Rice was poor mainly because he was played as the more defensive midfielder. Rice is a box to box midfielder. Playing Wharton alongside Rice would have allowed both players to do what they do best and I am sure would have resulted in much better team performances

Just to play devils advocate, we all (rightly) moaned when we had Morton on loan blocking Wharton's pathway (at the start of that season Wharton had 0 first team appearances so was essentially at the same stage as Duru is now*). And nobody can tell me that Liverpool didn't have some sort of sway, be it financial or the possibility of future loans on how often Morton played) Not to say that all of these youngers will be good enough this season, but you do not find out until you throw them in and see if they sink or swim Granted, in an ideal world, if they were not up to standard in the first few weeks of the season you would want someone in asap on loan to cover (whilst they have another season to develop with the U21s or out on loan), which given the clubs ownership/financial situation probably wont happen * No I am not stating that Duru will get to the same level as Wharton

He currently has a deal until the end of the season with an option for a further year, given when he signed that deal, it will be on a low wage. If he is currently injured, we cannot sell him anyway, and he would not have any sale value either. It is no real risk to keep hold of him, and see what transpires. If they can afford to offer deals to the likes of Baker and Saadi, then they can afford to keep hold of someone on a similar wage with much higher potential

August 20th - Venkys will win their court case and then sign more players in 1 day than Morecambe managed for a combined total of over £30M And then I woke up

Whilst completely ignoring that he effectively still has 3 years left on his current deal which keeps him under contract until he is nearly 32 years old

The reason why he is not still on the books at either Barcelona or Liverpool Below copied from his Wikipedia Despite captaining the Barcelona youth teams, his parents relocated to England after two years in Spain, and Gilsenan again went on trial, this time with Liverpool.[7] He signed for Liverpool in 2014.[9] He suffered a run of injuries, which eventually ended his spell in Merseyside, and despite interest from Premier League sides, he signed for Blackburn Rovers at the age of sixteen.[7] Youth career Carramar Cougars –2012 Sorrento 2011–2012 Perth Glory 2012–2014 Barcelona 2014–2019 Liverpool 2019–2023 Blackburn Rovers

Sterling, Lambert & Butler? 😉

There is a trade off, you don't give the guy a pay rise alongside a very low release clause, otherwise you are not protecting an asset, you are loosing them on the cheap. We already had him signed up until 2026 without the contract extension/wage rise

His original deal when he signed included an option for another year, so essentially he would have had 2 years left on his contract this summer without signing the new deal

If a fee had been agreed, Szmodics would not have featured today * Doesn't mean that there is not a clause

Lineup this afternoon vs Macclesfield Barrett (trial) Houghton Doherty Litherland Powell Saadi Willis Bell Strich Biniek Boggan No sign of Whitehall or Baker

Looks like Tijon is allowed on today

Szmodics is not lightning quick, but he is both faster of the mark and over distance than Sigurdsson.

Woeful 2nd team 2 - 0 Tranmere, after 9 minutes 😉 Yes I am aware its only Tranmere

He had 11 and was top scorer in the Division when he signed the contract in November https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2023/november/28/sammie-nets-new-long-term-deal-/ It was a fair bet that he would have got 15-20 by the end of the season at that stage, which to me would have made £10M for a player with essentially 2 years left on his contract a good deal for all parties

Looks like Sigurdson playing #10 in the 2nd game, Saadi dropped from the squad entirely. The contract offer for him looks stranger and stranger ROVERS 2nd HALF: Hilton, Duru, O’Riordan, Gamble, Batty, Garrett (c), Buckley, Gent, Sigurdsson, Markanday, Vale. Subs: Khan, Wood, Tyjon. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/july/13/team-news--rovers-v-tranmere-rovers/

oops lol

they were all free transfers though, its the ones that cost money that seem to encounter unforeseen problems

IT looks like there will be (at least some) text commentary/updates on twitter

If that is the case then it is farcical. I would have fancied getting £10M for him with a year (+ a years option) left on his contract this summer (had he not signed a new one 6 months ago)