John Buckley

[Tomphil2]

Without tenacity and hard graft his so called talent means nothing and hes never shown enough of any of it.

Ability wise handy back up player but attitude wise he's an absolute liability constantly used as a sub.

If he was truly any good as some think he is he'd have taken one of his numerous chances or been snapped up by someone else. If we'd paid money for this lad he'd have been branded a resounding flop before now but he gets away with it because he came through the ranks.

[davulsukur]

5 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

Without tenacity and hard graft his so called talent means nothing and hes never shown enough of any of it.

Ability wise handy back up player but attitude wise he's an absolute liability constantly used as a sub.

If he was truly any good as some think he is he'd have taken one of his numerous chances or been snapped up by someone else. If we'd paid money for this lad he'd have been branded a resounding flop before now but he gets away with it because he came through the ranks.

Yep, he's now 25 and has been given chances under 4 managers now. Eustace hoped giving him the armband might be the making of him but it only worked for like 2 games. 

He might end up at another championship club this summer but unless he sorts out whatever his issue is, he'll be dropping down the leagues in another couple of seasons.

[Tomphil2]

3 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Yep, he's now 25 and has been given chances under 4 managers now. Eustace hoped giving him the armband might be the making of him but it only worked for like 2 games. 

He might end up at another championship club this summer but unless he sorts out whatever his issue is, he'll be dropping down the leagues in another couple of seasons.

I think he got a long contract and payrise after a cameo period in a sort of false 9 and thought he was the main man then the lip came out when he realised he wasn't.

He should use Tronstad as his role model.

[riverholmes]

A last chance in the attacking role in a midfield three? Not sure he has the consistency to play deeper but with a freer role, I just wonder if would improve. I am sceptical, of course. 

Ideally, he'd be replaced but when the rest of the squad looks so poor and incomings underwhelming, I just wonder if keeping him might be preferable.

[toogs]

Probably is worth keeping him. 
 

It looks like the players we are bringing in could be below championship standard. 
 

At least Buckley has had the odd good game. Poor most of the time.  I think he is the level we are now at sadly. 

[davulsukur]

2 hours ago, riverholmes said:

A last chance in the attacking role in a midfield three? Not sure he has the consistency to play deeper but with a freer role, I just wonder if would improve. I am sceptical, of course. 

Ideally, he'd be replaced but when the rest of the squad looks so poor and incomings underwhelming, I just wonder if keeping him might be preferable.

I thought we were supposed to be implementing some kind of high press/workrate/energy tactic? 

Buckley doesn't fit the style we're looking at playing, Ismael left him out of the squad entirely for the last few games. 

[Tomphil2]

Why have Mowbray or Eustace never been linked with Buckley ?

They know more than we do so it's quite telling they've never - to date - fancied snapping an out of favour lad they know well.

[Waggy76]

4 hours ago, toogs said:

Probably is worth keeping him. 
 

It looks like the players we are bringing in could be below championship standard. 
 

At least Buckley has had the odd good game. Poor most of the time.  I think he is the level we are now at sadly. 

I think he is playing 2 divisions higher than is ability.. 

[frosty]

1 hour ago, Waggy76 said:

I think he is playing 2 divisions higher than is ability.. 

I actually think in terms of natural football ability he's Championship level. He'll come on as sub and play a pass or two that nobody else would.

But you need more than that. And Buckley doesn't seem to have it, hence his career's drifting.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

When I think of John Buckley...meh!

A player who never seems to offer enough.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

When I think of John Buckley...meh!

A player who never seems to offer enough.

Yeah, he always seems to be playing within himself.

[OnionBalaji]

Wouldn’t mind losing him - barely got a game on his loan spell away, not fancied under three managers 

 

shame though as he was great for bets on to receive a booking 

[Blue blood]

What annoys me about Buckley is that what he can do and bring can't really be taught. Some of his vision stuff is fantadtoc.

But the stuff which is basic and can be taught he doesn't do. That three different managers haven't drummed it into him doesn't auger well but there's definitely a case of what could have been with the lad. 

[roverblue]

Not heard of any interest yet in him or JRC who I expected to be leaving, probably end up being loaned out again.

[oneandycrawford]

1 hour ago, roverblue said:

Not heard of any interest yet in him or JRC who I expected to be leaving, probably end up being loaned out again.

Maybe clubs looking from the outside in over last 12 months don't like what they see with the two players in question - injuries in JRC's case (and his whole career history of these) and attitude in Buckley's.

If I was a club looking to take a chance on either player I'd probably want a loan with option to buy - but guess that doesn't fit with our need for immediate cash as seems to be the club's operating principle at the moment.

[Mattyblue]

Attitude, simple as that. Had it on a plate since being about 8 years old.

Compare and contrast to a Szmodics who’s grafted his way to a good career (and the financial rewards that go with it).

JB will drift down the leagues and at 35 may actually have some regrets.

 

[Tomphil2]

They are both pretty much run of the mill championship footballers who people obviously don't see much future potential in nor how they could go straight into their team and do a job.  So there is no one prepared to pay a fee for them because their types aren't in demand they exceed supply at this level.

If they became free or could be snapped up for a few hundred grand and would fit into the interested clubs pay bracket i think there'd be a taker, for Buckley at least.

 

[Roverthechimp]

36 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

They are both pretty much run of the mill championship footballers who people obviously don't see much future potential in nor how they could go straight into their team and do a job.  So there is no one prepared to pay a fee for them because their types aren't in demand they exceed supply at this level.

If they became free or could be snapped up for a few hundred grand and would fit into the interested clubs pay bracket i think there'd be a taker, for Buckley at least.

 

Suspect wages are also an issue - both given new contracts before the pursestrings were really tightened.

Suspect even loan moves involve us paying a fair chunk of the tab 

[JPTSwindon]

Both in and out of the team, injuries, difficult loan spell already...  Hard to see clubs queuing up, but if they knuckled down and kept fit them are good squad players.  Suspect will be with us right up to the transfer window closes and then off to Scotland on loan.

[Ossydave]

On 22/06/2025 at 12:03, OnionBalaji said:

 

 

shame though as he was great for bets on to receive a booking 

Yep good for betting but his childishness was ridiculous with pretty much all of his bookings, its hard to believe he didn't get clattered a bit more as a result. Looked like he couldn't be arsed half the time, there's definitely some talent there but I doubt anyone is going to put his attitude right and his face straight at this stage... 

[philipl]

I think I am already at the stage that I would be less concerned seeing Montgomery coming on as a sub than I would be about John Buckley trotting on.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On 24/06/2025 at 18:13, Ossydave said:

Yep good for betting but his childishness was ridiculous with pretty much all of his bookings, it’s hard to believe he didn't get clattered a bit more as a result. Looked like he couldn't be arsed half the time, there's definitely some talent there but I doubt anyone is going to put his attitude right and his face straight at this stage... 

If you were an opponent you wouldn’t clatter him,  you’d want him to stay on and get another card.

[riverholmes]

John Buckley makes move to Saudi Pro League club, Al Kholood, for an undisclosed fee and subject to international clearance and approval from governing bodies. It ends a 20 year association with Rovers.

A clearly gifted midfield player who never could quite get his game together. We kept waiting for the penny to drop, as we waited for Joe Rothwell, for example, fruitfully, in that case. But for Buckley, who was shifted around to right back, wing, false 9, the vision and passing ability was not matched by,  it seems to me, confidence to take the lead. 

I thought we were looking at a Premier League player when he first started to breakthrough, in the mould of, perhaps, Adam Wharton. Buckley had moments, for example, when Mowbray fielded him as a false 9, with Reda Khadra offering a pacy distraction, Rovers made a charge to top spot in the league at Christmas. Then, there was a end of season run, when nothing was on the line, Buckley played regularly in central midfield and I'm sure I didn't hallucinate at least one 20 yard screamer.

To go to desperate Sheff Wed and get shunted onto the wing and on the bench and then to fall behind Kristi Montgomery, fresh from his Chorley loan spell, were the final nails in the coffin.

It seems a great move for Buckley for a few different reasons (though Continental Europe, maybe, Spain, would've been ideal) and his time at Rovers was fading away. But the biggest question is, where is the next Buckley coming through? The next Wharton? The Rovers U21 are in the doldrums, fielding teams that struggle to beat non-league second strings. Players that show promise seem to fade away, disappear on loan or get injured and never quite recover.

With Travis on his way out, JRC gone, now Buckley, it is an end of an era of academy/U21 graduates but the future pipeline is a major concern. 

Edited 3 hours ago by riverholmes

[alcd]

7 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

John Buckley makes move to Saudi Pro League club, Al Kholood, for an undisclosed fee and subject to international clearance and approval from governing bodies. It ends a 20 year association with Rovers.

A clearly gifted midfield player who never could quite get his game together. We kept waiting for the penny to drop, as we waited for Joe Rothwell, for example, fruitfully, in that case. But for Buckley, who was shifted around to right back, wing, false 9, the vision and passing ability was not matched by,  it seems to me, confidence to take the lead. 

I thought we were looking at a Premier League player when he first started to breakthrough, in the mould of, perhaps, Adam Wharton. Buckley had moments, for example, when Mowbray fielded him as a false 9, with Reda Khadra offering a pacy distraction, Rovers made a charge to top spot in the league at Christmas. Then, there was a end of season run, when nothing was on the line, Buckley played regularly in central midfield and I'm sure I didn't hallucinate at least one 20 yard screamer.

To go to desperate Sheff Wed and get shunted onto the wing and on the bench and then to fall behind Kristi Montgomery, fresh from his Chorley loan spell, were the final nails in the coffin.

It seems a great move for Buckley for a few different reasons and his time at Rovers was fading away. But the biggest question is, where is the next Buckley coming through? The next Wharton? The Rovers U21 are in the doldrums, fielding teams that struggle to compete with non-league second strings. Players that show promise seem to fade away, disappear on loan or get injured and never quite recover.

With Travis on his way out, JRC gone, now Buckley, it is a, n end of an era of academy/U21 graduates but the future doesn't look so good.

The future would look better if upcoming talent such as Phillips, Finneran and Tyjon had been retained. 

[Colt Seavers]

Buckley consented to a farewell interview with Rovers TV today, still in his club tracksuit. It is a hard watch as the lad is clearly devastated to be leaving. He appears shellshocked and close to tears. He started here twenty years ago - aged six.

What a shame he couldn't build on his early promise. He is a good lad Bucko and I enjoyed watching him when in form and confident. 

I believe this move is best for both parties and I hope he can settle abroad and recover his love of the game .