I am afraid we will be in the relegation mix and a battle might be the most we can hope for.

It obviously depends on how good they are but signing players permanently is undoubtedly preferable so I would agree on that. You also open the door to selling them at considerable profit in the future and then continuing the process. Thats where we fall down here. I also have said in the past that we had under utilised the foreign markets. For a club like us that are unwilling to spend much money, its makes sense to look further afield. You look at the fees we are paying, they wouldnt even afford the players that Charlton are buying who have adopted a policy of signing many of the stand out players in League 1. So you have to look in places where other people arent looking, as everyone will know domestic players. More risk of signing total duds, but also more potential reward in signing players of which an equivalent domestically would be well out of budget. Those League 1 players are not guaranteed to step up themselves. The key thing though is that we have to accompany these type of players with a core of proven Championship quality players. We have a few of these already in Hyam, Travis and Tronstad in particular and we have to pay the going rate to keep them to give us the foundation of a team where we can then add these potential assets around.

Hopefully the new S&C fella has better luck keeping him healthy, perhaps that is why VI fetched him here, after recognizing himself that the soft tissue injuries were too frequent.

Think he goes next summer. Won't be many takers for him right now. Rudy and co praying he has a decent season so they can get him off the books next summer.

I replied to a poster who commented on how quick our business has been, compared to other windows. In that respect you have to give Gestede credit...I'm not saying he's the next messiah. Also let's be brutally honest here, it's not his job to decide on who gets to stay and go, that is in fact the rat he reports to.

I still think we will see Cantwell leave too. Really surprised it has been so quiet with him.

Baradji is at the game (as per his instagram story) so maybe he's just injured.

I liked Beck a lot as a defender, not many did him last season. There was one fella, can't remember who ir who he was playing for but he gave young Beck a torrid time, more than any other. Good in your face full back, played a lot bigger physically than he actually was. Derby will do well.

Yeah Beck was certainly better than those 2. He was really good, not only going forward but defensively. His main issue is injury proneness and I dont think he is fit now. The 2 we have now are average Championship standard I would suggest. Not a position we need to look at though. Beck is top end when fit, would be very difficult to get someone as good.

Watching Leicester - Fiorentina now. Leicester are miles ahead off us. What a squad and A. Fatawu is going to rip the Championship apart if he can continue like he has done today.

i prefer to follow what i see on the pitch ,ribeiro is a good player but beck is better in every dept,he is injury prone but that because of the way he plays

Stats would suggest similar levels and similar results - it’s ok if you prefer a player over another but there’s no direct correlation in rovers form or results with beck in or out of the team. hence me saying as we have cover there it’s not a massive loss

I suspect what he says in public and what he thinks in private are two entirely different things.

Sore foot?

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 also then have the likes of Goddard, Michelski, Duru, Atcheson, Litherland, Batty, Montgomery and Tyjon on the fringes who don't need to he registered.

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......