I believe he opted out, saying the following when looking at Rovers' twitter/x page and learning the name of our current striker:

Hahahaha, you can only laugh at this mess. Our main rivals pick up pacey, skillful wingers who arguably are too good for Championship (Edwards, Iling-Junior) while we can't even get Danns on loan from Liverpool. Eustace will easily become manager of the year if he somehow manages to get this threadbare squad into playoffs but the odds are stacking up against him like never before. Our "marquee" signing is a guy who has never excelled beyond Serie C; what a coup that is right Waggott/Suhail/Venky's? Just go f* yourselves. Club is going nowhere until these idiots are gone.

For every day that goes by without any confirmed signings, the more likely this transfer window will end up in a complete disaster. One can only hope they announce someone later tonight (Kargbo?) like they did with the Sanderson loan but wouldn't count on it. Even if the club does a bit of business this late on, they've already played six league matches in January and has dropped valuable points in the play-offs race solely due to inactivity/lack of strategy in the transfer market. Sanderson was clearly Eustace's pick as they probably knew by then that McFadzean was leaving. Forshaw was clearly a panic move (recruitment team pretty much calling every Championship club to see who's available at a low/no cost) after Baker was recalled. When injuries started to pile up (Pickering, Travis, Tronstad), no one even reacted or backed the team with loan signings for temporary cover. Would seriously doubt if Waggott has any clue which players to look for, and Gestede doesn't remotely have the experience or connections that John Park had. Adam Owen? No idea. It's an absolute shambles that the club will (most likely) try to sign players on Deadline Day when they could very well prove to be a determining factor as to whether the team can push on for a top-6 finish or collapse all the way to mid-table or even further. Especially considering the fact that Szmodics was sold for decent money with the team being in desperate need of (quality) attacking reinforcement ever since. I would argue the following play-off rival teams have gotten stronger squads due to their winter transfer activity: Middlesbrough, Norwich, Sheffield Utd. and Sunderland. You can also make the case that Coventry has a stronger squad than ours and are likely to climb further up the table as well now that they are on a good run. Players and head coach are once again left without backing yet no one seems to care. However, it's still expected that fans are to be 'grateful' towards the owners and continue to pay for tickets with their hard-earned money to support the team without getting anything back other than watching a club in decline. Just sad really.

Only 6 days to go and £ 0 spent on transfer fees so far in this window. Amazing stuff. Pretty much every other Championship side are spending money to add quality to their squads, be it permanent or loans. We? Nothing. Here's my guess as to what is really going on: - Venky's make an annual budget in the summer. This budget is not changing when January comes, even though the club would find themselves in a favourable position to make the play-offs. My guess is that £ 0 in transfer money were made available this winter (as the previous five winter transfer windows before it), meaning that the club would have to get rid of wages in order to generate a small amount of transfer fee. - Baker was reportedly on £ 20 K / week which amounts to £ 960 K in a year. Forshaw probably took a wage cut when he signed on a free and perhaps Birmingham were kind enough to cover a part of Sanderson's wages as well. Many others that were on loan has gone out again this window (O'Riordan, Markanday). McFadzean went on a permanent as well, cutting the wages even further. Would make sense that we can't go over £ 800 K for Kargbo if this was the actual case. My prediction? Kargbo deal might never come to fruition if Cesena doesn't find a replacement in time or feel that we're not matching their valuation. Feels like the deal is in the balance right now (50/50). Even if we do sign him, it will be an underwhelming one given that he hasn't performed in Serie B. We can't even offer decent wages to players who are either on a free (Ryan Kent?) or PL talents who are looking for a loan (Louie Barry who seemingly are heading to Hull). If no investment is made now, then the following consequences will happen: - Eustace will leave in the summer. I bet a lot of Championship clubs will be interested in bringing him in by that time. - Club has virtually no sellable assets left (no Wharton, Armstrong, Szmodics). Many are on short-term contracts or contracts that will expire by the end of 25/26 season. - Club will have to find a new head coach. If they get that one wrong, then it's likely the club will be in a relegation battle next season. If they start poorly and no investment is made (again) come January, then the club is likely to get relegated. It's a pathetic sh*tshow that repeats itself every single year (start well - injuries start to occur - no investment in January - results go against us due to weakened squad - miss playoffs or narrowly escape relegation).

If anyone's doubting my sources, here's photo evidence:

Eustace on a player-manager contract. "I'm chuffed to bits, we finally got someone with plenty of Championship experience, just what the manager asked for" Waggott stated, before sinking his entire head into a VFC (Venky's Fried Chicken) bucket.

Likely starting XI: Pasha Waggott Sanderson Hyam Beck Eustace Buckley Dolan Cantwell Hedges Gueye I'm certain Waggott will do well against Mehmeti on his flank...

Pretty sure now that John Park left because he was told either by Waggott/Pasha or the owners directly that no money (>1 million) will be spent in this transfer window, just like the five previous winter transfer windows before it. He probably had a few players lined up to be signed come January if he was getting backed. Don't think the recruitment team is even actively scouting at this point based on the limited budget, which is why old names/previously scouted players are popping up in the media: Augustus Kargbo (scouted earlier in the summer; probably just some lazy work from someone watching his nicely-edited highlight reel on Youtube) Ben Brereton Diaz (why would he return, even on loan, given he left on a free transfer and was getting booed off when his form dipped during the latter stages of his final season? he ended up on loan at Sheffield Utd which was always likely to happen given his stint there last season) Lewis O'Brien (this is a funny one given we effed up the paperwork last time around. don't think he wants to be anywhere near us again)

Club's transfer record over the past few years (for anyone interested): Season 18/19 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 7 million (Brereton Diaz transfer made permanent) Total transfer expenditure/loss: £ 8 million The likes of Brereton Diaz, Rothwell and Armstrong were brought in during our first year back in the Championship. Season 19/20 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 0 Total transfer expenditure/loss: £ 2,6 million Gallagher was signed on a permanent basis. Raya were sold to Brentford. Season 20/21 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 625 K (Pickering) Total transfer expenditure/loss: £ 1,5 million Pickering, Kaminski and Pears arrived. Danny Graham departed on a free transfer. Season 21/22 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 650 K (Markanday, Hedges) Total transfer income/profit: £ 13 million Markanday, Edun and Hedges arrived. Armstrong were sold to Southampton. Season 22/23 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 0 (Sorba Thomas arrived on loan) Total transfer expenditure/loss: £ 4 million Szmodics, Brittain, Hyam arrived. Contract mismanagement/failure to sell for a profit leading to Rothwell, Nyambe and Lenihan all leaving on a free transfer. Season 23/24 Winter transfer expenditure: £ 400 K (O'Riordan) Total transfer income/profit: £ 21 million Wahlstedt, O'Riordan arrived. A. Wharton, Kaminski and Phillips all sold to PL clubs. Contract mismanagement/failure to sell for a profit leading to Brereton Diaz leaving on a free transfer. Season 24/25 Winter transfer expenditure (so far): £ 0 Total transfer income/profit (so far): £ 8 million Gueye, Ohashi, Cantwell and Toth arriving. Szmodics, Gallagher and Wahlstedt sold. Contract mismanagement/failure to sell for a profit leading to (presumably) Dolan leaving on a free transfer in the summer. Total transfer income/profit over the past seven seasons: £ 25,9 million The club has failed to recover transfer income/made a loss on the following players: Nyambe, Rothwell, Lenihan, Dack (albeit unlucky due to knee injuries), Gallagher, Brereton Diaz, Dolan (?) Failure sending in paperwork on time (done on purpose?) has led the club to miss out on the following players: Lewis O'Brien, Duncan McGuire The club has made a substantial profit on the following players: Armstrong, A. Wharton (academy product), Szmodics Worth noting that the club has not spent over £ 1 million on transfer fees during a single winter transfer window since season 18/19. Given these numbers, don't expect the club to make any substantial signings during this window even though Szmodics were sold earlier in the season. We will probably look for a cheap loan or enter panic mode with a last-minute transfer for some unknown player who's made available on deadline day (see: Telalovic).

Most likely, yes. But JRC doesn't offer any pace either and his vision/intelligence on the pitch is horrible. Garrett lacks match fitness and Forshaw is simply past it. We're gonna lose the midfield battle irrespective of which of these players you chose. I would probably advise to sit in a mid- to low block, try to steer opponent out to the flanks and be fast on the transition with whatever pace we can offer up front.

Our midfield is pretty much non-existent without Tronstad and Travis so would opt for a switch to a back three. Both Cantwell and Buckley are a liability defensively but can't see any other solution at this point. Pears has looked shaky recently so would give Toth a chance. JRC and Hedges as covers for the wing-back positions. Toth Hyam Batth Sanderson Brittain Cantwell Buckley Beck Dolan ACD Gueye Dolan and ACD to help wing-backs recover possession and be an outlet on the counter. Would rather stick them to each flank and provide crosses for Gueye than cutting inside as their decision-making in the final third is sometimes off (especially Dolan).

F*ing hell. Before the game, we were in desperate need of attacking reinforcements. With the loss of Tronstad for (possibly) several weeks, we now need a holding midfielder who can recover the ball. Huge blow to miss both Travis and Tronstad for the next few games. For all his playmaker abilities, Buckley is not good enough when out of possession. He constanly dives into tackles instead of tracking back properly, causing unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions. To people calling for JRC to be introduced into central midfield; first of all, his vision/football intelligence is horrific, anyone remembering his mistakes against Blackpool in the cup and Sheffield Utd. in the league will know this. His best position is on the right flank, where his lack of vision won't get exposed as much. Forshaw is past it, why would Plymouth otherwise happily agree to terminate his contract sitting at the bottom of the table? Before we lacked pace to be a threat on the counter and now we lack proper shielding of our center backs when defending. Don't be surprised if the next couple of games will be a disaster result-wise if signings aren't made immediately.

Totally agree. It's not realistic to think that they'll ever get that money back without making a significant investment/gamble in the transfer market in an effort to gain promotion. Investment is always a level of risk, but then again you should ask them why they purchased the club in the first place if they had no knowledge of how to operate a football club or what it takes to be successful at it? Last fiscal year (2024), the club posted a profit of £ 1,8 million which included the sale of Adam Wharton. In the year before, 2023, the club posted a £ 21 million loss. The club's debt in 2024 stood at £ 134 million. From these figures, everyone knows that the club is bleeding £ 20 million a year without player sales so for the owners to ever recouperate that money without investment, they would have to sell an A. Wharton + Szmodics every year for the next 10-12 years to clear that debt. Do the owners realise this? Do they think it's feasible to achieve? Don't know what they're really thinking or what they want to do with the ownership besides employing yes-men, not being fully transparent/honest with their intentions and stay away from any sort of criticism.

Think it's a likely scenario that Eustace will be gone by the summer if club doesn't back him in this January window and they subsequently miss out on the play-offs. Hope I'm wrong but feels like the owners don't care/believe the club can gain promotion back to PL and are just trying to recuperate as much money as possible before selling in 5-10 years (?) time. Given previous transfer activities for the last couple of years, the owners hasn't invested at all to strengthen the squad, just the bare minimum to keep it going or to stay somewhat competitive in the league without really pushing for anything better.

Stop making excuses and defend the club for its (so far) mediocre transfer activity. Eustace has clearly stated that he want bodies in quickly who can make a impact and improve the squad. Dion Sanderson can't be seen as anything else than back-up to Hyam/Batth/Wharton/Carter as he has had limited minutes in L1. Sure, he has Championship experience but stats shows that he's low- to mid-level quality in this league at best. Don't really understand why the club is wasting a loan on a backup when it could've been used to sign a PL talent. Hopefully the links to Adam Forshaw are false as it will be a downgrade to Baker. I can name a few PL young, good strikers/wingers who are hungry, eager to develop and need game time: Marc Guiu, 19 (Chelsea, striker, represents Spain U19) Will Lankshear, 19 (Tottenham, striker, represents England U20) Mikey Moore, 17 (Tottenham, winger, represents England U19) William Osula, 21 (Newcastle, striker, represents Denmark U21) Samuel Amo-Ameyaw, 18 (Southampton, winger, represents England U19) Luis Guilherme, 18 (West Ham, winger, represents Brazil U20) Yes, you take a gamble on young players who might need some time to settle/adjust to tactics but I would rather do that than settle for mediocrity. The likes of J.P. van Hecke and H. Elliott turned out to be huge successes so sometimes it pays off. Scouting for players who are deemed surplus/not needed in Championship or L1 clubs is not the way forward.

Toth Duru O'Riordan (if recalled) McFadzean Hedges Buckley Garrett JRC Tyjon Gilsenan (if fit) Leonard Might as well rest everyone who started yesterday and fully focus on game against Portsmouth. Recruitment team has ten days until then to make any signings, let's see what happens.

Not enough quality in final third, simple as that. Eustace is a good manager who is getting pretty much the absolute maximum out of the squad but the team will end up finish mid-table if no attackers are signed in January window and Eustace will leave by the end of season if no intention of investment is being shown. The likes of Dolan and Hedges are decent Championship players at best but don't have enough quality to compete at a higher level. We could've scored from one of the many corners we had but it wasn't to be today. In the end, our overall play was poor, not many passes were stringed together and our threat on the counter were next to nothing. If the owners think that changing manager/head coach without making a significant investment in the squad will bring them promotion then they're f*ing delusional. Constant changes in the recruitment team and rumours about power struggles in the hierarchy doesn't exactly bode well either nor does it bring any sort of long-term strategy in the transfer market. It's a disgrace how this club has been run for the past 15 years and the owners should be ashamed of themselves. Anyone making the argument that they're putting in £ 20 m/year to cover operational expenses, keep in mind that £ 0 has been put in for the last 1,5 - 2 years due to their legal troubles in their own country. Also keep in mind that they caused the financial troubles in the first place by sacking Allardyce and replacing him with an incompetent, inexperienced m*ron which ultimately led to relegation from the PL. Feel sorry for everyone who attended the game today, they deserve better than to watch these bunch of average players play week in week out and trying to stand behind a club who's being run by clueless owners.

Pickering lacks pace but is well-suited in a mid or low block since he has a fairly good sense of positioning and anticipation / reading of the game. What's most disappointing in recent games has been the left-wing and central midfield positions; Hedges has been way off defensively of late (vs Sunderland) but I feel Cantwell should take part of the blame as well as he didn't track back before Hull scored. Our entire defensive solidity relies on doubling up on the flanks and have two hard-working defensive midfielders to protect centre-backs (Travis / Tronstad) when out of possession; Hedges and Dolan are normally quite effective in that regard but when they fail to track back, players like Beck or Brittain gets exposed in 1 v 1 or even 2 v 1 situations. Buckley and Cantwell are fairly poor at tracking back and are not suitable playing together in a central midfield for that reason alone. Pears Brittain Batth Hyam Beck Tronstad Baker ACD Cantwell Dolan Ohashi Would prefer Dolan over Hedges on the left and make him occasionally switch flank with ACD to provide outlets to go on the outside when counter-attacking. Gueye is probably better used as an impact sub to chase a goal or protect a lead.

Just by looking at stats shows which players have been underperforming in and around the penalty area. Cantwell obviously has his qualities as a playmaker but has been wasteful when trying to be on the end of attacks. As expected, Ohashi can be seen as our best finisher but is struggling acting as a lone striker against physical teams who sit in a low- or mid-block (hence his fairly poor overall rating of 6.47). Had a quick look at who's performing well in League One and one who immediately stood out was left-winger Louie Barry who's been playing for Stockport but just got recalled by Aston Villa; 50 % of his shots (67) is on target, scoring 15 goals (whereof four from the penalty spot). His overall rating is high (7.42, placing him third in the league and 1st among attacking players) suggesting that he's a consistent performer. Would be madness if we weren't looking to sign him on loan, especially given how well Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is doing at Sheffield Utd. after having spent a season on loan at Charlton.

Bad news that Travis will be out for six weeks; can't see any other option than having Baker being put in to play next to Tronstad for the upcoming games as having both Buckley and Cantwell on the pitch would probably lead to the team becoming unbalanced. JRC struggled badly in first half vs Millwall, maybe it's time for Brittain to start again. My starting XI vs Sunderland: Pears Brittain Batth Hyam Beck Tronstad Baker ACD Cantwell Hedges Gueye This is a crucial time of the season where teams with big squads will benefit from being able to rotate during a congested match schedule and still pick up points. Let's hope we can put in a good performance and avoid any further injuries.

Had a quick look at what could be some decent signings in January given who's currently available on a free or needs a loan move: Free agents 1. Daniel Amartey (30), center back/ defensive midfielder Ghana International Last played for Besiktas (until Sep 2024) Has experience of English football with Leicester for many seasons. Would provide necessary cover at center back or defensive midfield with Travis, Carter and Wharton currently out. --- 2. Ryan Kent (28), left winger Last played for Fenerbache (until Oct 2024) Previously played for Glasgow Rangers together with Todd Cantwell and has experience from Championship football. Quite skillful, pacy/agile and has a good shot with both right and left foot. Wage demands and current club stature the biggest stumbling block. Maybe Cantwell can persuade him of a move? --- 3. Maxi Gómez (28), striker Former Uruguay International Last played for Trabzonspor (until Aug 2024) Highly unlikely this will happen given he's never played in England before but would be a fantastic signing if pulled off. Physical player who can compete in the air, good finisher as well. English language is a barrier but wouldn't have any issues adapting to Championship otherwise. Profilic goalscorer during his days at Celta Vigo and Valencia. ----------------- Loan market 1. Marc Guiu (18), striker, Chelsea Been scoring for fun in Europa Conference League albeit against weak opposition (scored a hattrick last Thursday). Signed from Barcelona ahead of this season. Represents Spain at U19 level. Tall but technical player. Doesn't get any playing time in PL so would need a loan to develop further. --- 2. Mikey Moore (17), left winger, Tottenham Is eligible for loan after signing his first professional contract earlier in the year. Would be a fantastic signing given his potential, has the ability to tear up the Championship like Harvey Elliott did a couple of seasons ago. Already represents England at U19 level. Technical player with good balance and dribbling skills. Has played a couple of games in Europa League but gets limited minutes in PL. Would therefore need a loan to develop. Has been out due to illness recently but is expected to be back after New Year. --- 3. William Osula (21), striker, Newcastle Fairly quick, tall and technical player. Newcastle bought him for a sizeable fee this season but hasn't been getting game time in PL. Poor stats but certainly has the right attributes. Need a loan move as well. Represents Denmark at U21 level.

What's the point in making a single sub (Dolan for ACD) after an hour and then a double-sub only 5 minutes later? Would've been better to make a triple sub straight away in that case or even make a sub during half-time as they don't count towards the three substitution slots. Eustace has gotten it right defensively of late but made some tactical errors today. Millwall were always going to play physical and not having three central midfielders meant that we couldn't control the game. If Beck had been ill during the week, then Hedges should've taken his spot on the left and put Cantwell as a number 10 ahead of Travis and Tronstad.

Eustace will have to take his fair share of the blame today; going with front two and consequently losing the midfield battle was the wrong call. Also don't like when managers use all substitution slots before final 10 minutes, there's always a chance that someone picks up an injury whether due to fatigue, non-contact injury or collision with opponent (should always leave one sub open in my opinion). Team has been in a great form recently so hopefully they can pick themselves up and go again at home vs Sunderland. Can only hope the team gets proper reinforcements in January as more injuries are likely to occur with match congestion in the coming two weeks.

Really good half. Need to be careful not to pass it in dangerous central areas around our own box as their wingers are quick to close down the space,

No doubt this will be a tough match, Leeds are probably the best side in the league. If we can frustrate them and lower the tempo like we did against Boro then we might get a 0-0 draw or even snatch the win if our counter-attacks are successful. Should we however concede within the first 30 minutes or so then it might get ugly. Need pace for this game; would like to see Cozier-Duberry and Beck starting but Eustace will probably pick Dolan and Hedges again for wing positions due to their work rate and ability to track back. Don't think it would be an awful idea to start Gueye here either; the winning goal we scored last season at Elland Road came after Gallagher won an aerial duel, Dolan picked up the loose ball to then put Szmodics through on goal. Pears Brittain Hyam Batth Pickering Travis Tronstad Cozier-Duberry Cantwell Beck Gueye