[Archived] Steve Keans exciting signings

[chris]

Ok so I pointed this out midweek, everyone has been saying how great Keans signinngs are how we need to give them 3 months 6months 9 months to settle, but I want to, rightly or wrongly, assess the here and now and the next few months, maybe up to Christmas.

Anderson rating 0: this is obviously a joke vso I'll get this one out the way

Formica rating 6: He might have ability but after 9 months he's looking lightweight, how many games can he go through disapearing from games.

Petrovic rating 3: We lost Jones and Jones and we replaced him with Petrovic BUT we have to wait 3 months or 6 months for him to come good, so instead we are playing Dunn and Lowe in a defnsive position, even though in 3 games he's been worse the Andrews , we needed a player now.

Rochina rating 6: He might have talent but after 9 months he such a danger to his own team mates, I think it might take a year or few years for him to really improve maybe be a star but again this is looking at the now.

Bruno rating 0: Again the future Dennis Irwin just lloks like a waste of money.

Goodwillie: rating 4: in terms of impact I was hoping he would really hit the ground running, but I didn't see anything in his play to suggest this will be his year.

Yakubu: rating 7 Two goals on debut brilliant, obviouslyquiet today and not his fault, he probably deserves a 9 but he is pretty famous for being a fast starter and bombing, where as the other are unknowns.

Simon rating 6: according to Kean this guy is going to take time to adapt, so ANOTHER player who will take 3 months, 6 months

Dann rating 6: I like Dann but distribution and some dodgy moments today were a little worrying.

I have to point out all of the player truely have the POTENTIAL to be 9's!!!!!!!, I am just taking about now and the near future.

Are players with potential going to save Kean's neck.

I am going to post without re-reading in fear of a crash

Average score 4.2 out of 10

P.s. before anyone says Chris we need to give them all time, Formica look 9 months, just remember we are 18th.

[LeChuck]

Scott Dann is quickly looking like a luxury we couldn't afford. No point having expensive defenders if the midfield is crap.

We'd be infinitely stronger if Givet was partnering Samba and we split the £7.7 million between a £6 million holding midielder and a £1.7 million left back.

The rest could be good signings in the right team, but we have absolutely no backbone to the midfield so they're all pointless.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Totally agree with that. I'm glad he signed someone and Venkys gave him some money because we'd barely have enough players to put on the pitch otherwise but not one of his signings so far has been worth getting excited about or has been an improvement on what we already had. How can they be when apart from Dann they've all cost between 0-£3m?

Anderson and Ribeiro aren't worth mentioning.

Formica, Petrovic and Goodwillie haven't looked good enough from what I've seen so far.

Too early to judge Vukcevic.

Rochina, Yakubu and Dann, can challenge for places but are they really better than Pedersen, Roberts and Nelsen? Certainly debatable.

[John]

The spine of the team is still a cause for concern - whilst I rate Dann, he is quite slow to turn and also passing is very poor - still not fit though.

Rochina looks pick of the bunch talent wise however reckon potentially most of the others could turn out, in time, ok.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

I think everyone identified the weak areas pre-season.

right back

left back

centre mid

striker.

He signed 2 unheard of fullbacks ribeiro, anderson. neither will see the first team

for midfield we got petrovic, not impressed so far but highlty rated - may see the best of him next year.

up front Goodwillie and yak. neither of whom are the target man striker we need.

We should have moved heaven and earth to get J Jones back or Barton.

For a team that is apparently trying to pass the ball around, why do the opposition always seem to have 60% posession?

We also need a manager that can organise a team to defend.

[Exiled_Rover]

Whoever is doing the scouting at Rovers clearly has an eye for talent. I think a 4.2/10 is extremely harsh.

The problem is that after years of zero investment the squad is utter ######. Asking 7 or so new players to come in to a faster paced/higher level league AND gel when every game matters is a bit much. As stated elsewhere, we're still lacking two fullbacks, at least another quality midfielder and another quality striker. Don't blame the players, blame the owners - past and present.

[Waggy76]

Totally agree with that. I'm glad he signed someone and Venkys gave him some money because we'd barely have enough players to put on the pitch otherwise but not one of his signings so far has been worth getting excited about or has been an improvement on what we already had. How can they be when apart from Dann they've all cost between 0-£3m?

Anderson and Ribeiro aren't worth mentioning.

Formica, Petrovic and Goodwillie haven't looked good enough from what I've seen so far.

Too early to judge Vukcevic.

Rochina, Yakubu and Dann, can challenge for places but are they really better than Pedersen, Roberts and Nelsen? Certainly debatable.

Fair comment but I think the Yak is better than Roberts ...

[JAL]

He signed 2 unheard of fullbacks ribeiro, anderson. neither will see the first team

for midfield we got petrovic, not impressed so far but highlty rated - may see the best of him next year.

up front Goodwillie and yak. neither of whom are the target man striker we need.

We should have moved heaven and earth to get J Jones back or Barton.

For a team that is apparently trying to pass the ball around, why do the opposition always seem to have 60% posession?

We also need a manager that can organise a team to defend.

Just reading that the best thoughts are Kean is well and truly bent. Then the owners give their blessing to him which then asks are they bent as well, i hope to god not .

Honest mistakes too many to say

[JAL]

The bold truth is Kean and Venkys have not signed one exciting signing, YET, and if they have'nt done it yet they never will do will they.

Its all a play on words.

[Tom]

The bold truth is Kean and Venkys have not signed one exciting signing, YET, and if they have'nt done it yet they never will do will they.

Its all a play on words.

That's not the truth it's an opinion.

Rochina and Vukcevic are exciting players (at least prospects) IMO.

Exciting isn't always the right thing though.

[DE.]

The majority of our signings have been fine.

Unfortunately the disaster of a system they're asked to play in generally renders their talents useless. A real manager who understood how tactics work would get a lot out of our current team, make no mistake. It's tragic that we've got a squad capable of good things, but a manager who will make them failures.

[JAL]

That's not the truth it's an opinion.

Rochina and Vukcevic are exciting players (at least prospects) IMO.

Exciting isn't always the right thing though.

Tom I give you truth in the opinion

Whose opinion do you refer to? Keans ? Agnews? Venkys? Andersons ?

[sentient]

The problem is that after years of zero investment the squad is utter ######. Asking 7 or so new players to come in to a faster paced/higher level league AND gel when every game matters is a bit much.

So why do it? Would you take that path if you were in charge? You are just making excuses for incompetence.

Rochina and Vukcevic are exciting players (at least prospects) IMO.

Well thats an opinion and probably truse versus league 1/2 teams. But we play in the prem and it is a bit different. Also interesting that neither started the match toay? Obviously kean doesn''t put too much faith in his signings.

[47er]

Whoever is doing the scouting at Rovers clearly has an eye for talent. I think a 4.2/10 is extremely harsh.

The problem is that after years of zero investment the squad is utter ######. Asking 7 or so new players to come in to a faster paced/higher level league AND gel when every game matters is a bit much. As stated elsewhere, we're still lacking two fullbacks, at least another quality midfielder and another quality striker. Don't blame the players, blame the owners - past and present.

So-----we haven't signed the players we needed and Kean has nothing to do with it? Is that what you're saying?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

All managers ultimately live or die by the players they sign.

[den]

I'll post this here, as well as on the Newcastle thread:

Kean's pre match comments that he wants to outscore teams says everything about him and his approach to the game. Believing that Rovers can out play and outscore other PL teams is just so naieve, it's laughable.

Looking "generally" at the squad he's assembled, it's a squad built on this belief. IMO though, what he's actully achieved is a squad filled with unproven players of limited ability. All, so called, flair players, but very few, if any, of his signings are performing. Kean has done this, while at the same time neglecting the defence. We are weak and have no options at the back now. All his transfer dealings have been based on one type of player.

I said a couple of weeks ago, that if I were manager, I would prefer to have last seasons squad to work with. Within that squad there were various qualities. We had experience, players who could hold up the ball, players with pace, players with stamina, players who could win the ball in the air, players who could put a tackle in, players who would bust a gut on the park. Admittedly they certainly didn't all perform very well at all, but there were options for changing things within a game.

People ask what plan A is. Well, it's to out-pass the opposition. Very obviously, we aren't good enough to do that. So where's plan B? Well quite simply the balance of the squad leaves very few options for plan B. We don't have the strength and height to cause teams problems - even if we decide to launch it forwards. We don't have the bite in midfield to rattle teams.

I'm afraid when people are hoping that Kean will turn this around, the truth is that he doesn't have the options that he should have. All his eggs are in one basket. The frightening thing to me is, that if Kean were to be replaced, no matter how good a new manager was, he wouldn't have the players available that he would need to change things for the better.

.

[Balwer]

For the amount of money we've spent none of the players (Dann excepted) should be expected to make an impact in a Premier League starting XI. That kinf of money buys projects, not immediate starters. Unfortunately we don't have the core of a team to cope with gradually bringing those signings along without risking our Premier League status, particularly given the.....uncertain.....capabilities of our manager.

[Gav]

The bold truth is Kean and Venkys have not signed one exciting signing, YET, and if they have'nt done it yet they never will do will they.

Its all a play on words.

Anyone who doesn't see Rochina as an exciting signing hasn't got a pulse IMO.

He's potentially the most exciting player we've bought in years for me, yes he's raw, yes he's got a lot to learn but the early signs are promising.

[Al]

Anyone who doesn't see Rochina as an exciting signing hasn't got a pulse IMO.

He's potentially the most exciting player we've bought in years for me, yes he's raw, yes he's got a lot to learn but the early signs are promising.

Yea he will probably be there to try to help us get out of the Championship.

[Gav]

So-----we haven't signed the players we needed and Kean has nothing to do with it? Is that what you're saying?

Lets us not forget that most detractors on here have been telling us since the start of Keans tenure that he has no say on player purchases, so playing devils advocate you can't have it both ways

[LeChuck]

Lets us not forget that most detractors on here have been telling us since the start of Keans tenure that he has no say on player purchases

I don't think that's true. We said he didn't choose the January signings when Kentaro were heavily involved (Jones, Roque, Rochina and Formica) but has since had control of transfers.

Steve Kean himself admitted this was the case last week. A lot of people were adamant that Kean picked those January signings so it was nice to hear it from the horse's (donkey's?) mouth.

[sweet]

We would of been better off buying yakabu, and spending the rest of the money on Jermaine Jones whilst keeping Emerton until at least Jan. That alone would leave us a much stronger team than what we are now.

[yellowsubmarine]

Anyone who doesn't see Rochina as an exciting signing hasn't got a pulse IMO.

He's potentially the most exciting player we've bought in years for me, yes he's raw, yes he's got a lot to learn but the early signs are promising.

You are probably just about right. But who is he going to learn from?

[hesfromburn]

he can learn from pedersen. Discipline is his only strength in my opinion

[Neil Weaver]

Kean's pre match comments that he wants to outscore teams says everything about him and his approach to the game. Believing that Rovers can out play and outscore other PL teams is just so naieve, it's laughable.

Looking "generally" at the squad he's assembled, it's a squad built on this belief. IMO though, what he's actully achieved is a squad filled with unproven players of limited ability. All, so called, flair players, but very few, if any, of his signings are performing. Kean has done this, while at the same time neglecting the defence. We are weak and have no options at the back now. All his transfer dealings have been based on one type of player.

I said a couple of weeks ago, that if I were manager, I would prefer to have last seasons squad to work with. Within that squad there were various qualities. We had experience, players who could hold up the ball, players with pace, players with stamina, players who could win the ball in the air, players who could put a tackle in, players who would bust a gut on the park. Admittedly they certainly didn't all perform very well at all, but there were options for changing things within a game.

People ask what plan A is. Well, it's to out-pass the opposition. Very obviously, we aren't good enough to do that. So where's plan B? Well quite simply the balance of the squad leaves very few options for plan B. We don't have the strength and height to cause teams problems - even if we decide to launch it forwards. We don't have the bite in midfield to rattle teams.

I'm afraid when people are hoping that Kean will turn this around, the truth is that he doesn't have the options that he should have. All his eggs are in one basket. The frightening thing to me is, that if Kean were to be replaced, no matter how good a new manager was, he wouldn't have the players available that he would need to change things for the better.

.

Agree with a lot of this Den. For a few weeks now, it's been my view that the only tactic we have is to 'out pass' whoever we're playing. Anything 'pragmatic' is to be avoided at all costs. Now Sam detractors would say that he was too 'pragmatic', but teams without the millions that Man City have to spend must strike a balance between pretty football and pragmatism. Hell, even teams like Arsenal are finding this.

Occasionally - like last week - we'll get lucky, but the vast majority of the time our approach won't win games against Prem League teams.

We've actually got the most talented 16 or so players I've seen at the club for many years. Thing is we're lacking in key positions : both full backs and a defensive midfielder. Solve either of those and sort the tactics out and we'll survive, sort all positions and tactics out and we'll be top half. Trouble is Kean shows no sign of doing either. Would another boss? I cling to some hope. An experienced boss would make us tactically better which I think would keep us ticking over till January when he might have chance to bring in a face or two to address the problems (Savage of 5 years ago would be ideal). Don't do anything - ie keep Kean - for a while and it becomes too late to recover.

Venky's are playing with fire. The longer they sit on their hands, the more they are risking oblivion and losing their 'investment'.