24 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Is it? Bar this season things haven't improved that much if at all

Pure blinkered view this. 

Look at the quality of player we have now, compared to then, Look at the number of academy player sin the squad. Look at the value of players compared to then. Dack, Armstrong, Brereton-excellent signings. 

4 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

The reason that it is irrelevant as to Moore is that you have brought up a player totally randomly, someone that as far as I have seen that nobody has suggested that we should have been in for, someone who is blatantly not suited to how we play, someone who blatantly is beyond our financial means, same with Dike on all but the style points, so introducing them to a conversation about what we could actually have done in the market is as I say irrelevant.

The one thing that Moore does have though is a recent record of scoring goals, something Dolan, Khadra and Hedges dont really offer being natural wide men. Gallagher is far from prolific either and certainly doesnt have a recent 20 goal season under his belt. Moore seems to be a late developer who also really impresses me whenever he plays for Wales especially at the Euros. His recent track record has led to his price tag for a reason.

We seemingly agree that it would have been a difficult task to bring in a forward befitting our style of play that could have really impacted us and offered us a goal threat on a low budget. I have accepted that and have suggested that it would involve a bit of risk and return perhaps in the loan market, perhaps based off minimal first team experience so I get that.

I dont think that I have implicitly said that Forss would have been a good signing. Most of his appearances were off the bench to be honest with Toney the first choice, but he showed an eye for a goal in those cameos. Maja is another one whereby its limited info, factor in his previous injury, but I stand by the fact that we could have done with another forward, that we may rue not getting one and that the likes of Dike and Moore have far more recent proof that they can score goals compared to our current fit forwards, but were both unobtainable hence why no one suggested we sign them therefore are irrelevant in conversations. Plus have unfortunately for them both picked up bad injuries themselves since.

If there is logic in saying that Vale could come in and score at this level, this season presumably, obviously it is not impossible but if thats the logic then anyone could do anything. Nothing suggests he will come in and do that or indeed is even likely to make an appearance at the moment, hence his inability to make the squad since his return regardless of how stretched we become.

They aren't irrelevant because they show how much teams around us needed to pay for players who are average and/or with limited experience. 

The fact the 2 of them got injured shows the risk involved. It doesn't seem to be a risk we can or were willing at least, to take. I think we have decent forwards in Dolan and Khadra, they just need to start chipping in with goals. Gallagher will get a few and Hedges , well lets hope a few as well. Buckley, Rothwell and eventually Dack as well. The goals are there I think and with our defence, we won't always need many. 

Ya, we agree we could have done with another striker. We could have done with another Centre half too, back up keeper,  and 2 centre midfielders! 

14 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

My point is that I don't understand why you even at any point mentioned Dike and Moore, I can only presume that you have used them solely based on them being the 2 big transfers of the window for forwards at this level, but they are irrelevant, far too dear. Moore has had a stop start season following the Euro's and having had covid earlier in the season but he scored 20 goals last season, he is a marked upgrade on our current striking cast who I have gone into detail about below, but to be honest its irrelevant as he was well beyond our financial means anyway, and doesn't fit our system.

I have never said at any point that we could have come up with a solution to a Brereton injury, in fact I have said that any team would miss its main goalscorer and that it wouldn't be possible to equally replace him. I felt that prior to knowledge of Brereton's injury, that we needed a player capable of playing as one of our (wide) forwards who has more of a goal threat than the majority of our players that we have at the moment, accepting that it wasn't an easy ask. Dolan has lots of qualities, but has 3 goals in both seasons, his goals are infrequent. Khadra has 3 in his first season of senior football, again there is no track record of anything other than occasional goals. Hedges having played as a winger again is far from prolific. You say we have potentially 7 forwards, Vale is not as serious option for a team chasing Premier League promotion having played 20 minutes of football (in a dead rubber) at this level and Markanday has a season ending injury that we knew about a week before the window closed. So that leaves Gallagher as our main goal threat who himself is far from prolific. It's not about how many you have in general, it is whether you have enough of the qualities we need.

Any signing is a gamble and I concede that especially with a limited budget that signing a player (to clarify, I wasn't expecting a 20+ goal striker/direct equivalent of Brereton) was difficult but it wouldn't have to be a 5m plus player either and those examples are irrelevant.

Irrelevant to what? It's a very simple point so pay attention this time- Moore is average, he scored 20 one season, look at the rest of his top flight seasons. He cost £5 million. Dike a few good months and he cost £7 million. Some posters were making out it was easy to have a ready made goal scoring replacement for Brereton in case he got injured. You then responded to my post discussing this. FYI, not every post is individually directed at you and your particular viewpoint on a situation. 

Vale could very well score at this level, in fact he actually score more than Forss, who you said would have been a good signing-again look at his record. One decent half a season in League 1. 7 goals in 41 games at this level, worse than Gallagher. You are very selective with what criteria you want in a striker. 

You were completely against signing Obafemi for £2 million in the summer and with the way we play, he would be a better option than that big lump Moore. 

2 hours ago, Rogerb said:

Article in today's guardian about Damian taking over as manager of Shelbourne

Lost his first game Friday.  3-0 to Saint Pat's. Set up in a formation somewhat similar to what we play. They had their chances and will have better night's,but it won't be an easy job there. 

2 hours ago, Mellor Rover said:

Anyone not believing Ben’s injury is a bad one, he’s jetted off on holiday today…

That doesn't really prove anything about timescales to be fair! Not saying you're making up that you heard something 

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

The 2 examples that you gave where players that would have massively improved us, but ones who were so dear that they became instantly irrelevant to the conversation anyway aside from attempting to make out that it was impossible for us to compete.

There would have been scope for a signing, yes it wasnt a straightforward task and yes it may well have had to be a loan. 

Keiffer Moore would have "massively" improved us? Debatable. Very debatable. Dike had a few good months at this level-nothing guaranteed there. I don't understand the last part of the first paragraph? Who is attempting to make out its impossible to compete? You literally said in the previous sentence they would have cost too much. So as far as competing financially, its a fact that its not possible with some of the others in and around the top 6, luckily on the field its a different story. 

We have 6 players who can play in the 2 forward roles, 7 if you include Vale. We can debate their effectiveness , but the numbers are there. A loan from a premier league club is difficult to envisage as being a solution to a Brereton injury. 

Wouldn't surprise me if it's Brentford who end up dropping. Will they have that fight when the chips are down. I wouldn't bet on them 

There better be no FA shenangians to help Bournemouth out. Their squad size is advantage enough. Lucky they got knocked out of the cup by that non-league team, the useless f**ks.... 

The race for 2nd is far from over 

44 minutes ago, Crimpshrine said:

Thesaurus

Rotten - Meaning1 - putrid,decomposed etc..

Rotten - meaning 2 

bad/poor/dreadful/awful/terrible/frightful/atrocious/hopeless/inadequate/inferior/unsatisfactory/Venky's

( OK, I added the last one myself )

I would say bad and atrocious are 2 different levels of being s**te! 

In the games mentioned, we were bad in relation to the standards set this season, but not atrocious  

On 17/02/2022 at 16:00, jim mk2 said:

There is no "implication" to that effect at all. You made it up

So you didn't want to sign a striker who scores goals? Make your mind up man! 

Not much point signing one who can't. We signed Markanday as a calculated gamble and unfortunately he got injured. I have given examples of average players who moved for £5 million plus.  Whatever about during the summer, a team will struggle to find an available goalscorer in January. Even the top teams. 

Maybe another ref would have played on it. At the end of the day, he made the call and its pointless discussing it to death. It's done and dusted. Onto Sheffield. 

1 minute ago, MarkBRFC said:

Not really, because Hudds and Luton were both poor as well, I was at both games.

4 points dropped, and yeah fair enough we were solid enough defensively, but I think "rotten" is a pretty accurate description of our performance in both games going forward. One shot on target over the two, and that was a tame free kick!

We have different views on wat rotten means so 

4 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Just because we got draws against sides in decent form doesn't mean we weren't really poor in both games!

 

If we were really poor, we would have lost

"Rotten" is a ridiculous description! 

25 minutes ago, Mellor Rover said:

Prepare to be very disappointed

Lets see 

Ya draw definitely wouldn't be bad here, especially if we beat QPR 

Gonna be tough, but I think we can get a draw, or possibly even sneak it. Just need to take chances that come our way. I have a feeling Dacks going to be on the bench for this one....

19 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

Never works that, for us anyway.

Several times this year we have had a time advantage to be more prepared than our opposition and each time we have been dreadful.

Extra 24 hours on Huddersfield - we were rotten

Extra 24 hour on Hull - we were rotten

Extra 24 hours on Luton - we were rotten

Swansea played midweek while we had a midweek off- we were rotten

I think we know what happens on Wednesday. We'll be 2 down in 20 minutes and go down pretty meekly without threatening.

Jesus, steady on 😂 Both of them are flying it and we didn't lose the games 

The boot and crutches could be just for total safety precautions and he might be taking it off next week to see how it is. Until it's officially confirmed either way, I'm not taking anything as a given

On 19/02/2022 at 00:33, chaddyrovers said:

Were you happy with your only business being this signing? 

 

I'd say so, he looks a fine player and it's the position where they needed someone 

2 hours ago, 1864roverite said:

So a professional keeper should save only 3/10 ?

If they're lucky. A good penalty taker should be scoring at least 9 

5 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

No but I did it once 10miles in to a 25mile fell race. Tied my shoe laces really tight, popped a couple of paracetamol and finished the race. Ankle looked like a football and hobbled for a week but crutches and a boot seems a bit soft if it is just a twisted ankle and nothing more. 

A rest will do him good and if it's between missing the game this weekend or the two next one's, I would pick this one. 

Although I suspect he is going to miss 3 anyway. The boot and crutches in the video Dack put on Instagram suggest it's more than a standard twisted ankle. 

17 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Our lack of firepower and need for more and better players in the squad was well flagged up by many during the window. Injuries, suspensions and loss of form were always going to take their toll

This isn't "hindsight" or moaning. It was bleedin' obvious. You're trying to argue otherwise by making personal comments

Every single club in the country wanted better players in the window. It's hardly cutting insight to say that we did. The reality is that it's not easy to get them and richer clubs, higher up the food chain that us had worse windows than us. Then you have clubs like Bournemouth who have gambled. Personally I don't think we are in a position to have done that, if you disagree fair enough. Brereton is being valued at £20 million plus, yet you are implying we should have just signed a ready made replacement. Practically, it doesn't add up. 

15 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

No one has mentioned a 10m striker or anything of the like. I accept and agree with the idea that it was not a straightforward task, but no one mentioned anything extortionate.

We signed 2 who can play there though , so while we are nervous about BB, it was never a given that he wouldn't be able to play. I gave the example of Moore and WBA signed Dikes for £7 million, so you're getting into big money for a player you can't even guarantee would start. 

Bournemouth signed Keiffer Moore for £5 million. He's a bog standard Championship striker with a below average goal record and zero sell on potential for that type of money.

You can do that when you have parachute money

If rovers signed him fans would be complaining, let alone we signed him and he didn't play or got injured. The line would be that Mowbray and Waggott are literally putting the clubs future in jeopardy! 

Just now, bluebruce said:

Plenty of people were saying it before Brereton got injured and before the window closed.

Personally, I agreed but disagreed with that at the time. As in, I agreed we needed another proven goalscorer, but I felt our budget was likely to be too limited to get one of the required quality and that we had other positions that needed sorting more urgently which should be cheaper to deal with (CM, backup goalie, and probably a backup CB, though I'd rather have kept Carter around). In the end we did neither.

This is it. It's easy for us all to say we would like to sign a 10 million striker in January, but in reality we can't afford that and then you are taking gambles of loans or foreign players. 

It's a pity Markanday got injured