KentExile

You may be right, hope so

Can anyone spot Tronstad here?

Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere, but Jack Vale has found a new club in League 1

Suppose, as there is no U18 game in that midweek, they could pad the numbers out with those & have both sides be a mix of U21s and U18s, or the other option is using the U18s in the game v Blackpool, They surely can't expect U21s to play 2 games in 24 hours

Maybe they will take the opportunity to play a few fringe players (Forshaw/Gueye/Montgomery/Tyjon/De Neve etc)

He isn't at one of the Saudi monarchy owned clubs (the ones with "infinite money"), so not sure, although I would have thought he has got a sizable bump in salary, and yes, tax free https://www.spl.com.sa/en/news/759272/ben-harburg-pioneering-owner-plotting-new-era-at-al-kholood

I am sure it is at least partly because of the lack of quality in the league, but I am pleased for him that its going well

Surely its obvious that Madrid, Barce, etc are just so bad that they are making him look good 😉

U17s won 3-1 away at Man Utd last night in the first game of the PL Cup, Stoke and the Dingles are the other teams in our group Hopefully the club give an update on this at some point, but apparently it was a strong Man Utd side and their fans were surprised by the loss No idea what side Rovers put out

It's probably along the lines of Rovers told him he would be allowed to leave if a bid of £X came in And when the bid of £X was received, Rovers asked for more, which prompted the refusal to play * obviously just a guess

Is anyone even vaguely shocked? Still shouldn't have refused to play mind Callum Brittain says the 'goalposts were moved' during negotiations over his summer exit from Blackburn Rovers. Callum Brittain says the 'goalposts were moved' during negotiations over his summer exit from Blackburn Rovers. The star right-back left to join Middlesbrough in a protracted move to a Championship rival. Rovers said Brittain was offered a very lucrative contract to stay at the club but turned it down to leave. Several Boro bids were rejected before a deal was eventually agreed. Brittain initially refused to play in Rovers' first pre-season against Accrington Stanley before being reintegrated. However, Brittain claims that untrue comments were made about him during that period and also states that 'goalposts were moved' during talks. “It was difficult,” he told Teesside Live. “I think there were a lot of things put out in the media about me that weren’t actually true. You get told you’re close to a move and then the goalposts move. So it was a different outcome. I tried to deal with it as professionally and positively as I could do. “I was very close to a lot of players and staff and Blackburn which meant it wasn’t as hard as I first thought it might be. But you’ve just got to get your head down. "With things like that, I have the attitude, if something is going to happen for you, it will happen, so you’ve just got to stay patient and keep myself as fit as possible. Luckily, I’m here now. “It's all part of football. I've been involved in a couple of moves now and nothing is ever straightforward. It's just about being patient, getting your head down and trying to get as fit as possible. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I'm really happy to be here now.” Brittain was one of three first-team players that Rovers couldn't persuade to sign new contracts this summer. As a result, they were sold to ensure the club still received a fee for their services. Boro and Derby County both made bids but it was always most likely that he'd end up on Teesside. Brittain says he was made to feel wanted by the Boro hierarchy which made him want to move. “I had a conversation with him over the phone and it was an honest, good conversation," he said. "It was about how he wants me to play, about family and how he wants me to come and settle. It was a really encouraging chat and made me want to make the move. I looked at the squad too, and knew a lot of the boys from playing against them. “Speaking to Kieran [Scott] as well. I really felt wanted by Boro, by Kieran, Rob, and had conversations throughout and it was really encouraging. "That feeling of being wanted is what you want in football. I looked at the squad and there's some really exciting young players here and it's a good group. It all adds up and was just very enticing.”

Will he be Waggotts replacement? 😉

withdrawn as a precaution according to Ismael via Jackson, which hopefully translates as "he is ok" Ismael noted his ability to make more changes from the bench with his squad now settled. Yuki Ohashi and Sondre Tronstad were withdrawn after taking whacks but those were precautions.

He has scored 4 goals since 2022 https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/chicharito/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/50935/plus/0?saison=&verein=&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id= & Rhodes got 4 last season in over 40 games (and is now retired) https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordan-rhodes/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/48950

Rovers would probably claim different, although part of that is due to the continual downgrading of the first team

A coach at U21/U18/U16 etc level is there first and foremost to progress players until they are capable of playing at the next level up

First team signings are often done a day o so before they are announced, to give them time to sort photos, social media nonsense etc, but it seems like a couple of weeks in this case, which seems odd, also still waiting on official confirmation of Finlay Wilkinson joining from Accrington, which apparently happened in July and he has appeared a few times for the U18s since

Propaganda/informative piece (depending upon your perspective) from the head of Rovers academy https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/september/17/bringing-players-through-is-just-what-we-do--says-paul/

Match report & highlights from last night https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/september/16/report--rochdale-3-2-rovers-under-21s/

Start today for Duru - won 4-2

pretty sure you can have 3/4/5 (unsure on exact number) overage players Doherty just did more in his first minute than Mullarkey-Matthews did all game

I do wonder how Mullarkey-Matthews found himself anywhere near the first team squad in pre season, even given our lack of wide players at the time, Doherty (who is currently on the bench) has much more about him Purely because he is a big lad for a wide player and quite physical?

Hopefully Joseph gets off the bench to play that role alongside him in the 2nd half

Well aware of the point you made, the point I made in response to it suggested it may be the role he was being asked to play He did pick up a couple of injuries on his loan last season, so possible that has impacted himt. But until he is forced into chasing the ball or a man at full pelt, we won't know for sure either way.