2025 Summer Transfer Thread. 😂

[RevidgeBlue]

5 minutes ago, TommyRovers said:

Didn’t have a go at you for that. 

I joked that it was a silly comment about our squad being incomplete just a week or two into the window. All club squads are.

No point us going back and forwards going "Yes it was, no it wasn't" all afternoon.

Maybe not at a normal Club but we have previous form for rarely if ever strengthening in the forward positions because those are the ones which cost the most money.

With c 2 weeks to go until the end of the window do you now finally acknowledge  the state of the squad is a matter for serious concern, or do you still think it's no reason to worry because there are another 2 weeks left and the Club will sort something.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I’m not sure the chicken chokers are overly concerned about us being relegated again. They’re probably thinking - “ Last time it was no big deal, they got back again “. 

[RevidgeBlue]

1 minute ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I’m not sure the chicken chokers are overly concerned about us being relegated again. They’re probably thinking - “ Last time it was no big deal, they got back again “. 

Even they will know though that that was primarily because they retained all the big wage earners, and invested further in the squad, Dack/Armstrong etc.

The exact opposite of what's happening now.

[...]

2 hours ago, Devon Rover said:

I've never known an organisation to be so keen to convince everyone of how hard they are "pushing" for things (acquisitions, contracts, etc, etc) to happen, whilst not actually delivering any of those things, then repeating the same thing, over and over. All whilst senior members of the organisation speak to the press about being "confused", or their standard working environment being "difficult" or "strange". Meanwhile their competitors just get on with actually making things happen. 

Bloody amateurs, the lot of them.

It's like walking onto a Car sales forecourt expressing high interest in a vehicle, discussing with your mrs that you both like it, agree its perfect for you, expressing to the salesman it's perfect everything you need...

"Okay Mr and Mrs Rao, should we move into the office and run up some paperwork for you?"

"Yes we're happy let's go"

* paperwork on the desk and handed a pen.

*stare blankly at the salesman, walks out without uttering a word.

The next day...

whilst leaning over the fence the neighbour chirps up...

"Did you get that car you were set on?"

"No but we really tried to get it"....

[TommyRovers]

11 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

No point us going back and forwards going "Yes it was, no it wasn't" all afternoon.

Maybe not at a normal Club but we have previous form for rarely if ever strengthening in the forward positions because those are the ones which cost the most money.

With c 2 weeks to go until the end of the window do you now finally acknowledge  the state of the squad is a matter for serious concern, or do you still think it's no reason to worry because there are another 2 weeks left and the Club will sort something.

I’ve always thought the squad was a concern.

You have become hung up on what was a tongue in cheek comment and are reading far far too much into it. Which you have a history of, considering the tin foil hat stuff you come out with.

We were discussing Elliott Jackson who you are harshly attacking. 

[joey_big_nose]

TBH I don't think there is much intelligence from the Pasha/Venkys side beyond trying to answer the simple question "how can the club cover its own costs". The only viable answer to that is :

• Pay wages way below the average in the Championship
• Minimise transfer fees paid
• Maximise transfer fees recouped

That explains the whole way we are operating at the moment. What is missing is within those constraints a committed and engaged owner would make much better strategic and tactical choices, whereas Venkys are so disconnected we make bad decisions again and again that lose the club more money and goodwill.

 

[SuperBrfc]

2 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

"Rovers are pushing to make a breakthrough in their search for attacking reinforcements"

Translation: We've made inquiries but aren't getting anywhere because we won't pay the money

It isn't the market that is very strange or difficult, Val.

I'd argue it is the ownership that makes it appear strange and difficult.

I'd argue it is the man overseeing recruitment (who knows nothing about football) that is making it look strange and difficult.

Other clubs appear to be doing just fine.

[Mattyblue]

He knows it isn’t, he’s operated at this level long enough.

Certainly don’t expect any ‘ask Steve Suhail’ from this mon, he knows exactly what he’s signed up to.

[Tomphil2]

2 hours ago, Christopher said:

Does this mean we should accept the DCFC bid for Travis or risk having an unhappy player for 12 months?

It means he should have been given a decent contract offer when Eustace was here then John would've had to pay a good fee for him or leave him alone.

[RevidgeBlue]

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

They must think the fanbase is totally stupid. But then again with the views of some supporters and an ever compliant local media lining up to swallow and regurgitate whatever rubbish they serve up I can hardly blame them for trying. 

On a similar note I was struck by the comments underneath Jackson's latest match report in the LT.

I'd say the Club plants who post non stop on there all day out themselves in fairly obvious fashion as the ones arguing vehemently that no-one could possibly ever be interested in buying us.

At worst - you dont know until you try.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/25395788.blackburn-rovers-self-sabotage-typical-difficult-week/

Edited 5 hours ago by RevidgeBlue

[RevidgeBlue]

10 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

He knows it isn’t, he’s operated at this level long enough.

Certainly don’t expect any ‘ask Steve Suhail’ from this mon, he knows exactly what he’s signed up to.

Id say so.

No-one who wasn't "in on it" could surely be remotely happy with only adding a RW and (if he leaves) a Travis replacement to this squad.

Edited 5 hours ago by RevidgeBlue

[yankfan]

6 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

It isn't the market that is very strange or difficult, Val.

I'd argue it is the ownership that makes it appear strange and difficult.

I'd argue it is the man overseeing recruitment (who knows nothing about football) that is making it look strange and difficult.

Other clubs appear to be doing just fine.

It is a difficult market when 1) you’re offering sub par wages, 2) you won’t pay fair value for transfer fees, 3) you run out of cheap spots to pay low wages and fees using foreign exemptions. 
 

couple that with key player in the final year of their contract who know they’ll earn more elsewhere, and other clubs keenly aware that Rovers will be forced to sell at cut rate prices. 
 

I’d say under those circumstances it’s a nearly impossible market to do business in. 
 

I still can’t believe Wharton was sold for £21 million. Hutchinson going for £37 million highlights just how bad of a transfer that was for us…but desperate times cause desperate measures, and we’ve been forced into selling assets for nothing for years now. 

[Angry_Pirate]

Rovers offer less than 50% of a players asking price = business as usual.

Club offers less than 50% of a Rovers players asking price = player hung out to dry in the (club) media, dropped from the squad and called a snake.

Hull should offer £200k for Cantwell, Hyam, Tronstad and Toth... make us play the reserves, because that's apparently how it works at Ewood.

Club is a shambles.

[BRFC.]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I’m not sure the chicken chokers are overly concerned about us being relegated again. They’re probably thinking - “ Last time it was no big deal, they got back again “. 

If we go down we ain’t coming back. 

[JHRover]

7 minutes ago, BRFC. said:

If we go down we ain’t coming back. 

Just think, we can be told about how 'we can't compete' with clubs like Bolton, Wigan, Huddersfield, Luton and Cardiff. Have any of you seen how many people live in those places compared to Blackburn with Darwen?

[SuperBrfc]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Id say so.

No-one who wasn't "in on it" could surely be remotely happy with only adding a RW and (if he leaves) a Travis replacement to this squad.

Obviously, we're speculating so can't say definitively either way, but I'm seeing it differently.

I don't think he is in on anything. I could be wrong, but I think the carrot of Premier League football in the near future is dangled before players and managers to get them in the building. I think this might have happened with Ismael too. He is here expecting us to make a push for Premier League football at some point. I don't believe he has come here just to develop players and stay in the League.

He'll have known we don't have the budget of others, but I think the sell was: our aim is to become a trading club, sell players on and reinvest to become a Premier League club. This is what Gestede has been spouting in numerous interviews as being "the plan". Somebody has likely told Gestede this is the plan, in my view.

Gestede might genuinely believe the aim is to become a Premier League club again, if indeed that is what he has been told.

However, Broughton also believed this to be the case. JDT also believed this. Both were repeatedly saying "sustainable Premier League club", for a reason.

Look at the recent minutes though. Pasha initially stated face to face to the fans that the owners' aim was to have a "sustainable club". He did not mention "Premier League". However, in the edited version that was amended, somebody added on "with the aspiration to become a Premier League club" to that comment. Are these token words?

If you truly believe in something and have it as a genuine aim, it rolls off the tongue when somebody asks you. Right? So why did "Premier League club" not roll off Pasha's tongue before the fans forum? Is Pasha really interested in reaching the Premier League? I think the last few years give us some indication on that.

The new players who have come in are all talking about the Premier League and how they want to play in it, in their interviews with Rovers TV. It's likely they are of the belief, just like Gestede and Ismael, that the aim is to become a Premier League club again soon 

Not a big budget, but clever recruitment and management on the pitch can take us up. I think this has appealed to Ismael. He is probably frustrated with how things are going transfer wise, but it looks like he believes this is a transition period and that things will ease up.

He said shortly after a few of the experienced players left something along the lines of "we've moved into the transition stage quicker than expected, but we'll get on with it...".

I hate to break it to you, Val...

I don't think he is happy with the lack of activity. IMO, 'transition' might be what is standing in the way of him doing a JDT/Eustace for the time being.

Edited 4 hours ago by SuperBrfc

[RevidgeBlue]

12 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

He'll have known we don't have the budget of others, but I think the sell was: our aim is to become a trading club, sell players on and reinvest to become a Premier League club. This is what Gestede has been spouting in numerous interviews as being "the plan". Somebody has likely told Gestede this is the plan, in my view.

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether VI is fully "in on it" or happy or unhappy.

Just as a point of order though that bit is definitely incorrect if RG is to be believed, he's clearly said any sales do not affect the transfer budget.

At the time I think he was put on the spot by Eddie asking a very tricky and pertinent question about why we didn't capitalise on a temporary improvement in our FFP position due to all the sales. So with English not being his first language and being under pressure to produce an answer he might have blurted out something that wasn't 100% accurate.

In the absence of any clarification to the contrary though that would seem to be the position.

[...]

59 minutes ago, BRFC. said:

If we go down we ain’t coming back. 

This is the scary bit.

[SuperBrfc]

50 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether VI is fully "in on it" or happy or unhappy.

Just as a point of order though that bit is definitely incorrect if RG is to be believed, he's clearly said any sales do not affect the transfer budget.

At the time I think he was put on the spot by Eddie asking a very tricky and pertinent question about why we didn't capitalise on a temporary improvement in our FFP position due to all the sales. So with English not being his first language and being under pressure to produce an answer he might have blurted out something that wasn't 100% accurate.

In the absence of any clarification to the contrary though that would seem to be the position.

Yeah, that's fair enough.

There is definitely a contradiction in what Gestede has said. In a couple of interviews he said what I mentioned, about the plan being to reinvest.

Later though, he has clearly said something else i.e sales don't affect our transfer budget. That was the last thing he said on the matter, so presumably that is the current situation.

It could be a language barrier thing and him being put on the spot. Or it could be a changing of the goalposts from somebody above him. We have heard rumours of the latter before.

If paragraph 2 above is what was told to Ismael at the start in good faith, but then the situation changed, as per para 3, then you begin to see why there are some theories that he has been sold a dream and that this has a similar feel to JDT and Eustace.

Theories, though. All we can do is see how it plays out.

[DE.]

There can't be many clubs where sales have 0% impact on the transfer budget. It's a ludicrous statement unless the club is in deep financial peril and needs every penny to keep the lights on. 

[aletheia]

18 hours ago, M_B said:

It's obviously a possibility, whether it happens is another thing. 

It’s a possibility that certain posters will be more balanced with pronouncements and thinking less dogmatic than Pravda, the Taliban or QAnon. Or that the Raos will develop some football acumen, interest and increase spending, that Pasha will resign, that more money will be spent on players and the fabric of the building, that the astonishing haughty approach to the fans will change or the club will stop falling into decline…whether it happens....

[aletheia]

10 hours ago, M_B said:

Regardless of whether you think he will or not, would you like Gestede to make a success of things? 

Your sophistry is tiresome.

[islander200]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether VI is fully "in on it" or happy or unhappy.

Just as a point of order though that bit is definitely incorrect if RG is to be believed, he's clearly said any sales do not affect the transfer budget.

At the time I think he was put on the spot by Eddie asking a very tricky and pertinent question about why we didn't capitalise on a temporary improvement in our FFP position due to all the sales. So with English not being his first language and being under pressure to produce an answer he might have blurted out something that wasn't 100% accurate.

In the absence of any clarification to the contrary though that would seem to be the position.

I'm sure Gestede said the same thing in the Allardyce podcast.

Eddie put him under a bit more pressure with his questioning and he blurted out "My job is to make sure academy players develop so we can sell them" 

Going off both those podcasts he is an absolute clown." The fans should be happy we have a team to play on a Saturday and Tuesday night"

[islander200]

10 hours ago, M_B said:

Regardless of whether you think he will or not, would you like Gestede to make a success of things? 

What Is Gestedes idea of success here tho?

Staying in the division?

Hoping to hit the jackpot with a few bargain basement signings to make a few million profit to lessen the money required from the owners to keep the club running?

To develop some players from the academy to sell at the earliest opportunity?

Imo he isn't here to try help build a team that can get us promoted. Promotion is not on the agenda here.

Broughton might not have been very good at his job but imo  he wanted the club to progress and wasn't just looking at saving the owners a few quid 

[joey_big_nose]

10 minutes ago, islander200 said:

I'm sure Gestede said the same thing in the Allardyce podcast.

Eddie put him under a bit more pressure with his questioning and he blurted out "My job is to make sure academy players develop so we can sell them" 

Going off both those podcasts he is an absolute clown." The fans should be happy we have a team to play on a Saturday and Tuesday night"

I think where we are right now with strategy is the owners would rather finish 14th but have a higher squad value due to young players who can be resold than finish 7th with older players coming to the end of their careers.

Is a strange place to be as a competitive football club.