[Archived] Villa V Rovers

[McClarky]

The Wharton situation just about sums Rovers up. They would rather pay a fortune to bring in hopeless signings than pay a promising youngster an extra few hundred a week to play for the team he's grown up with. I wonder why. Same reason we are where we are, the club makes decisions to benefit outside interests and not the club. Still seen as a cash cow for dodgy agents and will be while these conmen are in charge.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Like all young players Scott has suffered a loss of form at the moment. The last three away games for the Under-23's have not been his best performances by a long way. He is not alone in that. One or two are struggling for form at the moment which is what happens with young players. Last season Nyambe had a real dip in form but has come good again this season. To put Wharton in a struggling team when he himself is struggling for form wouldn't do him any favours.

I hear what you're saying Parson. You watch these players regularly and I'm sure if you thought the lad was ready you'd say so. Not many young players can get in the team and stay there. Lots of our young stars in the past were in and out for the first year or two.

[JHRover]

If the rumor about Wharton is true then we might as well close the academy down now. If promising young players are being prevented from playing due to financial/contractual issues then there really is no point. Why spend millions per year sustaining a Category A academy if those that look to be taking the step into the first team can't due to an attempt to prevent him getting a bigger contract? Are we really at the stage now where these people have so little faith in the recommendations of the coaching staff that they will potentially jeopardise a player's development and risk him leaving the club than back their judgment with a relatively minor amount of money and see the player develop and grow in value?

Something, as ever, simply doesn't add up. Hanley on his own landed them a £5-6 million profit thanks to the academy and his development over 3-4 years, why wouldn't they want to do that again if there is a chance with Wharton? Its nonsense to the point of suspicious.

[chaddyrovers]

Not sure if Wharton rumour is true tbh. I agree with the points above made by JHRover.

Where did it come from?

Why after 2 games in the first team would his deal rise to 2k a week?

Plus Wharton's form has drop alot in the under 23's since the Burnley game.

Brown shouldnt have got a deal here. Pointless.

[tomphil]

Why are they bothering with all these youth/reserve teams when the its products - Wharton, Mahoney etc- are ignored and frozen out?

Glad you mentioned Mahoney as he was doing ok after his loan away a while ago then came back and got involved a bit and dumped back with the kids where he has gone backwards again now. Same with Raya and now Wharton yet to be fair Bowyer gave Lenihen a shot then Lambert kept faith with him and he's done ok.

At the very least these lads should be out on loan to get them up to speed with playing regularly if they aren't involved in our first team squad. I take Parsons point about the fluctuating form but it only seems to apply to a select few whilst others are kept involved when their form has been awful in the past. Lowe, Hanley to name two. Wharton was thrown in because we were desperate and did ok now he's out again and his form has dipped in the 23s not the first team. He should be in the squad at least when we are struggling for defenders and it's another farce.

What's the point if you aren't going to use your own back up in times when it's desperately needed ? And what's the point in loaning kids who offer nothing yet freezing out your own ?

Another regime in charge either clueless or doing others favours !

[Parsonblue]

Glad you mentioned Mahoney as he was doing ok after his loan away a while ago then came back and got involved a bit and dumped back with the kids where he has gone backwards again now. Same with Raya and now Wharton yet to be fair Bowyer gave Lenihen a shot then Lambert kept faith with him and he's done ok.

At the very least these lads should be out on loan to get them up to speed with playing regularly if they aren't involved in our first team squad. I take Parsons point about the fluctuating form but it only seems to apply to a select few whilst others are kept involved when their form has been awful in the past. Lowe, Hanley to name two. Wharton was thrown in because we were desperate and did ok now he's out again and his form has dipped in the 23s not the first team. He should be in the squad at least when we are struggling for defenders and it's another farce.

What's the point if you aren't going to use your own back up in times when it's desperately needed ? And what's the point in loaning kids who offer nothing yet freezing out your own ?

Another regime in charge either clueless or doing others favours !

Despite the dip in form I would certainly have Wharton on the bench. I would also put Nyambe, Doyle, Tomlinson and possibly Mahoney on the bench. For me Doyle is a far better option than Hendrie at left-back and Nyambe and Tomlinson are starting to find the form which looked so exciting eighteen months back. Matty Platt is another centre-back who is worth a look in on the bench. Whatever happens this season in terms of retaining or not retaining Championship status, these lads are the ones who we are going to have to build a team around in the future.

[tomphil]

Agree.

We all want decent players signing but if you can't sign them and your squad is wafer thin due to cuts and crap management you really should dip into your own youth to back it up when there are no other options.

Really odd stuff but who knows what gets triggered in any young lads contract here as soon as he steps into the first team squad ? It really would be no surprise to find out it's cheaper to borrow others lads than promote some of our own even temporarily

[blue kiwi]

Like all young players Scott has suffered a loss of form at the moment. The last three away games for the Under-23's have not been his best performances by a long way. He is not alone in that. One or two are struggling for form at the moment which is what happens with young players. Last season Nyambe had a real dip in form but has come good again this season. To put Wharton in a struggling team when he himself is struggling for form wouldn't do him any favours.

do you not think this lack of form is due to the carrot has been took away,play great still in the under 23s because of money issues

[Parsonblue]

do you not think this lack of form is due to the carrot has been took away,play great still in the under 23s because of money issues

Difficult to say. Two seasons ago Nyambe looked destined for great things. Last season he struggled in the Under-21 team and this season his form has returned and he looks very good. Similar with Jack Doyle - although an injury last season really disrupted his progress and Josh Askew jumped ahead of him. Now Doyle his playing better than ever and Askew, who is younger, has been loaned out to gain more experience. Young players have dips in form all the time from my experience of watching the second string although I'm sure contract issues must be at the back of his mind somewhere.

[AggyBlue]

I Don't often get searched but I did at this game.

I asked the steward what he was looking for and he said they had been told to look out for tennis balls, rubber chickens or even live chickens.

[den]

Hope they found something Aggy.

[JAL]

Jason Lowe costs Rovers again just how bad is this lad ? Accy Stanley is about the best level he should be playing at.

[Stuart]

The 2 mill a month is a fact from what I've heard. There are cutbacks underway at the moment but the running costs are far beyond just paying players. A category 1 Academy is expensive - which is why Bolton gave up their category onestatus. The Academy was the thing that Jack was most proud about and his real legacy. However, both training complexes at Brockhall employ many people besides what we see in terms of players. Likewise at Ewood, there are many people employed behind the scenes to keep the club running. Indeed, I would classify the club as a major employer in the town when Ewood, Brockhall and the Academy are taken into account. Jack built a large operation which needs to be financed. Sadly, one only has to look around Ewood to see how quickly the place can become somewhat shabby once cutbacks, on even the most basic maintenance, are introduced. Both Preston and Burnley don't run Under-23 teams in a competitive league whilst Bolton have opted to drop out of the elite divisions of Under-18 and Under-23 football. Sadly, any new owner is going to face some painful choices unless they have unlimited funds. Bringing this back on topic, I thought that yesterday showed just how threadbare the squad really is and certainly isn't strong enough to cope with injuries. The last three Under-23 games have also illustrated some obvious weaknesses with one or two lads struggling for form at that level and looking some way off being ready for the Championship, particularly as they would be coming into a team that is struggling for results.

The number has been £2m for some time now and, like our debt, never seems to get any lower.

We can't have many high earners left on the books so why is it still £2m?

[JAL]

Difficult to say. Two seasons ago Nyambe looked destined for great things. Last season he struggled in the Under-21 team and this season his form has returned and he looks very good. Similar with Jack Doyle - although an injury last season really disrupted his progress and Josh Askew jumped ahead of him. Now Doyle his playing better than ever and Askew, who is younger, has been loaned out to gain more experience. Young players have dips in form all the time from my experience of watching the second string although I'm sure contract issues must be at the back of his mind somewhere.

Is it me or are there far more scouts at the games these days. How's Tre Pemberton doing this season ?