2025 Summer Transfer Thread. 😂

[B16Rover]

Says something about the decision making at the club that in public they'll call JB (admin of a message board and large follower count) a spice head

[norwichblue]

6 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

This was never about contracts 

This is ALL on Rudy gestede, his treatment of staff and players and total arrogance.

This started in the last summer when JE invited Weimann to train at Rovers to earn a contract. Gestede hit the roof and wanted him off the training ground.

JE convinced Waggott Weimann could do a job, against Gestedes wishes. That was the beginning of the end of JE and Gestedes relationship.

The day JE left Weimann was summoned by Gestede and informed his days at Rovers were over. Weimann opted to then have a little op to ensure he could get new club in summer.

This was pure spite by Gestede as he didn't forgive JE for bringing Weimann in.

Gestede then pushed a number of employees out the door for none performance related issues . One employee due to not covering her arms at the training ground.

Ive spoken to a number of employees who have departed and some there, but to protect their identities and in some cases NDAs I wont name them 

The senior players and sadly Leonard challenged Gestede for dressing down employees and being nasty and in some cases making them cry.

Leonard for his part was banished to train with the kids.

The rest for none footballing reasons and certainly not for contractual reasons (you actually need to be offered a contract to sign one) have all been dismissed this window (all members of the players council).

How anyone can defend the ciub is beyond me.

The best thing about x now is no one can see who likes your tweets. My own tweets its rather damning given the amount of players,,relatives and staff are liking what im posting. (As people know I wil never post a thing i can't prove).

No Gestede , JE would not have exited thats a fact.

These lads not being offered contracts which was RG job, is not an error. It was deliberate to drive them out the club.

I believe (my opinion) the damage hes created in one summer is more than any single person has at any time in the last 15 years.

This aint a plan of success, this is malicious and been made personal due to people refusing to accept bullying at our training ground 

Many current staff are walking on egg shells in fear .

One significant departed member of staff i spoke to for 2 hours on the phone a couple of weeks ago and it was extremely alarming whats gone down at the training ground.

Strangely Suhail is barely mentioned in any if these conversations. Its always Gestede.

This aint gonna end well unless that man is removed 

Is this going to be made public?

[G Somerset Rover]

This is quite hard to keep up with… I thought Pasha was the single biggest problem? Rudy no doubt a tw*t who shouldn’t be at our club but it was Suhail pulling all the strings, the one who needs removing asap?

[Torgeir]

6 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

Rather amusing story may surface in coming days around Rudy's efforts to sell Pears today, I cant say too much at this point but if you are reading Rudy, yes we do know , its how we roll 😀. Might be worth having a chat with Big Sam 😉

The most damning thing about RG is not renewing a single deal with the established players. Surely it would make sense in order to bring in bigger fees as well, even if Rudy never intended on keeping them?

Selling Hyam now is mental, and I'm not Dom's biggest fan as a footballer, but he bounced back and had just had a great season as an ever-present in the side.

A couple of months until we face Derby, I'll be curious to see our league position by then. 

So many players that need to gel, and games come thick and fast. Would think Gestede knows what it takes to perform in this league as he spent a number of seasons as a player. Need Ismael to do wonders with us like he did with Barnsley, and that must be what RG is counting on. Can't wait for Ismael's first interview.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

If they have signed ndas then they are mugs. If you are so upset with how things are being run why don’t you come out and say it? I will never ever understand that. If you care enough for rovers then tell your side of the story 

Isak has wissa has - ndas are to protect sensitive information nothing relating to you or how your treated 

[joey_big_nose]

28 minutes ago, CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber said:

This will all turn toxic pretty quickly once we're firmly in the bottom three, even the most gullible fans who think that a "reset" 15 yrs in is acceptable, will turn eventually

Need to get into the rat's Gestede and Pasha in the ground, make them feel the heat 

Yeah the one saving grace here is if things go completely tits up it will all 100% land on the shoulders of the owners and current heirachy as they have driven the huge amount of change. Will really turbo change protests.

There is always the chance though the new signings turn out okay and we bob along. Very hard to say at the moment.

[47er]

4 hours ago, Goozburger said:

The only thing I can judge the club on is what happens on the pitch. The rest is hearsay.

Remarkably ungenerous view of Glen's work over the years but if you're judging the club only on what happens on the pitch, your views would converge wouldn't they?

Its a shit show.

[NeilInBristol]

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

It cannot be underestimated how ridiculous it is to go into another long and tough season with only 3 centre backs, including one who is made out of glass and has spent much of the last 2 or 3 years injured, and another who is just back from spending 16 months out injured in what is the second long term injury of his career. Even if the rest of the squad was well rounded, which it isnt, that would undermine us.

The contract situation was always going to rule this transfer window and not being able to get one single one sorted in our favour has totally ripped the side apart, stripping it of experience and quality.

The one positive is that we have signed players in the main for a few years. The question is, it will be a downgrade on last seasons squad, and on last years manager, but how much? Relegation is a massive possibility. A weak, imbalanced squad full of question marks and totally lacking in know how and experience may fold as the season develops.

The defence was really strong last season. Our best back 4 has been taken away as has the man who had us so well drilled. Our attack was poor, we have lost 2 of our better performers there and im unconvinced in the main that weve suitably added goals or speed, we still look slow. And our captain in between that has now gone.

Yep

absolutely zero positives for this season it’s a really sad time for us 😔

[Glosrover]

7 hours ago, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

8 hours ago, M_B said:

Aye, the  Hyam one could bite them on the arse, got a feeling Pears wlil *comb* back into the fold. 

 

Nah….Fringe player at best

[glen9mullan]

12 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

If they have signed ndas then they are mugs. If you are so upset with how things are being run why don’t you come out and say it? I will never ever understand that. If you care enough for rovers then tell your side of the story 

Isak has wissa has - ndas are to protect sensitive information nothing relating to you or how your treated 

NDA's wrong words really.

They sign a compromise agreement which includes a payment of cash. 

Not everyone rolling in 10-15k a week, some on less than 30k a year, so the payment outweighs the benefit of speaking out 

Ultimately people have bills to pay etc and just like redundancy you want as much as you can get as you dont know when you will get new job. Also in football speaking out often prevents you working in that industry again. So I dont blame people for not publicly speaking out.

[arbitro]

I desperately want Gestede to explain the rationale behind this transfer window. It's tantamount to footballing suicide what has happened in this transfer window. You simply cannot let so much experience walk out of the door without there being a price to pay.

No disrespect to the players coming in and I think some of them will do well for us but anyone who knows the Championship will understand that squad experience is vital.

Irrespective of what Gestede says the summer dealings will restrict the amount of money the owners have to send over.

As ever they are and always will be the problem at our club.

[Torgeir]

Toth
Alebiosu - Miller (or Carter) - McLoughlin - Ribeiro
Morishita - Tronstad - Tavares - Hedges

Cantwell - Ohashi



Good enough to pick up a few points but no squad depth again this season, where are the goals going to come from - and how many matches until this team has found its rhythm?

[joey_big_nose]

2 minutes ago, 47er said:

Remarkably ungenerous view of Glen's work over the years but if you're judging the club only on what happens on the pitch, your views would converge wouldn't they?

Its a shit show.

Well... We have finished just out of the top 6 and spent a lot of time in the top 6 in recent seasons, despite selling our best players and dire predictions every August. So while not stella you can see why some supporters have not jumped off the deep end.

But if things do look bad when we get fully bedded into the season then I am sure we will all get our speedos and swim caps on.

Whats ultimately happened is Gestede and the Owners have heaped absolutely massive pressure on themselves to have got these vast array of signings right.

Whats annoying is ultimately its not really about investment, particular players being signed or not, or even how many games we have won or lost in the last 6 games or even the last season. These are short term things that change constantly. Its really a long term question "are the owners credible long term partners to the football club" and the answer to that is absolutely no, and the vast majority of fans, pundits, interested parties agree with that. But what happens is a short term wins/signings take the wind out of the sails of any concerted effort to push the owners out. If they have dropped the ball here, and we are looking at very poor season, maybe this where the worm turns.

Given the cutting back of funding by Venkys there has to be a hope that they may eventually cut their losses. This could be the start of that story.

[Old Codger]

A torrid time indeed. Not looking too clever, from where I sit..

It all comes down now to how the new squad performs on the pitch. That is the only thing we can measure the apparent gutting of last years '10 minutes away from playoffs' team, and it falls to VI to gel the ragbag of inexperience into something capable of holding its own in a competitive and unforgiving league. It will take an absolute miracle, make no bones about it.

As for the shenanigans off the pitch, I defer to Glen Mullan's deep knowledge and ability to glean inside information, which I believe should be taken as indicative of the poison that, if left to fester and take hold, will surely destroy the club. 

You have to be suspicious of any organisation that deliberately sets out to undermine and dismantle what has proven to be a (relatively) successful formula.That just doesn't make any logical sense from a business perspepective, and I cannot bring to mind ANY comparator or case student from nearly 20 years teaching business at university level that shows how a strategy of this moronic magnitude has led to long term success. Baffling. 

However, there is the old saying - 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. What happens next for Blackburn Rovers will shine a searchlight on those hiding in the shadows, those who are (in theory) 'in charge' and those who remain at the helm as the club faces what we know will be turbulent times ahead. THEY will not be able to avoid scrutiny, should this once proud club be overwhelmed by the conditions and sink without a trace.

We, as supporters, are locked in the depths of the ship, with no lifebelts, no access to lifeboats and no escape route as the water rises. THEY are just hired hands passing through, lording it in first class and checking their stocks before running like rats at the first sign of doom (although of course the White Star Line / JP Morgan still owned the Titanic as she plummeted miles under the waves).

VENKYS  OUT!

GESTEDE BULLY BOY OUT!

PASHA SHADOW DEALER OUT!

[Bbrovers2288]

5 minutes ago, Torgeir said:

Toth
Alebiosu - Miller (or Carter) - McLoughlin - Ribeiro
Morishita - Tronstad - Tavares - Hedges

Cantwell - Ohashi



Good enough to pick up a few points but no squad depth again this season, where are the goals going to come from - and how many matches until this team has found its rhythm?

Yea that’s a pretty worrying team to me never mind subs 

[wilsdenrover]

I’m not shocked the club attracts people like Rudy to it, I’m surprised it doesn’t attract more of them. 

[Tom]

Even with a compromise / settlement agreement it’s possible to take an employer to court, albeit not as easy. 
 

I truly hope if someone has been forced out due to not covering their arms at the training ground (along with previous mentions of ham being banned at the training ground) they consider taking the club to a tribunal for discrimination.

Edited 3 hours ago by Tom

[StHelensRover]

Just seen the news about Hyam leaving. So that's McLoughlin, Wharton and Carter at centre back is it? Miller at a push? We are f***ed

[AVE1875]

No disrespect intended to those who are truly in the know, but why not just post it? Why not get it out to the papers?

It has gone on for too long this shit now, far too long and by keeping it quiet (somewhat) is just benefitting this shoddy hierarchy. I say fuck the lot of them, if the fan groups lose traction with connection then that opens up another story that can be made public?

We know staff have left supposedly due to treatment, why not get it out in the public? Why not look at employment tribunal? This kind of shit needs way more traction rather than people making fake insider/privy X accounts.

Rudy Gestede is a worm as is Suhail, the Venkys? Something else completely. They'd happily see the club burn to the ground before leaving due to their idiotic arrogance, I have worked for some absolute eejits in my time but I have never witnessed crap like this. For Rudy and Suhail to be walking around the crowd outside the ground (last home game?) like they're gods gift is truly deluded, Rudy you were a shit person/footballer during your playing time and you're still a shit person/EX footballer now lining the pockets of your agent buddies. 

Imagine removing the absolute spine of your team (that has got you to 7th place twice) and replaced with cheap unproven players with virtually no experience!!! It makes no sense! Cost cutting? No simply unintelligent behaviour.

Finally, the last part of my absolute rant... Each and every single person whether they are on here, X, Facebook or there on match days spouting the "they've put X amount into the club", "give them a chance" etc etc, give your heads a fucking wobble you absolute moronic fools.

I've said it for years and I'll say it again, the reason our fanbase is so split is simply down to intelligence and the BwD demographic not being able to see/understand past the end of their nose OR are small business owners themselves and think they know everything about anything. DELUDED.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

17 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

NDA's wrong words really.

They sign a compromise agreement which includes a payment of cash. 

Not everyone rolling in 10-15k a week, some on less than 30k a year, so the payment outweighs the benefit of speaking out 

Ultimately people have bills to pay etc and just like redundancy you want as much as you can get as you dont know when you will get new job. Also in football speaking out often prevents you working in that industry again. So I dont blame people for not publicly speaking out.

I fall on the other side of that unfortunately 

you can’t claim to love rovers knowing what’s going on in the background but be happy to be paid off for silence 

Travis not a word / Buckley not a word / Leonard not a word 

Iv slight sympathy for your standard employee but at the end of the day accepting a payoff is wrong if you feel so strongly about something and feel there is genuine gross misconduct at the work place  

[lraC]

49 minutes ago, norwichblue said:

Is this going to be made public?

It needs to be and quick sharp too.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

6 minutes ago, Tom said:

Even with a compromise / settlement agreement it’s possible to take an employer to court, albeit not as easy. 
 

I truly hope if someone has been forced out due to not covering their arms at the training ground (along with previous mentions of ham being banned at the training ground) they consider taking the club to a tribunal for discrimination.

Agreed you can’t claim misconduct at the club and your love for the club over x amount of years working there to just take a pay settlement to remain quiet 

it’s wrong 

[JBiz]

I’m sure this has been done already but just to ease my train boredom this morning;

Goalkeepers; Toth or pears

Fullbacks, Right; Alebiosu or Gardner-Hickman, Left; Ribeiro or Pickering

Centrebacks - Miller, Carter, Wharton, Mcloughlin

Centre Midfield - Tronstad, Tavares, Baradgi, Montgomery and Forshaw

Attacking Midfield - Cantwell and Henriksson

Wings - Hedges, Morishita, Kargbo and De neve 

Forwards - Ohashi, Gudjohnson, Gueye

Backups outside of this with a first team app;

Michalski Gk

Garret CM

Tyjon AM

There may be some others I’ve missed with league experience in the u21s but I find that squad depth in two key areas really worrying - particularly CB and CM

[joey_big_nose]

Incidentally I believe NDAa are in practice unenforceable to hide illegal or improper conduct by the employer, and the government have are bringing in legislation to make them illegal in October 2025.

If there is really things that can be properly evidenced I would say its worth going to a lawyer to look at what options there are. There must be an employment lawyer in the Rovers fan base, or even on this site, who could advise?

[Ricky]

Think Gardner Hickman will be CM (majority of his appearances have been there). Also think Miller will be RB which leaves us dangerously short at CB. Miller used in emergency for now.