JHRover

Who is Harvey?

The CB situation is an odd one. Our attempt to sign Bauer from Charlton is pretty much the only concrete rumour we've had all summer on potential incomings other than Davenport and Rothwell. It was some time ago and raised one or two eyebrows at the time as it seemed CB was the least of our worries and it seemed we might have some money to play with if paying out for Bauer to be number 3 CB. Everything has gone quiet on that front and then suddenly we get the new contract for Scott Wharton before he is immediately loaned out to Lincoln for the season. I can understand that move for him, but surely that means that a new CB is imminent? Unless you're a cynic like me. I ask myself what other reason the club might have for loaning Wharton out for a season when we're short on numbers as it is. e.g. we need to shed some people off the wage bill before incomings are allowed. I raised that as a suspicion last week following the absences of Gladwin, Caddis and Hart. Maybe with Wharton out on loan and a couple of those out the door Mowbray might have some free wages to play with.

If they ask Venkys to re-evaluate the budget I think at best a decision will be made in time for the January transfer window, more likely they will fire anyone who asks for an increased budget having dealt with club business at the May/June summit meeting. We'll be off the agenda until next May unless something major happens e.g. we're looking like getting relegated which might push them into action sooner. If Waggott is to be believed he now has decision making abilities on finances. I find that hard to believe. Maybe on how much is spent down at Ewood on maintenance etc. but not on how much we spend on transfer fees. As we've had most summers it is an ever changing picture. Once again early optimism quickly gives way to silence and increasing concern. Mowbray's messages in the press have changed significantly since the start of the summer. If the Telegraph had any idea they'd be pushing Mowbray on why this is the case. It seems either something has changed at the top or a major miscalculation has taken place on the transfer market and funds required.

I think all parties take responsibility. I think Venkys will have made some funds available but we're talking similar or slightly more than last season. Last season those funds went a long way, in the Championship they are unlikely to deliver much. I think Mowbray is too 'principled' in what he does. I think he often strives for perfection when perfection isn't possible. This applies to everything he does - his signings, formations, etc. I think we'll have had the option to bring in countless players who would probably be good enough for this division but Mowbray has very set ideas in his head about what he wants. That's admirable but not really pragmatic for a club in our situation, which is becoming increasing desperate and it seems inevitable that he will end up having to take people who he perhaps didn't want to start with. It's also hard not to think that Waggott's sole remit here is to stretch the pennies even further than previously. It seems almost everything he has done or said relates to keeping spending on a tight leash and further cuts. Increased ticket prices, closure of the Darwen End, wanting larger away followings, increased membership fees. If the main idea behind him being here is to keep a grip on finances and cut further I'm not optimistic of significant funds finding their way into the transfer pot. Worrying times really. Needs addressing urgently.

Knows where the back of the net is and has performed in the Championship so I'd have a look at him but he'll be on good money. Will Wednesday let him go as well as Rhodes? What's Gary Hooper up to these days?

Are Sheffield United really going to try and sign him from Sheffield Wednesday? Can't see that being a popular move.

No, but I expected some sort of development that would see them get off the hook rather than suffer disaster. Merely pointing out that all those predicting disaster at Villa may well, as expected, have got ahead of themselves. Many were waiting for Villa to become an example of what happens if you spend massive amounts and fail, yet it seems the answer is going to be not very much apart from one rich owner gives way to another.

So Villa's impending crisis and disaster looks set to be avoided by the arrival of one of Africa's richest men and an American multi-millionaire. I called it that nothing seriously bad would happen to Villa. So far no financial disaster, no FFP sanctions, no embargo and apart from the likely sale of Grealish no major departures.

Wigan have signed Callum McManaman on a permanent deal. Another 'skint' club we need to be finishing above doing solid work in the transfer market.... I'd have had either McManaman or Wildschut here, fair enough if Mowbray doesn't fancy them but I sure hope we've better lined up instead.

Wildschut confirmed at Bolton. Good signing. Goes to show that even those clubs without two pennies to rub together can do reasonable business in the market. What we're playing at who knows.

Comparing the 1st column to the 3rd column the big issue is up front. Having gone to Brentford with Graham and Gallagher in the 1st XI and Joao and Emnes on the bench that was quite a strong attacking line up. Now we've Graham in the 1st XI and Samuel on the bench. Much, much weaker. I'd also forgotten about Hoban who whilst injured for long spells was a decent CB to have as back-up.

I don't think 7 signings in total is unrealistic. 7 more from here may well be too much, but 7 including the 2 we've already signed isn't much. That would mean we need another 5, and Mowbray has already suggested at least 2 will be loans meaning we would need 3 more permanent signings. It sounds like Bauer is a top target for a permanent move, so the other 2 would need to be attacking players. I'm sure when the summer began the number 6 was mentioned as the amount of new signings required. When we consider that we lost Ward, Feeney, Armstrong, Payne and Antonsson at the end of the season that's 5 departures. The first 2 we were happy to see the back of but nonetheless they were back-up options we no longer have. So I'd argue that we'd need at least 5 to get the numbers back to what they were, before we consider the quality of the additions.

Great shout but unlikely.

Armstrong/Chapman, Antonsson and Payne have gone so that's 3 replacements up top to start with. Samuel and Nuttall were regulars in the squad yet not sure if either are good enough for the Championship. So straight off that's 6 players in forward positions who have either left the club or probably aren't good enough for the Championship. They need replacing. I've no problem with Samuel staying as 3rd choice striker on the bench but don't think Nuttall is up to it.

Or we reach the day after the window has slammed shut and it turns out 'money was there to spend from the owners but we weren't going to spend it for the sake of it'. We've heard that one a few times before.

I was referring to what is going to happen. Waggott saying that he expects more tickets to be sold because people will be impressed with Mowbray's targets and potential incomings. Having listened to Mowbray over the last couple of weeks and seen the stories in the Telegraph over the last few days there is no doubt that loans from Premier League clubs are a central component at this moment in time. People like to get carried away if the loans are coming from Liverpool or City because that means they must be good players. I'd sooner we signed people from League One or the Championship who know what it is all about.

Our signing of Rhodes was one of the first 'mega' signings for a Championship club. Most clubs haven't reached that level yet but spend a few million here and there on players. We can plead poverty and come high and mighty about 'holding firm' in a difficult market. Reality is we've had 2 massive advantages over most clubs in the last 5-6 years. One being we had parachute cash but wasted most of it, the other being we had £30 million+ of players which we sold and banked the dosh. Most clubs haven't had both of those luxuries and yet have ended up in a stronger state than we are in. The benefits of sensible management!

Its not ridiculous if they get promoted off the back of it. Its a calculated gamble. If it pays off the rewards are vast, if they fail then they 'might' get into trouble with the authorities, or more likely they'll just have to sell a couple and carry on.

How many did we sell last year? Waggott thinks we will sell more on the basis of the announcements we are going to make and the targets Mowbray has got. Sadly if he thinks a couple of kids on loan from Premier League clubs are going to get folk queuing down Nuttall Street for season tickets he's mistaken. A real statement of intent by substantial investment in quality players may well result in a late upturn in sales but probably not many. Its about what I would have expected given the 17% price increase on last season. It would have been nice to hit 10,000 or more and I still maintain that 11,000-12,000 should be our target for the Championship in ideal circumstances.

There's no 'evidence' of us being in for Maddison. Nor is there any 'evidence' of us being interested in anyone else. A couple of journalists say we're interested in Kent, one says he's top of the list, another says he isn't. There was very little if any mention of us being interested in Rothwell or Davenport in the days before their arrivals. People are drawing logical conclusions from what the Posh chairman has said on twitter and the fact that he hasn't ruled Rovers out despite having ruled out numerous other Championship clubs. He's said it is someone who wasn't in the Championship last season, it's someone who apparently wanted to pay in installments and it isn't Wigan. IF what he says is true then we are one of a small group of clubs who it could be.

A good deal only becomes good in time. £2.5 million for Maddison might be a waste if he doesn't perform, but likewise if he does it might be an outstanding investment. Its a risk you have to take in football. If you don't want to take risks then you rarely get the rewards. If he comes in and excels in the Championship his value could quadruple over the next few years. Alternatively he might be the catalyst to us climbing the Championship and getting into promotion contention. Usually I would agree that no Championship experience could be a concern, but when you stand out massively in League One as Maddision, Marriott, Dack, Rhodes etc. did then you get your move up sooner or later. Everyone said Rhodes was poor value for money and a waste. Yet time proved he wasn't and we actually even made a profit on him which most said could never happen.

Given we've been looking at Bauer I would expect him to go out on loan to League One or Two this season.

Any reason why not? Differing quotes on Maddison ranging up to £2.5 million at the most. Can't see wages being a problem given he's at Peterborough at present. Armstrong got 2 years left at Newcastle, surplus to requirements, never had a crack at the first team. I don't see how or why Newcastle would demand big money for him given he's never been in their first team plans. Lets say it would cost £3 million for the pair of them. I've no idea what wages Armstrong is on but again he's a reserve player at Newcastle who has been shipped out on loan for the 3 years so is Mike Ashley going to be paying him mega money? There's a difference between what we think will happen and what could/should/ought to happen. Those sort of deals are there to be done and if we're not in that ball park then it is concerning, especially if this is the owners being excited or happy with promotion last season. I think we ought to be in the market for these sort of players and I think if we can't stretch to the £3 million needed to do it then we're struggling, especially when we look at what rivals are shelling out and factor in Mowbray reckons to be holding money back from January. I also think avoiding such a market and focusing on loans is not only concerning in terms of our future funding prospects but also likely to prevent long term growth and development as it is like building on quicksand.

It sounds as though a club activated his release clause quite some time ago, and he was granted permission to speak to a club last week which is why he wasn't on the plane to Portugal. It also sounded as though the club who had met the asking price were still sorting out what sort instalments there would be. It's been rumbling on for a while, which is a trait associated with Rovers, as is trying to agree cash buys spread over a number of years rather than in one go.

Peterborough chairman said this morning that Maddison is still in talks with a club.