[Archived] Roque Santa Cruz Thread

[Guest Kamy100]

Manchester Evening News also reporting that City are "unlikely" to go back with an improved offer for RSC.

[joey_big_nose]

Fine. We have an extraordinarily good forward line now, and I think Cruz will be alright to hold on for four months. Hopefully it should allow us to concentrate on getting a couple of midfielders in...

[gumboots]

Fine. We have an extraordinarily good forward line now, and I think Cruz will be alright to hold on for four months. Hopefully it should allow us to concentrate on getting a couple of midfielders in...

thing is you know and I know and every man (and woman) and his dog knows that we needed midfielders and have needed them forever, certainly since Reid first got injured, but have we bought a decent quality midfielder in all that time. No we haven't so what's going to change today. We'll carry on with crocks united until we get relegated and then we'll notice that we could have avoided all this if we'd bothered to actually buy someone to do the jobs in midfield that used to be done by players like Sherwood and Flitcroft and others. The mopping up, the dirty work, the driving the team forward and the linking of defence and attack so that the strikers had a decent chance of doing their job and the defenders didn't get too much pressure on them.

[Tris]

Delighted that Roque is still a Rover, and for all the annoyance that the transfer window causes, at least it now means he now has to get his head straight, knuckle down and perform on the pitch for the rest of the season - and show us all again what an asset he can be.

Then, the chances are that Hughes will no longer be at City come their summer spending spree and nobody else will be willing to pay the sum that will (allegedly) trigger his release - which in a world without Man City is set remarkably high I think.

And if that remains the case, then Rovers still have a mighty good striker on the books, and he could be around for the remaining years of his recently signed contract.

Good work by the manager and the chairman to stand their ground in the face of diabolical public provocation from Hughes. He has certainly changed his spots and abandoned his morals.

[John]

Wonder what the Daily Mail makes of it all, the bunch of to**ers.

Countless articles throughout January saying Santa would def be leaving, the signing would be completed in 24 hours etc etc

[philipl]

Wonder what the Daily Mail makes of it all, the bunch of to**ers.

Countless articles throughout January saying Santa would def be leaving, the signing would be completed in 24 hours etc etc

I doubt they were doing any more than being the mouth of City so couldn't care less.

Great post by tris just above your's- 100% agree with him.

[tony gale's mic]

If Santa improves his form dramatically for the rest of the season - it was the right decision to keep him.

If he doesn't dramatically improve, then it was the wrong decision to turn down £18 million + for him.

I'm not sure myself, he's only ever had one good league season in his entire career, but on the other hand he still displayed the raw attributes that suggested it wasn't a flash in the pan. Hopefully we can trust the judgement of the people who have seen him in training.

Oh and by the way, for everyone who claims Ince had no option but to sell Friedel and Bentley, this is proof that he did indeed have a choice. We definitely shouldn't have sold either of those since they came off such excellent seasons, but Santa's 3 in 17 this season has certainly planted doubt in my mind. I do hope he'll show a massive improvement and return to similar levels to last season.

[thenodrog]

Good work by the manager and the chairman to stand their ground in the face of diabolical public provocation from Hughes. He has certainly changed his spots and abandoned his morals.

Hughes is bloody desperate Tris. Desperate men do desperate things.

Nice of you to praise Allardyce too. I'm sure you will agree now that our last manager would have rolled over and given way about a fortnight and 6m ago.

This was the defining moment imo....... But speaking after Blackburn's 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, Allardyce said: "He had a Blackburn shirt on today, and he will have one on next week."

[Ray-Von]

So much for all the "done deal" talk that was floating around in the latter days of Ince's reign.

[thenodrog]

So much for all the "done deal" talk that was floating around in the latter days of Ince's reign.

Indeed. Some people refuse to learn by experience. Aggravating thing is that the same ones will be gobbing off similarly in a few months time.

[philipl]

Worth asking yourselves whether the experience of training and playing for Rovers and the club's prospects are the same now as they were in October and November under Ince?

Players and agents perspectives are probably far more fluid than the fans' are.

Sam retained Roque, Ince lost Friedel and Bentley.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Worth asking yourselves whether the experience of training and playing for Rovers and the club's prospects are the same now as they were in October and November under Ince?

Players and agents perspectives are probably far more fluid than the fans' are.

Sam retained Roque, Ince lost Friedel and Bentley.

I think you missed the fact that Ince not only retained Rocky but signed him to a 4-year contract!

[Jan]

I think you missed the fact that Ince not only retained Rocky but signed him to a 4-year contract!

Pity the exile wasn't longer.

Ince didn't retain Rocky- Rocky was on a three year deal already, and I'm sure if an offer had actually come in that wasn't derisory, the moron that is Ince would have sold him and bought another half dozen Andrews and Fowlers.

Had Ince been a real manager- a la Allardyce or O''Neill, we could still have had Bentley and Friedel. But if you employ ill-educated scum without any discernable management ability, you get the situation we found ourselves in.

I've noticed a rush of other teams chasing his services. NOT. Even Norwich ignored him- as is only fitting. Are there any teams which the owners want relegating? Ince is your man.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Roque needs to come out in the coming days and pledge his 100% commitment to the team and the battle against relegation. This should get the fans fully behind him and hopefully get him firing on all cylinders.

[mclove]

Totally agree with that statement Ribble! Even though it will probably a big lie

[Exiled in Toronto]

Pity the exile wasn't longer.

Ince didn't retain Rocky- Rocky was on a three year deal already, and I'm sure if an offer had actually come in that wasn't derisory, the moron that is Ince would have sold him and bought another half dozen Andrews and Fowlers.

Had Ince been a real manager- a la Allardyce or O''Neill, we could still have had Bentley and Friedel. But if you employ ill-educated scum without any discernable management ability, you get the situation we found ourselves in.

I've noticed a rush of other teams chasing his services. NOT. Even Norwich ignored him- as is only fitting. Are there any teams which the owners want relegating? Ince is your man.

And a happy new year to you also. Thanks for reminding me how far debating standards have fallen on this board.

[tonyoz]

And a happy new year to you also. Thanks for reminding me how far debating standards have fallen on this board.

Chortle!

[thenodrog]

And a happy new year to you also. Thanks for reminding me how far debating standards have fallen on this board.........

Allow me to finish EiT.

.............. Since June 21 2008!

[Bobby G]

Santa Cruz will never leave us for Man City now as Mark Hughes will not manage them next season. You can count on it. Id like to hope he pledges his future as well as maintains that if we survive we can move up to challenge for European spots next season.

[BuckyRover]

Pity the exile wasn't longer.

Ince didn't retain Rocky- Rocky was on a three year deal already, and I'm sure if an offer had actually come in that wasn't derisory, the moron that is Ince would have sold him and bought another half dozen Andrews and Fowlers.

Had Ince been a real manager- a la Allardyce or O''Neill, we could still have had Bentley and Friedel. But if you employ ill-educated scum without any discernable management ability, you get the situation we found ourselves in.

I've noticed a rush of other teams chasing his services. NOT. Even Norwich ignored him- as is only fitting. Are there any teams which the owners want relegating? Ince is your man.

Removed We have NO money now, yet we already sold Bentley for 17m. Do you seriously think we would have been able to refuse bids for Roque had we not sold Bentley. We need money from somewhere. The banks are in crisis.

One of the first things Ince did was offer Roque a new contract and said he wasn't leaving. Yet in your twisted illogical mind you interpret it to be "Ince wanted to sell Roque". You must have little credibility left. Hopefully Roque will bang in a few goals and not get injured otherwise Blackburn Rovers are going to look rather silly.

[den]

We have NO money now, yet we already sold Bentley for 17m. Do you seriously think we would have been able to refuse bids for Roque had we not sold Bentley. We need money from somewhere. The banks are in crisis.

One of the first things Ince did was offer Roque a new contract and said he wasn't leaving. Yet in your twisted illogical mind you interpret it to be "Ince wanted to sell Roque". You must have little credibility left. Hopefully Roque will bang in a few goals and not get injured otherwise Blackburn Rovers are going to look rather silly.

Shortly after Rocky signed his new contract, Ince was quoted as saying that "they" - the coaching staff - were relieved that he'd decided to stay. Remember that?

Who was in charge then?

[BRFC4EVA]

Pity the exile wasn't longer.

Ince didn't retain Rocky- Rocky was on a three year deal already, and I'm sure if an offer had actually come in that wasn't derisory, the moron that is Ince would have sold him and bought another half dozen Andrews and Fowlers.

Had Ince been a real manager- a la Allardyce or O''Neill, we could still have had Bentley and Friedel. But if you employ ill-educated scum without any discernable management ability, you get the situation we found ourselves in.

I've noticed a rush of other teams chasing his services. NOT. Even Norwich ignored him- as is only fitting. Are there any teams which the owners want relegating? Ince is your man.

Look, we all know that you hate Ince. Thats fine. Many people will agree with you. However, you dont have to continuously come up with unadulterated rubbish to back up your point.

[Gav]

Roque gave an interview to the telegraph last week. In that interview he talked about his desire to leave for a bigger club, but didn't want to disrespect Blackburn Rovers or the fans in the process, which is why he hasn't spoken to the English press. He talked about not being unhappy to stay and understood the club needed to get a certain price before he could leave. He also added that the interview supposedly given in Paraguay was rubbish.

He went up in my estimations after that to be honest, although he was never in the bad books, as I think he's conducted himself admirably over the past 9 months.

It’s also great that we’ve turned down all bids and not let Hughes and City just walk all over us.

Well done JW and board.

[Bobby G]

Roque gave an interview to the telegraph last week. In that interview he talked about his desire to leave for a bigger club, but didn't want to disrespect Blackburn Rovers or the fans in the process, which is why he hasn't spoken to the English press. He talked about not being unhappy to stay and understood the club needed to get a certain price before he could leave. He also added that the interview supposedly given in Paraguay was rubbish.

He went up in my estimations after that to be honest, although he was never in the bad books, as I think he's conducted himself admirably over the past 9 months.

It’s also great that we’ve turned down all bids and not let Hughes and City just walk all over us.

Well done JW and board.

We have only been able to do so because Roque is a PRO, unlike some other players, like Mr. Bentley. Hughes is probably kicking himself that Roque didnt throw more of a fit.

[gumboots]

It's not that it's rubbish or anything. it may be correct. i just don't get what good it is to keep having a go at a guy who is now part of our history. He did a lot wrong. He did some things reasonably like getting robinson in as a replacement for Friedel. OK we might have been better to keep friedel but that's another story. The fact is that we now have what we have and need to support the manager (I dislike the guy but again that's another story) the team and the club. Santa cruz is still here. Whether that proves to be good or bad nobody knows yet. Nobody will ever know whether we would have been right to sell him and take an unproven premiership player in his place and a loan signing or a purchase for midfield. You don't get to know what might have happened, only what does. Falling out between ourselves is not the answer. Being deliberately nasty to other board members does no good. We all in the long run have the good of the club at heart even if we disagree how that is to be achieved.