TRANSFER THREAD - JANUARY 2021

[Stuart]

1 minute ago, Paul Mani said:

Thankfully we don’t need to balance those...focus on keeping within a reasonable range in terms of FFP. I can’t see anyone being sanctioned for FFP for a long time though...

I’m more worried about the debt than FFP. A change of manager can make FFP go away. Meanwhile what happened at Bolton could easily happen here.

The reason we are currently affected by FFP is due to Mowbray spending huge sums and having no return (on or off the pitch).

[Paul Mani]

9 minutes ago, Stuart said:

I’m more worried about the debt than FFP. A change of manager can make FFP go away. Meanwhile what happened at Bolton could easily happen here.

The reason we are currently affected by FFP is due to Mowbray spending huge sums and having no return (on or off the pitch).

Ahh 100%...if Venkys walked away and wrote off the £200m we’d still be absolutely knackered.

[Stuart]

19 minutes ago, Stuart said:

I’m more worried about the debt than FFP. A change of manager can make FFP go away. Meanwhile what happened at Bolton could easily happen here.

The reason we are currently affected by FFP is due to Mowbray spending huge sums and having no return (on or off the pitch).

If they wrote off the debt, I think we’d be fine. 😉 

[Exiled_Rover]

41 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Having watched both players every day they don’t rate them enough to be our first choice lb next season. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

They also watched Travis play every day and didn't rate him. They also played Bennett over Nyambe at RB.

 

[Ewood Ace]

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

They also watched Travis play every day and didn't rate him. They also played Bennett over Nyambe at RB.

 

They also thought that Smallwood and Evans were better central midfielders than Harrison Reed.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Noticed Sharpe Twitter say Lewis Thompson ‘obviously doesn’t have the same technical ability as Pickering’.

Surely we should be moving him on if that’s the case? He’s 21 and hasn’t even got close to pushing Bell.

Mm, " Technical ability ", how much technical ability did the likes of Mick Heaton or Jim Branigan have ? Bloody difficult full backs to play against though

[Mattyblue]

Or one with the lot... Graeme Le Saux

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

18 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Or one with the lot... Graeme Le Saux

Another Alan Wright would do me but once you've seen Keith Newton in his prime you've been spoiled for life. A class act in every aspect of full back play.

[Paul Mani]

1 hour ago, Stuart said:

If they wrote off the debt, I think we’d be fine. 😉 

Even if they wrote off the debt we’d have to find someone willing to pump in £15-20m a year just to keep us afloat! 🙈

Edited January 30, 2021 by Paul Mani

[rigger]

1 minute ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Another Alan Wright would do me but once you've seen Keith Newton in his prime you've been spoiled for life. A class act in every aspect of full back play.

At the moment I'd settle for Billy Wilson.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, rigger said:

At the moment I'd settle for Billy Wilson.

Me too.

[Paul Mani]

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

They also watched Travis play every day and didn't rate him. They also played Bennett over Nyambe at RB.

 

Hahah what are you on about? Surely you’re not one of those who think ‘the fans’ picked Travis!? He’d been at the club years mate. As for Nyambe, well two years on and there’s honestly times I’d play my 8yr old in front of him...though the times I feel like this are becoming less and less.

The point made earlier about the young lb’s was correct. In any case, next season we won’t have Bell or Douglas so for me a LB is a very important position to fill. This is one of those times where he literally cannot do right for doing wrong. If he doesn’t get a fullback and tries the young lads he gets slaughtered. He goes for his first choice LB and there’s fans not happy that he hasn’t played the young lads 🤷🏽‍♂️

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

I'd take Chris Sulley 

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

1 minute ago, Paul Mani said:

Hahah what are you on about? Surely you’re not one of those who think ‘the fans’ picked Travis!? He’d been at the club years mate. As for Nyambe, well two years on and there’s honestly times I’d play my 8yr old in front of him...though the times I feel like this are becoming less and less.

The point made earlier about the young lb’s was correct. In any case, next season we won’t have Bell or Douglas so for me a LB is a very important position to fill. This is one of those times where he literally cannot do right for doing wrong. If he doesn’t get a fullback and tries the young lads he gets slaughtered. He goes for his first choice LB and there’s fans not happy that he hasn’t played the young lads 🤷🏽‍♂️

I think fans just want him to sign a good LB. He's been here 4 years and hasn't yet. 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, Ewood Ace said:

They also thought that Smallwood and Evans were better central midfielders than Harrison Reed.

They thought Harrison Reed was a better RB than Nyambe too.

[Exiled_Rover]

17 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Hahah what are you on about? Surely you’re not one of those who think ‘the fans’ picked Travis!? He’d been at the club years mate. As for Nyambe, well two years on and there’s honestly times I’d play my 8yr old in front of him...though the times I feel like this are becoming less and less.

The point made earlier about the young lb’s was correct. In any case, next season we won’t have Bell or Douglas so for me a LB is a very important position to fill. This is one of those times where he literally cannot do right for doing wrong. If he doesn’t get a fullback and tries the young lads he gets slaughtered. He goes for his first choice LB and there’s fans not happy that he hasn’t played the young lads 🤷🏽‍♂️

I think he picked Travis because we had an injury crisis and he was literally the last man left standing - he was about to go out on loan as I recall.

I congratulate you on your cushy retirement - your 8 year old must be some football player. Please get them signed on at Rovers. 

He can't go into NEXT season only having Pike and Thompson as fullback options, but he can try them in the odd game this season to see what they're made of. It's the Championship, not the Champions League. 

[Paul Mani]

12 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I think he picked Travis because we had an injury crisis and he was literally the last man left standing - he was about to go out on loan as I recall.

I congratulate you on your cushy retirement - your 8 year old must be some football player. Please get them signed on at Rovers. 

He can't go into NEXT season only having Pike and Thompson as fullback options, but he can try them in the odd game this season to see what they're made of. It's the Championship, not the Champions League. 

Ahhh of course!! He’s under absolutely no pressure to win games in the Championship is he? Come on mate, let’s be real here. We currently have two first team LB’s and I’m pretty sure they were going to wait until the summer for Pickering. But he’s obv going cheap and so they’re striking whilst the iron is hot. They may have their eye on one of the young lads to back him up next season. But either way, now is not the time to be taking chances or not signing first team’rs...

[bluebruce]

2 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Noticed Sharpe on Twitter say Lewis Thompson ‘obviously doesn’t have the same technical ability as Pickering’.

Surely we should be moving him on if that’s the case? He’s 21 and hasn’t even got close to pushing Bell.

Not really. That's still a year younger than Pickering, technical ability isn't the only attribute relevant for a fullback, and he doesn't have to be our number one fullback to be worth a squad place.

He sounds like he could do with a loan out though. Like quite a few of the u23s and fringe youth players.

[Mattyblue]

1 minute ago, bluebruce said:

Not really. That's still a year younger than Pickering, technical ability isn't the only attribute relevant for a fullback, and he doesn't have to be our number one fullback to be worth a squad place.

He sounds like he could do with a loan out though. Like quite a few of the u23s and fringe youth players.

If you aren’t pushing for a place on the bench at 21 (never mind a start) when at one point the only competition was Bell... you aren’t making it here.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Mattyblue

[Craigman]

No Pickering in Crewe squad today.

[bluebruce]

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

If you aren’t pushing for a place on the bench at 21 (never mind a start) when at one point the only competition was Bell... you aren’t making it here.

We have had a tendency to only name one defender on the bench, usually a centre half. We know what TM can be like with not wanting to risk youngsters who haven't played men's football, but we have also seen that when they do get the chance, if they take it like Travis did, they can make it.

I'd agree that it's looking more likely he won't make it than he will, I'm just saying, without having seen him play but having heard good things in the past, I wouldn't completely write him off yet. And certainly not because Sharpe says he doesn't have as much technical ability as someone we can barely afford. Certainly someone who won't have too long left to make the breakthrough though. As I say I'd try to get him out on loan for the rest of the season. If we get Pickering now, that will be 3 LBs right now but only 1 in the summer on presumably another limited budget.

[Exiled_Rover]

21 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Ahhh of course!! He’s under absolutely no pressure to win games in the Championship is he? Come on mate, let’s be real here. We currently have two first team LB’s and I’m pretty sure they were going to wait until the summer for Pickering. But he’s obv going cheap and so they’re striking whilst the iron is hot. They may have their eye on one of the young lads to back him up next season. But either way, now is not the time to be taking chances or not signing first team’rs...

As evidenced by the points totals not increasing year on year he's clearly under no pressure to win games in the Championship.

At a normal club he'd have been sacked already - obviously we're anything but.

[Mercer]

19 minutes ago, Craigman said:

No Pickering in Crewe squad today.

He's injured!

[Sparks Rover]

7 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

As evidenced by the points totals not increasing year on year he's clearly under no pressure to win games in the Championship.

At a normal club he'd have been sacked already - obviously we're anything but.

He has a free pass here.

Last season he finished 16th in the managers(championship) list for percentage wins throughout his career. All the managers who finished below him.have lost their jobs since.

[Al]

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

They thought Harrison Reed was a better RB than Nyambe too.

He was