At the minute, and I'm including Pears, Buckley & Leonard and just replacing Brittain for Miller, we would need to register 22 of the current players in our first team squad.

We've been "close" with several now have we not? Failing for one reason or another to land decent to good players but always managing to land the dross without incident or hesitation. Things that make you go mmmmm.

john ismael valerian beck,he`ll be leaving the grass long in the corners and making the lads have cold showers before kick off😁

We looked a much better team with Beck in it and Beck is a better player than Ribiero

We do Venkies don't. You and I both feel the plan is relegation this season. Let's see but I think it is going to be a dismal campaign. Got me debating with myself whether I want to bother with the subscriptions to keep up.

Gestede credit? He will have known for months we wouldn't be offering contracts that our better players would sign on for It is a week before the season starts , we have lost 4 from our strongest 11 and our 2nd top scorer and bar 1 signing(and even that signing was playing for a team nearly relegated last season)none of us know wether they will be any good in the Championship With respect credit would come if these players turn out to be Championship standard and we don't end up in a relegation battle

No drop off in our performances/consistency wins/losses without beck he was covered by picks and ribeiro - the rest I agree

I think it's both. There is a very, very clear profile of player being targeted - athletic, tall, and fairly young. I think our crappy budget has necessitated expensive players leaving, and little money to spend on replacements, but Ismael has clearly said he wants a certain type of player.

God help us. Expecting a heavy defeat, anything at all from the game will be a bonus I think.

Partly maybe but also with explosive pace it’s difficult to keep that up, my main worry with him is his hamstrings exploding at any moment

Where have you plucked this information from? West Brom have had a good window with Heggebo/Philips/Campbell. They haven't lost anyone of note either. Added to that, Dike is injured and turning into a right crock, so scrap that part of your post too......

Last time we totted up, are we on about 22 if Brittain goes and 23 if Miller comes in?

They won’t engage properly. They don’t want to. Fans opinions are a hinderance to their aim of cutting costs and ambition. Mike Graham spent years telling us we needed to keep engaging, and look at his speech as the outgoing chairman at the last Rovers trust meeting.

Won't be many if.any loans the squad is Pretty full.

Despite the stick he gets on here, Pears is average championship keeper standard I would say. His problem is, with a week to go to the new season all teams surely have a first choice keeper sorted now. I doubt he wants to play second fiddle, so he's not in an ideal situation..... I can see Buckley going to league 1 or even 2 purely on loan though as his wages will be a stretch for most teams. He will sulk about the place wherever he goes, if anywhere.

Perfect response! And but for Szmodics we would have been relegated. And he's not here anymore. IMO the squad is lower in overall quality than either 1 or 2 years ago (assuming Brittain and Trav leave). Will depend on any new signings as to whether squad has more depth. E.g. Are two ok RB's better than 1 good RB with a U21's player as cover,?

I dont see it as a change in the style of play so much as a concerted drive to replace slightly more expensive players with cheaper ones all over the pitch. I'm still not sure how VI thinks it can possibly work as I don't believe he's naive or stupid.

More a “let’s stop letting them have the ball” issue.

No, this was how he was vs Wolves. Had a great start and was then worked out/faded. Probably why he's primarily coming off the bench.

Equally - it’s not all shysters and shadows, there are people working hard at the club, acknowledging that isn’t defending any Venkys malaise. I also don’t think you get people to engage with you by taking that approach, but I’m not or never will be involved in any of this because of the sheer time it must take up.

Kargbo looked absolutely unplayable yesterday.... For 10 minutes and then forgot he was on the pitch. Was it a fitness issue? I can't tell

Yes, but if you're going to try and turn us into Harry Bassett's Wimbledon or John Beck's Cambridge the players at your disposal have to be VERY good indeed at implementing the system and style of play otherwise it doesn't work. Doubtful whether it works these days anyway imo.

venky/pasha thinking the academy lads will take the place of departed players to fill out the squad,will be a dismal failure we all know that,barring montgomery and tyjon,the rest of them ar`nt ready for 1st team football

Brittain was obviously very good for this level anyone being honest would say that, also proven by rivals wanting and one ultimately getting him. All teams will have swill of players course your right on that, I would just echo the perceptions of a few other posters this morning suggesting it’s nice to see a more proactive approach that’s not relying on loans. Of course, as a few point out, a lower budget = more gambling but if you go back to the premier league days, some of our best signings came for cheap, especially during the trust and John Williams time. The levels we got from getting multiple international captains, like Nelsen, Ooijer, Mokoena et al for the prices we did. Obviously this is a complete different kettle of fish but I just prefer punts like this than loans or 30+ year olds on short contracts.

Quite looking forward to when the loans start happening,it's shopping at a higher level than we can afford without the risk. Wonder if we might try the foreign loan market , if that's allowed.