That *was* the January Window

[NeilInBristol]

Just spotted this in the mirror article

Such a mess. Poor chap 

McGuire, who celebrated his 23rd birthday holed up in a hotel in Blackburn while he awaited his fate, has now returned to Orlando and Rovers hope to sign him in the summer.

[arbitro]

11 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Yep, that'll solve the problem. 

Clearly you don't agree that he should go so please state your reasons rather than a few words and a silly emoji.I

I made it clear that in my opinion his role is untenable. On February 3rd last year he gave an interview in which he accepted full responsibility and a full review of the process would be carried out and changes implemented. He also said he didn't think we would win an appeal but, at great cost the appeal was lodged and lost. Lo and behold history has repeated itself and whilst he may not have been responsible for not actually pressing the correct button it has happened three times on his watch.

There can also be a debate the merits of his signings which have only been moderately successful.

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, RoverCanada said:

While only 'small victories', particularly with everything else going on, while GB* has generally failed to bring in a striker, it's at least some succour that the financial consequences of his two main striker acquisitions - Hirst** and Ennis - have been minimal. Something to be said about limiting long-term risks/managing to wriggle out of mistakes when you're in the strikers pound shop...

And then when he finally had some money to spend on a striker... Whatever the final financials, a loan-to-buy for McGuire sounded sensible. I'll speak up for MLS's gradual improvement in quality (there have been recent cases of (successful) MLS sales of £5-10m in recent years), but there's definitely reason for caution about a 22 year old with only one big MLS season after getting drafted out of college soccer. Of course, if McGuire floundered on his loan and we happily moved on, the question would still hang as to what, if any, of the Wharton sale will actually go toward player investment...

Rather pathetically, even if Ennis nets out to a small 'accounting loss', probably the biggest financial benefit is any relief his fee brings to our immediate cashflow (in order to, uh, fund the McGuire loan fee...)

*I've generally been a 'fan' of GB, whatever happend with the McGuire fiasco, I can't be bothered to endorse/take a 'side' on any part of the Rovers hierarchy when the whole thing is rotten, with Venky's incompetence/clusterfuck finances setting the tone at the top...

**Ipswich fans seem happy with Hirst. I recall posts taking bets on Hirst playing non-league football by now haha. Odd one. May simply have been a 'bad fit' here or JDT failing to get the best out of him.

(I'm saddened I couldn't figure out if it's possible to add footnotes 😞)

Hirst just didn't really fit the JDT way and neither did Ennis so it's a real big issue when your DoF is keeping bringing in guys who don't fit what you want.

Yes limited finances and pond to fish in but still it looked like bods for the sake of bods which clearly wasn't working.

[RV Blue]

13 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

Now the Mcguire case has been heard, I will now share the chain of events confirmed by four different sources who were ALL in the building on Transfer deadline day.

I will also dispel some myths and bollocks which has spun around the net.

GB Spoke with Orlando over a period of a few weeks regarding his interest in Mcguire (DOF Identifies players, his role)

Orlando had cash bids from Sheff Wednesday and GB Indicated that the club would be willing to buy the player for £5-7 Million including add on, however this was not an offer and it would have to go through the correct channels at the club, as it was subject to due diligence, funds and negotiation by those who do the money side (GB Does not negotiate contracts or fees).

The deal being pulled mid flight is complete fabrication, Rovers had not progressed to a formal offer, hence he ended up in Sheffield and not Blackburn. HIs agent negotiated with Orlando to have him in England as there was firm interest from two clubs possibly a third.

Following due diligence, which included using overseas data analysis, the clubs wide scouting network, it was clear that Mcguire had just seven months ago been playing college football, (The equivalent of turning out at pleasington on a Sunday). He was at nearly 23 a late rookie breakout last season in the MLS, Which in all fairness is a not the highest standard.  GB Wanted the player, so the club negotiated a "Try before you buy" offer, instead of spunking millions at a relatively unknown quantity. Orlando was happy with this, so the player headed to Blackburn.

All formalities were done by between 8pm and 9pm and the paperwork uploaded. All Seniors were in the building SW, GB, MC and IS. The club opted to wait to announce the deal and ordered curry in to celebrate what they deemed a successful window.

A sweep was done around the office a number of times with all those involved to ensure everything had been dotted and crossed.

GB and IS Assured everyone this was the case, please note only the secretary can upload to the portal and press send. No one left the office and the deal was announced.

At around 11.04 one of the admin girls who I shall not name, told the CEO That it had not been sent. Of course at this point complete devastation for a very large team at Ewood who had put a lot of effort into transfer deadline day.

Only one person could send this, and everyone else had done their part, that person stated it had gone, to all the senior team and those who play a supporting role. 

Th fault of this lies solely with the secretary. 

The background noise of transfers being cancelled mid-flight just did not happen. Adam Wharton's deal was done Wednesday and had no baring on this fiasco.

The club were hoping time stamps of uploads would get leniency from the EFL, But deep down knew this lad been badly let down and it was never going to end well.

We have huge sticks and bombs to hit certain people, but truth be told this is one person, who has royally fooooooked it up for everyone.

 

Honestly think you’ve been fed an absolute load of shite here Glen, none of it makes sense.

We provisionally agreed a fee with Orlando for a player we’ve been tracking for months only then to realise that he’s a rookie who’s only played 30 professional games, information that fans will have found out after a 30 second google of his name?

Even the admin girl could see whether the documentation had been sent or not but no one realised that it hadn’t for 2 hours until, coincidentally, just 4 minutes after the deadline?

By all accounts the Fleck deal was done after McGuire, were they processing this whilst scoffing their curry? When they were processing it no one realised McGuire hadn’t actually been sent?

Sounds like they’ve had a few days to come up with a story that blames only one person and I’m sure there will be announcement in the near future stating that this person has left their role, at which point they can say that the matter has been dealt with and we can go on as usual.

Bullshit if you ask me.

[Oldgregg86]

2 hours ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

Yes, but you think it's some grand conspiracy.  

What’s conspiratorial about skint owners (regarding BRFC ) pulling the plug on a multi million pound deal TWICE

Edited February 9 by Oldgregg86

[ben_the_beast]

39 minutes ago, RV Blue said:

Honestly think you’ve been fed an absolute load of shite here Glen, none of it makes sense.

We provisionally agreed a fee with Orlando for a player we’ve been tracking for months only then to realise that he’s a rookie who’s only played 30 professional games, information that fans will have found out after a 30 second google of his name?

Even the admin girl could see whether the documentation had been sent or not but no one realised that it hadn’t for 2 hours until, coincidentally, just 4 minutes after the deadline?

By all accounts the Fleck deal was done after McGuire, were they processing this whilst scoffing their curry? When they were processing it no one realised McGuire hadn’t actually been sent?

Sounds like they’ve had a few days to come up with a story that blames only one person and I’m sure there will be announcement in the near future stating that this person has left their role, at which point they can say that the matter has been dealt with and we can go on as usual.

Bullshit if you ask me.

I don't doubt the info Glen has been fed, but it also stands to reason the first thing the group in the room would have done is go into self-preservation mode and get their stories straight. Hence the same timeline of events from four different sources. 

As for the error only being realised at 11:04... Trust in the Rovers hierarchy is at an all time low, so it's only natural that people begin to speculate. I wouldn't say it's outside the realms of possibility that there had been private conversations amongst one or two on our board that the deal needed to be scuppered, with the promise of either jobs being safe or a handsome payoff. On the surface it seems as though JDT and GB have been at loggerheads with SW & Suhail. How do we know there hasn't been some private conversations in the background? All speculation and conspiracy theories, but they seem almost as likely as incompetence to me. I'm not even going to bother making my mind up around what has gone on. We'll never know.

No organisation can function when there is this little trust with their paying customers. Regime change is the only way forwards for the club. 

[wilsdenrover]

What made them check at 11:04??

[RoverCanada]

59 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Hirst just didn't really fit the JDT way and neither did Ennis so it's a real big issue when your DoF is keeping bringing in guys who don't fit what you want.

Yes limited finances and pond to fish in but still it looked like bods for the sake of bods which clearly wasn't working.

Yeah, limited financial damage aside and acknowledging the overall financial constraints, it's definitely been GB's biggest failure.

Ennis... best guess is he was seen as a good bargain opportunity. Young striker who has scored some goals, out of contract, no compensation. But then showed up out of shape, his poor fitness should've been flagged/questions to be asked about his medical, JDT not impressed, and it snowballed from there... Maybe washes out now that we're rid of him, but not a mistake we could afford this year amid the budget cut.

Strange with Hirst. I think it's documented that JDT did approve of that one. I think he just struggled to break into a squad that was doing quite well. Flubbed a few chances, lost both his and JDT's confidence... 12 goals in 44 games with Ipswich is pretty good, but not incredible. He's had 9 assists too, so maybe has worked as more of a complementary piece rather than the goalscorer there. Would need to read up more on Ipswich fans' views...

[Roverthechimp]

39 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

What made them check at 11:04??

Innocent explanation: that is when it was time to shut down the system and when it flagged that something wasn’t done/complete

Not so innocent explanation: just in time to say “well we can appeal like last year”

[wilsdenrover]

1 minute ago, Roverthechimp said:

Innocent explanation: that is when it was time to shut down the system and when it flagged that something wasn’t done/complete

Not so innocent explanation: just in time to say “well we can appeal like last year”

Would it say if something wasn’t done/complete without having to actually ‘delve deeper’?

[Roverthechimp]

11 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Would it say if something wasn’t done/complete without having to actually ‘delve deeper’?

Depends on the system - most systems give a warning (pretty much like outlook and windows) that “this process was started but not finished” or “you have a draft - do you want tosend it before exiting”  (or words to that effect)

Many don’t flag until being shut down but that would most likely mean that IS or SW were still logged in 

In short: total bollox imo

[Guest]

1 hour ago, wilsdenrover said:

What made them check at 11:04??

Well it's just what we've always done.

[DE.]

1 hour ago, ben_the_beast said:

I don't doubt the info Glen has been fed, but it also stands to reason the first thing the group in the room would have done is go into self-preservation mode and get their stories straight. Hence the same timeline of events from four different sources. 

As for the error only being realised at 11:04... Trust in the Rovers hierarchy is at an all time low, so it's only natural that people begin to speculate. I wouldn't say it's outside the realms of possibility that there had been private conversations amongst one or two on our board that the deal needed to be scuppered, with the promise of either jobs being safe or a handsome payoff. On the surface it seems as though JDT and GB have been at loggerheads with SW & Suhail. How do we know there hasn't been some private conversations in the background? All speculation and conspiracy theories, but they seem almost as likely as incompetence to me. I'm not even going to bother making my mind up around what has gone on. We'll never know.

No organisation can function when there is this little trust with their paying customers. Regime change is the only way forwards for the club. 

I mean, if that's the best they could come up with they probably should have tried harder. It basically boils down to "we relied on the word of a person known to have messed things up in the past, and instead of double and triple checking everything was OK we ordered a curry to celebrate despite there still being two hours until the window shut. We were all in the building and none of us thought to double check anything. All one person's fault though."

 

[simongarnerisgod]

todays managerial change is a great time  for hiding away the complete amateurs who keep messing up our transfers,get the brushes out and sweep it under the manky boardroom carpet

[Ricky]

Has Boughton actually not said anything since the end of the window over a week ago? Surely he should be making some sort of statement or has he also gone?

[Groundhog]

Do you think there's any truth in the rumour that the deadline day issues arose from the curry order and the McGuire deal being placed at the same time?

Duncan was sent back to Shad House for "not being hot enough" and the EFL queried why they had received a 6 month loan request totalling £58.99 for a 2x chicken biryani, 1x vindaloo and a lamb dansak (plus them little dip things, ta, Steve)? 

[broadsword]

With apologies to Lennon and McCartney:

 

I am crap as you are crap you're as bad as me
We're in the shit togeter
See how we scoff like pigs at a trough
See the club die
Fans are cryin'

Sitting with my cornflakes
Waiting for Duncan to come
Corporation tie & shirt, stupid bloody deadline day
Man, you've been a naughty boy
You left the fax machine on

[Gregg]:I am the eggman
[Venky's]:Who is the eggman?
[Waggott]:I am the walrus
Goo goo a'joob

Indian judge in court sitting
Got our excuses all in a row
See how they burn like a Zep' in the sky
This is how the club's run
We're tryin',we're tryin'
We're tryin',we're tryin'

[Jakey]

On 08/02/2024 at 21:12, glen9mullan said:

Now the Mcguire case has been heard, I will now share the chain of events confirmed by four different sources who were ALL in the building on Transfer deadline day.

I will also dispel some myths and bollocks which has spun around the net.

GB Spoke with Orlando over a period of a few weeks regarding his interest in Mcguire (DOF Identifies players, his role)

Orlando had cash bids from Sheff Wednesday and GB Indicated that the club would be willing to buy the player for £5-7 Million including add on, however this was not an offer and it would have to go through the correct channels at the club, as it was subject to due diligence, funds and negotiation by those who do the money side (GB Does not negotiate contracts or fees).

The deal being pulled mid flight is complete fabrication, Rovers had not progressed to a formal offer, hence he ended up in Sheffield and not Blackburn. HIs agent negotiated with Orlando to have him in England as there was firm interest from two clubs possibly a third.

Following due diligence, which included using overseas data analysis, the clubs wide scouting network, it was clear that Mcguire had just seven months ago been playing college football, (The equivalent of turning out at pleasington on a Sunday). He was at nearly 23 a late rookie breakout last season in the MLS, Which in all fairness is a not the highest standard.  GB Wanted the player, so the club negotiated a "Try before you buy" offer, instead of spunking millions at a relatively unknown quantity. Orlando was happy with this, so the player headed to Blackburn.

All formalities were done by between 8pm and 9pm and the paperwork uploaded. All Seniors were in the building SW, GB, MC and IS. The club opted to wait to announce the deal and ordered curry in to celebrate what they deemed a successful window.

A sweep was done around the office a number of times with all those involved to ensure everything had been dotted and crossed.

GB and IS Assured everyone this was the case, please note only the secretary can upload to the portal and press send. No one left the office and the deal was announced.

At around 11.04 one of the admin girls who I shall not name, told the CEO That it had not been sent. Of course at this point complete devastation for a very large team at Ewood who had put a lot of effort into transfer deadline day.

Only one person could send this, and everyone else had done their part, that person stated it had gone, to all the senior team and those who play a supporting role. 

Th fault of this lies solely with the secretary. 

The background noise of transfers being cancelled mid-flight just did not happen. Adam Wharton's deal was done Wednesday and had no baring on this fiasco.

The club were hoping time stamps of uploads would get leniency from the EFL, But deep down knew this lad been badly let down and it was never going to end well.

We have huge sticks and bombs to hit certain people, but truth be told this is one person, who has royally fooooooked it up for everyone.

 

Glen, sorry if this has been asked and already answered but how did the admin girl find out at 11.04pm that it had not been sent? In other words why was it her that found out and why not earlier?

[glen9mullan]

5 hours ago, Jakey said:

Glen, sorry if this has been asked and already answered but how did the admin girl find out at 11.04pm that it had not been sent? In other words why was it her that found out and why not earlier?

I think she was just the messenger tbh 

[Jimmy612]

On 08/02/2024 at 21:12, glen9mullan said:

Now the Mcguire case has been heard, I will now share the chain of events confirmed by four different sources who were ALL in the building on Transfer deadline day.

I will also dispel some myths and bollocks which has spun around the net.

GB Spoke with Orlando over a period of a few weeks regarding his interest in Mcguire (DOF Identifies players, his role)

Orlando had cash bids from Sheff Wednesday and GB Indicated that the club would be willing to buy the player for £5-7 Million including add on, however this was not an offer and it would have to go through the correct channels at the club, as it was subject to due diligence, funds and negotiation by those who do the money side (GB Does not negotiate contracts or fees).

The deal being pulled mid flight is complete fabrication, Rovers had not progressed to a formal offer, hence he ended up in Sheffield and not Blackburn. HIs agent negotiated with Orlando to have him in England as there was firm interest from two clubs possibly a third.

Following due diligence, which included using overseas data analysis, the clubs wide scouting network, it was clear that Mcguire had just seven months ago been playing college football, (The equivalent of turning out at pleasington on a Sunday). He was at nearly 23 a late rookie breakout last season in the MLS, Which in all fairness is a not the highest standard.  GB Wanted the player, so the club negotiated a "Try before you buy" offer, instead of spunking millions at a relatively unknown quantity. Orlando was happy with this, so the player headed to Blackburn.

All formalities were done by between 8pm and 9pm and the paperwork uploaded. All Seniors were in the building SW, GB, MC and IS. The club opted to wait to announce the deal and ordered curry in to celebrate what they deemed a successful window.

A sweep was done around the office a number of times with all those involved to ensure everything had been dotted and crossed.

GB and IS Assured everyone this was the case, please note only the secretary can upload to the portal and press send. No one left the office and the deal was announced.

At around 11.04 one of the admin girls who I shall not name, told the CEO That it had not been sent. Of course at this point complete devastation for a very large team at Ewood who had put a lot of effort into transfer deadline day.

Only one person could send this, and everyone else had done their part, that person stated it had gone, to all the senior team and those who play a supporting role. 

Th fault of this lies solely with the secretary. 

The background noise of transfers being cancelled mid-flight just did not happen. Adam Wharton's deal was done Wednesday and had no baring on this fiasco.

The club were hoping time stamps of uploads would get leniency from the EFL, But deep down knew this lad been badly let down and it was never going to end well.

We have huge sticks and bombs to hit certain people, but truth be told this is one person, who has royally fooooooked it up for everyone.

 

Question. How would an admin girl be aware that the paperwork hadn’t been submitted?  I work in Asset finance on various proposal and documentation platforms, all protected by password and accessible for certain individuals.  When I hit submit on a proposal, the status changes to submitted on the platform. I can then close the platform and it’s locked again. 
 

We’ve been told that only the secretary has the permissions and ability to submit and presumably see the progression of the documentation. 
 

Why, at precisely 11:04 would an admin person be aware that the proposal had not been submitted? What indication would she have? 

It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, and after last year I just do not believe that this was a case of incompetence. It stinks to high heaven. 
 

EDIT: apologies, I see that Jakey asked a very similar question. But as an integral part of the story, it needs some explanation. It’s all too convenient. 
 

 

Edited February 10 by Jimmy612

[RoverDom]

Is it possible that other people can have access to the system at a lower permission level to the club sec? So maybe other staff can upload various things to the portal but only the club sec has the access to do the final bits and pieces that submit it to the EFL? 

My experience with systems and portals is that the more senior people don't have as much knowledge or inclination to use the system compared to the more junior staff so there's always an element of delegation. 

[roverandout]

6 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

I think she was just the messenger tbh 

And they shot her

[alcd]

McGuire would have been an extra body but nothing suggests he would have made any difference. Even the MLS standard is pretty poor - about L1 here - and less than 12 months earlier he was playing the equivalent of amateur level. Fairytales don't come true. 

[Inferi]

Surely Broughton has not been sacked simply because the owners doesn't want to pay compensation. Penny pinching is more important than anything else. Who needs basic professionalism? If it's true that he and his minions were celebrating this shit transfer window, then that's concerning. 

[glen9mullan]

3 hours ago, Jimmy612 said:

Question. How would an admin girl be aware that the paperwork hadn’t been submitted?  I work in Asset finance on various proposal and documentation platforms, all protected by password and accessible for certain individuals.  When I hit submit on a proposal, the status changes to submitted on the platform. I can then close the platform and it’s locked again. 
 

We’ve been told that only the secretary has the permissions and ability to submit and presumably see the progression of the documentation. 
 

Why, at precisely 11:04 would an admin person be aware that the proposal had not been submitted? What indication would she have? 

It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, and after last year I just do not believe that this was a case of incompetence. It stinks to high heaven. 
 

EDIT: apologies, I see that Jakey asked a very similar question. But as an integral part of the story, it needs some explanation. It’s all too convenient. 
 

 

I imagine the secretary had a discussion with a number of people and would of been the first aware, who notified who and how it spread around the office is irrelevant.

I wasn't there,