We are absolutely fucked. Our team needs 5-6 players that walk into the first team. Exciting summer my arse. Tavares won't have an impact I'm already sure of it, same with De Neve.

He played for the U21s last week Would be strange that he cannot train, but can play for the u21s

I have never once suggested that either should never be given a chance. You purposely manipulate what I say to justify us half arsing recruitment and not bringing in enough players.

Our squad is so stretched. We need far more than 3 and we need bodies in ASAP. Cantwell is prone to missing the odd game. We cant just have a 17 or 18 year old with an injury history (and a year left on his deal) picking up all of the slack.

I hope Rovers have stopped his wages. Any player who opts for elective cosmetic surgery that goes wrong should pay the price.

That's what I thought when I didn't see him on Bench. Think the writing has been on wall since last summer cos he hasn't suited the last 2 head coaches style of play and how the midfielders play I hope he can find a good club where he will play regular

Pears is out due to his hair transplant in Turkey going wrong.

At Derby probably

Very grim !

Hopefully Taveres will get some minutes.

No Cantwell, Buckley or Pears - injuries or on the move?

Where’s Cantwell?

No Buckley in the squad today, is he off?

This silly arguing can stop now - fair warning to all involved. I don't want to see any more of it.

I see Ohashi more as an industrius, hard-working forward who can play across the line. Rhodes was - in some quarters infamously - largely limited to being useful within and around the penalty area. I consider Yuki a more flexible player, but at the same time one who isn't likely to get as many goals. I really only feel I can compare them at surface level though, as the Rovers team Rhodes played in was very different to the current squad. Ohashi doesn't have any player on the level of Ben Marshall, Josh King, David Dunn or Tom Cairney to feed him. For better or worse, our team back then was set up specifically to account for having a fox-in-the-box type striker with an incredible scoring technique. I don't think the same focus will be applied to Ohashi, and nor should it. Ultimately last season was a difficult one in terms of making a judgement call on Ohashi. He came in midway through the Japanese domestic season, so he'd already played 20+ games before the Championship even kicked off. He was either partnered with or in competition with a striker with totally different attributes to him, also new to the club. The entire team had to deal with severe management turbulence which disrupted cohesion. He also missed January through February with an injury. One positive is that 4 of his 9 league goals came under Val's management. Before his injury he had scored just 1 goal in 19 league appearances (his other 4 goals all came in his first 5 appearances). It maybe provides some optimism that Ismael's system could work well for Ohashi. We'll see. As I said, I would be delighted to be proven wrong and to see Ohashi net a hatful this season - because the chances of us having anyone else to rely on is slim to none.

If people think we've got a better team now than last season. Wake up. We need 5-6 signings as a minimum, and all starters.

wrong, I have added Michalski has he will be our third choice keeper and part of our first team squad this season. We are well covered in every area if we make those 3 signings. Every squad has those problems and down to Ismael to managed it. The only way you are going to know whether Tyjon and Montgomery handled everything is by playing them, good enough old enough. Not by saying no, no and no. Yes they need to managed but also play them if the right decision for the team Well given some of your comments towards me aren't constructive at all like "I think you live in a world of delusion and self denial." for example. You seem to have a personal vendetta against me and my unquestionable support of my club through the good and bad times of being a supporter

LT saying Rovers are hoping to stream the match live on their YouTube channel. If not, NEC Nijmegen are, for free.

So it seems.

The reason for the security is following what happened in 2012 when Rovers had a pre season tour here. The NEC game was planned as their family day with bouncy castles and various attractions. However, the NEC ”Ultras” had other ideas, and the day before the game attacked Rovers fans at the station and anyone with a Rovers shirt or scarf in the town, even people sitting at the al fresco cafes and pubs. It was so bad that NEC cancelled the game along with their family day. In the end they rescheduled a behind closed doors game which was held at one of the Dutch national team’s training complexes in a wooded location near Honderloo. This got out and we made our way there together with a few other Rovers supporters. We were met by armed police. The playing area was completely obscured behind high fences, we could just about hear the eerie sounds of the players calling to each other, although one enterprising Rovers fan climbed a tree to see what was going on. In the end the police moved us all away as they had intelligence that the nutters from Nijmegen were on their way to cause trouble. So that’s the story of the second battle of Nijmegen, we could have done with the guard’s armoured and the 82nd airborne to help us out but it wasn’t to be.

Sorry if I've missed it, but why on earth are Rovers fans not allowed to attend? Do NEC have thug fans that can't be trusted to behave if we are there? Edit - Nevermind, I had only read the first page, now I see they do indeed have thuggish fans.