the nod to it (as according to the prerogative they have reserved themselves under Rule 16 of the Board RUles)? And if it is not deemed advertising, why is that? I'd like to know, not sure if anyone else cares though.

Over 1/2 million views of Nicko`s thread.

Great inside info.

And then there is you. It just had to be you. Shove your rule 16 and the rest of the book sideways up your....

Nicko, this idiot demanded that Sturrock be instated as gaffer at Ewood. Thats what he knows.

[Fife Rover]

Over 1/2 million views of Nicko`s thread.

Great inside info.

And then there is you. It just had to be you. Shove your rule 16 and the rest of the book sideways up your....

Nicko, this idiot demanded that Sturrock be instated as gaffer at Ewood. Thats what he knows.

Just for an instant I thought you were singing to him then! "And then there is you; it had to be you.....

Wonderful you, no one but you....."

[Presty On Tour]

nicko, any news on this Yıldıray Baştürk rumour?

he only signed for Stuggart last summer but hasn't played much football due to injuries.

top class midfielder imo.

[neophox]

Nicko, any transfer activity today? The Macedonian would do nice. Macedonia does play well against England in the national games. I think macedonian players have easy to adapt to the english pace game.

[Dunnfc]

I thought it was Wagner too until I checked yesterday and found out it was Vagner...anyway, he's Brazilian.

No word to confirm Macedonian's arrival, but I have been on other things.

Hes called Vagner Love because he got caught at it by his Palmires team mates so gave him the name Vagner Love which is Brazillian for something.

[philipl]

The chap whose friend sms'd saying he was sat next to Woodgate on the train from Cambridge got it spot on.

Not only has Woodgate signed for Spurs for £8m but his Dad drove him to the railway station to get the train according to reports today. Apparently Woodgate hated the goldfish bowl of NUFC where the players have zero privacy and tracked by the Geordies all the time. Whereas in London, he can enjoy relative anonimity - apart from brfcs.com sleuths that is!

[deryck guyler's spoon]

As long as we bring in a few midfield players by the end of the window I for one will be happy. Not sure how much more of Mokoena I can take......

Not looked back at various threads beyond a few days so sorry for asking this if already answered, but have we accepted his transfer request?!!!

Great name!

[Blueboy Downunder]

let me get something straight...are we after a bloke called vagner love?

[modes98]

The chap whose friend sms'd saying he was sat next to Woodgate on the train from Cambridge got it spot on.

Not only has Woodgate signed for Spurs for £8m but his Dad drove him to the railway station to get the train according to reports today. Apparently Woodgate hated the goldfish bowl of NUFC where the players have zero privacy and tracked by the Geordies all the time. Whereas in London, he can enjoy relative anonimity - apart from brfcs.com sleuths that is!

It may not be all done yet. BBC reporting a 3rd "unnamed club" have now agreed a fee with boro for him.

[1864roverite]

if the people had an inkling that they would sell more papers in Burnley with the headlines that they had they failed miserably.Surely, you have to realise the idiots cannot read so you should have printed pictures instead !!!

[EwoodGlory]

let me get something straight...are we after a bloke called vagner love?

He's out of our price range even if we we're interested. A lot of the big clubs across Europe have been linked to him, including Real Madrid and Inter.

[modes98]

It may not be all done yet. BBC reporting a 3rd "unnamed club" have now agreed a fee with boro for him.

Confirmed that Arsenal have had an offer accepted.

[philipl]

Spurs will be happy with that one!

[rovers1993]

any news on our transfer front?

quite a suprise that arsenal are going for woodgate, didn't see that one coming. a good deal for them though.

[EwoodGlory]

Confirmed that Arsenal have had an offer accepted.

I would rather see him go to Arsenal, but surely he would be 3rd choice there, and 2nd choice at Spurs and would play more games.

Interesting development.