Where Are They Now?

[USABlue]

Delete

Edited October 11, 2015 by USABlue

[McClarky]

Getting really sick of people having a go at anyone who leaves the club. If they weren't ambitious and looking to progress they would have never come here for in the first place so no point having a go at them for leaving. We're getting as bad as Arsenal fans.

[Tom]

Thinking back to when we were last in the premier league and some of the youth team players on the brink of the first team squad:

- Zac Aley, (on the bench at old Trafford) moved gradually down the chain now at Northwitch Victoria

- Jackson Ramm - Kings Lynn Town

- Raheem Hanley, got a move to Swansea, recently banned for drink driving in his 'luxury Mercedes'

- Curtis Haley, now at Padiham FC (not sure how close he ever got to our team though)

- Robbie Cotton, (next big thing in midfield) now playing for AFC Goole

- Micah Evans, at Stockport county

- Nick Blackman, turned out OK in the end!

The perils of being a young lad with an early career at a premier league club, your whole life is based on this superstar lifestyle you will soon have - then it all falls apart.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Tom M

[old darwen blue]

Didnt Ince buy Blackman from somewhere or other?

[Tom]

He did, MK Dons was it?

[hollowsr]

Macclesfield I think

[Amo]

Didnt Ince buy Blackman from somewhere or other?

Blackman signed in Jan 2009. Ince had left the building by then.

[Tom]

Blackman signed in Jan 2009. Ince had left the building by then.

Deal was set up by Ince before he left

[ABBEY]

Will this thread be locked or are we only allowed to discuss certain ones ?

[Tom]

If this thread or any thread ends up going back and forth with members insulting ither members for their opinions and then the same debate going on and on then yes it would be closed

[DE.]

I had a quick look at what the more obscure and/or poor purchases from the Kean/Shebby era are up to now, in no specific order...

David Goodwillie

Signed a 4 year contract at Rovers in 2011, reportedly for just under £3m. Had his contract terminated by mutual consent in 2014 after 35 apps and 5 goals. He then went to Aberdeen on a free for a year, where he scored 8 goals in 48 apps. He was loaned to Ross County for 9 games, scoring 1 goal, and currently plays for Plymouth in League 2, having once again joined on a free. The next Wayne Rooney certainly took a different career path to the original, and Rovers unsurprisingly overpaid massively for this player.

Mauro Formica

Signed on a 4 year deal reported to be around £4m. Played 49 times for Rovers and scored 5 goals. My only real memory of Formica is that he ran like he was stuck in quicksand and looked really goofy. Anyway, he moved to Palermo in Seria A for 6 months with an option to buy. They did not take up that option. He then signed for Mexican side Cruz Azul in August 2013. No idea if we got a fee for him. Transfermarkt claims it was a paltry £500k, but I don't remember seeing a fee announced. In two years he played 55 times and scored 8 goals for Cruz Azul. He then went off to Newell's Old Boys on loan in 2015 and made it permanent this year, Transfermarkt says for £850k. The £4m fee we paid seems like a bit of a rip off in retrospect, but I'm sure much like in the Goodwillie transfer certain parties were very happy.

Simon Vukcevic

Joined Rovers in August 2011 on a three year deal for a reported £2m fee. Most famous for that mask he wore after breaking something on his face. Played 16 games and scored once. Contract terminated by mutual consent in January 2013. He then joined Ukrainian powerhouse Karpaty Lviv on a free. He played two matches and was then released by mutual consent. Possibly something to do with there not being a monastery nearby. Next up for Simon was Serbian team FK Vojvodina. His history as far as wiki or anywhere else is concerned gets a bit sketchy at this point, but he moved to Greek Superleague side Levadiakos in Jan 2014 for around £120k and played a fair bit before moving to Cypriot side Enosis Neon Paralimni on a free transfer a year and a half later. After a year in Cyprus he moved back to Portugal on a free transfer with G.D. Chaves.

Nomadic.

Jordan Slew

Signed for a cool £1.1 million in September 2011, of course this was a four year deal. Slew appeared once for the first team and scored no goals in that brief appearance as an 89th minute sub against Manchester United in December 2011. He spent the next four years on loan to Stevenage, Oldham, Rotherham, Ross County and Port Vale. He made 48 overall appearances for these clubs and scored 3 goals. Not great for a striker. In a familiar theme, his contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2015. Slew swiftly signed for Cambridge in League Two. He appeared 23 times and scored once. His contract was terminated a year later. He signed a short term deal for Chesterfield until the end of the 2015-16 season, making seven sub appearances and scoring no goals. He was then picked up this summer by Plymouth Argyle, hoping to rekindle the magic with David Goodwillie. Can't help but think £1.1m will be the height of his career.

Myles Anderson

Myles "that training ground tackle" Anderson joined Rovers on a pre-contract deal in July 2011. Club legend has it that he made a mind-blowing tackle in a training session that is still talked about to this day. Other than that he played zero matches for the first team and in January 2013 - wait for it - his contract was terminated by mutual consent. He joined Serie D side Monza in August 2013. Since then he's played for Italian Lega Pro team Pro Patria, Serie A side Chievo (apps: 0), Lega Pro side L'Aquila and Lega Pro side Lupa Castelli Romani. Wiki says he's still on loan there, Transfermarkt says he's unattached. Who knows, but suffice to say "that tackle" will live long in the memory, even if his overall career doesn't.

Time to get back to work, I might do some more later...

Edited September 9, 2016 by DE.

[frosty]

What an awful list that is! £1.1m for Slew is frightening.

Always found it weird how Myles Anderson plays in Italy. I know he's in their equivalent of probably League 2 and the Conference but how did he even end up there? The sudden transfer to Chievo in Serie A a couple of seasons back stinks as well, as he's obviously not good enough.

Surprised Vuckevic hasn't done anything after he left us (he's still only 30), he's one that at least arrived with a bit of pedigree having played for Sporting Lisbon for years and his country.

Edited September 9, 2016 by frosty

[Dunnfc]

What an awful list that is! £1.1m for Slew is frightening.

Always found it weird how Myles Anderson plays in Italy. I know he's in their equivalent of probably League 2 and the Conference but how did he even end up there? The sudden transfer to Chievo in Serie A a couple of seasons back stinks as well, as he's obviously not good enough.

Surprised Vuckevic hasn't done anything after he left us (he's still only 30), he's one that at least arrived with a bit of pedigree having played for Sporting Lisbon for years and his country.

An Italian agent used to work at SEM/Kentaro plus the other link of the other Italian Indoo.

[davulsukur]

Good work DE. if not unbelievably depressing stuff.

Someone made an absolute killing shuffling in utter no marks to our club.

[ABBEY]

What an awful list that is! £1.1m for Slew is frightening.

Always found it weird how Myles Anderson plays in Italy. I know he's in their equivalent of probably League 2 and the Conference but how did he even end up there? The sudden transfer to Chievo in Serie A a couple of seasons back stinks as well, as he's obviously not good enough.

Surprised Vuckevic hasn't done anything after he left us (he's still only 30), he's one that at least arrived with a bit of pedigree having played for Sporting Lisbon for years and his country.

DADDIES little greasing of mafiso pockets i would think

[DE.]

Okay, here we go, part 2. I’ll start off with a couple of other members of the 2011 hall of shame, then we’ll move onto the summer of 2012, when Shebby Singh developed an unhealthy infatuation with young, athletic Portuguese men. And Nuno Gomes.

Radosav Petrovic

Petrovic was well known to Football Manager connoisseurs such as my good self. He genuinely did have a good reputation at the time as an decent young footballer, and the fee of around £3m seemed reasonable. The contract length? Four years, of course. Why even ask? At just 22, Petrovic was like a rabbit in the headlights playing for a Steve Kean team in the Premier League. He managed 19 appearances and I’m not sure he had a good game in any of them.

Just one year later Petrovic was sold to Turkish club Genclerbirligi. Officially undisclosed, Transfermarkt lists the fee as £510k. So a £2.5M loss in a year, wages excluded. Nice one. Anyway, after 3 years and 77 appearances he moved to Dynamo Kiev on a free transfer. He signed a five year deal but only made 7 appearances, once again only lasting a year before moving to Portuguese club Sporting CP in summer 2016 for around £2m.

Bruno Ribeiro

You may remember him as the Brazilian Denis Irwin. Well, Steve Kean does anyway. Apparently he never lost the ball in training, but he was so rarely seen in the first team that fans never really got to judge whether that was true or not. Let’s assume not. He was signed in August 2011 on a free transfer, with his last club being Brazilian club Gremio Barueri. He spent a fair bit of time in Brazil unattached, so of course you’d want to tie him down to a three year contract with an option of a fourth, which is exactly what we did.

Ribeiro didn’t play a single game during 2011-12, despite never losing the ball in training. By all accounts this was irritating to the other players during five a side, as Ribeiro spent the entire game dribbling around them. He managed five uneventful games in the Championship before being kicked out on loan in January 2013 to Brazilian club Linense. Possibly because the other players were becoming infuriated by being unable to get the ball off him in training. In January 2014 he joined Linense on a free transfer. Not sure if we paid up what was left of his contract, but probably.

Since that time Bruno has played for various Brazilian clubs, moving almost half-yearly on free transfers. A fitting end to a dazzling career.

Nuno Gomes

A well known and wonderful player in his prime, Nuno rocked up at Ewood during his 36th year. A one year contract would have probably sufficed, but no! He got two. I’m shocked it wasn’t four, to be honest. Anyway, as you’d expect, the 36 year old Portuguese player struggled to adapt to the rough and tumble of the Championship. He showed flashes of class and scored 4 goals in 18 appearances - which is four more than Chris Brown in 37 apps - but was often put in an awkward position behind Jordan Rhodes which he never fully adapted to.

In June 2013, Gomes was released from his contract a year early. Unsure as to whether he got any compensation, but it’s likely. He retired after this final, odd stint in professional football.

Edinho Jr.

Ah, Edinho Jr, the proud creation of Edinho Snr. What, you don’t know about the famous Edinho family line? Well, me either, as I can’t find anything on Senior. How does that title denomination work, anyway? If Edinho has a child and inexplicably also calls him Edinho, what does he become? Does Edinho pass the Jr title on, and just revert to Edinho? Does Edinho Snr drop the Snr to Jr and just become Edinho? Does the youngest just become Edinho, with son and father keeping their Jr and Snr titles respectively?

I don’t know. His father might not even be called Edinho Snr. Why am I spouting all of this nonsense? Because I have very little to say about his Rovers career. Edinho Jr joined Rovers from Potuguese club Olhanense’s youth team. He impressed so much in a June 2012 trial that he was handed a three year contract. He made his debut against Leicester in August 2012 and after that was never seen in a Rovers shirt again. He must have put in the performance of a lifetime during that trial.

He moved to Indian club Shillong Lajong on loan for a few months, then Conference South side Whitehawk for a month. With the heady trial days behind him, Edinho Jr soon departed for the Harrisburg City Islanders, who play in the third tier of American football (soccer). He joined on a free, a year and a half into his Rovers contract, so we either paid him off or he decided to waive his wages here to go and play in the American third tier. You decide.

After five games and six months, Edinho Jr moved back home to Portugal with Liga Pro side SC Farense. A year and a half later he was on the move again to German side TUS Erndtebruck. They play in something like the fifth tier of German football. Thus ends the sad tale of Edinho Jr.

Paulo Jorge

Guess who else ended up playing for TUS Erndtebruck in the German fifth tier? Yes, the esteemed Paulo Jorge. Much like his compatriot Edinho Jr, he played precisely one game - this time against Ipswich Town as an 83rd minute substitute - and was never seen again. He joined us from FC Porto’s youth team in summer 2012, assumedly impressing in the same trials Edinho Jr had to face. I can’t find contract length but he was here until 2014-15 so we have to assume this was another three year deal.

His player page still exists on Rovers website and shows he barely even played for the reserves, let alone the first team. He had a brief loan spell at Bulgarian club Beroe Stara Zagora from February 2013 to June 2013 but didn’t make a single appearance. Other than that he hung around Blackburn doing god knows what until June 2015 when his contract finally expired, at which point he signed for the aforementioned TUS Erndtebruck - who I have to assume are currently being advised by Shebby Singh, who has convinced them it is a matter of time until Edinho Jr and Paulo Jorge take the footballing world by storm. We wait with bated breath.

Diogo Rosado

This nobody joined Rovers from Sporting CP after helping to get CD Feirense relegated in the 2011-12 season. Rovers gave him a three year contract, Sporting CP either waived a transfer fee or Rosado’s contract was up. Either way, Shebby Singh had seen enough to convince him Rosado was the man to terrorise Championship defences. Possibly after watching a YouTube video titled Diogo Rosado - The Future of Football (still available).

Unfortunately, the video was a little too optimistic, or had a really bleak vision for football’s future. You can almost guess what happened next. After two appearances he was loaned out to the Benfica B team with an option to buy. They said no thanks. In August 2013, one year after signing a three year deal, Rosado’s contract was mutually terminated. Because we weren’t paying enough compensation to former players already.

Rosado spent a year at Portuguese club Vitória F.C, a year at French Ligue 2 club AC Arles-Avignon, and then in summer 2016 moved to Cypriot club Ermis FC - all on free transfers. Transfermarkt says he has since left so that spell appears to have been unsuccessful. What a surprise. Next.

Nuno Henrique

Having moved to Portuguese side Coimbra on a two year deal in July 2012, Rovers decided they’d missed out on this star after witnessing him playing two games for his new club and promptly brought him to Ewood in August 2012. There’s no record of a transfer fee, but we must have paid something for a guy who had literally moved to the selling club two months beforehand on a two year contract. We gave him a three year deal. Because that’s just what we did back then. Maybe Shebby thought three years was the minimum unless you were over thirty-five, in which case it was two. One year contracts did not exist.

Do I even need to explain what happened next? He made no appearances for the first year of his contract, instead being tasked with trying to get the ball off Bruno Ribeiro on the training pitch. Having failed at that task, he was loaned out to Portuguese team FC Arouca where he made a single appearance in six months. In February 2014 he was given a free transfer to Polish team Jagiellonia Bialystok. We may or may not have paid up the rest of his contract.

Polish football proved too difficult for Henrique and he made zero appearances for his new club. He was released after just three months. Portuguese side Penafiel picked him up for six months, before he was given another free transfer to Feirense. Six months later he was on the move again, this time signing for Boavista. Wiki says he’s still there and played 21 games. OK.

Fabio Nunes

Nunes was probably the only one of Shebby’s Portuguese love children that actually looked vaguely useful on a football pitch. A left winger, he joined the club in August 2012 from Portuguese club Portimonense on a - you guessed it - three year deal. Fee undisclosed but probably not huge. He actually made 7 league appearances, which is more than any of his compatriots (Nuno Gomes excluded) combined. When 7 appearances in a year and a half is impressive, you know transfer business has been bad.

In January 2014, Nunes was given a free transfer to Italian Serie B club US Latina Calcio. Six months and two appearances later, he was jetting back off to Portugal to play for CF Os Belenenses. He managed to stay here for two years and make 31 appearances before being moved on to a club called Tondela for the 2016 season. TUS Erndtebruck surely beckons at some point in the near future.

Colin Kazim-Richards

Let’s end on a slightly high note. Kazim-Richards joined Rovers on a season long loan in August 2012, with an option to buy. Whilst he was impetuous, stroppy and offended the entire town of Brighton with homophobic gestures, Kazim-Richards was one of very few bright sparks in the 2012-13 season. He made 28 appearances and scored 3 goals.

Rovers opted not to purchase Kazim-Richards, possibly due to his impending court case related to the aforementioned homophobic gestures, and he instead moved to Turkish side Bursaspor for 250,000 Euros. So, roughly a quarter of what we paid for Jordan Slew. After a year he was loaned out to Feyenoord, where an excellent loan spell of 27 apps and 11 goals earned him a permanent contract with the Dutch side. Trouble soon followed, as in January 2016 Kazim-Richards threatened a Dutch reporter and was consequently dropped for the following match. A month later he signed for Celtic on a two and a half year deal - no transfer fee.

Apparently he wasn’t a huge fan of Scotland, as five months later Kazim-Richards joined Brazilian side Coritiba on a free transfer, having made 11 appearances for Celtic. One imagines it won’t be long before Kazim-Richards is on the move again.

[donnermeat]

I remember being quite excited about the Vuckevic signing at the time, from seeing how good he was on consecutive Football Manager games.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Quality DE and bl00dy good ammunition if we ever get before the FA again.

[DE.]

Quality DE and bl00dy good ammunition if we ever get before the FA again.

There are certainly some interesting patterns in those transfers.

Almost every time, the fee Rovers paid for the player was significantly higher than any fee that came before or after it.

We handed out multiple 3/4 year contracts to total unknowns, and then systematically terminated those contracts around the same time period.

As above, it was rare for any of those players to finish their long contracts. They were either released on free transfers or sold at a considerable loss. The only exception was Paulo Jorge, who clung on until the very end.

I struggle to work out how these Portuguese players were selected. Most of them came out of nowhere and seemingly at random.

Italy seems to be a popular destination for our players once they are released or have their contracts terminated.

Almost all of the players brought during the Kean/Singh eras ended up playing at significantly lower levels of the footballing pyramid.

I'm sure there's more, but it doesn't take a genius to see something about that period was very wrong.

Edited September 9, 2016 by DE.

[yoda]

There are certainly some interesting patterns in those transfers.

Almost every time, the fee Rovers paid for the player was significantly higher than any fee that came before or after it.

We handed out multiple 3/4 year contracts to total unknowns, and then systematically terminated those contracts around the same time period.

As above, it was rare for any of those players to finish their long contracts. They were either released on free transfers or sold at a considerable loss. The only exception was Paulo Jorge, who clung on until the very end.

I struggle to work out how these Portuguese players were selected. Most of them came out of nowhere and seemingly at random.

Italy seems to be a popular destination for our players once they are released or have their contracts terminated.

Almost all of the players brought during the Kean/Singh eras ended up playing at significantly lower levels of the footballing pyramid.

I'm sure there's more, but it doesn't take a genius to see something about that period was very wrong.

I wonder if you can search the Portuguese equivalent of the Land Registry

[perthblue02]

Diogo Rosado was very well thought of at one time even gets a name check on a certain agencies website on the 18th June 2006 congratulating their players for being part of winning the u17 Portuguese Championship

https://web.archive.org/web/20060714212107/http://www.semplc.com/index.php

Probably an oversight that it was not mentioned when he was brought in

Thank god for the wayback machine eh Mr Barnet, we did seem quite happy to import players from countries with problems related to 3rd party ownership , gotta keep the conveyor belt moving and those football investment funds happy, or not, as the case of global eleven v Kentaro shows.

Good job the FA are against this sort of thing isn't it ? or should that be quite happy to iron out any potential problems for their former business partners and protected agents?

Edited September 10, 2016 by perthblue02

[bob fleming]

Okay, here we go, part 2. I’ll start off with a couple of other members of the 2011 hall of shame, then we’ll move onto the summer of 2012, when Shebby Singh developed an unhealthy infatuation with young, athletic Portuguese men. And Nuno Gomes.

Radosav Petrovic

Petrovic was well known to Football Manager connoisseurs such as my good self. He genuinely did have a good reputation at the time as an decent young footballer, and the fee of around £3m seemed reasonable. The contract length? Four years, of course. Why even ask? At just 22, Petrovic was like a rabbit in the headlights playing for a Steve Kean team in the Premier League. He managed 19 appearances and I’m not sure he had a good game in any of them.

Just one year later Petrovic was sold to Turkish club Genclerbirligi. Officially undisclosed, Transfermarkt lists the fee as £510k. So a £2.5M loss in a year, wages excluded. Nice one. Anyway, after 3 years and 77 appearances he moved to Dynamo Kiev on a free transfer. He signed a five year deal but only made 7 appearances, once again only lasting a year before moving to Portuguese club Sporting CP in summer 2016 for around £2m.

Bruno Ribeiro

You may remember him as the Brazilian Denis Irwin. Well, Steve Kean does anyway. Apparently he never lost the ball in training, but he was so rarely seen in the first team that fans never really got to judge whether that was true or not. Let’s assume not. He was signed in August 2011 on a free transfer, with his last club being Brazilian club Gremio Barueri. He spent a fair bit of time in Brazil unattached, so of course you’d want to tie him down to a three year contract with an option of a fourth, which is exactly what we did.

Ribeiro didn’t play a single game during 2011-12, despite never losing the ball in training. By all accounts this was irritating to the other players during five a side, as Ribeiro spent the entire game dribbling around them. He managed five uneventful games in the Championship before being kicked out on loan in January 2013 to Brazilian club Linense. Possibly because the other players were becoming infuriated by being unable to get the ball off him in training. In January 2014 he joined Linense on a free transfer. Not sure if we paid up what was left of his contract, but probably.

Since that time Bruno has played for various Brazilian clubs, moving almost half-yearly on free transfers. A fitting end to a dazzling career.

Nuno Gomes

A well known and wonderful player in his prime, Nuno rocked up at Ewood during his 36th year. A one year contract would have probably sufficed, but no! He got two. I’m shocked it wasn’t four, to be honest. Anyway, as you’d expect, the 36 year old Portuguese player struggled to adapt to the rough and tumble of the Championship. He showed flashes of class and scored 4 goals in 18 appearances - which is four more than Chris Brown in 37 apps - but was often put in an awkward position behind Jordan Rhodes which he never fully adapted to.

In June 2013, Gomes was released from his contract a year early. Unsure as to whether he got any compensation, but it’s likely. He retired after this final, odd stint in professional football.

Edinho Jr.

Ah, Edinho Jr, the proud creation of Edinho Snr. What, you don’t know about the famous Edinho family line? Well, me either, as I can’t find anything on Senior. How does that title denomination work, anyway? If Edinho has a child and inexplicably also calls him Edinho, what does he become? Does Edinho pass the Jr title on, and just revert to Edinho? Does Edinho Snr drop the Snr to Jr and just become Edinho? Does the youngest just become Edinho, with son and father keeping their Jr and Snr titles respectively?

I don’t know. His father might not even be called Edinho Snr. Why am I spouting all of this nonsense? Because I have very little to say about his Rovers career. Edinho Jr joined Rovers from Potuguese club Olhanense’s youth team. He impressed so much in a June 2012 trial that he was handed a three year contract. He made his debut against Leicester in August 2012 and after that was never seen in a Rovers shirt again. He must have put in the performance of a lifetime during that trial.

He moved to Indian club Shillong Lajong on loan for a few months, then Conference South side Whitehawk for a month. With the heady trial days behind him, Edinho Jr soon departed for the Harrisburg City Islanders, who play in the third tier of American football (soccer). He joined on a free, a year and a half into his Rovers contract, so we either paid him off or he decided to waive his wages here to go and play in the American third tier. You decide.

After five games and six months, Edinho Jr moved back home to Portugal with Liga Pro side SC Farense. A year and a half later he was on the move again to German side TUS Erndtebruck. They play in something like the fifth tier of German football. Thus ends the sad tale of Edinho Jr.

Paulo Jorge

Guess who else ended up playing for TUS Erndtebruck in the German fifth tier? Yes, the esteemed Paulo Jorge. Much like his compatriot Edinho Jr, he played precisely one game - this time against Ipswich Town as an 83rd minute substitute - and was never seen again. He joined us from FC Porto’s youth team in summer 2012, assumedly impressing in the same trials Edinho Jr had to face. I can’t find contract length but he was here until 2014-15 so we have to assume this was another three year deal.

His player page still exists on Rovers website and shows he barely even played for the reserves, let alone the first team. He had a brief loan spell at Bulgarian club Beroe Stara Zagora from February 2013 to June 2013 but didn’t make a single appearance. Other than that he hung around Blackburn doing god knows what until June 2015 when his contract finally expired, at which point he signed for the aforementioned TUS Erndtebruck - who I have to assume are currently being advised by Shebby Singh, who has convinced them it is a matter of time until Edinho Jr and Paulo Jorge take the footballing world by storm. We wait with bated breath.

Diogo Rosado

This nobody joined Rovers from Sporting CP after helping to get CD Feirense relegated in the 2011-12 season. Rovers gave him a three year contract, Sporting CP either waived a transfer fee or Rosado’s contract was up. Either way, Shebby Singh had seen enough to convince him Rosado was the man to terrorise Championship defences. Possibly after watching a YouTube video titled Diogo Rosado - The Future of Football (still available).

Unfortunately, the video was a little too optimistic, or had a really bleak vision for football’s future. You can almost guess what happened next. After two appearances he was loaned out to the Benfica B team with an option to buy. They said no thanks. In August 2013, one year after signing a three year deal, Rosado’s contract was mutually terminated. Because we weren’t paying enough compensation to former players already.

Rosado spent a year at Portuguese club Vitória F.C, a year at French Ligue 2 club AC Arles-Avignon, and then in summer 2016 moved to Cypriot club Ermis FC - all on free transfers. Transfermarkt says he has since left so that spell appears to have been unsuccessful. What a surprise. Next.

Nuno Henrique

Having moved to Portuguese side Coimbra on a two year deal in July 2012, Rovers decided they’d missed out on this star after witnessing him playing two games for his new club and promptly brought him to Ewood in August 2012. There’s no record of a transfer fee, but we must have paid something for a guy who had literally moved to the selling club two months beforehand on a two year contract. We gave him a three year deal. Because that’s just what we did back then. Maybe Shebby thought three years was the minimum unless you were over thirty-five, in which case it was two. One year contracts did not exist.

Do I even need to explain what happened next? He made no appearances for the first year of his contract, instead being tasked with trying to get the ball off Bruno Ribeiro on the training pitch. Having failed at that task, he was loaned out to Portuguese team FC Arouca where he made a single appearance in six months. In February 2014 he was given a free transfer to Polish team Jagiellonia Bialystok. We may or may not have paid up the rest of his contract.

Polish football proved too difficult for Henrique and he made zero appearances for his new club. He was released after just three months. Portuguese side Penafiel picked him up for six months, before he was given another free transfer to Feirense. Six months later he was on the move again, this time signing for Boavista. Wiki says he’s still there and played 21 games. OK.

Fabio Nunes

Nunes was probably the only one of Shebby’s Portuguese love children that actually looked vaguely useful on a football pitch. A left winger, he joined the club in August 2012 from Portuguese club Portimonense on a - you guessed it - three year deal. Fee undisclosed but probably not huge. He actually made 7 league appearances, which is more than any of his compatriots (Nuno Gomes excluded) combined. When 7 appearances in a year and a half is impressive, you know transfer business has been bad.

In January 2014, Nunes was given a free transfer to Italian Serie B club US Latina Calcio. Six months and two appearances later, he was jetting back off to Portugal to play for CF Os Belenenses. He managed to stay here for two years and make 31 appearances before being moved on to a club called Tondela for the 2016 season. TUS Erndtebruck surely beckons at some point in the near future.

Colin Kazim-Richards

Let’s end on a slightly high note. Kazim-Richards joined Rovers on a season long loan in August 2012, with an option to buy. Whilst he was impetuous, stroppy and offended the entire town of Brighton with homophobic gestures, Kazim-Richards was one of very few bright sparks in the 2012-13 season. He made 28 appearances and scored 3 goals.

Rovers opted not to purchase Kazim-Richards, possibly due to his impending court case related to the aforementioned homophobic gestures, and he instead moved to Turkish side Bursaspor for 250,000 Euros. So, roughly a quarter of what we paid for Jordan Slew. After a year he was loaned out to Feyenoord, where an excellent loan spell of 27 apps and 11 goals earned him a permanent contract with the Dutch side. Trouble soon followed, as in January 2016 Kazim-Richards threatened a Dutch reporter and was consequently dropped for the following match. A month later he signed for Celtic on a two and a half year deal - no transfer fee.

Apparently he wasn’t a huge fan of Scotland, as five months later Kazim-Richards joined Brazilian side Coritiba on a free transfer, having made 11 appearances for Celtic. One imagines it won’t be long before Kazim-Richards is on the move again.

Excellent work DE.

If I may...

Dixon Etuhu

Rovers pulled out the stops for Etuhu in August 2012. Signing him on a monster 4 year contract from Fulham. The fee, as is often the case, was undisclosed. This is probably a good idea as at least one, if not both parties may struggle to keep a straight face during the press conference. Etuhu managed 23 games in two years, including one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player away at Blackpool. Unfortunately things didn't work out and Rovers had to pay up his contract in July 2014 in order to increase the debt and get another no hoper in.

Danny Murphy

Despite having had a leg off whilst at Fulham, Rovers saw fit to hand a no doubt lucrative thank you very much two year contract to Murphy in June 2012. Murphy astonishingly, according to Wiki, played 33 times that season including one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player at home to then bottom of the table Peterborough (Rovers were 3-0 down at half time, when he was subbed. Rovers won the second half 2-0 so took the positives and moved on). Unfortunately for everyone concerned this inability to move and tackle really did turn out to be a problem and Rovers had no option but to pay up the remaining year on Murphy's contract in June 2013. This really was a bad bit of luck. Murphy is now a "top football pundit" on the tele and radio, he talks of passion and desire without even a suspicion of irony.

Bradley Orr

Rovers were lucky and shrewd enough to be able to sign Bradley Orr in January 2012 on a 3.5 year contract. Orr wasn't getting a game at QPR at the time so it was important that Rovers offered such a long term contract to him along with big wages just in case we were relegated and in order to get Orr through the door (the Orr door). Orr wasn't very good. He thought Steve Kean was doing a good job and said so post match just after Rovers were relegated. It all continued to go sour and Orr was sent on loan to Ipswich, Blackpool and Toronto. Canny Rovers decided they couldn't wait any longer for another club to come in with a big money move for Bradley so paid up his contract in March 2015 after Orr had made 31 appearances for the club - including, if I may, one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player at home to then bottom of the table Peterborough (Rovers were 3-0 down at half time, before he was subbed). Having scrimped and saved over the previous couple of years, Bradley promptly retired from football.

"That Midfielder"

That midfielder who no one can remember his name, has been bought circa 17 times over the last 6 years, generally for two much money and certainly for too much in wages. Although exact numbers aren't available due to the similarity and utter blandness of this type of player. An example of "just another body making up the numbers" would be Liam Feeney. Feeney joined Rovers in 2014 on loan and according to the internet played 6 times, scoring zero goals. Unfortunately no one can remember anything about these performances such was the brain numbing mediocrity on show, which in all fairness wasn't all his fault. Feeney duly left Rovers at some stage or other and has never been seen again.

Edited September 10, 2016 by bob fleming

[arbitro]

Great work by DE and Bob. What struck me is how, despite being patently useless these players always get fixed up with a club somewhere. A general rule of thumb for clubs buying players should be the number of clubs they have played for. Generally they will have a plethora of short stays at clubs for a reason.

[DE.]

Excellent work DE.

If I may...

Dixon Etuhu

Rovers pulled out the stops for Etuhu in August 2012. Signing him on a monster 4 year contract from Fulham. The fee, as is often the case, was undisclosed. This is probably a good idea as at least one, if not both parties may struggle to keep a straight face during the press conference. Etuhu managed 23 games in two years, including one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player away at Blackpool. Unfortunately things didn't work out and Rovers had to pay up his contract in July 2014 in order to increase the debt and get another no hoper in.

Danny Murphy

Despite having had a leg off whilst at Fulham, Rovers saw fit to hand a no doubt lucrative thank you very much two year contract to Murphy in June 2012. Murphy astonishingly, according to Wiki, played 33 times that season including one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player at home to then bottom of the table Peterborough (Rovers were 3-0 down at half time, when he was subbed. Rovers won the second half 2-0 so took the positives and moved on). Unfortunately for everyone concerned this inability to move and tackle really did turn out to be a problem and Rovers had no option but to pay up the remaining year on Murphy's contract in June 2013. This really was a bad bit of luck. Murphy is now a "top football pundit" on the tele and radio, he talks of passion and desire without even a suspicion of irony.

Bradley Orr

Rovers were lucky and shrewd enough to be able to sign Bradley Orr in January 2012 on a 3.5 year contract. Orr wasn't getting a game at QPR at the time so it was important that Rovers offered such a long term contract to him along with big wages just in case we were relegated and in order to get Orr through the door (the Orr door). Orr wasn't very good. He thought Steve Kean was doing a good job and said so post match just after Rovers were relegated. It all continued to go sour and Orr was sent on loan to Ipswich, Blackpool and Toronto. Canny Rovers decided they couldn't wait any longer for another club to come in with a big money move for Bradley so paid up his contract in March 2015 after Orr had made 31 appearances for the club - including, if I may, one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Rovers player at home to then bottom of the table Peterborough (Rovers were 3-0 down at half time, before he was subbed). Having scrimped and saved over the previous couple of years, Bradley promptly retired from football.

"That Midfielder"

That midfielder who no one can remember his name, has been bought circa 17 times over the last 6 years, generally for two much money and certainly for too much in wages. Although exact numbers aren't available due to the similarity and utter blandness of this type of player. An example of "just another body making up the numbers" would be Liam Feeney. Feeney joined Rovers in 2014 on loan and according to the internet played 6 times, scoring zero goals. Unfortunately no one can remember anything about these performances such was the brain numbing mediocrity on show, which in all fairness wasn't all his fault. Feeney duly left Rovers at some stage or other and has never been seen again.

Nice one Bob. After going through the Portugeezers I think Orr, Murphy and Etuhu might have caused me to throw my laptop out the window. Or myself.

Anyway, one more... step forward the fresh prince of Ipswich...

Leon Best

"Dat contract be bare good blud, beg you allow it fam, brrrrap!" said Leon, doing that odd clicky thing with his fingers as his agent produced Rovers contract offer. Four years, £35k p/w, and a transfer fee of £3m. Life was good for Leon and his agent, who nonetheless asked him to calm down in case he injured himself. A wise move, but only delaying the inevitable. July 2012, Leon Best moves from Newcastle to Rovers after scoring 10 goals in 42 appearances for Newcastle, having been with the Magpies two years.

Leon was known as injury prone, so of course a long contract and huge wages were necessary to ensure he got as much money possible during those times he wasn't playing for Rovers. Which, as it turned out, was fairly often. Best didn't even make it to the first game of the 2012 season, damaging an anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season and missing the next six months. It wasn't until a year later that Best scored his first goal for Rovers, in August 2013, volleying in an 89th minute equaliser against Derby County at Ewood.

Fitness was still a problem for Leon, but Gary Bowyer was also concerned that his bad attitude was having a negative effect in the dressing room. Indeed, during one training session, after trying to explain something to Jason Lowe, the impressionable youngster allegedly replied "beg you speak English before I end you bruv". That was the final straw. Best promptly went out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday, with Rovers basically paying for him to be there. He scored 4 goals in 15 matches but wasn't asked to come back. Loan spells at Derby County and Brighton followed, but 28 goals and zero goals between them tells the story well enough.

In July 2015, Rovers decided to terminate Best's contract a year early, and add more cash to the former employees' compensation pile. Leon, having previously tweeted he was the highest paid player at the club, reportedly walked out of Ewood waving a wad of cash around before getting into his car and fracturing his hip as he did so. Nonetheless he recovered quickly and wound up at Rotherham United. 16 games and 4 goals was considered a huge success, though he also got sent off in an earlier match for "ending" an opponent. Best failed to agree terms on a new contract and left Rotherham at the end of the season.

Most recently, Best has popped up in Ipswich, signing a one year deal. Shebby Singh was stunned, unaware that such a short contract length could be offered. Best is yet to play for Ipswich but is apparently a changed man. See below for comments from the new and improved Leon Best.

“I had no club and you start to think to yourself ‘why am I in this position?’ I’ve got four kids and recently my oldest said ‘daddy, what’s your job?’

“As soon as I came here I felt better though, then the manager said he wanted to sign me and I just keep going up and up in energy and confidence. It’s the lift I needed.

“I’m a massive believer that thoughts become things. Since I’ve come here I can just see myself scoring loads. I can see myself playing well. I’m in a great place.”

“Number nine is already in my head as something massive, so to be given that is a massive confidence booster for me,” said Best.

“Have I got big shoes to fill? When Andy Carroll went to Liverpool (from Newcastle) that’s what I heard then too and I went on and scored a few. It’s the best thing when you’ve got something to live up to. It’s good when there are some expectations and people get behind you and give their support. It’s all good energy. I’m a massive believer in that and the energy here is unbelievable. It’s a massive thing. I’m looking forward to it.”

He added: “When I go to bed before the game I’ll look at a few videos and visualise a few things… then make it happen.”

Best said: “My career has been up and down. I’ve played at the highest level, which is a good thing, I’ve had spells of international football (with the Republic of Ireland) also.

“Sometimes in football luck helps you and I’ve been unlucky at certain times with injuries at key times.

“I’m older now, I’ve got a wiser head on my shoulders and I look after myself much better. A lot of people say you are at your prime around my age now.”

He added: “Sometimes it takes you a while to know what you are actually good at in football. As a player you always watch people on TV and want to try different things.

“It’s better to go into a game knowing what you are good at. I’m good at holding the ball up. I’d like to say scoring goals as well. That’s what I know I’ll be judged on.”

Inspiring stuff. As for Ipswich fans... well, they aren't convinced.

"Not done it yet in 13 years, so he needs to let his football do the talking now. However, I don't believe it will."

"how many games will he play? how many goals will he score and when will he get injured? not many more than ten games, probably 3 or 4 goals and will be injured before xmas"

""My career has been up and down" - sorry Leon but it's mostly down with very little "up" - poor signing from a poorly run club - but hey what do you expect when you spend nothing. Evans clearly has other things on his mind rather than the plight of his club"

"So. Leon is a massive believer that thoughts become things. For him (like the Beatles), number 9 is something massive. And he's a massive believer in good energy. What his perceptive oldest child really said was 'Daddy, for all my life you've been sitting round the house doing nothing; what's your job?'. Go for it, Leon, give it large and whack in a few goals for ITFC! Otherwise the local fans might get massively disappointed rather quickly."

[den]

Blimey...... Anyone seen DE and Bob Fleming in the same room? If so, are they twins?