4 times, all as sub, released this week

ok, I will rephrase, worst realistic scenario Do you honestly believe that given his first half season this year, a club towards the top of League 2 doesn't want to take him on a free and half his wages?

I genuinely do not think so. He will be on £5K/week (at most), Which equates to a maximum of about £250K over the course on next season. Even if as worst case scenario, we ended up giving him a free transfer (with a hefty sell on %) to Chesterfield pr similar and covering half of his wage for the remainder of his contract, I would fancy being able to recoup more than a few hundred K with a sell on which would still more than pay for itself And that would we worst case scenario. He has more than proved himself at League 2 level, so I would be pretty confident that someone at league 1 level would be willing to take a punt, and cover most/all of his wage, and even pay a small up front fee. again with a sell on % Personally though, I expect his option will be triggered and he will be a squad player next season, whilst being talked up as Dolans ready made replacement all through the summer

In all fairness, it was announced by Jackson, not the club. So Gilsenan would already have been advised prior to his birthday... should that worry you in the slightest

Even in that situation, it would be better to activate the renewal, if a club is interested (ie Chesterfield) allow him to move on a free but with a sell on clause, just in case he has a stellar half season at some point and he moves for a fee in the future Everybody wins that way

Maybe we should take the Indian court system to court to petition them to release the results like the football classifieds? Indian Government 1, Chicken Chokers nil Then we may find out the outcome by June in 2029

I don't think that he is. at youth level he played mainly as either a left sided attacking midfielder, or as a right wing back. He was also poor as a right sided attacking midfielder at the start of this season. Personally see him as probably being best suited to playing as a box to box midfielder in a 4-3-3 Definitely prefer him in the squad to Forshaw

Apparently his contract has a 1 year option clause, so he wont be on a free this summer

Has now missed Malmos last 4 games Knee injury apparently

The stats don't show that to be the case. Was a starter early on at both loan clubs, at Bristol, it seems he fell out of favour with the manager who was later sacked, at Tranmere, he was a regular starter until the manager who signed him was sacked, and then he was a bench player under the new guy

Real shame for him, wasn't even fit enough for the bench until late February, (think he still had the injury he had at Rovers when he signed for them, and then had a new issue when he was meant to make his comeback before Christmas) and in the end only made 4 sub appearances this season. As you say, hopefully he gets sorted with a club and manages to kick start his career Some quotes from the Barrow forum of him below "Wonder if Sam Barnes has been asked back for a trail pre season Andy Whing spoke warmly of him the other day" "Only players I'm surprised with is Barnes (thought he played well after coming back in to the squad and had a good game against colchester) and Vassell thought he would be kept but maybe he's off higher, apart from that looks like a full rebuild in the works." "Looks like we have cut ties with Barnes, he will probably go on to play a couple of seasons relatively injury free somewhere and boy does he deserve that bit of luck, but that’s the gamble and lessons will have been learned going forward." "The club obviously think Barnes isn’t going to achieve the level of fitness to be worth his wage , at the end of the day we aren’t a charity and have lost enough money on players like that over the recent years. Despite that I hope he proves us all wrong."

Am I right in thinking that there are (or were) in essence 2 different cases? One (the original) which the Indian Government has brought against the Venkys And another where Venkys are/were appealing to send money overseas (the one which Waggott seems to think is no longer an issue?) If so, I presume tomorrows case is regarding the original case?

For a club with funds, that may not be a bad idea. And it is a very similar system that Ismael tried to implement when at Watford. Although he preferred his "wingers" on their "wrong foot" (a preference he stresses in the linked article) However for a club with absent owners who have turned the taps off, it is simply not going to happen. Also doesn't leave much room for the apparent 7 or 8 academy players to make up the rest of the squad (as per Gestede) Personally I do not think Rovers will sign another left back this summer, and I do not think that the overlapping full back role particularly suits either Ribeiro or Pickering. But I could see him try try transition to a midfield 3, rather than the double pivot with 2 sitting players. Probably because we lose one or both of Travis & Tronstad during the summer

What's the betting that the Judge decides to have an early lunch after case 2 and never returns 😉

"Low 6 figures" according to Elliott Jackson I had always taken it as meaning somewhere between £100K & £200K, but that's my interpretation. I suppose technically that could mean anywhere from £100K to £500K? But whatever it is, he was certainly great value for money

Norwich can't afford to keep him as he is on "mega wages" with somebody quoting £35K/week on their forum Don't think he will get that much with his next contract (unless it is to sit on the bench in the Premier League), but would imagine he will be very much out of Rovers wage structure

Was a regular for them when they got promoted from League 2, then had a knee injury in 2023 that kept him from playing for over a year and then has had issues getting fit since, When he did return this season, he was in a higher division in a relegation battle with not much time to adapt From memory, he also had fitness issues when he was at Rovers also, Suspect a move to League 2 or National League

Would imagine Montgomery is seen as a younger, cheaper JRC.. utility player

Offers of contracts have to be made (or players told they can leave) by 17th May (end of next week) Not much to gain by not being truthful there

I am genuinely in disbelief that anyone could conclude that this outcome was anything other than a nailed on certainty months ago. Anyone who thought otherwise has not been paying attention over the past decade or so

Its not happening. Ismael on record (or been told to say) as saying he wants the 5 out of contract players all to stay, and all apart from Dolan will be easy enough to get done, so thats what will happen. Just accept it and save yourself a month or 2 of hoping/wishing something better will happen. In fact, the only way we don't start the season with Weimann, Hedges, Forshaw & Batth in the squad is if there are further budget cuts and we can no longer even afford them https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/25140366.blackburn-contract-talks-offers-rival-interest/ Blackburn Rovers remain locked in negotiations to keep their out-of-contract quintet at the club. Valerien Ismael has made it clear that he'd like to keep the five players whose contracts expire on June 30. Some of those talks will be easier than others with varying timeframes on when decisions will be made. Rovers are well aware they will have to wait for Tyrhys Dolan's final decision. The 23-year-old will go on holiday and assess the interest in his signature in the summer before deciding on where his future lies. The Lancashire Telegraph understands that no agreement is close with any club. Middlesbrough have been linked but there has not been direct contact or any proposals submitted to Dolan's camp. It is an open race for his signature and Rovers remain in it. Staying at Ewood Park has not been ruled out, though it still feels more likely he will leave. Dialogue remains open between all parties. Rovers will submit their best contract offer and it will be considered alongside any other proposals. Whilst it will be a waiting game with Dolan, there is hope that Rovers can gain clarity on their other four players swiftly. Talks are ongoing to extend Danny Batth's agreement. The 34-year-old signed a one-year deal last summer and accepted a career-low salary to facilitate the move. Batth has proven he remains a reliable and impressive performer at Championship level and Rovers' record with him in the team reflects his influence. Ismael wants the experienced defender to remain at Rovers whilst club officials have privately expressed how impressed they have been by his performance levels. Any concerns over his age have been eradicated by his consistency and fitness record. A contract offer was submitted by the club after talks over the Easter weekend but an agreement isn't yet in place. Other Championship clubs, unsurprisingly, are interested, but Batth's preference would be to remain at Blackburn. Now the season has ended, there is a focus on ensuring that the situation does not drag on, as it has in the previous two summers. Likewise for Ryan Hedges. Rovers have a 12-month option in his deal but have not triggered it yet despite Ismael's public backing for the 29-year-old. It's understood that the Welshman's camp would prefer a new contract, likely until 2027, to offer more security. As revealed by The LT, Hedges is expected to be fit for pre-season and so his final-day injury should have no bearing on discussions. Either way, Rovers must make a decision before June 30. Ismael would also like to keep Adam Forshaw at the club after being impressed with his influence on and off the pitch. The experienced midfielder is open to extending his contract and that should be a straightforward deal to renew. Andi Weimann's knee injury could see a delay in his renewal. After a three-month lay-off, Rovers might wait to see how he recovers, though it's clear both parties would like to extend their relationship into a second season. When asked whether Rovers need clarity quickly on contract decisions, Ismael said: "Yes but now we have a lot of work to do. First to try to keep the vast majority of the players. We know it will be difficult. "Some players are out of contract. There will be a lot of negotiation and we'll wait until the end, but we know that we've got the stability we've got in this team."

Personally still think he is behind Atcheson & Litherland, who are both younger, and also probably have higher ceilings. A great season for him though

Higgins/Arsenal is a similar story with Tyjon/Man Utd last summer, with the main difference being Higgins is a local lad & Rovers fan, who has been with us a few years. Tyjon had only signed with us a year previously from Rochdale so didn't "owe us" anything But then again, Finneran had been with us since he was 8, so it could go either way

Not seen anything that they have accepted deals at this stage (I am sure they have both been offered contracts) Hoping it will be a similar story to Tyjon last summer and they will announce it at they same time as they announce the rest of the first year scholars Just hope we don't have to wait until July again!