[Archived] Transfers Part 3

[Bigdoggsteel]

10 minutes ago, tomphil said:

If and it's a big if we have this squad or very similar the day after the window shuts then we don't want any Meh, should do betters it's not good enough we had all that in the champ and it only leads one way.

In all seriousness, It's Champions or failure imo. Simple as that. Although promotion would be acceptable I feel we need a really positive season this year, on which we can build the following season.  

[neophox]

Would like to see us Do what Newcastle and Southampton Done before. Have a terrific season in league one. Breed Young players in to the team and then push on in championship!

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, neophox said:

Would like to see us Do what Newcastle and Southampton Done before. Have a terrific season in league one. Breed Young players in to the team and then push on in championship!

When were Newcastle in League 1? Forgot about that

A few teams have used it to bounce back;Leicester and of course Man city, although they both got some help after a certain point 

[neophox]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

When were Newcastle in League 1? Forgot about that

A few teams have used it to bounce back;Leicester and of course Man city, although they both got some help after a certain point 

Some years ago mate..

[TBTF]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Will you be happier if the balloon is popped, or not popped? 

Not popped obviously but 7 years with this lot consistently tell you they say things one day and do something entirely different the next. Its all bullsh1t I'm afraid and the balloon with these d1ckheads has popped once to often for me and will continue popping for those that keep seeing the positives for as long as these morons are in our club

[TBTF]

11 minutes ago, neophox said:

Would like to see us Do what Newcastle and Southampton Done before. Have a terrific season in league one. Breed Young players in to the team and then push on in championship!

Jesus wouldn't we all???  I somehow think you have been in a coma for 7 years expecting that to happen in Club as shambolic as ours. Both of those were starting from a reasonable base .We are scratching around in a cesspool.of £130million of debt trying to get out with a straw. Still, if you feel the warmth of optimism then good luck to you .I would be delighted to eat my words.

[tomphil]

32 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

In all seriousness, It's Champions or failure imo. Simple as that. Although promotion would be acceptable I feel we need a really positive season this year, on which we can build the following season.  

Champions would be great and it would be a shot in the arm the whole club needs and certainly the fans who deserve it more than anybody.

Right now though i'd take 2nd place by 1 point on last game of season, remember this is Rovers and they have never done anything in comfortable fashion regardless of who is gaffer, ask Kenny

[Bigdoggsteel]

19 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Champions would be great and it would be a shot in the arm the whole club needs and certainly the fans who deserve it more than anybody.

Right now though i'd take 2nd place by 1 point on last game of season, remember this is Rovers and they have never done anything in comfortable fashion regardless of who is gaffer, ask Kenny

Watching the DVD of that run in still makes me worried and nervous  

[roverandout]

2 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

Good job you weren't passing judgement on Howard Kendall after ten games - you would certainly have had him down the road and missed out on one of our more successful managers.

Why do u always hark back to the 70s and beyond?

[Mercer]

2 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

Ultimately, you are signing players to get you out of this division and the ones we have signed seem to be the sort who will be decent at this level.  Lee and Kendall both signed players who would have had some on here up in arms about their quality and yet both managers fashioned teams that won promotion.

 

Rovers line up at Bury on that not to be forgotten promotion night was:

Butcher / Branagan, Keeley, Fazackerley, Rathbone / Brotherston, Kendall, McKenzie, Parkes / Garner, Crawford

There was some real quality and steel there with three having plied their trade in the PL equivalent and seven others who were very successful Championship equivalent players. 

Of our existing team, I would only expect Raya (we know Butcher was calamitous), Mulgrew and Graham to have got anywhere near that team which clinched promotion at Bury.

Oh for a team of such quality now.

[McClarky]

And Butcher was in because Arnold was injured wasn't he and he was a superb keeper. What a team, WHAT A BACK 4.

[Speedie Dived]

1 hour ago, neophox said:

Would like to see us Do what Newcastle and Southampton Done before. Have a terrific season in league one. Breed Young players in to the team and then push on in championship!

Talked to pals for a few years, we will hit a level soon when the kids are good enough, probably there now.

Would have taken a punt on Ripley, as he is a very good goalie with ridiculous distribution and better than Raya as it stands. But get that Mowbray might want to invest in other areas and trust Raya. Just got a feeling we have let one slip through our fingers.

A lot is resting on Whittingham's shoulders this year, if he fires we will be fine.

[Mercer]

Just now, McClarky said:

And Butcher was in because Arnold was injured wasn't he and he was a superb keeper. What a team, WHAT A BACK 4.

Yep you are right - just threw in the starting eleven at Bury.

Jim Arnold was a class act and Kendall 'stole' him from Stafford Rangers.  Would place him in my group of notable goalkeepers Rovers have had including Roger Jones, Terry Gennoe, Tim Flowers, and Brad Friedel.

Was a great back four, all as hard as nails.  Superb mix in midfield with Kendall's sheer class, mercurial skills of McKenzie and Brotherston and the craft and guile of Parkes.  That season was the beginning for Simon Garner whilst Crawford scored goals for fun at that level.  Like you said, what a team. 

[Parsonblue]

38 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Rovers line up at Bury on that not to be forgotten promotion night was:

Butcher / Branagan, Keeley, Fazackerley, Rathbone / Brotherston, Kendall, McKenzie, Parkes / Garner, Crawford

There was some real quality and steel there with three having plied their trade in the PL equivalent and seven others who were very successful Championship equivalent players. 

Of our existing team, I would only expect Raya (we know Butcher was calamitous), Mulgrew and Graham to have got anywhere near that team which clinched promotion at Bury.

Oh for a team of such quality now.

Both Crawford and Branagan came from reserve team football . Brotherston was a Tottenham reserve when he signed and Rathbone was largely a Birmingham City reserve.  Keeley had been consigned to Newcastle's second string and was a disaster when he first arrived.  Arnold, the regular first choice keeper, was signed from non-League football and had never played a League game, despite approaching 30, before his arrival at Ewood.  Yet, Kendall managed to harness them into a team that was outstanding despite being in the bottom half - and at one point around the relegation zone - until well into the second half of the season.  It was Smith and then Kendall who took players that other clubs didn't want and turned them into an exciting and ultimately successful team.  Good managers spot something in a player that others seem to miss and then mould them together into a unit that works.  Hopefully, Mowbray can do the same with the players he has brought in this summer.    

[blueboy3333]

7 hours ago, Dunnfc said:

Good signing? Have you watched him play? This is a guy who could not dislodge Jason Steele.

You should only sign players to improve the squad, this window has been a bit of a farce in that respect tbf.

Dry your eyes kid, it's been an excellent window. Dross shifted out , quality brought in.

[Athlete]

12 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Dry your eyes kid, it's been an excellent window. Dross shifted out , quality brought in.

Roque santa Cruz Bellamy Shearer  etc etc = quality ............not the dross now

[Speedie Dived]

14 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Dry your eyes kid, it's been an excellent window. Dross shifted out , quality brought in.

The point makes sense though, We have just replaced a much maligned goalie, with a goalie who couldn't dislodge him.

I am not captain negative, but we have bought a boat load of league one players.

[Baz]

I still think we are at least 1 striker light, and could do with some pace on the wing too.

I heard Noel Hunt is on trial at Wigan, haven't seen much of him to be honest, worth a look or avoid?

[Giant]

Stokes signs for Hibs, they love him there.

[blueboy3333]

23 minutes ago, Speedie Dived said:

The point makes sense though, We have just replaced a much maligned goalie, with a goalie who couldn't dislodge him.

I am not captain negative, but we have bought a boat load of league one players.

It doesn't make sense. DunnFC hasn't seen the new keeper play. His wider point was the window as a whole has been a farce. Which, again, is nonsense.

[blueboy3333]

29 minutes ago, Athlete said:

Roque santa Cruz Bellamy Shearer  etc etc = quality ............not the dross now

Quality for the league we are in. We are not in the Prem anymore.

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, meadows said:

The posts about the comparative lack of fitness in those days make me laugh Parson. Was there ever a fitter player than Rathbone? Kendall was still a magnificent specimen of a footballer. Nobody on the books was as regularly absent as the like of Mulgrew, Graham, Guthrie & Evans

That side won three games on Easter Friday, Saturday & Monday all by 1-0. The one sub allowed was used once for 18 minutes! 

 

I think the real misconception is that modern players are fitter because they are (undoubtedly) quicker which makes for a faster game but I don't believe that their general fitness was any better or worse. In 1995 I became a football league referee and it was just before the advent of conditioning coaches, sports scientists and nutritionists. I saw at first hand the game getting quicker with the influence of the aforementioned but in my opinion the general fitness levels were just as good.

[Cherry Blue]

Arsenal striker Stephy Mavididi on loan??

[Crimpshrine]

From BBC sport website:

Paris St-Germain are reportedly ready to pay £199m for Barcelona forward Neymar.

That's £199m for one player. Just let that sink in.

 

Rovers have thrown £130m down the toilet and lost all their decent players. Just let that sink in.

[arbitro]

1 minute ago, meadows said:

And far more resilient. Was watching the old Big Match programmes from 40 years ago on BT Sport they really are an education

One of the things that made Cruyff, Best, Pele etc so great was their ability to ride highly physical treatment - a different dimension of fitness in its own right in my view

Notably, it's something that sets Messi apart from so many of his contemporaries. 

There is a slight case for arguing that the proliferation of overseas players has seen more quality home grown players ply their trade below the PL but with the size of squads & 18-man match line-ups in the PL and Championship I firmly believe that what's left for the 3rd tier now is pretty similar to the standard 30-40 years ago. 

Rovers were privileged in that side to have international class players such as Brotherston, McKenzie and Kendall, who, while he never won a cap, would certainly have done so in spades in most decades since

 I'd even argue that his level of performance in his two seasons at Ewood in his mid 30s were good enough to have seen him selected ahead of , say, Jonjo Shelvey at the peak of his powers. 

Significantly, the Grimsby side which pipped us to the title in 1980 was an even less glamorous assemblage of journeymen put together by a canny manager. 

 

I spent an afternoon in a professional capacity with Kenny Hibbitt (ex Wolves, Birmingham and others) and he was irked by the nanny state which is modern football. He scoffed at squad rotation saying that no player he ever played with wanted to miss any games and if they were left out would be knocking the managers door down. He laughed at hamstring injuries saying he wouldn't have known where his was when he played. It was quite enlightening.