[Archived] Blackburn Rovers Transfer Topic

[XLM]

This post is on the using tall target strikers and a direct route as opposed to playing "sexy football" and a passing game through the middle of the park. At the back end of last season when Samda was an obvious target, I thought ironically that the midfield played better. It was as if having one clear option at their disposal, they felt better about trying an alternative when the opportunity arose. I thought the clear threat of Samba also unsettled the opposition defence. They tend to position themselves against the obvious option of a centre to Samba leaving more room elsewhere. I thought the best example of this in action was aginst Portsmouth. I am not sure whether this was wishful thinking on my part but I don't think so. Blackburn seem at their worse when they seem to have no clear plan of what they are going to do to break the opposition down, they then become lacking in confidence and fritter the ball away. With a tall target you have a clear plan A giving room for plan B

That doesn't say much for our midfield does it? Needing a big man to lump it to, otherwise they're lost. If that's the case then I'd rather address the midfield issue rather than pander to their lack of vision by buying a lamp post.

I hadn't been so pessimistic watching Rovers as I was for the first 60 mins at home to Spurs and the away game at Stoke, percentage football at its very worst. Who really wants to watch that week in week out? I know I certainly don't. It might work and if it keeps us in the league then I can't really complain, but surely we must have more ambition than that. We have a squad not too dissimilar to the one that saw us finish 6th by playing football. Proper football.

[tcj_jones]

Bearing in mind both the transfer outlay and the wages he would command, I'd rather keep McCarthy and forgo getting Tuncay. Tuncay would probably be on at least 25% higher wages than Benni and would probably cost in the region of £6 - 7m.

Providing we were to get Zigic, then I'd rather see us splash out on a quality CM with some physical presence or, otherwise, save the rest for January and / or next summer when Di Santo heads back to Chelsea (again providing we actually get him, of course).

[LeChuck]

Bearing in mind both the transfer outlay and the wages he would command, I'd rather keep McCarthy and forgo getting Tuncay. Tuncay would probably be on at least 25% higher wages than Benni and would probably cost in the region of £6 - 7m.

Providing we were to get Zigic, then I'd rather see us splash out on a quality CM with some physical presence or, otherwise, save the rest for January and / or next summer when Di Santo heads back to Chelsea (again providing we actually get him, of course).

Benni will probably only be a bench player though, whereas Tuncay would be an invaluable member of the team, especially played as a wide striker like at Boro as he'd bring much needed pace and trickery to the wings.

We can't sign a central midfielder without letting someone go, we've got loads already. I definitely think we someone, but with Grella, Emerton, Dunn, Reid, Andrews, N'Zonzi and Warnock all capable of playing there we're top-heavy as it is. We can't afford to stick another central midfielder on the wage bill without moving at least of those off it first.

[LeftWinger]

I'd certainly keep Benni. He needs to perform to get in the World Cup squad, so the motivation should be there for him. Let him have a good year, play a part in the World Cup for SA, then sell him while he's at the peak and watch him lose interest in the game again.

[socngill]

I agree, we should hold back the rest of the funds for now unless a top player becomes available that we simply can't turn down. We have plenty of midfielders in the squad. The issue most have is how long they will stay fit. So I say keep the money under the mattress so if the worst does happen we have some funds to go out and rectify it. The squad we have (if Zigic signs) is good enough for a top ten finish. Spending every last penny will leave nothing for building on this season, next season.

Keep the £7m and add it to next seasons budget and we should have about £10m to go out and strenghten even further, when, hopefully, we will have a had a good season and will be able to attract a better quality of player.

[LeChuck]

I'd certainly keep Benni. He needs to perform to get in the World Cup squad, so the motivation should be there for him. Let him have a good year, play a part in the World Cup for SA, then sell him while he's at the peak and watch him lose interest in the game again.

It's a good point, I'm just thinking who we could move off the wage bill to make room for another good player. I can't think of anyone else who a] is on pretty big wages, b] isn't a key member of the team, and c] would be relatively easy to sell.

Keep the £7m and add it to next seasons budget and we should have about £10m to go out and strenghten even further, when, hopefully, we will have a had a good season and will be able to attract a better quality of player.

That's the last thing we should do! The bank would swallow it up, there is no way that it would still be available next year if we don't use it now.

[alexanders]

Keep the £7m and add it to next seasons budget and we should have about £10m to go out and strenghten even further, when, hopefully, we will have a had a good season and will be able to attract a better quality of player.

I agree. If we get Di Santo and Zigic we will have this strikeforce:

Benni (10+), Roberts(5), Di Santo(5), Zigic (10+)

We have this midfield:

Dunn, Andrews, N'zonzi, Grella, Diouf, Van Heerden, Pedersen, Warnock, Emerton, Doran

We have this defense:

Nelsen, Givet, Warnock, Jacobsen, Samba, Zurab, Emerton

Considering our achievements last season under SAM, i think this team will be fighting for a top 10 finish next season.

[accyrover]

Does anyone know how close we actually are to signing Zigic ?

[Veevs]

Personally I reckon Zigic is a very good option.. K Jones does not have a well established career yet.. and the likes of Negrado (too expensive), Davies (too expensive), Janko (no where near as proven), Cardoza (too expensive), Gignac (too expensive), Crouch (12m.. compared to 6-8m for zigic hmm).. I could keep going on but it gets too depressing..

Some people keep running on about how our midfield cant score goals.. but we have not been playing in systems that would allow for them to break forward into goal scoring positions, in fact looking at our midfield allot of them have decent goal scoring records..

MGP, Dunn and Diof certainly have found the net on the odd occasion in the past have they forgot or have they been playing in the wrong system for goals.. Reid, Andrews, Elrio, Emerton (except for Rovers where he has played as RB and D mid mostly) all have a 1 in 10 goal scoring ratio..

Set pieces are bound to be better for us.. who the hell does the opposition mark, we have all seen what the opposition thought of Samba in there.. then multiply that by 3 (N'Zonzi, Zigic or other target man and Samba.. )... hell we would not even need a beckham esk player for the ball in, hitting one target can be tricky, but 3 of them...

We simply have to play to our strengths.. we simply cant afford the silky players and those players would need a good target man anyway which we don't have.

Finally has anyone seen this article yet: Bently to ManCity....

[ffan]

If Zigic signs for Rovers I'm going down to the bookies and putting money on him scoring 12 goals plus.

Think about the amount of assists he will create as well.

Good player, good buy.

[gumboots]

Personally I reckon Zigic is a very good option.. K Jones does not have a well established career yet.. and the likes of Negrado (too expensive), Davies (too expensive), Janko (no where near as proven), Cardoza (too expensive), Gignac (too expensive), Crouch (12m.. compared to 6-8m for zigic hmm).. I could keep going on but it gets too depressing..

Some people keep running on about how our midfield cant score goals.. but we have not been playing in systems that would allow for them to break forward into goal scoring positions, in fact looking at our midfield allot of them have decent goal scoring records..

MGP, Dunn and Diof certainly have found the net on the odd occasion in the past have they forgot or have they been playing in the wrong system for goals.. Reid, Andrews, Elrio, Emerton (except for Rovers where he has played as RB and D mid mostly) all have a 1 in 10 goal scoring ratio..

Set pieces are bound to be better for us.. who the hell does the opposition mark, we have all seen what the opposition thought of Samba in there.. then multiply that by 3 (N'Zonzi, Zigic or other target man and Samba.. )... hell we would not even need a beckham esk player for the ball in, hitting one target can be tricky, but 3 of them...

We simply have to play to our strengths.. we simply cant afford the silky players and those players would need a good target man anyway which we don't have.

Finally has anyone seen this article yet: Bently to ManCity....

looks like his agent is keen to get him another move. Since City are linked with more players than they can possibly use it's an easy link to make, plus the hughes factor.

[modes98]

Does anyone know how close we actually are to signing Zigic ?

Probably only at the chatting with agent and club stage I would think.

[tcj_jones]

Benni will probably only be a bench player though, whereas Tuncay would be an invaluable member of the team, especially played as a wide striker like at Boro as he'd bring much needed pace and trickery to the wings.

We can't sign a central midfielder without letting someone go, we've got loads already. I definitely think we someone, but with Grella, Emerton, Dunn, Reid, Andrews, N'Zonzi and Warnock all capable of playing there we're top-heavy as it is. We can't afford to stick another central midfielder on the wage bill without moving at least of those off it first.

I must say, I'm very surprised that you think Benni will be only a bench warmer next season, because I fully expect him to be a regular starter alongside our new big signing in a 4-4-2 formation. IMO his game would be entirely catered to by a big work horse playing up front alongside him providing opportunities on a plate. Furthermore, with the World Cup approaching and if reports about his new fitness regime are to be believed, then all the signs are pointing to him returning to the player he was at times last season and consistently when we first brought him in.

I totally see your point on midfield though, and you are right. I just kinda wish we either hadn't have bought a cheapo in N'Zonzi or had got rid of the likes of Reid and / or Andrew sand splashed out on somebody of real quality.

If we could protect against the money being swallowed up by the banks, I'd rather hold it back than buy Tuncay, simply because I don't believe we need a player of his type - as good a player as he undoubtedly is - as much as we do a quality CM. We never adequately replaced Savage.

[LeChuck]

I must say, I'm very surprised that you think Benni will be only a bench warmer next season, because I fully expect him to be a regular starter alongside our new big signing in a 4-4-2 formation. IMO his game would be entirely catered to by a big work horse playing up front alongside him providing opportunities on a plate. Furthermore, with the World Cup approaching and if reports about his new fitness regime are to be believed, then all the signs are pointing to him returning to the player he was at times last season and consistently when we first brought him in.

Sam's never been a 4-4-2 man though, he was forced into something close last season (he called it 4-4-1-1 in interviews) after he'd tried both Samba and McCarthy as the lone front man and realised neither was capable of doing it. After a summer of bringing in his own players and getting people back fit again, I fully expect him to return to 4-3-3/4-5-1. In that kind of system we really need good wide strikers, and at the moment I think we're lacking quality there which is why I think Tuncay would be ideal.

I don't think central midfield is that much of a problem, and certainly not one that deserves to take chunks of the Roque fund. If Sam can sell one or two and bring in another player with that money then fair enough, but we can't just throw another central midfielder into the squad with so many on the books right now.

[socngill]

The money would be safe for next season. Just invest it in an Icelandic bank...

[tcj_jones]

Interesting take LeChuck. You could well have a point there. One thing I would say, however, is that Sam's apparent effort to ensure the squad has four recognized strikers by next season would appear to me that we intend on playing two up top. Unless of course Zigic (for example) were to be played out wide a'la Davies at Bolton.

Looking at the current squad and at the players we have been linked with, our squad would appear far more suited to a 4-4-2, with Benni coming deep and feeding off the big front man. I think that we would be sacrificing real quality in Benni in order to play an extra CM, a position in which we are, arguably, weakest. It would, however, explain bringing in Givet as Sam ay envisage Warnock as something of a combative CM.

I keep contradicting myself here; I guess you've given me a lot to think about. However, my opinion is that the squad would be better suited to a 4-4-2. I'll be very interested to see how we line up against City.

[Atomicrover]

I agree. If we get Di Santo and Zigic we will have this strikeforce:

Benni (10+), Roberts(5), Di Santo(5), Zigic (10+)

....and Vieri?

[joey_big_nose]

Sam's never been a 4-4-2 man though, he was forced into something close last season (he called it 4-4-1-1 in interviews) after he'd tried both Samba and McCarthy as the lone front man and realised neither was capable of doing it. After a summer of bringing in his own players and getting people back fit again, I fully expect him to return to 4-3-3/4-5-1. In that kind of system we really need good wide strikers, and at the moment I think we're lacking quality there which is why I think Tuncay would be ideal.

I don't think central midfield is that much of a problem, and certainly not one that deserves to take chunks of the Roque fund. If Sam can sell one or two and bring in another player with that money then fair enough, but we can't just throw another central midfielder into the squad with so many on the books right now.

I agree with you. The whole point of buying a big man like Zigic is to get as many people around him as possible for the knockdown, so it wil be either 433 or 4231 imo.

That said he did say in that caribbean interview that he did want to nurture a more attractive style, so there may be a twist or two.

In a perfect world we would want to surround Zigic with pace, so the development of Van Heerden and Hoillet is pretty crucial. If one of them turns into a good un then the opposition will find it a lot harder to truy and negate the big fella by moving their defence up the pitch. I would owrry if we played Ziggy and Benni together we just wouldn't be able to get behind teams.

I am broadly hapy with the midfield. If someone brilliant is available then we should have a look. But no one looks like that at the moment. The priority is to get Dunn, Reid, Grellla and Emerton up to speed.

Interesting take LeChuck. You could well have a point there. One thing I would say, however, is that Sam's apparent effort to ensure the squad has four recognized strikers by next season would appear to me that we intend on playing two up top. Unless of course Zigic (for example) were to be played out wide a'la Davies at Bolton.

Looking at the current squad and at the players we have been linked with, our squad would appear far more suited to a 4-4-2, with Benni coming deep and feeding off the big front man. I think that we would be sacrificing real quality in Benni in order to play an extra CM, a position in which we are, arguably, weakest. It would, however, explain bringing in Givet as Sam ay envisage Warnock as something of a combative CM.

I keep contradicting myself here; I guess you've given me a lot to think about. However, my opinion is that the squad would be better suited to a 4-4-2. I'll be very interested to see how we line up against City.

I would imagine it would be something like:

---------------Zigic

Pedersen---McCarthy----Diouf/Van Heerden

--------Warnock---Emerton

Givet---Nelsen---Samba--Jackobsen

-------------Robinson

[RibbleValleyRover]

Keep in mind that if Di Santo comes in we will have to play him, Chelsea will want him to get plenty of games and that will be part of the agreement that we do that.

[Balwer]

Keep in mind that if Di Santo comes in we will have to play him, Chelsea will want him to get plenty of games and that will be part of the agreement that we do that.

That keeps getting said but I don't see how that can be written into anybody's contract. Assumed, yes. Agreed, no.

[nicko]

Keep in mind that if Di Santo comes in we will have to play him, Chelsea will want him to get plenty of games and that will be part of the agreement that we do that.

The 'deal' is that he is coming for first-team football, so it is a valid point.

Hopefully the plan is to play two up front...

I can think of someone else who would take Di Santo in a heart beat.

[BuckyRover]

It cannot be in the agreement. Chesea cannot legally affect our starting line up. What if he doesn't perform? They can't have any say in the matter. All that it means is that we would have said we intend on paying him. That's where it stops.

[nicko]

It cannot be in the agreement. Chesea cannot legally affect our starting line up. What if he doesn't perform? They can't have any say in the matter. All that it means is that we would have said we intend on paying him. That's where it stops.

There is nothing 'legal' about it, but the agreement between the clubs is for the player to go on loan to give him first-team football.

If Di Santo isn't going to start he is as well sitting on his backside at Chelsea...or finding another home.

I wouldn't make too much of a fuss about this or Chelsea will ask the same question.

[The Rover of Finland]

I think di Santo would earn much playing time and hopefully will come to us. Nicko, is there anything more than interest over Zigic?

[LeChuck]

Surely there's a lot of middle ground between starting every week and being a bench warmer. I'd expect him to play 20 ish games, most coming from the bench. To me that still satisfies the requirements of 'playing' him, I don't see how we can guarantee anything more than that.