January Transfer Window.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

I attend regularly despite owners. Yes, I wish we had owners who the fans had some affinity for but unless we get back to the Premier League we are stuck with them. I believe only then will Venkys sell up. 

In the meantime we have a new management team that, like them or not, have done miracles with half a team they inherited. No, I don’t like watching us play around at the back but I have to trust that the manager knows what he is doing.

As for the project, the manager and DOF need to be more transparent about what they are trying to achieve. 
 

 

 

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, Atko's Engine said:

All this talk of the project, the longer term, forward planning etc. being criticised, for me brings to mind something Jack said when we won the title. Through tears of joy, he said that we'd achieved his goal of winning the title a year earlier than planned. Great, we all thought, and it was a truly fantastic 4 years.

But then what happened?  We finished 7th, then mid table for a couple of seasons, then went down. We were rubbish in 99/2000, then found Souness and lucked out with the likes of Dunn, Duff & Jansen coming through. Hughes also benefitted from that, but was also able to buy in decent talent. We competed really well over a decade in the Prem under Williams' guidance before Venky's came along & threw it all away.

My point, in this context, is that we grew too fast, faster than expected, such that we fell away almost as fast, faster than any other title winner. We didn't have the foundations to be sustainable in the longer term. Jack knew this and admitted as much, hence the funding of the academy. After his death, that academy, plus good club management from Williams, kept us up, but it only took 1 bad appointment by know-nothing new owners to ruin it all and since then.... well, we all know what's happened since then.

This summer, for whatever reason and at whoever's behest, the club took a new turn by opting for the DoF & Head Coach model. It happened at a time when 3 senior pros left for free, 2 first team loanees left, and half a dozen squad players moved on. The club was riddled with holes, not just on the squad but in the backroom team too.

On arrival, GB made no bones about this being a project, the brief being to make the club sustainable in its own right, to build a solid foundation over a period of time which would stand the test of time and the vagaries of the modern game. It was to be (re)built from the bottom up, relying heavily on the academy, good scouting & shrewd investment.

JDT then arrived. He perhaps didn't know the recent history, the antipathy of the owners, the mistrust between the club & fans, the false dawns, the promises, the journey. But he did know we had a shoestring budget, he knew we had a strong academy, he knew we had a team shorn of experience & numbers, with 1 star player who was only likely to be around for one season, the other still recovering from 2 seasons out injured.  "I was looking for a project, the project found me". He nor JDT couldn't have been clearer about their remit.

He then had what, 6 weeks to get to know the players he inherited, in a pre season he said wouldn't have been his choice, plus contribute to identifying incomings. One of his backroom team died within days of his arrival. Then the season started in earnest, 24 games crammed into 3 and a half months. He had to rely on blooding youth to get through that, giving 5 players their senior debuts. It's not surprising that some things didn't come off (Hirst being the standout flop) or that results have been inconsistent.

Despite all that, the team clearly over achieved in that spell, to the point where now, even after 3 wins in 10 matches, we're still in 4th, which none of us predicted, expected or demanded in June. All to play for.

There's 1 week left of the January transfer window. We clearly have targets, some known, most probably unknown. JDT and GB will be trying to push for the best deals for now, whilst also planning for the future as per their remit, which they knew when they arrived. Every manager hates the January window, good deals are tough to get at the best of times, even for non-dysfunctional clubs like Rovers.

I've rambled on a bit, but looking through the prism of history GB & JDT just cannot be judged harshly now, or at the end of this season, on the back of faults of others before or above them.  The Prem winning year was built on weak foundations which crumbled just as quickly, & Venky's ruined the stability of the Williams era. If it takes JDT & GB 2-3 seasons of rebuilding, of trading, of instilling a togetherness & an identity back into a broken club then great, 'cos it was a shambles when they arrived. And that's not giving up on promotion this year by the way.

You've got it wrong there. We didn't fall away after winning the league because we had 'grown too fast'. We fell away because Jack pulled the purse strings back together, and allegedly started asking Kenny to justify why he wanted players, which led to Kenny stepping down. This ultimately led to Jack having to plough even more money into the club under a manager who wasn't up to it.

Failure to invest from a position of strength, and ensuring the right people are in charge. Possibly also the dangers of too much owner interference. Those are the lessons to be learned from what happened after 1995, and funnily enough they can be applied to recent times.

[Scirocco Steve]

Hi all. Long time watcher of the forum, first time poster. Atkos Engine, your post is excellent. Its what my thoughts have been for a while. Whether JDT and Broughton will work out or not, if having a DoF is the right model for the Rovers or not, I don't know but at least we appear to be trying something different. I stopped going to the Rovers under the Venkys and have since gone back. Since that League 1 Season things seem to have slightly improved (not alot and from a very bad place I grant you) and yes Mowbray was bore who frustrated the hell out of me but he at least brought stability and JDTs football infuriates me now with the suicide passing round the defence but it does feel like we are at least trying to bring the next phase into play. An identity and direction. Not saying any of this will work but I feel we have to at least give it a bloody chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

relax and stop going OTT over it. We will make the signings we needed before the window shuts

Just absolutely beyond mental to state something like that as fact.

 

Unless you're just trying to convince yourself. 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Armchair supporter supremo

[Fraserkirky]

Tell ye, I’m pretty excited about the prospect of Undav, think he is just what we are missing. Be pretty impressed if Broughton pulls it off.

[RevidgeBlue]

Apologies if it's been mentioned elsewhere but Cantwell gone elsewhere. Another target missed. Keep pulling the rabbits out of the hat Gregg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blue blood]

8 hours ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Just absolutely beyond mental to state something like that as fact.

 

Unless you're just trying to convince yourself. 

 

It's clearly a wind up mate. 

An outrageous statement at odds with history blended with condescension and disparagement of others views. It's a good effort mind. 

[BankEnd Rover]

Boro linked with Van Hecke on loan.

[ItsRoverZ]

5 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Boro linked with Van Hecke on loan.

Don't do this ...please... not on a Tuesday morning 😭😂

[TheRevAshton]

Will be pissed if Middlesbrough get JPVH on loan.

Really can't stand them! I wish them nothing but misery and failure.

In saying that, I feel like Brighton might want to keep JP around. So it probably won't happen.

[islander200]

Van Hecke just had his first start for Brighton in the premier league be odd if they let him out on loan now 

How many centre halves do Boro need

[Iceman]

10 hours ago, Scirocco Steve said:

Hi all. Long time watcher of the forum, first time poster. Atkos Engine, your post is excellent. Its what my thoughts have been for a while. Whether JDT and Broughton will work out or not, if having a DoF is the right model for the Rovers or not, I don't know but at least we appear to be trying something different. I stopped going to the Rovers under the Venkys and have since gone back. Since that League 1 Season things seem to have slightly improved (not alot and from a very bad place I grant you) and yes Mowbray was bore who frustrated the hell out of me but he at least brought stability and JDTs football infuriates me now with the suicide passing round the defence but it does feel like we are at least trying to bring the next phase into play. An identity and direction. Not saying any of this will work but I feel we have to at least give it a bloody chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Iceman]

10 hours ago, Scirocco Steve said:

Hi all. Long time watcher of the forum, first time poster. Atkos Engine, your post is excellent. Its what my thoughts have been for a while. Whether JDT and Broughton will work out or not, if having a DoF is the right model for the Rovers or not, I don't know but at least we appear to be trying something different. I stopped going to the Rovers under the Venkys and have since gone back. Since that League 1 Season things seem to have slightly improved (not alot and from a very bad place I grant you) and yes Mowbray was bore who frustrated the hell out of me but he at least brought stability and JDTs football infuriates me now with the suicide passing round the defence but it does feel like we are at least trying to bring the next phase into play. An identity and direction. Not saying any of this will work but I feel we have to at least give it a bloody chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All this talk about suicide football at the back, imo is just a bit silly. The players are professionals, who shouldn't be uncomfortable playing a passing game at the back, and doing so with ease. Plenty of the errors at the back, are something you would see at school boy level, where players struggle with the basics. 

A passing game shouldn't be difficult, when the passes are simple and straight forward, not passes where the player wants to be fancy in possession. I'm amazed at how uncomfortable our players are in possession, and this is not even playing out from the back. These are players in midfield, with heavy touches, who cant pass a ball a few yards, who get nervous when another player closes them down. JDT has plenty of work to do, to separate the men from the boys, in the next 12 months, because some of these players are not championship quality, let alone PL. 

Cmon guys, the game of football should be simple most of the time. Get the ball, look up, pass the ball, and move. Imo thats the sort of game JDT wants to play, so we need to find him the players that can do that, otherwise, we might as well bring back Sam Allardyce, and play that kick up a ball into sky and run after it game 

[TurkishDelight]

Iam still pretty sure Jo Inge Berget is signing on a free transfer.  

[JHRover]

I detect a pattern emerging with some of our loan business as well. We seem to be the 'guinea pigs' for young players on loan, often being the first opportunity the players get to go and play in the Championship. It seems to be rare that we bring in players who have played elsewhere on loan at this level previously.

They come here, do ok or well for a season or half a season, and then after that we seem to stand no chance of bringing them back for another spell and instead they head off to rival Championship clubs instead.

I'm thinking here of Tosin, Harwood-Bellis, Khadra, Poveda, Clarkson, Morton, Branthwaite, JPVH

It seems to suggest to me that we are content to take the gamble on these sort of lads, give them their first real opportunity at this level, then once they've come here and done well rival clubs willing to pay more  money get them later. So Khadra going to Sheff Utd/Birmingham, Harwood Bellis to Stoke/Dingles, Tosin to Fulham, next one might be JPVH to Mboro. We hardly seem to have a sniff of getting them back yet rival clubs can get them. I assume this is because having had a heavily subsidised initial spell at Rovers the costs go up considerably with parent clubs demanding far greater wage contributions.

[davulsukur]

5 minutes ago, TurkishDelight said:

Iam still pretty sure Jo Inge Berget is signing on a free transfer.  

This a hunch or based on something you've heard?

[Torgeir]

7 minutes ago, TurkishDelight said:

Iam still pretty sure Jo Inge Berget is signing on a free transfer.  

Molde have apparantly made him an offer.

[Swanson]

6 minutes ago, TurkishDelight said:

Iam still pretty sure Jo Inge Berget is signing on a free transfer.  

It was said this morning that he will probably sign for norwegian club Molde, but nothing decided yet. It was also said that he has offers from clubs in the Championship, including Rovers.

[TurkishDelight]

21 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

This a hunch or based on something you've heard?

Hunch.  Cheap, older, tough, leader and can play multiple posisions.  

[roverblue]

well this is all very depressing. was expecting news on Porteous and Undav based on reports last week but isnt looking good the longer time goes on.

 

is there anyone else we are in talks with that people have heard about?

[TheRevAshton]

10 minutes ago, roverblue said:

well this is all very depressing. was expecting news on Porteous and Undav based on reports last week but isnt looking good the longer time goes on.

 

is there anyone else we are in talks with that people have heard about?

There are a few 'in the know' posters on here, who have previously shared bits with us.

I haven't really seen any of that this January though. I guess the Club are keeping a pretty tight lid on transfers from now on, which is probably for the best!

[jim mk2]

6 minutes ago, TheRevAshton said:

There are a few 'in the know' posters on here, who have previously shared bits with us.

I haven't really seen any of that this January though. I guess the Club are keeping a pretty tight lid on transfers from now on, which is probably for the best!

All will become clear (or not) on January 31, about 10.55pm

 

 

[neophox]

Smokescreens everywhere....

[Sweaty Gussets]

1 hour ago, Swanson said:

It was said this morning that he will probably sign for norwegian club Molde, but nothing decided yet. It was also said that he has offers from clubs in the Championship, including Rovers.

where was it said?

[goozburger]

The message of developing younger players is clear. Jo Inge Berget does not fit into that category. Unless players of his age are expecting modest wages and sign-on fees, free agents like him are unlikely to end up here.

I suspect we have more chance of affording a player for a modest transfer fee and wage than a player for no transfer fee, a bloated wage, and a signing-on fee.

The more I think about it, the more I don't believe we are anywhere near older free agents.