[Archived] The Transfer Window

[Al]

If wonder if Freddie Ljungberg would be worth having a look at on a short-term contract? He might be able to do a job for us until January. If he's fit I'd rather have him out on the right wing than Steven Reid, and he didn't seem to have any injury problems in the Euros.

Better than we have. May be a short term solution.

[tchocky]

I think this season there is no chance of Rovers competing for European Places. Simply because of the new management and the lack of Transfer Activity this season. If Rovers have a season where we end up finishing between 10th-14th, I'll be happy. Hopefully most Rovers fans will be aswell.

Come on! No chance? Of course there's a chance. We should probably consider this a transitional season with regards to a change in management, so like you I'd be pleased with a midtable finish as well. But when you look at our contenders for 5th -> 8th (Europe) they will probably be:

Villa - Looking stronger but treading water if one of the strikers gets injured. Strongest contender for 5th.

Spurs - lot of flair, no grit. Porcelain defenders. Lost Keane and Berbatov.. and didn't really replace them. Probably replaced Defoe with Pavlyuchenko in terms of goals. Lots of changes, started poorly.

Pompey - Lost Muntari but gained Crouch. Pretty much status quo but started poorly amid reports of financial troubles.

Everton - Saha for Johnson up front. Status quo imo. Have they got a midfield now? Just the one big signing on deadline day, Fellaini. Will he bring them more than Villanueva brings us? Can't say this team is better than ours.

Man City - Lots of changes, new management. Need time to gel and how long before the new owners lose patience?

West Ham - Despite spending millions the last few windows I feel we have a better team. And to add to that they have just lost their manager

So it's not entirely unlinkely that we get into the top 8 at least.

I didn't know 7 signings and 5 departures constitutes a lack of transfer activity... It's just the one position we didn't manage to fill, even though we clearly tried hard to do so. Overall our squad is stronger than last season, and we have the resources to replace Bentley in January.

[Faz_Rover]

Overall our squad is stronger than last season, and we have the resources to replace Bentley in January.

Actually, We are stronger in one position. That is Centre Midfield. Right wing we are now more weaker due to the loss of Bentley and no replacement. In Goal we are Weaker, losing Brad Friedel and replacing him with a Keeper with no/low confidence. So I wouldn't say we are stronger than last season.

We are in the same position as Villa, we lose RSC and we are screwed. However, they have more match winners in their team compared to ours. Who do we have?

[Majiball]

Actually, We are stronger in one position. That is Centre Midfield. Right wing we are now more weaker due to the loss of Bentley and no replacement. In Goal we are Weaker, losing Brad Friedel and replacing him with a Keeper with no/low confidence. So I wouldn't say we are stronger than last season.

We are in the same position as Villa, we lose RSC and we are screwed. However, they have more match winners in their team compared to ours. Who do we have?

We are better off at right back, we now have a sitter who can actually play, a left winger coming through and maybe a right one too.

Once Fowler signs on we'll be laughing!

[Faz_Rover]

We are better off at right back, we now have a sitter who can actually play, a left winger coming through and maybe a right one too.

Once Fowler signs on we'll be laughing!

Emerton was a Good RB. He supported Bentley well and from what I saw last season it wasn't necessary to replace him. Now we'll move him upto RM where he isn't good enough. Jack of all trades, Master of none.

I'll reserve my judgement on Grella after I have seen him in a few more matches.

treacey still needs time to adapt. He was Anonymous VS Everton when he came on. Needs to make more of an impact when he does come on, like Derbs.

[American]

Wasn't really sure where to post this article I found and don't know if anyone has seen it but may be worth a read as it criticises our Nicko! It is about transfer rumours that flew around when the window was open.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8...4086202,00.html

In the big man's absence: "How many scoops did that writer get?"

[DeadlyDirk]

Better than we have. May be a short term solution.

He could be a good option if he is fit, get him in on trial for a few weeks to see if he's willing to earn his crust, if not ship him out. His wages would worry me, he was on something stupid like £80,000 at West Ham, he would only be worth offering a quarter of that and would need to prove his fitness.

[Majiball]

Emerton was a Good RB. He supported Bentley well and from what I saw last season it wasn't necessary to replace him. Now we'll move him upto RM where he isn't good enough. Jack of all trades, Master of none.

I have never and will never consider Emerton a full back, he was played there purely to get him on the pitch as he was fed up with playing second fiddle to Bentley. He did link up well with Bents at times but he defensive duties where neglected.

I realise now there will be several posts stating how good he was there but for that I offer this.

As soon as Reid was fit Hughes moved Emerton away from full back, why? When Ince came in he did not even wait before announcing he wanted a Right Back if Emerton was as most seem to think a good full back we would not have sought one.

I would consider him a wing back and unfortunately in todays game he would be obsolete position wise. I would like to see him in a central three with Grella sitting Dunn/Pineapple pushing on and Emerton playing the box to box role.

PS has anyone else noticed Grella when spell-checked comes up as Gorilla, just what we need.

[tcj_jones]

That's a good point on Ince and Hughes seemingly preferring him not to play there. However, he has also recently signed a new long term deal with the club, so we must value him.

Personally, I think that Emerton has been a more than adequate replacement for Neill. He stepped in and did the role very well. For me, he is a full back / wing back, who can fill in at centre midfield, but never in a million years a right winger. For me, right back wasn't a position that needed strengthening this summer.

[DingleBaiter]

In the big man's absence: "How many scoops did that writer get?"

Like Burnley Bob Coar always says; you buy carp you read carp.

Nicko's got some good scoops, he does seem to have good info & leads at times, though like most journos there is no such thing as being wrong it seems. It's always 'other reasons', things changing, etc. Simple statistics I guess, some your're right, some you're wrong it seems. I particularly liked the conviction about Andrews - it was really hanging on by a thread at times - and when it looked unlikely, it was someone else's fault.

[Faz_Rover]

I have never and will never consider Emerton a full back, he was played there purely to get him on the pitch as he was fed up with playing second fiddle to Bentley. He did link up well with Bents at times but he defensive duties where neglected.

I realise now there will be several posts stating how good he was there but for that I offer this.

As soon as Reid was fit Hughes moved Emerton away from full back, why? When Ince came in he did not even wait before announcing he wanted a Right Back if Emerton was as most seem to think a good full back we would not have sought one.

I would consider him a wing back and unfortunately in todays game he would be obsolete position wise. I would like to see him in a central three with Grella sitting Dunn/Pineapple pushing on and Emerton playing the box to box role.

PS has anyone else noticed Grella when spell-checked comes up as Gorilla, just what we need.

Good point and I agree with you there. However, we always needed a replacement for Neill, maybe due to the lack of quality/money, Rovers did not buy a RB. Therefore, Emerton was the only one that was capable of filling in there. We had Ooijer and Zurab who could have done the job, why didn't they? I persoannly feel Sparky kept him there because he did link up well with Bentley and his pace kept him in the squad. Reid was awful at RB no matter what anyone says. His best game was probably against Everton this season, even then he wasn't the most convincing.

[philipl]

When you see the likes of City and Villa spending upwards of £40m, Sunderland £30, Everton around £20, it's a miracle we're still competing in this league.

Fools and their money are very easily parted.

Everton are net £0.5m by the way.

Look at who they bought and the prices paid and frankly there is hardly anybody bought by that quartet who makes me think "oo, I wish we'd spent that on transfer and wages for him."

The only hope for the Ince administration is that they use the coming four months to get familiar with what is out there and be properly prepared for the January window but getting value then is notoriously difficult.

[Majiball]

That's a good point on Ince and Hughes seemingly preferring him not to play there. However, he has also recently signed a new long term deal with the club, so we must value him.

Personally, I think that Emerton has been a more than adequate replacement for Neill. He stepped in and did the role very well. For me, he is a full back / wing back, who can fill in at centre midfield, but never in a million years a right winger. For me, right back wasn't a position that needed strengthening this summer.

Good point and I agree with you there. However, we always needed a replacement for Neill, maybe due to the lack of quality/money, Rovers did not buy a RB. Therefore, Emerton was the only one that was capable of filling in there. We had Ooijer and Zurab who could have done the job, why didn't they? I persoannly feel Sparky kept him there because he did link up well with Bentley and his pace kept him in the squad. Reid was awful at RB no matter what anyone says. His best game was probably against Everton this season, even then he wasn't the most convincing.

Fair play to both of you.

I've always felt a full back should be a defender first and a attacker second. Emerton is not the strongest tackler and his positioning can be erratic along with his desicion making at times. He's one of those players who excels at nothing but is better than most at everything call him a jack of all trades. I would compare him a bit to Phil Neville, he can do a job in a variety of positions. His pace and engine are good attributes for the role, and the only way I could ever see him suceeded there is again if Grella stays 15-20 yards in front of the back two to cover when he pushes on. His link up with Bentley was a positive for us but at the same time he was caught up-field far too often, he always wanted to get past Bentley.

I do believe if we had signed a right back when Neill left Emerton would have slapped in a request, he was not happy being a sub. He does deserve to be involved but what role is debatable. Curiously what role does he play for the Aussie national side? He seems to have a good record for them.

I have no comment to say on Reid at the moment. Reid displays better defensive attributes than Emerton but as we have all seen he cannot play there. I do want to see Simpson play he is a right back who has spent lots of time with G Neville but he is a risk.

[Faz_Rover]

I do believe if we had signed a right back when Neill left Emerton would have slapped in a request, he was not happy being a sub. He does deserve to be involved but what role is debatable. Curiously what role does he play for the Aussie national side? He seems to have a good record for them.

Emerton plays as an attacking midfielder for the Aussies. That was the role he played the last time Australia played. I think rovers tried him out in that role towards the latter end of last season. Wasn't really an attacking midfielder, just playing in the hole. However, he was very good against United at home (pretty much the whole team were). He played in CM, with Reid at RB. He continued to help out Reid defensively, however, wasn't the best going forward. Although, his pace did cause a few problems. I think the problem with Emerton is that we don't know what his best position is and I don't think he knows himself. It would be interesting to see what other members of the board think as to where Emertons best position is?

[tcj_jones]

His best position is without a doubt right back. He is a right back who can fill in at centre midfield when required. He should never, ever be played on the wing.

[gumboots]

I have no comment to say on Reid at the moment. Reid displays better defensive attributes than Emerton but as we have all seen he cannot play there. I do want to see Simpson play he is a right back who has spent lots of time with G Neville but he is a risk.

Is he a bigger risk than playing Reid there? That's the real question. If he is then we probably have to stick with what we've got but if not then he's probably worth giving a try.

[Iceman]

Fools and their money are very easily parted.

The only hope for the Ince administration is that they use the coming four months to get familiar with what is out there and be properly prepared for the January window but getting value then is notoriously difficult.

i hope that we are at least comfortable somewhere in the top 10,come January... thats my only concern, that we might be struggling before January,and then we panic buy.

i think the only positions we should adress is that of a quality right winger and perhaps a centre half.. i still also think we lacking one more creative midfielder...

[Majiball]

Is he a bigger risk than playing Reid there? That's the real question. If he is then we probably have to stick with what we've got but if not then he's probably worth giving a try.

I guess you'd have to say is he a bigger risk than Ooijer, Ooijer is good defensively, slow but no right back. Its not a choice I would want to make, but if pushed I would say sod it, who really expects us to beat or even draw at Arsenal start a right back at right back, in the imortal words of Delboy "he who dare's Rodders, he who dares".

[T4E]

I'd agree with your analogy but the club was actually full of dogs. Glad we stayed in and saved our cash.

Every hole's a goal.

[Majiball]

Every hole's a goal.

Jo Brand????

[Majiball]

Every player we signed or were linked too.

Transfer dealings Rovers

[Iceman]

Majiball to be fair, many of those players were eiter on trial or we were never realy interested in them. I just think that our approach to signing players, are the sensible option. We have a look, we like we buy. And if we dont like, we dont buy.

[Majiball]

Only posted because it was nice to be able to view them all in one place no other reason. Not seen something like it before on the web so thought it was worth posting.

[thenodrog]

I have never and will never consider Emerton a full back, he was played there purely to get him on the pitch as he was fed up with playing second fiddle to Bentley. He did link up well with Bents at times but he defensive duties where neglected.

Maybe defensively weak with those two but I thought Bentley always played better on the wing and we were more effective when Emerton was behind him.

[Oklahoma]

With the current squad, Ince shouldn't use any player as a right midfielder as he will end up going to the centre anyway.

The midfield should be in a diamond formation with Grella as a Defensive Midfielder, Dunn and Reid/Tugay/Andrews/Vogel(if fit) as Centre Midfielder and Villanueva as Attacking midfielder.

Up front it should be Santa and Pedersen. In this formation, both forwards have to be fast so that rules out Benni and puts Roberts as a 3rd option.

Emerton could be used as Right Back or a centre midfielder if Simpson is any good.