riverholmes

Nice return for Connor McBride, our former striker. He was shortlisted for PL2 player of the year (I believe Cole Palmer was amongst the names on the shortlist) after a great season of goals, playing alongside Sam Burns. Following year, he got a first team pre-season appearance and scored a deflected free kick, I think. But it was all downhill from there, in terms of his career. It is negligent to be fielding young Tyjon as a lone forward, if he was there. He doesn't have the strength or the mobility for it. Last season, I believe, he was run into the ground trying to plough a lone furrow upfront.

In a way, reminds me of Martin Taylor. Could do a job and technically decent, hence, sometimes going to RB. However, pace (and injuries) will be a issue when getting to the top echelons.

Not sure about his age at the time, but David Raya is the only one I can think of. For all the propaganda about 'becoming men' by going off to the fifth or sixth tier (George Pratt's just gone to Chorley to play "regular" football for "a month" (note the contradiction)), it appears unlikely that many, if any, will return to be Rovers first teamers. Montgomery is favoured by the manager and he was at Chorley, but not sure he'll make the cut long-term. Players like Darragh Lenihan, Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter and so on, cut their teeth at L2 and then L1 levels. Then, players like Travis, JRC, Nyambe, Buckley, broke into the team/squad without going away on loan, as far as I recall.

Thank you, I stand corrected and appreciate your knowledgeable updates. With this info, it looks a far better move but, nonetheless, I do wonder if a League 2 move might've been possible. I suppose, arguably, it may not be of great quality difference. Edmondson is, supposedly, one of the brighter U21 prospects and Rovers are in dire need of some these to come through, at least as squad players.

Was Tyjon ever prolific? In past season or so, he hasn't seemed to have had the impact for the U21s or England youth that his hype would suggest. That said, he is a lot younger, of course, and suffered numerous niggly injuries. I just wonder if he's burning out early.. or whether it is something of a plateau before further development.

Yup, mentioned it before but Crystal Palace played him for several games, I believe, last season, carrying a groin injury. Without having any medical knowledge, it strikes me as irresponsible and, even, cynical, given that his form had captured attention of the media and big clubs, apparently.

Rhodes has only stepped through the door, I guess, so hard to know how much influence he has on this one, but James Edmondson's loan move to Macclesfield, announced yesterday, doesn't look good, in my opinion. How can it be that one of the best performers for the U21s (a low bar, admittedly), who performed well at Macclesfield in NL North heads back to the same level? Surely NL at least or Div. 2 should be the target for him? I find it hard to believe a club wouldn't have had a punt. And if not, keep him at the club and involve him with the firsts. Edit: Could still work out, if, as expected, he gets regular games and progresses quickly. However, still looks a missed opportunity, I feel. More generally, will have to await to see how Rhodes does. I was not aware clubs, especially, Champ, had dedicated loan managers. It seems odd to me that existing staff, coaches can't cover it. It's not as if we're Chelsea, farming out players across seven continents. I just hope a more sensible approach is applied at U21s level. The quantity over quality of loans seems unproductive - especially, the micro-loans in the lower non-leagues where injuries seem to be abound. I would be interested to know if the club profits financially, at all, from youth loans.

The melee of short-term non-league loans haven't been launched yet. Are the club keeping a stable U21s this year, favouring quality over quantity with loans, or is all that coming soon?

Rovers have some new tie-up with Belgian football? Yet another. Not necessarily a bad thing but just wondering who is doing the scouting.

Noted Ben Chrisene's name on Norwich's team sheet. Another loanee who did little to nothing and goes on to be decent (although, not sure how far he'll go). It seems odd that quite a few loanees come to Rovers and barely make a mark only turn into decent players, be it Ayari, Branthwaite, Morton (who, it's true, played a fair few games and I just saw is playing for Lyon). Part of it will, admittedly, be the nature of short-term loans. It's hard for any player, even the most talented, to have an impact in a short period. Yet, part of it must also be some disconnect in the transfer policy. [Eg. did Eustace really want Ayari and Chrisene (and Koumetio)?] and also, in cases, just poor management.

Wolves match report: https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/under-21/20250829-u21-report-wolves-3-1-blackburn/ They have the line-up as follows and Rovers goal from Powell. Now sure how accurate given that Barrett seems to come on in defence: Wolves | Gracey, Ojinnaka (Okoduwa 66), Pond, Olagunju, Lima, Bradbury (Rawlings 66), Griffiths, Lembikisa, Mane, Angel (Sutherland 81), Chirewa (Edozie 71). Unused sub | Voice. Blackburn | Michalski, Batty, Atcheson, Carter (Barrett 64), Houghton, Vare (Farkas 78), Edmondson, Doherty (Boggan 72), Stritch (Dunn 46), Powell, Hood. Unused sub | Davies.

Madness to sell McTominay. He should've been their Darren Fletcher. Steady, high-performing, loyal player that the team or squad is built around. A puzzling thing about Utd is they don't seem to have successful youth development. Arsenal have brought on Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly and now Max Dowman, in past few seasons, but can't think of Man U players, albeit, I don't follow them much at all. Their transfer policy is, needless to say, poor. The most obvious signing in the world, in my opinion, was Kvaratskhelia, before PSG got him. A player like that, with, admittedly, a functioning team, is clearly of an elite level and with his attacking, exciting style, lifts a club. Edit: Easy to say now, but I would also have said Kieran Dewsbury-Hall was a banker of a signing for any top club. Not sure what happened with Chelsea, probably, just one card out of a whole deck But playing regularly, with support, he is a really good player and most probably capable of Champions League level.

John Buckley makes move to Saudi Pro League club, Al Kholood, for an undisclosed fee and subject to international clearance and approval from governing bodies. It ends a 20 year association with Rovers. A clearly gifted midfield player who never could quite get his game together. We kept waiting for the penny to drop, as we waited for Joe Rothwell, for example, fruitfully, in that case. But for Buckley, who was shifted around to right back, wing, false 9, the vision and passing ability was not matched by, it seems to me, confidence to take the lead. I thought we were looking at a Premier League player when he first started to breakthrough, in the mould of, perhaps, Adam Wharton. Buckley had moments, for example, when Mowbray fielded him as a false 9, with Reda Khadra offering a pacy distraction, Rovers made a charge to top spot in the league at Christmas. Then, there was a end of season run, when nothing was on the line, Buckley played regularly in central midfield and I'm sure I didn't hallucinate at least one 20 yard screamer. To go to desperate Sheff Wed and get shunted onto the wing and on the bench and then to fall behind Kristi Montgomery, fresh from his Chorley loan spell, were the final nails in the coffin. It seems a great move for Buckley for a few different reasons (though Continental Europe, maybe, Spain, would've been ideal) and his time at Rovers was fading away. But the biggest question is, where is the next Buckley coming through? The next Wharton? The Rovers U21 are in the doldrums, fielding teams that struggle to beat non-league second strings. Players that show promise seem to fade away, disappear on loan or get injured and never quite recover. With Travis on his way out, JRC gone, now Buckley, it is an end of an era of academy/U21 graduates but the future pipeline is a major concern.

John Buckley's agent should, in my opinion, be sounding out a move like that. He maybe could do something in a slower and more technical league. Albeit, it would seem that technically he has regressed, on the occasions he appears. Personally, I feel at one stage he was near Adam Wharton's level of technicality, though not, it has proven, the mental side.

That makes him sound like Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets rolled into one! Looking at Forest's equaliser, I believe it is Wharton who is one of two Palace players that get somewhat done in the middle of the park before the Forest player plays an exceptional through pass for their goal. I might be being harsh, but to my mind those scenarios show that he is a little weak defensively. It wasn't the fact he got beat but how far off he was. Maybe I am being harsh, but either way, I think at this stage he needs a Will Hughes alongside him to do a lot of the physical work.