JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

[Tom]

Rovers just tweeted a clip of all Corry Evans goals with us - could be a lead up to a contract announcement 

[MarkBRFC]

Called them all "screamers", 3 of the 4 took huge deflections!

[Al]

10 minutes ago, Tom said:

Rovers just tweeted a clip of all Corry Evans goals with us - could be a lead up to a contract announcement 

That will be one of the shortest videos in captivity.?

[perthblue02]

17 minutes ago, Tom said:

Rovers just tweeted a clip of all Corry Evans goals with us - could be a lead up to a contract announcement 

The bit of news: #Rovers midfielder Corry Evans has signed a new two-and-a-half year deal at Ewood Park.

From Rich Sharpe (twitter)

Edited December 13, 2018 by perthblue02

[JHRover]

I think that new deal is fair enough. His performances at the end of last season and so far this show that he can be an important player for us and he still has years on his side moving forward.

Think they're pushing it a bit with the 'Commitment' line in an attempt to encourage more season ticket sales mind.

[DE.]

Meh.

[old darwen blue]

Back to mediocrity now then I expect. 

[donnermeat]

I think that ultimately it can only be a good thing to see the senior pros committing to new contracts and wanting to play here. Every club needs a good mix 'young and old' so to speak.

Besides from the manager and coaching staff, they also carry the message to new arrivals and young players on how they play and conduct themselves at the club. A dressing room without enough of them can easily go sideways fast.

[G Somerset Rover]

It makes sense given his contract situation and form, but I'm sure we all fear an injury or drop in consistency now. Prove us wrong, Corry. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[SBlue]

17 minutes ago, DE. said:

Meh.

I can barely contain myself

[JacknOry]

3 minutes ago, S8 & Blue said:

I can barely contain myself

Certainly not on the level of a Dack, Graham or Mulgrew renewal. The timing of the announcement again is quite funny considering he could and probably should have scored a couple at the weekend - and then building up the excitement with a clip of his 4 goals.

[Glosrover]

On 11/12/2018 at 22:12, Bbrovers2288 said:

I would like to see us make a move for Ivan Toney, looks like a player that could have an impact for us 

can we just call him 'Luca' for short.............

[Oldgregg86]

I would of let him go. Not what we need going forward. With Rodwell, Bennett, Travis and Smallwood he is surplus to requirements. 

Not sure handing two and three year contracts to players that have got us relagated and will at best keep us mid table is the way forward 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Oldgregg86

[roversfan99]

58 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I would of let him go. Not what we need going forward. With Rodwell, Bennett, Travis and Smallwood he is surplus to requirements. 

Not sure handing two and three year contracts to players that have got us relagated and will at best keep us mid table is the way forward 

I would prefer Evans in the centre of midfield to all of them personally. Hes been one of our best players this season and signing him for a couple of years is a wise move, albeit a gamble as hes never too far away from an injury.

You touch on an interesting point regarding new contracts. Its all about striking a balance between stability and improvement. The likes of Raya and Lenihan signing new deals is positive in that they are young and have plenty of improvement in them. The likes of Evans and in particular Mulgrew are also crucial in terms of them being important players in their last years. It is players like Smallwood, Williams and maybe even Bennett (considering he had 2 years left) that have been given them solely as a reward that im not sure about. None are at risk of being nabbed by bigger teams and im not sure you should dish out contracts across the board to reward players, so I dont understand the urgency.

[tomphil]

2 hours ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I would of let him go. Not what we need going forward. With Rodwell, Bennett, Travis and Smallwood he is surplus to requirements. 

Not sure handing two and three year contracts to players that have got us relagated and will at best keep us mid table is the way forward 

I'm also in two minds as the Evans of the tail end of last season and so far this is decent enough for where we are but Evans Mk1 was largely not worth his contract if ever a player was in a comfort zone it was him.  Maybe he's never really been fit until recently and maybe having a proper manager and staff has helped that or maybe he was just stepping up a gear to earn a new deal, time will tell.

The contract should reflect his seeming country before club as well but it probably doesn't so I hope Mowbray gets on top of that and let us keep getting the best out of him not managing him between internationals.

[Oldgregg86]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I would prefer Evans in the centre of midfield to all of them personally. Hes been one of our best players this season and signing him for a couple of years is a wise move, albeit a gamble as hes never too far away from an injury.

You touch on an interesting point regarding new contracts. Its all about striking a balance between stability and improvement. The likes of Raya and Lenihan signing new deals is positive in that they are young and have plenty of improvement in them. The likes of Evans and in particular Mulgrew are also crucial in terms of them being important players in their last years. It is players like Smallwood, Williams and maybe even Bennett (considering he had 2 years left) that have been given them solely as a reward that im not sure about. None are at risk of being nabbed by bigger teams and im not sure you should dish out contracts across the board to reward players, so I dont understand the urgency.

I think both Evans and Smallwood both desperately need replacing in the summer. With a new cm, preferably Reed on a permanent deal and Travis coming through with Bennett, Rodwell and Smallwood as cover I don't see the need for him. 

I'm struggling to understand why all of the above players have new deals when we are supposedly re building for the future. The telegraph has already allured to player unrest at lack of opportunity. If we add one or two in January and one or two in summer who makes way when virtually all have new contracts til 2021

[roversfan99]

2 hours ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I think both Evans and Smallwood both desperately need replacing in the summer. With a new cm, preferably Reed on a permanent deal and Travis coming through with Bennett, Rodwell and Smallwood as cover I don't see the need for him. 

I'm struggling to understand why all of the above players have new deals when we are supposedly re building for the future. The telegraph has already allured to player unrest at lack of opportunity. If we add one or two in January and one or two in summer who makes way when virtually all have new contracts til 2021

Evans and Smallwood dont deserve to be coupled together in that Evans has been a key player for us this season and has been a level or two above Smallwood, who should only be a squad player max.

I would also prefer Evans in central midfield anyday over Bennett who isnt a central midfielder, Rodwell who does deserve more of a chance to be fair in central midfield and Travis at the moment should be loaned out.

[Oldgregg86]

45 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Evans and Smallwood dont deserve to be coupled together in that Evans has been a key player for us this season and has been a level or two above Smallwood, who should only be a squad player max.

I would also prefer Evans in central midfield anyday over Bennett who isnt a central midfielder, Rodwell who does deserve more of a chance to be fair in central midfield and Travis at the moment should be loaned out.

Imo Evans isnt anywhere near as good as Bennett in the middle, who is a centre mid imo, Rodwell can do everything Evans can with more composure and has the adage of height and can fill in at cb. Whilst we are neither going up nor down we should be phasing Travis in who I believe will go on to be a far better player than Evans is and if it's a choice between Smallwood and Evans I would have Smallwood. They are both of similar ability and quality. I'd argue Smallwood has more heart and is a better tackler and Evans has better positional sense and slightly better passing range but not enough to contribute going forward. I'd rather have a ball winner as a squad player and replace Evans with the player Evans never quite was

Edited December 13, 2018 by Oldgregg86

[USABlue]

On 11/12/2018 at 06:04, Paul Mani said:

Jones was a curious case. I watched him bully a peak Drogba at Ewood Park aged 18. There was nothing gonna stop that lad from being the best CB on the planet. Injuries and possibly too much too soon killed him. Had a good career but definitely underachieved.

Intersting points you make about Lowe and Hanley being thrust in too soon. I also think Hoilett was trusted too soon. That guy had some skills. Has never really hit the heights. 

Dunn and Duff were definitely introduced slowly. The other thing about them was that it wasn’t until 2 or so years had passed that they were then expected to change games. Perhaps because we had lots of good players back then.

Maybe the biggest issue with throwing young players in is their mental strength in dealing with the expectation? Maybe that’s the reason he’s taking things slowly with BB. His interviews suggest it...though I don’t know the answer.

Phil Jones' first mistake was leaving us too soon.

[philipl]

Something to watch for this window is the use of loanees.

We are in a much stronger position in the loans market than we were as a newly promoted side in the summer.

As solid mid table at worst, we can demand players who are much closer to being Premier League ready and talk much more meaningfully to the likes of City and particularly United where Mourinho has a love or hate relationship with players. For instance (and I am not advocating going for him) Fred had a stinker in Valencia and must be close to getting shipped out.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Palmer go back and one or two much better players come in on loan.    

I wouldn't be surprised to see us get reasonable results in the coming five fixtures against clubs above us but slip five places because we are drawing/ losing narrowly. Then use loanees who can turn draws against clubs around and below us into wins for a steady upwards move in the table during the second half of the season. Sticking to my prediction of finishing 7th. 

Edited December 14, 2018 by philipl

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:04, Paul Mani said:

Jones was a curious case. I watched him bully a peak Drogba at Ewood Park aged 18. There was nothing gonna stop that lad from being the best CB on the planet. Injuries and possibly too much too soon killed him. Had a good career but definitely underachieved.

Intersting points you make about Lowe and Hanley being thrust in too soon. I also think Hoilett was trusted too soon. That guy had some skills. Has never really hit the heights. 

Dunn and Duff were definitely introduced slowly. The other thing about them was that it wasn’t until 2 or so years had passed that they were then expected to change games. Perhaps because we had lots of good players back then.

Maybe the biggest issue with throwing young players in is their mental strength in dealing with the expectation? Maybe that’s the reason he’s taking things slowly with BB. His interviews suggest it...though I don’t know the answer.

I did the stadium tour with Ronnie Clayton just before he finished doing it. We were talking about young players and he told me he was best mates with Duncan Edwards in the old days. He was going to be Duncan's best man when he got married after the 1958 World Cup. As we all know before that Edwards was killed in the Munich air crash. Ronnie said  " We've got the next Duncan Edwards coming through the ranks at Ewood, a young lad called Phil Jones ". He was praising him to the skies that day.

I can see why Ronnie thought that at the time but for all sorts of reasons Jones has never made the step up from good player to great player as he's got older.

I was talking about Mike England earlier. He just got better and better and better. You could see him making progress game by game. He was what Jones should have become,

[BlackburnEnd75]

On 11/12/2018 at 12:04, Paul Mani said:

Jones was a curious case. I watched him bully a peak Drogba at Ewood Park aged 18. There was nothing gonna stop that lad from being the best CB on the planet. Injuries and possibly too much too soon killed him. Had a good career but definitely underachieved.

Intersting points you make about Lowe and Hanley being thrust in too soon. I also think Hoilett was trusted too soon. That guy had some skills. Has never really hit the heights. 

Dunn and Duff were definitely introduced slowly. The other thing about them was that it wasn’t until 2 or so years had passed that they were then expected to change games. Perhaps because we had lots of good players back then.

Maybe the biggest issue with throwing young players in is their mental strength in dealing with the expectation? Maybe that’s the reason he’s taking things slowly with BB. His interviews suggest it...though I don’t know the answer.

I don't, like some have said, think that Jones moved too soon, He played 41 times for united in his first season there and generally played well. His problem was that he was he was shunted around a lot and didn't get time playing in a specific position. He never really fitted one position enough and maybe he looked so good at that age simply because he developed physically earlier than other lads his age, so when everyone else caught up he wasn't as special a talent or more likely that the constant string of injuries he suffered reduced his athletic prowess.

Hoilett wasn't trusted too soon, he kept us up 10/11. The problem he had was that he was trying to manage a few hamstring issues which he maybe should'v been given more time to rest up. He also picked a bad club after leaving us.

Lowe - was 20 when he came in at right back and was physically ready for that level of football, again what stunted Lowe was injuries but tbh he never had the potential to be a premier league player. 

Hanley - Maybe he wasn't ready 2010/2011 when he played a few game but I don't think that premier league experience did him any harm

[SBlue]

It’s a shame but Jones just doesn’t look like the same player anymore. Similar to what Clayton said I remember Ferguson saying he could be their greatest ever player.

I think he needs a move if just to sort his head out.

[benhben]

3 hours ago, philipl said:

Something to watch for this window is the use of loanees.

We are in a much stronger position in the loans market than we were as a newly promoted side in the summer.

As solid mid table at worst, we can demand players who are much closer to being Premier League ready and talk much more meaningfully to the likes of City and particularly United where Mourinho has a love or hate relationship with players. For instance (and I am not advocating going for him) Fred had a stinker in Valencia and must be close to getting shipped out.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Palmer go back and one or two much better players come in on loan.    

I wouldn't be surprised to see us get reasonable results in the coming five fixtures against clubs above us but slip five places because we are drawing/ losing narrowly. Then use loanees who can turn draws against clubs around and below us into wins for a steady upwards move in the table during the second half of the season. Sticking to my prediction of finishing 7th. 

I agree I think most out business will be re-jigging out loan players.

Solanke must be looking to go out on loan from Liverpool. Hes not had a kick this season other than England U21s. I think hes out of our reach though and will probably go to bottom half prem sides. Vydra also doesnt seem to have played much but is proven in the Championship. I think we will be sniffing around squad players on loan from teams like Everton, Bournemouth etc.

[roversfan99]

I hope there isnt as much priority and resources dedicated to bringing in a striker as is being suggested.

You look up front, Grahams ability is unquestioned, and we have competition in the shape of a big money younger striker with Championship experience and plenty of promise. We are well stocked with them 2, and Armstrong is 3rd choice. I wouldnt necessarily turn away another striker as its a position whereby you cant really have someone filling in, and when behind or drawing in games it can be good to have additional options, but I just look at major imbalances elsewhere first.

Out wide, the likes of Rothwell, Palmer, Armstrong and Conway have all failed to nail down a wide berth, the first 3 would prefer to play centrally but id suggest that all 4 are more effective on the left rather than on the right. Bennett is more conservative and can play either side really. We need an out and out right winger, not Chapman as an impact sub, to start games and give us some width and balance. Reed can play central every week.

We also need a centre back more urgently than a striker. We have 2 good first teamers for 2 roles as we do with Graham as a striker, but beyond that bar Downing (still big question marks about Championship capability) we have no natural centre backs. We are also short of cover at right back.

If I had to prioritise in Jan, i would suggest the following:

1. Right winger

2. Centre back to push Mulgrew and Lenihan

3. Right back to push Nyambe

4. Additional striker cover