[Archived] Sam's January Targets

[broadsword]

I believe we did indeed beat AV and Chelsea, and obtained a result against Liverpool. By memory, we were also in the game for the first 2/3 against Arsenal until the ref decided to ignore a clear penalty which took the wind out of the Rovers' sails. So yes, I think we are capable of beating them all. And I'm comfortably glue free at the present. My intoxicant of choice (for this week) is Jack Daniels.

Glad to hear you're glue-free.

But we didn't batter Chelsea or Villa. 0-0 against Liverpool is no more than OK considering how poorly they played and that it was at home. We might have been in the game against Arsenal, but in the end, we got a battering.

CXan't help the feeling your mixer of choice is Hughesy kool-aid. ;-)

[Eddie]

No one will buy Diouf. He earns WAY too much and he hasn't put in a single great performance since he left Bolton, and personally I thought he was overrated even when he was there. Second worst signing of the decade for me, behind only Grabbi.

[Commondore]

No one will buy Diouf. He earns WAY too much and he hasn't put in a single great performance since he left Bolton, and personally I thought he was overrated even when he was there. Second worst signing of the decade for me, behind only Grabbi.

But if we wouldn't have signed Grabbi I wouldn't have had this snazzy avatar!

[mellison24]

I'm quite certain Diouf will stay put. He's an Allardyce favourite, has experience and can cover both wings. From that point of view he's good to have in the squad, atleast til' the end of the season.

Rumours that Everton are after McGeady at Celtic are surfacing again. I that one goes trough it should open a spot for MGP up there in Scotland.

I'd offer them a straight swap. MGP for McGeady.

[broadsword]

Don't be a fool, we'd be stupid not to ask for £5 million as a makeweight on top.

[Commondore]

I'd offer them a straight swap. MGP for McGeady.

"Arr, tis' wee lad has over a 15 goals scored in the Englishmens Premier League! From midfield none the less! A fine day and smashing swap deal for us Hoops!"

[Bobby G]

nicko, whats the latest on Meriem? When exactly should he be in?

[nicko]

nicko, whats the latest on Meriem? When exactly should he be in?

He came in on Monday which is odd timing as there was a game on Tuesday and a day off today...

But he is here for a couple of weeks and they are assessing his fitness as we speak.

Meriem probably became more of a priority after last night's debacle, mind you.

[Bobby G]

Can he play central midfield or is he predominantly an attacking midfielder, behind the striker a la Dunn?

[nicko]

Can he play central midfield or is he predominantly an attacking midfielder, behind the striker a la Dunn?

I'm told he is quite adaptable in a couple of midfield roles. But if there is any update on where he last played in France it would be a help.

With Emerton injured, Dunny and Grella sometimes fragile and Diouf being Diouf then any midfield assistance would help.

You could do with buying one.

[John]

You could do with buying one.

Tell us about it!!!

[gumboots]

I'm told he is quite adaptable in a couple of midfield roles. But if there is any update on where he last played in France it would be a help.

With Emerton injured, Dunny and Grella sometimes fragile and Diouf being Diouf then any midfield assistance would help.

You could do with buying one.

One? Definite understatement 2 or 3 might be closer to the requisite number. We could all see it in the Summer and even longer ago, but the priority had to be strikers or defenders or whatever. Thing is, with nobody to link defence to strikers it doesn't matter how good either of those departments is, and neither of those departments at Rovers is very good anyway. You won't score if you can't get the ball in forward areas and your defence will always be under pressure and eventually concede if every time they clear the ball it comes straight back at them. Even good strikers need supply; even good defenders need protection and the occasional breather. Why we fans know it and yet successive managers either haven't seen it or have and have done/been able to do nothing about it is a mystery to most of us.

[RibbleValleyRover]

I think a lot of fans, myself included have been saying for at least 2 almost 3 seasons than our midfield is a huge problem and will be our undoing. Towards the end of sparky's rein it wasn't addressed, Ince brought in Grella but he is injured all the time and Andrews isn't up to standard so it still wasn't addressed and now under Sam the midfield still has huge problems.

Before it was just a problem with the central midfield areas, now its the whole midfield. Biggest mistake this club has made in recent years was selling Bentley and not finding a good enough replacement.

People forget how key midfield is to attack and defence, without a decent midfield you won't create chances for your forwards and without a decent midfield you will put huge pressure on your defence.

[broadsword]

I'm told he is quite adaptable in a couple of midfield roles.

Is he any cop at smacking it high and far at no-one in particular?

Has his pace deserted him?

Has he got zero motivation?

These are the criteria I believe.

[Eddie]

I'm told he is quite adaptable in a couple of midfield roles. But if there is any update on where he last played in France it would be a help.

With Emerton injured, Dunny and Grella sometimes fragile and Diouf being Diouf then any midfield assistance would help.

You could do with buying one.

Can I pull out the old joke as say last used as a left back...?

I've only ever really seen him used as a central playmaker, a fairly ineffective one at that.

Just to make everyone feel good about this one I thought I'd have a look at various websites and messageboards to see if I'd missed something and I think it is fair to say that his entry on the French wikipedia sums up just about everything that I read, roughly translates to:

Meriem never managed to develop. He was unpopular with the Monaco fans because of his iconsistency and became a simple for Monaco's mediocrity.

[Taggart]

I'm told he is quite adaptable in a couple of midfield roles. But if there is any update on where he last played in France it would be a help.

With Emerton injured, Dunny and Grella sometimes fragile and Diouf being Diouf then any midfield assistance would help.

You could do with buying one.

Completely agree Nicko - we need to strenghen our midfield on the left, the right and centrally ! I think Nzonzi will do a good job as a holding midfielder, and dunny as an attacking midfielder, but our midfield play on teh wings hasn`t been up to scrath since Bentley left to be honest. If we have Kalinic and Di Santo playing, then they would do much better with balls in tot eh box fromt eh wings rather than back to front all the time with their back to goal.

hoilett looks like he could do a job for one of the wings, but I would honestly let Pedersen and Diouf go with a view to bringing in replacments in January as long as there are takers for them, and money for us to replace.

[Sandiway Blue]

Can I pull out the old joke as say last used as a left back...?

I've only ever really seen him used as a central playmaker, a fairly ineffective one at that.

Just to make everyone feel good about this one I thought I'd have a look at various websites and messageboards to see if I'd missed something and I think it is fair to say that his entry on the French wikipedia sums up just about everything that I read, roughly translates to:

Meriem never managed to develop. He was unpopular with the Monaco fans because of his iconsistency and became a simple for Monaco's mediocrity.

Sounds like a Rovers player then....

[tcj_jones]

Anybody remember when Spurs were reportedly ready to pay upwards of £7m for Pedersen? If only we'd have taken it. INstead, we've had four seasons of dross and are about to let him go for nothing.

[Miker]

nicko, is there any chance that we could buy Gojko Kacar from Hertha? That guy is so good.

We should get rid of Pedersen, Diouf, Andrews, Reid, Roberts and Khizanishvilli and buy Gojko Kacar. Then play 4-1-5.

[Sandman]

nicko, is there any chance that we could buy Gojko Kacar from Hertha? That guy is so good.

We should get rid of Pedersen, Diouf, Andrews, Reid, Roberts and Khizanishvilli and buy Gojko Kacar. Then play 4-1-5.

He's very good player, I'm sure I read during the summer that United were interested in him. If the big clubs are sniffing round him I wouldn't fancy our chances unfortunately, I'd love to see a player like that come here.

[RovertheHill]

The question is who is in the market for rubbish?

Unfortunately Portsmouth no longer have any money - the only clubs interested would be championship clubs if you ask me. Pedersen has been on a downwards spiral for years. Diouf definitely helped keep us up last year - this year he looks like his legs have gone, or his motivation, or both. Roberts will be a good addition to any championship attack. The worry is replacing them with better - with the money we have it really is hard to uncover the hidden gems or rough diamonds

[Hughesy]

Two we should keep an eye on if any of our strikers are to leave in Jan....

Former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is looking for a return to the Premier League after falling out with his boss at Monaco.

Full story: The Sun

Bolton boss Gary Megson is still unsure whether to pay £1.4m to make Ivan Klasnic's loan move from Nantes a permanent deal.

Full story: Daily Mirror

[Majiball]

Gudjohnson would be good.

I couldn't help but notice this chap is now available but ambitious:

My link

[RoyRover]

Bolton boss Gary Megson is still unsure whether to pay £1.4m to make Ivan Klasnic's loan move from Nantes a permanent deal.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Beat me to it Hughesy. I've been a fan of Ivan Klasnic for a long time, since his days at Werder Bremen. He's just an out and out goal scorer, which is what we've been crying out for. I was disappointed that we didn't make a move for him in the summer. I suppose that there were question marks about whether he could do it in the Premiership, but with the 6 league goals already, I think he's shown that he can. And at £1.4 million, it's a bargain.

[mckenny16]

Most people in the summer remarked that Klasnic was a risk due to the operations he's had. While he's playing good now, Sam could see him as potentially company for Ried.