[Archived] Nicko's January Rumour Mill

[RoyRover]

We had a load of money to spend apparently at the start of the season. Hughes talked about having £10 million to spend in the summer. Then we sold Friedal and Bentley and were told that the money from those transfers would go towards strengthening the team. But that money has probably just gone to the trustees bank accounts, never to be seen again.

As for the transfer rumors, after looking at the highlights of the Egyptian player on youtube that someone posted, I liked the look of him. Obviously very skillful, with lots of pace and power. I'm not saying we should sign him because of what we've seen on the internet, that's what Ince based his signing of Villanueva on, but he could be another gem from Egypt, like Amr Zaki turned out to be.

[BomBom]

http://footylatest.com/news/news.php?item.3126.11

We've put in 1.5 mill according to this site for the Egyptian

Any idea Nicko? What about the 5 million for Villanueva i mentioned earlier? any ideas where that went?

[nicko]

Nicko heard anything about Cardiff bidding for Derbyshire?

The county?

The only way Cardiff could afford a bid is if Ledley is leaving...of which wait until 11pm...NOT Rovers-related I should add.

What about the 5 million for Villanueva i mentioned earlier? any ideas where that went?

Good question...

Wonder where the Bentley 'profit' went to and the £3 million the Trustees were putting in...

Mind you that came at a time when there were 'bidders' interested in the club.

Anyway, wait until the window shuts before getting really steamed up about this subject.

[spencey7]

Prediction: We'll sell Roque and sign no-one.

Given the caliber of Allardyce's signings for Newcastle I'd be reticent to give him a load of cash too.

Nicko - Do you know the indentity of the player that Allardyce wanted to bid for on Friday? Do you know roughly how much he would have cost?

[BomBom]

Prediction: We'll sell Roque and sign no-one.

Given the caliber of Allardyce's signings for Newcastle I'd be reticent to give him a load of cash too.

Thats as maybe mate but if you are going to replace a manager mid season and before the transfer window, you have to be prepared to back him. Otherwise, why replace the previous manager? Makes no sense

[John]

why replace the previous manager?

Because he was we don't like that word, please don't use it awful!!!

[blue and whites]

nicko: is there anything happening aat rovers at the moment regarding signings? the best use of money now would be to buy a decent right winger, then we could just play brett at right back, two in one transfer:) i would like us to go for either delph who could easily blossom under sam, or santana at fiorentine, should be pretty cheap as well. and i think sapara from rosenborg would be a good option, a provides a good cross.

other right wingers

jeremy menez

loan offer for kalou at chelsea

andres D'allessandro

obertan at marseille

all these players would provide us with skill we don't have much of.

regarding a striker, how about gignac, isn't he the current top scorer in france?

[JAL]

Couple of minor items that I forgot to mention...

OOIJER - AZ Alkmaar want him to sign a pre-contract with them for the summer. Rovers won't let him go earlier without a fee.

ZIGIC - Linked in a paper today and was watched last weekend. That's not the striker Plan B I heard about, but it could be right. Hopefully not. He's a stump.

SAM'S TARGET - It's gone and it's up to the manager to come out with the details. I know there is some unhappiness about it, but that's for them to sort out and hopefully starting signing before the window...no point in worrying over it until the lack of spending becomes a real issue. Time to assess that is on February 3.

Very worrying stuff Nicko especially the last line on Sams target.

Is there a Hungarian Plan B'er coming in this week and is Sharner of Wigan going to Sundeland ?

[John]

Bolton have stepped up their interest in Benfica's Mark Zoro following a trial period at Blackburn.

[stuwilky]

or has it been squirrelled away by the trustees AGAIN?

Yawn.

[AJW]

if there is anything rovers related nicko please can we have it early tonight?.....i had a mad night out last night and i could really do with getting an early night!!!! btw BFS sys club will listen to offers for gally... any clubs showing interest?

[RevidgeBlue]

Yawn.

It is a very fair point which I hadn't taken into consideration.

No move for Carlos, ergo the 5m that had been earmarked for him should be available at the very least, irrespective of any other available funding.

[they_think_its_all_rover]

Don't agree at all. Bullard is not the dogs ###### by any stretch of the imagination. He's a decent player, don't get me wrong but I think Hulls fortunes will be determined by how well the Hull squad can regroup after their terrible run. Hull are in a dogfight thats for sure and there is no guarantee that they will stay up, particularly as there are much better squads below them in the league.

If we had signed Bullard for £5 million on a £40'000 a week contract, I would be very disappointed with the board. you can buy much better quality than that with a bit of time and patience.

The reason for Hull City's great start to the season and then the slump is down to one thing mainly; team spirit.

Marlon King fell out with numerous amounts of players in the squad, which was why he and Cousin never played together after a certain amount of games, as they fell out and became to hate eachother. Brown rotated them as lone strikers and then began to realise King was at the heart of the trouble. He tried to lead a player backlash against Brown for the on-field Man City team-talk.

King was more like a cancer... been told soo many things he has done. On the field he is a grafted, off it he is an utter ****. I can't see Southgate controlling him, can you?

could be the final suckerpunch to Boro's morale IMO.

Bullard signed for nearer to £4million, by the way.

[stuwilky]

Yet again some are jumping to conclusions with a good week left of the window.

Im simply bored with reading comments accusing the trustees of "squirreling" money away. Whilst they don't put as much in as many of us (myself included) would like, they certainly do not take money out of the club.

[they_think_its_all_rover]

Robbie Savage was an average footballer but he was very effective. Most Rovers fans would be delighted if we had signed Bullard and Hull supporters must be delighted too.

...up until the cavemen from Millwall turned up.

Don't know about a Given sell-on clause...think the fee will be about £8 million. Somebody made a mistake letting him go all those years ago.

Harford or Woy?

[jim mk2]

they certainly do not take money out of the club.

[RevidgeBlue]

Yet again some are jumping to conclusions with a good week left of the window.

Im simply bored with reading comments accusing the trustees of "squirreling" money away. Whilst they don't put as much in as many of us (myself included) would like, they certainly do not take money out of the club.

Whilst that was certainly true in the past I don't think it's possible to say that with any certainty at this stage in the light of the increased TV revenue, the Bentley sale and our lack of spending.

[spencey7]

Whilst they don't put as much in as many of us (myself included) would like, they certainly do not take money out of the club.

Well they sure as hell aren't putting money in to the club, so where's it going?

[allanncd]

The accounts to 30 June 2008 are expected to show an operating surplus ie before transfers/player amortisations. Add to that the substantial unspent transfer money from the summer and the fans will be entitled to ask why nothing has been spent to save the club from relegation. 8 days and counting....

[American]

I agree with you, Stu, that we need to wait until the end of the window to see how much/little we spend. However, they did say they would be providing 3 million of funding, not taking out 7 million plus of profit....

[they_think_its_all_rover]

I dont think that I am alone in wondering why Hull can afford £5m for Bullard without having to sell. No sugar daddy there and their first season of Sky cash.

King out = minus £30k p/w wages

Windass out = minus £10k p/w wages

Stelios out = minus ?k p/w wages (I was told he was on a stupid amount and he never got a game).

Where the £5million came from is probably due to supporter pressure. A lot of fans round here have vented their frustrations at the board for not putting their money where their mouths are. It was common knowledge that the board hadn't spent any of their own money until now, it was all Sky money and money from player sales.

Maybe Rovers should vent some anger at Mr.Williams and co about not spending the Bentley money e.t.c?

[stuwilky]

Whilst that was certainly true in the past I don't think it's possible to say that with any certainty at this stage in the light of the increased TV revenue, the Bentley sale and our lack of spending.

The results have to be filed at Companies House fairly soon, so we'll see what the picture was 6 months or so ago - about as close as we'll ever get to an accurate picture.

[JAL]

I agree with you, Stu, that we need to wait until the end of the window to see how much/little we spend. However, they did say they would be providing 3 million of funding, not taking out 7 million plus of profit....

What they say and what they do can be two totally different things all designed to keep the fans off their (trustees) backs.

The countdown is on.........or will that day be avioded.

[Exiled_Rover]

The reason for Hull City's great start to the season and then the slump is down to one thing mainly; team spirit.

Marlon King fell out with numerous amounts of players in the squad, which was why he and Cousin never played together after a certain amount of games, as they fell out and became to hate eachother. Brown rotated them as lone strikers and then began to realise King was at the heart of the trouble. He tried to lead a player backlash against Brown for the on-field Man City team-talk.

King was more like a cancer... been told soo many things he has done. On the field he is a grafted, off it he is an utter ****. I can't see Southgate controlling him, can you?

could be the final suckerpunch to Boro's morale IMO.

Bullard signed for nearer to £4million, by the way.

It's actually down to the fact that they were playing out of their skins. You can't keep the tempo they were setting for the entire season - as predicted the adrenaline rush teams get upon entering the Premier League has worn off and their squad is being exposed.

[BomBom]

I appreciate that its not the popular opinion that the trustees arent taking money out of the club and I did not say they were taking money out of Rovers.

What has to be questioned surely is why they arent allowing Rovers to spend money of any substance. There is an overdraft to be paid agreed but does it not strike anyone that the fact they wanted 60 million plus for Rovers, which was estimated at around 10-20 million overpriced at the time, IMSC, and IF, not when (yet anyhow) IF rovers are relegated, any money they have stored away, will offset the lower sale price they would receive.

Maybe I am too cynical but when we have seen one manager leave because of financial restraints (yes he wanted to go in the end but you know this was a major factor) then gamble and fail with the next manager, why are Rovers seemingly happy to carry that cycle on with Allardyce?

His track record isnt great, but its not appalling either. I'm not advocating paying silly money but if the guy identifies a target and within our wage and transfer budget, for gods sake, back him!