Mauro Formica

[Hekla]

He has too much criticism on here, I would be disappointed to see him leave so soon. He is becoming better and better as a player. For a south american that are known for flair etc, he has excellent work rate. If we stay up I hope he stays as he will better next season too.

[LeChuck]

The problem is that we can't really play him effectively from the start until we get a proper partner for N'Zonzi.

If we still had someone like Jermaine Jones at the club we could play him in front of N'Zonzi and Jones and have a solid midfield. With Pedersen or Petrovic though, we are too lightweight.

[Stuart]

The problem is that we can't really play him effectively from the start until we get a proper partner for N'Zonzi.

Ha, I almost read "pay" then for a second!

[LeChuck]

Might have been more appropriate!

[67splitscreen]

Doesn't strike me as someone itching for a move back home,.

[True Blue & White]

Loving how fickle Rovers fans are. Read the messages before Saturday and they're all "He's crap, let's sell him" and after Saturday they are all "Let's keep him he's got great technique"

[newfan]

Loving how fickle Rovers fans are. Read the messages before Saturday and they're all "He's crap, let's sell him" and after Saturday they are all "Let's keep him he's got great technique"

+1

[alexanders]

Divided opinions as always...

I actually like Formica, One of the few that puts in a full shift, works his socks off

Yeah I don't think he is crap and I agree that he seems to give it his all. I personally don't think he is good enough though. He'd get eaten alive in the Championship as well....

Not that its worth anything, but my personal opinion is that Mauro is worth hanging on to. Agreed, he hasn't reached his potential, but he has shown flashes of magic that shows that given the right environment, he could be a top player.

Works hard and has decent skill. Not one that we should be looking to ship out, but if the right offer came in it would be ok.

[DE.]

Loving how fickle Rovers fans are. Read the messages before Saturday and they're all "He's crap, let's sell him" and after Saturday they are all "Let's keep him he's got great technique"

It would only be fickle if pre-saturday somebody posted they wanted him gone and post-saturday decided they wanted him to stay. Is there an example of somebody doing that, or did you just want to have a pop at "rovers fans" in general, seeing as you were generalising?

[True Blue & White]

It would only be fickle if pre-saturday somebody posted they wanted him gone and post-saturday decided they wanted him to stay. Is there an example of somebody doing that, or did you just want to have a pop at "rovers fans" in general, seeing as you were generalising?

Chill dude. I was talking about Rovers fan as a collective not individuals and just the gist of page 5 really. 4 or 5 messages about us selling him or him being 'bobbins' with 1 or two saying we should keep him and then post Saturday the ratio seems to be reversed with most saying we should keep him.

[joey_big_nose]

He had another good game on Sat. Still hard to really see how he is going to be a massive player for us. Doesn't have the skill of Tugay, delivery of Bentley, workrate of Savage, pace or dribbling ability of Hoilett. IE lacks an exceptional quality to make him a standout. He does however seem to be decent at everything and works hard. Also seems a good finisher which is useful.

That's not to be sniffed at. Natural replacement for Dunn.

[bluebruce]

True blue, you're missing the point. You can't call rovers fans fickle because of the gist of the thread if nobody is actually changing their opinion! All it means is that before, more of his supporters or those who rate him were keeping quiet because they didn't have as much evidence for his worth. The thread was also quieter before the goal. Further, those who don't rate him are going to be quieter because he has just done well in the last match, so it's an odd time to suddenly start ranting about him being gash. None of this is fickle, it's common sense. People in general try to make their points when they're most pertinent.

[Neal]

Surely at his current strike rate he could get 7-8 goals come the end of the season. Should we be selling someone capable of that in his first season.... NO.

Always liked him and felt sorry for him in recent weeks out on the wing.

Proper footballer.

[Toodling]

Surely at his current strike rate he could get 7-8 goals come the end of the season. Should we be selling someone capable of that in his first season.... NO.

Always liked him and felt sorry for him in recent weeks out on the wing.

Proper footballer.

+1 I think he'll come up good.

[DE.]

There are plenty of players that should be leaving before Formica. He's been anonymous in a number of games this season but he's finding the back of the net every so often, which is encouraging. If he left it wouldn't be a massive blow, but if he stays he could certainly become a very useful member of the squad.

[Blueboy Downunder]

we slag players if they are crap and not good enough and we slag players who put the effort in

mauro does more running than anyone, but that is something imo that he is being told to do. can anyone imagine yak running his ###### off, closing down, harassing opposition players?? dickov was the same. it is the way we play, the way we are set up. personally, i think MF is a far better 'footballer' than just running here,there and everywhere.

i for one am a big fan of the lad and hope he stays right here at rovers.

[hesfromburn]

For those saying he is too lightweight to play alongside n'zonzi ive just seen his opta stats for our midfielders formica has made the most tackles and has by far the greatest tackle completion rate at 90%

Our midfield problem solved! which would allow dunn and rochina to fight for the second striker role!!!

[BlueSue23]

I personally like the lad! He has a good work ethic!

I hope it is just paper talk and that he wants to stay with us.

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[Commondore]

The problem is that we can't really play him effectively from the start until we get a proper partner for N'Zonzi.

If we still had someone like Jermaine Jones at the club we could play him in front of N'Zonzi and Jones and have a solid midfield. With Pedersen or Petrovic though, we are too lightweight.

Spot on. If we could somehow solidify our midfield behind him Formica could be a very effective player for us, he's a rare mix of skill and workrate.

[BRFC996]

Sky Sports say he is in talks with Olympiakos.

[mattyc2422]

Andy Cryer has confirmed it on twitter.

[Ossydave]

It's not as advanced as him being in talks is it? Sky probably just read the tweets out there on Twitter and claimed a scoop.

[BRFCBOY]

Really doesn't make sense unless a replacement is on the way but wouldn't hold my breath

[hesfromburn]

NO NO NO NO! this would be bad news. Good player I really rate/like him.

I would hate to see him go.

But we do have rochina and dunn to play that role and I think rochina has much more potential.

But dunn doesnt have much left so if he goes we are short on attaking options, but if money is that mad I suppose we will have to take it and we also have simon...somewhere?

[Lurid Coat]

I do not want to lose Formica, but if he is replaced with a defensive, hard as nails midfielder such as Caceres, it would make some sense. Formica is a hard worker, as well as technically gifted, but we can't really afford to play him in his best position due to the fact that we're too lightweight in midfield. Hoilett, Rochina, Vukcevic and to a degree Dunn and Olsson can provide us with enough creativity and flair, it is the tough as old boots midfielder types we're desperately lacking.