KentExile

In which case, Wilsden is correct, and the article from the Norwich end that I referred to is wrong But it does make you wonder why haven't they done so, if they could, with 9 subs, it would have been very easy to get done in the early weeks of last season

Apparently Norwich signed someone in January whilst they had no ESC slots left, he just couldn't (and didn't) play or train for them until February (Wilsden has said something similar to this in the past) However, it seems that 12 months is not the threshold, as Norwich converted at least 1 player after 6 months via differing methods. The player Crnac who they refer to below was an U21 player (so the same as Mafoumbi in that respect), it sounds like he had to play in over 50% of minutes to convert, not just a single appearance. Although the below gives me added hope that Toth & possibly Henriksson can be converted come January (February in Henrikssons case, once 1 full transfer window has passed) The below is from this article As per the rules, a player can be converted to full GBE status after one transfer window (if signed in the summer, then post-January), providing they are either able to qualify naturally through increased international minutes or have played a certain percentage of minutes for the club over the period of time that they have played for the club - for U21 players, that is 50pc of minutes. Once this happens, those currently in the ESC slot move to gain a GBE, thus freeing up a slot for another player to take. Crnac has now played 1,742 minutes in the Championship this season, which is over the 1,170 threshold eligible to convert his ESC into a GBE. But that window is only twice every year - in September and in February. Once that process is complete, Jurasek can take over the vacant slot. Cordoba could also qualify for a GBE through Panama's improved Fifa ranking. It’s understood that Schwartau and Forson could also qualify for GBEs come the February window, but it is thought to still be tight.

Its a quote from Suhail during the fans forum So it then comes down to do you believe that he is being truthful, or not I think most of us know the answer to that

Agree they don't want relegation. They just don't care if the current plan ends in relegation. If it does then they will just make further cuts.

mirror images of each other

Looks like Sky have made their selections up until at least 1st Jan. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/25350080.six-blackburn-rovers-games-moved-sky-sports-tv-picks/ But don't take that's as gospel, I just have a trip to Northern Italy for each game on Rovers TV, which isn't nearly as difficult as getting to Ewood 😉

The thought of him being our big hope on the wing makes me sick He is far better as a central striker, and even then has numbers which rival Gallagher Gallagher - 287 Championship Appearances, 57 Goals, 27 Assists Lowe - 210 Championship Appearances, 42 Goals, 14 Assists

Thank you Although its entirely possible that we are reading it wrong, lol Some sort of ESC related Dunning-Kruger effect

15% of any profit

yes, at the meeting with Glen I think Obviously lies and far from the truth

If it was, then surely they would have had him on the bench instead on Mullarkey-Matthews so he could have come on for a minute and sorted the esc problem out Wouldn't they?

Can we add "what a clueless cunt!" as the final line in that flag please?

Lovely assist for Palaces second

So you agree with me then ok, cool

I am not bothered about that one, he is fairly injury prone (stated this the other day when he was first mentioned so its not sour grapes) If the plan is to only sign one more player (barring departures), then we need a goal machine of a right winger, something like Messi in his prime coming off the right will do 😉 As it is, Rak-Sakyi on a loan would be the stuff of dreams. We might avoid an almighty relegation scramble then. Highly doubtful he is sent to a team who will not be fighting for promotion though

Not enough forwards (wide or central) of the required quality, who can be relied upon to say fit and provide goals and/or assists

Not before January, it at all The rules (pasted below) state that conversions can be made based on playing time after 12 months, in which case, if Kargbo has played enough by then, then he can be converted. The rules sound fuzzy as to if Toth, who will have been here for 18 months by that point, can be converted - I think that he can, but it is up for debate Mafoumbi - no chance of converting, needs selling/releasing to get an extra ESC slot back this summer Henriksson - has to wait until next summer to see if he has played enough By next summer, given the lack of English players in the squad (who are likely to get minutes) we may well have our number of ESC slots reduced https://analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2023/06/21/introducing-esc-the-new-gbe-guidance-opens-up-recruitment-post-brexit/ Converting ESC players into non-ESC players Helpfully, it is not the case that all players signed into the ESC slots have to remain there indefinitely. The goal, in many cases, will be for the ESC player that has been granted a work permit on that basis to convert to a non-ESC player. This process can take place after twelve months. At this time, if a player fulfils the autopass criteria for GBE or if they now meet the 15pt threshold through the calculations that have been in place since 2020, then they become non-ESC players with a GBE. This means that the player can continue to play in this country, and the club regains the use of that ESC slot. However, there is another way for the player to convert to non-ESC status. If the player plays in 25% or more of the club’s EQP qualifying matches over the twelve month period or if they play the required percentage of available minutes then they can be converted to a non-ESC player and the club regains that slot. That required percentage of minutes differs according to the level that the club play at, and the age of the player. The exact details are as in the table below: Required percentage of available minutes (ESC) League in which player participates ESC Player under 21 ESC Player 21 and over Premier League 15% 30% Championship 50% 50% League One 60% 60% League Two 70% 70% 2024/25 onwards Criteria However, from this season onwards clubs will be able to plan for the number of ESC slots that they have, with the possibility that they could only have one if the number of minutes for EQP is lower than 20%. Number of available ESC places Weighted EQP minutes % Premier League Championship League One League Two >= 35% 4 4 2 2 >= 30% 3 3 1 1 >= 25% 2 2 – – >= 20% 1 1 – –

I think the case with Hamer, Souza & Ahmedhodzic is that they are all much better than Championship level, so whilst they may be prepared to give igt 1 year to get promoted, they were always likely to be off if that didn't happen. Personally see O'Hare as being a little below their level, still very good for the Championship, bugt not quite as glaringly playing below his level as the 3 I mentioned above The others they have lost were either loans (Gilchrist, Brereton, Souttar, Rak-Sakyi, Clarke, Holding) or players not from their first 11 (Moore, Brewster) if I recall rightly. Still a huge turnover of players though

It does seem that the esc rules/laws have been badly written, almost fuzzy around the edges rather than being cut & dry

Wouldn't surprise me if they lose Hamer before the window shuts too. Some very big shoes to fill in that squad

Given what we know about Henriksson, in that he is an attacking midfielder who likes to press, I imagine he was thrown in due to Cantwell not being available & just told to try and be a nuisance. he will not have had the time to learn pressing triggers, and that unfortunately, lead to our press being less effective, as well as Henriksson maybe being caught out by the pace of the game compared to Sweden Hopefully, given a bit more time in training, he will be a useful addition

I was just editing my post to say something similar

24/25 - just under 12M Euros aparenty, also about 7M the season before too This summer so far,, they made Hirakawas loan permanent - no idea what this cost, would imagine at least £1M-£2M, Randall was apparently £700K, & they have brought Vitek in on loan from Man Utd, He is highly rated, so would imagine that there is a sizable loan fee there too So, maybe around £20M over that past 3 seasons. During that time, they have managed to keep their squad together, only really having to sell Conway & Scott to balance the books. They have pretty much spent as much as they have brought in from sales, can you imagine if Rovers had done that with the £40M+ they have brought in over that time period?

I am sure that they are right on that

In the 4-2-3-1, Axel doesn't play in the midfield 2, who tend to sit, he plays further forwards Whilst he does look like he could do a job in the 2,, that's not where he has played in the past, and his game does seem suited to pressing from the front, which is what Ismael apparently wants, so I cannot see him being moved deeper Given the cost cutting, it would not surprise me if Rovers were actively trying to move on Cantwell as well as Travis, and if that happens we may well see something closer to a 4-3-3 with Axel & possibly Baradji flanking Tronstad who will hold more, and a reserve midfield of Forshaw, flanked by Montgomery & Tavares