RoverKyle

There were a couple of mistimed tackles but thought he looked OK otherwise. Looks decent on the ball. Him & Tyjon stood out for me from the second game as potential options but that's not really saying much. Intrigued to see more of Tyjon. He looked good on the ball but we barely got it into his feet. Didn't see anything from the full backs to suggest they could meaningfully step into the first team if required. Buckley & Garrett were completely overran and made no impression on the game bar the Buckley free kick goal, which Garrett was fuming he took. Markanday anonymous. It was just a friendly but in isolation no one really put themselves in the first team picture with that performance (including the guys already around the first team).

Yeah if someone could clarify this when they go to the Roverstore today, that would be greatly appreciated. I won't be buying the shirts if they have the Venky's logo on it.

That's genuinely hilarious

Whilst I agree the discussion should also be in that thread, it relates to club finances and potentially our ability to operate in the transfer market. It is fully appropriate for this thread.

I think you're completely missing the point. The alleged cuts to the women's team budget are symptomatic of where the club is financially. You can't really take this news in isolation and expect us to be active in the transfer market the next minute.

Can someone share a screenshot please.

The goings on at this club are truly mind boggling.

Goalkeepers that are good with their feet don't do what Pears did against Sheffield Wednesday.

If Courtois doesn't sign and Pears starts next season, then Eustace must really rate Pears.

And that was a clear error of judgement. Just because the manager makes a decision, it doesn't mean you have to wholeheartedly get behind it.

That opinion was expressed often, despite him making mistakes. There was also a lot of talk around Pears being better because he could play it out from the back and "that's the way we play". Kaminski played the sweeper keeper role quite well I thought. Certainly not so bad in comparison that his superior goalkeeping was ignored for it. All very strange. Like you say, you play your best players and Kaminski was our best goalkeeper.

Remember when there was heated debate on here about Pears being better than Kaminski. Ridiculous. Not reinstating Kaminski back into the starting line up that season cost us a crack at the playoffs.

I know the links to Ruddy aren't exciting at all, but if he came in, he'd be my no.1. He'd make less mistakes than Pears and command his box better. He's just a lot older than you'd want and kicks the can down the road. The players others have mentioned (Ryan, Rodak) are exactly the types we should be speaking to. Chance to play regularly as a no.1 for a team where if it all comes together, could challenge for playoffs. They'd come in at the top end of our wages and solve one of our key problems.

Lovely stuff, thank you.

Could anyone subscribing to the LET be kind enough to post the position scouting articles in here please (or on a separate thread).

I think any talk of permanent signings for fees is very optimistic. A well run club would look at the money coming in for Wharton & Raya and invest in the squad. But we're an absolute basket case club with no plan and owners who'll scoop up whatever money they can get hold of to cover their losses. Although I do like him and thought he made a genuine impact during the relegation scrap, we're being spoon fed Fadz potentially signing for another 12 months as a big deal. I think that tells you everything about where we are. I'm fully expecting a summer of experienced Championship freebies and the usual Premier League loans to fill out the squad.

It's cut and paste every transfer window. Player x gets linked. People get excited. Player x doesn't arrive and probably wasn't even an option. Next window arrives... What about player x?

He did though, frequently.

The last administration error probably cost us a place in the playoffs last season. This one could potentially see us relegated this season. Absolute shambles of a club.

Regarding the arsey opener, yes lots and I continue to do so regularly. Very convenient that the defence was awful whenever you played poorly. It's almost as though our current goalkeepers could be thinking the same.. Doesn't mean it's true or that your opinion is any better than anyone's just because you played. See Joey Barton under arsey ex footballer.

In applying JDT's tactics better, we're much more open for teams to attack than last season. This further exposes our GK. Unfortunately I don't feel we've got that balance right between defending (we applied a block really effectively for large spells last season) and going for the throat of teams (where we often look good on the eye but waste quite a lot of good quality of chances). I did say defensive unit, not individual players playing worse and making mistakes per se, although that's definitely part of it.

Yeah, that's fair. If we're only going to be shopping in the bargain bin again for a striker, I'd rather we loaned in an experienced goalkeeper until the summer (then look to solve both issues then). However I'm trying to hold out hope that the potential loan signing of Phillips suggests that we're looking at a higher quality of player.

We're also missing good chances to kill games off. We've needed to sign a good striker for a while now. We can't leave it another window. We had a good Championship goalkeeper (arguably a decent Premier League one) and sold him in favour of Pears. They're not going to use up our limited resources to admit that mistake. Our defensive woes haven't just been down to our goalkeeping; our whole defensive unit has gone backwards this season.

Whilst I agree we need a better no 1, I can just about cope with Pears until the summer if it means we can bring in a good striker. Doubt whatever our budget is stretches for both. Our current options up top aren't good enough for this level, bar maybe Gallagher who's always injured and never been prolific. Despite his flaws, Pears is a decent Championship goalkeeper.

We don't normally get a sniff at loans of this calibre, so I'd be really pleased if this comes off. We all know striker is the key signing, so fingers crossed on that one once this is hopefully confirmed. It's not too late to put together a playoff push if we recruit right and get the injured lads back fit.