[Archived] Potential Summer Transfers (2010)

[Majiball]

Can you imagine what JW would say if he did???

"we spent 6 million on that kid, Sam you said he was the next big thing sort it out and get him playing you monkey" I do not believe for one second after easing him as he has would he give up after one season.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Can you imagine what JW would say if he did???

"we spent 6 million on that kid, Sam you said he was the next big thing sort it out and get him playing you monkey" I do not believe for one second after easing him as he has would he give up after one season.

I would believe it. He never mentions the lad now in his self-promoting quotes but rambles on about NJ'Zonzi being 'a worldie' and Salgado the fittest player ever, presumably because they are the two signings from this season currently doing well. In January when Nico had a few good games, all his quotes were about how he had eased him in and got him up to snuff. Now nothing, so I'd be worried if I was Nico.

I seem to recall Sam going on in a similar vein at Bolton when he bought Anelka - how they made loads of chances but needed a better striker to finish them - so it's definitely how he sees the game. What we would call snatched half-chances through a crowd of players, he sees as gilt-edged sitters.

Mind you, if we buy another Anelka, all will be forgiven, but I suspect we are much more likely to buy another Nico and expect to see him play sometime in February.

[DeadlyDirk]

I would believe it. He never mentions the lad now in his self-promoting quotes but rambles on about NJ'Zonzi being 'a worldie' and Salgado the fittest player ever, presumably because they are the two signings from this season currently doing well. In January when Nico had a few good games, all his quotes were about how he had eased him in and got him up to snuff. Now nothing, so I'd be worried if I was Nico.

I seem to recall Sam going on in a similar vein at Bolton when he bought Anelka - how they made loads of chances but needed a better striker to finish them - so it's definitely how he sees the game. What we would call snatched half-chances through a crowd of players, he sees as gilt-edged sitters.

Mind you, if we buy another Anelka, all will be forgiven, but I suspect we are much more likely to buy another Nico and expect to see him play sometime in February.

That's they key and what myself and others mentioned earlier, we do create chances but they are half chances, balls that fall in the box and someone has to poke a toe at, not golden chances on the whole (Of course there have been some.) That's the thing with half chances though, decent strikers will only score them half the time or maybe 1 in 3. Kalinic has gone through games recently without having a shot at goal, not due to his ability as such but because he hasn't even had a sniff.

As I said we'll end up finishing some of the chances, hence why we win some games and are in a decent position but to progress we need to either start altering the tactics a bit by either playing 2 up top or giving the midfielders more license to get forward or somehow pulling a top striker out of the bag (Literally in the class of Anelka, Bellamy or better) for whatever budget we have available.

I just think it's a little unfair Sam seems to put so much blame on the strikers when they really don't get much service.

[MeanGreenMachine]

Sadly for Niko he is a square peg in a round hole, his style will never suit this formation.

[roversinmyblood]

I think that the Polish lad will be just the same as Nico as he doesn't seem like a player who can play with his back to the goal and also doesn't seem to be too good in the air.

[vintageadidas]

Personally, i dont think Kalanic is good enough at the minute. Im not sure he ever will. I take on board the round peg in a square hole statement but i honestly dont see why he has become such a fans favourite.

I travel all over - preseason, nearly every away game and all home games and recently i have watched him in alot more detail. In some instances not taking my eyes off him for 20 minutes. I would say he has some attributes but not good enough at the minute to lead our line as the person to score our goals. It is alot to have on his shoulders as our team has no goals in it apart from maybe Dunny, Samba and Pedersen.

We need to play 4-5-1 as long as it pains me to say because we simply are not good enough to go up against most teams in a 4-4-2 battle. A realistic option would be 4-4-1-1 with a direct link between midfield and attack. This is something we are clearly missing, the gap between the aforementioned is huge at present but we battle well and are pretty compact in this formation. To score more goals, we need that link BUT the link must also track back to keep us together in midfield and at the back. Someone with a good engine, the eye for a through ball and someone who can put his foot in the ball whilst our left winger (hopefully MO)makes a move to support the attack.

The Russian lad is not that type of player, so is Kalanic on his way out? We have seen from Sams previous clubs and his time at Rovers that he is not scared to chop someone. I wouldn't be getting his name printed on the back of your shirt just yet!

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Kalinic's ball retention and distribution alone is far better than Roberts and Di Santo. That isnt enough to say he's a special player but he offers more then the other two strikers mentioned. I like what ive seen so far and considering that he's only been played for 3/4 months i reckon he's only going to get better.

[Pinch]

Personally, i dont think Kalanic is good enough at the minute. Im not sure he ever will. I take on board the round peg in a square hole statement but i honestly dont see why he has become such a fans favourite.

I travel all over - preseason, nearly every away game and all home games and recently i have watched him in alot more detail. In some instances not taking my eyes off him for 20 minutes. I would say he has some attributes but not good enough at the minute to lead our line as the person to score our goals. It is alot to have on his shoulders as our team has no goals in it apart from maybe Dunny, Samba and Pedersen.

We need to play 4-5-1 as long as it pains me to say because we simply are not good enough to go up against most teams in a 4-4-2 battle. A realistic option would be 4-4-1-1 with a direct link between midfield and attack. This is something we are clearly missing, the gap between the aforementioned is huge at present but we battle well and are pretty compact in this formation. To score more goals, we need that link BUT the link must also track back to keep us together in midfield and at the back. Someone with a good engine, the eye for a through ball and someone who can put his foot in the ball whilst our left winger (hopefully MO)makes a move to support the attack.

The Russian lad is not that type of player, so is Kalanic on his way out? We have seen from Sams previous clubs and his time at Rovers that he is not scared to chop someone. I wouldn't be getting his name printed on the back of your shirt just yet!

sky sports Asked if he would be in the market for a new striker in the summer, Allardyce said: "Yes there is no doubt about that.

"We must search and foray the world of football to see if we can find the opportunity to find a goalscoring centre-forward for the Premier League.

"It is getting close to a nigh on impossible task, so we really must work on the players we already have here to improve their goalscoring records next season and if collectively they all improve their goalscoring records it won't be quite as important as it needed to be this year."

...And Niko is surely one of the players "we already have here" that Sam is referring to. I don't think he's giving up on Niko yet. Di Santo will leave regardless...and if we sign two new strikers, then possibly Roberts will go too.

[67splitscreen]

Amen to this Majiball. I can't remember a Rovers team in so long having so little actual shots - If i was up there on my own I would be dispairing.

Surely signing another striker suggests playing two up though - Sam can't have given up on Niko already

40 winks on occasions, maybe.

[Kelbo]

Maybe Sam will find Inces notes on his tenure here?

Shoot

[herbergeehh]

You dont get the 1st bit of your post do you? We create chances....just dont take them!

actually, Sam thinks we create chances, I don't. "Chances", when discussing strikers isn't long throws and melee in the box. For that, you just need height and a bit of luck. Chances are through-on-goal situations, or good shooting positions, and those doesn't come often for Rovers.

For the record, I think Lewandowski and Dindane combined would make really good signings - with Niko already being here. If only we could add Di Santo to that; we'd have all the different types covered.

[John]

On Rovers World, Sam confirms he has been trying to sign Dindane and Lewandowski. Lewandowski was meant to come over and visit but volcanic ash flying situation ruined that as we know - hopes to get a definitive answer soon but other clubs abroad in for him.

Sam been talking to MGP a lot over the past 2 weeks but realises he can earn a lot more money abroad.

Suggests he would like to bring a higher, more proven, calibre of player in but we simply don't have the money to do that....

[SamTheShrew]

Sadly for Niko he is a square peg in a round hole, his style will never suit this formation.

Is this not poor management then? Why buy a player for 6 million pounds who does not fit in with the long ball, and has games without even shooting - surely BFS should realise this before buying him, then blaming any of the strikers for not taking chances.

I don't really think there is any better options than BFS for our club right now, but Jesus the football is borderline awful.

What is a striker for? to shoot and score goals. How BFS can blame strikers for not scoring when we don't create anything for them is naive to say the least.

How is a single striker meant to beat 3 defenders with his back to goal when he receives it at chest height, and then take them all on and shoot and score...

there is only a few strikers in the world who can do this.

I don't see how bringing in a new striker and blaming the others helps when we have one dimensional midfielders who pass it sideways all the time.

We have to create chances for the strikers we already have - Rovers can't afford to spend millions on players who aren't given a realistic chance to show why they were supposedly bought in the first place

[Bobby G]

I would be happy if Sam pulls off those two signings. But I would argue we would still be a central midfielder of true quality short still.

Time for Grella, Andrews and Reid to all move on and if MGP leaves too, then we definitely would need someone of true quality in there, if not two.

One of those could be Mehmet Topal, but Valencia have just had a 4 million Euro bid rejected.

[RoyRover]

Yes we do, but they hardly clear cut chances are they?

Even against Everton where we were told we created loads of chances most were scrambles in the box with 10-15 of the players on the pitch in that area. I could completely understand the view if we were missing one on ones repeatedly and the such like, but we generally don't create those sort of chances. Most of ours come from set-pieces with us loading the box and the opposition flooding it as well, its not that easy to put the ball in the back of the net with 4-5 players in the way of your shot.

We desperately need to create more from open play so that we have better chance to get the ball in the back of the net and that means a better less static midfield so we actually have passing options in that area as apposed to seeking to by-pass them persistently.

I've been saying this for months now. Lumping the ball into the box from a corner, free kick or throw, when the other team has lots of men back and hoping that the ball may break to one of our players in a scramble and then expect him to score through a ruck of bodies, is not a consistent way of creating chances and expecting goals to be scored consistently.

[budha]

Allardyce confirmed Rovers’ chase of Polish striker Robert Lewan-dowski is likely to end in defeat

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/blackburnrovers/news/8117785.Blackburn_Rovers_must_be_quick_in_business__says_Allardyce

[47er]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/blackburnrovers/news/8117785.Blackburn_Rovers_must_be_quick_in_business__says_Allardyce

We'll end up with Nugent yet! Mark my words!

[andyroversmad]

Can't big Sam see we have the worst midfield in the league, Kalinic and Di Santo would score goals if the midfield could create the chances for them. Spend all the money on the midfield !

[des]

it would help if the lone forward had some support, the way big sam plays, quick ball up field means you do need two forwards and not one.

We do not play the ball from the back through the midfield to the forwards. So the lone forwards is left on his owm, no wonder there can not score.

Either play the ball on the floor through the back four into midfield and have one up front, or play the quick long ball and have two up front. To big sam I would say either way is fine just make your mind up. but dont play the quick long ball with only one up front and then expect the forward to score lots of goals cause it will not happen.

[MeanGreenMachine]

Attacking wise, as i see it anyway.

Kalanic - Good skills with the ball, pretty aware of the play around him. Sadly his physical attributes let him down, he can't head or play the defenders.

And even though he is the fans fave, Dunny isn't mobile enough to get upto Kalanic quick enough to support him.

We just need someone who can play the defenders, who can knock them about, retain the ball and stick a few in the net. Someone in the same mould as Carew would work be dynamite here.

[Amo]

Can't big Sam see we have the worst midfield in the league, Kalinic and Di Santo would score goals if the midfield could create the chances for them. Spend all the money on the midfield !

Indeed. The way we play is largely a free-for-all in terms of goalscoring opportunities. I can't remember the last time we actually pulled a team open and played a striker through on goal. I'd understand his point of view if Kalinic & co were fluffing a string of chances... but they're not. The way Sam is talking about only needing "one or two" players (Lewandowski and Dindane?) it would suggest to me he thinks our problems are entirely forward-based.

[Hughesy]

From that article -

“We will work with the players we have and work hard to improve them and our goal scoring record.

“I don’t think I have ever been in the position where I have only needed one or two players.

"It is a great relief for me to be facing this summer only needing to improve the side by one or two players.

“My shopping in the market needs to be very few players and that is great for me.

"In my 10 years managing in the Premier League, this is the first time I only need to get one or two players in the summer.”

[Veevs]

From that article -

“We will work with the players we have and work hard to improve them and our goal scoring record.

“I don’t think I have ever been in the position where I have only needed one or two players.

"It is a great relief for me to be facing this summer only needing to improve the side by one or two players.

“My shopping in the market needs to be very few players and that is great for me.

"In my 10 years managing in the Premier League, this is the first time I only need to get one or two players in the summer.”

Personally reckon thats another one of Sams smoke screens.. I reckon we will be signing 2-3 players this pre-season.

Gutted we might miss out on Robert Lewandowski he certainly looks like a decent player to say the least.

And all these shouts of we need a midfielder first confuse the hell out of me.. with Di Santo going.. that would leave us with 2 strikers, Roberts who has proven again how poor his shooting is and a kid and well that isn't enough.

Some of the same people shouting for a new midfielder also have been shouting for 442 which is insane given that would mean Roberts and Niko up front... maybe sam at least wants the ability to play a 442 when appropriate.

[John]

Could be mind games of course, which I very much doubt, but Sam's comments confirm (as expected) we have very little money to spend this summer.

Those dreaming of O'Hara etc, not going to happen.

[roversam]

Nicko is there much money in general floating around this summer?

Are we likely to see much action or will it be similar to january where few cubs spent much except for the odd swap and loan?

Will Hull go into administration if they go down?