[Archived] Nickos Thread

[modes98]

The Michael Johnson story is wishful thinking from his agent. Arsenal are after other players [plural] and he is not one of them just now.

Any chance of an Ewood offer? He would be a cracking buy.

[nicko]

ANNAN - There has been a pretty big development. The news will have to wait until 11pm. However don't hold your breath if you expect Annan to be joining Rovers.

JOHNSON - What a very good idea.

ANY OTHER MIDFIELD NAMES - No...and please stop asking. When I hear of a bid or loan offer then I will do the story.

SPARKY'S COMPO - Paid in advance to Rovers. Thaksin still has to pay for it. That's the way to read it...

[Jonnolad]

ANNAN - There has been a pretty big development. The news will have to wait until 11pm. However don't hold your breath if you expect Annan to be joining Rovers.

######

[Bert is Evil]

Could the mysterious midfielder be Alanzinho? The brazilian playing with Annan in Stabæk? He is small and knows how to pass the ball... That would be obscure after all the talk about getting Annan....

[RevidgeBlue]

Does THIS article, not suggest that we haven't been paid yet?

Of the 10 headline signings made since his arrival, only the recent £5m acquisition of Tal Ben Haim involved money paid to an English club, in this instance Chelsea, with the remaining nine, including the the £8m Elano, the £19m Brazilian striker Jo and the £8.8m Italian forward Rolando Bianchi, payable in several instalments. The second instalments on those deals are now due while loan fees for Nery Castillo, wages, severance pay for Eriksson and compensation to Blackburn for Hughes have also added to the costs for City and their owner.

I can read that two ways.

No, nothing there to suggest nicko isn't right on this, it merely suggests that wages and compo paid to us and Sven have made it even more difficult for them to meet their obligations to pay previously agreed transfer installments.

[sparkspakespoke]

I dont understand why everyone is so sttracted to the idea of Annan. How many people have seen him play over a period of time? If Ince has seen him first hand and judged that he doesnt measure up then we should trust him on it, surley he knows a good midfielder when he see's one!

[nicko]

Could the mysterious midfielder be Alanzinho? The brazilian playing with Annan in Stabæk? He is small and knows how to pass the ball... That would be obscure after all the talk about getting Annan....

I think there's more chance of it being Nickozinho.

[Billy Castell]

I think Nicko is suggesting either an Arsenal bid for Annan or Andrews has been signed. Not sure I like either. Citeh's Johnson would be nice though. Potential suitors are probably waiting to see how much poo hits the fan over there, and at what velocity.

[Hughesy]

I think people are disappointed on Annan because JW came out and said he couldnt do any better - if thats the case then surely he should of been signed. Anyway for now il reserve judgement, il trust Ince unless it goes wrong.

One Love - The Rovers

[sparkspakespoke]

I think people are disappointed on Annan because JW came out and said he couldnt do any better - if thats the case then surely he should of been signed. Anyway for now il reserve judgement, il trust Ince unless it goes wrong.

One Love - The Rovers

It may be that while Annan is a decent player, he doesnt fit into the system that Ince wants to play. It could also explain why he wants Andrews so much. He has a system in mind and it has a role that he knows Andrews can play. Its not always the best 11 individual players that make the best team. Take Gerrard and fat Frank, both great club players but dont work togheter in the middle for England. I may just be trying to persuade myself about Andrews though . . .

[dlukeg1]

Many pundits are predicting us to struggle if not go down this year - and now we are given the tag of BARKING BUYS :

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_3966507,00.html

Well done Ince your first award!

Sad times - lets hope many of us on here are very VERY wrong.

[I_saw_Batty_score]

I think there's more chance of it being Nickozinho.

Nickozinho would be a fantanstic signing. Scoring wonder goals, free kicks that beat the wall & the keeper, step-overs galore and corners that got past the first man; he'd be the star of the premiership, however, in no time, there would be some Blackburn Enders accusting him of undermining the club and only having his own interests at heart. Before long he'd be restricted to 11th hour appearances off the bench. From the start of the game the fans would be chanting "Ince - is there an 11 O'clock appearance".

[RibbleValleyRover]

Michael Johnson would be a great signing, decent player with a lot of potential though i can't see it happening as bigger clubs with more money will definately be interested in him. He also comes across as a bit of a big time charlie or has an attitude problem.

[The Prof.]

The Sun back page today was just an attempt to catch up with the Mirror story yesterday.

Things are bad there just now. But Sparky is a fighter. I hear he laid down a few ground rules in the last 48 hours...but that won't make the books balance all the same.

Ince needs to do that at Ewood I think.

Anyone know how much money Sparky is on over there?

A million £'s of nowt!

[92er]

Ince - we have to give him time. I dont remember so much negativity when MH took over and he had achieved very little.

When Souness was poached by Newcastle, we were allegedly within a week or two of sacking him.

If he had stayed, we would probably have been relegated.

When MH left, we had finished the season in 7th, and despite quite a number of disappointments that others have referred to, he left us in a position of strength for the next manager to build on.

The negativity, in my case and in the case of my similarly aged friends, is how Ince has dealt with the issues that have faced him so far.

[Hughesy]

Hate pundits who just have a dig at our club all the time.

From SSN - Alan McInally

"Not so much a player for this one, more of an approach, and it's Paul Ince's at Blackburn. I think he's looking around the lower leagues to find a gem, which is what Lawrie Sanchez tried to do at Fulham without success. It might not be Paul's fault - he might not have a lot to spend and have had to alter his targets accordingly - but he could struggle with some of the players he's brought in."

"But I think it will also be a tough season for Blackburn and Bolton so it'll be between Blackburn, Bolton and West Brom for that other relegation spot"

Remember this post and then ram it down his throat when we are top 10!!

Paul merson - SSN

"I think Bolton will struggle. And, hopefully not because I'd like Paul Ince to do well, I reckon Blackburn will too. They've lost their best player in Bentley and although Santa Cruz was on fire last year, all of a sudden people will be saying, 'Right, let's mark him out of the game'." PROBABLY a very good point.

Jeff Stelling - SSN

Best Buy - "Paul Robinson for Blackburn. £3.5m for an England goalkeeper and I'm tipping him to have a fantastic season. He'll probably need to, because I don't think Blackburn will have a great season but I fancy him to be one of the best buys. Equally, I think David Bentley going the other way will be a huge success. He'll love the glamour and glitz of Spurs."

[The Prof.]

A very good question and a pleasing answer. If Hughes was to walk away would there been any restrictions on him getting straight back into the game? The fee that City forked out was equivalent to what would be paid for a decent player, but a player couldn't just walk out and start again could he, so what about Sparky?

Broken Promises! tch!

He wouldn't come back here and I am led to believe it was because he'd done all that had been asked of him and Rovers still wouldn't release the funds to take us up to the next level in his eyes. I believe he saw the amount as being relatively small (£15m was mentioned) - and self financing over the next 2-3 years and felt a promise had been broken.

Wonder what JW feels and where that leaves Ince?

Also wonder what Sparky feels now? - just more broken promises?

I wonder what the odds are for Ince to actually Quit before Christmas (not sacked)? He was well supported financially at MK.

[philipl]

Well, presumably the Ince and Incers are working like crazy to find the one or two signings before Saturday's game Paul Ince spoke about last Saturday. Perhaps, the lack of news means that Mark Hughes-style discipline is being re-introduced at Ewood or maybe I am hoping too much.

The issue at City is cash.

It appears they have run out of it three times in the past 12 months and had to borrow it from their ex-Chairman. What Cook talked about being normal for City when they think about a purchase might be normal for one or two heavily undebted or spendthrift clubs but most certainly is not the norm Mark Hughes was used to Ewood.

With Wardle out of the picture and the CEO so desperate he almost raised £11m by two cut-price cash player sales behind Sparky's back, clearly City are clean out of cash.

They are probably in a more desperate state because they have just the one home Sunday game against West Ham in August and I bet every penny of that gate money has probably got at least 10 places it needs to go,not least the wages.

I guess Cook and Sinatra's people are probably running round trying to find something like £20m in cash before the end of the month and with Sinatra a bail-jumper and all the current press about City, borrowing that in a credit-squeezed world is going to require devotion and perserverence over and above the call of any blue moon.

[Majiball]

PS: Maybe we should move into another thread, sorry mods...

Moved it to the Ince thread for you.

[pksrover]

ANNAN - There has been a pretty big development. The news will have to wait until 11pm. However don't hold your breath if you expect Annan to be joining Rovers.

Man City to spend the remainer of their transfer budget on Annan (about £1.5mill?)? Or maybe even that sum will be a stretch for the ambitous Hughes

[briansol]

I think it's good that Ince is restrictive with the tranfer budget when he's learning the trade. Have a look at what Roy Keane spent 40+ mill on last season trying to learn the transfer market. A very expensive lesson indeed. He basicly financed the whole championship last year.

Nicko, who's bankrolling the expansive tranfers activity at Sunderland?

[nicko]

I think it's good that Ince is restrictive with the tranfer budget when he's learning the trade. Have a look at what Roy Keane spent 40+ mill on last season trying to learn the transfer market. A very expensive lesson indeed. He basicly financed the whole championship last year.

Nicko, who's bankrolling the expansive tranfers activity at Sunderland?

Their Irish owners...they are certainly having a go.

[gbax]

Many pundits are predicting us to struggle if not go down this year - and now we are given the tag of BARKING BUYS :

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_3966507,00.html

Well done Ince your first award!

Sad times - lets hope many of us on here are very VERY wrong.

Here we go again!

How the hell do you get 'many pundits' from an article by 'ONE' pundit!!!!

Go and spread your doom and gloom down at the youth club!

[JAL]

Hate pundits who just have a dig at our club all the time.

From SSN - Alan McInally

"Not so much a player for this one, more of an approach, and it's Paul Ince's at Blackburn. I think he's looking around the lower leagues to find a gem, which is what Lawrie Sanchez tried to do at Fulham without success. It might not be Paul's fault - he might not have a lot to spend and have had to alter his targets accordingly - but he could struggle with some of the players he's brought in."

"But I think it will also be a tough season for Blackburn and Bolton so it'll be between Blackburn, Bolton and West Brom for that other relegation spot"

Remember this post and then ram it down his throat when we are top 10!!

Paul merson - SSN

"I think Bolton will struggle. And, hopefully not because I'd like Paul Ince to do well, I reckon Blackburn will too. They've lost their best player in Bentley and although Santa Cruz was on fire last year, all of a sudden people will be saying, 'Right, let's mark him out of the game'." PROBABLY a very good point.

Jeff Stelling - SSN

Best Buy - "Paul Robinson for Blackburn. £3.5m for an England goalkeeper and I'm tipping him to have a fantastic season. He'll probably need to, because I don't think Blackburn will have a great season but I fancy him to be one of the best buys. Equally, I think David Bentley going the other way will be a huge success. He'll love the glamour and glitz of Spurs."

Pretty much agree with the pundits, we have lost two of our best players ones been replaced the other hasnt plus adding a past it striker means were guaranteed a long hard season.

[JohnS]

Nicko before i get shot, as you have probably previously mentioned this in a post. Are any more players at Blackburn likely to be heading out the exit doors i.e. Warnock, McCarthy or RSC. As there the ones i really want to remain at this club.