January Transfer Window.

[jim mk2]

8 hours ago, Jimmy612 said:

Jesus, this age old classic. It's a pathetic cop out for all Rovers fans that can't admit they were wrong.  Allardyce was the safest pair of hands in English football at the time, and the perfect manager for a small club entering a transitional period in its history, at a time when it was absolutely essential we kept our hand in the PL honey pot.  To sack him wasn't a ludicrous decision because it was part of a wider ploy by dark forces that had infiltrated the club.  The ludicrous part in actual fact was clowns like you, Gav and others who celebrated it. 

We're now 12 years and probably 12 managers down the line and still haven't had one that's even remotely in Allardyce's league, quite literally.

Several nails struck firmly on the head in that post. Should be pinned to the top of the message board in eternity

The only amendment I would make is that the decision to sack him WAS ludicrous, in fact it was worse , it was one of those WTF moments (rather like Brexit) when you think the world has gone mad and (owing to age and experience) you just get that feeling in your gut that it was an incredibly bad move and would have disastrous long term consequences. 

Agree with the comment about the ludicrous fans who still can’t see it. Clowns is too complimentary though because clowns are entertaining. They’re just fools

[Paul Mellelieu]

8 hours ago, den said:

How’s it been for the last thirteen years since we sacked him Paul?

halfway up the PL, beating PL teams on a fairly regular basis is boring.

Personally I never found scoring more goals than the opposition boring. ………anywhere.

Den, you can angry about the last 13 years and say that you hated Sam's style.  There were alternatives to his dreadful style as both Hughes and Souness demonstrated.  Not an either / or.

[Paul Mellelieu]

22 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Several nails struck firmly on the head in that post. Should be pinned to the top of the message board in eternity

The only amendment I would make is that the decision to sack him WAS ludicrous, in fact it was worse , it was one of those WTF moments (rather like Brexit) when you think the world has gone mad and (owing to age and experience) you just get that feeling in your gut that it was an incredibly bad move and would have disastrous long term consequences. 

Agree with the comment about the ludicrous fans who still can’t see it. Clowns is too complimentary though because clowns are entertaining. They’re just fools

Jim, seriously.  Saying that you found Sam's football dreadful does not mean you wanted him sacked with everything that has followed.  I preferred Sam to Ince for obvious reasons, and Sam to all that has followed, for obvious reasons.  I preferred Hughes to Sam, also for obvious reasons.  Is that so hard to understand? 

[goozburger]

12 hours ago, Mercer said:

As Souey used to say - 'you wee with the willie you have'!

The transfer window is often the same for Rovers these days. 300 pages of speculation and hope that, this time, we might make one or two signings early-mid window. I never put too much hope on that. Save yourselves the frustration!

Realistically, I do expect two or three new faces through the door before the window shuts - preferably ones that can hit the ground running rather than needing a month or two to "get used to our ways".

[Paul Mellelieu]

9 hours ago, Jimmy612 said:

Jesus, this age old classic. It's a pathetic cop out for all Rovers fans that can't admit they were wrong.  Allardyce was the safest pair of hands in English football at the time, and the perfect manager for a small club entering a transitional period in its history, at a time when it was absolutely essential we kept our hand in the PL honey pot.  To sack him wasn't a ludicrous decision because it was part of a wider ploy by dark forces that had infiltrated the club.  The ludicrous part in actual fact was clowns like you, Gav and others who celebrated it. 

We're now 12 years and probably 12 managers down the line and still haven't had one that's even remotely in Allardyce's league, quite literally.

It was a ludicrous decision.  But you know, you can also say that his brand of football was awful. 

Not seeing not is being really foolish.

[jim mk2]

2 minutes ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

Den, you can angry about the last 13 years and say that you hated Sam's style.  There were alternatives to his dreadful style as both Hughes and Souness demonstrated.  Not an either / or.

Hughes and Souness were a different place and time. It’s been pointed out that Sam was perfect for us at that particular turbulent period and to rock the boat further by sacking him was a bad idea. So yes you can role the dice and sometimes get lucky and find a gem of a manager but the chances are you won’t - as we’ve found out

[BankEnd Rover]

Some sources saying Boro now in for Gelhardt lol

[Jimmy612]

42 minutes ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

It was a ludicrous decision.  But you know, you can also say that his brand of football was awful. 

Not seeing not is being really foolish.

I don't remember his football being particularly awful to be honest - maybe because I understood where the club was. Quick reminder that we brought in Benjani on a free and Mame Diouf on loan that summer.  If we spent £0.00 now there'd be absolute uproar, never mind when we were trying to stay in the toughest league in the world!

His football was effective, and judging by the players reactions at the time they were obviously not the least bit interested in how they got results.  This is Ryan Nelsen the day he was sacked;

"I am devastated for Sam. He had a fantastic relationship with all of the players. Everybody respected him.  Sam took the club out of the doldrums. We were in massive trouble and with no money he has solidified us and got us into the top ten on a shoestring budget.

We could and should have beat Bolton and we would have been seventh. This has come out of the blue. Both Sam and Neil McDonald have handled themselves incredibly well in difficult circumstances.

The owners can do what they want, it's their club, it's their business. But in the real world we work in Sam has done an incredible job.

The club had stalled for the past few seasons. The Walker Trust wanted and needed to sell. The club was a bit dead in the water. That's why Sam did an incredible job to keep us from relegation."

Some Rovers fans would have been best advised to 'read the room' instead of nailing their colours firmly to the Venky mast and tittering excitedly about Ian Holloway and Owen Coyle (another lesson learnt) 🤢.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Jimmy612

[windymiller7]

8 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

On the technical side, any suggestions? When I try to quote anyone it also automatically highlights the quoted bit leaving me unable to type anything.

 

Hi Rev, I did post a solution in a thread the other day. The issue is with Samsung Internet which went haywire after doing an OS update before Xmas. If you switch to Chrome, everything is fine.

My phone did another OS update yesterday & it seems to have resolved the issue, although I've not tested it out thoroughly yet, so with a bit of luck, when that update gets pushed through to your phone it should help.

I'm on the laptop atm typing this, but will try on Samsung Internet later & see what happens.

[Gav]

10 hours ago, Jimmy612 said:

Jesus, this age old classic. It's a pathetic cop out for all Rovers fans that can't admit they were wrong.  Allardyce was the safest pair of hands in English football at the time, and the perfect manager for a small club entering a transitional period in its history, at a time when it was absolutely essential we kept our hand in the PL honey pot.  To sack him wasn't a ludicrous decision because it was part of a wider ploy by dark forces that had infiltrated the club.  The ludicrous part in actual fact was clowns like you, Gav and others who celebrated it. 

We're now 12 years and probably 12 managers down the line and still haven't had one that's even remotely in Allardyce's league, quite literally.

Cobblers, Sam Allardyce was a bent bastard Jimmy and no amount of rewriting history will ever change that.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1387883/FA-probe-50k-bung-Gael-Givets-Blackburn-move.html

If you left your principles and brain at the turnstiles you could just about cope with the fact he was robbing every Rovers fan of seeing the better players come to Ewood, he was in the pocket of 1 agent, very Venkyesq actually, brown envelopes a plenty and don't get me started on him buy a round for all the Bolton fans in The Sportsmans (Bromley Cross) the night Jack Walker died.

Not 1 Rovers fan played a part in his sacking, despite your hysterics on the subject, but every England fan in this country witnessed him disgracing himself on the national stage and he should have been banned from football for life. 

Have we signed anyone yet.....

Edited January 25, 2023 by Gav

[AllRoverAsia]

Daily Mail!

OMG, I'll leave it there.

Case won.

[roverblue]

Can the moderators delete most of this non transfer talk guff please?

[rover23]

Middlesbrough trying to sign Van Hecke and now they’ve joined the race to sign Gelhardt too. 

 

It’s like they’ll have the transfer window we’re dreaming of. 

[Gav]

11 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Daily Mail!

OMG, I'll leave it there.

Case won.

Not really Asia and normally I'd agree with you!

I can't remember the name of journalist (Nick Harris maybe) but he was excellent on his reporting of those Venky rats and Anderson, Shaw, Agnew etc, so in this case I did give that rag of a paper a pass. 

[BankEnd Rover]

1 minute ago, rover23 said:

Middlesbrough trying to sign Van Hecke and now they’ve joined the race to sign Gelhardt too. 

 

It’s like they’ll have the transfer window we’re dreaming of. 

I can’t see why they would want Gelhardt…They’ve just bought Archer on Loan. Either he or Archer wouldn’t get guaranteed game time which wouldn’t be ideal for parent clubs. 

[Sweaty Gussets]

7 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

I can’t see why they would want Gelhardt…They’ve just bought Archer on Loan. Either he or Archer wouldn’t get guaranteed game time which wouldn’t be ideal for parent clubs. 

Archer is an out and out striker/poacher.  Gelhardt, from the bits I've seen, is more yer Markanday type. 

[Jimmy612]

22 minutes ago, Gav said:

Cobblers, Sam Allardyce was a bent bastard Jimmy and no amount of rewriting history will ever change that.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1387883/FA-probe-50k-bung-Gael-Givets-Blackburn-move.html

If you left your principles and brain at the turnstiles you could just about cope with the fact he was robbing every Rovers fan of seeing the better players come to Ewood, he was in the pocket of 1 agent, very Venkyesq actually, brown envelopes a plenty and don't get me started on him buy a round for all the Bolton fans in The Sportsmans (Bromley Cross) the night Jack Walker died.

Not 1 Rovers fan played a part in his sacking, despite your hysterics on the subject, but every England fan in this country witnessed him disgracing himself on the national stage and he should have been banned from football for life. 

Have we signed anyone yet.....

18 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Daily Mail!

OMG, I'll leave it there.

Case won.

Not only that ARA, bottom of the article - The FA confirmed a probe into the allegations, and a spokesman said: 'We will be looking into the material and the issues that may be raised by the content provided by The Sun.'  I highly doubt any action was taken on this - Gav might be able to provide something more?

In the case of England - his crimes were stupidity, pig-headedness, taking advantage of his position and embarrassing the FA.  The very serious allegations of third party ownership were clearly a nonsense, resulting in The Telegraph providing absolutely zero evidence.   So, whilst his position was probably untenable, a lifetime ban would have been really strange. 

Allardyce is not a particularly likeable person, but he's a far better manager than this stupid reputation of an old-fashioned hit and hope merchant.  Huge pioneer for sports science, an excellent man manager and a decent tactician. 

Everything in your post is based on character defamation, various 'forced' media stories and seemingly an old fishwives tale from Bromley. It's only natural it would be your go-to defence, seeing as you can't possibly have an argument for his value and performance as a football manager. 

As for not one fan playing a part in his sacking... where in my post did I suggest they did?  I simply implied that you were all as thick as pig-shit for not seeing the writing on the wall.  12 years later, you're sat on here telling all and sundry how great  a second tier manager like Tony Mowbray was and that nothing will change until the Rao's have sold up.... there must be a tinge of embarrassment somewhere...  

[roverandout]

Watford boro Sunderland West Brom Norwich will all finish above us 

[ben_the_beast]

Huge week. Saying other clubs are having the transfer window we can only dream of will only be true if they and not us get them over the line. I'm sure there are other clubs who would look at the players we've been linked with and say the same. 

It's the last week of January. Every player, especially those potentially going out on loan are going to be linked with a whole host of clubs.

Personally I do think it's frustrating that we've not brought anyone in earlier. And it does bring anxiety that we'll end up with little or sub-par recruitment. But the time to judge will be when the window slams shut. Here's hoping for an exciting week and a stronger squad when it does.

[Tugayisgod]

48 minutes ago, rover23 said:

Middlesbrough trying to sign Van Hecke and now they’ve joined the race to sign Gelhardt too. 

 

It’s like they’ll have the transfer window we’re dreaming of. 

Source is Pete O'Rourke, the same guy who said we were in advanced talks with Kilkenny a fortnight ago so not sure be about this 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

1 hour ago, roverblue said:

Can the moderators delete most of this non transfer talk guff please?

Aggree, May as well delete the entire thread and try starting again since there's been no transfers! 

 

Or leave this thread for folk to carry on bickering in and start a new one strictly gor actual transfer news and links

[Armchair supporter supremo]

I get the feeling Ronan Curtis is still the one being monitored (what is it 3 years in a row we've been linked to him now) his contracts up in the summer

 

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/blackburn-rovers-boss-watches-portsmouth-striker-bag-15th-goal-of-season-as-he-eyes-january-business-4000187

[BankEnd Rover]

12 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

I get the feeling Ronan Curtis is still the one being monitored (what is it 3 years in a row we've been linked to him now) his contracts up in the summer

 

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/blackburn-rovers-boss-watches-portsmouth-striker-bag-15th-goal-of-season-as-he-eyes-january-business-4000187

Jesus that really is a sorry sight.…If this is the calibre we’re looking at in order to progress then we should all be worried.

[roverstdt]

33 minutes ago, Tugayisgod said:

Source is Pete O'Rourke, the same guy who said we were in advanced talks with Kilkenny a fortnight ago so not sure be about this 

As much as i love Van Hecke another CB isn't a priority. Yes i was happy with Porteous but I think we need to first solve the Diaz dilema. I think it would be a shame to lose him on a free would rather see a sale this window and pick up behind a Curtis whose contract is running out, a Brannagan, and Van Hecke/Porteous behind to replace ayala in the summer. Even a cheeky bid for Maja giving his performance this year. 

[Sweaty Gussets]

19 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

I get the feeling Ronan Curtis is still the one being monitored (what is it 3 years in a row we've been linked to him now) his contracts up in the summer

 

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/blackburn-rovers-boss-watches-portsmouth-striker-bag-15th-goal-of-season-as-he-eyes-january-business-4000187

Interesting we're being linked with an ex-Stanley man who prior to joining them spent most of his career in non-league. I'm sure that's a signing that will be warmly welcomed on here 😁