January Transfer Window.

[roversfan99]

7 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

hirst is absolutely shocking,reminds me of paul mckinnon,out of his depth and never likely to score,better of spending hundred grand on a lower league centre forward,at least they put themselves about

He is appalling, no redeeming features at all, he is good at nothing. To think he was (allegedly) our first choice target.

[Hasta]

Hirst and Mola have proven to be shockers. Hope they were knee jerk reactions with new arrivals coming in in JDT and GB. Need far better quality than those.

[Hasta]

On 20/12/2022 at 00:24, jim mk2 said:

And the best of all, Alan Ball, born Farnworth 1945

Met him once socially. Soundest bloke you could meet. We grilled him for ages on his World Cup win and he talked us through the whole experience. When we said “you must be bored keep being asked and recounting this to strangers”, he said “what’s the point in winning it if you can’t tell people about it”.
 

Also was genuinely interested in Blackburn and Darwen, as he knew it well from when he was a kid. Think he said his family had the Millstone in a Darwen somewhere back down the line. He sadly died less than a year later after we met 🙁

Edited December 21, 2022 by Hasta

[jim mk2]

2 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Met him once socially. Soundest bloke you could meet. We grilled him for ages on his World Cup win and he talked us through the whole experience. When we said “you must be bored keep being asked and recounting this to strangers”, he said “what’s the point in winning it if you can’t tell people about it”.
 

Also was genuinely interested in Blackburn and Darwen, as he knew it well from when he was a kid. Think he said his family had the Millstone in a Darwen somewhere back down the line. He sadly died less than a year later after we met 🙁

Good Lancashire lad and superb footballer

He'd be in my all-time England Greats XI

Bolton rejected him because they said he was too small

[Mike E]

42 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Hirst and Mola have proven to be shockers. Hope they were knee jerk reactions with new arrivals coming in in JDT and GB. Need far better quality than those.

They feel like low risk 'you never knows' rather than any real thought going into them. Maybe data over scouting, which is understandable given they had about 7 weeks.

I would now hope  we use data to back up scouts opinions rather than data-only.

[RevidgeBlue]

53 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Hirst and Mola have proven to be shockers. Hope they were knee jerk reactions with new arrivals coming in in JDT and GB. Need far better quality than those.

I'm astounded that anyone expected anything different from Hirst bearing in mind he had a record of 0 from 32 at this level before arriving.

And to think there was such a heated debate when he signed about whether a loan with an option to purchase at £5m was a good deal or not for us!!

[K-Hod]

7 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I'm astounded that anyone expected anything different from Hirst bearing in mind he had a record of 0 from 32 at this level before arriving.

And to think there was such a heated debate when he signed about whether a loan with an option to purchase at £5m was a good deal or not for us!!

Everyone gets a clean slate when they start here from me, no point calling myself a supporter if I write someone off before they’ve kicked a ball for us….

[Mashed Potatoes]

27 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

Everyone gets a clean slate when they start here from me, no point calling myself a supporter if I write someone off before they’ve kicked a ball for us….

Especially when actual game time was about 8 games.

[jim mk2]

There's a clear lack of quality in the Rovers squad. We've a few decent players (none Premier League IMO), some very ordinary ones and some promising lads who may or may not get better. But overall, there's a lack of quality. And hoping that fringe players from Premier League clubs will fill the gaps doesn't work either - apart from the likes of Elliott, Harwood-Bellis and Tosin (credit Mowbray?) most of them have been poor to say the least. 

This January we desperately need some players who will come in and make a difference - not lads just to fill a shirt. 

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

11 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

There's a clear lack of quality in the Rovers squad. We've a few decent players (none Premier League IMO), some very ordinary ones and some promising lads who may or may not get better. But overall, there's a lack of quality. And hoping that fringe players from Premier League clubs will fill the gaps doesn't work either - apart from the likes of Elliott, Harwood-Bellis and Tosin (credit Mowbray?) most of them have been poor to say the least. 

This January we desperately need some players who will come in and make a difference - not lads just to fill a shirt. 

 

Or fill a place on the bench.

[booth]

8 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I'm astounded that anyone expected anything different from Hirst bearing in mind he had a record of 0 from 32 at this level before arriving.

And to think there was such a heated debate when he signed about whether a loan with an option to purchase at £5m was a good deal or not for us!!

Broughton's building up of Hirst hasn't helped. He was only a kid when he was last in this league and scored a few in L1 last season. I warily thought there may be something about him, and at 23 could perhaps make the step up. But nah, he's a really poor player. Reminds me of Kevin Davies looking lost and none commital.

[Sweaty Gussets]

Someone on LT comments saying we're signing Van Hecke for £350k in Jan and Dembele is on his way too. 

It's like Tony never left...

[chaddyrovers]

On 19/12/2022 at 19:00, bluebruce said:

I suspect we would accept around 10-12. It's a lot for us for someone we could lose for nowt in the summer, but we also don't want to be taken for mugs, sets a bad precedent, then there's the question of how likely we are to get promoted with him vs without him.

On the other side of the market, he is certainly worth that kind of money, but  clubs will be conscious of him being free in the summer. However only one of the linked clubs can possibly sign him and all the rest will miss out. He's still a good bargain at 10-12 mill so it's a question of get a good bargain now, or risk getting nothing in the summer and having to pay top dollar for someone else. Similar dilemma to ours in a way. Likely that Ben and his agent will suck up a lot of the savings on a freebie in wages and fees too (which is why they're unlikely to force a Jan move, though I suspect they'd agree to one if they're not lowballed).

We didn't get those sort of 10-12 million bids in the summer so I would say its unlikely we would now. We only got 3 offers in the summer. Fulham bid 6 mil plus 4 mil in add on's, Seville and Nice bid 8.4 million offer

On 20/12/2022 at 18:47, slowmo said:

Not sure if posted already,  but good article on the new recruitment team and scouts at the club. 

 

https://trainingground.guru/articles/blackburn-unveil-new-look-recruitment-team-after-making-three-hires

I was very insightful to how Rovers recruitment work and what roles people are doing within those roles. I'm pleased we will be looking at European market even tho far less players will meet the UK work permit rules. I feel we should be looking at Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia markets for players.  

On 20/12/2022 at 20:20, Andy said:

I'm sure Kaminski was a product of the European scouting we were doing under Mowbray?

Either way, certainly cause for optimism moving forward.

But, as ever, the proof is in the signings...

We did have a Head of European scout under Mowbray with Glyn Chamberlain doing that role until Mowbray decided that role wasn't needed any more. 

Mowbray didn't make used of the European market for me. 

12 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Big January needed. Send Mola and Hirst back, both shite. 2 full backs, an experienced midfielder and a forward needed.

So you want to sign another midfielder meaning less time and even chance of Adam Wharton or Jake Garrett making the 18 man squad? 

[rover23]

12 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Big January needed. Send Mola and Hirst back, both shite. 2 full backs, an experienced midfielder and a forward needed.

I’d agree with this apart from I don’t think we need another centre mid. Already have Travis, Morton, Buckley, Garrett, A.Wharton. 

 

Looks like Rovers will be in for JPVH though. Another ‘Hedges’ move done earlier than the summer to ward off any other potential suitors. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

23 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

We didn't get those sort of 10-12 million bids in the summer so I would say its unlikely we would now. We only got 3 offers in the summer. Fulham bid 6 mil plus 4 mil in add on's, Seville and Nice bid 8.4 million offer

I was very insightful to how Rovers recruitment work and what roles people are doing within those roles. I'm pleased we will be looking at European market even tho far less players will meet the UK work permit rules. I feel we should be looking at Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia markets for players.  

We did have a Head of European scout under Mowbray with Glyn Chamberlain doing that role until Mowbray decided that role wasn't needed any more. 

Mowbray didn't make used of the European market for me. 

So you want to sign another midfielder meaning less time and even chance of Adam Wharton or Jake Garrett making the 18 man squad? 

Is the object of the exercise 1) Getting promoted ? Or 2) Grooming young players to sell on ? 

If the answer is 1)  We need an experienced midfield “ general “ for the rest of the season.  If the answer is 2) We’ll just soldier on treading water.

[Wheelton Blue]

I don't think any of our centre mids are consistenly good enough for a team looking at promotion.

 

[chaddyrovers]

25 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Is the object of the exercise 1) Getting promoted ? Or 2) Grooming young players to sell on ? 

If the answer is 1)  We need an experienced midfield “ general “ for the rest of the season.  If the answer is 2) We’ll just soldier on treading water.

We already know what the objective as Rovers spoke about this over the summer. 

we are 3rd in the league and I would rather use the players we have in midfield then bring in another meaning it 6 players fighting for 2 spot in the starting 11 and 1 on the bench. 

 

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

We didn't get those sort of 10-12 million bids in the summer so I would say its unlikely we would now. We only got 3 offers in the summer. Fulham bid 6 mil plus 4 mil in add on's, Seville and Nice bid 8.4 million offer

I was very insightful to how Rovers recruitment work and what roles people are doing within those roles. I'm pleased we will be looking at European market even tho far less players will meet the UK work permit rules. I feel we should be looking at Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia markets for players.  

We did have a Head of European scout under Mowbray with Glyn Chamberlain doing that role until Mowbray decided that role wasn't needed any more. 

Mowbray didn't make used of the European market for me. 

So you want to sign another midfielder meaning less time and even chance of Adam Wharton or Jake Garrett making the 18 man squad? 

Yes, our young midfielders are inconsistent and we need someone with more experience, I have said that for a while. if a young player is good enough he will play regardless, we shouldn't avoid signing good players to leave gaps as it means the young lads have to suddenly be consistent otherwise results will nosedive. Wharton is talented and capable but inconsistent and Garrett hasn't shown that he is up to it yet IMO, I think a loan spell to League 1 would be good for his development at this stage. 

What is the primary aim in the second half of the season, to compete or to give young players experience? We will see with what happens in January.

[tomphil]

What i see in Hirst is a raw kid who doesn't look 23 or someone who has had a few years pro level football.

It's a really odd one because he has some occasional good touches but to me he just doesn't look physically ready he needs games elsewhere or U23s.  I know guys develop at different stages sometimes and he sure looks like he could use some mon strength so maybe it'll still come.

Late bloomer ?   Who knows but for what he's offering us we can't wait around and at 23 it's looking a long shot he is up to Championship standard football. If he was one of our own we'd be saying he needs a full season in league one but surely they won't pay money for him then loan him out ?

The DoF isn't looking too sharp on this one or Mola i have to say.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Yes, our young midfielders are inconsistent and we need someone with more experience, I have said that for a while. if a young player is good enough he will play regardless, we shouldn't avoid signing good players to leave gaps as it means the young lads have to suddenly be consistent otherwise results will nosedive. Wharton is talented and capable but inconsistent and Garrett hasn't shown that he is up to it yet IMO, I think a loan spell to League 1 would be good for his development at this stage. 

What is the primary aim in the second half of the season, to compete or to give young players experience? We will see with what happens in January.

What happens with young players is they have a game or two were they look good. Then they have a game or two off the boil. The haven’t yet got the level of consistency that older players develop. Our problem is we have four midfield players that all fit into that category - Morton, Garrett, Wharton and to a great extent Buckley. All of those can look great one day and very average the next. That’s all well and good if we’re content to bump around this league. If we want to get promoted we need better players in central midfield. 

[roverandout]

We don't really need any more centrebacks or midfielders. What we need is a Jordan rhodes type outlay on a real quality striker. There's always somebody who could fit the bill

[chaddyrovers]

47 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Yes, our young midfielders are inconsistent and we need someone with more experience, I have said that for a while. if a young player is good enough he will play regardless, we shouldn't avoid signing good players to leave gaps as it means the young lads have to suddenly be consistent otherwise results will nosedive. Wharton is talented and capable but inconsistent and Garrett hasn't shown that he is up to it yet IMO, I think a loan spell to League 1 would be good for his development at this stage. 

I think Garrett has shown he is more the up to it as he has shown in the games he played. You and I plus others have already had this discussion already. We won't agree. 

You want to keep adding players to the squad/positions where we already have enough players for that position. 

I think we need to just look to sign 1 or 2 players in January. Right back and another forward option if Dolan is out long term or BBD leaves or we send Hirst back 

47 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

What is the primary aim in the second half of the season, to compete or to give young players experience? We will see with what happens in January.

We are already competing in the league aren't we and we are 3rd in the league or is that not compete for you? 

[Sparks Rover]

49 minutes ago, roverandout said:

We don't really need any more centrebacks or midfielders. What we need is a Jordan rhodes type outlay on a real quality striker. There's always somebody who could fit the bill

We need a holding midfielder who's top championship standard.  The way Lingard was allowed to run right through was unforgivable.   We are open a lot in midfield.  Garrett isn't the answer right now.  In fact, I don't think JDT knows his best midfield.

[roversfan99]

14 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I think Garrett has shown he is more the up to it as he has shown in the games he played. You and I plus others have already had this discussion already. We won't agree. 

You want to keep adding players to the squad/positions where we already have enough players for that position. 

I think we need to just look to sign 1 or 2 players in January. Right back and another forward option if Dolan is out long term or BBD leaves or we send Hirst back 

We are already competing in the league aren't we and we are 3rd in the league or is that not compete for you? 

Our first 11 is competitive but beyond that we are extremely weak in terms of quality, not numbers. If we had to play Edun/Mola at left back or Garrett in central midfield for an extended period of time, do you think we would remain competitive for a top 6 place?

[simongarnerisgod]

it`s all about how much ambition as a club we have,3rd in the league is a proper time to spend some cash in january to push on,do venkys and swag really want to though,the indians are clueless and swag is a muppet,myself im`e not getting excited,this is rovers under venkys😰