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)

Rovers stated in their retained list that they had offered Whitehall, Saadi & Baker new contracts https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/may/18/retain-list-confirmed/ All 3 of these no longer qualify as being U21, so can he clarify Are any of these players now seen as first team squad players? (Whitehall has been highly regarded in the past and Saadi played last week in the friendly) Is it more a case of getting them fit and helping them to find a new club? (Whitehall and Baker have had a bad time with injuries) Is it a case of offering them a contract on slightly more than they were on so that when they sign somewhere else, Rovers will be due compensation? Obviously the answers may be different in each case and I am not asking him to single any of the 3 out Have any of these players signed the contract (Saadi may have down as he played last week) If they have signed, why have the club not announced anything? - communication has been been great for years and seems to have taken another downturn this summer If they have not signed, are they still in negotiations or have they left?

Fair enough, and you may be right. Rovers now posting on twitter something about 12 noon

Not sure when you are having him on, but if There is any truth in Rovers slashing the asking price for Szmodics to £6M this week, after previously apparently quoting much higher (especially when numerous players who were playing in the Championship have been sold in the past week for £15M+ such as Greaves, Delap, Hutchinson, soon to be Philogene etc) Then what has changed at Rovers? Please note I am not saying that Szmodics should be sold at £15M-£20M, I understand that despite his goal scoring exploits last season, the other players I mentioned are younger, with high potential for growth etc, but £6M for a Premiership team to pay is a nonsense (Coventry paid over £5M for Jack Rudoni from relegated Huddersfield), and indicates a club in real financial trouble if anywhere near true.

So top secret that they have been published on the Clubs site most of this week 😉 https://www.rovers.co.uk/matches 2pm and 3:30pm V Tranmere U21s also playing away at Macclesfield, KO 3pm https://macclesfieldfc.com/latest-news/preview-blackburn-rovers-xi/

Hope is a long way away from expectation

Lets all hope that Saadi turns out to be the second coming of N'Zonzi 🙂

Gamble is 21 withinin 3 months so will not qualify for U21s after this coming season (same applies to Pratt), Saadi is already 22, and is more of a holding midfielder than a defender for me

Whilst I definitely agree with the point that I highlighted in bold, He is 19, so his deal basically covers his time with the U21s, probably whilst those in a younger age group who may have a higher ceiling (Atchison, Davies, Litherland and Rhys Doherty) are promoted over him to challenge for the first team (in years to come). I see it as a deal that gives him security and does not leave the U21s short in a year or 2 if some players progress as is anticipated. Or maybe he is seen as someone who may be able to take up a squad place at league 1 level when operation managed decline takes us there, and those with higher aspirations have moved on?

https://www.swanseacity.com/news/goncalo-franco-seals-swansea-city-move Just Rovers now

It does seem strange how the participants of an U21 pre season game is such a closely guarded secret by the club, lol

I'm sure they are..... until Cooper makes it known that he wants more than minimum wage.

Just out of interest, did you find this info online (I couldn't find any details barring the score and goal scorers) or did you go to Hyde? If it is online somewhere, I would appreciate if you could post a link please 🙂

Pretty sure those comments were made about a month ago.... and radio silence ever since Story from 14th June - https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/24388667.gestede-makes-coummincation-vow-blackburn-rovers-fans/ Hopefully he makes me eat my words on the podcast and going forwards

Fair enough, thanks for that 🙂 I did wonder if it was an attitude thing or similar, but couldn't find anything that said why he wasn't playing and didn't want to jump to conclusions.

I wonder what went wrong for him at Millwall on loan for him to only feature about 10 times despite not being injured? Quite often not even named on the bench. Always struck me as a hard working, Travis type.