January Transfer Window

[Clitherover]

What about bringing ryan nelson back in jan .or will harry keep him at QPR.

He clearly rates him as he took him to Spurs. I also believe he is one of the better players at QPR at the moment which isn't saying much but they'll want to keep hold of him. Thirdly I think he has more intelligence than to come back and work under Venkys again. Can't see it myself.

[Mike E]

Cherno Samba, definitely.

[rog of the rovers]

I think

I don't really know championship and lower league players in England well enough, but are there players from equal/lower level that might improve Rovers and that wouldn't cost way too much. Is someone like Anthony Wordsworth (Colchester), or someone similar something that might be worth a punt in an attempt to improve the squad with hungry lower league players?

Other than that I think the foreign and/or loan market is the way to go, since I don't see us having much money to spend.

Good idea, would rather see a younger player given a chance to step up to this level than give another old timer a hefty contract.

If you look at Norwich, their success has been creaming the better players out of the Championship/League One (Snodgrass, Howson, Pilkington, Holt, Martin, Hoolahan etc) and they are doing pretty well in the Premier League!

Good League One or lower Championship players that could do a job?

Boyd (Peterborough)

Gleeson (MK Dons)

Cresswell (Ipswich)

Wickham (Sunderland - a bit like when we signed Bentley, a change of scenery may just kick start his career)

Other options in loan market?

Barkley (Everton - was Sheff Weds best player for 3 months at this level)

Powell (Man Utd - needs some game time)

Naughton (Spurs - needs matches as well)

Faurlin (QPR - out of favour, decent Championship CM)

Vaz Te (West Ham - proven at this level)

Graham (Swansea - proven goalscorer, needs games)

Left field?

Bentley (FC Rostov - if he could produce even half his form of his first spell, he would be a steal. Imagine his delivery with Rhodes/Best in the middle)

McGeady (Spartak Moscow - Looking for a way back into the UK?)

Sinclair (Man City - loan move, although could probably do that and stay in the Premier League)

Josh Gatt (Molde - An American international who plays in Norway, fast and can play all over the front line)

I imagine all this is reliant on us getting rid of a couple of the fringe players, be it loans or sales as we have quite a big squad already.

I expect Orr, Goodwillie, Slew, Bruno, Linganzi and some of the Portugese lads to be either sold/loaned out/offered to other clubs.

[roversfan99]

January will be very important to see if Berg gets his players and the board supports their manager.

I would say that, if 3 or 4 players enter and one "new" player has Best should be ready in February.

So, there are diferent groups of players:

- Last year of contract:

1. Paul Robinson - I would sell and replace if we have spare money.
   
2. Gael Givet - Should be a starter for us and potentially captain. I'd give a new contract to him.
   
3. David Dunn - We might as well keep him, no one will be interested and he is one of a few players we have who can make a real difference.
   
4. Danny Murphy - No one will want him anyway but he will play much better without Etuhu, as shown when Lowe plays instead.
   
5. Sebastien Usai - Not bothered.
   
6. Amine Linganzi and Myles Anderson - let go.
   

Older players that are on high wages and are not first team options:

1. Nuno Gomes - He should be a big part of our plans this season, he needs to be first choice alongside Rhodes until Best returns.
   
2. MGP - Sell.
   
3. Bruno Ribeiro - Sell.
   

Players that are not first team players and still have some market value:

1. Simon Vukcevic - He deserves a chance, but on the right wing as I think we need to look to play 2 up front. If we don't want to use him let him go.
   
   
2. Nuno Henrique - If Berg thinks hes not good enough then sell, otherwise loan him out for a month.
   
3. Marcus Olsson - Definitely sell
   
4. David Goodwillie - Sell.
   

1. Diogo Rosado - Loan out.
   
2. Fabio Nunes - I would keep him and give him chances. He can run at players and has got a few assists with crosses. He needs to do that consistently. I'd have him and a new left winger competing for that role.
   
3. Jake Kean - Maybe loan out with a recall clause and have the Pole on the bench.
   

[CapeTownRover]

Luca Tonis brother

Our major problems are basically a strong holding midfielder, center half, and possibly a right winger. The wings are not really that big a problem, but we need a good quick center half. I also think we are wasting Martin Olsson at left back, as i would like to possibly see him somewhere in central midfield, which cant remember if he has played there before.

[JonnyBRFC]

Priority, imo, is a midfield general Jermaine Jones esque, don't think JJ would come I seem to recall him playing for Schalke a lot more now. Someone who would really command the midfield and pick the team up and push us on.

No idea who it would be - decent defensive mids seem to be at a premium. So loan could be our option.

I would probably also say a RM/RW and maybe a LB to free Olsson up to LM, we need to get balls into the box to Rhodes and really build the team around him. Oh and a experienced CB wouldn't go a miss.

I think with the right changes we could become a successful outfit in the 2nd half of the season.

[Salgado Is A Hero]

Good League One or lower Championship players that could do a job?

Boyd (Peterborough)

Gleeson (MK Dons)

Cresswell (Ipswich)

Wickham (Sunderland - a bit like when we signed Bentley, a change of scenery may just kick start his career)

Other options in loan market?

Barkley (Everton - was Sheff Weds best player for 3 months at this level)

Powell (Man Utd - needs some game time)

Naughton (Spurs - needs matches as well)

Faurlin (QPR - out of favour, decent Championship CM)

Vaz Te (West Ham - proven at this level)

Graham (Swansea - proven goalscorer, needs games)

Left field?

Bentley (FC Rostov - if he could produce even half his form of his first spell, he would be a steal. Imagine his delivery with Rhodes/Best in the middle)

McGeady (Spartak Moscow - Looking for a way back into the UK?)

Sinclair (Man City - loan move, although could probably do that and stay in the Premier League)

Josh Gatt (Molde - An American international who plays in Norway, fast and can play all over the front line)

Some good players in there.

McGeady and Sinclair won't come to the Championship.....doubtful that Graham would as well.

I like Faurlin and was talking about him with my QPR mate but he said he's not really that defensive. Might be useful but I don't know if him and Murphy are defensive enough.

Would like Naughton if he'd come.....him and Henley can both play either side which would be very useful.

Other lower-Championship players who I would like are Gary Madine (striker) from Sheff Wed, Adomah (winger) and Cunningham (LB) from Bristol City....Scannell (winger) and Southern (DM) from H'field and Nathan Tyson from Derby.

Preferably quite a few B'ham players but I don't think that will be easy.

I'd really like Vaz Te of your list.

[roversfan99]

Vaz Te is injured, before that he was a regular. Plus why would Big Sam sell to us?

Anyway I don't agree with the players you have suggested. The likes of Tyson and Madine are typical lower-league players who have struggled to get into their respective sides, in particular Tyson. What would they provide that Rhodes, Kazim, Best, Gomes, King and Rochina can't? We have plenty of firepower, the problem is we play one about 20 yards behind the other.

Adomah is a good shout in my opinion. Cunningham again is vastly inferior to Olsson at left back. And the Huddersfield duo are 2 of their better players, maybe Southern's grit would be useful but I'm not so sure.

[USABlue]

Vaz Te, I doubt Wham would let him go off on loan. I am certain Sam won't let him come to us.

[rickard]

What is Frimpongs situation? Would he even come to us? On loan that is.

[AJW]

i beleive Frimpong is on loan at Charlton 'til January , a player i rate and wouldnt mind at Rovers at all

[Oklahoma]

As always, it is important to look for free agents, specially since there's not much money to spend.

Here is a list of some players that might be worth to have a look. (name, position, previous club, age)

Konstantinos Katsouranis, DM/CB, Panathinaikos, 33 - Had a fall out with his manager but recently had is 100th game for Greece

Royston Drenthe, LB/LM, Real Madrid, 25 - Lots of potential wasted, maybe needs to re-start his carreer

Tal Ben Haim, CB, Portsmouth, 30 - Many here don't like him but he has experience and could be a decent back up

Kevin Pezzoni, CB, Cologne, 23 - Played in the Youth german national teams and still young. Could be worth a trial

Anthony Vanden Borre, RB, Genk, 25 - Over 20 games for the Belgium national team, has CL experience

John Mensah, CB, Lyon, 30 - Plenty of experience including in the PL

Owen Hargreaves, DM, Manchester City, 31 - No idea what condition he is in but might be worth a look

Christian Obodo, CM, Lecce,28 - Experienced midfielder

Chimbonda and Goulon are also free agents lol

[Amo]

Pezzoni is a good shout. Played here at youth level and apparently did alright in Germany until he was forced out by hooliganism. Could do with another CB, as it is.

Would Vanden Borre be adequate cover/competition for Henley at RB?

[Andy]

As always, it is important to look for free agents, specially since there's not much money to spend.

Here is a list of some players that might be worth to have a look. (name, position, previous club, age)

Konstantinos Katsouranis, DM/CB, Panathinaikos, 33 - Had a fall out with his manager but recently had is 100th game for Greece

Royston Drenthe, LB/LM, Real Madrid, 25 - Lots of potential wasted, maybe needs to re-start his carreer

Tal Ben Haim, CB, Portsmouth, 30 - Many here don't like him but he has experience and could be a decent back up

Kevin Pezzoni, CB, Cologne, 23 - Played in the Youth german national teams and still young. Could be worth a trial

Anthony Vanden Borre, RB, Genk, 25 - Over 20 games for the Belgium national team, has CL experience

John Mensah, CB, Lyon, 30 - Plenty of experience including in the PL

Owen Hargreaves, DM, Manchester City, 31 - No idea what condition he is in but might be worth a look

Christian Obodo, CM, Lecce,28 - Experienced midfielder

All of those would be excellent signings for us, especially a fit Hargreaves.

[USABlue]

Owen Hargreaves a terrific player when he was in his pomp but I'm afraid he'd be nothing more than company for Dunny on the treatment table.

[LeChuck]

Pezzoni is a good shout. Played here at youth level and apparently did alright in Germany until he was forced out by hooliganism. Could do with another CB, as it is.

Would Vanden Borre be adequate cover/competition for Henley at RB?

I think Vanden-Borre can also play on the right wing, could be very useful if we're going 4-4-2 when Best returns.

There would be four main transfers I'd do in January:

# Robinson out, Friedel in: No brainer for me, Friedel has shown he is still up there with the very best by matching (if not bettering) Lloris.

# Dunn/Pedersen out, midfield general in: No idea who, but we need a strong and mobile midfielder in the Savage mould to give us some bite. No need for both Dunn and Pedersen at the club anymore, sell whichever gets an offer first.

# Formica/Vukcevic/Rochina out, proper right winger in: Those three at too similar, so at least one needs to go. We need a proper right winger in if we are going 4-4-2, Formica isn't the answer.

# Henrique + other stragglers out, commanding centre back in: We're conceding too many goals from lofted balls into the area. Dann doesn't command the area, Givet is too small, and Hanley still too raw. We need someone who can add a presence in there.

[eire3382]

The squad is a mess and one transfer window will not fix it.

Berg has had some time with the squad now and so we should start to see his style come through more and more.

Since I think this season is already gone I would hope for a sensible transfer window.

We do need to remove the deadwood there is no doubt.

There are plenty of lists already made no need to add to them.

The chickem farmers will not give any money I would guess and any money raised through sales must be spent by the manager and only the manager.

We need a box to box midfielder. And a centre half but I would stop there.The squad has been mismanaged for years so there is alot of sorting ahead. But I do trust Berg, for now anyway to do what is needed.

[rickard]

As usual the problem is, who in their right mind would want to buy any of the players that we want to offload? Can't see anyone coming in for MGP or Dunn for example. It's not like any of the players we want out has set the league on fire...

[Oklahoma]

Tal Ben Haim, CB, Portsmouth, 30 - Many here don't like him but he has experience and could be a decent back up

News today claim he will be Redknapp's first signing for QPR

[Amo]

I think Vanden-Borre can also play on the right wing, could be very useful if we're going 4-4-2 when Best returns.

There would be four main transfers I'd do in January:

# Robinson out, Friedel in: No brainer for me, Friedel has shown he is still up there with the very best by matching (if not bettering) Lloris.

# Dunn/Pedersen out, midfield general in: No idea who, but we need a strong and mobile midfielder in the Savage mould to give us some bite. No need for both Dunn and Pedersen at the club anymore, sell whichever gets an offer first.

# Formica/Vukcevic/Rochina out, proper right winger in: Those three at too similar, so at least one needs to go. We need a proper right winger in if we are going 4-4-2, Formica isn't the answer.

# Henrique + other stragglers out, commanding centre back in: We're conceding too many goals from lofted balls into the area. Dann doesn't command the area, Givet is too small, and Hanley still too raw. We need someone who can add a presence in there.

Only problem with that is offloading those players.

Be real here, who's going to take Pedersen or Dunn? Wrong side of thirty, legs have gone, sitting on fat contracts. No chance.

As for the "rest of them", we'll probably be resigned to loaning them out until their contracts run down. Unless some random Portuguese teams wanna take them back for peanuts.

Now Rochina/Formica/Vukcevic is a different story. I'd ship out Vukcevic since *insert reason* he isn't getting a look in. Total waste. Formica puts in a shift and he's a decent squad player and Rochina has the potential to shine.

Really not getting my hopes for January. For many seasons now, we've all had these grand designs on what should happen and it usually amounts to square root of jack s**t.

[LeChuck]

Be real here, who's going to take Pedersen or Dunn? Wrong side of thirty, legs have gone, sitting on fat contracts. No chance.

Yeah it's a problem. I'm just hoping they've got enough of a reputation left for a desperate side to take a punt on one of them.

It wouldn't surprise me a team in the relegation battle decided to take a gamble because of their PL experience, but I guess it is unlikely.

[T.J.Newton]

Mickael Silvestre available on a free(currently training at man u, looking for a club), Could be exactly what we need at the back a vastly experienced wise old(35!, not to old for a centre back) head.

http://aggbot.com/Bl...rticle/18473693

[Lhrover]

after watching cardiff game we definately need a midfield general.

[47er]

Looks like Berg has had enough of his under (or none) performing players:

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/363498?

[Oklahoma]

Southampton want Dann. Please take him...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2245569/Southampton-want-sign-Scott-Dann.html