Transfer Window - COMPLETE. Where’s Gregg?

[Northcote blues]

2 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

As far as I can see online, he's never played LWB?

Played LWB for much of the 20/21 season they came 5th I believe

[simongarnerisgod]

7 minutes ago, Phil123 said:

Barnsley fan in peace here and I just thought I'd stick my nose in and give what I hope is a honest opinion of Callum Brittain now you've signed him.

When he arrived from MK Dons, the general opinion from their fans was that he was very good going forward (often played on the right of midfield for them) but that he was too weak defensively to play as a RB in a back 4.  

In the first season at Barnsley he played RWB and we finished 5th. He was outstanding for much of this season (in Ismael's system he pushed very high & rarely had to defend in his own half). This suited his game as his energy levels were superb and his close control and running with the ball stood out in many games.

His composure and final ball was still lacking and it became a running joke as to whether we would ever see him score for Barnsley. Having said that, he was great at getting himself into scoring positions and finding space as a wing back.

Last season, like every other player, he was extremely poor in many games. A lot, if not all, of this can be attributed to the fact we had 2 Sunday league level coaches and none of the players ever looked like they had a clue what they were meant to be doing.

The thing that got some Barnsley fans was that out of the entire squad, Brittain probably had the biggest drop in form from the previous season.  At times under Ismael he looked Premier League quality, but last season he looked, like many others, like a L2 player.

All in all, he 'should' be an excellent signing and if he is played to his strengths (as a wing back and high tempo) then the rumoured £1.5m will be a bargain.  If he is played as a conventional RB in a 4 he would probably struggle against the best Championship wingers as his tracking back and positional sense defensively aren't his best qualities.

I'm too old to be 1 of those fans who decides anyone who leaves our club was 'sh*t anyway!' and when he has clarity and confidence, he should add plenty to your team.

 

our last right back,who`s had the misfortune to end up at wigan,could defend but was`nt the best going forward,so i guess brittain is the opposite,hope you come straight back up,i always like a trip to oakwell,it`s one of the few  grounds with character left

[Neal]

What we might have going for us here is his friendship with Brittain and various other players at Rovers too... Maybe he'll just want to enjoy his football with his mates, not have to travel too far and stay close to family?

Edited July 21, 2022 by Neal

[windymiller7]

Are there any other players we're after called Callum?

Wouldn't mind that lad who plays up front for Newcastle! 😅

[Torgeir]

35 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Yes, I’m struggling to see where Styles would play? He’s wouldn’t come to sit on the bench & rightly so.

Are you being serious? We've been crying out loud for signings for 290+ pages and now we don't know if they'll make the team? 

[BankEnd Rover]

1 minute ago, Torgeir said:

Are you being serious? We've been crying out loud for signings for 290+ pages and now we don't know if they'll make the team? 

Mate I 100% think he should start, he’s class…my question is what are peoples opinions as to where? LWB, in the middle?

[Phil123]

9 minutes ago, TruRover said:

This is greatly appreciated. General consensus on here is that’s is a great signing for us.

What are your thoughts on styles?

Similar to Brittain, Styles was outstanding in the season we finished 5th. He officially played LWB in a 3-4-3 but was so high in Ismael's system that he was effectively as a LM/LCM and he weighed in with some great goals.

The 'Callum' wing backs were highly rated that season!

Last season he started off in his 'proper' position of CM but really struggled Though in fairness the whole team struggled under poor coaches. Last season Styles played RWB, LWB, CDM, as a Number 10, and both LW and RW in a front three so it is little wonder he struggled.

It was a surprise when he got capped by Hungary but he showed in those games that he was potentially very good.

The jury would be out on whether he can play CM in a 2 as he lacks pace and physicality but as a LWB or in a midfield three he could excel as he is very good on the ball and reads the game well. There was talk of Premier League 18 months ago but I think a top half Championship is his level at present.

[Danny O.Brien]

He looks too good to play wingback for me. Strikes me as more if an attacking mid. A replacement for rothwell. Handy that he can play both though. I don't want to get carried away but hope this comes off.

[Phil123]

18 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

our last right back,who`s had the misfortune to end up at wigan,could defend but was`nt the best going forward,so i guess brittain is the opposite,hope you come straight back up,i always like a trip to oakwell,it`s one of the few  grounds with character left

I'm glad you like your trips to Oakwell, it's been hard visiting it as a home fan for the last 12 months! 😥

Edited July 21, 2022 by Phil123

[Guest]

I had thought, following from Glen’s post, that with these deals and the calibre of players we’re going for that there must be some sell on fees in these deals. Just hope they’re not extortionate! But then again, without the sell ons, we’re probably not getting the players.

[Exiled_Rover]

19 minutes ago, Realistic Rover said:

Played LWB for much of the 20/21 season they came 5th I believe

Styles at LB and Brittain at RB as our first two signings would be sensational. 

[Exiled_Rover]

4 minutes ago, Danny O.Brien said:

He looks too good to play wingback for me. Strikes me as more if an attacking mid. A replacement for rothwell. Handy that he can play both though. I don't want to get carried away but hope this comes off.

We're going to ask A LOT from our FBs this year. Much like we did when we played in a 4-2-3-1 under Mowbray - it's the nature of the system, they're asked to provide the width. 

[Tugay-is-God]

2 hours ago, BRFC_Polky said:

 

Think someone had mentioned a Gus the other day that GB was keen on, though they were saying that the deal had broke down. 

[slowmo]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

Edit - nevermind, you said GB, I thought you said JDT. Still, what would Broughton have been watching Icelandic football in 2016 for? He'd have been at...Norwich would he? Wouldn't have thought it would be a priority league to scout.

I don't know to be honest 😕 

[Sparks Rover]

11 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Styles at LB and Brittain at RB as our first two signings would be sensational. 

That Barnsley fan says he's a shit Right Back.

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, Tugayisgod said:

So hope this is true

 

Nice. Definitely has talent, even from a youtube highlights reel that's clear. Hopefully it translates into regular returns. Looks very Rothwell like in many regards, probably not quite as fast, may be a bit better with his decisions but that's hard to tell from his best bits. Looks like he could have a little more bite.

I'm quite excited about this one. I don't know if Brittain will be an upgrade on RN because his assists were only 1.5 more per season and I've no idea if he is defensively up to it, which is always my biggest concern for a defender. But still looks a good signing in the circumstances (that we created).  But this lad excites me, I remember him bumming us and I especially like that he has started playing for Hungary at about the same time they've announced themselves as being able to handle the big boys on their day (if anyone doesn't know, beat us twice, drew with Germany and only lost by a goal to Italy away, and he played in all those games).

Only 22, great age, loads of time left and should be room to improve. Would love to know what the fee is meant to be, but think we're signing a real asset here. Hope we don't let the sell-on clause get too high. His right foot looks like it's just for standing though.

Quick Rothwell stats comparison in the Championship:

Rothwell: 152 games, 10 goals, 18 assists.

Goal every 15.2 games, assist every 8.44 games

Styles: 102 games, 8 goals, 5 assists.

Goal every 12.75 games, assist every 20.4 games

So Styles more of a goal threat, less of an assist threat. Course, Styles seems to have moved around more than Rothwell positionally, playing quite a bit on the left (just left mid it says, not the wing) and in attacking mid, and the teams were different so I know it's not the whole tale, just illustrative. Styles also gets booked a bit less frequently, every 9.2 games compared to every 8.

Edited July 21, 2022 by bluebruce

[Tricky]

3 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

That Barnsley fan says he's a shit Right Back.

I think most fans would too losing two key players to the same side in the space of a week 

[OldEwoodBlue]

Venkys reign measured by our right back.

Salgado from Real Madrid.

To 3rd division lad from Barnsley.

 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, davulsukur said:

I think JDT is looking at 3 across the middle. Thought he said he couldn't put 3 across the middle because he didn't have enough players to do it across 2 games?

In the last few games he's played 2 in the middle, with someone playing more advanced in an AMC role (Dolan against Celtic, replaced by Garrett). 

I think he's looking to play a 4-2-3-1 with VERY advanced FBs. 

[SBlue]

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

In the last few games he's played 2 in the middle, with someone playing more advanced in an AMC role (Dolan against Celtic, replaced by Garrett). 

I think he's looking to play a 4-2-3-1 with VERY advanced FBs. 

2-2-5-1?

Sounds bloody exciting I’ll give him that

[Butty]

Just catching up, can someone tell me where the Styles link has come from? Haven’t seen it anywhere myself? 

[bluebruce]

48 minutes ago, Realistic Rover said:

Played LWB for much of the 20/21 season they came 5th I believe

Transfrmarket has it as LM. Their positional stats can be a bit ropey I find, but since he also scored 5 and assisted 4, seems more likely than LWB. I'd defer to anyone who has actually seen him at length though, like the Barnsley fan who says he 'officially' played LWB but was so far up the pitch it was LM really.

Edited July 21, 2022 by bluebruce

[Exiled_Rover]

2 minutes ago, S8 & Blue said:

2-2-5-1?

Sounds bloody exciting I’ll give him that

In possession, yeah basically. 

[1864roverite]

52 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The fact that you had to go back 40 years for examples should tell you all you need to know.

Tell me that Nyambe isn’t as good as what we had previously ? Kenna was class, Atkins was better when he played right back in the team, Pearce and May excelled in that position when asked. Both Emerton and Robbie the Aussie did as good when asked👍😅

[davulsukur]

5 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

In the last few games he's played 2 in the middle, with someone playing more advanced in an AMC role (Dolan against Celtic, replaced by Garrett). 

I think he's looking to play a 4-2-3-1 with VERY advanced FBs. 

It looks that way, yeah.

I thought I read something after one of the pre season games, JDT saying he wanted to play 3 across the middle but didn't have enough players to do it with 2 different teams playing. I'm probably muddling it up with something else tbh.