I agree 100% Colt. I had so high hopes and loved him play with his Swagger style. For me one episode made a major downturn in his situation and that was away at Boro in 2022. He had played himself into JDTs team and suited JDTs style very well. He then got a stupid red card by throwing the ball at a Boro player and got sent off. Very harsh by the referee. But after this Bucko never returned to his best. Very sad.

Morishita is golden! Did you see in the video when he met Baradji and realised they had stayed in the same hotel? 😂 I think Ismael is all about togetherness as well, but thinks he instills more dicipline and demands more in training than Eustace. We will see if that means more tired legs/injuries and some players on the fringe who become unhappy like under JDT, or if him and his team can keep the group together. I wouldn't mind an out and out winger to play on the right still, but most wanted at the moment is a striker so Leonard can leave. A central midfielder to replace Buckley and Trav and whoever else leaves has to be replaced like for like. I think re-signing Forshaw is a mistake and he will retire or leave in January, but we will see - hopefully he's not on big wages.

It’s not the quality of job he’s doing that bothers me. It’s the persistent stench of Kean and Kentaro 16 years later.

100% - I’ve heard the same about Pasha. Bit of an egotistical knobhead. However, I’m always wary about judging based on the opinions of those who have been rocked out of their safety boat. Ultimately, this regime will be judged, as have the others on their successes and failures. If we end up in a relegation battle, then Pasha and Rudy are clueless, if by some miracle these foreign diamonds in the rough begin to twinkle and we get promoted to the promise land on a reduced budget then Rudy will be lauded and likely enjoy a very lucrative future in Football leadership. I was chatting to a mate earlier in the gym and weirdly I’m excited to see how the team performs. So many unknowns, that you wouldn’t be surprised if we were fighting relegation, or for the playoffs.

Garett is probably a League 2 player, but won't be as bad as Tomlinson. Tomlinson had massive attitude and off-pitch issues and responsible for his own downfall despite obvious ability to have a career as professional footballer. Nothing to suggest that Garrett is similar. I saw another poster refer to him as athletic, he is not. He started out as a defender but lack of pace and strength meant he was moved into midfield which he is much more suited for. His strength is being on the ball, good passer and worked well for the U21 as a holding midfielder. His lack of pace and intensity/strength is not covered up by some wild crunching tackles.

The one thing I have been a bit concerned about is the "family feeling" disappearing. Longstanding, nice guys from our academy such as Bucko, Trav, Leonard and maybe Pears all leaving the club in window. What fills me with hope is that the characters brought in gives a warm feeling around the place; Yuki is already a legend, Ribeiro is very underrated, Henriksson has a great character, Toth really is a huge step up and I already love Miro. You have the cultural bearers such as Tronny, Hyam spiced up with Academy graduates; S. Wharton, Montgomery, Mullarkey-Matthews, Tyjon, Michalski ++ The combination of the squad really is ARTE ET LABORE It's been like this before. I was devastated when my favorite players Bentley went to Spurs and Roque went to City. It's a part of the game! Whenever a door closes, another one opens! Make yourself a Rovers legend!

Nicely put. But, I still think a simpler explanation is that Ismael was told that he needed to get rid of players we could get a fee for and replace them with players that cost and earn less.

People are suspicious of Gestede possibly because of the way in which he arrived in a relatively low-key role but was suddenly and dramatically propelled into a senior one, without any explanation (notwithstanding that being the modus operandum of the current regime). Coupled with that there is the clear and obvious drive towards a low cost model that has left fans scratching their heads due to the disappearance of familiar (and loved) faces, again with little or no explanation from the club. What is absolutely clear is that Gestede has the reigns and weilds considerable power in the current set up, despite there being no obvious rationale for his ascendancy into such a pivotal role. He certainly has few credentials, little or no relevant experience, no ownership interest, and poor communication skills in person and asynchronously, yet has been allowed to architect a veritable revolution with an apparent free reign. What remains to be seen is whether this is a desperate gamble on the part of those behind the curtain to salvage something from their tenure, or whether it is all a bit of a Frankenstein's monster - lots of disparate parts cobbled together with the remote hope that life may ensue. And this has all taken place during a period of sustained uncertainty for the major stakeholder group of the club - the fans (us) who have been treated as an afterthought (WE AREN'T! - Why does Blackburn Rovers exist in the first place, FFS!). So people have every reason to be suspicious - an untried experimental poorly communicated process led by an inexperienced and autocratic shoe-in, with unclear objectives and questionable tactical decision making that has created sweeping change despite there being no explicit rationale.... Hmmmm.. what could go wrong? Now, if it was all to somehow go right, and miraculously transform the fortunes of the club, wouldn't that just create more problems (e.g. a manager who would be considered hot property, a model that would be rapidly adopted by other clubs, potential poaching of key staff etc)? Or perhaps this is just one of those Business School case studies in 'Disruptive Innovation' that will do the rounds in future years - 'here's how Blackburn Rovers became the first small town club to regain the Premier League title' - We Wish!! Time, as they say, will tell! Arte Et Labore!

How these players actually perform through a season will be the judge. I can’t judge one way or another right now as I don’t know enough about them. I believe he’s a bit of a prick around the place, obviously a Suhail man, but it is what it is. He wouldn’t be near the club under a normal regime… but we aren’t one so you have to expect under qualified/inexperienced individuals to be employed here and all you can do is they quickly learn on the job and hope for the best.

Have to agree. For someone to suggest they were too quick to judge the transfer window, then have the balls to say it's somewhat an exciting one, and then call for the bloke who's seemingly driven most of the recruitment to be sacked, strikes me as the ramblings of a confused poster trying to be popular.

Great post. That campfire analogy gave me a good chuckle. Wondering what people’s reasons are for wanting Gestede out? I know he had a bit of a bust up with fans last season, and I know he’s complicit with the Venky’s shenanigans (but they are providing his role after all). Would people still be anti-Gestede under another regime? I’m not overly pro nor anti Gestede, just curious. For what it’s worth, I think he’s doing a decent job given the circumstances.

Thanks for that, post amended, EFL Cup is a nightmare to keep track of lol

One of my favourite Rovers games - the Shearer chip and the look on the Norwich keepers face.

I don't people are really bothered about us would we get the same reception from Leicester?

Grella was a decent footballer in my memory. But useless in terms of value to the team as never fit.

Well, looks like you've already predicted this window's "mistake".

The two I think would have thrived under VI are Brittain and Travis. From a technical and physical standpoint, they look aligned and VI has shown most displeasure in losing them. That said, I think Tavares can / will be a better player than Travis and has a much higher ceiling in this regime. The point I’m making about ‘them’ leaving refers to a player choice rather the club. Picture this…please allow for some colour and humour (It’s my style). Rovers squad sat round the camp fire under the leadership of Big Johnny Eustace and his merry men! Lots of backslapping and a strong and clear understanding that, if you “do it my way, you’ll get that contract you always wanted.” This starts to break down as the club won’t give those juicy contracts out and John packs up and leaves the pack, now feeling rudderless and vulnerable… In steps Valerian Ismael, who seems nice, but he’s different. Firstly he’s physically chiselled from what looks like granite (No more cosy nights round the fire with pot bellied John). But there’s more….Big Val is cut from a different cloth. He’s singing from a new hymn sheet, and the players he’s bringing in are like cyborgs in comparison to what’s gone before them. Suddenly that nucleus, that strength of the group held together by John and his lieutenants Travis, Brittain, Buckley, JrC etc is smashed and one by one, they all look for a way out. Eustace, like Mowbray relies on that English style model of camaraderie and an understanding that “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours…” Once he was gone then that would never last under Suhail and Rudy. It’s not about whether Travis and Brittain and Batth are good players, they are VERY good championship players. But the writing was on the wall as soon as Eustace left and Val came in. We couldn’t see it because, we’re not on the inside but the profile of the players signed are proof enough that club has moved on from the old guard. The club knew this was going to happen too, and Val has intimated on more than one occasion that he was hoping for a slower transition into the model but they’ve been forced to rip the plaster off and just go for it. This is why I don’t think the direct comparisons work. If this were still Johns gig, then we could be like, “How will Tavares, do what Trav did before him?” But it’s not….Val wants a different profile of player. Watching Tavares, and reading the raving about Baradji then I’m not even sure Sonny or Trav really stood a chance!? Trav was the most likely fit but they want high octane, ball carrying, progressive passing ‘8’s’… This is what the manager is talking about in terms of us being in full transition mode. I just don’t see the point in the comparisons anymore. Is Travis better than Tavares? Well in John Eustaces Rovers, yes. But in Valerian Ismaels Rovers, it’s much closer. Kargbo, Alebiosu, Henriksson, Morishita, Miller etc represent the T2000’s in this model. The T1000’s need to move on…and that’s what’s happening!

I sadly think he’ll have the same trajectory as Willem Tomlinson, hope to be wrong of course.

Only tome will tell. Too bad about Bucko, he seemed to have it in there it just was rare to see it. It was always like zinwas wondering ok maybe this is the game when he pulls it together. I just don't know why he never progressed. Good luck to the lad he's done nowt wrong cept for bouncing a ball of a opponents.head. Possibly the STUPIDEST sending off I have ever seen. Ref was.cold on that one get a sense of humour.

Playing devil's advocate here. Toth plays a double header in Hungary and gets injured. We are shipping out our first choice keeper who had a solid spell in between his calamities. We are left with a rookie in goal who did not cover himself in glory in his recent first team outing. Is Pears really a third choice? Mowbray thought Raya was suspect. We all thought Walton was suspect and he had a decent career away from us. Pears is howler prone but he has also been a match saver. I think we are leaving ourselves dangerously thin on the ground if Toth gets injured.

We definitely shouldnt hold on to academy lads purely because they came through. But 2 exceptions to what you say. Newcastle fans were gutted to lose Anderson who has been excellent for Forest, he only went due to FFP rules. And the likes of Buckley and JRC are not big losses. But Travis is a giant on.

Another key objective to make a successful window has to be to tie down Tronstad and Hyam to new deals.

Im not over estimating that compared to last season, some really crucial players and also some very useful players have left the club. That doesnt mean that some might not be adequately be replaced or some new signings might not improve us. They may very well do that. Thats a seperate argument. But we dont have to pretend that some of the players that have left have done based on our decision. They left when we didnt want them to. Nor do we have to pretend that some of the players that have left were not as good or as useful as they actually are. They do leave big gaps. Whether those gaps are filled, time will tell. But those gaps are still left nonetheless. Brittain, Travis, Dolan, Batth. You wanted them all to stay. I wanted them all to stay. Now they are gone, similar to your trick with managers. It is of little surprise that you will downplay their quality or their influence. Its what you do. As soon as anyone heads through the Ewood exit door, in your eyes they become 50% worse. Eustace, JDT, and now a series of key players.

But we are at a point where as you have said, we have barely if at all seen the new players. So all we can do really is speculate and also discuss what we have lost. Even if they wouldnt fit into the new way, if we are comparing the quality of the respective squads, regardless of styles, its worth noting key personnel that has left. Take Batth. He is seemingly potentially starting to decline. And I dont think he would have suited our style as much now anyway. We didnt want him to go though, Ismael wanted him to stay, he turned us down. But I would be amazed if we keep as many clean sheets this season as last. So it is a fair direct comparison still. People are downplaying the quality of those who have left too. You mention Travis. Ismael seemingly wants to play athletic, high energy stuff. That would have been right up Travis' street. Full of energy, a great presser, in your face. I dont get why you think Tavares would have knocked him out of the team. You also consider the intangible differences. Travis in the team against Birmingham doesnt show the same naivety that Tavares did. Dolan, a player I know you really did not rate. Again, Ismael really wanted to keep him, and his form was possibly the only player to actually improve when Ismael came in. Loves to press, high energy, and started to become more and more productive. So he is again a big loss, both in terms of comparisons to last season AND as someone who would have really suited Ismael. And obviously he had great success with Brittain before and he was another key player. You also say you can understand why most have left. It isnt out of choice. We tried to keep them, they just didnt stay because the club has a continued inability to get players to sign new deals. This summer hasnt gone to plan, the plan was to sign 6 or 7 and Ismael has said numerous times that we have had to "transition" and sign more players than initially planned due to unwanted departures. Travis, Brittain and Dolan in particular would have not only been key features of the team had they stayed but perhaps would have suited Ismael as much as anyone. Which of the players that have left are you NOT glad that they have left? Ie which do you think would have thrived and improved in an Ismael team?

Completely forgot we've (re)signed Forshaw 😅 can't see him getting much game time tbh, probably be loaned out or released at Christmas