[Archived] The Transfer Window

[OscarRaven]

Not one player signed is an improvement on what we have already. So to lose two star players as well in a league where standing still will see you go backwards is tantamount to neglect.

Ince (or John Williams) has shown a decided lack of ambition in his targets after all our nearest competitors from last season were Man City and Villa - how many league 2 players and ex championship hasbeen's were they sniffing round?

Wish I had the time to do it but it would be interesting to compare spends, income and net spend of all the clubs over this window as that would give real insight.

[Veevs]

Maj.. we did not need to sign a player of Bentleys quality, that would of cost WAY too much..

But spending on someone like Kightly, Valdo, Larsson etc would of been better than signing no one..

But we did need to sign one right sided midfielder even if we just got one on loan from a club outside of the UK...

Every club in the UK will know that we don't have a single specialist right winger/midfielder and our current right back is slow.. and they WILL exploit this just like West Ham did against us.

And how can you say we have a bigger squad.. we lost 7 and gained 7.. that means we have a squad the same size.

[Majiball]

Sorry to keep running on about this Maj, but I disagree with you strongly here..

I can easily see boro, ManC, NewC, Portsmouth, Spuds and one of Wigan or Sunderland all with large investments finishing above us in the league.. thats a drop of 5 or 6 places or as you rightly point out 10K pw a place.. so up 50-60K a week (which is the equivilent of Pennants or a top right wingers wages)

You also did not mention lower attendances, lower TV revenue.. etc. so thats further losses.

that 100K per week is easily balanced out with the players/managers we lost or got rid of:

Enk = Bunn

Bentley = Grella and Andrews

Henchoz = Simpson

Rigters = Carlos

Ince < Hughes

Robinson > Brad

Gally <

To me that total would mean we are saving a considerable ammount on wages, plus this season we will be paying for 4 or 5 spare central midfielders who will rarely get a game.

While I agree you can't sell players if no offer is received, we know that teams where interested in some of our squad players (e.g. McBennie and the Axe).. plus you can offer players around.

Both of us are guessing at figures here ok, thats that no-one can be proved right or wrong. We do not know the inner workings nor the situation and never will unles we win the lottery several times.

One thing I will say though is this, what we saw after the everton game made me smile. Camaradery, team spirit however you want to call it, this is not made by dumping on your players the second you walk in the door. The time for us to start shipping players out is next summer, that way everyone gets a fair crack of the whip, regardless of our opinions on players. This builds team spirit in huge quantities as we saw at everton. There are so many factors to consider its not just sell him buy him, we are not in the picture, we are on the outside looking in.

How do you seriously expect us to compete with teams spending tens of millions, come on tell me how we do it? Are you prepared to risk the future of our club by spending beyond our means? We have acted this transfer window as we do every year with caution.

Sky show us making a profit of 8.2M so we have that for January, thats fine by me. We have spent more this window than last year alot more.

Maj.. we did not need to sign a player of Bentleys quality, that would of cost WAY too much..

But spending on someone like Kightly, Valdo, Larsson etc would of been better than signing no one..

But we did need to sign one right sided midfielder even if we just got one on loan from a club outside of the UK...

Every club in the UK will know that we don't have a single specialist right winger/midfielder and our current right back is slow.. and they WILL exploit this just like West Ham did against us.

And how can you say we have a bigger squad.. we lost 7 and gained 7.. that means we have a squad the same size.

If they had fitted the brief they would be here of that I have no doubt. What would you have done if we signed Kightly and he flopped and we'd spent the rumoured 6M+ on him. Valdo is an injury plaqued player, Kightly is unproven, Larsson I do not rate him sorry no pace.

Here's a thought who needs a right winger?? Liverpool do OK without one. We change the way we play, we sit down and re-assess and do what everyone has to do in life and change our plans. Ince wants to play a certain way but that cannot be set in stone we are not able to go out and sign players to fit the managers system we must build a system around our strengthens.

We do have a bigger squad, treacey et al all these kids who would never have gotten a chance with hughes are now in the frame, its bigger.

[Veevs]

Both of us are guessing at figures here ok, thats that no-one can be proved right or wrong. We do not know the inner workings nor the situation and never will unles we win the lottery several times.

One thing I will say though is this, what we saw after the everton game made me smile. Camaradery, team spirit however you want to call it, this is not made by dumping on your players the second you walk in the door. The time for us to start shipping players out is next summer, that way everyone gets a fair crack of the whip, regardless of our opinions on players. This builds team spirit in huge quantities as we saw at everton.

How do you seriously expect us to compete with teams spending tens of millions, come on tell me how we do it? Are you prepared to risk the future of our club by spending beyond our means? We have acted this transfer window as we do every year with caution.

Sky show us makinga profit of 8.2M so we have that for January, thats fine by me. We have spent more this window than last year alot more.

If they had fitted the brief they would be here of that I have no doubt. What would you have done if we signed Kightly and he flopped and we'd spent the rumoured 6M+ on him. Valdo is an injury plaqued player, Kightly is unproven, Larsson I do not rate him sorry no pace.

Here's a thought who needs a right winger?? Liverpool do OK without one. We change the way we play, we sit down and re-assess and do what everyone has to do in life and change our plans. Ince wants to play a certain way but that cannot be set in stone we are not able to go out and sign players to fit the managers system we must build a system around our strengthens.

We do have a bigger squad, treacey et al all these kids who would never have gotten a chance with hughes are now in the frame, its bigger.

But Liverpool do have a right winger in the squad.. and use him tactically.. we don't have that luxury and other teams will know it..

we may be guessing the figures but I don't think that my guess can be that far off the truth, unless we are paying daft wages for Ince, Andrews, Grella, Carlos et al

All signings are a risk, but you have to take that risk.. sometimes it works (Bellamy, shearer, sutton, Santa, samba, Warnock etc etc) sometimes it does not (Davies, Ward etc etc).. but the simple fact remains where would we of been without taking those risks?

[speeeeeeedie]

I'm amazed at some of the comments posted. A lot of them read like spoiled children writing, which is somewhat understandable given that since 1991 Rovers fans have been given plenty of treats. Rovers are a club from one of the most depressed areas of the country, in a town with a large % of the population not really interested in football. These secenarios have given rise to regular gates under 23,000. This results in the club not being able to spalsh the cash, but we have a board of trustees and 2 very astute executives keeping the good ship Rovers afloat.

I do not understand why people are competely bent out of shape over not paying daft money for Bentley's repalcement, just because we can't buy anyone today. Premiership football has changed and unfortunately for the locals the biggest growth potential is global. This means new blood is interested in a piece who have no history or thought to what was.

Champions League money guarantees the "big 4" far greater spending power from TV money alone. Add to that their larger merchandising and significantly bigger gates and it automatically puts Rovers in a different league than them. Then we have the nouveau rich. Villa are owned by a billionaire, Newcastle are owned by one; albeit a stingy sod, Portsmouth, West Ham, Sunderland, Spurs, Wigan, Boro, Fulham all have owners able to fund large spending sprees, and now we have City off in the stratosphere.

We are able to play in this league thanks to our stable set up, and people want to risk it because that's what everyone else is doing. Rovers have been p!ssing off the media for a few years now. I'd like that to carry on, and it won't if we try and play the same game as the "have's". You can liken it to a football match; say Rovers v. Arsenal. If we play their way we'll get slaughtered so we have to adapt and try something different.

If we do a Notts Forest (I'll not use Leeds) I'll bet we average a 10,000 gate and all the moaners on here will be long gone until Rovers rise again.

[bubblerrovers]

I'm amazed at some of the comments posted. A lot of them read like spoiled children writing, which is somewhat understandable given that since 1991 Rovers fans have been given plenty of treats. Rovers are a club from one of the most depressed areas of the country, in a town with a large % of the population not really interested in football. These secenarios have given rise to regular gates under 23,000. This results in the club not being able to spalsh the cash, but we have a board of trustees and 2 very astute executives keeping the good ship Rovers afloat.

I do not understand why people are competely bent out of shape over not paying daft money for Bentley's repalcement, just because we can't buy anyone today. Premiership football has changed and unfortunately for the locals the biggest growth potential is global. This means new blood is interested in a piece who have no history or thought to what was.

Champions League money guarantees the "big 4" far greater spending power from TV money alone. Add to that their larger merchandising and significantly bigger gates and it automatically puts Rovers in a different league than them. Then we have the nouveau rich. Villa are owned by a billionaire, Newcastle are owned by one; albeit a stingy sod, Portsmouth, West Ham, Sunderland, Spurs, Wigan, Boro, Fulham all have owners able to fund large spending sprees, and now we have City off in the stratosphere.

We are able to play in this league thanks to our stable set up, and people want to risk it because that's what everyone else is doing. Rovers have been p!ssing off the media for a few years now. I'd like that to carry on, and it won't if we try and play the same game as the "have's". You can liken it to a football match; say Rovers v. Arsenal. If we play their way we'll get slaughtered so we have to adapt and try something different.

If we do a Notts Forest (I'll not use Leeds) I'll bet we average a 10,000 gate and all the moaners on here will be long gone until Rovers rise again.

It's your sort of attitude which the club adopts which will always stop us being a big club, ok so we where crap for years, move on. We have something to be very proud of now and watching that slip away is terrible. A year ago there was talk of a take over and potentially big things, now no one would ever touch us, The PR and Marketing within our club is worse than a league 2 club, we have missed out on so many opportunities to get the fans excited and hopefull for the new season. From the day Ince came in it's been doom and gloom, his signings have made people feel worse, FOWLER, come on what did you expect, JW should of laughed that one off, all it's done is upset a young prospect in Matty. Robinson who is RUBBISH, we've seen it for years. The only slight hope is Carlos who is such a long shot, i could show you 1000's of good players on Youtube so not too excited, ok he played well against Grimsby but that means nothing really. I love this club so much and rant as i want the best as you all do. When MH left there was a chance to step up a level we droped two levels, and the clubs been in reverse ever since.

[gumboots]

At last something I can agree with. Disappointed we didn't get any real excitement this transfer window and that Bentley has not been replaced but very relieved that we didn't spend silly money on a short term fix who didn't want to play for us.

[BuckyRover]

It's your sort of attitude which the club adopts which will always stop us being a big club, ok so we where crap for years, move on. We have something to be very proud of now and watching that slip away is terrible. A year ago there was talk of a take over and potentially big things, now no one would ever touch us, The PR and Marketing within our club is worse than a league 2 club, we have missed out on so many opportunities to get the fans excited and hopefull for the new season. From the day Ince came in it's been doom and gloom, his signings have made people feel worse, FOWLER, come on what did you expect, JW should of laughed that one off, all it's done is upset a young prospect in Matty. Robinson who is RUBBISH, we've seen it for years. The only slight hope is Carlos who is such a long shot, i could show you 1000's of good players on Youtube so not too excited, ok he played well against Grimsby but that means nothing really. I love this club so much and rant as i want the best as you all do. When MH left there was a chance to step up a level we droped two levels, and the clubs been in reverse ever since.

You don't love this club.

If you did you wouldn't want to risk it's long term safety by signing a "big name" just to give you (and many others!) a hard on.

Hardly worth it

[Majiball]

But Liverpool do have a right winger in the squad.. and use him tactically.. we don't have that luxury and other teams will know it..

we may be guessing the figures but I don't think that my guess can be that far off the truth, unless we are paying daft wages for Ince, Andrews, Grella, Carlos et al

All signings are a risk, but you have to take that risk.. sometimes it works (Bellamy, shearer, sutton, Santa, samba, Warnock etc etc) sometimes it does not (Davies, Ward etc etc).. but the simple fact remains where would we of been without taking those risks?

Yes they do but Kuyt starts there week in week out and Benayoun is no typical winger. Why can't we adapt to it, sorry re-phrase we have to adapt, we didn't sign a right winger and we cannot change it now. Chelsea do not have any wingers in there starting 11, now I know we are not chelsea but it proves you can play without one.

I've always stated on here I like to deal with facts, guesses are not facts, you take that however you want. Don't forget we have a much bigger back room staff now. You can get the accounts and come back and tell me I told you so if your guess is correct when they are published.

Yes all signings are a risk, but we have to be absolutly certain our track record of spending big is poor. For whatever reason we did not get a right winger we have to believe its not for a lack of effort. Given the way people react at Rovers to what they consider to be a bad move its no surprise, we are cautious. We sign a player for for 7M and he fails then you will appluad it at the time and berate it when it goes wrong.

Its time to accept the situation for all to get behind the team, yes not signing a right winger is dissapointing that we could do with one, but we don't, we move on and deal with it as best we can. Or shall we all sit down and moan about life. I'm not happy that we don't have one but people on here saying we're going down because of it need a glass of cold water thrown in your face and told to wake up.

Its high time the admin people on here did one thing change the name of this site Blackburn Rovers Football Club Supporters .com is no longer apt, it should be Blackburn Rovers Football Clubs Complaints Department .com.

[Veevs]

Thing is we do love this club thats why we end up getting so heated about us taking a backwards step.. we know we do not have the financial muscle to compete with allot of premiership teams, but we want to see us at least attempt to make a good try of it.

We don't need a huge signing, we just need to strengthen the squad.. we made an 8mil profit this pre-season.. but many of us feel we will loose that by dropping down the league.

As a fan do you want to see us in the championship? No as a fan you want to see us doing well or at least holding our own in a corrupt idiotic league where all that matters is money.

[speeeeeeedie]

You don't love this club.

If you did you wouldn't want to risk it's long term safety by signing a "big name" just to give you (and many others!) a hard on.

Hardly worth it

Agreed. I'm not getting into an argument with a school kid over the latest football trend and their need for instant gratification.

[modes98]

Not one player signed is an improvement on what we have already.

I have to disagree. I think Grella will be an improvement on Mokoena. Villanueva will hopefully turn out to be a great buy as well. Given Brad's average performances for Villa you could say we have improved there as well.

[G Somerset Rover]

Why does everyone talk as if Jermaine Pennant is the only right sided midfielder on the planet? The sad truth is that our 'extensive' scouting network should have gone into overdrive the second Bentley decided that he wanted out.

We've had all summer knowing that it would come down to being Brett Emerton or Steven Reid playing in that position should we not act, so surely that is scary enough for the board or management to have replaced him adequatly. I'm not disspointed that we didn't sign somebody yesterday - that would have been a desperate last-minute signing. I'm dissapointed because the club would appear to have acted like Bentley left yesterday morning, not months ago when he wanted out, let alone sold.

[Tris]

It's your sort of attitude which the club adopts which will always stop us being a big club, ok so we where crap for years, move on. We have something to be very proud of now and watching that slip away is terrible. A year ago there was talk of a take over and potentially big things, now no one would ever touch us, The PR and Marketing within our club is worse than a league 2 club, we have missed out on so many opportunities to get the fans excited and hopefull for the new season. From the day Ince came in it's been doom and gloom, his signings have made people feel worse, FOWLER, come on what did you expect, JW should of laughed that one off, all it's done is upset a young prospect in Matty. Robinson who is RUBBISH, we've seen it for years. The only slight hope is Carlos who is such a long shot, i could show you 1000's of good players on Youtube so not too excited, ok he played well against Grimsby but that means nothing really. I love this club so much and rant as i want the best as you all do. When MH left there was a chance to step up a level we droped two levels, and the clubs been in reverse ever since.

Do you actually live in a bubble?

[tonygreenbank]

Are we honestly expected to believe that Ince and JW showed no interest in improving the squad? I am sure that they tried hard to recruit new players but for whatever reason those players did not want to come. If Pennant was serious about leaving Liverpool he would have left. He wants to stay. Fair enough. Jw admitted that a deal broke down at 10 pm. We have a very able chairman who loves the club; he doesnt want to see us struggling. He has backed Ince with 6 signings already and Ince now has the time to put his own imprint on the team. It is a regular trait of Rovers fans to be critical of the club. There have been so many threads in recent times which have been so negative that reading this messageboard sometimes can be a really miserable experience.

[Veevs]

Yes they do but Kuyt starts there week in week out and Benayoun is no typical winger. Why can't we adapt to it, sorry re-phrase we have to adapt, we didn't sign a right winger and we cannot change it now. Chelsea do not have any wingers in there starting 11, now I know we are not chelsea but it proves you can play without one.

I've always stated on here I like to deal with facts, guesses are not facts, you take that however you want. Don't forget we have a much bigger back room staff now. You can get the accounts and come back and tell me I told you so if your guess is correct when they are published.

Yes all signings are a risk, but we have to be absolutly certain our track record of spending big is poor. For whatever reason we did not get a right winger we have to believe its not for a lack of effort. Given the way people react at Rovers to what they consider to be a bad move its no surprise, we are cautious. We sign a player for for 7M and he fails then you will appluad it at the time and berate it when it goes wrong.

Its time to accept the situation for all to get behind the team, yes not signing a right winger is dissapointing that we could do with one, but we don't, we move on and deal with it as best we can. Or shall we all sit down and moan about life. I'm not happy that we don't have one but people on here saying we're going down because of it need a glass of cold water thrown in your face and told to wake up.

Its high time the admin people on here did one thing change the name of this site Blackburn Rovers Football Club Supporters .com is no longer apt, it should be Blackburn Rovers Football Clubs Complaints Department .com.

I don't really consider it a guess to say Ince is on allot less than hughes, that bentley was one of our highest earners.. .. so guess is not exactly the word you are looking for.. you can estimate given the information to hand just how much someone is earning based on ability, track record, recent contract offers etc..

I agree though I am moaning a little too much, just disappointed by the whole transfer window and as a supporter scared for the future of my much loved club.

I suppose I just wanted somewhere to express my feelings, which in many ways is wrong as it is too late now to change things..

In regards to your post in relation to replaceing a Bentley with a Skoda.. at least you can still get from a to b imagine what happens if you dont replace your car.. Ick Public transport..

[CAPT KAYOS]

As a fan do you want to see us in the championship? No as a fan you want to see us doing well or at least holding our own in a corrupt idiotic league where all that matters is money.

if as you put it all that matters is money - what is the point in being in it then as we certainly can't compete on financial terms.

Its been discussed many a time on here and many of us are being proven correct - the game is no longer a game of football and is losing its interest as a sport.

[Veevs]

Agreed. I'm not getting into an argument with a school kid over the latest football trend and their need for instant gratification.

Arg I keep saying this, we don't need instant gratification..

I am no school kid if you are referring to me here.. I run a successful business and know all too well what happens when you don't replace an essential employee.

[speeeeeeedie]

Veevs, I'm on about bubble.

[gumboots]

Depends what you replace them with though. If you don't replace with equal quality, even if different skills, it's a recipe for disaster. If you'd put up with the incompetence levels I've put up with before you'd know what I'm talking about. Not suggesting we couldn't and shouldn't have replaced Bentley, just that obviously nobody at rovers was sufficiently convinced about the replacements to go out on a limb for them and risk potential disasters.

[Amo]

Where's the 'potential disaster' in a loan signing or bargain buy? People back Ince when he brings in Villanueva, as it's no a lose situation but when he doesn't do the same to replace Bentley suddenly it's good business.

[USRoverME]

know all too well what happens when you don't replace an essential employee.

But at the same time you don't throw daft money/wages at a slightly less talented replacement unless you HAVE to to make the outfit run. And you certainly don't bring on someone disinterested, or someone willing to bolt at the next opportunity for anything different.

We have a handful players who, if given a go on the right, can make an impact there, even if its not their or our ideal situation. Reid, Dunn, Emerton, Carlos come to mind, and I'm sure there are more. Pre-Bents were we great on the right wing? I mean across from Duff we had Gillespe and Hignett, not exactly the types of players that struck fear into people's hearts.

Maybe I'm rationalizing, but I don't think that a "Star" right winger is one of those postions that needs to be filled for survival or even a shot at the UEFA cup spots.

[gumboots]

Where's the 'potential disaster' in a loan signing or bargain buy? People back Ince when he brings in Villanueva, as it's no a lose situation but when he doesn't do the same to replace Bentley suddenly it's good business.

Loan signing I might agree on. Bargains aren't bargains if they are useless or disrupt your team and some are very hard to get rid of taking wages that you need for other better players, so they are still a risk. I'm not saying we shouldn't have bought, only that we need to be careful and, although it's very frustating for fans, sometimes that's just the way it is. Don't tell me JW and Ince wouldn't have loved to give us at least one exciting signing because I don't believe you. And i don't believe they weren't trying either. Things just didn't happen for probably a wide variety of reasons. The players would probably have liked to see someone come in too, to give them a bit of a boost, but it won't help them if all we do is moan and whinge and criticise.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

No we didn't sign a Winger, we played it safe, we have not wasted our money, which by the way we will only have again if we sell!

So no longer does our trusted policy float your boat, whats your view on it then spend spend spend and go out of business if we fail, please feel free to enlighten me on your previous background within football, on your in depth knowledge of Rovers finances, on why you are a better option on JW, who has done a miraculous job.

Oh and Finally why do people have to respond by writing in quotes it only makes it a pain in the arse to respond, but maybe thats the point!

Majiball

Not sure what point you are trying to make about wages be it Valdo or Pennant. The issue is that neither would provide the same quality as Bentley, though based on pound for pound at least Pennant is proven in the Prem. How do you know they would be signed on huge wages?

Your comment about not signing a winger..playing safe....only have money if we sell.....contradicts all the financial statements/conjecture surrounding the clubs incomings in the last 12 months.

How do we go out of business if we fail? I suggested in previous posts what I feel is a viable business model. It's not spend, spend - it's about adapting to the transfer market and current situation. You might not agree with it, but don't throw in flippant comments about going out of business - please explain how by investing £30 million over the next 2-3 years will bankrupt BRFC in light of the lats 12 months incomings and a better chance of survival in the Prem for the next 2 years.

Dropping out of the Prem may damage us - which is more likely with an a average squad.

Relying on our 'trusted' transfer policy is like relying on a house prices crash. Every now and then there will be a blip in the market and the some prices will drop. But over the long term the prices go up and up, if you want to improve what you have or get something bigger you have to trade up.

If you are happy with Rovers, the board, management, playing style and squad then good for you.

We have been well run for a number of years under JW but we look less and less likely to "punch above our weight" . If we eventually drift back into championship obscurity, so be it. But personally, I'd like to see us punch a little harder for a little longer.

Finally I am assuming that you are based at Uni and would have thought you would understand the benefits of using quotes to reference your comments....

[Amo]

Don't tell me JW and Ince wouldn't have loved to give us at least one exciting signing because I don't believe you. And i don't believe they weren't trying either.

I'm sure they would, but you have to question the ability of our manager and his staff when nothing has happened. Why was it JW said we lost our target at the last minute or whatever? That sounds incredibly slapdash if you ask me.

I can only assume that perhaps Ince has been so preoccupied trying to impose himself on the current squad and all the media dealings, that he's taken his eye off the ball here.