Buckley and Sigurdsson are luxury players. They have some quality to their games, but I don't think they have the right attitude based on their efforts on the pitch. Buckley certainly hasn't progressed. I think it's time to move him on.

What Zeefuik are you talking about?

Yes, I think so. Having watched Saadi play, he's somewhat lanky. We offered him a contract extension in May. He didn't appear to be one that signed it based on the report of most youngsters signing the contracts that were offered to them (except Finneran). He has (or had) a 12-month option which, if we've triggered it, will see him stay here until next summer. Or he's signed a new contract. Either way, the club doesn't appear to have announced anything about it.

You called it. From the Stoke City website:

What has been left out is that Eustace did also say that they will be monitored to see if they can be involved in the upcoming games. I think these players will be more valuable to the side later on in the season when the squad begins to tire and experienced heads are needed to see us through games.

It's been reported in a couple of places that he would be keen on the move to Ipswich. He's from Colchester, after all, so a move to a London club (or nearby) would be ideal for him, you'd think.

I'm not referring to a figure. I'm just referring to the club and player perhaps having a loose agreement that, if they sign the contract to protect their value for the sake of Rovers (and let's say we gave a fair crack of the whip and some faith in Phillips, Wharton, and Szmodics), the club will then help them move on for an acceptable fee in the next couple of transfer windows. I was surprised when all three of the above players signed contract extensions (or in the case of Phillips, his first professional contract).

I have a feeling that a gentleman's agreement may have been made when Szmodics signed his contract extension with us last season, possibly in a similar vain to what might have been discussed with Phillips and Wharton when they signed their contracts; that the club would work to move them on to bigger things if they helped the club protect their value. Surely nobody, except Ipswich Town, thinks that £6m or £8m plus add-ons is anywhere close to what is acceptable for the Championship's top scorer last season. But, if the Szmodics camp isn't happy with the club officials for not accepting bids of that value, then it could well be that they are not honouring their word to move him on after the value he's given to the club. It's all an assumption, of course, but I think that's what has happened. I'm aware of the podcast from watching it some time ago, but the impression I got is that he wants to play in the Premier League. It's the dream for all of them. I think he knows full-well that he had such an amazing season that it's a fairly safe bet to say the right thing; that he would happily continue at Rovers, but it's not really looking that way to me. He'll 100% be wanting to move. While I'm here, the club also said that Adam Wharton wanted the move to the Premier League, too, yet there was some sort of belief that he didn't want to go. Claptrap! Of course he'll have wanted to go! Think that top drawer players want to stay at a club languishing in the Championship rather than move on to the Premier League, no matter what they say, is naive.

If his agent had showdown talks with the club last week, then that should tell us all where Sammie wants to be. The question isn't about him being unhappy right now. It'll be how unhappy he might be if he doesn't get a dream move to play in the Premier League.

They felt the same about us not so long ago.

JRC's best games for Rovers have been as a right wing-back. That's where he made his breakthrough for the first team and played superbly for months on end. For me, this idea of moving him into midfield or as a winger is a vanity project. He might play OK there, but I bet he will have nowhere near the consistency an impact that he had as a right wing-back. Truthfully, I'd be moving Brittain on and putting JRC in his place.

Well, just 30 minutes after seeing Gallagher and the Stoke City fans are already calling for a new striker to be signed. Looks like poor (or rich) old Gally is starting life at Stoke on the back foot!

Jackson said that Dolan does want to stay, but the financial offer on the table wasn't acceptable to him. If Dolan is going to be playing in the Szmodics role (and he stated two years ago that he wants to play centrally) then I think it might suit him more. He can score, and I think it could turn out to be a good year for him. I think the club should just put this to bed and give him an acceptable offer. It's gone on for far too long, and he does want to stay at Rovers.

Seen a comment from one of their fans saying how nice it is to have a big, mobile, physical presence up front. Followed by a comment saying that they're lumping it long to him and it's not working. They are finding out that Gallagher, for all his size, is not a target man.

Performance-wise, we were poor in Austria. A couple of 1-goal defeats flattered us, but we were up against what I considered to be a superior opposition that were a week or two ahead of us in their preseason preparations. Last night, Rovers were probably at where Nurnberg were at when they played against us, which probably allows the team to put in a more rounded performance. That said, it sounded like Stockport County have a number of injuries, they fielded a weakened side, and they were looking at a few triallists. It was pleasing and relieving to hear that our performance was good, but it's just a friendly against weaker opposition, and the real test comes on Friday in front of the cameras.

Chaddy, I'm more interested what you're calculating with your calculator. 🤓

Same question. Asking for a friend!

It's been reported that Gestede has strong networks in France and Belgium, and that it's him that lured him to Rovers. On paper, Gueye looks like a good target man for this league. Fingers crossed he proves it and he curtails any off-field misdemeanours.

Like Gallagher, I suspect there will also be an element of having been here for so long (longer than Gallagher, in fact), and whether or not both the club and player feel it's just time for a change. I think last season might have done Travis in. 😄

Travis struck me as the type of player Eustace was crying out for last season. I have to say that Buckley doesn't really contribute enough as a Wharton replacement. So it could just be a case of Eustace not having any other option but to play Travis. I think it was fairly obvious that the players generally didn't like Tomasson. That came out in their interviews and words after he left. Travis, to my mind, was one of them, and I think that's the only reason he (and Buckley) went away. Even Tomasson said Travis wanted to play in a particular position before, rather bizarrely, playing him as a forward-roaming midfielder, which is absolutely not what Travis is. I guess we will see how it pans out, but I think a signing like Baker would shore us up. I'd expect us to bring in another midfielder with Garrett leaving and Buckley still looking out of favour.

The lack of experience and leaders in the team almost cost us last season. We have been far too focussed on buying young players for resale value which, while we should certainly do from a business point of view, we ended up with a team of soft kids, no matter how talented they are. We at least have a balance, now, to complement the younger talent in the squad. We have been a soft team for far too long. These signings are a welcome change and I for one feel relieved we've got a few older heads in.

Out of interest, why do some believe that Travis will leave? Eustace appears to be favouring a midfield pairing of Travis and Tronstad in the stronger teams that we've put out in preseason, with Buckley being the one trying to fight to get into the first team. Suggests to me that Eustace rates Travis. I'm aware of the loose link to Stoke City, but I can't see him leaving if he knows he's getting first team football here and evidently wanted by the Head Coach.

Taribo West. Champ Man legend.

Unless someone pulls the plug on the deal. Sorry, we've done all that joke nonsense before, and it's rather draining.

Quite an assumption, there. Do you really think they've signed them without knowing they aren't pacey? The improvement in our ability to defend since Eustace and McFadzean came to the club should give the most basic of clues. Passing out from the back and pace isn't everything. In fact, for a simpleton like me, it's absolutely secondary to the ability to read the game and defend well. Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I prefer to keep things simple. Frankly, I feel sorry for Pears. He has had extremely poor protection from our defenders for years. Doesn't help his cause or his reputation (on here), does it?