27 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Having reflected on this overnight I am even more of the view that Mowbray is completely out of order on this one.

We cocked up initially by not attending to the players Contracts at the appropriate time, but, given our position in the League and what's at stake, the owners quite correctly imo decided not to compound the error and stipulated that no-one was leaving this month under any circumstances.

Mowbray completely undermined that stance with his interview. He's hung Rothwell out to dry and alienated the fan base against him. We don't even know Rothwell has refused to play, but Mowbray has created the impression that might be the case when it may not even have happened.  It's not Rothwell's fault either if other Club's leave it late to make a bid for him. Mowbray could have stuck with the "he's injured" line and by Tuesday the whole thing would have been forgotten and the entire story would have been next week's chip paper.

If I was the other two I'd be fuming as well. They probably haven't followed through with any attempt to leave this month because they took the Club at their word that no-one would be allowed to leave this month. Now, as soon as there's a bit of interest in Rothwell, Mowbray performs a complete U turn, hangs the player out to dry and seems to be doing his best to go against the owners wishes and force the player out of the door. They'll be wondering why they didn't attempt to force the issue as well. 

The Club should be sticking to the stance they've taken throughout the window of no sales. Not performing a last minute U turn when it's too late to bring suitable replacements in.

No one will probably get the full story, as opinion always comes into play whoever you speak to.

We have been here before though, Mulgrew springs to mind, Danny Graham too after watching his comments on a podcast, Smallwood.

Once TM makes his mind up, thats it, you are gone. 

I think the interview as many interviews have been at Ewood during the Venkys reign, was a direct message to India, a direct ploy to force their hand. They will be be getting told, and also shown selective screenshots that the supporters want Rothwell gone, due to his actions to get them to change their stance. Its a dangeous move with the clock ticking, but one which has been used time and time again.

Its also one which saw Venkys take Shaw to court for going renegade against their wishes. I saw most all the internal communication during the Berg farce, and you really couldnt make it up to what lengths people will go to.

This is very much like the Rhodes to Middlesbrough transfer that didnt happen. Venkys said no, and meant no. Those at Ewood were actively trying to get rid, in the end venkys pulled the rug, he stayed, knuckled down and continued to play and score.

Either way, the distraction is not needed in our current league position

I'm sure whoever we sign, Rothwell will be long forgotten.

When Dack got injured, it really did affect us, but we've had to learn to live with it, we've changed our style somewhat, but also had a season prior to this of mediocrity in his absence.

We are second in the table and Joe has been integral to that, with some moments of individual brilliance getting a few games over the line which we'd probably not have won. Bournemouth away was one of those in particular.

This is slightly different than in other seasons, we are slap bang in a real automatic promotion fight. I'm not hearing murmurs of for example Mitrovic leaving Fulham in this window, or other key players from Bouremouth, QPR ect. Leaving.

Can we keep the player now? No chance, its out there publically, in a lot of cases the supporter base has spoken and turned on Rothwell.

The next 36 hours or so will define this clubs season. We needed 2 or 3, before this bombshell, we need 4 or 5 now in my opinion.

If we do not go up, and we are currently second, with the form in the book and there because over 28 games have proved to be the 2nd best team in the division.. Then this 36 hours will be the reason for this. We need players who impact the best 11, and in TMs own words, we have to come out the transfer window stronger than we went in.

8 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

Apologies, to repeat myself but the club and management have only themselves to blame. I see Rothwell's possible departure as potentially damaging promotion prospects - barring a great, late signing. We're struggling for goals and rely heavily on Rothwell to create.

There was always the risk Rothwell would leave or get injured. Back in the summer, we let go Holtby, Trybull, Evans and lost Elliot. (Holtby went on paid leave at the end of last season as a favour from Mowbray, to avoid injury to help with his next move, apparently. I could see Rothwell and other potential departees citing that favour in his right  safeguard his future - though Holtby was reaching the end of his career).

We needed a new CM or, for Mowbray to nurture Garrett or another from the U23s to add competition. Instead, we signed Clarkson on loan and mainly played him AM, relied on Johnson as back-up and didn't promote internally.

Now, we face losing Rothwell and a possible panic buy, or relying on Johnson for the rest of the season. I suppose there may be a remote chance that Hedges will be moulded as a CM.

Letting Rothwell's contract run down to the last year was potentially poor planning. Having Johnson as his deputy  definitely was, given his age and mobility, albeit, he is good in the air and experienced.

I wouldn't panic about a potential loss of Rothwell. We have a lot of attackers when fit. However, he adds that dimension that can relieve pressure and also break down a team defending deep. The emphasis really shifts to Buckley and, possibly, playing him deeper.

I like this post,

History is repeating itself too.

Armstrong sold in summer because of contract running down,

Club relying on 1 year option on Brereton and Kaminski, rather than tieing them both down now to longer.

Lots left for nothing in summer, others out of contract this summer, its really poor from the clubs administration that we are having so many contract issues, and not learning from it.

Don't get me started on sell on clauses either, clueless comes to mind

Was certainly not a classic, but when I saw the line up, with Khadra added to those missing, i thought we were up against it. Could'nt see who was going to create, and who was going to score.

It proved the case, really low on quality.

That being said, christ the lads were brave, committed and gave everything against a very physical/dirty Luton to grab an unlikely point. This won't go down as a classic, but will go down as a game where every man stood up to be counted. At one stage we had 7 academy lads on the pitch, 2 loanees, a free transfer and Kaminski, when Ayala came on that became 2 free transfers.

The cost of that team today, if you take away Gallagher, is frightening, and if anything shows how little has been invested in the squad in terms of players bought.

We had lots of square pegs/ round holes at various stages of the game, but the lads never gave up. Its a pity the Rothwell saga has taken a bit of gloss off the game.

Another clean sheet, 4 points this week. 2nd place on points and on merit. Great reaction following the Hull game

In fairness to Rothwell, if someone was offering me upto 4 x my salary or even doubling my salary i'd want that conversation as would 95% of the population.

Its football, but its still a job that pays the bills. Not many players have the emotional attachment to a club.

A couple of years ago Dack was devastated his injury had potentially goosed his dream of premier league and the riches that come with it.

Players will always come, always go and someone else takes the shirt.

Had we been lurking around in midtable this be already a done deal.

We've missed his creativity the last couple of games, but 2 x clean sheets shows what Johnson brings to the team. 

I really hope the Rothwell situation does not park what was already growing situation.

Our injury list is growing, our need for at least 1 striker and midfielder and possible wide player (hedges) was needed prior to todays game.

Rothwell now going, and another fullback injury in my opinion now needs us needing

1 striker, 2 midfielders and another full back option at left back given pickering already out and Edun possibly now joining him.

Gallagher injured again today, does that mean possibly 2 strikers needed?

Lots of football to be played but injuries and future suspensions are really going to hurt us if we dont address the needs we had prior to the Rothwell bombshell.

Rothwell money should be direct replacement, not make it stretch for 2, 3 or 4 players. We are in a promotion battle, now is not the time to find a rough diamond, now we need solid options who walk straight into the team and inprove us from day 1.

If and its a big if, we went up, the likelyhood is we'd have to replace most of our first 11 anyway just to stay up

A sale of at least one of the three out of contract is not new news, Waggott has publically stated 3 or 4 times if the contracts remain unsigned then they would look to cut losses in January. 

Its poor timing from JR, but the idiots at Ewood have to take the responsibility for putting us in this position, and welcoming bids from September onwards too.

The scary thing, is we have not learnt our lesson, other contracts are ticking down and we are not getting a grip of these either.

Second in table, a growing injury list, and now a cloud which had blown from the incompetence of the board, in not forseeing the path we were on.

He needs to go now, as no real way back, but if we end up worse off after the window, then the idiots in the boardroom need to follow, as we are unlikely to get a better chance of promotion than we have right now.

We've gone from needing 2 or 3 players to potentially needing 4 or 5 given the injuries and now pending departures

5 minutes ago, J*B said:

They listen to, respect and trust Mowbray. This is different than other high profile transfers.

Tm aint had direct contact with the owners for nearly a year, he has no new contract on the table. I dont think this is as cut and dried of listening to TM. 

Monday be interesting, common sense would be sell, get the cash and buy better.

Problem is, sell and buy no-one of same calibre and they will just take the losses.

They will also be questioning Waggots contract offer too, is it a fair offer? Is it a "self preservation offer"? Its widely known the powers that be at Ewood like to throw out, how much they've saved the club on losses.

They will also be looking at the Armstrong deal which was royally foooked up by our board.

Prediction??? More jobs on the line here than JR if they foook this up

Its not ideal, was told Monday morning about Bournemouth bid, and that the JR camp were aware of the money on table in terms of wages, was also told they wanted deal now, but would wait til summer if needed but numbers were already on table, as per my post Tuesday. 

Was told last night (impeccable source) JR will not be sold, I asked if thats a no full stop, and was told its a no, a no and another no. Given the ones who will decide said it was a no, then was happy to say be here Tuesday.

Was told he'd been left behind but had not chucked toys out of pram from another source, I assumed given that info he was still probably injured, as it would be strange just to leave him behind.

Obviously Tms words today support , its a no no no from Venkys, and it was Tms decision to leave him behind as he wants the club to consider an offer thats been presented, and Joe also wants to consider it so it was mutual

Its all a mess really, but unless that big cheque arrives, I cannot see Venkys changing their stance. They will not be dictated to by anyone, and would sooner lose the money and have the player rot in the reserves than have it aimed at them, that they sold one of our key players at a time our when we have the best chance ever to go up.

Rovers record in signing players in January for immediate impact is poor, whilst prices are inflated.

JR's situation changes nothing on the recruitment side, if the right player at the right money is available, then rovers will go for that player regardless if JR sold or not

Interesting part i picked up was that no-one was aware we'd had other bids, and are only reporting the Bournemouth bids after it broke elsewhere. This suggest that locally no-one has a clue about our current transfer activity, bar whats being reported publically by the club, or what other sources further afield report

All the best, really pleased he is on the mend, and thankyou for sharing

1 hour ago, BigUts said:

I work in data and the old addage of lies, damn lies and statistics often rings true 🙂

 

But I get the point entirely. He was much improved on Monday and I celebrated as much as anybody when he scored. The goal and subsequent result could be a huge moment in the history for our club.

I think we can all agree that Gallagher doesn't make the most of his available facets and that in reality the most who are annoyed are in reality frustrated. We see passing glimpses of the potential for a very good footballer he needs to string it all together.

My issues with him:

1. Depends which Gallagher turns up in terms of effort. I've seen games where he is tracking back, putting immense tackles on (alas 88th minute on Monday), last minute blocks, headers in our box and really putting a shift in defensively. On the other hand from an attacking point of view. I dont see him busting a gut enough off the ball, chasing their defenders down with any real determination, its usually a token effort. His work off the ball, making space for others is at times just none existent. You will see Khadra, Buckley, Brereton etc 15 yards further away close down the man which  Gallagher is just 10 yards from.

2. I find him very wasteful in possession, he gives it away more than he retains it.

3. Playing were he is played most of the time can be a thankless task, but if its the job he's asked to do, then he needs to do it effectively for 90 minutes. I genuinely dont think the opposition defenders in most cases think they've been in a battle marking Gallagher for 90 minute. He makes it easy for them to bring the ball down, and stroll out of defence. Where our defenders are walking off the pitch with battle wounds, broken noses and they are being roughed up.

4. Strangely many of his memorable moments are in our last third and not theirs, hence his poor goal return across his whole career.

218 games, 41 goals at 26, and double figures just once is the statistic he should be judged on, we paid £5 million for him to score goals.

He scored a lovely goal Monday, but I do not buy into he was outstanding, far from it. His positional sense off the ball or when to run across a defender, or when to peel off was awful, its basics. 

I played centre forward at a decent level until well into my 30s, and i just dont see the desire in Gallagher to bust a gut for the team. I wish i'd been 6 foot 5 or whatever he is. As a striker who was 5.9 I was scoring double figures in just headers alone.

The low of averages is if you get minutes you will eventually score a goal, as per Monday. As stated can't knock his effort in our box, but in their box he is certainly no Tom Eaves.

3 minutes ago, Ossydave said:

What if I told you Sam Gallagher was the most successful player on the pitch for aerial duels on Monday....  

12/20 won.

 Next closest was Crooks for them. 

It's a bit of a myth that he's shite in the air, BUT I will also say that yes I'm sure he could absolutely be better. It's almost as though he's a bit worried about getting clouted sometimes. 

He isn't strong at all despite his height, his frame is best described as gangly. If he works on his muscle mass he's gonna struggle, a lot, to work his socks off for 90 minutes like he did Monday.

The above are factors in why he's playing in the championship though and not a higher level, simple as that - otherwise he'd basically be a much paler Didier Drogba.....

 

Of the 12 won, how many went to one of our players?

3 minutes ago, ben_the_beast said:

The club should really be looking at the offer Rothwell will have been presented by Bournemouth and use it as justification to break the rules we've imposed around our wage structure. I'm not meaning match it, but he does deserve to be one of our top earners. Bournemouth showing interest has turned potential earnings elsewhere from hypothetical into reality. Surely from a financial perspective that's a good business case to break only increasing players wages by certain percentages and show them that they are deemed a top player within our squad.

Be certainly a statement of intent, to get that new contract more attractive and signed.

Just now, islander200 said:

He can't put pen to paper though.

We won't be selling for the figures talked about to a direct rival.

I'm not advocating a sale, it be criminal to sell to a rival.

As said, this will come down to Rothwell, If he fancies it now, then it will happen. Rovers wont want an unhappy player around the squad.

There is no evidence to suggest he is unhappy, with all the noise the opposite. 

He will get the better wages he seeks, so at some point we need to either cough up, or lose the player

11 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Yeah you can't sign a pre contract with another English club. 

Slightly different rules than Scotland where they can I think.

Rothwell would only be able to sign a pre contract at somewhere abroad/Scotland.

Officially he can't, but thats not to say it doesn't happen. His agent will be having those discussions, and it be naive of Rovers to think otherwise 

The conudrum with Rothwell, is he can sign a PCA with Bournemouth now, and then move for free im summer to them. If he did that, there is no way we can play him, as they are our direct rivals for Automatic promotion.

So for me it comes down to if Rothwell wants to go Bournemouth? If he does then financially its a yes, purely on the basis of my first paragraph.

If he dont want a transfer this window, its a flat no.

If Bournemouth are cute, its the PCA they should be pushing, as that forces our hand really.

Hopefully he signs new deal and thats put to bed

Really struggling to see a full squad tonight especially with under 23s playing too.

Gallagher will probably start with Khadra  although cant see gallagher getting though 90 mins, given his injuries already this season.

It wouldnt surprise me if he brought Johnson in, and played Rothwell further forward, and surprised us all by putting Khadra on the bench, with the plan to swap him for Gallagher after 65 mins.

Looking at the table, this is a must not lose game. Given the loss of Brereton and Dolan (can't really count Markanday not seen enough of him yet) then a point would be deemed a good result, and i suspect we will set up to get just that.

Any more injuries and things could start to de-rail a little. Poveda already out, Clarkson gone back to Liverpool. Nyambe in and out of fitness, with Zeefuik and JRC way off match fitness. 

Pickering (been major miss) being covered by Edun, but no real cover there.

What i'd like to see tonight, is an end to the numerous yellow cards we've picked up for time-wasting, back chat and silly pointless fouls. These will play a big part as the season progresses and we,'ve shown we struggle when we are without just 1 or 2 of our preferred 11.

Looking at things, i really think rovers need to bring at least 3 first team ready players in over the next week, as its only when we are without one or two that the glaring gaps in our squad shines through.

11 minutes ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Read that too. Last time we should do business with Leeds, it’s a joke that they won’t just take him back for his recovery. Hampers us wage wise too. 

He takes a valuable loan spot too, which is frustrating. 

I'd like Rovers to cast net too, some good strikers out there.

I like Adam Buksa, scoring regular now at club level and also broken into Polish first team and scoring, currently in America

Artem Dovbyk, be sensible money and again an international player

There are certainly top players outside of England who would fall in transfer and wage budget, and although can be seen more of a gamble, if it works out, then its very much in TMs words "what brentford do"

Brereton £28.5 mill??? 

This would need to be considered, especially if Venkys sanctioned just half of that this window to be spent.

Brereton plays mainly on the left, and although this system has worked, we still dont have that out and out striker down the middle. The lad at Hull last night (Eaves) caused us so many issues with his pure presence and strength. When you look we had a Gallagher on the pitch, Eaves gave him a footballing lesson of how you play target man. Gallagher is purely not good enough, never has been, and never likely to be.

Options..

Gayle from Newcastle, proven at this level and a loan to perm or even £3 or £4 million, gets you a central striker.

Maja or Healey or both in addition to Gayle. Thats 3 strikers, all with goals in them with a combined cost of less than £10 million.

With money on hip, im sure lots more options out there, and tapping them options up now, whilst we haven't sold Brereton, would be the wise move to ensure no inflated figure.

We are reliant on Brereton right now, but now missing for two games. We needed a proven Striker in the summer, still need one now, and thats with Brereton. Teams know our threat, and if they nulify Breretons threat, we end up with performances like the last three matches.

We are third in the table,  with the £15 million from Armstrong miraculously disappeared. The scenario is, if we dont go up they will sell Brereton in the summer, and just like Armstrong the money will not be reinvested. I struggle to see if they sell in January how they can justify not reinvesting half of it.

That being said, any deal would need doing within the next week, because if we go into transfer deadline day and he is still here, the club will have the ready made excuse it moved quickly and they couldnt get a replacement in.

We are in a fantastic position in the table, but are thin on the ground with quality options. A promotion team needs 4 or 5 players scoring double figures. We are always one injury away from bust (Brereton gets injured). Players will genuinely want to join a promotion chasing team, we need to use our league position to our advantage, be that reinvest the Armstrong money, or sell a major asset to reinvest in quality proven players at this level, in this window.

I don't think the numbers being quoted on Brereton are likely though, he's had in essense 4 stunning months in the championship, from the buying clubs perspective thats a tough business case to make to stump up £20 mill plus

Clubs will be looking at Mitrovic too, an international player, scores for fun in the Championship, but struggles premier league. Genuinely how many have made the step up from championsip to premiership and continued to be 20 plus strikers? Also of them, how many were bought for big fees?

I think if Derby need to sell players the likes of Sibley, Bird, Knight and Buchanan we should be all over it, especially if we can get for significant low fees. Very talented footballers.

That being said, I hope they get their house in order, historic club, and fans dont deserve whats happening there

Just now, Tom said:

Not keen on this at all, I understand the commercial need but wish we could have gone for something a bit more ethical like the community trust.

In times when a part of society is vaccine sceptic and worried about what goes in their bodies I feel advertising vaping isn’t great especially one with a logo that catches childrens eyes

I agree, so many kids at the schools are using vapes, promoting it, is not ideal

3 minutes ago, arbitro said:

It's poor really when lots of supporters have bought shirts with Recoverite on them and certainly expected that business to remain as main sponsors for the whole season. Will Rovers now bring out new shirts with Totally Wicked on them?

A better explanation might have helped.

As someone who collects shirts, i will prob need to buy 3 new ones now, given it may be a historic shirt (promotion shirt). Not good, not ideal, but if recoverite have not paid up ( i can only assume) their removal from the front of the shirt would be a given. Replacing them  maybe should of waited until summer ££££s over sentiment.

Smoking/tobacco product on front of shirt, mmmm that's another interesting story