The Summer Transfer Window (Press Submit)

[markhayhurst]

2 minutes ago, Ricceh said:

I suspect after Batth that'll be it until final week of the window again.

So you’re suggesting they will relax a bit after a batth? 

[alex l]

9 minutes ago, Galgaterover10 said:

7 million! I’d file this under nonsense 

Even the mention of a 5 year contract makes it likely nonsense. Couldn't tell you the last time the club commited to such a deal and certainly wouldn't with the financial climate it's in. 

[KentExile]

9 minutes ago, alex l said:

Even the mention of a 5 year contract makes it likely nonsense. Couldn't tell you the last time the club commited to such a deal and certainly wouldn't with the financial climate it's in. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68088450

O'Riordan was a 4.5 year contract 7 months ago.  Albeit much lower fee and wages than Hughes will be for whoever (not Rovers) picks him up

Edited August 1 by KentExile

[JHRover]

I really do wonder at times who is behind some of these signings.

O'Riordan handed a 4.5 year deal and then hasn't played since he arrived. Who was behind that one? Not JDT I'm sure of that. Broughton? I doubt it.

[Gamst]

10 minutes ago, KentExile said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68088450

O'Riordan was a 4.5 year contract 7 months ago.  Albeit much lower fee and wages than Hughes will be for whoever (not Rovers) picks him up

Given our current financial plight, we invested a fair bit in Connor. I’m assuming the plan is to loan him to L1 having brought in some experienced centre backs. Would be the best thing for his development. 

[KentExile]

2 minutes ago, Gamst said:

Given our current financial plight, we invested a fair bit in Connor. I’m assuming the plan is to loan him to L1 having brought in some experienced centre backs. Would be the best thing for his development. 

I can see him as the Carter understudy at right sided centre back, mainly because nobody else can do the job

[islander200]

11 minutes ago, JHRover said:

I really do wonder at times who is behind some of these signings.

O'Riordan handed a 4.5 year deal and then hasn't played since he arrived. Who was behind that one? Not JDT I'm sure of that. Broughton? I doubt it.

JDT commented that O'Riordan was a player he liked when Rovers where in negotiations and trying to get him signed.

I think that one was very much a Broughton signing, young,was rated Preston and other clubs in for him at the time 

[goozburger]

16 minutes ago, JHRover said:

I really do wonder at times who is behind some of these signings.

O'Riordan handed a 4.5 year deal and then hasn't played since he arrived. Who was behind that one? Not JDT I'm sure of that. Broughton? I doubt it.

At 20 years old, I wasn't expecting O'Riordan to feature much at all given our plight. It would have been a baptism of fire for him. Playing a combination of McFadzean, Hyam, Carter, and Wharton was always going to be the order of the day, and it worked for us.

I think O'Riordan should be loaned out to a League One club this season. Get a full season under his belt, and if he can follow in the footsteps of Carter and Wharton before him, then we're all good. It always struck me as a signing for the future and to get him ready for the first team at the right time.

The only problem I see is that he was signed for a Head Coach that wanted to play out from the back at all costs. O'Riordan appears to be a ball-playing defender and one that likes to venture forward, similar to Carter. I think Eustace seems to like brutes in defence who are good at the basic job of defending, such as McFadzean. It makes me wonder about the likes of Carter, Hyam, and O'Riordan, since neither of them appear to be that style of player.

I really wouldn't be surprised to see Hyam be sold. And I wouldn't be that bothered if he was.

Edited August 1 by goozburger

[tomphil]

2 minutes ago, goozburger said:

At 20 years old, I wasn't expecting O'Riordan to feature much at all given our plight. It would have been a baptism of fire for him. Playing a combination of McFadzean, Hyam, Carter, and Wharton was always going to be the order of the day, and it worked for us.

I think O'Riordan should be loaned out to a League One club this season. Get a full season under his belt, and if he can follow in the footsteps of Carter and Wharton before him, then we're all good. It always struck me as a signing for the future and to get him ready for the first team at the right time.

That doesn't really fit in with the way things are now done at Rovers though, we are a development club and kids have been eased in or thrown in with far less experience than O'Riordan.

I think most of us expected him to feature a bit at least although the league struggles no doubt tempered that a bit but he has 52 appearances for Crewe under his belt, presumably that prompted the signing.

Sadly i have zero faith in anything young and low budget signed under Broughton, agree on the loan bit he needs some games until Jan at least if he ain't ready for here.

 

[KentExile]

I would imagine this is "the plan"

GK               NEW          Pears          Barrett
LB/LCB        Pickering    NEW        
CB               McFadzean Batth         Wharton (although injured)
RCB             Carter         O'Riordan  Atcheson
RB/RWB      Brittain       Duru        
CM              JRC             Garrett        
CM              Tronstad     Buckley      Saadi (only because he has been involved in pre season)
RW/RAM     Hedges      Markanday    
CAM/LAM   Ohashi       Weimann?    
LW               NEW          Dolan        Gilsenan
CF                Gueye        Leonard     Tyjon                 Vale (kept whilst Leonard is injured)

 

sold -         Szmodics, Travis, Hyam, Sigurdsson, Gent, Hilton, Eastham (all high earners and/or last year of contract)

loaned out -     Gamble, Batty (ideally both need a loan, although may be kept as cover)

[davulsukur]

Batth deal getting closer 

[Trinidad Rover]

5 minutes ago, KentExile said:

I would imagine this is "the plan"

GK               NEW          Pears          Barrett
LB/LCB        Pickering    NEW        
CB               McFadzean Batth         Wharton (although injured)
RCB             Carter         O'Riordan  Atcheson
RB/RWB      Brittain       Duru        
CM              JRC             Garrett        
CM              Tronstad     Buckley      Saadi (only because he has been involved in pre season)
RW/RAM     Hedges      Markanday    
CAM/LAM   Ohashi       Weimann?    
LW               NEW          Dolan        Gilsenan
CF                Gueye        Leonard     Tyjon                 Vale (kept whilst Leonard is injured)

 

sold -         Szmodics, Travis, Hyam, Sigurdsson, Gent, Hilton, Eastham (all high earners and/or last year of contract)

loaned out -     Gamble, Batty (ideally both need a loan, although may be kept as cover)

This squad gets relegated. I do agree with you though - I think that will be our lot. 

The only one I would question is a new GK - cant see it

[KentExile]

Just now, Trinidad Rover said:

This squad gets relegated. I do agree with you though - I think that will be our lot. 

The only one I would question is a new GK - cant see it

The plan, not what will actually transpire, I do think we will sign a keeper, but he will not be first choice and Pears will be

[Neal]

Got to put Batth and Fadz up there as some of the least inspiring transfers I've witnessed for us. 

[cesus]

2 minutes ago, Neal said:

Got to put Batth and Fadz up there as some of the least inspiring transfers I've witnessed for us. 

If they play together we can't push up any further than the edge of our box, that's for sure!

[davulsukur]

2 minutes ago, Neal said:

Got to put Batth and Fadz up there as some of the least inspiring transfers I've witnessed for us. 

Baffling why they wouldn't sign off on Danny Batth a year ago for JDT, citing age but will sign off on the same player a year later and a guy who's nearly 40.

Not sure why I'm looking for logic in Venky's world tbf

[jim mk2]

4 minutes ago, Neal said:

Got to put Batth and Fadz up there as some of the least inspiring transfers I've witnessed for us. 

And combined ages of 70, the oldest. 

[alexanders]

This Batth will make me cool down

[alexanders]

3 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Baffling why they wouldn't sign off on Danny Batth a year ago for JDT, citing age but will sign off on the same player a year later and a guy who's nearly 40.

Not sure why I'm looking for logic in Venky's world tbf

It’s all hearsay isn’t it. We don’t know the exact reason and last season Scott Wharton was available wasn’t he? 

[alexanders]

4 minutes ago, cesus said:

If they play together we can't push up any further than the edge of our box, that's for sure!

We will be very dependent on defensive midfield to close the gap between attack and defense. 

[Polky]

Eustace will have to mix and match the centre back for certain teams we play.

I would be more confident with McFadzean and Batth at the back against a direct team, compared to Hyam and Carter.

[HowzBRFC]

9 hours ago, DeeCee said:

SS hasn't gone yet.....

I quite liked SG but never thought he was a particularly good centre forward despite his physical attributes.

He looked decent during his loan spell but we overpaid by about 3.5 million when TM bought him, that's why expectations were so high and hence a lot of people's disappointment.

Agree on this. We overpaid massively and never lived up to the price tag following his promising loan season. Good servant, worked hard but just not worth the money. If he wasn't at Rovers you probably would have took him for £1m-£1.5m now. 

At least he was happy to move and not sit and walk for free like the current trend is for players next year. Probably could have got more money for himself next year being a free agent. 

[goozburger]

10 minutes ago, Neal said:

Got to put Batth and Fadz up there as some of the least inspiring transfers I've witnessed for us. 

When McFadzean came in, he transformed the defence. Something Hyam was supposed to do as the senior defender, but didn't.

While McFadzean has obviously lost his pace, he is clearly a far better defender than what we had. And at 37! Whether he can carry that on, I'm not sure, but I'm happy we got him back.

As for Batth, I suspect he'll be another that is better at doing the basic job of defending than the others, too. We have lacked this for too many years.

[KentExile]

8 minutes ago, cesus said:

If they play together we can't push up any further than the edge of our box, that's for sure!

 

3 minutes ago, alexanders said:

We will be very dependent on defensive midfield to close the gap between attack and defense. 

Which explains why Eustace has effectively been using Pickering & Carter as wide CBs in a 3 when attacking

[riverholmes]

2 minutes ago, Polky said:

Eustace will have to mix and match the centre back for certain teams we play.

I would be more confident with McFadzean and Batth at the back against a direct team, compared to Hyam and Carter.

All very vulnerable to pace. It’s worrying they can’t see that. Unless the intention is to play extremely defensive.