[Archived] Nickos (newer) Thread

[Hasta]

Don't be so dismissive or so scathing Hasta.

The club can not afford to lose supporters for any reason and especially ones with a generation and a half of st purchases to their name. I don't know what has gone so wrong at ewood since January but something decidedly went amiss at some stage last season. To hear that one of our best ever managers was prepared to take the Mags job and has since ended up at City beggars belief. Hughes is better than the mgment of both those clubs deserve but for some reason his tenure had hit the buffers somewhere along the line and I simply cannot believe it is all about us being a bit skint. He left with unseemly haste and apparently with little effort to keep him.

I don't know any of the personalities or characters involved personally but imo as people, and role models and representatives of BRFC the likes of Hughes and Brad are worth 100 Ince and Fowlers.

The club can't afford to be losing fans Drog which is one of the reasons why people who are so quick to throw in the towel amaze and annoy me. I wrote a lengthy post a few weeks back about Ince asking for him to be given a chance. He wasn't mine or many others first choice but ultimately he now is our manager. Most of the events of the last few weeks have been disheartening. Signings from MK Dons, journeymen backroom staff, Fowler coming in and now the possibility of Brad leaving. It's not a great start for Ince, very far from it actually

I've moaned as much as the next man at work this week. However there's no way I'd consider not going down next year and giving my support to the manager and the team. There's a big chance we will be back on here come Christmas saying how Ince is a waste of space. However there's also a chance we are doing well and playing some good stuff. In that case I can guarantee that Dufflite and all the others who have stopped going down will soon return then.

Selling Brad would remind me of the scenes on St James Park steps when Keegan sold Cole to Man United. Keegan said that day 'you have to let me do things my way' and to be fair twelve months later it nearly paid off (it did pay off as far as we were concerned cos he missed all those chances at Upton Park at the end of the seaosn but thats another story). Thie difference here is that there is a real chance that it is Brad who actually wants to leave the club.

Ince cannot be judged as manager of Blackburn Rovers until we know how his side performs over a given length of time. No supposed lifelong season ticket holder should be jacking in their support for the club just because we've had a rough couple of months.

[John]

Some people seem to think you can get caught up on things on this messageboard. However, whilst that is true, we seem to be going through some negative publicity.

Just got a text from a friend overseas, who does not even follow football that much, saying 'what the hell is going on at Blackburn?'

[67splitscreen]

I cannot believe, for the life in me, WHY Ince is being blamed, for the supposed exits from the club.

Which ever candidate, had been appointed, the scenario we have know, would have been no different.

The club have done everything possible, to suggest to the supporters they are not trying sell anyone.

THE BEST BOARD IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (many have said) do you really think, after so much hard work over the last seven years,

they would appoint, a manager, who within three weeks, then turns the whole club upside down, and inside out, then send it into self distruct.

I don't think so.

If Brad does not play at Macclesfield, then yes, I think Brad will have made HIS own decision.

Having said that, I am sure Brad would wish to say good bye, at Ewood.

Did anyone believe, Ince, would come in and not make some changes.

Just before I started to write this, I spotted some more speculation, on teamtalk rovers home page.

West Brom to make a move for Darb's.

Sorry possible move for above.

I suppose this is also Ince's doing.

[AggyBlue]

There's far to many drama queens on here at the moment

Spot on.

We've more than our fair share of clowns too

[Bazzanotsogreat]

The club have done everything possible, to suggest to the supporters they are not trying sell anyone.

THE BEST BOARD IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (many have said) do you really think, after so much hard work over the last seven years,

they would appoint, a manager, who within three weeks, then turns the whole club upside down, and inside out, then send it into self distruct.

I don't think so.

If Brad does not play at Macclesfield, then yes, I think Brad will have made HIS own decision.

Having said that, I am sure Brad would wish to say good bye, at Ewood.

Did anyone believe, Ince, would come in and not make some changes.

That's taking it a bit far isnt it? A baord that hasn't hardly released a bean in money to the best young manager in Britain, Nor come out and made a convincing argument for him to stay.

Secondly, whose to say that these rumours aren't coming from Brad himself- Yes I know he is Mr Rovers and a realy decent guy; but who is to say he isnt impressed by the backroom staff and feels he needs to move on to a more forawrd -thinking young, dynamic regime- like the one that has just left. I am not saying this is the case, but is a possibilty. The players have been used to a top quality backroom staff, a change for the worse would make alot of players think twice about their future.

[TugaysMarlboro]

Some people seem to think you can get caught up on things on this messageboard. However, whilst that is true, we seem to be going through some negative publicity. - Of course we are, we're Blackburn Rovers.

Just got a text from a friend overseas, who does not even follow football that much, saying 'what the hell is going on at Blackburn?' - A period of change.

[thenodrog]

Just before I started to write this, I spotted some more speculation, on teamtalk rovers home page.

West Brom to make a move for Darb's.

I suppose this is also Ince's doing.

Who can say but I'd like to point out at this stage that somebody has already questioned the message that the expected signing of Fowler would send out to the likes of Roberts, Derbyshire and Gallagher.

[American]

For all those worried about Fowler - were you this upset when we signed Berner? How about when we signed Henchoz this last time? That is what this signing would be - a veteran backup who wouldn't get too many games.

For all of those who don't feel we should give youth a chance - that means you Den and Stu - would you rather have Fowler in that role, or Gally?

[The1mattjansen]

Who can say but I'd like to point out at this stage that somebody has already questioned the message that the expected signing of Fowler would send out to the likes of Roberts.

Probably that he is simply not good enough at this level and that despite the fact that he's now 33, the 4th highest premiership goalscorer of all time might just be able to do a better job than him.

Or perhaps Ince is just a racist.

[Lathund]

That's taking it a bit far isnt it? A baord that hasn't hardly released a bean in money to the best young manager in Britain, Nor come out and made a convincing argument for him to stay.

You keep harping on about that, but for one thing they can't release money that just isn't there. Blame the trustees for that if you want to blame someone, but the board can't just make money magically appear. And you have no idea what they did or didn't do to keep him. He could've made an ultimatum to resign if not given permission to speak to City for example. We just don't know.

There's far to many drama queens on here at the moment

Indeed. Getting to the stage where only a few posts on each page aren't made by users on my ignore list Seems like the off-season brings out the worst in people.

[nicko]

Me over excited Fife? God only knows I wish I was. But nicko's age must mean that he is experiencing the male menopause and experiencing mood swings cos surely I am not the only one to notice that the content of his posts have taken a serious switch in both tone and inference in the last 24 hours?

Alternatively he might simply have been 'got at' by someone from the club...... and probably someone sporting a fresh sun tan. You want BRFC to scratch your back Alan? Right well you had better bloody well scratch ours!

You crack me up.

Things develop and reveal themselves.

Last Sunday Brad came back from holiday to find out stories of clubs being in for him and Rovers looking at other keepers. This all seemed rather odd.

During the past few days Aston Villa have made an official move and Manchester City have heard and show an interest.

In the last 48 hours Villa get to a level of contract offer for Brad that changes the whole picture.

Money talks in football.

So - Brad moves and gets a fabulous final pay day. Rovers get decent money for a 37-year-old. Villa get the keeper they want for a reasonabkle sum. Rovers close in on signing a goalkeeper they see as an ideal replacement.

Everyone comes out of it happy...

It works.

I thought it was odd at first, but when I see the figures involved I say 'best of luck' and move on.

As for 'getting a call from the club.' Are you serious?

[tonyoz]

That's taking it a bit far isnt it? A baord that hasn't hardly released a bean in money to the best young manager in Britain, Nor come out and made a convincing argument for him to stay.

Hughes decided that he would be better off taking the Thai shilling. Fair enough, we are what we are. Maybe with the millions now at his disposal he will win the Premier League - but I won't be betting on it, I think it's more likely that it will all end in tears.

[Silencio]

For all those worried about Fowler - were you this upset when we signed Berner? How about when we signed Henchoz this last time? That is what this signing would be - a veteran backup who wouldn't get too many games.

For all of those who don't feel we should give youth a chance - that means you Den and Stu - would you rather have Fowler in that role, or Gally?

I was gutted when we signed Henchoz, high wages and he was shocking the 2nd time around.

I'll be devastated if we sign Fowler. I would rather Gally played given the choice...

[bringdunnback]

What kind of figures are we talking here nicko, why won't Rovers match them?

[den]

You crack me up.

Things develop and reveal themselves.

Last Sunday Brad came back from holiday to find out stories of clubs being in for him and Rovers looking at other keepers. This all seemed rather odd.

During the past few days Aston Villa have made an official move and Manchester City have heard and show an interest.

In the last 48 hours Villa get to a level of contract offer for Brad that changes the whole picture.

Money talks in football.

So - Brad moves and gets a fabulous final pay day. Rovers get decent money for a 37-year-old. Villa get the keeper they want for a reasonabkle sum. Rovers close in on signing a goalkeeper they see as an ideal replacement.

Everyone comes out of it happy...

It works.

I thought it was odd at first, but when I see the figures involved I say 'best of luck' and move on.

As for 'getting a call from the club.' Are you serious?

Everyone comes out happy Nicko, - or Villa come out of it happy?

Have you seen ANYONE post on here that's happy at the rumours?

[RibbleValleyRover]

So - Brad moves and gets a fabulous final pay day. Rovers get decent money for a 37-year-old. Villa get the keeper they want for a reasonabkle sum. Rovers close in on signing a goalkeeper they see as an ideal replacement.

Everyone comes out of it happy...

It works.

Whilst Brad might be 37 he is up there with the best keepers in the league, only Cech in my view challenges him for the top spot.

Not sure if "Everyone will come out happy", our rivals getting a high calibre keeper whilst we get (Cudichini, Robinson or Green) an inferior replacement.

Always been a believer you only sell your players if you can find someone better, none of these keepers are better than we currently have.

I'm completely fed up of the whole issue, i've made my feelings clear on Brad and its the last i'll post about it. If Ince makes his choice then so be it, i will think he is wrong but at the end of the day its his head thats on the line. Ince will have to face the consequences of his actions.

Nicko, can you see any truth in us being interested in Joaquín? Surely we can't afford him and wouldn't want to come here?

[tonyoz]

Nicko.................has Brad asked to be released or not?

[USABlue]

PLease not that idiot Paul Robinson, the man is a liability.

[Parsonblue]

So - Brad moves and gets a fabulous final pay day. Rovers get decent money for a 37-year-old. Villa get the keeper they want for a reasonabkle sum. Rovers close in on signing a goalkeeper they see as an ideal replacement.

Everyone comes out of it happy...

Sorry Nicko, but if Brad leaves and Robinson arrives there will be a few thousand folk who won't be happy - me included. A better solution would be for the Rovers to match Villa's offer and, over the next season or two, allow Brad to help groom the younger keepers at the club to move up when he retires. We have three promising young 'keepers in Brown, Nielsen and Fielding so why spend money on Robinson who is clearly not good enough for Tottenham. Keeping Brad at the money Villa are talking about and allowing our younger keepers to develop is surely a better option.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

You keep harping on about that, but for one thing they can't release money that just isn't there. Blame the trustees for that if you want to blame someone, but the board can't just make money magically appear. And you have no idea what they did or didn't do to keep him. He could've made an ultimatum to resign if not given permission to speak to City for example. We just don't know.

Indeed. Getting to the stage where only a few posts on each page aren't made by users on my ignore list Seems like the off-season brings out the worst in people.

Why is it that teames who finished way below, who are of a simalar size and will have a similar turnover ( around the 55m mark) seem to have money to spend? We should have a good deal of money to spend like Bolton, we dont, why ?

[nicko]

Everyone comes out happy Nicko, - or Villa come out of it happy?

Have you seen ANYONE post on here that's happy at the rumours?

The player is happy, the selling club is content, the buying club is happy.

We can all have our opinions about the rights and wrongs of it, but I don't see any of the three key elements of this deal complaining.

I know it's hard to take, but sometimes this is just the way it works out.

If Brad was being forced out you would be rightly disgusted.

If Rovers were being ripped off you would be rightly angry.

OK, I'm neutral, but sitting back and looking at the whole picture I think I can understand why this has gone the way it's gone.

[incecticide]

Whilst Brad might be 37 he is up there with the best keepers in the league, only Cech in my view challenges him for the top spot.

My first post after 'lurking' for years, and get the feeling it's not going to go down well, but Hello Good Evening and welcome anyway...

I've thought for the last couple of years that Brad has deteriorated in terms of his all-round game. He still pulls off some phenomenal stops but he doesn't command his area as well as many other keepers and his habit of parrying the ball into the 6 yard box rather than pushing it around the post makes me nervous. The fact that he makes the initial save tends to overshadow this and his brilliant reflexes mean people don't notice the more subtle weaknesses to his game. He also seems to struggle with free-kicks, maybe he can't adjust his feet too well at his age.

I love Brad as much as the next man, but if we can line up a suitable replacement (Foster?) I'd take £2.5m for a 37 year old.

Go easy...

[deftangel]

Last Sunday Brad came back from holiday to find out stories of clubs being in for him and Rovers looking at other keepers. This all seemed rather odd.

And that's exactly what's wrong about it. If the club and Ince don't want to leave and Brad himself doesn't want to leave then stories in the press are completely irrelevant. We didn't need to be looking at other keepers if we didn't want to sell.

Unless you're explicitly telling us that a few extra bob here and there makes all the difference to a guy who's already a millionaire then it doesn't make sense does it?

[RibbleValleyRover]

My first post after 'lurking' for years, and get the feeling it's not going to go down well, but Hello Good Evening and welcome anyway...

I've thought for the last couple of years that Brad has deteriorated in terms of his all-round game. He still pulls off some phenomenal stops but he doesn't command his area as well as many other keepers and his habit of parrying the ball into the 6 yard box rather than pushing it around the post makes me nervous. The fact that he makes the initial save tends to overshadow this and his brilliant reflexes mean people don't notice the more subtle weaknesses to his game. He also seems to struggle with free-kicks, maybe he can't adjust his feet too well at his age.

I love Brad as much as the next man, but if we can line up a suitable replacement (Foster?) I'd take £2.5m for a 37 year old.

Go easy...

Overall i thought last season Brad had his best season for a couple of years.

He wasn't helped at times because our defense was shocking. We had that period when Samba and Nelsen were out of form or playing with injuries.

I can't see us getting a decent keeper for £2.5 million, we would have to stretch into our already limited budget.

[Paul Mellelieu]

If Brad wants to move for the money why is Ince the villian?

Surely the big man is doing the same as Lucash.