Ben Brereton Diaz

[Dreams of 1995]

I can’t believe what is going on with him! Even in that video clip against Bolivia he still didn’t look like a class footballer but everybody likes him 

I do think that’s the case here too. He hasn’t had half the grief that Gallagher gets lately. Everybody likes the bloke and wants him to succeed. 

Rovers should capitalise on this. They have released some shoddy Chile Brereton t-shirt but we should be trying to flog some Rovers shirts out there 

I hope to see a flood of Chile flags when we are finally allowed in the stadium. Reminiscent of the Turkish following at Tugays last game.....

Good lad Brereton, chuffed for him and hope he presses on and becomes a real £7m player for us 

Mowbray better not tell us he has to re-learn our way of football when he comes back because I will lose my shit 

[LDRover]

46 minutes ago, LordBaltimore said:

I agree that £7 for an unproven player was not a good investment, regardless of what happens now.  

It must be difficult for many of the true Rovers fans here [i just showed up and confess to not being one] to understand the impact BB has had on Chile the country, beyond his just making the team.  There is true "Breretonmania" gripping the nation.  He has somehow, in only 2wks, charmed the pants off of chileans.  I don't recall another chilean player ever making such a sudden impact not just on the team but for fans of the national team.  

If you watch reaction videos, he was being cheered on long before kickoff & scoring his goal.  Fans cheered him & yelled any number of new nicknames he has been given.  Most also trashed/rubbished his team mates for what often looked like diliberately ignoring BB [many whisper how BB is a "threat" for some of the underperforming chilean attackers].  

And Benjamín Antonio Bréreton Díaz's impact is reaching far beyond Chile.  In just 2 games and 1 start ALL OF SOUTH AMÉRICA has taken notice of BB.  Argentines in particular.  They bristle at his....Englishness.  Many hoped he would not score.  They were particularly bothered by that Tweet put out by the Chilean FA's [ANFP] following the 1-1 tie to Argentina that used the Maradona song with changed pro-Bréreton lyrics.  They viwed it as an insult & provocation.  My Chileans also criticized the Tweet for putting unnecessary pressure on BB and the Chilean FA have since apologized.

Here is a screenshot of Chile's national news from lastnight.

Absolutely brilliant!!!

[LordBaltimore]

22 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

I trust Waggott has got on a plane to Chile to sell Rovers shirts and overseas iFollow passes to all these new fans.

I am actually being serious.

Countries like Argentina & especially Brazil have players in almost every league everywhere on earth.  That is not the case for smaller countries.  Chileans love teams where chileans play and will follow them & buy their shirts  At least so long as they continue playing there.

There was a ton of support for Arsenal when Malexis played there.  More than one chilean continues to support them becauae of his stint there.  Not so much Man U but let's not talk about that.....Something similar for Leeds United because of Marcelo Bielsa who transformed Chilean football when he coached the national team back in '07-'11. All Leeds games are broadcast in Chile & Bielsa's native Argentina and Leeds have now developed a strong South American following, at least among Bielsistas.

I can tell you chileans will now follow & cheer for Rovers because of BB.  I am proof of that.  They will want to buy merch.  If Rovers dont have a Spanish-language marketing person they may want to hire a few.

[lraC]

5 minutes ago, LordBaltimore said:

Countries like Argentina & especially Brazil have players in almost every league everywhere on earth.  That is not the case for smaller countries.  Chileans love teams where chileans play and will follow them & buy their shirts  At least so long as they continue playing there.

There was a ton of support for Arsenal when Malexis played there.  More than one chilean continues to support them becauae of his stint there.  Not so much Man U but let's not talk about that.....Something similar for Leeds United because of Marcelo Bielsa who transformed Chilean football when he coached the national team back in '07-'11. All Leeds games are broadcast in Chile & Bielsa's native Argentina and Leeds have now developed a strong South American following, at least among Bielsistas.

I can tell you chileans will now follow & cheer for Rovers because of BB.  I am proof of that.  They will want to buy merch.  If Rovers dont have a Spanish-language marketing person they may want to hire a few.

Happy to volunteer. My Spanish is decent. 

[simongarnerisgod]

looks a lot better player when he`s in a more advanced role,presumably thats why he was bought,imo though he`s in a happier enviroment and with a manager who gives him a defined role,this is a damning indictment on our manager and i would`nt be surprised if ben wants a move away after working under a good coach

[duckson]

32 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

I trust Waggott has got on a plane to Chile to sell Rovers shirts and overseas iFollow passes to all these new fans.

I am actually being serious.

Probably not, no previous season shirts left and the new kit isn’t out till 1st July (probably be 1st September knowing Rovers!!!). 
 

But yes, opportunity to tap a new market! Get Chile down as an option for posting if it isn’t already. 

[briansol]

On 17/06/2021 at 22:21, JacknOry said:

Hardly adds up to 12 million though does it? 4 mil tops.

It was clear the ex Shrewsbury boss was out of his depth anyway. Buying up a team of L1 players - which surprisingly got relegated to L1. 

Think the original point was that we could have got 10 players for both BB and SG which could have proved better value in the end. Would not be be happy with 8 of those coming from a lower league than the club was in.

Fair point. I would probably estimate it to be more in the 5-6 mill region given Joe Nolan, Nsiala, Kayden Jackson fetched quite decent fees at the time.

Not arguing that the 12 mill was poor use of funds. Still a 10 player tombola is a large gamble on the wage budget. You would also pay sign-on fees, as well as riddance money for those who doesn't work out. 

Still it's just nitpicking, we all agree that the 12 mill should've been better spend on strengthening the squad with more than two players and in more positions.

[briansol]

19 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

looks a lot better player when he`s in a more advanced role,presumably thats why he was bought,imo though he`s in a happier enviroment and with a manager who gives him a defined role,this is a damning indictment on our manager and i would`nt be surprised if ben wants a move away after working under a good coach

Watched the whole game, and Ben played as left forward/winger in the same position that he's played this season. Spent the second half mostly tracking back and helping the full-back. 

Looked a real handful in the first half, and could've several goals if the team mates had not been so selfish. 

[Mike E]

13 hours ago, Wood26 said:

It’s not your money. Or mine. And it wasn’t out of our budget for that season. It was the owners, taking a gamble with their money on an investment. Why fans like you get so up tight about billionaire Indians spending their cash I will never know.

There wasnt 7 million available to buy 2/3 players. We had a separate budget for that. They saw a chance to invest and took it. It’s really not rocket science.

You've got mixed up with the Jordan Rhodes £7-8m, which was a Balaji Rao project.

[AspRover]

Honestly my read on Ben is that it was stupid to spend that much money on him, particularly when we did with so many other areas that needed strengthening, he hasn't looked like he was going to justify the fee for most of the time he has been here and we are extremely lucky that he's had this opportunity and that it may well both help him kick on and increase his value long term should we ever sell him.

I also think, putting the transfer fee to one side, that he has shown consistent improvement, that improvement seems to be gathering pace and that he is now showing most of the attributes of a competent championship striker who will continue to improve. I like him and genuinely think he has a good chance of reaching double figures in goals next season if he plays regularly, and competent championship strikers who get into double figures are worth a few million these days, young guys with international caps more so. What's he worth now in todays market? £5m? If he has a decent season and we sort his contract out then more? lots of ifs I know, but still. 

There seem to be a lot of people who are either 'he isn't worth what we paid so he's rubbish' or 'I think he's decent so lets write off the fee' - I don't think that being optimistic about him as a player going forward and angry about the money spent on him looking back are at all mutually exclusive. 

[LordBaltimore]

This is a bit embarassing.  Some people are taking their new Breretonmanía too far:

 

'Breretonismo' - Chile fans create religious cult in honour of Blackburn Rovers ace Ben Brereton

https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackburn-rovers-brereton-chile-breretonismo-20857253

Edited June 20, 2021 by LordBaltimore

[JacknOry]

7 hours ago, AspRover said:

Honestly my read on Ben is that it was stupid to spend that much money on him, particularly when we did with so many other areas that needed strengthening, he hasn't looked like he was going to justify the fee for most of the time he has been here and we are extremely lucky that he's had this opportunity and that it may well both help him kick on and increase his value long term should we ever sell him.

I also think, putting the transfer fee to one side, that he has shown consistent improvement, that improvement seems to be gathering pace and that he is now showing most of the attributes of a competent championship striker who will continue to improve. I like him and genuinely think he has a good chance of reaching double figures in goals next season if he plays regularly, and competent championship strikers who get into double figures are worth a few million these days, young guys with international caps more so. What's he worth now in todays market? £5m? If he has a decent season and we sort his contract out then more? lots of ifs I know, but still. 

There seem to be a lot of people who are either 'he isn't worth what we paid so he's rubbish' or 'I think he's decent so lets write off the fee' - I don't think that being optimistic about him as a player going forward and angry about the money spent on him looking back are at all mutually exclusive. 

5 Mil? You having a laugh. On his Championship exploits no way. That said, he keeps banging them in for Chile against Peru, Bolivia, and Porto ricko, he might up his worth. 

Look i love the lad and this must be amazing for him - really hope he comes back a top championship player. But these people now piping up that this justifies us paying 7 million quid for him need to take a step back.

[AspRover]

I mean I specifically said in the post you quoted that I don't think he has justified the 7m, and the 5m was hypothetical about what another team might think he was worth now as a 22 year old full international. I feel like you've quoted my post, told me I'm dreaming and then agreed with everything I said?

[tomphil]

Main issue with him for most was the spending of that dosh on one young gamble when we were screaming out for other positions. Many managers would have built a play off challenge on the money spewed on him and Gallagher.

I don't believe it was a special pot set aside just for a player like that for one min. It was just money they'd made available after promotion when they got excited again briefly. Mowbray and his gang as is their dumbing down way didn't want to spend it on a promotion tilt. They advised investing in a young player with potential double your money resale value once they'd worked their magic.

Vs as usual fell for it, all the evidence is out there from all the interviews etc around the time. There are no special pots of money here just the owners giving the nod to spend a bit more when the mood takes them.

Not now or ever has he looked like a 7 million pound whizz kid even in this era of daft prices. He's a 2 or 3 million punt all day long but maybe just maybe if he continues to show the right attitude he'll give us some bang for the buck.

[rigger]

I don't want Rovers to sell Ben at any price, that we are likely to be offered. What I want is Ben to be a success at the Rovers.

Edited June 20, 2021 by rigger

[47er]

11 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

I trust Waggott has got on a plane to Chile to sell Rovers shirts and overseas iFollow passes to all these new fans.

I am actually being serious.

I'd prefer him to get on a plane to Chile to sell Brereton! Our best chance of getting £7M back is now!

[AllRoverAsia]

3 minutes ago, 47er said:

I'd prefer him to get on a plane to Chile to sell Brereton! Our best chance of getting £7M back is now!

Book the flight ASAP. A day is a long time in football.

[PotterLog]

Several of his teammates (Vargas, Vidal, Medel etc) are in big trouble tonight for breaching Covid regs by inviting someone into the camp. Supposedly a hairdresser but the suspicion is it was more than that. There’s talk of suspensions and fines… the Chilean public have really had enough of this generation of decadent dickhead “superstars” and they want them kicked off the team. They want a new generation, which is partly why they’ve taken to shy, floppy-haired, tattoo-less Ben so warmly.

Big Ben not involved in the shenanigans, which will only serve to enhance his already angelic reputation. 😇🙂

[J*B]

8 hours ago, PotterLog said:

Several of his teammates (Vargas, Vidal, Medel etc) are in big trouble tonight for breaching Covid regs by inviting someone into the camp. Supposedly a hairdresser but the suspicion is it was more than that. There’s talk of suspensions and fines… the Chilean public have really had enough of this generation of decadent dickhead “superstars” and they want them kicked off the team. They want a new generation, which is partly why they’ve taken to shy, floppy-haired, tattoo-less Ben so warmly.

Big Ben not involved in the shenanigans, which will only serve to enhance his already angelic reputation. 😇🙂

Captain Diaz!

[bigbrandjohn]

“First up on his return to England will be Spanish lessons, but while unable to speak the language, Brereton’s infectious energy has seen the team, as well as the country, welcome him in as one of their own, and not been a barrier to showing his promise on the pitch.”

Second up, his agent will be knocking on Tony’s door and it won’t be with a Lemon Drizzle cake. 

[rigger]

I thought Ben was OK in the first half, and took his goal well. The second half, although he showed plenty of effort and willingness to run, for me the game seemed to pass him by. This may have been due to lack of communication, leading to few passes, coming his way. I hope that he perseveres and continues to improve, I am sure that the experiance will do him and hopefully the Rovers nothing but good.

[MarkBRFC]

Unthinkable 12 months ago, and I'm still not convinced he's that good but BBD could really be on the verge of becoming a huge cult hero for the club in the next 12 months or so.

Wouldn't surprise me though if someone took a punt on him this summer though especially if he scores a few more in the CA. 

[Ossydave]

More interested in tonight's game than Englands tomorrow personally after watching that shit show on Friday!

[roversfan99]

Do people not sense the element of patronisation that comes with the current adulation of Brereton's eligibility for career? Because of his dreadful first 2 years in which case football seemed a foreign concept (obvious improvement third year without convincingly succeeding) and occasional clips of him off the field being painted as a bit thick has really all helped him to create this cult hero status.

[LordBaltimore]

1 hour ago, rigger said:

I thought Ben was OK in the first half, and took his goal well. The second half, although he showed plenty of effort and willingness to run, for me the game seemed to pass him by. This may have been due to lack of communication, leading to few passes, coming his way. I hope that he perseveres and continues to improve, I am sure that the experiance will do him and hopefully the Rovers nothing but good.

Not really BB's fault.  I dont think the game passed him by so much as it passed chile by.  Chile was flat 2nd half & are lucky Bolivians shoot worse than them [credit to the Bolivian keeper for keeping out several sure goals].  His team mates were criticized BY ALL for not including him enough.