[Archived] If you were the gaffer

[Lurid Coat]

Would buy (if the transfer kitty is half decent):

One or two new centre backs out of the following: Ashley Williams (Swansea), Sebastien Bassong (Spurs), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Matt Mills (Reading), Nedum Onuoha (Man City)

A specialist left back: Good and affordable left backs are hard to come by, but that Izaguirre (Celtic) fellow sounds a decent player. Would love to get Jerome Boaeting in on a loan deal from City, but he's probably off back to Germany. Dunno what Man City were thinking when they went for both Kolarov and J. Boateng in the last summer transfer window.

Sign J. Jones on a permanent deal, and convince Hoilett to sign a new contract.

I'd also take a punt on Marcos Senna (Villarreal) on a short term deal. Hailed as one of the world's best central midfielders just a couple of years ago, and was outstanding in the 2008 EC. Admittedly he's getting on a bit, but still worth a shot in my opinion. Swansea are reportedly close to signing him, though (!)

Two new strikers. Two out of Cisse (Freiburg), Demba Ba (West Ham), Derdiyok or Kiessling (Leverkusen), Almeida (Werder Bremen) or Soldado (Valencia) would suit me perfectly fine. I'd even be tempted to go for DJ Campbell on a free if our backup strikers leave the club.

Then I'd convince the Rao brothers to get Falcao (Porto) or Diego (Wolfsburg) signed up as their 'marquee' signing.

Would not sign RSC or MB Diouf.

Edit:

can people stop suggesting Upson he makes Andrews look like Pele positioning is suspect very unreliable and goes up far too much leaving gaping holes at the back there are definitely out there better.

Agreed 100%.

[Tom]

No left field or Football manager type names in my list, all quite obvious.

- Johnson, Dann or Collins as the Jones replacement.

- J Jones on a permanent

- Reo Coker would be a great addition on a free especially if we could somehow shift Andrews or Grella (unlikely I know)

- Bentley or Krancjar to add some flair to midfield and supply the passes (Larsson would be the bargain bin alternative)

- We need a top striker and I believe Vagner Love could be the answer, if not then Defoe and RSC please

- I'd also like to add some more youngsters with potential ala Rochina, it's the business model Rovers should adopt IMO

Looking more towards £30 million there I imagine though.

It's fun to dream.

[Fraserkirky]

If Samba leaves for around 12-14m, I'd wouldn't mind sending that money straight to Lens for Varane and Aurier in a double deal. I would love to grab Bassong as well, would spurs consider a loan deal for him? I mentioned this a few weeks ago, Callum Booth is a promising left back up at Hibs who have an excellent youth set-up and like to sell to cheap, would go for 1-1.5m.

In midfield Jones for 5m or under. Another guy I like is Anderson from Utd, though we have probably burnt our bridges with them.Gago and Banega are two guys I'm sure Venkys are interested in, but very ambitious. Still should be inquiring about Charlie Adam, seems the bigger clubs have bigger fish to fry.

[Miker]

At the top of my list would be Gojko Kacar, have been an admirer of his for a long time and especially with Jones now leaving, he would be an excellent young-ish replacement for him. If we can't get Jermaine Jones either then we're going to be missing quality in the middle and I think Kacar is the perfect solution.

I know he only joined Hamburg last season, so I'm not sure if he'd be available. Apparently they only paid 5.5mil for him and if we can get him for around the same then it would be a bargain IMO.

I'll have a go at coming up with my own choice for a 25-man team like Steve later.

[patrickvalery]

Although we clearly need to address our striking options, i think the first thing to do is sort out what Schalke are asking for Jones. If its more than £5-6m i'd move on. He has been excellent, but anymore than that for his a player of his age is not worth it imo. If Jones is not an option then there are a few holding players who could do a job. I think we will need N'zonzi and one other to protect what may be a new center back pairing. If Gago is transfer listed at Madrid that would be an option. Another youngish Argentinian who was highly thought of but seemed to drop off the radar is Banega. I believe Everton were sniffing around him last season. Good player but has his off field problems i believe. Also we could consider Reo-Coker. Very good signing on a free.

We'll clearly need at least one new center half. Matt Mills from Reading has taken a long time to reach his potential but now looks the part. When he was down here at Southampton he was very highly thought of, but a change in the management saw him get shunted off to Man City i think. He's wracked up a few clubs already, but i certainly wouldn't be adverse to taking a punt on him.

Striking targets are tough to call. It depends how we line up. I always liked the 4-4-2 generation because it encourages attacking football. But with most sides packing their midfield it often means we match like for like. If we do this then it restricts the type of forward we can realistically go for. People talk about Defoe and Martins, but both would be largely wasted in a 4-5-1 formation. It seems increasingly likely to me that a RSC type will come in to hold up play and feed wide players and supporting midfielders. Besides, i'm not sure we need a defoe if we can keep Hoilett. They look very similar to me. Low center of gravity and lightning quick. If only we could find the next Bobby Zamora we'd be laughing. I think he is pretty much perfect for how i expect us to line up next season.

I am really interested in how Formica and Rochina are used next season. Surely Rochina has proved he is too lightweight to play in the middle of midfield. I suspect Formica may be the same. So i'd expect to see them playing in wide areas. I suspect 2 of Formica, Hoilett or Rochina will play against the lesser sides and when we need to keep it tight, Olsson and Emerton will fill the wide areas - ala the back end of this season. Giving cover to our full backs when required. It concerns me slightly that Ollson will be our first choice left back next year with Givet occassionally filling in if required. I like Ollson as an attacking force, but i'm yet to be convinced defensively.

[davulsukur]

Defenders:

Depends on how we are going to use Givet, i would move him into the middle and buy a natural left back. i would also try and hold onto Samba as best as i could. Although seems unlikely, so for me its going to be a CB and a LB.

A few names have been thrown around, Collins, Boyata for example would be decent shouts. Roger Johnson's name keeps popping up, but Birmingham will be looking for stupid money.

Midfielders:

J.Jones is the obvious name. And i really hope we sign him, showed a lot in his loan spell to deserve a full transfer. Still think we need 1 more, Jones and N'zonzi are decent, but injuries and suspensions would leave us very short in this area. Andrews is gash, Grella is gash and injured, Dunny cannot play a CM role effectively these days.

Emerton and Pedersen are not natural CM's. Lowe is up and coming and will probably feature more this year, but we need to be buying 2.

Scott Parker would be my ideal transfer, but in reality, it will not happen. I'd still make a move, even if he turned us down. He will be holding out for a move to Spurs and Allardyce might not be too keen on dealing with us but if you dont ask, you dont get.

Signings like that tho, would hopefully be convice Samba to stay on as we would be moving in the right direction.

Strikers:

We need good ones. Ideally 2. Plenty of names kicking around. Ba on a free would do a decent job for us. Defoe would be an amazing signing.

Get shot of Benji, leaving Roberts, Niko, 2 newbies. Also Rochina making his mark next season, initially from the bench.

So all in all

x1 LB

x1 CB (If we lose Samba)

x2 CM

x2 ST

If we have any dosh left over, look for a young right back to cover/replace sally.

I think 1 Striker (even tho i think we need 2) and 2 Centre mids are essential and should be looked at first.

[Clitherover]

ST- Chelsea have valued Sturridge at 20m. We've just come into 20m. He's that good.

I presume that means that they want to sell him soon then, he is a fantastic player and will bang them in wherever he goes but 20M is just too much for us.

[Ricky]

Is £20m too much for us though? We've just come into that amount of money. We already had a few quid to spend so why not spend big on a striker. I'd rather us spend 15-20m and get a star than spend 5m and get an average forward.

Whack in an offer of £15m and tempt them a bit. Who knows the boy might actually want to play football.

[Kelbo]

Defenders:

Depends on how we are going to use Givet, i would move him into the middle and buy a natural left back. i would also try and hold onto Samba as best as i could. Although seems unlikely, so for me its going to be a CB and a LB.

A few names have been thrown around, Collins, Boyata for example would be decent shouts. Roger Johnson's name keeps popping up, but Birmingham will be looking for stupid money.

Midfielders:

J.Jones is the obvious name. And i really hope we sign him, showed a lot in his loan spell to deserve a full transfer. Still think we need 1 more, Jones and N'zonzi are decent, but injuries and suspensions would leave us very short in this area. Andrews is gash, Grella is gash and injured, Dunny cannot play a CM role effectively these days.

Emerton and Pedersen are not natural CM's. Lowe is up and coming and will probably feature more this year, but we need to be buying 2.

Scott Parker would be my ideal transfer, but in reality, it will not happen. I'd still make a move, even if he turned us down. He will be holding out for a move to Spurs and Allardyce might not be too keen on dealing with us but if you dont ask, you dont get.

Signings like that tho, would hopefully be convice Samba to stay on as we would be moving in the right direction.

Strikers:

We need good ones. Ideally 2. Plenty of names kicking around. Ba on a free would do a decent job for us. Defoe would be an amazing signing.

Get shot of Benji, leaving Roberts, Niko, 2 newbies. Also Rochina making his mark next season, initially from the bench.

So all in all

x1 LB

x1 CB (If we lose Samba)

x2 CM

x2 ST

If we have any dosh left over, look for a young right back to cover/replace sally.

I think 1 Striker (even tho i think we need 2) and 2 Centre mids are essential and should be looked at first.

I honestly feel that between young Ramm and Adam Henley, we dont need to spend on a right full back, indeed, Henley at right or left full back could push through next season.

[Steve Moss]

Is £20m too much for us though? We've just come into that amount of money. We already had a few quid to spend so why not spend big on a striker. I'd rather us spend 15-20m and get a star than spend 5m and get an average forward.

Whack in an offer of £15m and tempt them a bit. Who knows the boy might actually want to play football.

I think this is the way to go. Sturridge has talent. A few years at the Rovers would only further improve him and drive up his value. He wins and we win.

I honestly feel that between young Ramm and Adam Henley, we dont need to spend on a right full back, indeed, Henley at right or left full back could push through next season.

I think this is correct. Between Salgado and Emerton we're fairly well covered at RB this year. And we have two talented youngsters coming up. So we can take a year and evaluate then, as needed.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Players I'd like to see come in

Defence: Gabriel Milito Free transfer or year loan from Barca - has a year left but apparently allowed to leave on a free

Gabriel Heinze - Free - out of contract now but played champions league last season.

Both the above would bring experience at 31 & 33 respectively. Would allow time to bring through Hanley. Heinze can play LB or CB so great cover for Givet and has plenty of Prem experience.

Midfield: Charlie Adam (unlikely I know) J Jones if cheap enough.

Also think Bentley on loan (with an agreed fee around £5-6 mil) would be a shrewd move.

Up front: Trezeguet (free transfer) - 33 now but scored 12 goals for a relegated side in La Liga last year.

Would like to take a punt on the brazilian Damiaio.

Adebayor on loan would also be a great option.

Cost

Milito - free

Heinze - free

Adam £8-10 mil

JJ - less than £4.5 mil buy - leave if over.

Bentley - loan

Trezeguet free

Damiaio £10 million.

That would leave £5 million or so to buy some young talent. Bentley could be purchased next summer if he recaptures his form.

Above based on keeping Samba & Hoilett.

Team: Robinson

Emerton - Samba - Milito - Heinze

---- Adam J Jones

Bentley Hoilett Olssen

Trezeguet

Subs: Bunn, Hanley, Givet, Nzonzi, Formica, Rochina, Damiaio

Experienced team, some pace, should be comfortable on the ball and great at set pieces! Plenty of options on the bench.

[tcj_jones]

This is all dependent on whether we actually see any of the Jones and Samba money (presuming the lattern is off), but:

I don't care what message it sends out, I'd seriously consider bringing Warnock, Bellamy, and Bentley back to the club. I don't think any would be particularly expensive.

I'd try my luck at getting one of Upson, Johnson, or Dann for CB. If not, then maybe we should focus on moving Givet to CB and getting Hanley up to scratch.

I'd also try my luck at getting Sturridge on loan for CF, or maybe even a permanent if we have the money.

If we sell Samba to Arsenal, then we should be looking to get one of their youngsters in the deal - preferably on a permanent transfer.

Jermaine Jones on a permanent deal would have to be a priority and I'd pay waaaaay over the top if it meant getting a quality striker who could score goals.

In fact, I could live with making no other signings if we could just get that striker.

[BangkokRover]

I'd try my luck at getting one of Upson, Johnson, or Dann for CB. If not, then maybe we should focus on moving Givet to CB and getting Hanley up to scratch.

Please not Upson he is terrible

[Roversi]

i personally think nowadays there is more value in exchanging players. the fact that there is so much money in football currently allows the top prem teams to add not only top first 11 players but they also have the muscle to buy quality squad players. A team like spurs has in the full back area's, Ekotto, Hutton, Walker, Naughton and Corluka. whilst Crouch, Defoe, Keane and Pavleychenko all fight for the single strikers role whilst 21 cap Jenas struggles to play and there is no need to go into the strength of city's squad.

DEFENSE: I'd happily sell samba for a discounted 6 million plus Hutton or Naughton. Walker will become number one right back for "Arry" so he is out of the question. to replace him i'd love Roger Johnson but i wouldn't go over 8 million for him. Dann is too far out of reach. my realistic choice's would be one of Yobo or Matt Mills.

Midfield: Considering we will essentially play a 4-4-1-1 with Olsson and Holiett wide and N'Zonzi sitting, we all know a box to box player like JJ is needed. Jones again is the number one choice but if ends up not coming, a guy like Jermaine Jenas would do. my other options would be Angelo Palombo from relegated sampdoria, he has been in the last two italy world cup squads or Lewis Mcgugen from Notts Forest.

Striker's: if we play 1 up top, its a waste of money and wages to have 4 strikers on the books. get rid of Benjani leaving Kalinic and Roberts left. however if a bid of 4 mill comes in for Niko id let him go. id go for one or two of Papiss Cisse, Vagner Love, Stefan Kiebling, Craig Bellamy or Amurai. However my number one choice would be Vedad Ibisevic from Hoffenhiem.

im not even gunna bother to speculate what marquee player we should sign because.......it could well be anyone if venky's are involved.

[roversfan99]

I put some of my views on who we should look to sign on my blog if anyone's interested:

http://adamquirkuk.tumblr.com/

[Baz]

Firstly we need 2 strikers, as JR is our only senior frontman. I'd like Belllamy back alongside a target man, someone like Pavlyenchenko or Bendtner.

After that in central midfield we need replacements for the Jones bros. Happily accept Jermaine Jones back alongside a ball-playing CM.

Personally I think Emo is good cover at right-back and Olsson at Left-back, so the third priority is another CB. I dont really have a suggestion here - the B'ham duo are overpriced, Upson not good enough, so possibly the lad from Reading (who I know nothing about), or Nedum Onuoha who can play anywhere across the back four.

[JAL]

I wouldnt have lost Phil Jones or Christopher Samba for a start, if anyone had to move on then it would have been Ryan Nelsen for the exit door.

The signing of Jermain Jones would have been paramount. Maybe another top quality central midfielder to be added as well with Andrews and Grella shown the Exit door.

Then onto finding someone as back up or competition for Olsson and Hoilett, that for me would have been Damien Duff or any other type of player who carries the ball taking on defenders.

Then onto the strikers, god knows who you would pick, but Santa Cruz certainly would not be given another chance, most definitely not that would be a complete waste.

All in all not to difficult and kept reasonably simple.

[imy9]

Wouldn't have lost Samba or Jones? What's your plan and can you inform Mrs. D as it will come in handy lol

[Roverdale]

The only way we would have kept Jones is if we'd had Man City style investment coming in and even then he might still have wanted to play for the big boys in his teens.

Samba may be convinced to stay another year if we show ambition.. I highly doubt it's as easy as JAL thinks to keep him (they're obviously trying their best)

Samba just recommended his buddy to Kean so to me that suggests that he is having at least some thoughts of staying.

Striker has to be number 1 priority. JJ second. Upson for the bench third if we keep Samba. If we lost Samba then a proper defender instead.

[rogerjonesgloves]

Wouldn't have lost Samba or Jones? What's your plan and can you inform Mrs. D as it will come in handy lol

JAL talking through his a##e as usual.

[JAL]

JAL talking through his a##e as usual.

For me you have to be a complete muppet if any SO called Rovers fan wanted Phil Jones and Chris Samba to leave the club.

[braddock]

I wouldnt have lost Phil Jones or Christopher Samba for a start

Yes you would have. And you wouldn't have signed anybody because apparently nobody ever comes to inexperienced managers.

For me you have to be a complete muppet if any SO called Rovers fan wanted Phil Jones and Chris Samba to leave the club.

That isn't the point that was being made.

It wasn't in the best interest of the club to keep Jones when he wanted to leave, especially after what was offered. Same goes for Samba if it pans out that way. As is always the case it's best to move on and get over it. Unfortunately, in this thread, you're the gaffer, and apparently all professional footballers hate you (an unsubstantiated claim I'm making because I've the same amount of arrogance as yourself and I'm hiding behind a pseudonym on a messageboard. It's so easy. A fair percentage of the morons on this board will only skim read this and take it as fact. Rio Ferdinand will be tweeting about you come the middle of the week).

[rogerjonesgloves]

For me you have to be a complete muppet if any SO called Rovers fan wanted Phil Jones and Chris Samba to leave the club.

You obviously don't undertand english, read the comment with reference to your own statement that you wouldn't have lost PJ or CS.

[Amo]

Why bother, srsly?

[JAL]

You obviously don't undertand english, read the comment with reference to your own statement that you wouldn't have lost PJ or CS.

IT was a reply to your rather abusive reply.