[Archived] Keith Andrews - Rovers Newest Signing

[tony gale's mic]

Grella has only worked well when he's been with Dunn. Hopefully Sam will actually play the players in position next game, the team vs Villa was a throwback to the Ince era.

[John]

KA is nowhere near premiership class; I'm not sure Grella is either actually. The combination is deadly and a significant part of our failure in recent games.

Agree. I commend Andrews for working hard and running around a lot but he is just not Premiership quality.

Overall, when looking at our team, we have players of the required quality (to stay up), but centre of midfield in particular is a serious problem for us - granted, injuries have not helped us.

[Plastic Head]

Anyone who gives a hard time to Andrews should be giving all hell to Santa Cruz.

Let's look at the evidence.....

RSC.....Star of Paraguayan team....Paraguay sports personality of the year...Top scorer in world cup qualifying campaign last time......4th top scorer in Premier League last season, bids made around £18M in January.

Andrews. ........Binman. Worthless piece of sh**.

I know who i'll be booing...

[Mc Love]

Andrews, played well tonight for Ireland giving the shocking goal in the first minute! Although that wasnt his fault

[47er]

I think that is a very fair comment. He is trying hard. He is improving. He has worn the blue and white shirt enough times to make him one of us. He has been required to do too much too soon.

Nobody disputes that Andrews does his best but he isn't good enough and should not have been signed.

[onlyoneDuff]

If you want to have a go at our WORST signing of the Ince era, take a look at 3-4 million pound man Vince Grella. People can use the injury excuse all they like, but anyone who has focused on Grella can see that he is too slow for this level -- shockingly so. I have also yet to see any tough tackling out of him, other than the time he caught Lampard and then quickly backed off once Fat Frank got in his face...

I would argue that Andrews has been the better buy...no one can question his work ethic and he has played some exceptional through balls in his time here....why he takes so much abuse here is a mystery to me...

[kai82]

If you want to have a go at our WORST signing of the Ince era, take a look at 3-4 million pound man Vince Grella. People can use the injury excuse all they like, but anyone who has focused on Grella can see that he is too slow for this level -- shockingly so. I have also yet to see any tough tackling out of him, other than the time he caught Lampard and then quickly backed off once Fat Frank got in his face...

I would argue that Andrews has been the better buy...no one can question his work ethic and he has played some exceptional through balls in his time here....why he takes so much abuse here is a mystery to me...

1. He's from the lower leagues of English Football

2. He is a Paul Ince signing

3. We are in the relegation zone

[AggyBlue]

Andrews. ........Binman. Worthless piece of sh**.

I know who i'll be booing...

As a Rovers fan I'd never boo a player in Blue'n'White halves on Ewood, no matter who they were.

[Balwer]

1. He's from the lower leagues of English Football

2. He is a Paul Ince signing

3. We are in the relegation zone

Well said.

Personally I think he's a great clubman and tries his hardest. It's not his fault he's not starting material in the Premiership, and I don't think he was signed for that purpose, but he still goes out and tries every week and that's why I like him. I like talented players, but I don't dislike players because they're less talented than others and I don't understand why others keep criticising him for it. If he's slacking off, fair enough, but I could never dislike a player that gave 100% whilst in the Blue and White because he's there to do the job his manager asks to the best of his abilities.

[47er]

Well said.

Personally I think he's a great clubman and tries his hardest. It's not his fault he's not starting material in the Premiership, and I don't think he was signed for that purpose, but he still goes out and tries every week and that's why I like him. I like talented players, but I don't dislike players because they're less talented than others and I don't understand why others keep criticising him for it. If he's slacking off, fair enough, but I could never dislike a player that gave 100% whilst in the Blue and White because he's there to do the job his manager asks to the best of his abilities.

If we had eleven like him we would fnish last by a mile. We have too many squad players and not enough genuine starters. That's why he shouldn't have been signed. We needed another central mid-fielder or 2 but not him

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Andrews is not playing in the Rovers team at present because he is last man standing as many are saying. If that was the case Sam would have brought a player in January, even on loan. He is playing because Sam needs a player in the middle with the ability to get around the pitch. None of Tugay, Grella or Dunn have the legs to get around a pitch consistently for 90 minutes anymore so Sam feels that he needs Andrews in the team to be their legs. A bit like Savage was for Tugay, Flitcroft was for Dunn/Tugay but not as good. The price we paid tells you that but a look at the accounts tells you why we are shopping in the bargain basement.

I agree with 1864 in that his biggest is that he tends to get drawn towards the ball so whem playing against quick passing teams can easily get drawn out of position but Sam obviously feels he can work on that. He also needs a strong communicator alongside him. Last season Emerton palyed centre midfield against Man Utd with Vogel, Emerton drifted out of position and get a right rollicking from Vogel but he did not drift again until Vogel tired and was outstanding in protecting the back four.

For those for say that Grella's best games have been when Dunn has played alongside him fair enough, but that was not for 90 minutes was it? It is usually when one or both have come on as sub and there has been a change in tactics. Andrews best games for me have been when both him and Tugay have started together. They have compimented each other OK, not brilliantly.

So in conclusion, he may not be best footballer and in the long run he may not be up to standard, but lay off Andrews. Booing him is not the answer only help destroy a player's confidence. It is Ince who bought him and Sam who is playing him so it is their fault if you feel that Rovers are only fielding 10 men when Andrews takes to the field.

[Roost]

Let's look at the evidence.....

RSC.....Star of Paraguayan team....Paraguay sports personality of the year...Top scorer in world cup qualifying campaign last time......4th top scorer in Premier League last season, bids made around £18M in January.

Andrews. ........Binman. Worthless piece of sh**.

I know who i'll be booing...

Probably says everything about what is wrong with elements of our 'support' - booing our own players - god help us.

Is it any wonder a lot of our players look for pastures new.............?

To me you are a lapsed rovers fan - hang your head in shame or shake off your prejudices and get behind the team

[rover6]

Again you judge a player by comparing them with players you judge as not good enough. By that criteria, anyone's good enough.

If we were to go down this season, Andrews and Grella as a midfield pair wouldn't be up to the task of getting us back up. There are better players in the Championship.

Den, the reason I compare Andrews with Flitcroft and Savage is to establish that you do not need to be highly talented, given the right attitude and breaks, to do a job in the Prem.

I didn't think that Flit or Sav, even in their pomp, were great players. But they made the most of what they had.

Andrews ain't great but he could develop into a useful player, I think.

BTW: How's old Anthony Annan playing at Rosenborg. Didn't Ince reject him to save money to sign Andrews...now that might have been a big mistake.

[philipl]

My concern about Andrews is not that most Rovers supporters can see his limitations but all our Premier League opponents can.

He has played enough Premier League games now for every club to have a dossier on him and I am afraid his usefulness to us will decline in the remaining games as all the opposition will know exactly how to make him run endlessly to no effect.

[Eddie]

I'll explain my Santa Cruz comment;

I wasn't putting Santa Cruz and Andrews on the same level, more saying that anyone who is so disappointed with Andrews that they feel the need to boo should have very strong emotions when it comes to Santa Cruz. For the 750k-1 million that we paid for Andrews he's been a decent signing and by no means our worst performer this season. When I think of where to lay blame I look at Williams, Ince, Warnock, Ooijer...it's quite a long list, but Andrews isn't near the top. He's come in and done a decent job and I think if he is a squad man for the next 3/4 years then we won't have any real problems with him. The problem we have is that he is playing too large of a role and he is playing alongside a poor quality of player. I'll still reserve judgement on Grella, but I wasn't enthralled by the signing and it doesn't look too promising. Santa Cruz on the other hand came into this season as an integral part of our team, possibly it's most important player and one who we would have expected to score at least 12/13 premiership goals this season. He has been terrible. He often looks disinterested, he's clearly chased a move to another club (which must have caused at least some disruption to the squad and also possibly diverted time and effort that could have been spent looking at other areas of the squad in January to a chase for a striker that we ended up not being able to find and not needing).

This has nothing to do with Andrews and everything to do with Ince. No one is booing Mokoena. No one is booing Vogel.

Oh and I love Benni. Love, love, love Benni.

[Al]

It's all a matter of opinion Eddie.

Your defence of Andrews is that he was a decent signing and has done a decent job and you state that as a fact. I do not agree with you.I think he was a poor signing and has done a poor job.

I agree you don't get a lot for £1mil but you can get better than Andrews. Annan perhaps? Having said that I don't boo any Rovers player but I would rather not see him on the pitch

[Jonnolad]

Riddle me this one - why do Allardyce and Trapattoni keep on playing Andrews?

Big Sam keeps on starting with him (over, say, a completely fit Mokoena) and under Trapattoni he's now not just getting call ups but is actually in the starting eleven and playing the full 90! Is Trapattoni watching a completely different Keith Andrews or something? Is he just not watching him at all? Is he just a rubbish manager and doesn't know what he is doing? It seems that if the majority on this thread are talking sense then surely it has to be one of these reasons.

It's worth remembering this is the most successful manager in Italian club history we are talking about here, someone with arguably as much managerial experience as anyone in the world - if anyone knew a good player when he sees one, surely it would be him. So why does Giovanni Trapattoni rate Keith Andrews when people on here don't even think he is good enough for the Championship or is a "worthless piece of s**t"?

Could it possibly be that we have a load of fantasy managers on here who only really have a superficial knowledge of football, and have created their opinion of Andrews based on football snobbery? Surely not. The only problem of course is either Big Sam and Trapattoni are wrong about Keith Andrews or most people on this thread are.

I certainly know who's opinion I value when it comes to football!

[riverside returns]

Good point Jono, Andrews is not a Ferrari of the midfield market and does not stand comparison with the likes of Gerrard, lampard, barry, fabregas et al, but he does do a simple job well. He is not a pile of s---e as some would say but will get us a nice fat profit when we come to sell him with good prem experience.

Some need to take a look in the reality book!

[LeftWinger]

..but will get us a nice fat profit when we come to sell him

Some need to take a look in the reality book!

Think you could do with a copy of that book yourself! We might make our money back on Andrews, but we will never make a "nice fat profit".

The Kuqi sale was a fluke

[broadsword]

He's a goal-scoring international midfielder, we should be looking for 5 mill I reckon

To cap it all, he's got cheek-bones like a cheese-grater. You can't put a value on bopne structure like that.

[waggy]

andrews when he plays for the rovers is never the worst player,he has no backing from the crowd,but gets on with his job,plays in world cup qualifiers and still deemed by those on hear who shout the loudest not good enough

[Amo]

Riddle me this one - why do Allardyce and Trapattoni keep on playing Andrews?

Big Sam keeps on starting with him (over, say, a completely fit Mokoena) and under Trapattoni he's now not just getting call ups but is actually in the starting eleven and playing the full 90! Is Trapattoni watching a completely different Keith Andrews or something? Is he just not watching him at all? Is he just a rubbish manager and doesn't know what he is doing? It seems that if the majority on this thread are talking sense then surely it has to be one of these reasons.

It's worth remembering this is the most successful manager in Italian club history we are talking about here, someone with arguably as much managerial experience as anyone in the world - if anyone knew a good player when he sees one, surely it would be him. So why does Giovanni Trapattoni rate Keith Andrews when people on here don't even think he is good enough for the Championship or is a "worthless piece of s**t"?

Could it possibly be that we have a load of fantasy managers on here who only really have a superficial knowledge of football, and have created their opinion of Andrews based on football snobbery? Surely not. The only problem of course is either Big Sam and Trapattoni are wrong about Keith Andrews or most people on this thread are.

I certainly know who's opinion I value when it comes to football!

This only works on the basis that every experienced manager is completely flawless in his predilections.

I remember a certain Sir Alex Ferguson who thought Eric Djemba-Djemba, and Kleberson were Premiership midfielders.

Not to mention it's slim-pickings, so far as the RoI are concerned.

[rover6]

Allardyce and Trap don't have many options do they? I mean does Glenn Whelan get into the Stoke team? And, may I remind everyone that Aaron Mokoena made a total pig's ear of playing midfield for South Africa in the last African Nations Cup,; so much so, he was hauled back into defence after a coupla games.

That said, for MK Dons, he didn't just do very well in League 2 but he was noticeably effective against Championship opposition.. And he maintained it for a full season. Which suggests that he has some potential, even if not superstar material - or even star.

The problem is that most of our players are underperforming and the obvious person is being made something of a scapegoat.

[den]

As well as wondering why Sam and Trapattoni pick him, you could also try to work out why on earth he's been wasting his time getting released by clubs in the lower leagues. Maybe he was a far better player than they all thought.

Of course, all those managers could have been wrong as well.

[CrazyIvan]

As well as wondering why Sam and Trapattoni pick him, you could also try to work out why on earth he's been wasting his time getting released by clubs in the lower leagues. Maybe he was a far better player than they all thought.

Of course, all those managers could have been wrong as well.

Well since Andrews admits he wasn't properly focused until he dropped into League 2 maybe those managers were right but since he is proving himself now, why shouldn't Big Sam and Trapattoni pick him if he is good enough? BTW I don't think he has ever been 'released' by a club, i.e. contract ended by mutual consent, transferred yes but let go completely? Oh yeah, for anybody who says he wasn't a Premier League player before he joined Rovers, he actually played for Wolves in the Premier League in one game so officially he was a Premier League player before he joined us (I expect some comments on that last one... )