January Transfer window

[G Somerset Rover]

2 minutes ago, Browjd said:

BTA vs Bamford? 

If that’s the sum of their parts then our recruitment team need flogging.

[Ricceh]

34 minutes ago, Rover down South said:

I was merely sharing a link to the transfer window thread. Agree though, doesn't look like he will be the answer to our lack of a goalscorer.

Yeah wasn't calling you out, rather calling out the report from the paper as rubbish. 

If he really is a pacey winger fair enough, but I think he might struggle in the champ.

[MB Rover]

BTA tore us a new one at the hawthorns whilst at West Brom, will he be a clinical goal scorer? Maybe not, but he’s better than the 2 non-scoring forwards we have at the minute. 

[TheRevAshton]

9 minutes ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Jota from Rennes for that left wing position , in an ideal world of course 

Absolutely class player, would consider the playoffs nailed-on if we signed him.

No chance though, his wages are probably huge too!

Edited Wednesday at 13:11 by TheRevAshton

[Forever Blue]

1 minute ago, MB Rover said:

BTA tore us a new one at the hawthorns whilst at West Brom, will he be a clinical goal scorer? Maybe not, but he’s better than the 2 non-scoring forwards we have at the minute. 

I like Yuki, but BTA is a vast improvement on Gueye. 

[roversfan99]

He would be an underwhelming signing if it happens. I wonder if too much focus is being placed on Championship experience, especially if we do pay a fee as for a fairly small fee thats what you get if you limit yourself to domestic players.

We are in a weird position where we really need a striker suitable for a play off chasing side, yet our current strikers arent just a bit off that, they are miles off it. So a bog standard Championship striker would be an upgrade on what we have but wouldnt be what we need at the same time.

Eustace mentioned getting players in who can give us goals and be a bit more ruthless, Thomas-Asante definitely isnt your man for that. Hes not a good finisher, hes not clinical and he will never be prolific.

He is quick however which is something we are clearly lacking, he will press and he will work hard. He has had a terrible time at Coventry who are laughing at the prospect and I dont think you can dismiss his time there, Eustace isnt a miracle worker.

His goal record at West Brom was somewhat respectable at a push, hes a 1 in 4 type of striker.

 

[Gamst]

Whilst I’m not blown away by the prospect of BTA, I’m sure he’d represent an improvement and I’d rather spend what little money we have on a championship striker rather than a hopeful gamble from overseas (like Gueye). He might also be a lot better than expected under JE’s tutelage. I think we are unlikely to get anyone better with the funds we are willing to spend. 
You’d think Asgaard would be a no brainer at the quoted 3m. Huge potential for future sell on profit and only a matter of time before other interested parties take a punt. Alas, It would seem the days of any ambition and sense are well behind us though. 

[onlyonejackwalker]

9 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

He would be an underwhelming signing if it happens. I wonder if too much focus is being placed on Championship experience, especially if we do pay a fee as for a fairly small fee thats what you get if you limit yourself to domestic players.

We are in a weird position where we really need a striker suitable for a play off chasing side, yet our current strikers arent just a bit off that, they are miles off it. So a bog standard Championship striker would be an upgrade on what we have but wouldnt be what we need at the same time.

Eustace mentioned getting players in who can give us goals and be a bit more ruthless, Thomas-Asante definitely isnt your man for that. Hes not a good finisher, hes not clinical and he will never be prolific.

He is quick however which is something we are clearly lacking, he will press and he will work hard. He has had a terrible time at Coventry who are laughing at the prospect and I dont think you can dismiss his time there, Eustace isnt a miracle worker.

His goal record at West Brom was somewhat respectable at a push, hes a 1 in 4 type of striker.

 

Who do you think sourced Gueye and Ohashi?

If they were not Eustaces preferred signings then I can fully understand why he is now solely focusing on experienced players who can cope at this level.

Meanwhile a 1 in 2 proven championship striker costs 8m to 12m.  

We have to ve realistic. In my view, we are relying on Eustace's knowledge to identify some potential unseen by others. 

[Emerald Isle Rover]

I’m sorry but people hanging their hats on other fans saying he’s crap / take him / il drive him up etc is complete and utter nonsense. That’s not how football works 

Granted there are obviously ‘shite’ players about but BTA isn’t one of those

iv seen numerous fans call Diaz shite and stil to this day call him shite 

if we were to sell Dolan for talk sake to Swansea a lot of our fans would be saying the same ‘il drop him up myself / he’s shite etc

every fan is entitled to their opinion but it doesn’t mean it’s right 

BTA for Coventry was played out on the wing for his limited game time there he’s playing behind hagi wright and bassette and normally only play 1 striker so his goal return is going to be relatively low considering his minutes and out of position 

now I wish we were in a position (or venkys would have the ambition we do) to go for a cannon or that ilk but they won’t so this is the pool of player we are in for 

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, onlyonejackwalker said:

Meanwhile a 1 in 2 proven championship striker costs 8m to 12m.  

I know it isnt happening but In the light of recent sales and sell on fees, why "should" that not be realistic?

[Exiled_Rover]

37 minutes ago, TheRevAshton said:

To start off - I maintain, BTA is shite.

I've bagged on him quite a lot since the link came up earlier I must say... but I will admit one thing about the lad - he's definitely not as shit as Makhtar Gueye, despite the fact that Gueye has more goal contributions this season.

Gueye is possibly the worst footballer i've ever seen, how he's got to this level is a mystery...

Now, if we could offload Gueye for half of what we paid for him, and replace him with BTA for something more around £1m - then i'd agree with many that it'd be good business, and certainly an upgrade.

Trying to be less negative about how shit BTA is.

He's got to this level because he's 6'5", athletic and aggressive. He wins headers, he boxes out defenders and he's a good enough footballer to pass to his teammates. 

You can finesse your way out of this league, but nobody likes playing against a bigger, better athlete than you - which is what he is for 90% of Championship CBs.

Edited Wednesday at 13:29 by Exiled_Rover

[Exiled_Rover]

38 minutes ago, onlyonejackwalker said:

Gueye did well, when players on both sides were knackered and we were being forced back to the edge of our own box. 

As a team we looked much more fluid with an out and out striker. Even though JRC, Buckley and Weimman were all playing. Our team set up doesn't support Gueyes attributes and he has had a lot of chances to prove different.

Yes because JRC, Buckley and Weimann all look like they're running in treacle. 

[Exiled_Rover]

34 minutes ago, Browjd said:

BTA vs Bamford? 

What's behind door number three?

[smiller14]

34 minutes ago, den said:

You don’t play good strikers on the wing.

Bellamy was played on the wing by some managers, and he's a bloody good striker. It happens, especially if they're fast,

[RevidgeBlue]

6 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

I’m sorry but people hanging their hats on other fans saying he’s crap / take him / il drive him up etc is complete and utter nonsense. That’s not how football works 

Granted there are obviously ‘shite’ players about but BTA isn’t one of those

iv seen numerous fans call Diaz shite and stil to this day call him shite 

if we were to sell Dolan for talk sake to Swansea a lot of our fans would be saying the same ‘il drop him up myself / he’s shite etc

every fan is entitled to their opinion but it doesn’t mean it’s right 

BTA for Coventry was played out on the wing for his limited game time there he’s playing behind hagi wright and bassette and normally only play 1 striker so his goal return is going to be relatively low considering his minutes and out of position 

now I wish we were in a position (or venkys would have the ambition we do) to go for a cannon or that ilk but they won’t so this is the pool of player we are in for 

If we have actually put an offer in for him it might be more or less a fait accompli.

If however it's not that far along, or gets turned down, or is mere transfer window  tittle tattle, I guess the question is

"Can we do better for £1.75m?

I honestly don't know, I don't have a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of every player in the world like a lot of you guys but it doesn't sound incredible value to me.

Not sure either that "an improvement on what we've got" should be the sole benchmark either. That shouldn't be hard.

[MB Rover]

2 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

If we have actually put an offer in for him it might be more or less a fait accompli.

If however it's not that far along, or gets turned down, or is mere transfer window  tittle tattle, I guess the question is

"Can we do better for £1.75m?

I honestly don't know, I don't have a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of every player in the world like a lot of you guys but it doesn't sound incredible value to me.

Not sure either that "an improvement on what we've got" should be the sole benchmark either. That shouldn't be hard.

I agree with most of your calls this window Revidge but I think BTA is a slightly better value than thought at that price. He got his ‘big move’ to Coventry but they have 4 genuinely good strikers and so he’s been a bit of a bit part there. We won’t be far off this season and the way we currently play we ‘only’ need someone to come in and get 6/7 goals between now and the end of the season to make a difference. I’d like a 20 goal man for £8mil to show up (that we should be spending!!) but we won’t. 

I always think back to JDT, if we’d have got him a man who got 5 goals from January to May I think we’d have been a premier league side the season after. We were the best team in the league for my money the back end of that season, just didn’t have anyone to score a goal.

[Tugayisgod]

Edited Wednesday at 13:49 by Tugayisgod

[TheRevAshton]

21 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

He's got to this level because he's 6'5", athletic and aggressive. He wins headers, he boxes out defenders and he's a good enough footballer to pass to his teammates. 

You can finesse your way out of this league, but nobody likes playing against a bigger, better athlete than you - which is what he is for 90% of Championship CBs.

Oh yeah, he has some positive physical attributes for sure.

What I said, is that he's possibly the worst footballer i've ever seen; his touch, ball control, shooting, dribbling, positioning. Absolutely not of Championship standard.

[RevidgeBlue]

2 minutes ago, Tugayisgod said:

Nixon inferring £1.75m will use up the entire budget?

"Working on a few possibles" - Name them then!

[ruggles1995]

I cant really see us getting any sort of regular championship scorer with the lack of money we have. But when your potentially a striker with good attributes, and being told your going to be the main man, and you get played in your actual position up top, not out of position out wide, sometimes that can give a striker a hell of a boost, and you just never know... We have had strikers in the past with poor records and turn out to do very well when coming to us. Confidence goes a long way in any sport. I think who ever we get in, if they have some form of pedigree (and not injury prone) I would say theres definitely a chance of them hitting the ground running at rovers (We do also need a winger in the door that can help create a chance or 2 though!)

We are 7th atm with not the best forwards as it is, if anyone comes in thats an improvement on our current crop thats helped us get to 7th then happy days. I wouldnt get too carried away with scoring track records, sometimes it can just work!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

28 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Yes because JRC, Buckley and Weimann all look like they're running in treacle. 

So does Cantwell. He must be the slowest player at the club.

 

[Emerald Isle Rover]

19 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

If we have actually put an offer in for him it might be more or less a fait accompli.

If however it's not that far along, or gets turned down, or is mere transfer window  tittle tattle, I guess the question is

"Can we do better for £1.75m?

I honestly don't know, I don't have a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of every player in the world like a lot of you guys but it doesn't sound incredible value to me.

Not sure either that "an improvement on what we've got" should be the sole benchmark either. That shouldn't be hard.

Actually an improvement on what we have got is what we are after is it not?

again considering venkys won’t stump up any sort of worthwhile cash 

I’m not saying BTA is the sole answer I’m just saying instead of going by Coventry fan reaction have a look yourself and then judge 

Iv seen his played out wide (not striker) has had limited minutes so just hasn’t worked out there 

his wba stats are half decent 

[RevidgeBlue]

11 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

Actually an improvement on what we have got is what we are after is it not?

I'd say we need a massive improvement not just a marginal upgrade which is why I pose the question of whether he is the best we can do for that sort of fee.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

7 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I'd say we need a massive improvement not just a marginal upgrade which is why I pose the question of whether he is the best we can do for that sort of fee.

Possibly but what massive upgrade can we get for short of 2million

bare in mind it certainly seems like Eustace wants championship experience as a priority (I don’t agree with that myself but he’s the boss)

[bluebruce]

15 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

Actually an improvement on what we have got is what we are after is it not?

again considering venkys won’t stump up any sort of worthwhile cash 

I’m not saying BTA is the sole answer I’m just saying instead of going by Coventry fan reaction have a look yourself and then judge 

Iv seen his played out wide (not striker) has had limited minutes so just hasn’t worked out there 

his wba stats are half decent 

Ok let's dispel this, it keeps coming up.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/brandon-thomas-asante/leistungsdaten/spieler/451747

Incomplete data, as transfermarkt don't tend to put position played for substitutes, but in the league games he has started, he has played 7 up front and 1 at RW. These are the bulk of his minutes, as he played over an hour in all of them and 84+ minutes in over half of them, with none of his sub appearances being particularly lengthy.

In the cups, 90+ minutes at CF in the FA Cup, 90+ minutes at CF in the League Cup, and another two full matches in the Leage Cup, one at LW, one at RW. He scored in each of those games played wide, one of them against Spurs.

So actually, all told, he's scored twice as many goals out wide as he has up front, in a fraction of the game time. Not only has he not been mostly played wide, but it isn't what's holding back his scoring.