JCRovers

For anyone being mad at the referee calling off the game due to an unplayable pitch, why don't you redirect that anger towards the owners instead? The drainage problem has known for years and we are pretty much the only team in the first four tiers of English football getting at least one game called off due to a waterlogged pitch every season. Bolton, B*rnley and Man Utd all played their matches in full yesterday. It's embarrassing for a club in second tier being forced to abandon a game because they can't handle a bit of rain. The maintenance and supporting infrastructure of the pitch is more on the level with non-league AFC Fylde at the moment who got their game abandoned yesterday for same reason. The owners are literally costing us points every season due to lack of investment.

Remains to be seen at the end of the season whether the squad has gotten stronger or weaker given the quality of the players coming in are unknown until they have proven themselves over a number of matches. On paper, it looks weaker due to the loss of Championship experience. Main problem is that the owners and board are treating the club solely as a business and completely disregarding the footballing side of it. We saw in the transfer window that there's no commitment to spend on top of what we recovered in transfer fees (club made roughly £3.5 million in profit instead). There's no real ambition to compete, only to maintain status quo. Stay in the Championship, cut wages, and collect transfer fees for players refusing to sign new contracts or are entering their final year. We keep changing direction and projects because head coaches/ managers walk away when they truly realise the lack of ambition coming from the top. How many times during the past few seasons have we been in or around play-off spots come December only to see it all collapse due to injuries and lack of investment in the following January window? Mowbray (3rd place, season 2021-22), Tomasson (3rd place, season 2022-23) and Eustace (5th place, season 2024-25) all having done a remarkable job to put the club in a very favorable position after matchday 23. What permanent January transfers did the owners and board sanction to push the club to compete for promotion during those three seasons? Markanday, Hedges (season 2021-22), none (season 2022-23) and Kargbo (season 2024-25) for less than £2 million in total. What was the impact of those three players during the remaining half of their respective seasons? Markanday (2 matches, 46 minutes, zero goals/assists), Hedges (11 matches, 396 minutes, zero goals, 1 assist), Kargbo (8 matches, 182 minutes, zero goals, 1 assist). Think it's fair to say that all three managers/head coaches were let down heavily and left on their own to fight an uphill battle. The owners want the club to become self-sustainable so that they can forget about it. They don't know anything about football and have no passion for the sport or the club. They received bad advice when they bought it and are now stuck with their pride and foolish naivety, refusing to sell because they don't want to cut their losses and admit that they made a mistake.

Starting Carter feels very risky given he broke down after 40 minutes in the first pre-season friendly vs Accrington, was subsequently ruled out for over a month and hasn't played any minutes in the league yet. Another note is that our cover in central midfield on the bench looks like a joke; a kid who's not ready for Championship football and a last-minute loan from a league rival who has played one minute this season.

Transfer history over the past five seasons: Summer transfer window 25/26 Net profit: £ 3.4 million Winter transfer window 24/25 Net expenditure: £ 1 million Summer transfer window 24/25 Net profit: £ 8 million Winter transfer window 23/24 Net profit: £ 17.6 million Summer transfer window 23/24 Net profit: £ 3.5 million Winter transfer window 22/23 Net profit/expenditure: £ 0 Summer transfer window 22/23 Net expenditure: £ 5 million Winter transfer window 21/22 Net expenditure: £ 650 K Summer transfer window 21/22 Net profit: £ 14.2 million Winter transfer window 20/21 Net expenditure: £ 600 K Summer transfer window 20/21 Net expenditure: £ 900 K Net profit over the past five seasons (including this year's summer transfer window): £ 38.55 million Biggest signing during this period: Sammie Szmodics (£ 2.5 million) Biggest sale during this period: Adam Wharton (£ 17.5 million) Total transfer expenditure during this period (year over year): 1.5 + 1.1 + 5 + 1.7 + 4.5 + 8.5 = £ 22.3 million Total transfer income during this period (year over year): 0 + 14.65 + 0 + 22.8 + 11.5 + 11.9 = £ 60.85 million Percentage of player sales reinvested back into the squad during this period: 36,6 % Reported player wage bill for season 2024-25: £ 12 million (17th in the Championship) Some important notes to make from all of this: - We seem to have been cutting wages for some time now, making it harder to attract good players. - We no longer have any 'high-profile' players in the club that the team can rely on for goalscoring purposes (Brereton Diaz, Armstrong, Szmodics etc.). - We seem to have 'burnt bridges' (i.e. damaged our reputation) among domestic players (including some of our own) after the Eustace debacle last season. I see this as one of the main reasons as to why players like Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Travis and Dolan never extended their contracts (apart from any salary demands). Could also be a reason as to why our recruitment focus has shifted lately to mainly look at foreign players. We also seem to no longer be able to attract high-quality loans from PL clubs (the likes of van Hecke, Adarabioyo, Elliott etc.) even though the club will never admit it. - Club will always be in a 'transition' mode if we're not able to renew contracts or convincing key players to stay. Natural consequences of not being able to renew contracts will be high player turnover every other season, lack of consistency in terms of performances on the pitch and lack of team cohesion. - We don't make any statements on the transfer market by spending 'big money' on a single player. Nine other clubs in the Championship have spent more than £ 5 million on a single player this summer transfer window alone. Thirteen clubs have outspent us this summer as well despite our income from player sales. - We've been relegated on the last two occasions when our centerback pairing has been sold (Jones/Samba back in season 11/12, Hanley/Duffy back in season 16/17). During this summer, we've lost Hyam/Batth. Hopefully, history won't repeat itself for a third time...

With transfer window now closed, I decided to summarize our activities this 'exciting' summer: Ins: Gudjohnsen - £ 1.9 million Morishita - £ 1.8 million Tavares - £ 1.7 million Henriksson - £ 750 K Miller - £ 750 K De Neve - £ 650 K Alebiosu - £ 500 K McLoughlin - £ 500 K Baradji - Loan Gardner-Hickman - Loan Total transfer expenditure: £ 8.55 million Outs: Hyam - £ 2.7 million Buckley - £ 1 million JRC - £ 750 K Travis - £ 3 million (reportedly) Brittain - £ 3.5 million (reportedly) Leonard - £ 1 million (reportedly) Dolan, Batth, Weimann, Markanday - all free transfers Total transfer income: £ 11.95 million Balance: + £ 3.4 million As usual, the owners refuse to put any money into the transfer budget, hence our dependency on selling players for a fee and getting rid of wages before making any purchases. Number of minutes in Championship from season 2024-25 added to the squad: 3 215 (1 player) Number of minutes in Championship from season 2024-25 removed from the squad: 19 870 (9 players) Stats comparison on incomings from season 2024-25 (sources: fotmob.com, globalfootballrankings.com). Anything below 6.5 is considered below average for the league: Gudjohnsen: 6.5 (32 matches / 1 515 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 6 Morishita: 7.0 (31 matches / 2 371 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 9 Tavares: 6.4 (29 matches / 1293 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 8 Henriksson (2024): 7.1 (26 matches / 1 574 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 14 Miller: 7.2 (32 matches / 2 057 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 21 De Neve: 6.6 (30 matches / 1 936 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 6 Alebiosu; with St Mirren: 7.0 (13 matches / 993 minutes), with Kortrijk: 6.5 (13 matches / 612 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 21 / 6 McLoughlin: 7.0 (37 matches / 3 215 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 7 Baradji: 7.4 (27 matches / 2 104 minutes). League ranking (UEFA): 18 Stats comparison on outgoings from season 2024-25 (source: fotmob.com): Hyam: 7.0 (46 matches / 4 140 minutes). Note: played every single minute last season Buckley: 6.7 (23 matches / 847 minutes) JRC: 6.6 (29 matches / 1 237 minutes) Travis: 7.0 (38 matches / 3 225 minutes) Brittain: 7.2 (33 matches / 2 659 minutes) Leonard: 6.1 (9 matches / 140 minutes) Dolan: 7.0 (44 matches / 3 202 minutes) Batth: 7.0 (37 matches / 3 011 minutes) Weimann: 6.7 (30 matches / 1 409 minutes) Notable players who performed mostly well last season and contributed to our seventh-placed finish: Hyam, Travis, Brittain, Dolan and Batth. Regarding the incomings, one could argue that based on above stats, players like McLoughlin and Morishita are most likely to perform well given their relative high ratings (7.0) while playing in a top ten league in Europe. Players like Gudjohnsen, Tavares and De Neve are gambles given they didn't show anything last season. Baradji, Henriksson, Alebiosu and Miller performed well but in lower-ranked leagues and are thus question marks as to whether they can make the step up to Championship. Alebiosu looks good so far at least despite lacking a bit of an end product when compared to Brittain. Summary: club is taking a gamble on foreign players to replace a vast amount of Championship experience. We have lost our entire back four from last season (Beck included) which poses a big risk defensively. Team will probably struggle to find any rhythm at the beginning and it will take some time to integrate all players, getting them accustomed to the tactics and adapt to the league. By the looks of it, we're gonna need to win some matches the 'ugly' way to make sure we aren't dragged into a relegation fight this season.

Toth (6) - couldn't do much about any of the goals. Ribeiro (6) - did ok. doesn't offer much in possession. McLoughlin (4) - stupid challenge for the red. Ended up on the wrong side after long ball from keeper and flick-on to send Sargent clear on goal. Hyam (5) - struggled with Sargent's movement in and around the box. Alebiosu (6) - made some decent forward runs, couldn't find any with his crosses. Tronstad (5) - struggled with the intensity of the game, especially in the first half. Tavares (5) - had a couple of misplaced passes. Never really got going. Hedges (6) - looks sharper than in previous games and even displayed a bit of pace over longer distances. bit unlucky not to get an assist. Kargbo (5) - has plenty of pace but lacks game intelligence. wasted a double-chance in second half. first touch and movement was at times poor. needs to improve. Cantwell (6) - didn't have much to work with in first half as Rovers were put under pressure. bit more involved in the second. Ohashi (5) - doesn't provide a focal point on top. Drifted around to make connections but was rarely a threat inside the penalty box. Match review: thought Norwich dominated the proceedings in the first half with better passing, tempo and movement. Sargent was rather wasteful in front of goal and could've gotten a hat-trick during first 45 minutes. We managed however to get some momentum 70 minutes in and had a good spell for 10-15 minutes which culminated in a missed chance for Hedges. Game over once Sargent fired in his second with barely no time left. Morishita looked interesting when entering the second half, displayed some nice touches.

Fair enough, maybe my ratings were a bit too high but I also considered the following factors: - We nearly got a result. The goal from Cantwell came pretty much out of nowhere but we dealt well with their attacking threat up until the 90th minute. - I felt many of the players put in max performances in relation to their limited abilities, hence the (perhaps) somewhat inflated ratings. - Defence was better organised today than against WBA, mainly because we sat back and played less risky passes. - There were individual errors in the game (De Neve, Tavares) but didn't think any of the players starting the game underperformed. - Hedges was way more effective hugging the touchline on the left compared to his non-existing performance against WBA. - Kargbo also benefitted from playing on the right as opposed to cutting inside from the left flank. At least there seems to be a gameplan that could work when we face 'better' sides in the league. Upcoming game against Hull and similar opponents that are expected to be in the bottom half will be completely different, though.

Seen the game now, my ratings: Toth (6,5) - did OK, can't be blamed for any of the goals conceded. Mostly opted for safety when in possession by booting long balls up the field. Ribeiro (7) - up against Gray and Osayi-Samuel but thought he handled it well together with Hedges. Apparently has a good shot as he powered one towards the bar in the first half (offside in the lead-up). McLoughlin & Hyam (both 7) - won a lot of aerial challenges together. Played it safe when on the ball. Alebiosu (7,5) - won the ball back quite a few times, tough in the challenges. Had a chance in the first half (foul in the lead-up?) where he displayed lack of vision for not squaring it to either Ohashi or Cantwell. Showed great work rate and athleticism throughout the game until his injury. Got left isolated a few times in second half when Kargbo didn't track back. Hopefully the rib(?) injury isn't too serious. Tronstad (6,5) - protected back four fairly well. Rarely seen having possession as we played more directly. Tavares (6) - surprised that he played full game (lack of options?) given he played 70 minutes in the cup a few days ago and having just returned from injury. Involved in the penalty conceded when he tripped Laird inside the box. Poor corner which resulted in a last-minute winning goal for Brum. Cantwell (8) - showed his quality and technical skill when scoring with a great strike from just outside the box. Delivered some good crosses from set pieces as well. Worrying that he seemed to have sustained an injury (groin?) and was substituted with five minutes left of normal time. Hedges (7) - put in a good shift. Better suited when we sit back and play more direct as he has the work rate to track back and provide a decent outlet out wide on the left during transitions. Kargbo (7) - good going forward with his threatening runs on the right hand side. Won the corner which led to the goal. Tired in the second and didn't have the energy to track back after 60 minutes. Will become more consistent if he can improve his work rate. Ohashi (7) - ran tirelessly throughout 90 minutes. Didn't get much to work with but battled well against the centre backs and did the pressing off the ball as usual. Subs: Miller (6) - once again showing his prowess with the long throws. Nearly got an assist in the end when finding Gueye inside the box. Wharton (N/A) - missed closing down Dykes in the last minute for their winning goal. Gueye (N/A) - nearly became match-winner when meeting Miller's long throw in stoppage time but keeper made a good save. De Neve (N/A) - was at fault for allowing Laird to turn and attack the box with pace, leading to a penalty. Henriksson (N/A) - had the chance to make a professional foul by stopping the counter-attack at the end but didn't get a connection/directional change on the ball. Overall tactics (8) - thought the team was disciplined by often sitting back in a mid block, frustrating the opponent, and taking no risks in possession by playing direct. This playstyle benefits many of our players as they're not particularly comfortable on the ball or playing out from the back. Negative aspects are that we didn't create a lot of chances and we (apparently) didn't prepare our routines regarding set pieces. Also felt substituting Hedges for Miller after 60 minutes was a bad call as we lost 'defensive control' after that. Would've been more natural to sub Kargbo off as well at that point instead of shifting him to the left hand side as he was tired and bring both De Neve and Miller on. Summary: restricted the opposition to few chances but need to improve our game during transitions as well as setting up better set piece routines.

Only seen the highlights so far, will have a look at the game later: - Great strike and goal from Cantwell, displaying his technique when hitting the ball from just outside the box. - De Neve is at fault for the equaliser/penalty conceded; way too eager trying to win possession from Laird, allowing him to turn on the other side and attack the box. Should've just closed him down, hold his back and force him to play a backwards pass. - I blame the corner setup more than any individual player for their winning goal. Why are there six players standing in the middle of the box, one standing next to the keeper, one at the near post but we have ZERO players outside the box ready to shoot/finish the attack should there be a clearance??? We only had ONE player standing relatively close to the corner taker being nowhere near the action and who had to make a panic run back to the goal facing FOUR Brum players. I don't care that the corner was poorly taken, you simply don't take risks like that deep into stoppage time having a draw in your hand. Yes, Henriksson should've made a professional foul at the beginning of the transition and Wharton should've been closer to Dykes inside the box but all of that mess could've been easily avoided.

Our transfer strategy is nothing more than a pile of garbage. Would argue that we have missed out on tons of good players from mainly the domestic market because we only look at foreign teams with relatively low status compared to ours: - Failure to sign anyone from Luton. This one is for me the biggest mistake. You're talking about a team who played in the PL only two seasons ago. The likes of Doughty, Morris and Adebayo (still at the club) could've been picked up for below market value prices. - Failure to sign anyone from Plymouth. The likes of Bundu and Mumba (still at the club) would've been cheap but good, Championship-proven acquisitions. - Failure to sign Gassama from Sheffield Wednesday for a cheap price before Rangers swooped in for him. - We haven't explored the free transfer market. We have missed out on McBurnie (Hull) who would've been a decent signing for us. The likes of Diangana is still available but rumoured to have now been offered a contract from another club. - We haven't explored players who did well at L1 last season (Kone - QPR, Poku - QPR, Barry - Sheffield Utd etc.). - We haven't explored the loan market, especially PL talents. Many of them have already gone out on loan to other Championship clubs instead (Doyle, Cashin, Rushworth, Lankshear, Devine, Barry, Collyer etc.) All these opportunities yet the club still hasn't signed a striker or, more alarmingly, a right winger knowing full well that Dolan was never gonna sign a new contract and we only have Hedges as senior player on that position. Instead, we cry foul because we no longer have any ESC slots left (see: Miyoshi). Disgusting.

Saw some highlights of their midweek cup match against Sheffield Utd. The pressing out of possession from Gray and Furuhashi was intense to say the least. Can easily see us concede within the first five minutes if we're not prepared for it and try to play it out from the back.

As expected, we're not offering competitive salaries to any of those having a year left on their contract. We offer the same as we did 3-4 years ago when the last contract agreement was made and now, basically, expect that the players will happily sign an extension to it. They probably asked LT to print articles about these "ongoing negotiations" with Brittain, Hyam, Travis, Tronstad etc. to make it seem like they're making an effort when in reality there is none. Then cry foul when some other club is offering better terms. We finished 7th last season in the Championship but the loser mentality of the board and owners belongs in the dustbin of football history. I'd rather take relegation to L1 over last year's result if it means a fresh start with new and ambitious owners.

After seeing Henriksson's and Gueye's abysmal performances last night, I've now changed my mind regarding the lineup: Toth Alebiosu Miller McLoughlin Ribeiro Tavares Tronstad Kargbo Cantwell De Neve Ohashi My patience is wearing rather thin with Kargbo as well but I'm still convinced he'd be much more of a threat on the right hand side making runs on the outside of defenders instead and crossing with his favored right foot. We would also be able to create overloads on the right flank using the mobility from Alebiosu, Tavares and Kargbo.

Seen the game now after much hesitation, my ratings: Michalski (4) - wasn't at fault for the first goal but the second one is schoolboy error stuff. Looked like he learned from it and started playing less risky afterwards. Still, he gives me no confidence being no.2 behind Toth and needs to go out on loan. Wharton (4) - first 90 minutes after a long-term injury. His first touch was poor many times which resulted in him getting caught out of position when losing the ball. Not a starter for me at this moment. Miller (5) - A bit up and down performance-wise. Showed again his prowess with the long throws which led to our goal but struggles a bit with athleticism. Would much rather see him playing at center back than right back, however. Pickering (6) - did fairly well. No real mistakes from his part. Provides good competition with Ribeiro at left back. Montgomery (1) - kinda brutal to throw this kid in and tout him as the next big thing coming from the academy. Was partially at fault for the first goal as he took Miller's position and marked a player centrally in the box when the cross came in. Several misplaced passes and robbed off possession in dangerous areas as well when moved into central midfield from right back. I would say his current level is National League (5th tier). Needs to be loaned out. Tronstad (5) - clumsy challenge for the booking as he should've dealt with the situation better. Otherwise quite anonymous. Tavares (7) - our best player for the night. Looked composed on the ball, played with one touch, good drive and vision as well. Bradford saw this though and starting fouling him with a couple of late challenges. Hopefully he came out of it unscathed after being substituted on the 70-minute mark. Definite starter for me against Birmingham. De Neve (6) - frustrating to watch at times. Has decent pace and engine, a willing presser as well but his crosses and set pieces are poor. One cross in particular looked more like a powerful shot that went straight to Gueye's head. Wasted an opportunity when trying to place the shot but later took his goal well when taking the ball past his marker inside the box with one touch. A starter but he seriously need to work on his end product. Henriksson (2) - this signing scares me for all the wrong reasons. His mobility on the pitch and lack of vision is reminiscent of JRC. Was partially at fault for the first goal for not scanning/checking for opposition player arriving at the far post. Looks clumsy, lacks technique and his overall movement/agility is slow. Mixed two decent passes forward to Gueye with several other misplaced passes as well. Not a starter for me. Tyjon (5) - looked out of his depth at times and didn't seem to have confidence in his abilities. One moment in particular in first half during a transition where he had the chance to go for goal but decided to turn and play a backwards pass instead. Not the quickest but made some intelligent moves on the pitch. Decent first touch and technique as well for his age but made some passing errors as well. Would like to see him sign a professional contract with us (and not Arsenal) to then send him out on loan to perhaps a L2 side. Gueye (3) - frustrating as hell in this game. His timing in the aerial challenges where at times poor, often even static leading to being outjumped by opposition centre backs. Even more frustrating is he constantly drops deep or drifts out wide to the flank to receive the ball, even in final third leaving no aerial presence inside the box. Just wonder if this is coming from Ismael's instructions or if he feels he needs to be involved at all times? His strongest abilities aren't being used at this point. He needs to play with his back towards goal, hold off challenges, win aerial duels, play simple passes and attack the box when ball is in final third. Subs: Alebiosu (6) - wasn't as effective/influential as in the game against WBA. Still, a clear starter for me at right back. Cantwell (6) - showed his class a couple of times with his technique, tempo and passing skills. Clear starter as he's a key player for the team. Kargbo (3) - more convinced than ever that he's being used on the wrong flank. One particular transition moment with Cantwell on the ball (centre), Gueye (out on the right flank for some reason) and Kargbo on the left; Cantwell opted to pass it to Kargbo, he then stops his run, cuts inside and immediately loses possession. Underutilized just like Gueye. A starter but only as a right winger. Ohashi (N/A) - came in relatively late, had a great opportunity to level the score but sent his header straight at the keeper from close range. Overall assessment: thought our pressing was poor and unsynced in the first half. Upped the tempo a bit in the second but quality in final third was lacking with keeper rarely tested. Worrying that a lot of players meant to be backups or competing for a starting spot weren't up to standards. Squad is looking fragile at the moment.

At this point, I would just drop every single player who has a year left on their contract (Tronstad, Travis, Hyam, Hedges) and perhaps hand the captain's armband over to McLoughlin. Ismael seems to have lost their confidence in him anyway and needs to build an entirely new squad by the looks of it. This game comes way too early for us, fear a big defeat honestly. Toth Alebiosu Miller McLoughlin Ribeiro Henriksson Tavares Kargbo Ohashi Cantwell Gueye This lineup have zero defensive cover in central midfield but it might be able to score a goal at least.