[Archived] So, what signings do we need in January?

[Tugay's Right Foot]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Yes you're right, although I think Payne has more of a goal threat. . I was thinking of any one of them, not both together. Along with other people on here I'm warming to Dack now he's showing us what he can do on a regular basis. I'm thinking what if he gets injured  ? We'd be stuck then , I suppose Gladwin is the nearest thing we've got to him. 

I was thinking Bryne can play with Smallwood, with Payne and Dack ahead of the midfield, or one of the three taking a rest sometime. Anyhow, this is all pure fantasy. Their teams won't sell to us.

[Bigdoggsteel]

17 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I'd offer Nuttall a contract. I'd be looking for a winger to replace Antonnson if at all possible. Apart from the goals he's not contributed a great deal.  I wouldn't be rushing to sign Chapman until I was completely sure he'd recovered from that injury. Take a yard of pace off him and what have you got ? A younger version of Conway I suspect. I'd hold fire on Downing also, he's done nothing wrong at all but if we do get promoted will he be good enough ?

We need some real pace up front, especially wide out. If I could only fill one position that would be it. That Mendez Laing who went to Cardiff would have been a good signing in that respect.

The goals are a pretty big deal though, no? 

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Did Mendez Laing before he went to cardiff. 

I do like Antonsson out wide tbh. 

Maybe look at Josh Morris if we want a left winger. 

Would be looking at Devante Cole, a striker from Fleetwood. Has pace and score goals. 

Do we need another striker? We have Samuel, Nutall, Antonnsson and Graham who can all play there. We play one upfront. Would he come here to be 1 of 5? I would prefer a winger and back up fro Smallwood to be honest. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 hours ago, RV Blue said:

We need a proper midfielder with a bit of creativity to go next to Smallwood. Whittingham isn't good enough, neither is a Evans, and Harper is a 17 year old kid. A new left back is also needed, Leigh from Bury might be worth a shout, he's very highly rated by Bury fans.

I was waiting for someone to make this suggestion. I completely disagree. Whittingham and Evans are good, solid players for this level and will only improve as the season goes on. The 3 behind the striker need to bring the creativity. 

[rigger]

New owners!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

The goals are a pretty big deal though, no? 

Definitely, nearly all of them have come at critical points in games. None of them have been " wasted " so to speak. If he keeps popping up with more he'll be hard to leave out. I'd still like a winger brought in though. Two reasons really - he only seems to last the hour and teams will eventually sus out where he plays and how to deal with him.

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Definitely, nearly all of them have come at critical points in games. None of them have been " wasted " so to speak. If he keeps popping up with more he'll be hard to leave out. I'd still like a winger brought in though. Two reasons really - he only seems to last the hour and teams will eventually sus out where he plays and how to deal with him.

Mowbray said he covers the most ground per game of all our players, so he is working hard. If he keeps working hard and scoring goals , you are right, he will be hard to leave out. I do get your point that someone like Chapman is more threatening on the ball, but Antonnsson has something upstairs that means he keeps putting himself in good positions and looks to be a pretty good finisher off both feet and with his head. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with 15-20 goals. Would you? 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Mowbray said he covers the most ground per game of all our players, so he is working hard. If he keeps working hard and scoring goals , you are right, he will be hard to leave out. I do get your point that someone like Chapman is more threatening on the ball, but Antonnsson has something upstairs that means he keeps putting himself in good positions and looks to be a pretty good finisher off both feet and with his head. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with 15-20 goals. Would you? 

If he carries on in the same vein 15-20 goals is possible. I can't knock his finishing, he looks to be very two footed which I really like and pretty assured in front of goal.

[RV Blue]

52 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I was waiting for someone to make this suggestion. I completely disagree. Whittingham and Evans are good, solid players for this level and will only improve as the season goes on. The 3 behind the striker need to bring the creativity. 

Evans is nowhere near good enough, he's a waste of a wage and I would release him tomorrow if we didn't have to pay him up. Whittingham doesn't do enough with the ball to be a liability defensively.

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

If he carries on in the same vein 15-20 goals is possible. I can't knock his finishing, he looks to be very two footed which I really like and pretty assured in front of goal.

He strikes me as a player who is very irritating to mark. Not exceptionally fast , not that strong. I would imagine defenders think they have the measure of him, but he just keeps going , buzzing around and getting in around them and in front of them. I would say Dack is even more annoying for defenders though, because he has a bit of bite in him and is surprisingly strong on the ball. I can't knock steady Eddie Bennett either, because teams always need players like him. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Evans is nowhere near good enough, he's a waste of a wage and I would release him tomorrow if we didn't have to pay him up. Whittingham doesn't do enough with the ball to be a liability defensively.

Fair enough 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Evans is nowhere near good enough, he's a waste of a wage and I would release him tomorrow if we didn't have to pay him up. Whittingham doesn't do enough with the ball to be a liability defensively.

I can't argue with any of that but we are stuck with them for now.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

He strikes me as a player who is very irritating to mark. Not exceptionally fast , not that strong. I would imagine defenders think they have the measure of him, but he just keeps going , buzzing around and getting in around them and in front of them. I would say Dack is even more annoying for Defenders though, because he has a bit of bite in him and is surprisingly strong on the ball. I can't knock steady Eddie Bennett either, because teams always need players like him. 

Yeah I've played against players like that. You think " what's this guy got ? "  They lull you into a false sense of security. Then you start giving them just a little bit too much room and ' bang ' - they show you they can finish.

[JBiz]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Evans is nowhere near good enough, he's a waste of a wage and I would release him tomorrow if we didn't have to pay him up. Whittingham doesn't do enough with the ball to be a liability defensively.

I’m sorry but this is just nonsense. Firstly, the full international Evans has pro’s and con’s, for example prior to his injury on Tuesday he supported our team’s high press, and in your face midfield. That’s also 1 example! Ofcourse there are things he could/should be criticised for but I’m embarrassed that you’d suggest releasing him on a whim.

As for probably our best passer of the ball atm, “doesn’t do enough with the ball”... I’d love you to explain that one.

Simply writing players off, suggesting you’d “release” them... it’s like reading the rants of a child. I have baited breath to see what the next thing you will describe as “the worst *insert player, manager performance* you’ve ever seen”

Prediction - the last 20 minutes if we fail to score more than 5 on Saturday.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Evans would be a decent player if he wasn't injured most of the time. He must be on at least twice what Smallwood, who plays every games, is on.

[RV Blue]

5 minutes ago, Biz said:

I’m sorry but this is just nonsense. Firstly, the full international Evans has pro’s and con’s, for example prior to his injury on Tuesday he supported our team’s high press, and in your face midfield. That’s also 1 example! Ofcourse there are things he could/should be criticised for but I’m embarrassed that you’d suggest releasing him on a whim.

As for probably our best passer of the ball atm, “doesn’t do enough with the ball”... I’d love you to explain that one.

Simply writing players off, suggesting you’d “release” them... it’s like reading the rants of a child. I have baited breath to see what the next thing you will describe as “the worst *insert player, manager performance* you’ve ever seen”

Prediction - the last 20 minutes if we fail to score more than 5 on Saturday.

 

Firstly, he's injured most of the time (we still pay him when he's injured). Secondly, he's shite, I don't care if he can get in the Northern Ireland team, I have seen him play for years and he simply isn't good enough.

Whittingham might be able to put it on a postage stamp, that doesn't mean he does a lot when he's on the pitch. He needs lots of space to be able to pick out a teammate and he doesn't show for the ball when a teammate is in trouble. He isn't good enough to be man marked, but if he was, he'd be taken out of the game completely, that's the sign of a player  that isn't good enough.

How is saying that you would want to get a player off the books childish? 

[Gav]

Unless an absolute gem becomes available in January I'd bring nobody in if Mowbray thinks we're covered in most areas. January is a terrible window to horse trade, especially when you're skint, and its open season for unscrupulous agents and players to leach off the club, upset the apple cart, stick with what we've got.

 

[Dreams of 1995]

Evans has been a perpetual disappointment during his time at Rovers, with both his injury record and performances. He has had a couple of good runs but they inevitably end up being cut short with an injury. I wouldn't release him as I think we could command a fee for him but I certainly wouldn't be looking at retaining him for another year in the Championship. I still think he has something to offer this season too - he had a good first half against Oxford and has shown glimpses of quality in other fixtures.

 

 

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

40 minutes ago, RV Blue said:

Firstly, he's injured most of the time (we still pay him when he's injured). Secondly, he's shite, I don't care if he can get in the Northern Ireland team, I have seen him play for years and he simply isn't good enough.

Whittingham might be able to put it on a postage stamp, that doesn't mean he does a lot when he's on the pitch. He needs lots of space to be able to pick out a teammate and he doesn't show for the ball when a teammate is in trouble. He isn't good enough to be man marked, but if he was, he'd be taken out of the game completely, that's the sign of a player  that isn't good enough.

How is saying that you would want to get a player off the books childish? 

Would you replace him first?

If yes, with who out of interest? 

[RV Blue]

29 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Would you replace him first?

If yes, with who out of interest? 

I believe both Hardcastle and Tomlinson will do at least as good a job as Evans.

[tomphil]

Evans when fit should be absolutely head and shoulders above most in this division in his position but i'm not sure he is. Problem with him is there's never really any momentum builds up because he's in and out all the time and always has been owing to his fitness issues and the way it always seems to be tailored for the internationals where he gets fit, gets rested and misses games before then gets rested when he comes back and misses more.

Always impressed with him for Ireland but less so for Rovers although he's a deep sitting defensive mid who does a lot of tip tapping about and doesn't get noticed, maybe that's him doing his job and it's a good thing. Him and Smallwood seem ok together, Whittingham brings something different on the ball but he also weakens the defensive side of it so it's catch 22.

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Evans when fit should be absolutely head and shoulders above most in this division in his position but i'm not sure he is. Problem with him is there's never really any momentum builds up because he's in and out all the time and always has been owing to his fitness issues and the way it always seems to be tailored for the internationals where he gets fit, gets rested and misses games before then gets rested when he comes back and misses more.

Always impressed with him for Northern Ireland but less so for Rovers although he's a deep sitting defensive mid who does a lot of tip tapping about and doesn't get noticed, maybe that's him doing his job and it's a good thing. Him and Smallwood seem ok together, Whittingham brings something different on the ball but he also weakens the defensive side of it so it's catch 22.

 

Fixed that for you there. 

Ya, he has never gotten momentum going. He is only 27 though, so maybe there is still time. Although when players do look injury prone, it usually doesn't just go away. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

57 minutes ago, RV Blue said:

I believe both Hardcastle and Tomlinson will do at least as good a job as Evans.

I thought Tomlinson would get more time myself, although I have read he has some personal issues this season. I don't know much about Hardcastle to be honest. 

So anyway, your point is you would just release Evans and play one of them. A bit rash, no? 

[tomphil]

2 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Fixed that for you there. 

Ya, he has never gotten momentum going. He is only 27 though, so maybe there is still time. Although when players do look injury prone, it usually doesn't just go away. 

There was some talk of him having a persistent problem that has to be managed so presumably it can't be fixed so he'll never get any momentum going sadly I don't think.

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 minutes ago, tomphil said:

There was some talk of him having a persistent problem that has to be managed so presumably it can't be fixed so he'll never get any momentum going sadly I don't think.

Mmm. This is actually his best run with us that I can remember. Touch wood.