January transfer window 2020

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

We've got a decent season out of Downing but next season he could be over the hill and down the other side just like Mulgrew was this season. When you hit the wall it can come up really suddenly. Speaking from personal experience. In April/May I was going great, the following August/September I was seriously off the pace.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Signing players that age is a big gamble. There are more failures than success stories usually.

I thought you said previously you would be happy with potential signing of McLaughlin? You change your mind? 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

15 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I thought you said previously you would be happy with potential signing of McLaughlin? You change your mind? 

As most people realise the average  goalkeeper can normally have a longer career than the  average out field player. I thought that was obvious. 

[chaddyrovers]

19 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

As most people realise the average  goalkeeper can normally have a longer career than the  average out field player. I thought that was obvious. 

Very true. 

I was talking about the player McLaughlin and being good enough for us? You seen him live. I've only seen him for Burton and a couple of tv games for Sunderland at best

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Very true. 

I was talking about the player McLaughlin and being good enough for us? You seen him live. I've only seen him for Burton and a couple of tv games for Sunderland at best

I've only seen him in the flesh once but I liked his demeanor. He wasn't a showy goalkeeper but he looked wide awake and agile.  I wouldn't be jumping up and down if we signed him but I wouldn't be worried either.

[rebelzero]

regarding the Derrick Williams to MLS rumours from 2 pages and several days ago...

looks like it is DC United with the interest  (aka the MLS side Rooney was with for a year, but for those reminiscing of the pre-V years, the side where Admiral Nelsen came from).

(Washington Post article is behind a paywall so I copied the part of note from the story):

United’s search for additional defenders before the May 5 transfer and trade deadline has turned to England. According to a person close to the situation, United is attempting to acquire Derrick Williams, a center back and left back for Blackburn Rovers in the second-flight English Championship.  Williams, 27, was born in Germany to an Irish mother and U.S. serviceman. He has played three times for the Irish national team. United has also been pursuing Bakaye Dibassy, 30, a center back and left back for French club Amiens. If Williams and Dibassy are not available before May 5, the team could try to acquire one or both in the summer transfer window, which will open July 7.

 

[Leonard Venkhater]

4 minutes ago, rebelzero said:

regarding the Derrick Williams to MLS rumours from 2 pages and several days ago...

looks like it is DC United with the interest  (aka the MLS side Rooney was with for a year, but for those reminiscing of the pre-V years, the side where Admiral Nelsen came from).

(Washington Post article is behind a paywall so I copied the part of note from the story):

United’s search for additional defenders before the May 5 transfer and trade deadline has turned to England. According to a person close to the situation, United is attempting to acquire Derrick Williams, a center back and left back for Blackburn Rovers in the second-flight English Championship.  Williams, 27, was born in Germany to an Irish mother and U.S. serviceman. He has played three times for the Irish national team. United has also been pursuing Bakaye Dibassy, 30, a center back and left back for French club Amiens. If Williams and Dibassy are not available before May 5, the team could try to acquire one or both in the summer transfer window, which will open July 7.

 

Still hope then!

[Commondore]

On 13/01/2020 at 15:08, Swanson said:

Martin Olsson going to W.B.A.

https://the72.co.uk/154545/west-brom-look-set-to-sign-former-blackburn-rovers-and-swansea-city-defender-martin-olsson/

This deal broke down, and Olsson has now signed a three month contract (for a total of less than £1.000!) with his home town club Helsingborg in order to keep fit while waiting for football to start again. He probably doesn't fit out current business model and would be some way off from match fitness, but he should be very much available. 

[OldEwoodBlue]

Walton going back so looks like we will need the 2 new keepers we needed last summer.

 

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18376205.brighton-make-decision-long-term-future-rovers-loanee/

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

Walton going back so looks like we will need the 2 new keepers we needed last summer.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18376205.brighton-make-decision-long-term-future-rovers-loanee/

Wouldn’t be surprised if we end up forming our some daft fee for him on a permanent. Although that sounds like we’ve enquires about a further loan.

[tomphil]

Predicted we'll over pay for him in an undisclosed fee not long after he signed, i'll stick to that.

Worth a punt at sensible money and wages but that's unlikely to be the case although after all this i'm not sure we'll be affording anyone. 

[MarkBRFC]

3 hours ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

Walton going back so looks like we will need the 2 new keepers we needed last summer.

 

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18376205.brighton-make-decision-long-term-future-rovers-loanee/

I personally think we'll need two new goalkeepers, and a new centre half until the end of time with this lot running the show.

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

I personally think we'll need two new goalkeepers, and a new centre half until the end of time with this lot running the show.

Dunno, reckon we will get it down to needing one new goalkeeper...and two centre halves.

[Tom]

Not convinced there’s any new info in that article, is it just speculation that he may get into their plans?

[joey_big_nose]

We're going to need so many players in June.  As it stands today we need a gk, centreback, winger and striker. Then we need to replace Walton, Tosin, Cunningham returning on loan. And then on top Graham and Benno are now definitely too old. So thats nine players. A really good window would be signing four or five decent players so I think we are going to be really struggling.

Also need to hold onto Dack, Travis and Lenihan all of whom I am sure will get significant interest. Even Nyambe maybe.

[rebelzero]

I came across another story on The Athletic that also has a report that Walton is headed back.  

The link is here but as its behind a paywall, this time I will copy it in.

On a separate note, the writers on this site are very good, and I truly feel they have earned my subscription fee

 

story by Andy Naylor:

Loan odyssey will finally end for 6ft 5in goalkeeper Christian Walton

Christian Walton will be one of the goalkeepers in Brighton and Hove Albion’s first-team plans next season.

His eventful journey towards contention for the No 1 spot, embracing six loan spells in three divisions with clubs in various parts of the country over five years, is finally reaching a conclusion.

Walton is currently on a season-long loan with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship and it will be the last temporary move for the towering 24-year-old.

Brighton believe he is now ready to become a regular part of their team of goalkeepers, headed by Mat Ryan and guided by coach Ben Roberts. That is likely to lead to another long-term contract for 6ft 5in Walton, whose existing four-year deal expires at the end of next season. It will also prompt a loan move next season for David Button or Jason Steele, the keepers behind Ryan in the pecking order.

Brighton have carefully nurtured Walton’s career since seeing off competition from Fulham and other clubs to land him for a six-figure fee from Plymouth Argyle as a scholar in February 2013, prior to signing a three-year professional contract that summer.

Walton was only 18 when he made his senior debut for Sami Hyypia’s side in a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the League Cup in October 2014.

It was a tough environment for a teenager as Brighton struggled in the second tier under Hyypia. Walton went on to keep two clean sheets in three appearances in the Championship before Hyypia’s successor, Chris Hughton, launched the pattern of loan moves to broaden his education and provide regular first-team football.

Walton began to flourish during what was supposed to be a season-long loan at Luton Town in League Two in 2016-17, following a stint cut short by injury with Bury in League One and a return to the fourth tier to Plymouth, 40 miles from his home town of Wadebridge.

Nathan Jones, in charge of Luton at the time, had been Brighton’s assistant manager under Oscar Garcia in 2013-14, then a member of Hyypia and Hughton’s coaching staff. He believes Walton’s early recall by Brighton in January 2017, after No 2 goalkeeper Niki Maenpaa suffered a shoulder injury, played a major role in Luton missing out on promotion that season.

“I’ve always liked Christian,” Jones tells The Athletic. “He has a really good temperament. Technically, he’s very good. Attributes-wise, size, left-footed; I like those types of goalkeepers anyway.

“He is a really good character. He did really well for us, developed, and by the time Brighton called him back, I think that was a big factor in us not getting promoted in my first year.

“He was called back on the last day of the window, which meant we had to scramble for keepers. We had well-documented goalkeeping errors in the play-offs, which probably cost us. He was a big part of us doing well.”

Walton ended the 2016-17 season on loan at Southend United in League One before another new four-year contract with Brighton preceded two years at Wigan. He helped them to win the League One title in 2017-18 and to survive in the Championship last season.

Walton has developed again this season since his move 30 miles further north to Blackburn, keeping 12 clean sheets in 37 appearances. Jones, based less than an hour’s drive away in Cheshire, has monitored Walton’s progress since losing his job as Stoke manager in November as he waits for a route back into management.

“I’ve actually seen him live quite a lot,” Jones says. “I think he is coming along very, very nicely. I think the way the club and Ben have handled him has been superb.

”They’ve always made sure that he is moving forward. It’s quite easy to sit on a Premier League bench and look good but for the longevity, they’ve handled him really well, got him out to places where they know he is going to play, where he is going to be tested.

“I’ve done an evaluation on Brighton’s keepers in terms of ones I would potentially look at for next season and I really feel he is one that can push at Brighton. I see a lot of maturity in him, albeit it from a slight distance.”

Blackburn team-mate Elliott Bennett has noticed changes in Walton on and off the pitch since they were together at Brighton in 2014-15 when the winger was back on loan from Norwich City.

Bennett says: “He is unrecognisable. He gets on with his work, is willing to listen and learn, but he has also got an opinion.

“When I went back on loan to Brighton, he was only a young boy then and sometimes it’s difficult for young players, especially goalkeepers, to kind of impose themselves on senior players in front of them.

“Going out on loan has really helped him; not just as a goalkeeper but in life. He is a long way from home and playing regularly in the first team is important for a lot of young players, particularly a goalkeeper at such a young age.

“He’s been really good for us. Like any player, you have any dips but across the season, Christian has been a consistent performer for us.”

Walton has accumulated approaching 150 league appearances on his travels. His loan journey is reminiscent of England No 1 Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland, who has nine senior England caps.

Everton’s Pickford was borrowed by Darlington, Alfreton Town, Burton Albion, Carlisle, Bradford City and Preston North End during his time at Sunderland. Stoke’s Butland was loaned back to former club Birmingham. He was also borrowed by Barnsley, Leeds and Derby before establishing himself as the club’s No 1.

Walton competed with Pickford for the England under-20s. He was also capped at under-21 level when Gareth Southgate, now head coach of the senior England team, was in charge.

Breaking through at Brighton would boost Walton’s aspirations but Ryan is a formidable obstacle. The Australia international has dominated the gloves at Brighton since he was signed from Valencia in June 2017.

Tim Krul and Maenpaa left for Norwich and Bristol City respectively the following summer in search of regular football. Now Button or Steele will move next season in search of more regular matches, although the exit is only expected to be temporary. Brighton like to operate, for extra security, with at least one extra goalkeeper out on loan who is considered good enough to compete for the first team.

The 31-year-old Button, loaned to 11 clubs during five years at Tottenham, has made 11 appearances across all competitions for Brighton since arriving from Fulham in July 2018.

Former Middlesbrough, Blackburn and England under-21 custodian Steele, signed at the same time as Button from Sunderland, has made one first-team appearance in the FA Cup.

Steele, understood to be in the best physical shape of his Brighton career, has shone in outings as an over-age player for the under-23s. The 29-year-old shuttles between the south coast and the north east, where his family are still based, to maintain schooling continuity for his three children.

[tomphil]

Perish the thought Steele ends up back here ?

[Mr. E]

Taking players on loan with no option to buy is pure laziness and refusal to properly scout potential foreign talent. No matter how well a player does here for a handful of months, once he goes we are back to square one - where's the benefit in that? If domestic options are limited, 100% there is talent out there in other leagues but we need to invest time and resources to find such players. Aka the job of a football manager to delegate, aka a job Tony Mowbray has completely failed at. 

[chaddyrovers]

Said previously Walton would go back to Brighton and challenge for number 1 spot at the end of the season. 

We wont be signing Steele or Button. 

 

[simongarnerisgod]

i don`t want to even think about next season,it needs a complete squad rebuild and i don`t think mowbray is up to it

[tomphil]

I'd say what comes out of all this mess is just the type of job suited to TM.  

Probably a small squad decimated by sales and loans going back will leave gaps to be plugged by whatever we have and can scrabble about for through the little black book.  Aim, survive in midtable rotating what you have, keeping your fav squaddies with contract extensions, getting more youth in the team and a viable excuse for square pegs in round holes.

[chaddyrovers]

I'm looking forward to squad rebuild under Mowbray. 

These 2 websites have suggested potential keeper options

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/3-goalkeepers-that-blackburn-rovers-should-be-targeting-after-frustrating-transfer-update-emerges/

https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/transfer-news/blackburn-rovers-transfers-brighton-walton-18083333

 

[Mattyblue]

Squad rebuild?

Club and sport re-build first...

[Blue blood]

On 14/04/2020 at 16:49, tomphil said:

Perish the thought Steele ends up back here ?

I had that fear too. 

After the Sunderland til I die documentary I have a lot more time for the guy as a bloke. He seems like a good person. 

It did however confirm as a keeper he is comfortably the worst I have seen at Ewood. 

[tomphil]

30 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

I had that fear too. 

After the Sunderland til I die documentary I have a lot more time for the guy as a bloke. He seems like a good person. 

It did however confirm as a keeper he is comfortably the worst I have seen at Ewood. 

I agree he seems a sound lad and when he first came after a bad start he settled a bit under keeper coach John Keeley. Soon as he left he seemed to go backwards rapidly. In truth he fit the GB stereotype, nice lad, possibly a bit of potential but in the end too many weaknesses and needed feeding a bit more red meat.

Bad time to go to Sunderland though but very poor signing from Graysons point of view but did us a favour. I'm sure Steele would be more comfortable at a plodding lge 1 club as no 1 regular.