The Summer Transfer Window (Press Submit)

[roversfan99]

Obviously not the main issue, but John Fleck? An older player who has barely played in 2 years due to breaking his leg twice and subsequently and immediately injuring the plate that is now in his leg as a result. And what makes that potential deal even worse is its not even as if it was sorted to start pre season so he is playing catch up.

No to Fleck, no to McFadzean who will turn 38 this season and no to Krul who again is in his late 30s and hasnt played for a while. Such potential additions have strong parallels to the season under Coyle when we signed the likes of Greer and Brown and I suspect there is a big chance of a similar outcome and relegation.

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Mowbray still bought in 5 signings which were Giles and Zeefuik on loan, Brown on a free transfer and, Markanday and Hedges were cash buys. 

We failed to bring in the quality striker we needed and If Undav had signed, I think we would have gone up. He was the missing link but he didn't want to come after talks with GB and JDT. My question would be to both of them is where was the Plan B target for the rest of the window

We bought in 7 players including 2 strikers who both turned out to poor signings. My question why didn't we just bring one quality striker even if it was loan player. 

We bought in another 6 signings during this window and we spent 500k on O'Riordan, 3 loans and 2 free transfers. Ayari and Chrisene were good/loan signings and McFadzean shown his quality. 

So in summary, each time they have been back in terms of bringing in signings and allow to some spend money. I think we need to think how we used our budget and the type of players we want going forward, cos we spend around £!m a season ago on Wahlstedt and Telalovic. Looking back, could we have used that money better? I think so. Don't you?

You seem very keen to apportion blame onto individuals who you defended strongly up until they left at which point you turned on them, Tomasson, Broughton and Mowbray.

Merely being able to sign players at all doesnt automatically mean backing. Youve named a series of cheap loans, a signing for the academy (Brown) and nominal fees as evidence of backing. It could have perhaps been spent better but you are always struggling signing numerous players with minimal funds. We will sign players this summer, if Eustace brings in 3 loans, a freebie and someone for 200k, would you say he was backed?

You have acknowledged a likely summer of frugality. You (in my opinion with zero foundation) have suggested that Eustace could get us into the top 6 with backing. Where do you see us assuming no/minimal funds and potentially a Szmodics sale, do you see relegation as a very possible scenario?

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Dack would genuinely be a better signing than Fleck and you'd probably get more games out of him. That's saying something!!! 

(I'm just saying that for effect, i don't want either back) 

[Ghost7]

It would appear we're a club looking at free transfers that can't afford most free transfers.

[lraC]

5 hours ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

This is simply wrong.

Firstly, the club, the players, the fixed assets all belong to the Raos. Wharton was developed by their money, his contract was theirs and the sale money is theirs.

They are using their self generated UK money instead of sending new money from India.

They have been saying for several years that they want the club to be self funding (which we know is next to impossible in the Championship). Presently that is what is happening.

As far as the EFL will be concerned, the Raos will be good, stable, proven owners. Don't forget they represent over 40 sides below us with far less than us. 

Only when they can't pay HMRC, wages and bills will the administrator get called in by Waggott. Some way off that whilst we have saleable players. Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later. Only prolonging the inevitable.

 

The accounts could be interesting, as the accountants will need the owners to put their usual statement in about funding, as the club trades insolvent.

Assuming they are banned from funding the losses, they won’t be able to do that, so it could be the end at that point. 

[Upside Down]

1 hour ago, lraC said:

The accounts could be interesting, as the accountants will need the owners to put their usual statement in about funding, as the club trades insolvent.

Assuming they are banned from funding the losses, they won’t be able to do that, so it could be the end at that point. 

I'm not a religious man by any stretch of the imagination but I am literally praying for this.

[RoversClitheroe]

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

You seem very keen to apportion blame onto individuals who you defended strongly up until they left at which point you turned on them, Tomasson, Broughton and Mowbray.

Merely being able to sign players at all doesnt automatically mean backing. Youve named a series of cheap loans, a signing for the academy (Brown) and nominal fees as evidence of backing. It could have perhaps been spent better but you are always struggling signing numerous players with minimal funds. We will sign players this summer, if Eustace brings in 3 loans, a freebie and someone for 200k, would you say he was backed?

You have acknowledged a likely summer of frugality. You (in my opinion with zero foundation) have suggested that Eustace could get us into the top 6 with backing. Where do you see us assuming no/minimal funds and potentially a Szmodics sale, do you see relegation as a very possible scenario?

Post of the year 

[BankEnd Rover]

Eustace wants to keep Gallagher and Dolan which is understandable if we can’t really bring any players in…That’s 4 million leave for free next season…Not sure this transfer window can get any worse.

[KentExile]

52 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Eustace wants to keep Gallagher and Dolan which is understandable if we can’t really bring any players in…That’s 4 million leave for free next season…Not sure this transfer window can get any worse.

As he has been offered a contract, Dolan does not leave for free if he moves to another club in England next summer due to his age.  If anything, his value will increase on the basis of him having played more games at this level.  (The same applies to Gent, and Batty too if he kicks on which at this stage looks unlikely)

Gallagher yes, will leave for nothing at the end of the season,  As will Hyam, Sigurdsson & Hilton (only including Hilton as he is - as things stand - our 2nd choice GK)

Elliott Jackson seems to have missed that Hedges does have a 1 year option (as do Gilsenan, Vale and Markanday) which will no doubt be activated as it is cheaper to do that than it is to get in replacements

Personally I think that when a club has to trigger an option on a player who is a regular with the first team squad, it is a sign that the player in question will not be signing a new contract under any circumstances (barring possibly a fluke promotion etc).

Edited July 10 by KentExile

[chaddyrovers]

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

You seem very keen to apportion blame onto individuals who you defended strongly up until they left at which point you turned on them, Tomasson, Broughton and Mowbray.

Cos you look at their decisions and who we signed and whether they worked out as good signing or poor signing instead of doing what you do regular which is write them off straight away but then say If they signed I judge them in a Rovers shirt. 

We clearly made mistakes in last summer recruitment in terms of bringing a quality striker. They were other options we could have gone for and should have gone for. 

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Merely being able to sign players at all doesnt automatically mean backing.

Bringing in players is backing but your point should be about the level of backing each head coach/managers get. Given what we have received in transfer fees, then it should have allow us to spend some money this summer which looks unlikely

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Youve named a series of cheap loans, a signing for the academy (Brown) and nominal fees as evidence of backing.

We paid 200k for Hedges and 500k for Markanday. Plus was Giles and Zeefuik cheap loans really? 

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

It could have perhaps been spent better but you are always struggling signing numerous players with minimal funds.

disagree. Its all about contacts, made quick decisions and having a proper plan. 

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

We will sign players this summer, if Eustace brings in 3 loans, a freebie and someone for 200k, would you say he was backed?

Yet again, who depends who these players are. 

Would you say Eustace has been backed if we sign Iversen(GK) on loan, Liam Cooper on a free, Campbell on a free, Chrisene on loan, Ayari on loan and Burke on loan? 

Or this scenario, If we sign Krul on a free, Dramah on free, Ebiowei on loan, Fraser on loan from Wolves, Plus another loan and free transfer signing?  

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

You have acknowledged a likely summer of frugality. You (in my opinion with zero foundation) have suggested that Eustace could get us into the top 6 with backing. Where do you see us assuming no/minimal funds and potentially a Szmodics sale, do you see relegation as a very possible scenario?

all depends who we sign and who others do. 

[BigHoz]

People need to relax, we have 7m to spend. 

[J*B]

2 minutes ago, BigHoz said:

People need to relax, we have 7m to spend. 

Even if we did it isn’t enough to make the squad strong enough. 

[RoryRoversIreland]

Taking a break from the forum. 
 

it’s utterly depressing. Some of the positive nonsense on here is not within reality. 
3 forwards out of contract next Summer. Loans and poor free transfers like the Summer of 2015. Nearly 14 years of this misery. Over a decade lost and some think “let’s see what happens”. I understand for people’s mental health they hope for positivity, but it’s not with Rovers. A disgrace of a club. 

[RevidgeBlue]

8 minutes ago, BigHoz said:

People need to relax, we have 7m to spend. 

Based on what?

We seemingly cant even put forward attractive enough deals to persuade McFadzean and Fleck to re-sign!

(Not that I'd be in favour of re-signing either personally and in particular I wouldn't touch Fleck with a barge pole but it shows just how low we are setting our sights)

[Forever Blue]

2 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Based on what?

It’s a dig at Chaddy. His crime was hoping for the best. 

Edited July 10 by Forever Blue

[KentExile]

15 minutes ago, Forever Blue said:

It’s a dig at Chaddy. His crime was hoping for the best. 

I hope for the best regarding Rovers, but these days I have very little expectation that those hopes will be realised.  At least in the short to medium term and with the current ownership

 

*Just to be clear, I am not having a dig at Chaddy or anyone else here

Edited July 10 by KentExile

[Forever Blue]

1 minute ago, KentExile said:

I hope for the best regarding Rovers, but these days I have very little expectation that those hopes will be realised.

 

*Just to be clear, I am not having a dig at Chaddy or anyone else here

I’m with you brotha, or sista…..but I also realise it’s probably not Chaddys fault! 

[KentExile]

3 minutes ago, Forever Blue said:

I’m with you brotha, or sista…..but I also realise it’s probably not Chaddys fault! 

Agree, I don't understand how some can be positive in the face of all the evidence of the past 14 years, but they are more than welcome to those opinions

Edited July 10 by KentExile

[RoversClitheroe]

15 minutes ago, KentExile said:

I hope for the best regarding Rovers, but these days I have very little expectation that those hopes will be realised.  At least in the short to medium term and with the current ownership

 

*Just to be clear, I am not having a dig at Chaddy or anyone else here

All of us hope for the best of Rovers.

We all hope Venkys fuck off and take Waggott and Pasha with them.

We all want positivity even when there is little to be positive about.

But we can't be waxing lyrical about a former manager throughout there whole tenure and then change there opinion and effectively call them shit the minute they've left.

We can't also say we need to replace a player, and then minute they can't be replaced think they're great for the club.

[JHRover]

11 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Mowbray still bought in 5 signings which were Giles and Zeefuik on loan, Brown on a free transfer and, Markanday and Hedges were cash buys. 

We failed to bring in the quality striker we needed and If Undav had signed, I think we would have gone up. He was the missing link but he didn't want to come after talks with GB and JDT. My question would be to both of them is where was the Plan B target for the rest of the window

We bought in 7 players including 2 strikers who both turned out to poor signings. My question why didn't we just bring one quality striker even if it was loan player. 

We bought in another 6 signings during this window and we spent 500k on O'Riordan, 3 loans and 2 free transfers. Ayari and Chrisene were good/loan signings and McFadzean shown his quality. 

So in summary, each time they have been back in terms of bringing in signings and allow to some spend money. I think we need to think how we used our budget and the type of players we want going forward, cos we spend around £!m a season ago on Wahlstedt and Telalovic. Looking back, could we have used that money better? I think so. Don't you?

All of what you say seems correct. We did sign players in those windows, we did spend some money on occasions.

The point I made originally was that the two previous managers were not properly backed by the owners despite having put us into excellent league positions in the last couple of years. I think you have simply confirmed my point by highlighting those signings that we did actually make.

Merely bringing people in and spending some money does not equate to backing. If you bring in 15 players but none of them are any good or add anything to the existing group then that is no good. If you look at those signings under Mowbray in 2022 I would submit that not one of them brought or added anything to the group during the second half of the 2021-22 season. Hedges barely played. Zeefuik was mere cover for Nyambe. Giles could have been good but rarely contributed, Brown was a waste of time, Markanday was yet another project signing that is still ongoing, he was never going to come in and deliver in the last 20 games of that season to get us promoted.

None of those signings, bar possibly Giles, I would suggest were signings that a side chasing PL promotion would make in January.

If you look at the action we took in January 2023 I'd say it was simply laughable to only add Sorba Thomas on loan when in the position that we were.

If the funds and wage budget, or indeed overall approach of the owners when it comes to authorising signings, is so poor, then that means they haven't backed their manager. To me I'd expect to see engaged serious owners banging the door down in December asking the manager what they need to keep it going and get us promoted and to do everything within their power to make it happen, not just sign a couple of loans, youngsters and see what happens.

I'd also dispute that Ayari and Chrisene were good signings. For me just more of the same old. A short term fix that comes and goes, not what you need to take the club forward medium to long term. McFadzean and Fleck - short term patch up jobs whilst we are now left with more work to do.

This summer Eustace may well get his 4,5,6 signings. But that doesn't immediately mean he has been backed. It depends on what sort of signings they are and whether they significantly improve us or not. If we panic and end up signing 3 loans and whoever else is happy to come for the wages we are offering then that isn't backing in my book. We've a rebuild to commence.

 

[BlackburnEnd75]

I mean I'd bite your hand off for ayari and chrisene back on loan right about now.

[chaddyrovers]

@Forever Blue @KentExile I will always be positive and upbeat. Its the only way to approach things in my opinion. 

I will say Its just over 4 weeks until the season and I am looking forward to the first game of the season as always. Proper Football will be back then

[Forever Blue]

1 minute ago, MCMC1875 said:

No. They can't fund.

You might want to tell the club.

[roversfan99]

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Cos you look at their decisions and who we signed and whether they worked out as good signing or poor signing instead of doing what you do regular which is write them off straight away but then say If they signed I judge them in a Rovers shirt. 

We clearly made mistakes in last summer recruitment in terms of bringing a quality striker. They were other options we could have gone for and should have gone for. 

Bringing in players is backing but your point should be about the level of backing each head coach/managers get. Given what we have received in transfer fees, then it should have allow us to spend some money this summer which looks unlikely

We paid 200k for Hedges and 500k for Markanday. Plus was Giles and Zeefuik cheap loans really? 

disagree. Its all about contacts, made quick decisions and having a proper plan. 

Yet again, who depends who these players are. 

Would you say Eustace has been backed if we sign Iversen(GK) on loan, Liam Cooper on a free, Campbell on a free, Chrisene on loan, Ayari on loan and Burke on loan? 

Or this scenario, If we sign Krul on a free, Dramah on free, Ebiowei on loan, Fraser on loan from Wolves, Plus another loan and free transfer signing?  

all depends who we sign and who others do. 

In both of those scenarios, no, Eustace wouldn't have been backed. Weve brought in nearly £30m in the last 12 months through sales and sell ons and lost some very key players from an already thin squad. No combination of frees and loans would represent being backed.

As a side note, and this isnt a criticism of your suggestions because it will be difficult for anyone to improve the squad with such restrictions, these suggestions prove that. Neither scenario would give me any more confidence in the squad. Option A has 2 loans who only padded out the squad last year and Burke is woeful. The second scenario involves a keeper approaching retirement who hasnt played for a while and kids who havent really played senior football.

[chaddyrovers]

42 minutes ago, JHRover said:

All of what you say seems correct. We did sign players in those windows, we did spend some money on occasions.

The point I made originally was that the two previous managers were not properly backed by the owners despite having put us into excellent league positions in the last couple of years. I think you have simply confirmed my point by highlighting those signings that we did actually make.

Mowbray's last season we couldn't spend money due to FFP and that why we sold Armstrong and the STC to help us not get into transfer embargo that season and then the spend the follow summer cos we have the money so we bought 3 key players. 

42 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Merely bringing people in and spending some money does not equate to backing. If you bring in 15 players but none of them are any good or add anything to the existing group then that is no good. If you look at those signings under Mowbray in 2022 I would submit that not one of them brought or added anything to the group during the second half of the 2021-22 season. Hedges barely played. Zeefuik was mere cover for Nyambe. Giles could have been good but rarely contributed, Brown was a waste of time, Markanday was yet another project signing that is still ongoing, he was never going to come in and deliver in the last 20 games of that season to get us promoted.

None of those signings, bar possibly Giles, I would suggest were signings that a side chasing PL promotion would make in January.

As I said to Roversfan99, signing players is some form of backing at least. 

Hedges and Giles should have played much more than they did and Mowbray was obsess in turning Giles into Mahrez instead off having playing him at left wing back and getting the ball into the box. Zeefuik was seen as replacement for Nyambe if my memory serves me right

42 minutes ago, JHRover said:

If you look at the action we took in January 2023 I'd say it was simply laughable to only add Sorba Thomas on loan when in the position that we were.

Like I said in previous post, if we had signed that quality striker we needed than we would have been in playoffs that season, so the questions is why didn't Undav want to come here after talks with JDT and GB and second question is where was the plan B target and we didn't we sign one? 

42 minutes ago, JHRover said:

I'd also dispute that Ayari and Chrisene were good signings. For me just more of the same old. A short term fix that comes and goes, not what you need to take the club forward medium to long term. 

I wouldn't agree there and I would look to bring them back this season aswell

42 minutes ago, JHRover said:

This summer Eustace may well get his 4,5,6 signings. But that doesn't immediately mean he has been backed. It depends on what sort of signings they are and whether they significantly improve us or not. If we panic and end up signing 3 loans and whoever else is happy to come for the wages we are offering then that isn't backing in my book. We've a rebuild to commence.

It does some form of backing to bring in signings but the type of financial backing we would like to see where we spend millions on bringing in 5 or 6 quality strikers including a keeper, goalscoring striker, etc to move us up the table and challenging for playoffs. 

We can still have decent season(mid table finish) even if we just sign loans and free transfers.