Summer transfer window 2021.

[JHRover]

12 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Although he was a player rather than backroom staff Ben Marshall is a good example of this type of thing.

Some assumption at the time was he wanted big money and was being offered better elsewhere after his head being turned. Rumours from the club did little to convince anyone any different.

Yet years later having left the old boys network and not giving a stuff anymore he tells his version. Rovers offered him the same money, good money to stay but he'd seen the writing was on the wall. They were selling everyone, manager was a nice guy but useless and club was only going one way.

Doesn't paint his loyalty in a great light but at least he was honest. Some leave for better offers but others jump a sinking ship because they know what's coming.  It really isn't always about money and ambition if someone is quite happy where they are until an ill wind starts blowing through the place.

The rot behind the scenes at Ewood has clearly set in yet again.

Yes and also stemming from this is 'interest' in our better players.

If a player is happy and settled at the club and can see that there is a plan and ambition here then he will sit tight. But when players see the club is a sinking ship, all over the place or realise that a poor manager is unsackable then they will start getting itchy feet and making noises via their agents. Then people like Nixon come with their weekly 'exclusives' and the whole circus takes off. Other clubs, who normally might not bother or would be sent packing with some firm resistance try their luck knowing a player has an eye on the exit door and knowing the club is a shambles.

A snowball effect and there's all sorts of elements to it.

I very much doubt it is just Club X wants our player and the player wants a pay rise.

We supporters probably know but a fraction of the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes.

[neophox]

1 minute ago, tomphil said:

They did seem to create a post out of the blue for Johnson.  Hard to know if it was an effort to integrate him into the first team set up and help the pathway from U23s for players.

Or just to take him out of the limelight whilst pacifying him with a fancy role then shove him under the stairs. Surely the role he does now doesn't carry a bigger wage than being U23's boss.

Would swap Mowbray for Johnson all the day...

[4000Holes]

1 minute ago, neophox said:

Would swap Mowbray for Johnson all the day...

I would be tempted to swap Mowbray for Chaddy🥴

[Roverthechimp]

16 minutes ago, tomphil said:

They did seem to create a post out of the blue for Johnson.  Hard to know if it was an effort to integrate him into the first team set up and help the pathway from U23s for players.

Or just to take him out of the limelight whilst pacifying him with a fancy role then shove him under the stairs. Surely the role he does now doesn't carry a bigger wage than being U23's boss.

It could if TM and Waggot decided it should. Just add something vague to the jobtitle/brief so that it doesn't look too obvious...

Think Arbitro is spot on.

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 hours ago, Mercer said:

Come on!

Mowbray had 15 games to get us out of trouble and we were only 2 or 3 points from 'safety'.

I think there were so many games where we snatched a defeat from the jaws of a draw and snatched a draw from the jaws of victory with Mowbray's very poor game management.  We were relegated on goal difference and that puts his game management into context - just one more point would have done the job.

IMO, without a shadow of a doubt Mowbray failed and he could and should have kept us up - Neil Warnock would have. 

I think Mowbray's failure to keep us up is indefensible. 

Nonsense. Of course it's defendable. 

Maybe Warnock would have, but plenty of others wouldn't have,or gotten us out of League 1. So let's not completely lose perspective on things just because of the frustration that he has now massively over stayed his welcome. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

3 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I I had enough time in that last month to squeak the job over the line for that year, yes. Part of the reason I'm being brought in is to achieve that. 

And if you didn't you would take full responsibility for the season and resign? Sure, I don't believe you! 

[Bigdoggsteel]

QPRs business. Well for some. 

If Armstrong left and we got those 9 in ,along with Ainsworth, I would fancy us for promotion. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Bigdoggsteel

[JHRover]

1 minute ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

QPRs business. Well for some. 

Impressive looking business. All with similar gates to ours and whilst selling season tickets for £250. Shows it can be done.

Weren't they the sort of club we were trying to avoid with their FFP issues?

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Impressive looking business. All with similar gates to ours and whilst selling season tickets for £250. Shows it can be done.

Weren't they the sort of club we were trying to avoid with their FFP issues?

Did they sell anyone? How have they managed to have a window like this 

[Mercer]

3 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Nonsense. Of course it's defendable. 

Maybe Warnock would have, but plenty of others wouldn't have,or gotten us out of League 1. So let's not completely lose perspective on things just because of the frustration that he has now massively over stayed his welcome. 

It is not defensible!!!

Mowbray himself said in Blues in Feb 2019 he was hired to keep Rovers up.  One can only assume Mowbray was asked 'can you keep us up' to which he almost certainly replied 'yes' otherwise why the feck hire him!?!?

He failed, full stop.

If anyone had any nous at Rovers they would have given him a four month contract and fired him off if he failed to keep us up.  Context called for - Mowbray was an out of work manager who, IMO, was on the managerial scrapheap!

There are simply no excuses for his failure. 

[JHRover]

11 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Did they sell anyone? How have they managed to have a window like this 

They sold that lad to Crystal Palace but that was a good while ago

[Bigdoggsteel]

11 minutes ago, Mercer said:

It is not defensible!!!

Mowbray himself said in Blues in Feb 2019 he was hired to keep Rovers up.  One can only assume Mowbray was asked 'can you keep us up' to which he almost certainly replied 'yes' otherwise why the feck hire him!?!?

He failed, full stop.

If anyone had any nous at Rovers they would have given him a four month contract and fired him off if he failed to keep us up.  Context called for - Mowbray was an out of work manager who, IMO, was on the managerial scrapheap!

There are simply no excuses for his failure. 

Keeping him was actually a great call, because someone else might not have gotten us out of League 1. Bigger clubs with better squads got stuck down there longer. Thats the reality. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 minute ago, JHRover said:

They sold that lad to Crystal Palace but that was a good while ago

They have invested well. They could do well 

[islander200]

38 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Did they sell anyone? How have they managed to have a window like this 

They sold Eze for big money last season 

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, Ewood Ace said:

You talk about 28-29 year old's as though they are ancient and on their last legs. Tugay was 31 when we signed him, McCarthy was 29, Savage was 30, Nelsen was approaching 28, Dunn was 28 when he resigned, Salgado was 33, Givet was approaching 29 and Ooijer was 32. I don't worry about their age I worry more about what they are going to bring to the team.

But you are talking about a very time and era for the club compare to this one including 2 top managers who bought us success and good football in Mark Hughes and Graeme Souness. Its a period of time I won't forget espically the UEFA Cup run under Hughes or the League Cup under Souness. 

But now is very different time for the club under these owners and this CEO and manager. 

I don't mind signing 2 players at the age 28 but not on overpriced wages like we did with Best, Etuhu and Murpht

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, EgyptianPete said:

If the venkys refused the money for the Reach signing then why is Mowbray still here, do they now have no faith in him, ( i don't), What happened to Mowbrays integrity, you know when he keeps saying if they dont want me i'll go, he has no integrity just bare faced bull ----.

Very good question asked and one we will never know. Are Venkys looking to sell the club or waiting for replacement to be ready to take over

3 hours ago, Tom said:

Barnsley have signed a young striker from France, hardly set the world on fire on his travels but it shows a level of imagination that we are lacking 

Maybe he would have been a target for us if we had sold Armstrong already 

3 hours ago, JHRover said:

This is 2015 all over again. Venkys got bored or lost faith after a couple of years of backing Bowyer and he was a dead man walking from that summer on. It was obvious. Not invited to India for his chat, rumours of him being sacked, no money to spend resulting in signings like Delfouneso and Koita. But it dragged on until November by which time we were entrenched in the bottom third and the season was gone.

Sadly I think there is a repeat ahead here, except rather than looking over our shoulders at the bottom 3 we are quickly going to be looking upwards at the safety spots. I also think Mowbray has his feet much further under the table than Bowyer ever did which is going to make his removal less likely and more likely that they just leave the carnage to unfold and the decision with Mowbray as to if he has the determination to hang on or throw in the towel.

I would say this is very different situation to the Bowyer one in 2015 as Bowyer was allow to sign players after selling Gestede. But it appears Mowbray can't even sign a free transfer in Reach or PL loan player at the minute. Seems nothing will happen until Armstrong is sold. 

[JHRover]

2 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Very good question asked and one we will never know. Are Venkys looking to sell the club or waiting for replacement to be ready to take over

Maybe he would have been a target for us if we had sold Armstrong already 

I would say this is very different situation to the Bowyer one in 2015 as Bowyer was allow to sign players after selling Gestede. But it appears Mowbray can't even sign a free transfer in Reach or PL loan player at the minute. Seems nothing will happen until Armstrong is sold. 

What players was Bowyer allowed to sign? 4 cheap free agents and a loan? Guthrie, Akpan, Delfouneso, Koita and Lawrence wasn't it?

If that's Venky's backing the manager after selling Gestede and Cairney for £10 million then that's not good enough, but probably a clue as to the level of backing Mowbray might get in the event Armstrong is sold.

[gumboots]

1 hour ago, 4000Holes said:

I would be tempted to swap Mowbray for Chaddy🥴

Well at least you'd get enthusiasm. No sleeping on the bench

[PeteJD13]

Interesting that in this thread there are comments about potential buyers around march/april, venkys were looking at additional income streams last November time and interested parties that came to nothing, it shows there is life after venkys. 

[Ulrich]

2 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

Yes - £75kpa

That's a very very high salary for an assistant in league 2, especially given Salford get average gate's of 3000.

[PeteJD13]

7 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Very good question asked and one we will never know. Are Venkys looking to sell the club or waiting for replacement to be ready to take over

Maybe he would have been a target for us if we had sold Armstrong already 

I would say this is very different situation to the Bowyer one in 2015 as Bowyer was allow to sign players after selling Gestede. But it appears Mowbray can't even sign a free transfer in Reach or PL loan player at the minute. Seems nothing will happen until Armstrong is sold. 

I think Mowbray sanctioning Ayala has put paid to any ability he has to dictate ex boro boy transfers

[Bigdoggsteel]

7 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Very good question asked and one we will never know. Are Venkys looking to sell the club or waiting for replacement to be ready to take over

Maybe he would have been a target for us if we had sold Armstrong already 

 

Goess who's back, back again, Chaddys back 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

And if you didn't you would take full responsibility for the season and resign? Sure, I don't believe you! 

Resign, no? I wouldn't have made an outlandish claim that I was an honest man and I'd walk away if I felt I couldn't take the club any further.

I'd bury in like a tick and expect my full severance package.

[chaddyrovers]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I was basing my statements on the fact that we (according to the LT) were on course to fail FFP regulations this summer, something that would have been known about 6 months prior. 

Wages perhaps are too high/there is too much wastage, income has not been maximised, it all contributes. I am talking about the one off decision to make a reasonable outlay on a fee for a new player in January when our financial/sustainability situation was so perilous. I would ask if over 500k was a luxury that we simply couldnt afford, and if we perhaps needed to go for a freebie in the summer instead.

Even if the embargo had nothing to do with sustainability, I find it baffling that we can go from spending over half a million in January, to not being able to add a couple of freebies in the summer to give us some experience which we are lacking.

 

But you still haven't the simple question who would be our left back this season if we hasn't signed Harry Pickering? 

Phili has explained the Pickering transfer and why it was sanction. We should be looking to good young talent to sign whether it championship or League 1 or 2. 

Its looks to me that the owners won't authorised any incomings until Armstrong is sold. Mowbray couldn't even get Reach into the club. 

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

The rapidly changing world we are in when our u23 boss is jacking it in to go and be assistant manager at Salford City because they are paying more or are seen as a more exciting/attractive place to be.

You only need to watch the Salford City FC documentary the Class of 92 to see they are willing to over pay to get who and what they want. 

Salford City had a ambition plan to get the PL within a number of years

1 hour ago, Mercer said:

Perhaps he's a closet Claret with 6 fingers / hand!

abit rich coming from the Owen Coyle number 1 fan. How the Alex Neil rumour doing? 

1 hour ago, 4000Holes said:

I would be tempted to swap Mowbray for Chaddy🥴

Happy to be my number 2 4000Holes? 

[roverandout]

15 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Goess who's back, back again, Chaddys back