2025 Summer Transfer Thread. 😂

[Tomphil2]

8 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I thought even Bell was better than disastrous Derek.

A promotion and a Prem season would confirm that.

Personally on Williams i thought for the £250k it took to buy him he was ok but that's it, always to me looked like a centre half playing at full back.

[RevidgeBlue]

6 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

A promotion and a Prem season would confirm that.

Personally on Williams i thought for the £250k it took to buy him he was ok but that's it, always to me looked like a centre half playing at full back.

Yes I thought he looked better at CB as well.

[MarkBRFC]

12 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Tyjon and his parents probably want to make sure he gets the game time Ismael has said before he commits to new contracts

It doesn't matter if Tyjon plays 4 games or 40 games, he won't be signing a new contract here, because nobody does.

As proven for the past 19/20 months.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

15 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

A promotion and a Prem season would confirm that.

Personally on Williams i thought for the £250k it took to buy him he was ok but that's it, always to me looked like a centre half playing at full back.

So if a promotion and prem season is a factor then can we say bell has been better than beck then?

[Neal]

Jesus christ. It's a damning indication of how boring this transfer window is when there's in depth discussion on the ability of Derrick fucking Williams... One of the most beige, nothing, average championship footballers we've had 😂

Edited 5 hours ago by Neal

[Emerald Isle Rover]

3 minutes ago, Neal said:

Jesus christ. It's a damning indication of how boring this transfer window is when there's in depth discussion on the ability of Derrick fucking Williams... One of the most beige, nothing, average championship footballers we've had 😂

The same as the 10 page discussing we used to have about pears who is worse 

least it’s a new name 

and for the record I don’t think Williams is better I think he’s had a better rovers career which is the point being made 

[Old Codger]

Just over 2 and a half weeks now to the start of the new season, away at West Brom. All very quiet on the transfer front, albeit with the players in Spain for a pre-season kickabout and some sun. What is worrying me most as it stands is the prospect of losing any of our key players from here on in, such as Travis, Tronstadt, Brittain (although he has kind of gone already in my mind), or Pickering. Pre-season is important in terms of drilling a playing style and gaining team cohesion, and should we lose anyone key at this point, there will be inevitable impacts on whatever has been achieved during the pre-season run up. That is even before we factor in the challenge of integrating any incoming player(s) into the team.

It isn't beyond the wit of our opposition in the league to be delaying their moves in order to derail any momentum we have built up, not withstanding of course that bringing our players into their own set ups would cause similar challenges to those we would face, but hey - maybe they have greater strength in depth and can take the hit, whereas we are paper thin in terms of talent and capacity to accommodate disruption.

But don't listen to me - I'm just a crusty old codger, and I worry about all kinds of stuff that younger folk don't even consider real (yet!). 

I'd rather we got our shopping done, declared ourselves 'complete' and set out our stall accordingly, so that worried old gits like me can look forward to the new campaign, instead of being scared of the shadows that most certainly (to me) appear to stalk our club.

COYB! Get ready.

Edited 4 hours ago by Old Codger
Jangled. That's me ;)

[RevidgeBlue]

Trying to change the subject, I really liked the comment attributed to VI that he didnt like bringing in loans from PL Clubs.

I suspect he may be sorely disappointed when his only option is to pad out the squad with a few random loanees right at the end of the window though.

[Tomphil2]

15 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

So if a promotion and prem season is a factor then can we say bell has been better than beck then?

Only time will tell, maybe Bell had one 'peak' season when they got promoted and is now back where he belongs whereas if Beck can maintain his potential he'll perform higher for longer.

You need to park this one up i reckon.

[Neal]

14 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

The same as the 10 page discussing we used to have about pears who is worse 

least it’s a new name 

and for the record I don’t think Williams is better I think he’s had a better rovers career which is the point being made 

Like asking... "Would you rather be kicked in the nuts or punched in the nuts?". 

 

I blame Venkys.

Edited 5 hours ago by Neal

[Emerald Isle Rover]

3 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

Only time will tell, maybe Bell had one 'peak' season when they got promoted and is now back where he belongs whereas if Beck can maintain his potential he'll perform higher for longer.

You need to park this one up i reckon.

But the discussion wasn’t about future it was about past and present rovers careers not what they could become. That’s the point Iv been trying to make all along

but your right let’s move on

[DutchRover]

Not sure why this discussion of Beck has turned into a roast of Williams. He was a more than solid servant to the club, always tried and covered multiple positions at LB and his better LCB roles.

Beck I am not too bothered, he was talented but injury prone and honestly there was no chance he was coming back to us so why care? Ribeiro and Pickering is a solid LB duo to have, and if we want wing-backs, then Hedges and De Neve can both do that as well.

[joey_big_nose]

What i thought was weird about Derek was for a big lad he was really poor in the air... Could get his head on things but had very little control over where it went. Made him impotent in the opposition box and very dangerous to us defending high balls centrally. Think he played full back to keep him away from our goal as opposed to any talent as a left back.

Edited 4 hours ago by joey_big_nose

[MarkBRFC]

My main memory of Derek Williams was putting a header wide from a yard out away at Bristol Rovers back in 2018.

A really poor to average player. Shows you the quality we had in the side in the 16-17 season when he won player of the year!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

12 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

What i thought was weird about Derek was for a big lad he was really poor in the air... Could get his head on things but had very little control over where it went. Made him impotent in the opposition box and very dangerous to us defending high balls centrally. Think he played full back to keep him away from our goal as opposed to any talent as a left back.

He was too slow for full back and not good enough in the air to be a centre half. There’s a reason why he ended up playing in the third tier with Rovers.

Regarding game time as a yardstick of worth. Craig Bellamy played 27 games for Rovers and won us nothing. Yet lots of people, me included, would have him in their all time best Rovers team playing alongside Alan Shearer.

Edited 4 hours ago by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

9 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

What i thought was weird about Derek was for a big lad he was really poor in the air... Could get his head on things but had very little control over where it went. Made him impotent in the opposition box and very dangerous to us defending high balls centrally. Think he played full back to keep him away from our goal as opposed to any talent as a left back.

MGP was another. He had a really good leap and got his head to lots of balls but where it went after that was down to luck. 

[Emerald Isle Rover]

5 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

He was too slow for full back and not good enough in the air to be a centre half. There’s a reason why he ended up playing in the third tier with Rovers.

Regarding game time as a yardstick of worth. Craig Bellamy played 27 games for Rovers and won us nothing. Yet lots of people, me included, would have him in their all time best Rovers team playing alongside Alan Shearer.

I’m not sure many would have Bellamy in their ‘all time best rovers’ lineup 

no Chris Sutton?

seriously what are we doing here 

[MarkBRFC]

11 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

I’m not sure many would have Bellamy in their ‘all time best rovers’ lineup 

no Chris Sutton?

seriously what are we doing here 

Depends how you want to set up your "all time Rovers" lineup.

If you just want the best players in there, I think Bellamy is very close if not in it. A fantastic player who had everything.

If you're trying to set up what you think would be the best "team" then Chris Sutton probably goes in alongside Shearer, although Newell worked superbly with him too, and I think Santa Cruz and Shearer would have worked great together as well.

Shearer was obviously the best either way, but during his time here and at Newcastle, I think he worked best with a "target man" style forward, Newell, Sutton, Ferdinand, Ferguson etc.

Edited 4 hours ago by MarkBRFC

[Mike E]

14 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

MGP was another. He had a really good leap and got his head to lots of balls but where it went after that was down to luck. 

Just wide at Old Trafford…

[Mercer]

17 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

MGP was another. He had a really good leap and got his head to lots of balls but where it went after that was down to luck. 

and that incredible headed miss against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi at Old Trafford with only minutes to go (would have put us in the final) will long linger in the memory bank for all the wrong reasons.  Met MGP in the hospitality at Ewood last season and he remembers it well!

[lraC]

10 minutes ago, Mercer said:

and that incredible headed miss against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi at Old Trafford with only minutes to go (would have put us in the final) will long linger in the memory bank for all the wrong reasons.  Met MGP in the hospitality at Ewood last season and he remembers it well!

I bet he has dreamt about that one over and over again. I know I did and it took me a while to get over it.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

15 minutes ago, Mercer said:

and that incredible headed miss against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi at Old Trafford with only minutes to go (would have put us in the final) will long linger in the memory bank for all the wrong reasons.  Met MGP in the hospitality at Ewood last season and he remembers it well!

I was right in line with it. I thought it was going in right until it went past the post. I think if that had gone in we would have held out for a win.

[Displaced Rover]

5 minutes ago, lraC said:

I bet he has dreamt about that one over and over again. I know I did and it took me a while to get over it.

I’m still not over it…one day when I replay it in my mind it’ll go in…

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

34 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

I’m not sure many would have Bellamy in their ‘all time best rovers’ lineup 

no Chris Sutton?

seriously what are we doing here 

Look at their respective careers. That should tell you all you need to know. Sutton was great for us but Bellamy had that X factor. Teams had to line up 10 yards deeper against us when he was playing.

[jim mk2]

26 minutes ago, Mercer said:

and that incredible headed miss against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi at Old Trafford with only minutes to go (would have put us in the final) will long linger in the memory bank for all the wrong reasons.  Met MGP in the hospitality at Ewood last season and he remembers it well!

 

We were up celebrating and couldn't believe it when he missed. Big moment - minutes from first FA Cup final since 1960