Ben Brereton Diaz

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Miller11 said:

What I wouldn’t give for a Super Atko in midfield now.

                            Mimms

May             Moran          Hendry       Wright

Price            Atkins          Cowans      Sellars

                    Newell          Speedie

Would any of our current crop make the team over anyone who played in that Playoff final? Not for me.

 

A team with the correct balance put together on modest investment to specifically do one job, oh for the days.. ?

Mind you the right side has a modern slant with a young centre back at RB and an experienced RB at right wing.... But if they are good enough to do it it'll work.  Today that would see Price on the left to come in on his right foot, Newell on the right because he runs up and down all day long and Speedie on the bench with probably Sellars up top on his own !!!!

I'm not joking either.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

A team with the correct balance put together on modest investment to specifically do one job, oh for the days.. ?

Mind you the right side has a modern slant with a young centre back at RB and an experienced RB at right wing.... But if they are good enough to do it it'll work.  Today that would see Price on the left to come in on his right foot, Newell on the right because he runs up and down all day long and Speedie on the bench with probably Sellars up top on his own !!!!

I'm not joking either.

Sellars would definitely be on the right wing , coming inside all the time.

[tomphil]

50 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Sellars would definitely be on the right wing , coming inside all the time.

Not under a gaffer who tends to put the least suited to his tactics up front when the only man suited to it isn't playing.

[lraC]

18 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

‘Super Atko’ began as a pisstake, but promotion season onwards it became a positive chant!

Atko was a typical example of someone who was dragged up by his shoe laces to a much better standard, due to the players around him. Very limited, but a tryer and looked good with quality everywhere else.

[Rogerb]

2 hours ago, lraC said:

Atko was a typical example of someone who was dragged up by his shoe laces to a much better standard, due to the players around him. Very limited, but a tryer and looked good with quality everywhere else.

Atko was Rovers Didier Deschamps the water carrier.

[Stuart]

9 hours ago, Miller11 said:

What I wouldn’t give for a Super Atko in midfield now.

                            Mimms

May             Moran          Hendry       Wright

Price            Atkins          Cowans      Sellars

                    Newell          Speedie

Would any of our current crop make the team over anyone who played in that Playoff final? Not for me.

 

 

7 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Same with 2001.

Both built on solid defences and wide men.

And a fella (or two) who knows where the goal is.

Would love to see someone break the mould and re-fashion a 4-4-2 side and scare the shit out of teams!

[Miller11]

Just now, Stuart said:

 

Both built on solid defences and wide men.

And a fella (or two) who knows where the goal is.

Would love to see someone break the mould and re-fashion a 4-4-2 side and scare the shit out of teams!

Nobody told Leicester 4-4-2 was dead when they won the Prem

[chaddyrovers]

12 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Nobody told Leicester 4-4-2 was dead when they won the Prem

true but I thought Leicester since Rodgers have been very good to watch and playing some attractive football

I wonder how many teams in England actually play 4-4-2 now. I think of Sheffield Wednesday under Monk(Played against Boro). Howe under Bournemouth. I'm unsure what many league 1 and 2 teams play nowadays

[Atko's Engine]

8 hours ago, tomphil said:

A team with the correct balance put together on modest investment to specifically do one job, oh for the days.. ?

Newell cost us £1m didn't he? How much would that approximate to in today's crazy market? £15m upwards I'd say, so perhaps not that modest...

Nice to see some respect for the Atko though... ?

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Atko's Engine said:

Newell cost us £1m didn't he? How much would that approximate to in today's crazy market? £15m upwards I'd say, so perhaps not that modest...

Nice to see some respect for the Atko though... ?

So if TM had spent that 12 million on an actual decent champ striker ?

The main point is if you have money to spend then use it properly in the right areas and build around a good keeper and defence. If you already have one who can put it in the onion bag regularly then get proper back up for when he's out.

All that team started with Mimms it was imperative we get a good keeper alongside a rugged defender, a full back and a lump up front.  All disgarded when the upgrade continued, obviously we can't do that now but it all started with the basics the bedrock and cornerstones of keeper, centre defence and striker.

Kenny had money true but he followed at plan still.

[47er]

7 hours ago, lraC said:

Atko was a typical example of someone who was dragged up by his shoe laces to a much better standard, due to the players around him. Very limited, but a tryer and looked good with quality everywhere else.

Always under-rated. Anyone remember that game at White Hart lane in the season we finished 6th under Hughes? Our entire mid-field was out injured and the two central mid-fielders

were Atko and that tough guy we signed from Plymouth (?). No-one gave us a chance.

They absolutely ran Spurs ragged, we won 2-1 I think and I'll never forget that sweet through ball from Atko that led directly to our 2nd goal. Worthy of Duggie!

I've got this on DVD, must try and find it, need to remember happier Rovers times at the moment to keep me going!

[Miller11]

Just now, 47er said:

Always under-rated. Anyone remember that game at White Hart lane in the season we finished 6th under Hughes? Our entire mid-field was out injured and the two central mid-fielders

were Atko and that tough guy we signed from Plymouth (?). No-one gave us a chance.

They absolutely ran Spurs ragged, we won 2-1 I think and I'll never forget that sweet through ball from Atko that led directly to our 2nd goal. Worthy of Duggie!

I've got this on DVD, must try and find it, need to remember happier Rovers times at the moment to keep me going!

Nicky Marker!

[Exiled in Toronto]

4 hours ago, Atko's Engine said:

Newell cost us £1m didn't he? How much would that approximate to in today's crazy market? £15m upwards I'd say, so perhaps not that modest...

Nice to see some respect for the Atko though... ?

We bought Newell and Speedie, both proven top division strikers, from Everton and Liverpool for a combined £1.5 million. That’s just under half the British record fee we paid for Shearer just 12 months later. The equivalent today I’d suggest would be more like £40 million if not higher. In fact it would be impossible today to do that. No-one else was spending remotely that kind of money in the old Div 2 and without them I don’t think we’d have been anything above mid-table. Even with just Newell out we tanked in the run-in.

[Mattyblue]

Worth tanking for that win at Wembley... though didn’t feel like it when Derby went 2-0 up in the first leg of the play off semi!

[Miller11]

@Exiled in Toronto Don’t forget Derby were pretty free spending that season too. 

[tomphil]

Now i'm not saying it's easy but if you have the ambition you are half way there, with the money Mowbray has spent and some of the wages we still throw round anyway i don't think it's beyond unreasonable to assume they could have sourced a good striker on loan and invested properly in defence and keeper.

BB, Gallagher, Downings contract and the loan fee etc of the City kid is what ... c 15 million right there.

They have shown they have good days hopefully to outweigh the bad but defence still consists of a loaned in keeper, someone converted a few seasons ago, a newly converted LB, a loanee and a midfield utility man.

The same things will continue to bite us on the arse this season that's obvious and next season or even before the end of this it could be all change again, that's part of our problem.

[Amo]

9 hours ago, 47er said:

Always under-rated. Anyone remember that game at White Hart lane in the season we finished 6th under Hughes? Our entire mid-field was out injured and the two central mid-fielders

were Atko and that tough guy we signed from Plymouth (?). No-one gave us a chance. 

Getting a bit muddled there. We did beat Spurs 2-1 away in the season we finished 7th under Sparky, but he wasn't manager for another ten years after the game you're talking about.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Amo

[47er]

You're quite right, thinking about it, Hughes couldn't have been manager with Marker/ Atko in the side because Super Atko was sold to Wolves before Hughes joined us as a player.

So I've ballsed up the time line alright but remembered the game alright! Getting old! Now where's that video?

(And I still love Super Atko!)

[Miller11]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

You're quite right, thinking about it, Hughes couldn't have been manager with Marker/ Atko in the side because Super Atko was sold to Wolves before Hughes joined us as a player.

So I've ballsed up the time line alright but remembered the game alright! Getting old! Now where's that video?

(And I still love Super Atko!)

Not sure if I’m exactly right, but I think you are thinking of a game at Ewood where Marker scored? I think it was round Christmas in the season after we won the league.

[MCMC1875]

2 hours ago, Miller11 said:

@Exiled in Toronto Don’t forget Derby were pretty free spending that season too. 

Courtesy of Lionel Pickering but he blew it, as did Jack Hayward at Wolves.

[MCMC1875]

Just now, Miller11 said:

Not sure if I’m exactly right, but I think you are thinking of a game at Ewood where Marker scored? I think it was round Christmas in the season after we won the league.

Atkins left Rovers in 95.

Marker left Rovers in 97.

[MarkBRFC]

3 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Not sure if I’m exactly right, but I think you are thinking of a game at Ewood where Marker scored? I think it was round Christmas in the season after we won the league.

I think he is thinking of the 2-0 win at WHL in 93-94.

[LDRover]

35 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I think he is thinking of the 2-0 win at WHL in 93-94.

I was there and on the MOTD highlights

[47er]

1 hour ago, Miller11 said:

Not sure if I’m exactly right, but I think you are thinking of a game at Ewood where Marker scored? I think it was round Christmas in the season after we won the league.

I'm not sure I'm entitled to be sure about anything anymore but I'm sure it was away.

 

41 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I think he is thinking of the 2-0 win at WHL in 93-94.

Possibly!

[Amo]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

Possibly!

I think you were remembering this game:

https://www.11v11.com/matches/tottenham-hotspur-v-blackburn-rovers-05-may-1993-21234/