[Archived] Brad's Replacement

[Claytons Left Boot]

Has Brad indicated he wants to move or is it just Rovers wanting to cash in if the price is right?

I'll be gutted if he goes. I can get over gobshite Bentley wanting away but Brad is a different matter. It'll be like the Alan Shearer or Tony Field feeling all over again.

[67splitscreen]

If we sign Andrews, it's no beer for me at the weekend.

Not in Accy at least.

I'm thick skinned, but no one's called me a rhino yet.

[Blue n White Rover]

You know what some of the comments on here are ridiculous. The problem is aswell that IF Rovers start to do well come start of the season all this will be forgotten and these same fans will say "oh I backed Ince from day 1 blah blah blah".

Fulham just paid around £4-5million for Bobby Zamora and your saying the markets have still stayed the same.

Wake up!

[gumboots]

Gumboots-as you are a poster I enjoy reading, please don't take this the wrong way-would you like to check your spellings!

Just spotted them myself. Will edit. That'll teach me to try to type quickly while cooking tea.

[tony gale's mic]

You know what some of the comments on here are ridiculous. The problem is aswell that IF Rovers start to do well come start of the season all this will be forgotten and these same fans will say "oh I backed Ince from day 1 blah blah blah".

Fulham just paid around £4-5million for Bobby Zamora and your saying the markets have still stayed the same.

Wake up!

And Man Utd paid 18 million for Carrick two summers ago and Hargreaves for 17 million last summer. Boro paid 7 million for Mido last summer. City paid £9 million for Bianchi last summer.

The markets haven't changed significantly in the last year and it in no way makes the signing of Keith Andrews for £1.5 million anywhere near defensible.

I would advise you to wake up, but I don't think there'd be a great deal of insight even if you did...

[SundayMondayHabibBeye]

Newcastle have hit 12 past Robinson in two seasons, and I'd say a better keeper would have saved half of those. Carson is way better.

[Blue n White Rover]

And Man Utd paid 18 million for Carrick two summers ago and Hargreaves for 17 million last summer. Boro paid 7 million for Mido last summer. City paid £9 million for Bianchi last summer.

The markets haven't changed significantly in the last year and it in no way makes the signing of Keith Andrews for £1.5 million anywhere near defensible.

I would advise you to wake up, but I don't think there'd be a great deal of insight even if you did...

Course they have, no way would Mido have cost £7million a few years back before the TV money came in. Players are more expensive now, I feel as though i'm just repeating myself again and again. Players are more expensive now than they were a few seasons back regardless of thier performances.

[BRFC1995]

who questioned the signings of santa and mccarthy, i was made up when they signed as they were/are superstars! certainly never questioned nelsen signing as he cost nowt! I've every right in the world to be appalled at a rumour our star gk is offski and robinson is deemed an adequate replacement when in my opinion he ain't fit to lace brads boots! and £1,500,000 for andrews is utter maddness and there is no hughes signing in the same ballpark of stupidity for comparison!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brfcmad1979]

Course they have, no way would Mido have cost £7million a few years back before the TV money came in. Players are more expensive now, I feel as though i'm just repeating myself again and again. Players are more expensive now than they were a few seasons back regardless of thier performances.

The only good thing that might come from signing Andrews is if we flog him 12 months later to a newly promoted team for a profit ala Kuqi

[tony gale's mic]

Course they have, no way would Mido have cost £7million a few years back before the TV money came in. Players are more expensive now, I feel as though i'm just repeating myself again and again. Players are more expensive now than they were a few seasons back regardless of thier performances.

You highlighted me saying "the markets havent changed significantly in the last year" and then you said "no way would Mido have cost £7 million a few years back".

Your first point was that RSC and Benni would have cost "a lot more" this summer as opposed to last summer. The league was still awash with money last summer and as far as I remember two seasons ago too, and just as many silly sales were being made, especially last summer. Hell, this summer is looking pretty tame by comparison so far...

I'll leave you to work that one out...

[Eddie]

Course they have, no way would Mido have cost £7million a few years back before the TV money came in. Players are more expensive now, I feel as though i'm just repeating myself again and again. Players are more expensive now than they were a few seasons back regardless of thier performances.

How far back do you want to go?

How much did we pay for Davies?

Grabbi?

I can keep going...

I'd say that over the past 3 or 4 years the market has actually calmed down a bit.

[Gav]

Neither of them, keep Brad, simple as that.

Carson is terrible and Robinson is not much better.

Too give that t****r Benitez 4million for Carson would be all to much for me..........

[Blue n White Rover]

who questioned the signings of santa and mccarthy, i was made up when they signed as they were/are superstars! certainly never questioned nelsen signing as he cost nowt! I've every right in the world to be appalled at a rumour our star gk is offski and robinson is deemed an adequate replacement when in my opinion he ain't fit to lace brads boots! and £1,500,000 for andrews is utter maddness and there is no hughes signing in the same ballpark of stupidity for comparison!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about Jon Stead? Div 2 player paid around £1.25million for him. Remind me again what he did in his first season at Rovers?

Wait a second, I think mainly because of him we are still in this bloody league!

Anyone care to disagree?

And yes I know Sparky didn't sign him.

[Amo]

Please don't compare Stead to Keith Andrews. Andrews has had seven more years to make it in the big time and hasn't. There's got to some reason no Premiership team has picked him up.

[Eddie]

Difference is Stead was young and totally untested, so although a huge gamble, you could at least say "we think he's got the makings of a great player". Andrews has been to a higher level and didn't make a name for himself, so splashing out big cash for a player from that division seems a bit odd.

[tony gale's mic]

How about Jon Stead? Div 2 player paid around £1.25million for him. Remind me again what he did in his first season at Rovers?

Wait a second, I think mainly because of him we are still in this bloody league!

Anyone care to disagree?

And yes I know Sparky didn't sign him.

Andrews is a league lower than Stead and is being bought for more money.

Stead was 21 at the time and was bought with the mind that he'd get better with time too. He'd also not failed anywhere and done well at the one place he'd been. Andrews is 27, has failed at Championship level and won't get any better most likely.

Stead didnt end up being very good in the long term either and it was extremely good fortune that he scored those goals when he did.

Just give it up, you're losing this one...

[BRFC1995]

had high expectations for stead and wanted him to sign, age and potential on his side, added height and pace to the team. What on earth does a 27 year old lower league journeyman offer us! 200k tops take it or leave it offer! £1.5m would be better spent getting a high quality player in on loan for a season.

[Blue n White Rover]

Andrews is a league lower than Stead and is being bought for more money.

Stead was 21 at the time and was bought with the mind that he'd get better with time too. He'd also not failed anywhere and done well at the one place he'd been. Andrews is 27, has failed at Championship level and won't get any better most likely.

Stead didnt end up being very good in the long term either and it was extremely good fortune that he scored those goals when he did.

Just give it up, you're losing this one...

That a load of #.

If Ince had signed Stead right now, We all know for a fact he would've been slated from each and every single one of you and don't say you wouldn't have.

Just the fact Ince was bought from MK Dons and he is signing an ex employee of his, he is getting this much stick.

We don't know the reasons as to why Ince is bringing him to our team BUT surely he knows better than us and has a decent enough explanation for it. You've got yourself in a win-win situation. If he does crap your going to say you we're right and if he does crap you'll say it was down to "good fortune".

Of course i'll be losing this...

Give Ince a chance FFS, let him have his first few competitive matches, let us see what formation he's going to play, lets look at our aquad at the end of the summer and then, have a swipe at him if he has done wrong.

But he's bought in a backroom staff he gets slated!

Bought a defensive coach gets slated!

Bought in a Scout and even he gets slated!

Ridiculous!

[tony gale's mic]

That a load of #.

If Ince had signed Stead right now, We all know for a fact he would've been slated from each and every single one of you and don't say you wouldn't have.

Just the fact Ince was bought from MK Dons and he is signing an ex employee of his, he is getting this much stick.

We don't know the reasons as to why Ince is bringing him to our team BUT surely he knows better than us and has a decent enough explanation for it. You've got yourself in a win-win situation. If he does crap your going to say you we're right and if he does crap you'll say it was down to "good fortune".

Of course i'll be losing this...

Give Ince a chance FFS, let him have his first few competitive matches, let us see what formation he's going to play, lets look at our aquad at the end of the summer and then, have a swipe at him if he has done wrong.

But he's bought in a backroom staff he gets slated!

Bought a defensive coach gets slated!

Bought in a Scout and even he gets slated!

Ridiculous!

Okay I'm going to break things down very slowly for you.

Stead scored 6 goals in 13 games for us, helping to keep us up. Since then he's been pretty toss wherever he's been, scoring the odd goal but nowhere near what he did with us. So yes, there was a large degree of good fortune involved that he just happened to produce by far the best form of his career just when we were fighting relegation. He didnt exactly have the same effect on Sheffield United did he? If he actually turned out to be a very good player then I wouldn't be using those words.

If we signed Stead now, I would raise a few eyebrows, but I would no way feel anywhere near this strongly. You sign a 21 year old, there's always the big hope and expectation he's going to get better. How much better... who knows, and thats part of the excitement. He was also untested at our level and hadn't failed anywhere uptil this point. He'd been in a division above Andrews and was bought for a bit less money. Andrews is 27, will not get better and has failed at a level below ours (the Championship).

"Manager knows best"...like I said if he signed some pub player would you say the same?

And for the record I was quite happy to see Winterburn arrive.

[S15]

If we signed Stead now, I would raise a few eyebrows,

Flippin eck, how many have you got???!!

[tony gale's mic]

Flippin eck, how many have you got???!!

fair point...

[Exiled in Toronto]

One wonders how you would respond if Ince took a washed up 35 year old cast off centre half from West Ham and put him straight into the 2nd best team in England?

Would that have met your criteria?

It met Kenny's with Tony Gale.

[tony gale's mic]

One wonders how you would respond if Ince took a washed up 35 year old cast off centre half from West Ham and put him straight into the 2nd best team in England?

Would that have met your criteria?

It met Kenny's with Tony Gale.

Once again, he'd done very well at the top level. He was pretty old but he'd been successful and what he'd lost in pace he gained in top level experience.

And I don't think Kenny spent a not insignificant portion of our transfer budget...

[Exiled in Toronto]

Before events proved otherwise, Gale did NOT look like a good signing. Neither did Marker, neither did Stead.

Using your logic, we'd never sign anyone from a lower division. Reid and Neill were not kids when we signed them, big jump up in level etc, but turned out OK.

I have no idea if Andrews can step up and neither do you, so that being the case, I'll support our manager until results and performances convince me otherwise.

[tony gale's mic]

Before events proved otherwise, Gale did NOT look like a good signing. Neither did Marker, neither did Stead.

Using your logic, we'd never sign anyone from a lower division. Reid and Neill were not kids when we signed them, big jump up in level etc, but turned out OK.

I have no idea if Andrews can step up and neither do you, so that being the case, I'll support our manager until results and performances convince me otherwise.

I do have an idea if Andrews can step up since he has been tested at Championship level. And failed.

He was part of the Wolves squad which got relegated from the Premier League a few years back. And wasn't even good enough to get into the team.

Also, the 1994-1995 league wasnt full of international stars like it is today. The standard is so much higher its not even funny.

Reid and Neill were 22 and 23 respectively and were playing in the league below us (I think...) and had succeeded in their careers so far.

Andrews is 27, playing three leagues below us and has had a stop-start journeyman career.

You keep blindly supporting our manager, I'd rather be realistic...