[Archived] Nikola Kalinic

[Hughesy]

Lpool have not replaced Alonso.

Is he at Rovers yet?!

[T4E]

He will be soon. There's no one else in for him. Name a CL or Europa team with an Alonso shaped hole. I dare ya.

[Exiled_Rover]

And if we have debts that need paying then I'd rather we paid them and the club continued in the Championship or even lower with the possibility of working its way back through the leagues than do a Portsmouth with all the uncertainty their fans have gone through this season

The debts are manageable. We're heading to the Championship if we don't invest in the playing squad. I'm not advocating spending £100m on new players, but moderate investment to improve the squad is badly needed.

[gumboots]

The debts are manageable. We're heading to the Championship if we don't invest in the playing squad. I'm not advocating spending £100m on new players, but moderate investment to improve the squad is badly needed.

Hence why I said need not fancy. We don't know the conditions of loans etc. Sometimes you have to get on and pay things rather than try to manage them. I'm not advocating paying all our debts immediately and I'd like to see some money spent on players but sometimes there is no choice but to pay up. If that means relegation then I'd take that rather than possible extinction, that's all.

[Hughesy]

The debts are manageable. We're heading to the Championship if we don't invest in the playing squad.

How do you work that one out when we are 12th and have quiet a few young players who will improve further...

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

The debts are manageable because we're not throwing good money at poor players when we dont need them, ie. Dindane/Beattie/Benjani in January. We cannot afford to make many mistakes in the transfer market so to see Kalinic coming good is great news. We should spend money when we want and need to, not just because we can.

Not signing a striker for example in January has enabled Kalinic to go on a good run of form and saved us £2/3m in fees and wages. Common sense prevailed then and hopefully will again when we next dip into the transfer window.

[TugaysMarlboro]

Do you think?

Celtic took him on loan and they dont pay big wages....not sure what fee he would command, he will be 30 in the summer!

I'm sure I remember Mr. Nixon informing us Keane was being paid close to the £80,000 mark. Might have been more or less i'm not sure but stupid enough to make my head spin.

But on Kalinic, he seems a very very good player. He's obviously alot stronger than when he first arrived. He's now in our starting line-up and putting in some very good performances. He's scoring goals, he's linking our midfield with attack (even though i'm convinced the two central midfielders play wayyyy to deep.)

I'd like to praise Allardyce for this. He picked a time to play Kalinic, and so far it has paid off.

[Exiled_Rover]

How do you work that one out when we are 12th and have quiet a few young players who will improve further...

We only have one useful centre mid and one useful striker on the books. Either one gets injured and we're up the proverbial creek.

[Hughesy]

We only have one useful centre mid and one useful striker on the books. Either one gets injured and we're up the proverbial creek.

Dont talk wet....to say we would go down if we dont invest is stupid. Surely the 3 clubs that come up + 2 or 3 of those that stay up will be in a harder place than us to start with!

We aint 12th because of 1 or 2 players....so far this season we have had many different players that have chipped in at different times!

[Eddie]

I think the reality is that without some investment into our central midfield then the club is probably can't expect to ever finish higher than we are now. I'm not saying that we need to spend 15 million on a central midfielder, but the fact is that, with the exception of Grella (and he never makes it onto the pitch), no real attention has been paid to our central midfield pairing since we lost Savage.

[Majiball]

And Tugay.

[beanie]

nzonzi has been a good buy and will be a year further on in his development we just need a good attacking centre mid to link up with niko dunn was doing it earlier in season but can't be relied upon. If we are not gong to invest in this area then giving ped's a contract is a must

[Mr. E]

No. Cruz was poor for the first half of the season (due a little to playing up front on his own) and injured for most of it. We effectively lost him the summer before and to be honest I don't think we miss him because I don't think he would have played for us again. I mean, he's not fit for city enough and he seemed to not want to be fit for rovers.

i think you need to be a little bit more greatful for what blackburn are giving you considering the wages they pay and the tough task they have ahead of them. stop moaning. if you can't handle another big sale you might as well leave now because there will be more. that is the way it goes. at the moment it is the way it has to go.

well, that's a defeatist attitude if I ever read one. Why are YOU "sticking around" if you are content with Rovers being nothing more than a feeder club?

[tony gale's mic]

well, that's a defeatist attitude if I ever read one. Why are YOU "sticking around" if you are content with Rovers being nothing more than a feeder club?

We're a town club from one of the most densely populated football areas in the world (in terms of big/tradition rich football clubs, not people), competing at the top table of possibly the worlds toughest league, having some world class players pass through our books and play for us and more than holding our own.

We're far more than just a feeder club. If we were just a feeder club what on earth would all the other clubs of a similar size in the divisions below us be?!

Your attitude is the one that's defeatist. It's as if you're saying if we're not going for a Champions League spot we shouldnt be bothering.

[Mr. E]

We're a town club from one of the most densely populated football areas in the world (in terms of big/tradition rich football clubs, not people), competing at the top table of possibly the worlds toughest league, having some world class players pass through our books and play for us and more than holding our own.

We're far more than just a feeder club. If we were just a feeder club what on earth would all the other clubs of a similar size in the divisions below us be?!

Your attitude is the one that's defeatist. It's as if you're saying if we're not going for a Champions League spot we shouldnt be bothering.

We should be bothering precisely so that we can once again achieve a Champions League spot. That is the Mecca, the only thing that can drive any club our level forward. How else would we progress? But for that to happen, we need to be able to hold on to our world class players for more than a season or two.

The circumstances before every player that comes to play for us must be that they understand they are here to play out their contracts, and will not be sold for any reason other than if the club sees fit. If they are not ready for that commitment, then they should not come to Rovers. This is the mentality that I believe can set us apart from other clubs. And yes, I am certain we will still find players with potential.

What we can not allow to happen is, say, if we help Niko become a world class striker, and we sell him to Arsenal or Man City in one years time. That sort of practice should be put an end to, because the only thing it does is help our rivals and push us further down.

[Exiled_Rover]

Dont talk wet....to say we would go down if we dont invest is stupid. Surely the 3 clubs that come up + 2 or 3 of those that stay up will be in a harder place than us to start with!

We aint 12th because of 1 or 2 players....so far this season we have had many different players that have chipped in at different times!

To me we've battled and scraped our way to safety playing terrible football in a poor quality league. If we had another striker to go along side Kalinic and a centre midfielder who could put his foot on the ball and pass it (along with being mobile and keeping fit!) we'd have stayed up comfortably. Add a right winger (or I suppose a right attacking midfielder in this formation) in there and we're pushing for Europe.

[47er]

Central mid-field is a real nightmare for the manager. IF Basturk comes good, we have him and N'Zonzi,Dunn and Grella, Keef and Reid. That's 6 players for a maximum of 3 positions. normally that would be enough. BUT-----Reid, Dunn and Grella have injury problems and Andrews isn't good enough. That leaves 2 and we don't yet know how it will work out with Basturk. So do we buy more to cover those? If so we are spending far too much of our wages budget on 1 area.

I suppose the answer is--let Reid go, try to sell Andrews and buy 2 others. However we need new strikers too so the manager has a difficult juggling act to perform in the summer. Luckily the wings are sorting themselves out so long as Hoilett and Pedersen sign up.With Doeuf and Olssen that area would be OK.

If it were me I'd buy 1 or 2 central mid-fielders and sort out the strikers and that's all. Quality before quantity!

Sorry-a bit rambling there.

[roversfan99]

Luckily the wings are sorting themselves out so long as Hoilett and Pedersen sign up.With Doeuf and Olssen that area would be OK

Pedersens just found his place in centre mid, hes been useless on the wing and much more effective in the centre. By the way you missed Emerton from your centre midfield list, hes played there a few times this season

[joey_big_nose]

We should be bothering precisely so that we can once again achieve a Champions League spot. That is the Mecca, the only thing that can drive any club our level forward. How else would we progress? But for that to happen, we need to be able to hold on to our world class players for more than a season or two.

The circumstances before every player that comes to play for us must be that they understand they are here to play out their contracts, and will not be sold for any reason other than if the club sees fit. If they are not ready for that commitment, then they should not come to Rovers. This is the mentality that I believe can set us apart from other clubs. And yes, I am certain we will still find players with potential.

What we can not allow to happen is, say, if we help Niko become a world class striker, and we sell him to Arsenal or Man City in one years time. That sort of practice should be put an end to, because the only thing it does is help our rivals and push us further down.

This is a bizarre post. Of course we don't want to sell these players but we are routinely forced to because the player wants to leave.

Spurs - who have a shed load of money and a board fully willing to dig their heels in - did everything they could to prevent Carrick, Keane and Berbatov from leaving. Did they manage it? No. Why? Becuase the players wanted to leave. Same with Rooney, same with Bent. Same with the whole squad who ended up at City.

Wisdom is knowing what things you can change and what things you cannot. Is it unfair? Yes. Is there anyway we can stop it? Nope. If the player wants to go he is as good as gone. It is only a question of how much you can extract.

Name one player ever who has been kept against their will at a club successfully?

[braddock]

well, that's a defeatist attitude if I ever read one. Why are YOU "sticking around" if you are content with Rovers being nothing more than a feeder club?

what a ridiculous statement.

everyone is a feeder club. united learned that when they had to sell ronaldo.

and to say we are nothing more than a feeder club is doing the club a huge injustice.

i'm sticking around because i love blackburn rovers and i'm not going to pussy out if our main player gets sold or go on about how i can't take it. i also seem to understand transfers and the way in which clubs only have a certain amount of control over whether they can keep a player or not more than you, and therefore don't view my club with as much contempt as you clearly do.

[47er]

Pedersens just found his place in centre mid, hes been useless on the wing and much more effective in the centre. By the way you missed Emerton from your centre midfield list, hes played there a few times this season

God-----------how could I forget Emo?!! Still like to see him at right-back though.On Pedersen, I agree that he is better playing more in the centre and I'd really like to see Olssen out wide there. But if Olssen is rquired at left-back or is injured we still have Pedersen there (if he signs). So I don't think we need to buy a left flanker, that's what I'm saying.

I'm hoping we spend all our money on as few a number of players as poss and get quality. But I'm way off thread so I'll stop there!

[Mr. E]

This is a bizarre post. Of course we don't want to sell these players but we are routinely forced to because the player wants to leave.

Spurs - who have a shed load of money and a board fully willing to dig their heels in - did everything they could to prevent Carrick, Keane and Berbatov from leaving. Did they manage it? No. Why? Becuase the players wanted to leave. Same with Rooney, same with Bent. Same with the whole squad who ended up at City.

Wisdom is knowing what things you can change and what things you cannot. Is it unfair? Yes. Is there anyway we can stop it? Nope. If the player wants to go he is as good as gone. It is only a question of how much you can extract.

Name one player ever who has been kept against their will at a club successfully?

But that's what I'm talking about when I say we have to do things differently from the other clubs, and explain to players before they sign for Rovers that if they want to play here, they'll have to commit to honoring their contract and allowing the club to decide what to do with them. Santa Cruz is a prime example. He came to Rovers with a smile on his face, but with the clear goal in mind to use us as a stepping stone to "further his career", and if we didn't let him go as soon as he wanted to, he'd start with the "come and get me" pleas to other clubs, which is exactly what he did.

We need to make it clear that that will absolutely no longer be tolerated. There has to be some discipline bred into these players, and they need to focus on what we are paying them for. If they breach this agreement, they'll know that they'll be kicked out into the reserves for the remainder of their contract, money be damned. If they're willing to do that to their careers, so be it.

If some see themselves as unable to make such an agreement, then I'd rather not have them at Rovers in the first place.

When all is said is done, who here wants to see Niko telling newspapers in one year's time how "he likes it here at Rovers, but is flattered by the interest of a great club like City with their great fans and their great stadium, and how "you never know in football"?

No one, and I disagree that there's nothing that can be done about it.

[braddock]

But that's what I'm talking about when I say we have to do things differently from the other clubs, and explain to players before they sign for Rovers that if they want to play here, they'll have to commit to honoring their contract and allowing the club to decide what to do with them.

We would find it almost impossible to sign players if we did this and it's difficult enough already. do you understand how football works?

Santa Cruz is a prime example. He came to Rovers with a smile on his face, but with the clear goal in mind to use us as a stepping stone to "further his career", and if we didn't let him go as soon as he wanted to, he'd start with the "come and get me" pleas to other clubs, which is exactly what he did.

Remember how Rovers signed a minimum fee release clause? also i respect his decision to do this, though i disagree with the way he went about it. he felt he could cut it at a higher level and wanted the chance to prove it. do you dislike warnock for the same reasons?

We need to make it clear that that will absolutely no longer be tolerated. There has to be some discipline bred into these players, and they need to focus on what we are paying them for. If they breach this agreement, they'll know that they'll be kicked out into the reserves for the remainder of their contract, money be damned. If they're willing to do that to their careers, so be it.

Brilliant. you're a genius. the players will be flocking to us, and lets forget about future transfer fees we would receive, even though they are the things keeping us where we are.

If some see themselves as unable to make such an agreement, then I'd rather not have them at Rovers in the first place.

When all is said is done, who here wants to see Niko telling newspapers in one year's time how "he likes it here at Rovers, but is flattered by the interest of a great club like City with their great fans and their great stadium, and how "you never know in football"?

No one, and I disagree that there's nothing that can be done about it.

Nobody wants it to happen, but there is little we could do if he decided he wants to leave. are you aware that players have a little more power over the way they are treated ever since the bosman ruling.

reply to this if you want but i have nothing more to say to you. you are living in a dream world, one that if we pursued would see us almost definitely relegated in the next 5 years, probably sooner. cutting off your nose to spite your face gets you nowhere, and to me that is childish when compared to than taking your medicine and letting the player go and moving on.

[HairwayToSteven]

But that's what I'm talking about when I say we have to do things differently from the other clubs, and explain to players before they sign for Rovers that if they want to play here, they'll have to commit to honoring their contract and allowing the club to decide what to do with them. Santa Cruz is a prime example. He came to Rovers with a smile on his face, but with the clear goal in mind to use us as a stepping stone to "further his career", and if we didn't let him go as soon as he wanted to, he'd start with the "come and get me" pleas to other clubs, which is exactly what he did.

We need to make it clear that that will absolutely no longer be tolerated. There has to be some discipline bred into these players, and they need to focus on what we are paying them for. If they breach this agreement, they'll know that they'll be kicked out into the reserves for the remainder of their contract, money be damned. If they're willing to do that to their careers, so be it.

If some see themselves as unable to make such an agreement, then I'd rather not have them at Rovers in the first place.

When all is said is done, who here wants to see Niko telling newspapers in one year's time how "he likes it here at Rovers, but is flattered by the interest of a great club like City with their great fans and their great stadium, and how "you never know in football"?

No one, and I disagree that there's nothing that can be done about it.

Yeah, you wouldn't attract a single player, let alone someone of any quality. Any reasonable man, IMO, can see why the above is utterly and completely impossible. If it were possible, it would've been done decades ago, it's not like the idea is revolutionary or anything. And surely, if Manure cannot keep their best players, how on God's green earth do you reckon we would?! The reason we got the Bellamy's and the Santa Cruz's is that we can be used as a stepping stone. Bellamy even had a clause in his contract. I agree that it's painful to watch our best players disappear, but you'd get nowhere telling players that they had to honour their contracts and that if Barcelona came knocking, they wouldn't get their dream transfer. Footballers want to win trophies, and play in the Champions League. Football is business, and unfair.

[thenodrog]

Name one player ever who has been kept against their will at a club successfully?

Tom Finney..... the greatest of them all.