[Archived] Nicko's January Rumour Mill

[grizfoot]

Well this is odd.

http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/New...1512366,00.html

*sticks two fingers up at Citeh*

Holding out for more money no doubt. To any other club he'd probably be only worth £10-11million but Citeh want him so hold out for at least £20m I say.

All to be delivered to Big Sam's house in brown bags please.

[nicko]

Just a quick thought on the Man City offer.

Roque's side of it must have been sorted out in advance.

This is going to be messy.

[philipl]

Just a quick thought on the Man City offer.

Roque's side of it must have been sorted out in advance.

This is going to be messy.

That was my reaction bearing in mind your report that Roque's Dad was in Manchester yesterday sorting out the details.

City offered £16m according to the Daily Mail.

This is not about money.

It is about Rovers having players contracted and signed up to save 133 years of history.

City with all their brass are struggling to sign players so what hope have we got? Roque stays until all our targets and his replacement are signed so far as I am concerned.

[begresko]

nicko any idea how much more substantial the bid is? Mark Hughes says the bid is much more substantial than £12m. I never understand how much clubs increase their offers by once they have been knocked back.

Also my friend is a tottenham fan says there has been a fall out between Redknapp and Assou-Etoku and is now willing to pass him off with a number of clubs interested, blackburn being one of them. it sounds circumstantial to myself just wondering if anyone could shed some light

[tcj_jones]

I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday. If they wait until the last minute and then take Roque it'll leave us with little or no chance of getting a suitable replacement and thus they have harmed one of their relegation rivals. If Roque does have this release clause then there is little Rovers can do about this, if however the clause is not active until the Summer then Rovers are in a strong position as they can tell Roque's people that he will not be able to leave if there are any last minute bids.

Come on guys, does anybody believe for a heartbeat that anybody at City thinks they'll be involved in a relegation scrap come the end of the season? There has to be some caution when labelling a team 'too good to turn down' but with all the money at their disposal, they will not be at this end of the table for much longer. Three wins and they'll be in the top half most likely. I'm astounded that anybody really believes that City could be thinking in this way just as I cannot believe that people think they will be fighting relegation during the second half of the season.

City probably see it this way: Why should we pay his wages for the next 2 weeks and line blackburns pockets when he is still injured anyway until then.

I think that this is far more likely. Why panic and rush this through when he is injured anyway?

[jonv]

That was my reaction bearing in mind your report that Roque's Dad was in Manchester yesterday sorting out the details.

City offered £16m according to the Daily Mail.

This is not about money.

It is about Rovers having players contracted and signed up to save 133 years of history.

City with all their brass are struggling to sign players so what hope have we got? Roque stays until all our targets and his replacement are signed so far as I am concerned.

great post

[nicko]

nicko any idea how much more substantial the bid is? Mark Hughes says the bid is much more substantial than £12m. I never understand how much clubs increase their offers by once they have been knocked back.

Also my friend is a tottenham fan says there has been a fall out between Redknapp and Assou-Etoku and is now willing to pass him off with a number of clubs interested, blackburn being one of them. it sounds circumstantial to myself just wondering if anyone could shed some light

Bearing in mind that Man City's £12 million bid in the last window was only really £8 million...I don't know what the new figure is. But it HAS to be more than £8 million and £12 million.

As for Assou-Etoku I think he has also had a fall-out with his hairdresser.

[Bobby G]

You mean Roque and us have agreed the payment to be paid out to him or you mean he has agreed terms with City?

Nicko any idea what we were offered?

[Oklahoma]

It is about Rovers having players contracted and signed up to save 133 years of history.

City with all their brass are struggling to sign players so what hope have we got? Roque stays until all our targets and his replacement are signed so far as I am concerned.

Couldn't agree more.

[joey_big_nose]

Just a quick thought on the Man City offer.

Roque's side of it must have been sorted out in advance.

This is going to be messy.

They cannot leverage us in terms of finances. His price has been set at 18 million in a cluase, which I assume any "pay by appearences" won't be counted within. Roque can hardly complain about that, he signed the contract.

I am not sure Man City have that many cards at the moment. They are not in a strong enough position in the league to make Cruz desperate to join them. Hughes' job is unstable. The squad is unstable. Even a massive pay hike may not add enough appeal for Cruz - who looks a decent sort - start playing up to force a move. He could be content to stay till the summer.

Maybe it is a case of Man City starting low and working thier way up.

Can you put a guess at the figue Nicko?

Re: Givet- obviously a good player. Interesting becuase it means Warncok could semi permanently move to midfield. No doubt that he is good in the "savage role" there. Breaks up play, works hard, gives the ball to more creative players, gets forward. Seeing as there are so few decent central midfielders on the market it could be a very sound move. Plus Givet could be cheap.

If we could sign Givet, sign someone like Semioli, and sign a right back that would be a very decent return from the window provided we did not lose Cruz. It would mean we would have lots of options in the centre with Warnock and Emerton able to move there if needs be. Not quite ideal, but it would get us through.

[my_name_is_Earl]

Roque is obviously starting to become a 'live' one. I heard - and this is yet to be confirmed - that there is a large 'pay as you play' element to the offer because of concerns over his injuries.

If that is the case it is more than a bit cheeky.

HA HA what a load of balls on City's behalf. How dare they have the cheek to make such a ridiculous offer?! Thankfully, I think both JW and Big Sam are sensible enough to laugh off a bid made on those terms.

If I was in charge of the deal on Rovers side, I'd give a deadline and a fee for Roque in this window otherwise I'd keep him - unhappy or not. If worse comes to worse, we'll flog him for fifteen million in the summer with Roque taking his £5 million cut.

Like others have said on this board, this is more than money, its about doing what is best for the club. We are absolutely under no pressure to flog Roque off this window, it seems quite bizarre that City think we would be such willing sellers.

[herbergeehh]

"Listen, John. I want to sign Santa Cruz, and even though I know you want to keep him and he's under contract, we need a guarantee he will be a success before we pay half of what you want."

Up yours, Sparky.

If I was in charge of the deal on Rovers side, I'd give a deadline and a fee for Roque in this window otherwise I'd keep him - unhappy or not. If worse comes to worse, we'll flog him for fifteen million in the summer with Roque taking his £5 million cut.

Like others have said on this board, this is more than money, its about doing what is best for the club. We are absolutely under no pressure to flog Roque off this window, it seems quite bizarre that City think we would be such willing sellers.

The fee is set though, isn't it? Might as well go official with it.

[nicko]

The question of what Roque gets from Man City in wages - and how much of the profit of the sale he wants - must have been agreed behind the scenes between his advisers and City.

I don't know what the bid is, but it would have to be enough for Rovers to 'clear' £15 million...and more than that to give Roque his pay-off.

I think £18 million would get him, but Man City have obviously not reached that figure yet.

[ebenrocks]

I geuinely couldnt give a damn if Roque leaves. If he doesnt he'll just do a Benni McCarthy and be absolutly waste for the rest of the season, and then we lose him in the summer but for a fraction of the money.

Is there anyone who truely expects Roque to still be here next season, given him spouting off to the media as he has been? We may as well sell him now, make a packet and strenghten.

He's been totally off form this season, there is no way on earth he is worth the kind of money we're requesting based on this seasons performances and injury proneness. I think we should squeeze city for all they're worth but i also think we should accept the right bid.

[BlueMonday]

You mean Roque and us have agreed the payment to be paid out to him or you mean he has agreed terms with City?

Nicko any idea what we were offered?

Sorry if I'm not up to speed, but the talk recently was of an £18m clause. So if true then the bid has to be £18m. If no clause, then the sky's the limit Mr. Oil sheik.

Starting to care less about these wanna be, want away, flash in the pans.

[jim mk2]

I geuinely couldnt give a damn if Roque leaves. If he doesnt he'll just do a Benni McCarthy and be absolutly waste for the rest of the season, and then we lose him in the summer but for a fraction of the money.

Is there anyone who truely expects Roque to still be here next season, given him spouting off to the media as he has been? We may as well sell him now, make a packet and strenghten.

He's been totally off form this season, there is no way on earth he is worth the kind of money we're requesting based on this seasons performances and injury proneness. I think we should squeeze city for all they're worth but i also think we should accept the right bid.

In a nutshell. End of the Roque debate.

[herbergeehh]

The 5 millions Roque is due is based on a 20m transfer, right? So if City fails to fund this in January, and his bad season continues, and we (for some reason) sell him for 6m pounds in the summer - he will not get a dime? Or will he still get a compensation?

[Bobby G]

Sorry if I'm not up to speed, but the talk recently was of an £18m clause. So if true then the bid has to be £18m. If no clause, then the sky's the limit Mr. Oil sheik.

Starting to care less about these wanna be, want away, flash in the pans.

Clause is not effective till the summer.

There is no clause right now but since he will not ask for a transfer, we have to pay him something over "loyalty".

[RovertheHill]

It is very simple to me. JW and SA should simply tell City that if they are prepared to spend £11 or 12m on a left back and pay him £100 grand a week then if they want Roque they either get serious or f*** off and stop wasting everybody's time

[alexanders]

No right wingers og CM's being watched?

This is where we need streghtening.

With Givet on his way in, maybe he is planning this:

NEW RB - Samba - Nelsen - Givet

Emerton - Dunn - Grella - Warnock - Pedersen

Mccarthy

Maybe..

[colbert]

Its all about the money! I think RSC is gone now, it all depends how much rovers can get for him. I think it should be around the 20 mil mark.

I think i've heard enough.

[Bobby G]

We only pay him if his clause is activated in the summer.

[Gally]

I don't think Roque could do a Benni, as people seem to be worried about.

Thing is with Benni, his game is all about putting the ball in the back of the net, and if he's not at 100% sharpness or if he isn't properly focused, he loses his nack for scoring and is pretty much worthless to our team. On the other hand, Roque is more involved in build up, and there were times last year when he didn't score and was still our best player.

He could still prove to be a massive player for us this season, and if we manage to strengthen the midfield, we could see a Roque more like the one of last season.

[Rick_Blackburn_91]

No right wingers og CM's being watched?

This is where we need streghtening.

With Givet on his way in, maybe he is planning this:

NEW RB - Samba - Nelsen - Givet

Emerton - Dunn - Grella - Warnock - Pedersen

Mccarthy

Maybe..

And once we get out of the relegation scuffle...which obviously we will with Big Sam

We could go more attacking and swap Grella for Villanueva and put him just behind McCarthy?

[T4E]

The question of what Roque gets from Man City in wages - and how much of the profit of the sale he wants - must have been agreed behind the scenes between his advisers and City.

I don't know what the bid is, but it would have to be enough for Rovers to 'clear' £15 million...and more than that to give Roque his pay-off.

I think £18 million would get him, but Man City have obviously not reached that figure yet.

Any inclination on the setup of the deal? The story at the weekend was of the whole cash amount upfront. Is this likely?