[Archived] January Transfer Window 2014

[thenodrog]

Well some commonsense here from all the Leon Best baiting, obviously the PR coming out of Ewood making Best out to be the eternal bad guy has worked on many of you on this message board, okay he overstepped the mark earlier on with his twitter rant but this last one well whats wrong with that, backing his team mates wishing a friend all the best (pardon the pun). Did David Dunne not do similar when backing Kean and telling us to get REAL.

if Bowyer has anything about him he should let us know the MAIN reason why he wont pick Best, hes better than the ones he is looking to get in today, If our darling manager who dosent learn from his mistakes, plays players out of position cant handle ego's no matter how big or small he will never make a manger, Oh for a Mick McCarthy with attitude.

Rotten apple syndrome my guess....... Care for a bet he doesn't go to Ipswich Pete?

[chaddyrovers]

Rovers are very close to signing Craig Conway from Cardiff on a permanent deal.

source is The LT and BBC Radio Lancashire.

[Blue blood]

So reading what's going on here are my two pennies worth...

We've done well to get the players out that we have. I'm more than happy to bang the drum for Bowyer to get the criticism he deserves, but other that Rochina there isn't a player we've let go so far who has really had any sort of positive impact on our team. Campbell looked a poor man's Rhodes but without the scoring, Judge was also busy but never useful, and Orr gee that's a real shame he's gone...

Now I have a few reservations over Bowyer being able to manage characters - but I dont think Best can be held against him. True Best has the potential to be a good player, but given his regular twitter indiscretions, his general poor performances, and his history of poor form, I find it hard to think that Bowyer is doing wrong in trying to offload him. The lad has the words "lost cause" written all over him and that's before you take the silly money into the equation.

Dann situation is interesting. I agree with those saying he's not that good - he isn't. He's not that tough (understatement!) and not that cultured. He's a decent championship defender at best. So selling him and making some money is not a bad idea. However, getting in a replacement, and we would need to - two recognized centre halves is not enough - would probably cost around £750k - £1 million unless Bowyer could work his magic. So if the 1.3 million figure is accurate, it seems a lot of disruption for not a lot of profit. I'd question is this really worth it.

This window again doesn't smack me as a promotion or bust attempt. We've let loads go, and whilst it's great to see the two loan lads permanently, aside from that we've not reinforced the team. Indeed given we had both Cairney and Gestede here anyway, it could be argued we haven't improved the team in the short term at all. Not quite the promotion push we were hoping for. IF we truly are in a promotion or bust scenario then this strategy of the club is truly reprehensible and another thing to blame Venkys and Shaw for.

Finally we need to get bodies in. Regardless of whether we want a promotion push or not, we need bodies in. We look light in a number of areas, especially centre back and up front where there seems to be very little cover whatsoever. We have a good team but take away the first 14 or so players (and two of them Evans and Marshall are injured) and the rest of the squad is paper thin. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it is a bit worrying that should injuries and suspensions hit, at the moment we could be up a creek without a paddle. This is a shame because there is a core of players with the potential to reach playoffs. I do wonder if we'll have a squad capable of making a decent fist anytime soon over the next few years, as finances come home to bite.

[JBiz]

I think we may have accpted £3m but then Dann couldnt agree his wage reduction that would have followed by signing for Palace.Therefore , we are so desperate for anything that reduces our wages bill that we end up helping the deal happen by lowering our fee.That would seem to explain the dealy of 3 weeks since we first heard Palace wanted him.

Promotion campaign and whether you rate him or not, we sell our capytian for a meagre £1.3m. How despertely bad must things be in our finances? Venkys backing our manager in his promotion bid then???

Only 13 hours left to hang on to Rhodes or its slash your wrists time

1. The mirror article is from today

2. Nicko likes winding up rovers fans

3. Assumption makes an ass of u and me!

[Gav]

Only 13 hours left to hang on to Rhodes or its slash your wrists time

We have no chance of going up so if a decent did comes in I'd accept it, because if he doesn't go today he'll be off in the summer.

[Atomicrover]

Rovers are very close to signing Craig Conway from Cardiff on a permanent deal.

source is The LT and BBC Radio Lancashire.

5'-7"?

[thenodrog]

Re: Dann.

Pinch of salt for reported transfer fees and deals in the press.

It was bandied about in the popular press at the time that Dann cost us between £6-7m yet a (very reliable) little bird told me that when Dann signed from Brum that the entire 'deal' cost us £6-7 million and NOT the transfer fee! Brum wisely wanted his Prem wages off their books after being relegated (pity the Porn twins didn't advise the Slumdog Millionaires isn't it?) but they didn't want to p1ss off their own supporters who they were trying to flog ST's to post relegation. Solution .... the deal that we signed Dann on was around and about 1.5 million to Brum plus £4 milllion to Dann in wages over 3 years. Small wonder then that his agent has reverted to type by trying to get us to accept the same in order that he can hold out for either a bigger signing on fee for his client OR more remuneration.

I suspect we all only know what we are told about these matters which will rarely be even close to the truth.

[Bucksrover]

I think we may have accpted £3m but then Dann couldnt agree his wage reduction that would have followed by signing for Palace.Therefore , we are so desperate for anything that reduces our wages bill that we end up helping the deal happen by lowering our fee.That would seem to explain the dealy of 3 weeks since we first heard Palace wanted him.

Promotion campaign and whether you rate him or not, we sell our capytian for a meagre £1.3m. How despertely bad must things be in our finances? Venkys backing our manager in his promotion bid then???

Only 13 hours left to hang on to Rhodes or its slash your wrists time

You may be right. But the transfer market is an area Bowyer has done well. Let's say for example that Bowyer rates that O'Connell lad as fit to come in and challenge for the first team.

Plus - even if we just get £1.3 mill for Dann, we save £1.6 million a year on his wages.

Scott Dann may be the Captain - but he is not a great player. Good - yes, but not great. If money was no issue I would say keep him, but if Bowyer thinks he can trim the wage-bill and it not have a negative affect on the team then good on him.

[Waggy76]

We have no chance of going up so if a decent did comes in I'd accept it, because if he doesn't go today he'll be off in the summer.

Very True Gav , Rhodes isn;t setting the division alight and a bid from Forest for example with one of their forwards thrown in , could be successful ...

[thenodrog]

This window again doesn't smack me as a promotion or bust attempt. We've let loads go, and whilst it's great to see the two loan lads permanently, aside from that we've not reinforced the team. Indeed given we had both Cairney and Gestede here anyway, it could be argued we haven't improved the team in the short term at all. Not quite the promotion push we were hoping for. IF we truly are in a promotion or bust scenario then this strategy of the club is truly reprehensible and another thing to blame Venkys and Shaw for.

Finally we need to get bodies in. Regardless of whether we want a promotion push or not, we need bodies in. We look light in a number of areas, especially centre back and up front where there seems to be very little cover whatsoever. We have a good team but take away the first 14 or so players (and two of them Evans and Marshall are injured) and the rest of the squad is paper thin. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it is a bit worrying that should injuries and suspensions hit, at the moment we could be up a creek without a paddle. This is a shame because there is a core of players with the potential to reach playoffs. I do wonder if we'll have a squad capable of making a decent fist anytime soon over the next few years, as finances come home to bite.

A post which could have been written by a supporter of any Championship club with the exception of QPR and possibly Leicester.

Dunno if it's the spectre of FFP looming or that after the lunacy/profligacy/extravagence/fraudulence/greed of the past 3 years we simply have had more to do to return to sanity than all other clubs in the Divison but thank God financial reallity is kicking in.

3. Assumption makes an ass of u and me!

It's 'to assume makes an ass of u and me'.

[Leonard Venkhater]

You may be right. But the transfer market is an area Bowyer has done well. Let's say for example that Bowyer rates that O'Connell lad as fit to come in and challenge for the first team.

Plus - even if we just get £1.3 mill for Dann, we save £1.6 million a year on his wages.

Scott Dann may be the Captain - but he is not a great player. Good - yes, but not great. If money was no issue I would say keep him, but if Bowyer thinks he can trim the wage-bill and it not have a negative affect on the team then good on him.

TBH I have always seen Dann as in the Christian Dailly mould. I always had a sense of him ducking out of challenges. We need a combination of John McNamee and a more footballing centre half!

I think we have been spoiled over the years with Keeley, Moran,Berg and "The Good Neighbour"etc. ..Dann, football's own Typhoid Mary, was simply not up there..I have forgotten him already!

[thenodrog]

Very True Gav , Rhodes isn;t setting the division alight and a bid from Forest for example with one of their forwards thrown in , could be successful ...

More like a bid from anywhere and they can have another of OUR forwards thrown in..... The fat @#/? who only tweets a good game.

[rovers11]

Andy Naylor ‏@AndyNaylorArgus52m

Craig Conway will not be returning to #bhafc. Blackburn-bound on a permanent deal. Albion wanted him back on loan.

This confirms what I said about Conway the other day. Good player who did exceptionally well at Brighton who would probably want to take him back on loan. Excellent signing.

[neophox]

Conway joins on permanent deal from Cardiff.

Execellent piece of business. Straight in to the squad for Blackpool game.

[bluefred]

looks like the way is clear to sign Conway now that zaha has gone to cardiff

[chris_h]

The Luke Varney situation is a puzzling one for me. Like them or not Leeds are arguably the biggest club in the division, he gets a regularish game for them, he's popular with the fans and yet he is being a pain in the rear to his manager over a move to Rovers who are slashing the wage bill and have no more chance of going up than Leeds.

I'm not keen on players who cause a fuss to get out of their contracts, we've had more than our share of those. Hope he's worth it.

[rhodie]

Take anything this clown says with a pinch of salt, but here it is for whats its worth

Alan Nixon ‏@reluctantnicko Protected Tweets 2m

Crystal Palace offer to Blackburn for Scott Dann is £1.3m down plus extras ... #ouch

He really is a complete bell, I questioned him over the supposed Rhodes to Wigan fiasco over the summer transfer period and got blocked from his twitter and from the mirror comments. He says what he wants without any proof or justification to lead fans on and hides away when questioned. I personally think its a Munchhausen thing he has got going on in his tiny brain.

[Mani]

Please... Don't mention Nixon's name on here...useless wind up merchant!!

[Tom]

It’s a consolidation transfer window if I’ve ever seen one, nobody coming in of real quality, just bodies to boost the squad. If Dann goes we’ll actually be weaker in my opinion but that’s still to be decided.

If I was the manager of the club I’d insist all business was done before deadline day, why managers, players and clubs see fit to leave things until the last day of the window is beyond me.

Very happy with Cairney and Gestede in but the names linked with now just seem squad bodies

[bluefred]

Cardiff now after dann

[riverside returns]

Cardiff now after dann

That would sit right as they seem doomed to relegation.

3 in 3 not a bad shout for our esteemed captain.

[The Rover of Finland]

Cardiff now after dann

Hope they are not holding Conway´s move as they want Dann going otherway. Cardiff and Palace are really busy today.

[OJRovers]

I'd be happy to see Dann go, despite all the off-field madness, his regin as captain has been a disaster. The team showed no fight in getting relegated and last season's efforts were poor. How many times has he put in a "captain's performance" in defence and led by example? Hardly ever. I don't think he'll be missed. Get Robbo back as captain.

[EgyptianPete]

Rotten apple syndrome my guess....... Care for a bet he doesn't go to Ipswich Pete?

Ha ha nice one, i meant i wish our Gary would be a bit more like Mr McCarthy (attitude wise) as that would have sorted some ego's out well before now, but yes rotten apple syndrome you could be right, as in everything Rovers we never actually find out the truth.

[darrenrover]

Re: Dann.

Pinch of salt for reported transfer fees and deals in the press.

It was bandied about in the popular press at the time that Dann cost us between £6-7m yet a (very reliable) little bird told me that when Dann signed from Brum that the entire 'deal' cost us £6-7 million and NOT the transfer fee! Brum wisely wanted his Prem wages off their books after being relegated (pity the Porn twins didn't advise the Slumdog Millionaires isn't it?) but they didn't want to p1ss off their own supporters who they were trying to flog ST's to post relegation. Solution .... the deal that we signed Dann on was around and about 1.5 million to Brum plus £4 milllion to Dann in wages over 3 years. Small wonder then that his agent has reverted to type by trying to get us to accept the same in order that he can hold out for either a bigger signing on fee for his client OR more remuneration.

I suspect we all only know what we are told about these matters which will rarely be even close to the truth.

Agreed Thenodrog, I heard pretty much the same.

I wouldn't see Dann as too much of a loss tbh because if one had faith in your central defensive pairing there wouldn't be a need to park 2 more in front as additional cover. The major saving grace is cost reduction however.

Thinking outside the box, I see our transfer activity as a plus as our football related indebtedness (contractual obligations) is significantly shrinking. Not only from a FFP perspective but also increasing the potential that taking ownership of the club may be affordable rather than administration closely followed by liquidation. At least there may be an option.

Hopefully it needn't be the NW Counties League but who knows what the future may hold.