I'm intrigued by Taveres. Somewhat a player in his early career was destined for the big stage with Barcelona tracking him. Seems to of then disappeared and ended up at a poor Portuguese side. Has all the features to be an Nzonzi type signing. Didn't we sign him for a similar fee, if not less? Look how he turned out. It will be good to get some height in the centre of the pitch, especially when Tronstad and Travis are small. He looks like he carries the ball quite well which will benefit us on the counter. Ive got a good feeling about this Mon.

Even for us he should have been

Rovers are a complete anomoly as a Football Club. THE most successful town Club in the UK,the 12th most successful Football Club in England.. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_football_clubs_in_England_by_competitive_honours_won ..this all from a town (only Blackburn) with a population of just some 125,000. A record home crowd of over 62,000 and crowd's seen of 30,40,50k....there are not many Clubs our size,with our resources who can claim that. We hold our own and better most Club's our size...so much to be proud of. ...then along came Venkys.

Ask yourself the question do you genuinely think de keersmaeker was a realistic target?

Again smacks of a lack of ambition, we've gone from De Keersmaecker one of the best midfielders in the Dutch League outside the big 3 teams, to a young Leicester reject who did not even play half the minutes for a mediocre team in the Portuguese League. Assume his time in Leicester academy makes him easier to register somehow.

A player with 2 years left on his contract itl will cost most than that upfront

Rovers is mixed wage bill by the sounds of it with academy grads still on academy wages but no doubt with bonuses, lower paid players in their first contracts or bargain basement signings. Then there'll be a few on average wages and one or two higher earners compared to the others but not in terms of top 10 championship earners. It's an ever evolving mystery but if its remained fairly static over the last few years but the squad size has remained the same that gives a clear indication it isn't a big payroll in Championship terms.

It's absolutely not costing us £1.7m hahaha. £250k + add ons I bet.

Elliot said in his last podcast that it's generally accepted we are "comfortably in the bottom half of the championship" when it comes to financial heft. It's common knowledge, if you choose not to believe it you're only betraying your own naivety.

Don't be pathetic Chaddy. We know that we pay the smallest wages in the division bar Rotherham. Its public knowledge.

Is it's? So you know what every player at Rovers is paid? Sharing that info then Mike? Yes true on a few players I will say like Caulker.

I’m not saying you think those things, I’m talking generally about a large chunk of the fanbase. Have a look at half the PL, I’m not besmirching those clubs, my point is there’s no reason our ambitions shouldn’t be to join them - especially as on the pitch we’ve done very well all things considered the past few years, we really haven’t been far away. Fifteen years of relatively low crowds (due to the owners) and no ambition (due to the owners) has led far too many fans to think that is just how it is - new custodians could put a rocket under this club and those same fans would soon be jettisoning those previous views about little old Rovers.

Low instalments over the course of a contract is probably the only thing they can get past the finance men. Then when it comes to selling Travis they'll probably insist on money straight away but do a discount.

So he says "around 2 million euro" in English thats £1.7 million. I think we could probably round that down to more likely 1.5 mill including add-ons. He'll probably initially cost about 800-900k. Which sounds more like us tbh.

I guess it depends on your definition of bigger. If it is in terms of historic crowds then we are no bigger than the likes of Leicester and Southampton. I've made the point before that those clubs are lucky in the sense that we are surrounded by other clubs whereas they have big areas to draw support from. If it is terms of historic achievement then we are undoubtedly bigger than many of those clubs. But even then if you look at the last 100 years then we are no bigger than Leicester. They have won the League, FA Cup and League cup, and have several FA cup finals - all since 1960. And I object very much to your suggestion that for making these points I'm not a real Rovers fan. I was in our lowest ever league crowd and was at Millwall away in 1979 when there were so few of us it felt like we were outnumbered by the police and stewards! When you compare us to our direct historic competitors - Dingles, Nobbers and Horwich - then we have achieved more than any of them. I'm not arguing that what Rovers have achieved isn't remarkable - in fact I'm arguing that it is more remarkable because of our relative resources compared to some other clubs. I'm not accepting it is as good as it can be. It's merely stating this is where we are at the moment. We all agree that the only way this changes is either a complete change of direction by the Venky's - bloody unlikely going off the last 15 years - or new owners. I remember the gut punch feeling of Palace in 1990 followed by the ecstasy of Wembley in 1992 (possibly the greatest day of my life) and knowing I'd finally see Rovers play top flight football for the first time in my lifetime. I want that feeling back FFS. The point I was trying to make is that people who think we should accept where we are is ok are wrong. We are 'bigger' than many of those clubs historically and would be again with the right owners. But to the outside world, at the moment, the sad fact is we aren't. Palace have finished half way up the top flight and just won the FA Cup. The fact they've historically done fuck all when compared to us probably isn't relevant to prospective new owners unfortunately. You mentioned Bournemouth - it pisses me off to see them where they are - but that is purely down to their owner. We all want the club to move back to where it belongs but for that to happen we have to understand the current perception of us from outside. If we don't then we won't do the right things to change that. What does just saying we are bigger than Brentford do to change that?

I have no idea of the credentials of the person who posted this, but a translation of his post seems to indicate (I think... auto translations can be funny things) that the €2M (Euros not £) would be if/when all clauses are met * obviously assuming that the guy knows what he is talking about and that it has translated properly/I have read the translation correctly (the bold part in the translation below is less than clear) Original post & translation below should anyone else want to hazard a guess Sidnei Tavares at Blackburn Rovers… the clock is ticking imminently! Negotiations in the final stages to reach a full agreement between clubs, in a transfer that will be around 2M € with objectives included (exclusive values). The midfielder leaves Moreirense and is expected to travel to England by Sunday to undergo medical examinations and sign a contract.

Can't imagine Tavares is costing us 2 million. A smaller Portuguese club where he played half the games... Sounds more like a cheap pick up.

Dead Kennedys - Too Drunk To Fuck

We're a million times bigger than any of those clubs you mentioned and bigger than a few more that are in the prem at the moment. When folk constantly claim the contrary I am left wondering whether they really are Rovers fans.

Absolutely no way we are spending that money on a midfielder as a bench option. Travis or Tronstad will be out the door.

Not going to be particularly excited about Tavares, will have to wait and see. Started half the games in the Portuguese league which is pretty poor outside the top three. Let's hope he's been brought in to fill in the squad a bit rather than be a starter.

Ah yes the mirror. The greatest source of factual information

It’s partially true for any club outside 7 or 8 post the 1960s. But any Rovers ‘fan’ that meekly accepts this is as good as it can be for BRFC when half the top flight are clubs like Bournemouth and Brentford are no fans at all.

RevidgeBlue, I agree with much of what you say. not all, but much. I haven’t said anything yet… as I prefer to wait until the window closes, as you say about many of our supporters.😅 After all, the club did finish strong at the end of the season, players coming back, Ismail appeared to make good selections, use his bench more wisely, etc. One thing you said, that I 100% agree with- the club will get several loaners just before the season begins. That has not helped us much in the past, and those longer than the loan, Because we cannot afford to purchase them. I am not a fan of this policy, even though we have got some guys in the past like Harvey Elliott, Branthwaite, etc. it is simply not a beneficial strategy to the long-term welfare of the club. it’s merely a stop gap. The other thing I worry about, is the players we’ve sold off, hardly any of that money seems to go back into the club. I believe most people here feel the owners are using that money to pay off their business losses. I don’t know for sure, & they are taking a huge risk in financing a football club, as few clubs make any money & they are entitled to protect their investment… but our academy, as strong as it’s been, simply cannot produce 2 or 3 quality players a year needed to advance the fortunes of the club. Therefore, the only way to improve the club to the goal of promotion is transfers.