sharpysharps86

It's another leftfield signing from the new recruitment team to go along with Gueye and Ohashi, but we have to be hopeful that Toth is an upgrade on Pears. Unfortunately it looks like we'll be stuck with Pears in goal for the Burnley game. I have to say, so far this summer the new recruitment team have ticked all the boxes for me. If all other potential transfers come off today then Rovers 'should' be nowhere near the bottom of the table.

Woke up to the news we've signed Baker on loan. That's a really good deal given he's out of contract next summer, so he's basically playing for a long term deal, with more championship experience added to the squad as well. Wouldn't be surprised to see Buckley moved on late in the day now. Rovers have generally surprised me this summer with their transfers as it feels like a big improvement compared to last year. Time will tell though...

Cantwell and Duberry on paper are very decent signings. Don't know anything about the keeper so could be a Kaminski or a Wahlstedt, we'll just have to see. Gut feeling is that we've gone for Cantwell instead of spending money on Dembele, and now the Duberry is coming in as the winger. I'm not against this, as Dembele seems to have his critics. I'd much rather we brought in another winger on top of Duberry instead of cover for right back. With Brittain, JRC and Duru all able to play there it feels like that should be enough. Cantwell, Duberry, Toth, then another winger and CM cover please.

Wouldn't be against Cantwell but it is a risk as he seems like a bit of a bad egg. It'll probably put JE's man management skills to the test.

That's a decent signing for them if it happens. I'd have him at Rovers.

Been a lot of talk about Siggy and his work rate but when he came on yesterday I thought he worked really hard for the team, scored a lovely goal and ultimately he (with a bit of help from Big Mak) turned what would've been a frustrating draw into a hard fought win. He just needs to do that on a consistent basis. There is an opportunity for someone in this squad to become the new star man, if he knuckles down on a consistent basis then it could easily be him. Yesterday was not easy on the eye really, but I honestly couldn't care less because we won the game. Ohashi had a another good game, felt like the crowd where desperate to see him score again which would've been brilliant, but not to be. I appreciate Dolan does a lot of work off the ball, but his decision making on it needs work. Several times yesterday he picked the ball up in a position where if he just played the simple ball we'd be further up the pitch, but instead we get to see a couple of little tricky steps and it slows us right down. Just play the obvious pass man! Although he did make an impact when he came on, I thought Gueye looked quite clumsy and sluggish, not as alert as he perhaps was against Norwich and Derby. I imagine he'll start on Tuesday though and Ohashi will get a rest.

My main takeaway from today's game is that Rovers really need some help in the form of a few new players. Some of the lads looked tired and leggy in the first half. Its a lot to hope for in the next week or so but a new number one GK, LB cover, CM cover, RW and a Centre Forward all feel needed. Bringing in a RW then frees JRC up to play elsewhere, possibly in that number 10 role.

Don't disagree with that at all, its very true! That being said it feels a touch unimaginative if we do sign him, given that it'll be purely based on JE working with him before.

Not sure Dembele is the answer. Only 1 assist in 33 championship games last season. That's just not good enough at all. Stansfield, obviously a decent player and would be a good investment, but can't see Fulham letting him go. He scored 12 goals in a relegated Birmingham team and probably would've scored more if they hadn't gone and appointed Rooney and dropped off a cliff. I'd be happy with the signing but just doesn't seem viable given Rovers circumstances. Ruddy should only be brought in as a last resort IMO. It's an extremely short term solution and if Rovers can bring in someone as a more long term investment then they should be actively pursuing that first. I still expect a couple of prem loans as is customary for most Championship clubs, but I imagine they'll come very late in the window, possibly deadline day.

Court case has been delayed till November apparently.

Disappointed, yes. Surprised at the delay, absolutely not. The horror show continues....

Think this will be an extremely tough game, and Oxford will certainly create more than Derby did at Ewood, and they still managed 2 goals! Tempted to say it'll be a draw or a home defeat. I just have a feeling about it, a little bit like when we lost at home to Luton in their first season after promotion from League One....Travis scored in a 2-1 defeat. Also can't see there being any changes to the starting 11 providing there are no injuries or arrivals this week. I don't think Ohashi will start because the club need to be careful with him, and having a player like that to come on when you need a goal is something we have rarely had in recent years. Question marks over JRC and Dolan based on their performances from Saturday, but I think they'll both get the nod. Just not sure about JRC on the right wing. Swapping him with Brittain might be a good idea.

Stansfield? Now surely that is someone putting 2 + 2 together and getting 5. Absolutely no chance Rovers go and spend 6 million on a player. Barely any point discussing the 'what if' scenario of Rovers actually bringing him in. Germain on the other hand, sound far more likely. On goalkeepers, Iversen is the standout choice if it can be done, even as a loan...but it'd be just typical Rovers / Waggott to sign Tim Krul, knowing full well he's injured.

Very early days but Ohashi is looking like one of the signings of the summer. His first touch might not be great but if he can put the ball in the net on a regular basis then I couldn't care less.

Pretty sure 'thin air' replaced Gallagher, because that's how effective he was last season 😅

Wonder what his style of play is. Saw he was at Man City previously so I'm assuming its Pep style football. Is that what PNE need right now? Genuine question, I don't know anything about there players 😂.

We do, but we also need to prioritise certain positions, and with Ohashi, Gueye and Weimann all coming in, the need for another CF and ST is less compared to the other positions mentioned. A winger for either side would be nice, but I suspect we may need a RW more than LW as Hedges and Siggy can cover that role. JRC at RW isn't convincing and I'd prefer him either in central midfield or at right back.

The thought of Pears being in goal against Burnley is giving me heart palpitations. Needs replacing ASAP.

On paper its a good point on the road, tough place to go given that we don't really know what Norwich will be like this season under a new manager, so previous good form there kind of goes out the window. We can say its a poor result because we were 1-0 up, and we can also say its a good point for coming back from 2-1 down...so all in all I think it's probably a fair result for Rovers. Need to work on this slow start from the 2nd half, its going to cause us problems, but I appreciate an amount of that is down to players like Hedges and Gueye having not had much of a pre-season. Last season, and probably the season before that I'm doubtful that Rovers come back to get something from this game. That's 2 league games where they've shown good character after conceding, hopefully a sign of things to come. A new goalkeeper is an absolute MUST, as we can all pretty much agree. Gueye put in another promising display. Ohashi appears to be a bit of a revelation so far, but definitely needs to be looked after a bit. I think having him as a super sub option makes more sense than to start him at the moment. Going to be an interesting couple of weeks now with just the Oxford game to play before the transfer deadline. GK, LB cover, Winger, and a CM all needed. If I'm being greedy then another striking option too please.

Well this definitely stings a little. It's the hope that kills you and after being fairly acceptant that Sammie was on his way, to then see him come off the bench against Derby and score, and then follow it up with a brace in the cup....yeah, I was a touch naïve and thought that he might well end up staying. Nothing will ever hurt more than Shearer going for me, but then I was just a kid at the time and he was my hero. That being said, this has happened before and it'll happen again, and more often than not in recent years a player steps up out of nowhere just as Sammie did. Let's face it, we were all very much doubtful over him after his first 6 months at the club and look what happened. There's nothing to say that there isn't someone like JRC or Dolan that can't grab the bull by the horns. These are two players that simply HAVE to make more of an impact this season, more so than ever now. As for the money, how it gets reinvested I think we can all agree that we need to spend some money on a goalkeeper. I'd personally like to see cash buys for a GK and a Craig Conway type winger as we need to try and get that Conway / Gestede style connection going to make the most of Gueye's height. I'd be happy with 2-3 prem loans thrown in after that. Will be interesting to see how it all pans out in the next 2 weeks.

Overly harsh take. He's a league one standard player judging by his performances for Rovers in cup competitions. He's always looked comfortable against that level of opposition. Ultimately though, Rovers have better options out wide and in the central number 10 role, so its a moot point.

2-2 draw. Gueye and Szmodics for Rovers. Predicted team: Pears Brittain Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Tronstad JRC Szmodics Dolan Gueye Hedges, Ohashi, Weimann and Buckley all getting minutes off the bench.

He definitely should've scored in the 2nd half against Derby, he practically passed the ball to the keeper. The first half chance in that game was a pretty tight angle, but perhaps should've hit the target as well. His movement for that chance and for the Dolan goal was great though, something we just hadn't seen from Gallagher. As long as he continues to be a handful and other players are chipping in with the goals then its of less concern. The problem last season was that none of the other attackers where helping out enough in that regard. Ohashi and Weimann both look more than capable of getting decent numbers, while its also a huge season for Dolan to make more of an impact. Obviously if Sammie goes then the pressure goes up on Gueye, Ohashi, Weimann, Dolan, etc. to contribute to the goals tally.

Shame for Markanday but based on last night, I suspect we won't miss him if he goes out on loan. He's not a winger, and he's behind Szmodics and Dolan, as well as probably Weimann and Ohashi for the number 10 position. It makes sense for him to go out on loan. A winger, central midfielder, goalkeeper and cover for left back feels essential. Quite happy for a couple of those to be prem loans. Not sure what the situation is with Ayari at Brighton but I'd welcome him back for the CM slot. Goalkeeper and winger positions really could do with being permanent additions.

Can't really judge Rovers on a game against a bunch of academy players, but you can only beat what's in front of you and they did that emphatically. Great to see all o the attackers get on the scoresheet. Ohashi really could have (and probably should have) had a hat-trick, although he was very unlucky to hit the woodwork with the effort in the 2nd half. He's going to be a really interesting player for Rovers, but one that seems to have taken to things well at this early stage in his time in English football. Could become a bit of a cult hero if it works out. Good to see Gueye get on the scoresheet, especially as he was unlucky not to score from the effort that led to the corner he ended up scoring from. Another goal conceded from a set piece though, which is concerning. Onto Norwich!