3 minutes ago, KentExile said:

Definitely agree with the bold point, but basing my opinion of if he will be a success on the basis of Welsh fans over the past couple of years, they seem to think his form (and attitude/work rate) has dropped off a cliff as of late

He did somewhat lose his way when he went to Juventus. Covid probably played a big part in that though. 

Bellamy went to Cardiff at the end of his career too didn't he? 

2 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Blimey, I'd have Aaron Ramsey all day long to run the midfield and teach our youngsters a thing or two. 

Signings like this are thin on the ground these days. Once good players don't tend to drop down a division and keep playing. MLS, China, and now Saudi Arabia are popular destinations. Or they retire as they have plenty of money.

It reminds me of Rovers signing Gordan Cowans. He was superb. 

2 hours ago, KentExile said:

I don't want to speak ill of those who are no longer with us, but it has the feel of a Peter Whittingham type signing, fantastic player in his day, but those days are gone and wages will be higher than his worth to the team

Edit - wish I could think of a different players name to use as an example instead of Whittingham, but my brain has gone blank

I'm not speaking ill either but Aaron Ramsey is a far better player than Whittingham ever was. Is Rooney going to Derby a better example?

1 hour ago, J*B said:

They had their Russian Oligarch funding removed when the war broke out, spent a fortune whilst they had investment which has resulted in very little resale value but high contracts and have hundreds of millions of investment into their new stadium. 

I didn't know that Everton's overlord was sanctioned too. Abramovich got all the attention.

They really are in a pickle then. Gordon got them a few quid. Maybe Onana is next out. He and Pickford are about all they have left who is worth anything. 

I've written enough on here about the absolute disaster that Everton's signings have been over the last few years. They have signed some dross. Dele Alli is back with them now too.

I see that Everton have signed Ashley Young. It's impressive that he's still getting Premier League contracts at 38 but he's not going to be transformative. 

Have Everton no money?

On 08/07/2023 at 11:38, goozburger said:

After being mostly billed as not good enough or consistent enough for Manchester United for the past several years, I'm having a bit of a chuckle at David de Gea being described as a legend in social media circles now that he's left.

I'm surprised that he lasted that long. He had good games but made too many mistakes, wasn't that good with his feet, and was awful at saving penalties. 

Paper talk had him on stupid money too. Ten Hag has done well to get rid. 

21 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Colwill is leagues above this level - what a classy CB. 

20 hours ago, roverandout said:

Because he's the next England keeper long term

I think both Colwill and Trafford will play for the full side. Colwill in particular looked very good. The rest, probably not. 

Prior iterations on England u21's usually had a lot players nobody had ever heard of, and who then never made the leap. This team has Prem regulars all over the park. 

21 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Also Kane had better be immortal because they're playing Gibbs-White and Smith-Rowe upfront. Where have all the big, athletic strikers in England gone?!

At a guess I'd say that Kane will hang up his international boots after World Cup 2026. Rashford will be 28/29 by then so hopefully he can take over. 

I've seen stories about Mason Greenwood making a comeback. That one will stir some debate if he manages to do it and get back to what he was.

I thought that this deal was a bit off; BBC: Ruben Neves leaves Wolves for Saudi Arabia

If reports are true Neves is going to be loaned to Newcastle for 2 years.

I mentioned this on here not too long ago. There is nothing stopping the Saudis buying whoever they want for their PIF owned Saudi teams and sending them all to their Prem team. All the while costing Newcastle absolutely nothing.

What's the Geordie defence on this one? 

7 hours ago, matt83 said:

I went to the game on Monday night. I used to watch England regularly but I’d not been for a good while. I was astonished by how many women and children were there, certainly from my vantage point in the Stretford end upper I’d go as far as to say the majority. I took the 10 year old so people in glass houses and that.

On the one hand it’s nice people feel comfortable these days to make watching England a family day out but the trade off is women and children will never make for a good atmosphere. I partially stopped going regularly after they built the new Wembley as I felt they were selling out to tourists and day trippers. Looks like they ultimately did. A family in front of me who all watched the game through their phones, all had horns and not one had the foggiest about the rules of the game. 

16 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I was in the stretford upper, with my 10 year old and a feckin air horn. Worst thing I’ve ever bought and I have a shirt with ward on the back somewhere. It was strange like you said . The first thing I noticed was how many mums and kids there were. The atmosphere was flat. I had four empty seats next to me until five minutes in four coked up , pissed  up dingles came and sat next to me grabbing the rovers badge on my shirt and bragging about the league title win at ewood. They were the exception though I was just unlucky enough to be sat with them. My lad enjoyed it because we won 7-0 but I was really shocked at how the fanbase has changed as a whole from the last time I went in probably 2004 against wales 

How you both described it was evident whilst watching the TV broadcast. It sounded like an athletics event (or dare I say women's game) rather than a football match. 

3 hours ago, K-Hod said:

He would if he ever got on the pitch. Southgate seems to fear him and a few other flair players.

Fear? Where do you get that one from?

Foden is a class act but seems the opposite for me; he looks a bit scared playing for England. He has time on his side though. 

17 hours ago, goozburger said:

It's hard to deny that he looks comfortable and composed in midfield. I bet Klopp is furious because Trent will likely want to play there for Liverpool.

I reckon that Southgate had a chat with Klopp beforehand. 

Klopp moving TAA into midfield coincided with an upturn in Liverpool's form. His defensively frailties are getting worse, Klopp needs midfielders. It's a win win for all.

England have some real talent. Bringing on Grealish and Foden is a luxury prior England managers never had. 

14 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Can play with a cigar in his mouth against minnows in qualifying, problem is against the big teams in major tournaments when it matters when we come up short. Players come through but he keeps getting picked. Going forward, competitive with anyone.

Maguire hasn't put a foot wrong for England in 2 World Cups and a Euro's.

He wasn't worth the money Man U paid for him, but unlike many previous generations his performances improve in an England shirt.

17 hours ago, roverandout said:

He's not world class yet but he's a top class Box to box midfielder 

He will be. He captained West Ham at 21. Is an ever present for club and country. He's strong, mobile, and has lots of composure. 

Oddly, I realised how good he was against some non-league team in the FA Cup. West Ham were struggling. He decided to take the game by himself and set up (or scored?) the winner late on.

If he played for Blackburn Rovers we'd all be talking about how he is one of the best ever.

10 minutes ago, goozburger said:

There were reports that a club in Saudi Arabia (one of the four now owned by the state) had offered Lionel Messi €1bn for a two-year contract (€9.6m per week).

Karim Benzema has already gone to Saudi Arabia for a reported €400m two-year contract (€3.8m per week), including as an ambassador for their 2030 World Cup bid.

Ngolo Kante is on the verge of moving to Saudi Arabia, too, for a report €100m two-year contract (€1m per week).

They are throwing money around at big names, presumably in an all-out effort to land the World Cup in 2030.

If the Saudi's want the 2030 World Cup they'll get it. FIFA like nothing more than lots of cash, and the Saudi's won't hesitate to provide enough. 

I was listening to one pundit on the radio the other day. He was speculating that one or more of the Saudi signings may end up at Newcastle for a loan spell next year. Newcastle will get Benzema for half a season and they won't have to pay a penny for him.

Messi to Miami is a coup for MLS but he won't be there for long. Miami is a tough place to make football work. It is full of South Americans who tend to support Real and Barcelona but they'll flock to see him but will leave as soon as he does. 

I always thought that there would be more golf talk on this board. 

Anyway, big news today in the professional world; LIV, the PGA, and the DP world tour are merging; BBC: golf merger happening.

Saudi money proved to be too powerful.

23 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

He’s a good manager but wether he can sort Spurs out is another story entirely.

I'll go with no.  

His first order of business, along with Levy, is to sort Kane out. He has 1 year left on his contract. They could get a fee for him now or he could go for nothing in 12 months. I have no idea if he wants to leave or not. Common wisdom says that players want to win trophies ergo Kane needs to leave. He might not care. He earns enough, scores plenty, and has a young family. 

In light of previous discussions regarding the Brendan Rodgers speculation. Spurs ended up a man who has had the same success in Scotland as him but without any of his Premier League experience. 

3 hours ago, DE. said:

Extra time felt like it lasted another 90 minutes. Embarrassing from both teams.

An awful advert for football. Far too much play acting and histrionics. Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver had their hands full, but did well. 

Mourinho pulled his usual. This time he threw his runners up medal into the crowd.

I made this comment in the Champions League thread but it does seem odd to me having grown up with football Italia, Roberto Baggio, and the all-conquering AC Milan teams of the late 80's/early 90's to see Italian teams featuring Premier League also rans. Roma had Smalling, Matic, Abraham, Patricio, Wijnaldum, and apparently a former Rovers loanee playing. A far cry from the heady days when the Premier League got Serie A cast offs.

Erik Lamela, Alex Telles, and Jesus Navas were ex-Prem players featuring for Seville.

17 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Preston were the first team to do that.

17 hours ago, jodrell said:

Plus go unbeaten.

16 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

And Aston Villa were the second.

I stand corrected. I thought Spurs were the first. 

I looked it up. PNE did it in 1888-89. Villa in 1896-97. No wonder I had no idea. 

49 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

Was it not the double I'm losing my mind? 

 

They did that in 1961. The first team to do it. 

Villa won the league in 1981. They won the European Cup the year after too.

1 hour ago, DeeCee said:

81?

FA Cup. 

On 26/05/2023 at 14:34, roversfan99 said:

The Tottenham job though?

Spurs have finished higher than 4th only 3 times since the advent of the Premier League, 

They have only won 2 league titles - 1951 and 1961. 

They are Rodgers' level. 

Off the field is different. Spurs' new stadium has allowed them to crack into the Deloitte football money league top 10. Their commercial success outweighs their on pitch reality.

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Because he isn't a very good manager IMO. A club that regularly challenge for the top 4 need better than a manager primarily responsible for taking a team down.

Conte summed Spurs up. They are a club happy with mediocrity. Levy has his marching orders from the owner and performs them admirably. 

They have a superb stadium and loyal support so as long as it looks like they are somewhere near silverware they carry on.

I disagree with you on Rodgers. I think he is a good manager. Not top tier but is worthy of a Prem job. 

16 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Nah you can tell they're all really talented players - they're going to need a kick up the backside though. The new manager has got a task on his hands, but he has a wonderfully talented squad - still needs a striker, mind and they need to stop playing Gallagher upfront. 

I had to chuckle when Neville realised their best player is only on loan without an option to buy - that Felix is utterly brilliant. I wonder where he'll be next season. 

I was agreeing with you. None of them have any confidence or idea of what to do which has resulted in 11 individuals, usually a different combo too, rather than a team playing every week.

Mudryk came in on a massive fee. He looked decent in his first game but has looked completely lost since. Enzo Fernandez is another. £100m fee. World Cup winner. He looks like a deer in headlights.

Pochettino needs to get rid of a lot of players. It will be interesting to see how he does it. Many of them are on big money so may be reluctant to leave as other clubs won't pay the same for players who have underperformed. 

They will be better next season, as will Liverpool. Until proven otherwise it's City's title to lose but they won't have it as easy. 

22 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Lampard should never get another job in football management. This incredibly talented Chelsea team look like they met for the first time on the car park before the match. 

They don't look talented at the moment, They look like a load of individuals waiting in limbo for next season. They've have learned first hand that Lampard isn't capable, know he won't be coming back, so have collectively decided to call it early for 2022-23. 

All whilst sitting on 7 year contracts. Why should they bother? 

21 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

chelsea just can't finish. creating plenty of good chances. 

They lack a quality number 9 striker 

Plus a decent manager, a coherent way of playing, a competent transfer strategy, and effective ownership. 

They have a good manager coming in in Pochettino which will fix 1 and 2, but 4 is a wild card that affects 3, which could then become a problem for 1 and 2. 

Chelsea have a long way to go. A goalscorer won't solve anything.

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Agree....much-maligned these days but has actually done a good job at most clubs he's been at. 

I agree with you. He is a good manager. He was a Gerrard slip away from a title with Liverpool. 

He did well with Leicester, this season notwithstanding. He didn't get to spend much, and I think the loss of Schmeichel really hurt them.

He does struggle at the end of seasons and is not the most defensively savvy but it looks like no top tier manager wants to work with Levy so Spurs have to cut their cloth accordingly. 

The 3 relegation threatened teams are at home on Sunday;

Everton v. Bournemouth

Leeds v. Spurs

Leicester v. West Ham

All look like winnable games, however, those teams are at the bottom for a reason so it's certainly not a forgone conclusion.