That *was* the January Window

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, islander200 said:

Agreed we need experience and the squad needs more depth and quality to sustain a promotion challenge .

But I don't agree the squad needs 3 or 4 signings just to make the top half of the table.Up until Watford scored we were 8th and have spent a good portion of the first half of the season in the top half.

So like I said agreed the squad needs more for top 6/promotion but i don't think the squad is as shit as some make out when we go through a bad spell.Like people talking about relegation earlier in the season which to me is complete nonsense 

The thing is, in the last 2 seasons we have had small squads, albeit bigger than this seasons. So its all well and good saying we have spent a good proportion of the first half of the season in the top half, but we have evidence that our small squad struggles to last the pace of a full season and falls off in the last few months. That could be exacerbated with an even smaller squad.

[islander200]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

The thing is, in the last 2 seasons we have had small squads, albeit bigger than this seasons. So its all well and good saying we have spent a good proportion of the first half of the season in the top half, but we have evidence that our small squad struggles to last the pace of a full season and falls off in the last few months. That could be exacerbated with an even smaller squad.

In the last 2 seasons did we have as many long term injury issues?

They might not be world beaters but Gallagher is an experienced Championship player and Hedges experience has been missed also.

Dolan was in good form when he got injured , Costello was on a run of assists and goals.

Maybe we will experience more injuries as the season goes on but we have those 4 to come back and the squad will be better for it.1 or 2 loan deals in January.When I compare our squad to others imo it's a top half squad and certainly not a relegation squad.I even seen one poster say we have a worse squad now than we did under Owen Coyle FFS.

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, islander200 said:

In the last 2 seasons did we have as many long term injury issues?

They might not be world beaters but Gallagher is an experienced Championship player and Hedges experience has been missed also.

Dolan was in good form when he got injured , Costello was on a run of assists and goals.

Maybe we will experience more injuries as the season goes on but we have those 4 to come back and the squad will be better for it.1 or 2 loan deals in January.When I compare our squad to others imo it's a top half squad and certainly not a relegation squad.I even seen one poster say we have a worse squad now than we did under Owen Coyle FFS.

That will partly be down to being overly reliant on players to keep going again. But surely more injuries reducing the squad further only increases the likelihood of a second half of the season dip?

I certainly have never suggested its a relegation squad, obviously not. The strength in depth is one of the worst in the league, our bench at the moment will probably be the worst in the league, but our first 15-16 players are obviously well above that.

[islander200]

50 minutes ago, DE. said:

For me the transfer and wage budget element alone is why it's not realistic to expect a top half finish. I'm not saying it's impossible, but JDT shouldn't be judged harshly if we finish lower mid-table. Until the owners back the club properly, or ideally sell up to somebody who does have some ambition, we are at the mercy of having a manager who can get a small, underfunded team to significantly overperform. The fact only Plymouth and Rotherham have lower wage budgets than us, for me at least, says enough about what is realistic to expect. 

It also means, as far as I can see, that as soon as we appoint somebody who cannot get the team to overperform we are in big trouble. 

A lot of our players came through the academy tho so there wages will reflect that, doesn't mean the quality isn't there tho.A.Wharton ,Carter and JRC would be important players in a lot of squads in this division.Hyam wouldn't have been on big money at Coventry doesn't mean he isn't an excellent defender at this level.Szmodic again came from Peterborough so his wages would not have been big doesn't mean he hasn't been one of the better players in the championship in the last 12 months.

I'm not dissing JDT or saying it would be terrible by him to finish in the bottom half, but it really isn't bottom half squad when comparing with others.

From last season's squad only Kaminski and Brererton can really be counted as losses on the pitch as Dack ,Ayala and Phillips played minimally.

Hill has been better than Phillips and Szmodic has taken the goalscorer mantle from Brererton.

 

If we had a little bit more experience we would have more points.That second goal should not have been disallowed yesterday either and we have been on the wrong side of a few decisions this season. 

[islander200]

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

That will partly be down to being overly reliant on players to keep going again. But surely more injuries reducing the squad further only increases the likelihood of a second half of the season dip?

I certainly have never suggested its a relegation squad, obviously not. The strength in depth is one of the worst in the league, our bench at the moment will probably be the worst in the league, but our first 15-16 players are obviously well above that.

If other clubs apart from the one who came down or  had the list of players out that we had yesterday,their benches wouldnt look good either.

Brittain ,Pickering ,JRC, Gallagher,Hedges and Dolan .Now some of those we might say are shit but a lot of clubs have similar on their benches or in their starting 11 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

I would like 3 signings this window. Full back, Centre midfielder and forward(either number 9 or wide 9, lets like we are looking a main number 9 striker with the link with the America striker Duncan McGuire)

 

 

Leonard is ready but we need to play to his game which we didn't yesterday when he came on

So Moran and Sigurdsson haven't been good signings this summer then? 

We are only 5 points off 6th place. Bring in a couple of quality signings in Janaury and we can reach the playoffs

surprised we are tbh. After not signing him last season

What game is Leonard’s game Chaddy ? I’m at a loss to see what he brings to the table.

[roversfan99]

36 minutes ago, islander200 said:

If other clubs apart from the one who came down or  had the list of players out that we had yesterday,their benches wouldnt look good either.

Brittain ,Pickering ,JRC, Gallagher,Hedges and Dolan .Now some of those we might say are shit but a lot of clubs have similar on their benches or in their starting 11 

They wouldnt have a bench as weak as ours. It was a sub keeper with no league experience, one defender, a young striker playing his first proper season, Markanday who couldnt get a game for Aberdeen and Tomasson is clearly very reluctant to use, and then beyond that, none of the other subs would have ever come on yesterday regardless of circumstances.

But again, the conversation was about where we will finish. My point was that we have had a small squad in the last 2 seasons and our seasons both had significant declines in the final months. With an even smaller squad, compounded by added injuries due to fatigue, and even less experience and guidance, I cant see how a similar path will be avoided.

 

[islander200]

17 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

They wouldnt have a bench as weak as ours. It was a sub keeper with no league experience, one defender, a young striker playing his first proper season, Markanday who couldnt get a game for Aberdeen and Tomasson is clearly very reluctant to use, and then beyond that, none of the other subs would have ever come on yesterday regardless of circumstances.

But again, the conversation was about where we will finish. My point was that we have had a small squad in the last 2 seasons and our seasons both had significant declines in the final months. With an even smaller squad, compounded by added injuries due to fatigue, and even less experience and guidance, I cant see how a similar path will be avoided.

 

I disagree, if other clubs had that list of injuries then there benches would be shit too.Obviously I'm not talking about all the squads but take Sunderland and Hull as 2 examples as both in the top half ,if they had 7 first team players out injured there benches would also be filled with kids.

Do many championship clubs have third choice goalkeepers with senior experience,I doubt they do. 

And we have 4 players with championship experience in Gallagher,JRC, Dolan and Hedges to welcome back for the second half of the season and likely 1 or 2 will arrive on loan . 

This was Sunderland's bench yesterday ,take 7 players away like we had yesterday

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by islander200

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, islander200 said:

I disagree, if other clubs had that list of injuries then there benches would be shit too.Obviously I'm not talking about all the squads but take Sunderland and Hull as 2 examples as both in the top half ,if they had 7 first team players out injured there benches would also be filled with kids.

Do many championship clubs have third choice goalkeepers with senior experience,I doubt they do. 

And we have 4 players with championship experience in Gallagher,JRC, Dolan and Hedges to welcome back for the second half of the season and likely 1 or 2 will arrive on loan .

Im not having that any club in this league is 7 injuries away from a bench like that.

Ive still not seen why our even thinner and younger squad will follow a pattern contrary to that of the previous 2 years and not struggle to last the pace over 46 games, with results tailing off towards the end. 

[islander200]

8 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Im not having that any club in this league is 7 injuries away from a bench like that.

Ive still not seen why our even thinner and younger squad will follow a pattern contrary to that of the previous 2 years and not struggle to last the pace over 46 games, with results tailing off towards the end. 

How are you not having it?Do you really believe the majority of clubs in the championship have 7 players with championship experience not making their bench every week?Even 4 or 5 

Do you really believe the majority of the division have 25 man squads filled with experience?Iv just shown you Sunderlands bench from yesterday looks pretty weak to me and that's without any injury issues 

And I have answered because we have 4 important squad players to return with the likelihood that 1 or 2 loans will happen.

In the previous 2 seasons we didn't have these injury issues in the first half of the season.

Edited December 24, 2023 by islander200

[roversfan99]

16 minutes ago, islander200 said:

How are you not having it?Do you really believe the majority of clubs in the championship have 7 players with championship experience not making their bench every week?Even 4 or 5 

Do you really believe the majority of the division have 25 man squads filled with experience?Iv just shown you Sunderlands bench from yesterday looks pretty weak to me and that's without any injury issues 

And I have answered because we have 4 important squad players to return with the likelihood that 1 or 2 loans will happen.

In the previous 2 seasons we didn't have these injury issues in the first half of the season.

Its one thing having a bench with even 1 or 2 kids on. We basically had a bench of just Hill and Leonard, and even the latter is a kid. 

Sunderland do have absentees themselves, Pritchard, Evans, Alese are 3 off the top of my head. But we are going off on a tangent anyway.

Youve assumed we will sign players which is a total unknown. And if we do, theyll likely be more kids on loan, so doesnt solve the experience issue. But even if we do and those 4 come back, we are unlikely to not have other injuries throughout the second half of the season. Our current team will be prone to breaking down, Pickering and Szmodics already are seemingly at breaking point. And we still have a small squad even compared to the last 2 seasons, so even if you move those minutes across, its still going to stretch the squad. 

Quality wise, it does say a lot that Dolan, Hedges and Gallagher are so desperately needed to come back, attackers who have fallen short in previous years, but I do agree they are.

[islander200]

13 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Its one thing having a bench with even 1 or 2 kids on. We basically had a bench of just Hill and Leonard, and even the latter is a kid. 

Sunderland do have absentees themselves, Pritchard, Evans, Alese are 3 off the top of my head. But we are going off on a tangent anyway.

Youve assumed we will sign players which is a total unknown. And if we do, theyll likely be more kids on loan, so doesnt solve the experience issue. But even if we do and those 4 come back, we are unlikely to not have other injuries throughout the second half of the season. Our current team will be prone to breaking down, Pickering and Szmodics already are seemingly at breaking point. And we still have a small squad even compared to the last 2 seasons, so even if you move those minutes across, its still going to stretch the squad. 

Quality wise, it does say a lot that Dolan, Hedges and Gallagher are so desperately needed to come back, attackers who have fallen short in previous years, but I do agree they are.

I still feel the squad is a top half squad.I just believe that with the exception of a few clubs 7 injuries would be felt by most clubs.

Iv had a quick glance and Hull for example have a decent enough 18 after that it would be kids,similarly with Sunderland ,Bristol city etc.

And looking at the squads there is hardly any team with a 3rd choice goalkeeper with experience.We usually do bring in 1 or 2 in January so I'd expect it to happen this year also.

[tomphil]

Would Dolan, Hedges and Gallagher have made a difference if they were on the bench yesterday ?

Would 1 or even all have been brought on given the way JDT does things ?

Perhaps one of them might have plundered us a second goal to give breathing space but i certainly wouldn't bet on it.  And non of them would have made any difference to being wide open at the back and having a flimsy keeper.

Personally i think some of our frailties run a bit deeper than just numbers.

Edited December 24, 2023 by tomphil

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What game is Leonard’s game Chaddy ? I’m at a loss to see what he brings to the table.

Leonard's game is base on movement and finishing.  am delighted with his development this season. 

16 minutes ago, islander200 said:

I still feel the squad is a top half squad.I just believe that with the exception of a few clubs 7 injuries would be felt by most clubs.

Iv had a quick glance and Hull for example have a decent enough 18 after that it would be kids,similarly with Sunderland ,Bristol city etc.

And looking at the squads there is hardly any team with a 3rd choice goalkeeper with experience.We usually do bring in 1 or 2 in January so I'd expect it to happen this year also.

You have several excellent points on how injuries is affecting us and would similar to many championship clubs. Would Ipswich been second if they had Chaplin, Hirst, Burns, Morsy, Davis, Clarke and Jackson out or if WBA been 5th if they had Furlong, Townsend, Wallace, Swift, Thomas-Asante, Maja and Sarmiento out? 

8 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Would Dolan, Hedges and Gallagher have made a difference if they were on the bench yesterday ?

Would 1 or even all have been brought on given the way JDT does things ?

Perhaps one of them might have plundered us a second goal to give breathing space but i certainly wouldn't bet on it.  And non of them would have made any difference to being wide open at the back and having a flimsy keeper.

Personally i think some of our frailties run a bit deeper than just numbers.

Pickering would have a made a difference meaning Travis could have on for a tiring Wharton. 

JRC and Hedges would have made a difference aswell. 

[Wheelton Blue]

4 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

So Moran and Sigurdsson haven't been good signings this summer then? 

Moran is going backwards at a rate of knots.

Sigurdsson has done little thus far to show that he's a reliable week in, week out Championship standard player.

[Rogerb]

1 hour ago, islander200 said:

We usually do bring in 1 or 2 in January so I'd expect it to happen this year also.

Except this year we are dependent on an Indian judge OKing funds just to keep the club going.

[Tugayisgod]

Rovers apparently activate release clause in Crewe defenders contract ?

https://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1210454147?-11198:839

[RoversClitheroe]

2 minutes ago, Tugayisgod said:

Rovers apparently activate release clause in Crewe defenders contract ?

https://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1210454147?-11198:839

I'm guessing we're either selling our CB, or the Raya money is able to be spent?

Mind you CB isn't a key position that needs filling.

Edited December 24, 2023 by RoversClitheroe

[islander200]

23 minutes ago, Rogerb said:

Except this year we are dependent on an Indian judge OKing funds just to keep the club going.

A loan or 2 will still happen imo.Did the Indian judge ok the raft of new improved contracts recently signed or sigurrdson signing permanently?

If we were struggling to keep the club going then I don't think we would have been seeing as many renewals,I don't think the players would be keen to put pen to paper either if there where doubts we could pay them going forward 

[CambridgeRover]

Loaned back to Crewe?

[rovers11]

5 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

very good posts and people have decided solely on the defeat and not that we were better team for vast majority of the game and had a perfect good goal ruled out wrongly by the ref

why are we miles off it then? 

Squad depth and quality. We don't have a striker for one. There's only so long you can get away with that.

[chaddyrovers]

14 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Squad depth and quality. We don't have a striker for one. There's only so long you can get away with that.

Yes we need proven quality striker but we don't have the funds for that. Not many clubs at this level do. 

[islander200]

37 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Squad depth and quality. We don't have a striker for one. There's only so long you can get away with that.

Most clubs are getting away with it.

In the top ten goalscorers in the league this season only 3 of them are centre forwards.Piroe, the lad who scored against us for Watford with 8 goals and Adam Armstrong who has played wide aswell this season.

It would be great to find a decent centre forward and I'm not arguing one is needed but the championship isn't awash with them and goals for most teams come from others rather than a striker 

[neophox]

Gelhardt, McGuire and O'Riordan wanted and wanted quick as he rumours says...hopefully a couple in.

Edited December 24, 2023 by neophox

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Maguire looks like another Telavovic, bags of untapped potential on paper but hasn't really been tested at a high level. 

Gambles on players like these are always completely hit and miss, been a while since we've unearthed a  gem of a striker though! One that pretty much hit the ground running