Listening to that podcast with Ryan Hildred, they made reference to a comment JE made when asked why he’d only used 14 players from the point he came in. He basically admitted that he’d only used the ones he felt were good enough, which makes the outgoings, along with his admission that he has more depth now, more understandable. Letting Buckley go because the manager doesn’t rate him is fine. But if we don’t make 5 signings, including 2 CM’s after it, we’re really fucked! 🤦🏽‍♂️

Absolutely - and aside from the newly promoted shine, I actually think both teams are decent and will do quite well in their own right. The really impressive thing is that we’ve beat both those teams without ever hitting our best. This is mainly due to the manager who set the team up really well and then makes ultra positive subs. IF we can keep the majority of our squad fit and add the players the club wants then I’m confident we will get much better.

Hahahha - ok mate. Bit awkward 👍🏼

Nah, just lazy narrative that. Derby and Oxford are decent, have already beaten Norwich and Boro and in my opinion should have enough to stay up this season. Both of those fixtures were huge potential banana skins for us. I will guarantee there will be far worse teams come to Ewood this season. We can only beat what’s put in front of us, and we’ve done pretty well so far. Credit where it’s due.

The two are not mutually exclusive. Eustace will be seeing all the same content, data and footage that Rudy and Park are seeing. If after all that, he wants player X or Y then in my opinion, unless there is a compelling argument, then we must go with the guy who is a) in charge of the players, and b) judged on the success (or failure) of that team. It appears with Ohashi and Gueye, that evidence was compelling enough. Maybe the evidence for Germain, Yeboah, Drommel etc just isn’t cutting through with the manager and he’s saying, “that’s great, but I’d prefer Siriki, Ruddy etc”. Im sure, as professionals they will come to a compromise. Eustace is 3-2 up on choices so far…One things for sure, I won’t profess to know more about those players than our manager, with 20yrs in the game, Pro Licence and paid to do the job. The only thing that matters to me is that we spend the right money to get the right players.

Eh? Eustace will be judged on how successful that team is. If we lose 5 on the bounce it’s HIS head that’s on the block not Rudy and John Parks. I don’t know what you do for a living, but if you are almost wholly responsible for something then you must be a primary decision maker in the process or you’re being set up to fail. Eustace must have final sign off on every transfer in my opinion. He doesn’t care about budgets, he just wants the best players and ones he can trust.

I for one, wouldn’t be against us signing players our manager has seen up close over a period of time. So long as the numbers work.

Yes, he confirmed this week. It won’t be us leaking the stories, there’s no benefit to alerting people to our targets. Likely agents or the players clubs trying to draw out more bidders. Which means the targets are likely accurate…let’s see!

I think the stories are probably coming from the players sides as we’re making multiple enquiries. My feeling is that when they move, it will be quick.

Running out of targets!!? 🤣🤣🤣 Kinel lads, the manager himself was quoted as saying we had “a list of 60” possible players. That’s a shortlist, imagine the size of the longlist. Like them or loathe them, these days we often don’t know until it’s happening. Im happy to give them as much shit as anyone if they don’t deliver what the manager wants. Let’s see what this week brings, eh?

Interesting re the corners. I reckon there were 4 or 5 different, specific routines.

A little flat in terms of performance, I don’t think we got out of 3rd gear… Yuki and Gueye are fantastic signings from absolutely nowhere and Weimann is an astute bit of business. The big winner for me so far is the manager. There were lots of questions about what he was all about, and rightly so. But his performance has been brilliant so far, he’s getting loads out of this group and his substitutions have been magnificent. Please, please back him with a bit of money in the next week 🙏🏽

There is a ton of reasons why he could’ve picked Ohashi. Injuries aside it’s probably to reward Yuki or because we want to move some big lump of a cb about…either way, no issues with me, hopefully Big Mak comes on to bag our third and final goal 👊🏽

You don’t know that, for sure.

The ONLY thing that matters for me is that we sign better players than what we already have. Ideally, those players are on 3-5yr deals and permanent but honestly, if it’s a choice between and average permanent signing vs a Elliot, Van Hecke, Tosin, Hill, Reed style loan…I’ll take the loan. I want us to win today…who knows what tomorrow will bring with this lot.

Rushworth is on the bench. As is McTominay for United..what’s your point?

Bang on with the team I think will start. Maybe Tyjon for Vale on the bench, if that loan move gets finalised. I reckon 2-0 is fair, but I’m going 3-1.

Please can we not start this again! 🤦🏽‍♂️ We got rid of a lot of players, some who were neither rated, or playing and have promoted Duru and Tyjon as well as welcoming back a couple of loans (Trav and Bucko). We don’t need another Samir Telelovic or Billy K. We don’t even need another Moran. We just need a group who are actually good enough and less passengers.

Fwiw - when I saw Ohashi and Gueye footage prior to them coming in, I could see what they were in terms of their potential role in the team. This was based on playing style, their physical attributes etc. I watched them both live in the Stockport friendly and called that both would be more effective in terms of attacking output than Gally. I don’t get Ryo Germain. His video reels and lack of assists don’t suggest he’s a winger. He’s neither big and quick, or small and skilful. His track record doesn’t stack up…feels much more like a squad filler, akin to a Telelovic type decision. He’s probably the one JE wants least because of that?

It’s a tough one though. The manager is integral to the recruitment process and ultimately, if Rovers lose 5 on the spin, who will the fans be calling to leave? It won’t be the recruitment team, that’s for sure! As long as we’re happy that this is an either, or situation then I’m confident it will all work itself out. I’d suggest it’s a pretty normal scenario when you’re looking at say 15x players across 5 positions and working out which you want most, which are likely to drop and how you distribute the budget. Add in the ESB thing, personal opinion and a ticking clock heading towards a deadline in just over a week. It’s complex. Just make sure you press fuckin SEND lads!

Weren’t we item 38??

Ahh 100%, with a big budget, I would go with JDT based on what we know. But again, it’s horses for courses and Eustace is probably better suited for us and our budget than JDT was.

I liked JDT and I think he’ll be a really good coach for those teams. I think your comparison is a little off though, bearing in mind JDT’s profile as a player which absolutely does help - see the managerial chances Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard have had. FWIW - I wouldn’t be so quick to write JE off. He’s done pretty well under difficult circumstances at Birmingham and now, with us. He also seems well liked in the industry. Be interesting to see how he’d fair with a decent budget in that division. The type Scotty Parker, Chris Wilder and Co seem to get every season.

Depends how you look it. JDT had us finish 7th, but with a much better group of players and investment - Hyam, SS, Brittain etc. BUT then had us hurtling, 100% towards relegation with a depleted squad, which Eustace managed to galvanise and keep up. He’s lost MORE players, with minimal investment and yet, it seems is more likely to keep us in the championship than JDT was with a better group…? So I’d say the jury is out on your statement!

Tbh, I can completely understand why he wants his own men. People he’s worked with and can trust..It’s fine us saying he should remember he’s a coach and not a manager, but in the event that Ohashi and / or Gueye were “Telelovic” bad, and we’d lost the first two games, it would be Eustace’s neck on the block, not Rudy or John Parks. It’s weird that it seems to be Dembele OR Germain as they don’t look like the play in the same position, or do the same job to me. Either way, I’m not too concerned whether the player is the managers choice or Rudys so long as they get them right. So far, so good! As for JE, as long as the signings continue to positively impact the team like the ones signed so far, he’ll be happy!