That *was* the January Window

[arbitro]

I honestly can't say I'm too disappointed simply because I've learned over the past thirteen years that getting my hopes up only leads to anger and frustration. The objective to me was simple - raise some money to keep the lights on at Ewood and Adam Wharton was the collateral damage here. We have sold the family silver and in that respect have played our last ace as there really isn't another Adam in the pipeline right now. This 'project' that Broughton babbled on about has gone into reverse as we have signed aging players albeit on short of loan deals and our best Academy player arguably ever has gone, gone too early in my view. No doubt we will hear about how we are planning for the summer now, how January is a difficult market etc. The recruitment department has failed massively here as the panic signings of the last few days have proved.

[cesus]

I'm certainly not writing off any of the signings, I always give players a chance, probably too much of a chance.

My angst over the window is we have sold a player for a club record fee. Think about that for a second, a club record fee doesn't pay bills it is meant to propel the club. Palace didn't bid for the first time yesterday, we had a chance at a good window and getting players in to work with the manager to start next season on the front foot. What we did was have a window of patching.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

17 minutes ago, RTM08 said:

Fleck is a good player, but that's what, 5 out of 6 who could leave in the summer?

Absolutely zero long term strategy. 

Saying Fleck is a good player is like saying Dack is a good player. 

It's pretty irrelevant how much ability he has(or had) if he's got one leg in the knackers yard

 

 

[Ricky]

I think Chaddy got the number of signings he was expecting but hoping his realism over the last couple of days continues and he can see the window for the failure it was.

I was slightly happier about Fleck until I heard that he’s been out injured most of the season and has managed 89 minutes in total so far since August 😞

[martonrover]

12 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

I’m well chuffed with Fleck, the midfield has been crying out for more experience and protection. He brings both in spades and a bit of much needed bite to boot.

IF he's fit. Hardly played this season, and the Yorkshire Post reports that he's been beset with injury problems.

[Lancaster Rover]

Not looked into what Flecks injuries are but I’m going to guess muscular, which could be a sign the intensity of the Prem is too much. 
 

All conjecture on my part, not knowing his injury history but if they’re muscular you’d hope he’s signed being currently fit to play and that the less intense pace (in comparison) of the championship might help him. 
 

who knows, if he stays fit I think he’s a good addition. 

[Andy]

45 minutes ago, Ewood Bobbler said:

Wow, the optimism for any signing can emphatically dissipate with a simple scroll through this forum.

So, to recap, on the last day our deals are.... 

Fleck.... Not long ago I'd argue he was a big upgrade on Travis. A guy with bite, who covered the ground and who undeniably had far more goals in his locker. Whether he can still hack it at this level remains to be seen but I'm not writing him off because he is 32. Jury out yet but surely a reason to be quietly optimistic, especially when there is an Adam Wharton sized hole to fill and a manager crying out for more experience.  

On top of this Travis is still our player. If he really is all that then he will be playing for a promotion pushing team and his value will only increase with good performances. He gets the chance to prove why he should play for us or gets us a bigger fee than we would get for him now. Win win. 

On top of this we manage to sign a USA International, certainly one of our top targets, who has scored 15 goals in 37 games at the tender age of 22. Raw prospect but hopefully plenty of growth in him and we get him on a try before you buy basis so if he turns out badly we aren't hugely out of pocket.

Backed this up with a young Liverpool kid who has the physicality to hopefully stop us conceding quite so many soft goals. Admittedly he hasn't had the best loans previously and I am honest enough to admit I have seen nothing of him to form a good basis but there must be a reason he is still at Liverpool.

I rate Ayari. I don't care what happened at Cov. There is a brilliant player there. McFazdean another vastly experienced player that has stood out when playing against him and has the physicality to outmuscle and bully if his legs are still there at 37. O'Riordan was beloved by Crewe fans and hopefully a real steal of a player with plenty of potential and Chrisene looks good when moving forward with the ball. All fairly positive, no? 

I remember years ago reading through the comments on here. They sounded out our decline and several posters were actively praying for relegation and hoping we got beat which I found bizarre. They wanted rid of the woeful manager at the helm, who at the time was Mowbray and called for us to bin the worst player they'd ever seen, that player was JRC. My response must have been quite inflammatory as it was immediately blocked. 

I was similarly angered at the tripe dished out when we signed Szmodics. He doesn't look too bad now does he? 

To my knowledge this is my first post since. I don't know if it will see the light of day either. I certainly expect more to disagree than agree. 

Yes, we have massively cut costs. Yes we aren't run well, (the on/off nature of the McGuire deal was a fiasco) but recruiting the kinds of players JDT asks for whilst not spending vast amounts highlights to me a job well done in the end. 

Our future may well be determined in the Indian courts. Venkys for all of their failings have never shirked putting money in. Hopefully they are allowed to continue to do so and in the summer we can finally begin a Brentford model of reinvestment based on selling players of the calibre of Adam rather than letting them walk for free. 

If this isn't the case then maybe I understand the doom and gloom of some posters but until then I'm fairly content with the job done by Broughton in this window despite him having both of his hands tied behind his back. 

Despite the soft underbelly and the injuries we have suffered this season some of our football has been fantastic to watch and I for one am optimistic if we can keep JDT and offer him better players in the summer then we really could turn around some of the pessimistic followers and look forward to a brighter future. 

Agree with this.

It was far from a 10/10 window, but there are some obviously exaggerated reactions.

But you have to bear in mind that this community seems to have a disproportionate negative outlook as opposed to the wider fan base (rightly or wrongly).

The lad from Crewe does look a prospect and the American boy is intriguing as well.

As for the rest, well we certainly added experience and some numbers, so let’s see how it all pans out.

Nothing has changed my mind that we’ll be closer to the top 6 than the bottom 6 in May (10 points and a game in hand on 6th at the time of writing - even after a horror run of form).

The worry will be what happens in the summer, with owners/funding/etc, but we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

[Mattyblue]

Who do you think has had the number of these owners since 2010? This ‘negative’ place or the wider fanbase?

Edited February 2, 2024 by Mattyblue

[BankEnd Rover]

John Fleck?? To honest be that is 100% someone we need so I’m loving that signing. 
 

Hes direct, experienced, and also very good defensively - let’s say an older version of Rothwell. I hope we can keep him and extend him past 6 months.

 

[Gav]

I really can't muster any enthusiasm for the incoming players, they're players that have been brought in to keep us out of the relegation zone not push us towards the playoffs. All credit to the recruitment team for getting bodies in at such short notice, the Wharton deal hit a snag, the sale wasn't going through at one point, which made the incomings even more difficult to get over the line, so credit to the team for that.

The sale of Wharton will go down as one of the darkest moments under these owners for me. A Blackburn lad, Rovers fan, sold at the earliest opportunity by absent owners who are now intent on squeezing every last penny we have, you do wonder whats next for the club and our billionaire owners. 

I'll not be going to QPR game tomorrow in protest against the owners, it won't make the slightest bit of difference, but its the only control I/we have as a fans.

We need these owners out of the club, or the ground will be sold next if the academy doesn't produce, mark my words. 

VENKYS OUT

 

 

[CambridgeRover]

Right so loans and older players , a temporary cover against relegation

Then in summer, they all leave and the  squad isn't backed financially again

[LDRover]

51 minutes ago, RTM08 said:

Fleck is a good player, but that's what, 5 out of 6 who could leave in the summer?

Absolutely zero long term strategy. 

Nah mate, it's the 'Brentford model'.

Apparently.

[superniko]

18 minutes ago, Andy said:

Agree with this.

It was far from a 10/10 window, but there are some obviously exaggerated reactions.

But you have to bear in mind that this community seems to have a disproportionate negative outlook as opposed to the wider fan base (rightly or wrongly).

The lad from Crewe does look a prospect and the American boy is intriguing as well.

As for the rest, well we certainly added experience and some numbers, so let’s see how it all pans out.

Nothing has changed my mind that we’ll be closer to the top 6 than the bottom 6 in May (10 points and a game in hand on 6th at the time of writing - even after a horror run of form).

The worry will be what happens in the summer, with owners/funding/etc, but we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

We sold a player for £22m and bought nothing but 6 month free transfers or 6 month loans. 

You two are on cloud cookoo land 

 

[Paul Mani]

27 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

A truly abysmal window. All we've done is paper over the cracks. 

IF we stay up, it's likely due to the players we already had prior to the window.

So, the plan all along was to sell Wharton and spend nothing. "The project" has been a smokescreen.

It depends how you judge it. 

Short term, this team / squad is not going down, imo. We’ve added some steel and experience as well as what appears to be our number 1 striker target.

                     Pears

      Hyam.    McFadz.    Wharton

JRC.     Sondre.      Fleck.       Pickering

                     Szmodics

              Gally         McGuire 

Subs - Wahlstedt, Brittain, Chrisene, O’riorden, Billy K, Carter, Dolan, Hedges, Buckley, Garrett, Ayari, Siggy, Leonard etc.

It’s the bigger picture and long term plan that worries me. Because 8 of those 24 players are either out of contract or on loan and for as long as we don’t spend any hard cash, the managed decline continues.

[TheRovers1994]

Got to say signing Ennis for free and then selling him on is great business like with koita 

judging by all the defenders jdt is maybe fancying a back 3 ? Like to see Gallagher and Maguire upfront 

fleck adds quality and experience 

[Torgeir]

17 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

Not looked into what Flecks injuries are but I’m going to guess muscular, which could be a sign the intensity of the Prem is too much. 
 

All conjecture on my part, not knowing his injury history but if they’re muscular you’d hope he’s signed being currently fit to play and that the less intense pace (in comparison) of the championship might help him. 
 

who knows, if he stays fit I think he’s a good addition. 

Fractures back to back seasons I think. 

 

https://www.sheffieldunited.news/news/sheffield-united-star-suffers-broken-leg-ahead-of-new-premier-league-season/

 

I really don't like Sheffield United, but Fleck is a good player when fit. Just concerned he might have lost a step or two after a couple of injury-ravaged seasons. People can say low risk but if his fitness is there then we don't have many recognised CMs left. The team has got a little bite in it now, in the right way, with McFadzean and Fleck onboard. 

 

Think Broughton has done well, he's obviously running on little resources. It's too early to judge McGuire, but if he can bang in eight goals from now on and until the end of the season (excl. pens), then I'd dare to say as a team that we've come out of the window quite okay. Looking forward to Greggs interview regarding the transfer window and the plans for the summer.

[JBiz]

18 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Who do you think has had the number of these owners since 2010? This ‘negative’ place or the wider fanbase?

You can’t compare this place to anywhere else, because all of the most angry, most reactive, most short sighted, most regularly dismissive of others and arrogant, the most likely to be finger pointing and blaming other fans…

They’re already here! Moderates have been chased out in droves. 

[Mattyblue]

1 minute ago, JBiz said:

You can’t compare this place to anywhere else, because all of the most angry, most reactive, most short sighted, most regularly dismissive of others and arrogant, the most likely to be finger pointing and blaming other fans…

They’re already here! Moderates have been chased out in droves. 

Who has had the number of these owners since 2010? Brfcs or the wider fanbase?

Edited February 2, 2024 by Mattyblue

[superniko]

2 minutes ago, JBiz said:

You can’t compare this place to anywhere else, because all of the most angry, most reactive, most short sighted, most regularly dismissive of others and arrogant, the most likely to be finger pointing and blaming other fans…

They’re already here! Moderates have been chased out in droves. 

Bit in bold made me laugh - can only assume it’s a micky take 

Edited February 2, 2024 by superniko

[Paul Mani]

For the record, i am going to hang my hat on Ayari being a good un. Defo see something in him, not necessarily sure it will be with us but watch that space…in 2yrs time 👍🏼

[JBiz]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Who has had the number of these owners since 2010? Brfcs or the wider fanbase?

Since Henry Winter doesn’t post here, or 95% of those who I talk to at football, and about football, don’t post here;

I would say that there is no special “knowledge” on BRFCS anymore. If you want the black and white answer; Wider fanbase and world

[Mattyblue]

A typical Bizzle non answer there.

[Crimpshrine]

1 hour ago, Ewood Bobbler said:

Venkys for all of their failings have never shirked putting money in. Hopefully they are allowed to continue to do so and in the summer we can finally begin a Brentford model of reinvestment based on selling players of the calibre of Adam rather than letting them walk for free. 

People will still be saying this in another 13 years time. 

Venky's don't care about the club and never will. They need to go now.

[Torgeir]

8 minutes ago, TheRovers1994 said:

Got to say signing Ennis for free and then selling him on is great business like with koita 

judging by all the defenders jdt is maybe fancying a back 3 ? Like to see Gallagher and Maguire upfront 

fleck adds quality and experience 

We've spent a lot of resources on getting him fit and he's delivered one goal in the league cup. Yes, financially we make a couple of bucks, but his failure on the pitch is part of the reason we are where we are in the table.

[bigbrandjohn]

25 minutes ago, Andy said:

Agree with this.

It was far from a 10/10 window, but there are some obviously exaggerated reactions.

But you have to bear in mind that this community seems to have a disproportionate negative outlook as opposed to the wider fan base (rightly or wrongly).

The lad from Crewe does look a prospect and the American boy is intriguing as well.

As for the rest, well we certainly added experience and some numbers, so let’s see how it all pans out.

Nothing has changed my mind that we’ll be closer to the top 6 than the bottom 6 in May (10 points and a game in hand on 6th at the time of writing - even after a horror run of form).

The worry will be what happens in the summer, with owners/funding/etc, but we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

I agree with your agreement😀

At one stage I really thought that it would be Adam out and Big Mc in.  I really didn’t think we would get the American lad. 

Why I am excited about having  McGuire in is that I live in the States. The number of fans who will start following Blackburn and researching our heritage will be great. When I wear my Rovers shirt around people will recognize it. The standard is nowhere near Championship level. I watch Philadelphia Union, but there are some very good players knocking around. 

I think we have recruited players oven ready for the championship. We need that. We also kept Gallagher and he will want to prove  himself to us or anyone else watching.