[Archived] Ince's Disasterous Signings

[accyrover]

Just wondering what everyone thinks about the future for Ince's signings. My thoughts would be :

Robinson - need to keep and build up confidence. In my view is a top keeper with the right coaching team.

Simpson - send back to the Mancs. Not good enough.

Andrews - put up for sale on e-bay. Accept any bid over a fiver.

Grella - has he kicked a ball yet ? Give him a chance but may not be good enough.

Villanueva - keep until end of season and try as '2nd striker' option. If no good, send back to whence he came.

Accyrover

[Flopsy]

I thought that Andrews had been one of the midfielders that, although not covered himself in glory, had been one of our better performers.

[den]

I thought that Andrews had been one of the midfielders that, although not covered himself in glory, had been one of our better performers.

Nope

[Blue n White Rover]

Robinson was a good signing the ideal replacement for Brad.

Simpson again has the potential to be a good RB, just needs time. Anything around £1-2million we should snap him up.

Grella looks a decent player of the few games we have seen him play. The jury is still out on him though.

Villanueva has the flair but its up to Sam whether he wants to give him that time to adapt in the PL. Maybe by the end of the season we should have a clear indication whether he will stay or not.

Andrews has had a funny old season. Some very encouraging performances and some shocking ones to. Maybe a bench boy to cover for any injured players.

Overall, other than Andrews I think Ince did bring in some good players that have certainly strengthened our squad. So you can't have a pop at him for that.

[Flopsy]

fair enough, he got us a probably very valuable point against West Brom, and to be fair, its not his fault he gets picked, even if he is bobbins.

But is he worse than Pederson has been for the past 2 years?

[den]

But is he worse than Pederson has been for the past 2 years?

Setting standards high there Flopsy.

[CrazyIvan]

I thought that Andrews had been one of the midfielders that, although not covered himself in glory, had been one of our better performers.

I agree with you. He's put more effort in than quite a few players... It'll be interesting to see what happens with him under Allardyce. What will you say if he gets played regularly? I can only see him being a bench warmer/late sub when everybody is fit though.

[roversnick]

what about blobby

[philipl]

If the other players get fit/play up to their potential, Andrews is basically cover for Mokoena as 7th choice midfielder.

Simpson and Villanueva have suffered through the shambles that has been going on around them so I would be willing to wipe the slate clean and say OK, show us what you can do.

That said, if Sam finds two loanees to his liking in January, Simpson can go back to Man U.

Robinson as written on his own thread needs to be assessed when we have started defending as a team again but he has done well behind such a complete load of gubbins.

Fowler and his dressing room magic are gone and presumably Gueret, Whitbread Z and the Mac CF are not to be.

Bunn could be for Ince, the equivalent of what Jansen was for Kidd- the one bright spark of an otherwise horrible unmittigated failure.

[ace]

Does Winterburn count as a signing? Or as a virus...be interesting to see how long we take to get over his "help" and who he latches onto next. Portsmouth might be a good place for him ...or one of those clubs who bemoan our lack of backbone at sacking a bright young English unqualified ex player..played 17 won 3!

[MCMC1875]

I thought that Andrews had been one of the midfielders that, although not covered himself in glory, had been one of our better performers.

No, a thousand times NO!

[dingles staying down 4ever]

I thought that Andrews had been one of the midfielders that, although not covered himself in glory, had been one of our better performers.

I think that maybe stretching it. Fair to say he has not been the worst Rovers player on the pitch when he has played.

[chris]

whats the chance of Sam re-signing Folwer and him scoring 15 goals in the later half of the season

[Earlydoors]

The real test of BFS is can he rejuvenate players... we need McCarthy to lose weight and finish his career with a flourish.

He was renowed for it at Notlob

[Majiball]

whats the chance of Sam re-signing Folwer and him scoring 15 goals in the later half of the season

Probably about the same as us winning the Champions league this year!

[mattyboy6000]

fingers crossed he'll show the following the door:

mokoena, pedersen, mccarthy, fowler, grella

[joey_big_nose]

I am not really that fussed about the signings, I think all (apart from Fowler who has gone) have something to offer:

Robinson - good keeper. Has weaknesses but also stregths. If Sam can get him to work with a solid defence I think he will be fine.

Grella - when he has played fit (twice this season?) he has actually looked decent. I think he will be a regular starter under Sam if he can steer clear of injury. Good, if unspectacular, distribution, has technque and extremely physical.

Simpson - Up and down. Often looked quite good, sometimes has been terrible. Again it is hard to have a reasoned judgement as he has been part of a poor defence. With more organisation and protection he will be a decent squad player. I expect him to not really challenge Ooijer and Emerton at right back for now, and I will be suprised if we exercise our option on him as Sam will think he can do better.

Andrews - Done okay in my opinion. No worse than many of our other players. I would see him just floating round the squad until we sign better. Will never be a starter unless we suffer an injury/suspension crisis and seeing as no one will pay much for him I can't see the value in selling.

Carlos - probably the most vulnerable of the lot because he could cost a fair bit and does not look like he can justify the fee. That siad he does offer something different and is here till the end of the season for nothing. It is a case of finding - if possible - how to fit him into the formation. I expect Sam to take a long hard look at him and see what he can do as we desperately need creativity. Jury out as yet, but I am not really expecting him to be here start of next season.

To be honest I think the likes of McCarthy, Roberts, Derbyshire, Mokoena all to be under more threat as we could concevably get fees for them and they seem to me not to be the type of players that Sam will use. We shall see.

fingers crossed he'll show the following the door:

mokoena, pedersen, mccarthy, fowler, grella

I would imagine Sam has big plans for Pedersen personally, although I am not sure they will work out. He will like that aerial option on the left and his shooting ability. And we haven't even see Grella, and we have no other player of his type. Why get rid?

[my_name_is_Earl]

I think McCarthy has the potential to be a real key player for us in the second half of this season. Some players just don't react to some managers and Ince and him clearly didn't hit it off as was reported in the very early stages of Ince's reign if anyone remembers? Benni still has a part to play as does Pedersen. I've always felt that although he has been inconsistent over the last couple of seasons, utilised properly, Pedersen can also have a similar impact. The main player that concerns me is Mokoena who I don't think is up to the job at all.

It's also important that we remember that this group of players are a decent bunch when they're properly trained/utilised and so on. Nelsen, Warnock, Samba, Robbo et al. have all been criticised recently for producing a series of below par performances but I just feel that with the proper guidance, these players will come good. Yes, a few additions need to be made in few positions but this team as it is, under the right influence, should start marching up the league if they can recover their confidence and unity.

[philipl]

Forgotten about Grella!

Awful twice, Ok twice.

Open book but BIG ? over spending E5m on him. The pink mafiosi across the water from here were pretty chuffed by that deal if the truth be told.

[Exiled in Toronto]

I think McCarthy has the potential to be a real key player for us in the second half of this season. Some players just don't react to some managers and Ince and him clearly didn't hit it off as was reported in the very early stages of Ince's reign if anyone remembers? Benni still has a part to play as does Pedersen. I've always felt that although he has been inconsistent over the last couple of seasons, utilised properly, Pedersen can also have a similar impact. The main player that concerns me is Mokoena who I don't think is up to the job at all.

It's also important that we remember that this group of players are a decent bunch when they're properly trained/utilised and so on. Nelsen, Warnock, Samba, Robbo et al. have all been criticised recently for producing a series of below par performances but I just feel that with the proper guidance, these players will come good. Yes, a few additions need to be made in few positions but this team as it is, under the right influence, should start marching up the league if they can recover their confidence and unity.

I believe its McCarthy who will keep us up this year. He doesn't depend on gilt-edged crosses from wingers to have an impact. MGP I feel will get a reprieve solely for his long throws. We have a thin, injury-prone squad so I'd be surprised if Andrews gets the boot, but I expect some serious bench-warming for the lad. Carlos - who knows?

[The Prof.]

Robbo - gone - havn't time to wait for him to learn to catch

Grella - Ok we'll see.

Andrews - a pace behind any clever player when he hasn't got the ball. Hasn't enough to make it as an attacking midfielder alone. Gone

Villanueva - Gone lacks everything

Simpson - okay but i'm not for training a Manure. Can't wait fo him to develop - Gone.

How bad were the ones we looked at and didn't sign!

[BuckyRover]

I can't see Allardyce selling any of the new guys.

I think all will be given a chance to see what they can do. I wouldn't be surprised if Andrews started tomorrow. He obviously did enough to impress Trappatoni, I imagine it will be the same with Allardyce.

Goalkeeper is such a hard position to fill. He will keep faith with Robinson.

I also think Grella will do a good job when he gets fit. Allardyce is good at getting the best from people. We should see and all round improved performance tomorrow.

Although if so called "fans" decide to boo Andrews, I think I will lose the will to live.

[Amo]

Robinson -Still not entirely convinced about his aerial presence, but a decent shot-stopper. I think he needs a sustained run of games under Big Sam before we can make judgement.

Simpson - Looks like Championship quality, to me. Not a bad player but pretty average by all accounts. I'd say cut short his loan and bring Emerton back.

Grella - Could be a decent holding midfielder if he can stay fit. We've invested £4m for him, so he obviously needs to be given a chance.

Villanueva - Another player who needs more games, preferably in his correct position. Could be that big of magic we've been lacking.

Andrews - Not Premiership quality, and I would try to offload him to a Championship club.

[leftfooter]

I believe its McCarthy who will keep us up this year. He doesn't depend on gilt-edged crosses from wingers to have an impact. MGP I feel will get a reprieve solely for his long throws. We have a thin, injury-prone squad so I'd be surprised if Andrews gets the boot, but I expect some serious bench-warming for the lad. Carlos - who knows?

Thin and lacking quality yes; injury prone no.

Certainly less than most other clubs in this league.

For the umpteenth time, the injuries issue is just a fallacy spun by Ince and the Board for their own mutual back sliding self-interest!!!!

Man City's current injury list reads like after a stag weekend in Mogadishu compared to ours:

B Mwaruwari Hamstring Injury no return date

J Garrido Achilles Tendinopathy 21st Dec 08

D Sturridge Virus 21st Dec 08

M Petrov Knee Injury Feb 09

M Johnson Groin Strain 10th Jan 09

V Bojinov Calf/Shin Injury Feb 09

Robinho?

As does Everton's, Newcastle's, Stoke's etc...

I think we currently have only Steven Reid (who's been AWOL for the best part of nearly three years) out long term and perhaps Grella until Xmas?

What's the difference? I'm not sure. Perhaps the respective Boards of the above mentioned clubs have and will be prepared to back their managers and spend money on adequate replacements. Probably the managers of the above have a better eye for picking up squad players than our erstwhile bright young hope from Ilford.

[bennyboyt11]

add to that Cruz isnt fully fit and Dunn hasn't started a game for a good while either just off the top of my head