[Archived] Sam's January Targets

[Majiball]

I'd like to see that as well.

We could easily cull one or two from our squad and not miss them at all. One of Salgado or Jacobsen, Reid, Zurab, Pedersen, Treacy, Bunn or Brown would not be missed really from our squad. The money that could be saved between now and then though might sign a new player come the summer over and above our calculated budget (unless the bogey man gets it again).

Its something the club really need to do and I think we'll probably see more of it in the summer, but if I was in charge I'd be thinking about it asap IE January.

[Hughesy]

I'd like to see that as well.

We could easily cull one or two from our squad and not miss them at all. One of Salgado or Jacobsen, Reid, Zurab, Pedersen, Treacy, Bunn or Brown would not be missed really from our squad. The money that could be saved between now and then though might sign a new player come the summer over and above our calculated budget (unless the bogey man gets it again).

Its something the club really need to do and I think we'll probably see more of it in the summer, but if I was in charge I'd be thinking about it asap IE January.

I agree. If we got rid of Zurab, Reid & Pedersen - say about 100k a week worth of wages, that is worth £2.5m between now and June.

Then in summer get rid of Roberts, Brown, Rigters, Treacy, Andrews & Jacobsen/ Salgado.

For what its worth I think Sam is doing things correctly and step by step he will improve us....

[Majiball]

I agree. If we got rid of Zurab, Reid & Pedersen - say about 100k a week worth of wages, that is worth £2.5m between now and June.

Then in summer get rid of Roberts, Brown, Rigters, Treacy, Andrews & Jacobsen/ Salgado.

For what its worth I think Sam is doing things correctly and step by step he will improve us....

I forgot about that drain on wages Rigters.

Judge has been dissappointing at plymouth so you could soon add him to that list as well, there's bound to be one or two championship clubs who'd be interested.

In the summer though I'm afraid I'd take a slightly different view and start looking at all players who are currently on 30K or more a week and start thinking can I replace them for less? I reckon quiet a few teams would be interested in a couple of our high earners and that we could get better for less.

We need to really look at our squad while we have the chance this January/summer and plug all these gaping holes we are currently papering over with their sales.

[Amo]

Have we ever had an eventful January window? I foresee maybe one in, two out. Nothing spectacular.

[PAFELL]

Have we ever had an eventful January window? I foresee maybe one in, two out. Nothing spectacular.

I think Bennie, Pederson, zurab, Reid, Ricters (if anybody will take the latter two) will be off this Jan. Pederson may depend upon Junior signing his contract. Di Santo may sign a permanent contract, if Chelsea get a striker in themselves. Rovers need to do something about the forward line - even if it was just bringing in a striker coach.

[Majiball]

I think Bennie, Pederson, zurab, Reid, Ricters (if anybody will take the latter two) will be off this Jan. Pederson may depend upon Junior signing his contract. Di Santo may sign a permanent contract, if Chelsea get a striker in themselves. Rovers need to do something about the forward line - even if it was just bringing in a striker coach.

There's this chap on the BBC site he seems like a good striker coach lets get him in.

We probably won't see many comings and goings but it would be nice to see some for money for Pedersen and perhaps Reid and Zurab moved on permantly if possible.

Rigters must be a tricky one but surely his wages are an issue? Isn't he meant to be on silly gally like money? perhaps we could find some mugs and give him to them on whatever and we make up the remainder for the rest of his contract. Saving even £1.00 where he's concerned surely is a bonus.

[PAFELL]

There's this chap on the BBC site he seems like a good striker coach lets get him in.

We probably won't see many comings and goings but it would be nice to see some for money for Pedersen and perhaps Reid and Zurab moved on permantly if possible.

Rigters must be a tricky one but surely his wages are an issue? Isn't he meant to be on silly gally like money? perhaps we could find some mugs and give him to them on whatever and we make up the remainder for the rest of his contract. Saving even £1.00 where he's concerned surely is a bonus.

Is Righters on loan somewhere or has no club taken him on?

[Amo]

Is Righters on loan somewhere or has no club taken him on?

No one's that gullible.

[cn174]

Is Righters on loan somewhere or has no club taken him on?

We was at Barnsley but got injured and come back. I don't think he's been elsewhere since.

[47er]

Pedersen linked with Celtic in today's media.

[FourLaneBlue]

Barnes has no future at a high level if a Championship club are ditching him at his age due to injuries, surely. We'd only take him on the cheap if Reid and Dunn needed some company, surely.

You are probably correct but it never hurts to have a look.

[dillhallblue]

even a 30 something kevin philips would have delivered more than di santo so i'd seriously hope the first act of the window is wave cheerio to him back to chelsea and try and find a finisher from somewhere no matter what they're age. The second action should then be a left back then a left winger with pace.......and if possible lose our larger wage earners that have'nt the talent to back up what they are paid and get cheaper like for like replacements......and then sell andrews just to end the griping about the fella.

I'm probably just echoing every post on here with that wish list.

Keep chimbonda,samba,nelsen,givet,dunn,emerton,n'zonzi........they are the only 7 we could'nt afford to improve on I could'nt care less what happens to the rest of our current squad. So on that basis there are definitely 4 1st team places up for grabs in my mind And they are all attacking players we need in the main.

Kevin Phillips !!!!!!! ..... I cant believe what i'm reading here. If its a goalscorer you want, like nicko said if anyone's got a spare 20m goin, bring it on because thats what we'll need !!!!

Franco Di Santo is a class player & in time the goalscoring will come. I truly believe we are lucky to have him here & we should be doing all we can to sign him permanately. The guy will turn out to be one of the Premier League's star players over the coming seasons whoever he turn's out for !!!

As for saying we need a new left back, i dont understand ...... What, when you say keep Nelson, Samba & Givet !!!!! Where does everyone fit in ??????

Kevin Phillips !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ............. Unbelieveable

[FourLaneBlue]

He would consider us if we made the first move.

Why is it that we dont hold good relationships with players that move on from us. But so many clubs have their former players return to them after a few years away?

Not so sure about that.

I can think of Colin Hendry, Chris Price, David Dunn, Stephane Henchoz and Henning Berg just off the top of my head. Add to that those that come back as part of the management such as Hughes, Fazackerley etc and there must be quite a few I have missed.

Not many players leave Rovers and bad mouth the club itself although some slate the town a bit like Henchoz and, IIRC, Richard Witschge. The likes of Savage, Dunn, Jansen, Duff, Neill etc have nothing but good to say even if they left under a cloud. There are only a few who have been to$$ers in the media after...Barry Ferguson is one of the few I can remember with his whining about how our "derby" is with Bolton. Shows how much he bothered to learn about the club who very handsomely paid his signing-on fee and wages.

[CrazyIvan]

Seriously, some of you are in cloud cuckoo land. We can replace some of our 30k plus wage earners with better for less? Who's got the magic wand?

It's not going to happen. Not this season and not next unless the world football markets turn on their heads. It'd be nice to dream like that but reality bites.

[Parsonblue]

Is Righters on loan somewhere or has no club taken him on?

Rigters is playing in the reserves and I believe that he still has another year on his contract after this season. I feel sure he signed a four year deal. He played a couple of pre-season games with Southend who then rejected the opportunity to sign him. I suspect he will continue to be on our wage bill for quite some time to come.

[Parsonblue]

In the summer though I'm afraid I'd take a slightly different view and start looking at all players who are currently on 30K or more a week and start thinking can I replace them for less? I reckon quiet a few teams would be interested in a couple of our high earners and that we could get better for less.

I think John Williams has already said that paying high wages is the only way the club can remain competitive and maintain Premier League status. At the end of the day, if we don't pay the money another club will. If you axed the players on 30K or more a week I suspect that virtually all of our present starting eleven would be leaving.

[philipl]

If anyone ever complains players show no loyalty to clubs and fans these days, this thread and other "get rid" threads are the other side of the coin!

[PAFELL]

If anyone ever complains players show no loyalty to clubs and fans these days, this thread and other "get rid" threads are the other side of the coin!

Fair point, fans are also disloyal to players. I do believe that Sam is slowly but surely putting together a good young squad. A little bit of tinkering in Jan to continue this would be good. If rovers can get something back for Pederson who it seems wants to go to Celtic and reduce the wage bill a bit and Bennie who has also said he wants to go - also snap the hands off anybody who wants Andrews - should allow Sam to continue the progress he has already made. Another side of the coin is changing the squad a bit can seem to be disloyal to players - when it is fans just wanting what, they see, as best for Rovers in both the short and long term.

[Majiball]

Seriously, some of you are in cloud cuckoo land. We can replace some of our 30k plus wage earners with better for less? Who's got the magic wand?

It's not going to happen. Not this season and not next unless the world football markets turn on their heads. It'd be nice to dream like that but reality bites.

How high do you think Rovers wages are compared to say sporting lisbon?

Surely you must be of the opinion that you could get a better winger than diouf for 45K a week?

I think John Williams has already said that paying high wages is the only way the club can remain competitive and maintain Premier League status. At the end of the day, if we don't pay the money another club will. If you axed the players on 30K or more a week I suspect that virtually all of our present starting eleven would be leaving.

I haven't said cull the whole team, but a few diouf, 45K, sign a left back and let one of Nelsen or Samba move on. Roberts, Pedersen, Benni, could all be replaced with better for less (probably). Shift on a right back.

We spend 35-40 million a year on wages roughly in total, thats (35) almost 700K a week. Most European teams would kill for that kind of money for wages. We need to be far cleverer with our cash from now on, we've sold most of our best assests and are still stuck with a few players who are not worth their money. They need to go and be replaced if we are to move forward.

People who think we can just carry on as we are, with no funds to spend each window are blinkered. We have no support from our owners and at present we must sell every summer to raise funds to break even. Saving money on wages is the best way to generate some funds, Pedersen on 40K a week would be the same as having an extra £2 million quid to spend or say two, maybe three N'zonzi's.

The big issue with our current way is simple, its easy to move on the players that do well, but those that flop on high wages will see out their whole contract ala ped's who we have been stuck with for almost three seasons watching him try. At the end of his contract we will have invested almost 10Million in pedersen for no return, not good.

Hull are currently desperately trying to shift on players that are no good but on high wages, guess what no takers. So they have had to do some desperate things instead, sack staff to save money and the such. They will more than likely go down now this year.

Paying high wages is fine as long as they are worth it.

If anyone ever complains players show no loyalty to clubs and fans these days, this thread and other "get rid" threads are the other side of the coin!

There is word used to describe football at LJMU and its "ruthless", rovers need to display a bit more of this IMO.

[thenodrog]

If anyone ever complains players show no loyalty to clubs and fans these days, this thread and other "get rid" threads are the other side of the coin!

Indeed Gunner. A point I've made before too. A dip in form, a slow return from an injury and players quickly become similar to an unwanted christmas pet bought by over indulgent parents for their spoilt kids.

No thought of any contractual situation that may exist, no vision and little insight into actual ability. Like Lou and Andy in fact......... "Don't want that one... I want that one."

[S15]

Pedersen has always been crap though, and the only reason people ever liked him is because they were wearing blind folds to matches for a period during 2006.

[thenodrog]

How high do you think Rovers wages are compared to say sporting lisbon?

Surely you must be of the opinion that you could get a better winger than diouf for 45K a week?

I haven't said cull the whole team, but a few diouf, 45K, sign a left back and let one of Nelsen or Samba move on. Roberts, Pedersen, Benni, could all be replaced with better for less (probably). Shift on a right back.

We spend 35-40 million a year on wages roughly in total, thats (35) almost 700K a week. Most European teams would kill for that kind of money for wages. We need to be far cleverer with our cash from now on, we've sold most of our best assests and are still stuck with a few players who are not worth their money. They need to go and be replaced if we are to move forward.

People who think we can just carry on as we are, with no funds to spend each window are blinkered. We have no support from our owners and at present we must sell every summer to raise funds to break even. Saving money on wages is the best way to generate some funds, Pedersen on 40K a week would be the same as having an extra £2 million quid to spend or say two, maybe three N'zonzi's.

The big issue with our current way is simple, its easy to move on the players that do well, but those that flop on high wages will see out their whole contract ala ped's who we have been stuck with for almost three seasons watching him try. At the end of his contract we will have invested almost 10Million in pedersen for no return, not good.

Hull are currently desperately trying to shift on players that are no good but on high wages, guess what no takers. So they have had to do some desperate things instead, sack staff to save money and the such. They will more than likely go down now this year.

Paying high wages is fine as long as they are worth it.

There is word used to describe football at LJMU and its "ruthless", rovers need to display a bit more of this IMO.

Clubs must pay high wages to attract the best players. The stumbling block are the poor players on long contracts. Maybe the contracts offered should be more lucrative than our rivals BUT no longer than 18 months with a promise of re-negotiaition based on performance and appearences. We'd win and lose of course, Ped's time here would have proved a parrallel but the likes of Richters, Reid, Salgado, Van Heerden, Julie etc could have been quickly disposed of. The downside of course is that the Samba's, Givets, RSC's and Warnocks could have walked away for nowt.

Swings and roundabouts of course but it does illustrate that the value of the best managers is not always displayed in results on the pitch. See my sig.

[Hughesy]

Nothing wrong with 3 year deals or whatever & We very rarely offer big money upfront. We usually offer a decent wage and then offer a chance to increase if you perform - like we did with Andrews, Samba, Nelsen, Benni, RSC, Bentley & Pedersen.

Now in January we need to start our summer clearance early.....Get rid of Pedersen, Reid & Zurab and we would save over £100k a week. We wouldnt miss any of these players and it would save us £2.5m in wages between now and summer. It would also allow us more freedom in the market and we could consider 2 or 3 of these young trialists we are looking at. We also NEED to secure the signings of Dunn & Hoilett on new deals.

In the summer we then need to look to get rid of Roberts, Brown, Rigters, Treacy, Andrews & Jacobsen/ Salgado - At least another £120-130k worth of wages.....and again it would rid us of 6 more players who to be honest we wont really miss.

Based on what Business we do in the summer.....we should also consider the futures of Benni & Judge.

[MeanGreenMachine]

Robbo,Chimbonda,Samba,Givet,Nzonzi,Emerton,Dunn,Kalinic,Junior are the only players that should be kept, unless really silly money if offered.

The rest i wouldnt shed a tear about going. The likes of Diouf and Salgado are no doubt on a pretty penny along with Benni, Pedersen and Nelsen (tho Nelsen has been in good form of late how long will it last till his next blip?). Julie, Roberts and Zurab are probs taking a big chunk aswell.

Kids like Rigters, Treacey and Judge are going nowhere fast too.

The squad needs to keep its core and flog the rest.

[Eddie]

Pedersen has always been crap though, and the only reason people ever liked him is because they were wearing blind folds to matches for a period during 2006.

He's never been a great all-round player, but for about two seasons he was very useful for the team. He offered decent set pieces, worked very hard and scored goals that no one else could. At the end of the day the purpose is to score goals and MGP had the ability to score from just about anywhere. He's lost that and so now all he offers us is a player who runs around a lot.