Gordon Ottershaw

I fucking hate being jealous of b*ly.

Is there not a case to say that three or four weeks into the season is not the best time to be doing your transfer business?

It's often the case that the most accurate opinion lies between the opposite standpoints. It is, as you point out, unrealistic to expect two first team ready players per position for a club of our current stature however, patching up our depleted squad with one signing and a handful of Academy Kids is also reasonable cause for concern.

Didn't Spurs offer Markanday a contract and wanted him to stay?

That man would kick his Granny if she tried to get past him!

I agree with all of that. Gallagher could be an absolute beast, he needs a bastard of a manager.

Three Lungs. Tremendous player.

I think Gallagher could be a right handful at Championship level if utilised properly. I certainly wouldn't be happy with him going especially to the Smoggies who are getting right on my tit end at the moment.

It's a good point but despite some overhyping the 'quality' of the squad to bolster their point, we spent the latter part of last season in relegation form. How the owners expect an improvement on that by having a paper thin squad denuded of last season's best and most experienced players only they know. To me it smacks of neglect, incompetence and contempt

Part of me thinks 'Bring it on, let's get it over with'.

Where does this leave the club should Venkys decide that they've had enough and they're off?

I've read stuff to that effect by people that know what they're talking about but it still doesn't seem right. If it is then it might be what is preventing them from leaving as they aren't prepared to write off £200m plus. Meanwhile we continue to exist in a nightmare of stasis and paralysis with seemingly no end.

What if they don't take their debt with them? This is the horrendous position we find ourselves in.

I tend to err on the side of optimism but the cold hard facts are that, with outgoing players and loanees returning to their club, there are around 150 or so league appearances from last season out of the door. Not only is that able bodies on the pitch but it's years of experience. We have brought in Ethan Walker. There is 3 weeks or so until the start of the season and only Wigan have been as inactive in the transfer market as Rovers and they are not paying their players on time at the moment. JDT and Gregg Broughton have been pretty quiet and I'm worried that they are not happy and perhaps feel that they have been mislead (just a bad feeling, absolutely no evidence) I'm yet again worried about the club and my prior optimism has evaporated. As ever the club does not communicate leaving the likes of me to fill the void with what is front of me which does not appear to be good. It's totally unacceptable and yet totally predictable.

I can't imagine that the new Coach, his staff and the DOF will be at the club for long if that is the case.

Based on Sheff U getting into the Play Offs last season and QPR being from West London.

One man's recollection is another man's hindsight

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From my recollection there were a few sage posters that recognised some green shoots of what was to come from BBD. Most of us were expressing regret that we had spunked 7 mill and would not have been particularly well disposed to the club compounding the error with an extended (and likely improved) contract.

Obviously they misplaced the club Crystal Ball. Oh well.

Chaddy mentions that the club did that to no avail. It's a regrettable situation but I don't think Rovers are alone in this as clubs were reluctant to commit to long term contacts during Covid. I read somewhere that Bayern were going to lose a player they wanted to keep because of this very situation (I can't remember who it was) Hopefully, we can get a fee of circa £20m and the owners let Tomasson and Broughton test their mettle with the proceeds.

Best we cash in on that bidding war involving English and Continental clubs then. To be fair to him though he had an injury and International absences post Christmas and he finished the season fairly strongly.

Most people (me included) had written BBD off as a dud this time last year. The overwhelming view on here, should he have been offered a new contract a year ago, would have likely been that it was further evidence of the club's disfunction. To now slate the club with the benefit of 12 months hindsight is prime wishing to have your cake and eat it.

This forum would have lost it's mind if the club had extended BBD's contract 12 months ago.

For "initial dismay" read 'meltdown of incessant, depressing doom mongering unless or until a multi million replacement(s) was brought in'. (Who would then likely be slagged off)