John Buckley

[NeilInBristol]

1 minute ago, Roverthechimp said:

Did you miss that he is carp? 😉🤣

I think JE (and others before him) don’t really trust Buckley in a 2 in midfield unless we have 5 at the back.

that said, if JRC and Tronstedt are fit then they are first choice on merit imo.

He's a fish!?! Oh that explains it!

[Roverthechimp]

1 hour ago, NeilInBristol said:

He's a fish!?! Oh that explains it!

Unfortunately his name is not Billy otherwise he might be the answer to goalkeeping problems 😉

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Roverthechimp said:

Did you miss that he is carp? 😉🤣

I think JE (and others before him) don’t really trust Buckley in a 2 in midfield unless we have 5 at the back.

that said, if JRC and Tronstedt are fit then they are first choice on merit imo.

I think Buckley can play when he’s in the mood but unfortunately he’s a card on legs. Tronstad keeps out of trouble most of the time and If JRC gets a card there’s usually a good reason for it.

[NeilInBristol]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I think Buckley can play when he’s in the mood but unfortunately he’s a card on legs. Tronstad keeps out of trouble most of the time and If JRC gets a card there’s usually a good reason for it.

if we get travis back and bucko and jrc stays fit next season we could have a mf battle with whos playing trons

[Torgeir]

10 hours ago, NeilInBristol said:

if we get travis back and bucko and jrc stays fit next season we could have a mf battle with whos playing trons

If we want to look up the table I think I would look to offload Travis and Bucko. JRC is good and versatile, but a bit too injury prone. 

[benhben]

How old is Buckley now? 23/24 with probably 100+ games at first team level. Hes no better than when he broke out of the U21s. Unfortunately I think we've got to realise hell never be an answer. Its telling that JDT and JE both dont seem to fancy him.

Might have a bit of transfer value that could be invested wisely....not that we can trust our lot to A. Give us the money and B. Invest it properly. 

[joey_big_nose]

I think Buckley will continue to play an important role for us. Hes good in a midfield three and can cover right back too. Just suffering at the moment as we effectively play 442 with Szmods up front with Gallagher. Garrett and Travis are both closer the exit door I would say.

Likely both Szmods and Gallagher will leave this summer so the balance of the team could change quite significantly. Could easily end up with JRC, Tronstad and Buckley in a midfield three and more of a proper number 9 leading the line.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, Torgeir said:

If we want to look up the table I think I would look to offload Travis and Bucko. JRC is good and versatile, but a bit too injury prone. 

Do you seriously think that we are going to be signing better players than Travis and Buckley this Summer ? What with - magic beans ?

Edited April 8, 2024 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Admiral Nelsen]

1 hour ago, benhben said:

How old is Buckley now? 23/24 with probably 100+ games at first team level. Hes no better than when he broke out of the U21s. Unfortunately I think we've got to realise hell never be an answer. Its telling that JDT and JE both dont seem to fancy him.

Might have a bit of transfer value that could be invested wisely....not that we can trust our lot to A. Give us the money and B. Invest it properly. 

 

He definitely is. We forget how raw Buckley looked until he had at least 50 or games under his belt. He's still flawed and inconsistent, but he was like a little boy when he was first in the team. 

You'd say that he hasn't really kicked on since Mowbray's last season when he started to look the business. Injuries and not being fancied by JDT didn't help, but he has to take responsibility too. Big season for him next time around, because you're right that he can't be considered a youngster anymore. 

[roversfan99]

We have such a small pool of first team Championship standard players, and have suffered with the small squad all season as a result of the budget cuts. I can't get my head around people encouraging selling the ones we do have, even if people wouldn't start them if everyone was fit. Travis is more useful than Buckley, but getting rid of either only cuts us down further.

[Mattyblue]

Yes there’s an odd view by plenty on here to get shut of every player that isn’t in the first XI.

One, it’s a squad game, now more than ever with five subs and two, they are only ever replaced with loans or ‘potential’.

Edited April 8, 2024 by Mattyblue

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

You need two players, at least, for every position. Obviously there will be a difference in levels of ability.

[Wheelton Blue]

Talk of getting rid of both Buckley and Travis is madness. We skirted with disaster only a few weeks ago when Tronstad was out injured.

[islander200]

10 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Do you seriously think that we are going to be signing better players than Travis and Buckley this Summer ? What with - magic beans ?

Well we did get Tronstad on a free who is better than them both.

Not advocating selling either of them as it would probably be a cheap loan or nobody with this convenient block on sending funds over   ,I would have sold Travis if JDT was still manager but he will have a clean slate under Eustace,tho I don't see him playing ahead of Tronstad or JRC and being out of the team here left Travis moaning behind the scenes etc reportedly 

I take people's point that we probably wouldn't sign better and would keep them both but at the same in Travis case going from being a regular starter and captain to being a bench player he won't want that and will be pushing to move away and rarely an unhappy player pushing for a move is kept on at any club,they get the move

 

[roversfan99]

He might not get in the team if Tronstad and Rankin Costello are both fit, which is a big if with the latter who is also needed in other positions.

The supposed talk about him being disruptive was mentioned specifically that he wasnt playing the position he wanted in defensive midfield, when he did play he was expected to play further forward whereas Eustace is a lot more conservative. When he did play, it was often at full back. But I suspect there was a personal issue between Tomasson and Travis hence why he wasnt even selected in favour of Garrett, and also Wharton was here. Plus a clear financial motive to push him out. 

We need to get out of this habit of going, he wouldnt make our best team if everyone was fit so let him move on. He would get plenty of game time here even if we regularly had a fully fit squad.

[47er]

On 08/04/2024 at 06:45, NeilInBristol said:

if we get travis back and bucko and jrc stays fit next season we could have a mf battle with whos playing trons

You can't make any assumptions about JRC being fit next season. He misses more games than he plays.

When he returns its like having a new signing. He is so good when he does play that I think we just have to accept that's how  it is. We are a better side when he plays.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

11 hours ago, 47er said:

You can't make any assumptions about JRC being fit next season. He misses more games than he plays.

When he returns its like having a new signing. He is so good when he does play that I think we just have to accept that's how  it is. We are a better side when he plays.

 

Not only that but when he does play he usually comes off around the 65-70 minutes so we still need adequate subs to come on.

Edited April 9, 2024 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[NeilInBristol]

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Not only that but when he does play he usually comes off around the 65-70 minutes so we still adequate subs to come on.

Key point. Our squad is thin

Bucko not a good impact sub?

Two games this week so I wonder if he will start one as jrc won't be fit if he plays both

[Exiled_Rover]

10 hours ago, islander200 said:

Well we did get Tronstad on a free who is better than them both.

Not advocating selling either of them as it would probably be a cheap loan or nobody with this convenient block on sending funds over   ,I would have sold Travis if JDT was still manager but he will have a clean slate under Eustace,tho I don't see him playing ahead of Tronstad or JRC and being out of the team here left Travis moaning behind the scenes etc reportedly 

I take people's point that we probably wouldn't sign better and would keep them both but at the same in Travis case going from being a regular starter and captain to being a bench player he won't want that and will be pushing to move away and rarely an unhappy player pushing for a move is kept on at any club,they get the move

 

Sadly that's going to be the ask of Broughton - finding the Tronstad's of the world. I think they're few and far between. 

[Torgeir]

On 08/04/2024 at 11:38, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Do you seriously think that we are going to be signing better players than Travis and Buckley this Summer ? What with - magic beans ?

Nope.

[riverholmes]

Arguably, the most naturally gifted footballer in our current squad (not saying much) but is it the end of the road for Buckley at Rovers? He has a few years on his contract, I think, without checking, but things have never clicked since the days when he was touted for the Premier League.

His best brief spell was probably as a false 9 with Reda Khadra creating space with his pace (the rare days when the team had pace). He also had a handful of end of season games as a CM under Mowbray when he scored a long-range goal or two and looked to be finally cementing his place.

At Sheff Wed, on loan, they stuck him out wide and then on the bench, in a desperate team near the bottom of the league.

When playing well, he has fantastic passes in his armoury. However, he just hasn't developed (arguably, like other academy graduates, like Scott Wharton or JRC - though, they have injuries as a mitigating factor). 

For me it's a dilemma whether to keep or move on. Ismael's not a fan, it seems and even Montgomery was moved ahead in the order, it seemed (unless Buckely was injured at the end of the season). For his career, I think a move abroad could do wonders. A less physical league where he can get on the ball might help him. 

It's a shame, because in natural passing ability, he was/is close to Adam Wharton. Though, lacks in most other areas, perhaps, most importantly, in some aspect of mentality.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by riverholmes

[DE.]

Probably adequate for a 2nd/3rd choice midfield backup, and we are assumedly not breaking the bank on him wage-wise. Just a case of whether he's happy to be that far down the pecking order. I don't think Buckley's a bad player - he's just developed into a very average player, with the exception of his passing which can be excellent at times.

As an aside, reading the posts on this page I was baffled by the positive comments about JRC until I realised they were from April 2024. Some fall that lad has had.

[MarkBRFC]

Buckley under contract until 2027, be one of the last out of the door, then it's just up to Val who is the only person contracted any later than that to turn the lights off on his way out.

 

[roversfan99]

His technical ability is I would say overrated. Obviously the best part of his otherwise limited game but certainly hasnt been close to Wharton and our current technically most gifted player is Cantwell. Struggles on the ball in tight spaces.

[davulsukur]

He's done here. 

Didn't even make the squad for the last 2 games, didn't feature much under Ismael at all really.

RG is on record as saying we're looking for a box to box centre midfielder and Ismael is on record as saying he wants to keep Forshaw.

Trav and Tronstad are the starting 2, Forshaw comes on to see games out, Montgomery will get more game time this coming season, plus the new CM puts Buckley 6th in line.

I'd be very surprised if he's a Rover by the close of the window. Possibility he gets loaned to a League One club for the season but I suspect we'll be hawking him around for about £500k to anyone who'll listen.

Edited 3 hours ago by davulsukur