Well, he did make his only assist for the season against us back in March.... Looks comfortable on the ball and being fairly press-resistant. His offensive contributions (goals/assists) are next to nothing according to Transfermarkt; last competitive goal scored was back with Molde in 2023. Also seems to be injury-prone having being out for around 5-6 months for the last two seasons. It's a gamble but he'll probably be cheap because of it.

Now linked with another defensive midfielder after De Keersmaecker. My bet is that Travis will be sold this window.

Teams that are flying past us in the transfer window: Birmingham (signed Kyogo Furuhashi for reportedly a fee worth up to £10 million and Demarai Gray for an undisclosed fee). Add Jay Stansfield from last season and you're looking at a side who is more than capable of scoring plenty of goals in the Championship. Has also loaned in two talented PL-youngsters in Tommy Doyle and James Beadle. Derby (signed Carlton Morris from relegated Luton and are on the verge of completing a £5,8 million move for Patrick Agyemang). Also had the "audacity" to sign our best centre back from last season (Batth) on a free. Teams that already have strong squads and will look to challenge for automatic spots: Leicester, Sheffield Utd., Ipswich, Southampton Teams that are stronger that us and will be challenging for playoff spots: Coventry, Norwich, Middlesbrough Teams that are considered to be just behind the top sides: Millwall, West Bromwich, Swansea, Bristol City Teams that have struggled of late but could bounce back this season due to some quality in the squad: Watford Teams that have not spent any considerable amount yet in the transfer window but could end up signing a few quality players due to spending power of owners: Wrexham Teams that have become stagnant and looking for mid-table finish at best: Stoke, QPR, Rovers Teams looking to be struggling next season and are likely to be in a relegation fight due to weak squad or financial trouble: Charlton, Portsmouth, Oxford, Preston, Sheffield Wed., Hull The way Birmingham is spending, the owners seem willing to achieve back-to-back promotions so I would at least put them in contention for playoff spots. Derby will be a mid-table side or even higher. It wouldn't therefore take much for us to get dragged into a relegation battle next season. Many teams that have gotten promoted over the last few years have shown ambition and willingness to spend to achieve results (Derby, Birmingham, Ipswich etc.). If this continues, it won't take long before a majority of the Championship teams will have stronger squads that ours and the inevitable outcome that follows with it will take place.

People are delusional if they think we have money to spend this transfer window unless we sell. Only reason we got De Neve and Tavares is because we've offloaded a lot of wages from the books (Dolan, Batth, Weimann, Dennis, Woodrow, Beck, ACD, Sanderson). Pre-contract agreements with Batth and Weimann must have been done several weeks ago as they immediately signed contracts at Derby as free agents at the earliest possible date (July 1st). Club can't compete with Oxford for signing holding midfielder De Keersmaecker (according to reports) and chose to resign Forshaw only a couple of weeks after releasing him? Wouldn't therefore surprise me one bit if they're expecting bids for a holding midfielder (Travis) and that they consider him as 'gone' already. Dolan will leave because of the club mismanaging his contract (salary) for several years and failing to protect his valuation. The club is so poor at protecting the value of its players and holding onto key players (Batth) that there's genuine fear from my side as to what will happen next season concerning contract expirations for Travis, Tronstad and Brittain. By the looks of it, we're in for a real mess.

There's always two sides of the story. I'm arguing that the club should have taken action already during the second year of his contract (season 2021-22) as he was quickly racking up plenty of minutes in the Championship by then. 18 months ago, you're suddenly talking about a player who's had more than three years of experience in the league and probably sees himself as a key figure at that point. Not surprising if he demanded 15-20 K/week by then to which the club would find excessive and walk away from. 2K / week is not a competitive salary for a regular starter in the Championship if you as a club want to protect your 'assets'.

Sad if true if Dolan currently has a salary of merely 2K / week given he's a regular starter. Contract situation should've been sorted long time ago as he quickly broke into first team since arriving and has been playing over 1 700 minutes in the Championship for the past four seasons (according to Transfermarkt). Like you said, a weekly salary of around 10K / week is more than reasonable given his current status which could've enabled us getting a relatively large fee this summer instead of (probably) having him leave on a free. Club is getting punished for being cheap.

There's a clear shift in terms of player profile that we're looking for now which I see as a positive. Priority now has to be to tie Brittain down beyond the end of next season as he fits that profile. Both De Neve and Tavares are signings that are expected to start week in week out; there's no chance they would have accepted a move otherwise. Hopefully they can adjust to the intensity and physicality of the Championship quickly. I expect at least one of Travis and Tronstad to leave now, my bet is that Travis will sign for another club within a week or so given rumoured interest from the likes of Wrexham and Birmingham.

Some are overreacting here. We are currently a selling club, especially to PL teams. If any player gets a chance to play in the PL, they'll take it. In the case of Szmodics, he pretty much single-handedly kept us in the Championship during season 23/24 and deserves to be appreciated for that. We should be way more concerned as to why the club is not reinvesting the money generated from player sales to push the team forward.

Pretty sure a change of formation to a back three is coming for next season given this signing (De Neve will be used as wing back) and rumours about getting centre backs in. A team looking to play with intensity and hitting teams on the break rather than relying on individual quality. Makes sense if you are cheap and not looking to spend money to get quality wingers or strikers (to replace Dolan for example). Wouldn't be surprised if Kargbo is shifted to a number 10 role if this scenario plays out. Toth Carter Hyam Wharton Brittain De Neve Travis Tronstad Cantwell Kargbo Ohashi Be interesting to see how Ribeiro and Pickering fit into this as neither is suitable for a wing back role. Pickering can act as a back-up in central defence but wouldn't surprise me if Ismael is looking to add athleticism across the park.

Things will start to move one way or the other after June 30th when several first team contracts expire: - Domestic clubs can make official offers to sign Dolan, Weimann, Batth on a free. I'm dicounting whatever compensation fee we might get from Dolan since his current market valuation will probably exceed that by at least 5x. - Rival Championship clubs will probably make cheeky bids for any of Travis, Tronstad or Brittain to see if we are in desperate need of cash. I bet a lot of the teams are alerted of our situation given what happened to Eustace and might decide to raid the club for cheap assets. Any of the newcomers Wrexham or Birmingham can see it as an "easy" way of getting proven, experienced players at this level without paying over the top. Good deals are often done early in the window to avoid competing bids later on. Desperate (and often poor) deals are done later in the window when your primary targets have decided to join another club. We often act late because: - We are looking for the cheapest deals possible, not necessarily the best ones. - We can't offer decent wages to free agents because that will reduce whatever transfer budget we might operate within. - Transfer budget will remain constant regardless of player sales, meaning quality of squad is likely to decrease as the seasons go by. - We seems to operate on a salary transfer budget rather than having actual transfer money available to spend, meaning we have to sell players first before buying any. Happened last season with the sales of e.g. Gallagher and Wahlstedt for Gueye and Toth. - If we sell a highly-rated player relatively late in the window, we often fail to find a suitable replacement due to the budget constraints mentioned previously (examples: Szmodics and Wharton).

Posted this on another thread a while ago. Would argue that losing Batth is damaging if we can't replace his experience. We currently have two keepers who doesn't command their box or instill confidence to the backline (although Toth has made some improvements lately), meaning that there will be a lack of leadership at the back if Batth goes.

This is Rovers' transfer history under Venky's tenure (from November 2010 to present): Source: Transfermarkt Winter transfer, season 2010/11: Net expenditure: 4,8 million Euros (biggest signing: Formica) Season 11/12 (relegated from PL): Net income: 20 million Euros (biggest signing: Dann, biggest sales: Jones, Samba, Kalinic) Season 12/13: Net expenditure: 6 million Euros (biggest signing: Rhodes, biggest sale: Nzonzi) Season 13/14: Net income: 3 million Euros (biggest signing: Marshall, biggest sale: Olsson) Season 14/15: Net expenditure: 3 miilion Euros (biggest signing: Duffy) Season 15/16: Net income: 25 million Euros (biggest sales: Rhodes, Gestede, Cairney) Season 16/17 (relegated from Championship): Net income: 13 million Euros (biggest sales: Hanley, Duffy, Marshall) Season 17/18 (promoted from League One): Net expenditure: 1 million Euro (biggest signing: Dack) Season 18/19: Net expenditure: 10 million Euros (biggest signings: Brereton Diaz, Armstrong) Season 19/20: Net expenditure: 3 million Euros (biggest signing: Gallagher, biggest sale: Raya) Season 20/21: Net expenditure: 1,8 million Euros (biggest signings: Pickering, Kaminski) Season 21/22: Net income: 16 million Euros (biggest sale: Armstrong) Season 22/23: Net expenditure: 4,8 million Euros (biggest signings: Szmodics, Hyam, Brittain) Season 23/24: Net income: 25 million Euros (biggest signing: Wahlstedt, biggest sale: Wharton) Season 24/25: Net income: 8,6 million Euros (biggest signing: Gueye, biggest sale: Szmodics) ----- Total net income from 2010-2025: 76,2 million Euros Club made a loss on the following players: Gallagher, Rothwell, Brereton Diaz, Formica, Dann, King, Best Club made a 'considerable' profit on the following players: Szmodics, Wharton, Armstrong, Jones, Samba, Nzonzi, Gestede, Cairney, Hanley, Duffy, Raya Note that the club has struck gold on a couple of occasions with academy products / youth intake in Wharton, Raya, Jones and Hanley. Players that cost next to nothing to bring in / develop yet generated relatively large fees. So you barely got a handful of players who the club has made a profit on by acting in the market over the course of 14,5 years. ----- Board has been on record this year saying that player sales won't affect the summer's transfer budget so I wouldn't trust us to spend anything unless it involves players going the other way.

First of all, I found it funny that the wording of the two comments were basically the same. Secondly, Markanday hasn't been a regular starter at Leyton Orient of late. Why would he, all of a sudden, be a player that competes for a starting spot here? Main weakness of Markanday when I've watched him is that his work rate is nowhere near Dolan's, meaning he's far less likely to track back to help defence and win the ball back. Same weakness that you could see in Cozier-Duberry and a probable cause as to why Ismael dropped him outside the match squad for the final league games. Cantwell struggled with this initially when coming here being seen as a 'luxury player' (see Hull's match-winning goal from December 29 last year and how he blatantly disregards his duty to track back and follow his man), but he seems to have either improved his fitness or changed his mindset lately. We can't afford having luxury players on the pitch if we want to be successful, simple as that. Once you have players that work hard for eachother, only then can you start adding a bit of flair and skill to make a difference. Or you gonna end up with a team conceding 74 goals again like we did in season 23/24.

Hi Suhail. Two accounts I see? Impressive.

Shame about Gilsenan getting released. Thought he had potential but his career has been hampered by injuries. Still would've triggered that one-year extension and then trying to find a National League or League Two club to sell to and insert a 40-50 % sell-on clause. Only 22 so can imagine him reaching perhaps Championship level one day if he stays injury-free for the next few years.

If Ismaël wants to play a more expansive/attacking football next season, then he probably needs to break up the double defensive pivot in Tronstad and Travis. Works really good in a mid- to low block system and in trying to keep a clean sheet but the downside is that it doesn't offer enough men going forward centrally during transitions or counter attacks. Looking at the squad briefly suggests that there's an imbalance with a lack of good, left-footed players across the pitch. Wharton, Pickering/Ribeiro and Hedges are all decent as backups but they're either struggling with injuries or doesn't possess the athletic profile (lack of pace/mobility) that the head coach wants. We can't have slow players at the back if we want to start pressing higher up the pitch. You might ask: why trying to balance the number of left- and right footed players? The answer is that it enables players to attack space on both sides of the pitch more effectively. I've seen many times this season where our attack breaks down in final third because a player gets "trapped" on the wing with his weaker foot and is forced to stop his run and turn to play a pass backwards instead (e.g. Dolan or Kargbo running all the way to the byline on the left hand side). On that basis, I would probably switch formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 and go for the following transfer strategy: Sell (4): Pears, Hyam, JRC, Buckley Buy/loan (6/4): - Experienced goalkeeper as backup to Toth (permanent) and as replacement for Pears - Athletic left-footed center back (permanent) that goes into starting XI and as replacement for Hyam - Athletic left back (loan) that preferably goes into starting XI (like Beck did) - Athletic right back (permanent) as backup to Brittain and as replacement for JRC - Defensive midfielder as backup to Tronstad (loan) - Two left-footed central midfielders (one on loan, one permanent). Permanent signing should be good enough for starting XI and act as replacement for Buckley - Left-footed pacey winger (permanent) that goes into starting XI - Right-footed pacey winger to compete with Kargbo (loan) and as replacement for Dolan - Physical & mobile striker with good aerial presence to compete with Gueye (permanent) Of course everything comes down to money available for the summer so I wouldn't bet on this being probable/realistic given what has happened in previous transfer windows.

Fear a relegation battle to be honest. Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester coming down plus money-spending newcomers in Birmingham and Wrexham means that the league will likely become tougher next season. If we don't start well and have a fifteen or twenty point cushion away from relegation spots heading into January, then we're in trouble. We all saw the collapse at the turn of the year with a fragile squad once key players got injured due to the intense match schedule. In addition, if we can't get Travis, Tronstad and Brittain to sign new contracts or replace them properly if they're sold, then we're pretty much doomed for season 26/27 anyway. So yeah, my expectations aren't particularly high given how the owners and board have treated the club for the past fifteen years.

Of course everyone can make mistakes, including Batth. But Hyam seems to be making them more often which I've tried to point out, hence my criticism towards him. We conceded 48 goals this season, a massive improvement on last season's 74. Which kinda goes to show the remarkable job Eustace did given the limited budget and squad at disposal. The signing of Batth on a free proved to be a really good one: Games played: 35 Wins: 15 Draws: 6 Losses: 14 Goal difference: 38-33 Number of clean sheets: 13 (37 % of all matches) Average goals conceded per game: 0,94 Games not played: 11 Wins: 4 Draws: 3 Losses: 4 Goal difference: 15-15 Number of clean sheets: 2 (18 % of all matches) Average goals conceded per game: 1,36 Hyam was part of the defence that conceded 74 goals last season. You can argue loss of form, injuries, tactics etc. as reasons behind it, but there's no doubt in my mind that he has benefitted massively from having Batth next to him this season in terms of racking up clean sheets.

Fair enough, I respect your take on him. For my part, I've seen enough and would like to bring another central defender in during the summer window.

Haha, good one :)

Might be true. I only looked at the second half of the season. Hopefully Pears gets sold and we bring in an experienced keeper as backup to Toth.

Watch the highlights again and make your own opinion instead of listening to a journalist. Yes, these are all my own, subjective takes as to where the fault lies. But it doesn't change the fact that Hyam is directly involved or in close proximity to situations that leads to goals conceded. Coincidence? The way I see it (and this has happened many times), is that he appears to 'give up' on many occasions only to have a deflated look once the opposition scores. As if he couldn't do anything about it. To me that's either a sign of a player not willing to sacrifice himself for the team or he's simply not good enough to be starting in the first place. You would have thought that at 29 years of age with vast Championship experience that he would grow and become a leader for the team and help the likes of Carter etc. Instead, he has to rely on the leadership and experience of Batth to drag him around the pitch and tell him where to stand and who to mark. Without Batth next to him, he's completely lost.

Funny how some on here are defending Hyam so I took some time to research the goals we've been conceding during the second half of this season and where the defensive errors lie: Hyam (8 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 8 vs Sheffield Utd. 3/5 failed to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the back post for 1-1 (final result). vs Cardiff 15/3 #1 doesn't follow his man when running back to the box, forcing Carter to cover near post and JRC being in a 1 v 2 situation at the back post for 0-1. #2 failed to pick up the movement of Meite, allowing the striker to ghost behind and time his header ahead of him for 1-2 (final result). vs Stoke 12/3 misplaced pass in a dangerous area, leading to a transition for 0-1 (final result). vs Swansea 22/2 #1 despite having a five-yard advantage, he was still beaten for pace in the transition (1 v 1) and couldn't prevent Peart-Harris from scoring for 0-2. #2 failure to scan the pitch for threats, allowing plenty of space for Cullen inside the box to make it 0-3. vs Coventry 21/1 fails to cut off passing angle/ pick up marking as Thomas-Asante score from a tap-in for 0-2 (final result). vs Leeds 1/1 caused the penalty for 0-1 with a sliding tackle inside the box. Ribeiro (4 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 2 vs Watford 26/4 part of a zonal marking system? tried to reach the ball at far post by backing into the situation but got easily beaten in the air as Pollock timed it way better for 0-1. vs Millwall 18/4 failed to prevent Ivanovic from getting away a shot inside the six-yard box for 1-1. vs Sheffield Wed. 8/4 beaten easily in the air from a floating corner, resulting in a simple tap-in at the opposite post for 0-1. vs Derby 8/3 caught way out of position, forcing Hyam to close down opponent on the left flank and leave central defence exposed for 0-2. took a free kick in offensive area moments before but didn't manage to run back. poor tactical setup? Pears (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Derby 8/3 passively stands at the goal line instead of having a more forward position at the free kick, resulting in him reacting too late for the second ball when trying to come out and punch. Subsequently misses the punch which leads to an open goal for 0-1. vs Preston 31/1 failed to cover near post as Potts scored a consolation goal at the very end. JRC (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs Middlesbrough 4/4 tried but failed to intercept the pass being the last man in defence, leading to a 1 v 1 against goalie and an easy goal for 0-1. vs Coventry 21/1 easily beaten in the air as Simms heads it in from close range for 0-1. Tronstad (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 1. I'm discounting the Norwich game since they were down to ten men. vs Norwich 1/3 failure to close down Crnac just inside the penalty box for 0-1. Rovers played with ten men at that point. vs Burnley 4/1 failed to pick up the run from Flemming who heads it in for 0-1 from close range (final result) Hedges (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs Swansea 22/2 failure to prevent Vipotnik from taking a shot inside the six-yard box for 0-1. Pears slow to react as the ball barely had any speed. Carter (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Portsmouth 29/3 failure to follow Murphy as he plays one-two's with a teammate to get through on goal for 0-1 (final result). Beck (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs QPR 4/2 a bit unfair to be solely blamed since he was mismatched against Frey for 0-1 (height disadvantage). also, no player marking the near post despite free kick being close to the corner flag. ACD & Buckley (1 mistake each leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs QPR 4/2 ACD fails to pick up the run at the far edge of box, allowing a free header into the six-yard area. Scramble ensues before Colback scores from just outside the box for 1-2 (final result). Buckley failing to see Colback's run behind him. Sanderson (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Bristol City 25/1 caught sleeping as Wells ran in behind before taking a deflected shot for 1-2 (final result). --- As you can see, Hyam is by far the worst offender when it comes to critical defensive errors (i.e. errors that directly leads to goals and dropped points). Second worst is Ribeiro. Hyam is a poor passer, doesn't pick up marking / scan the pitch for dangerous movements and lacks severely in pace. A complete liability in my opinion which has been shown time and time again this season, especially when Batth doesn't play alongside him.

My squad review: GK: Toth, Pears Sell Pears and get an experienced GK as backup to Toth CB: Hyam, Wharton, O'Riordan, Batth, Carter Sell Hyam, offer Batth a new one-year deal and get a left-footed center back since Wharton has struggled with injuries. LB: Pickering, Ribeiro Position looks good in terms of depth and experience, yes. But it's still a weak area that lacks pace and directness when Beck returns to parent club. I would have Beck back on loan in a heartbeat if possible. RB: Brittain, Montgomery, Duru, JRC Need to tie Brittain down on a contract beyond 2026 as he's a key player. Montgomery was a positive surprise in his appearances given that he normally is a midfielder. Feels like Duru needs another loan before being able to compete for first team spot. I would sell JRC and get an athletic right back as cover for Brittain. DM: Tronstad, Travis, Garrett, Forshaw Need to have both Tronstad and Travis sign new contracts that extends their stay beyond 2026. Garrett needs another loan by the looks of it. I would not offer Forshaw an extension and get one experienced defensive midfielder on a permanent to provide backup and another on loan maybe. AM: Cantwell, Weimann, Buckley I would offer Weimann a one-year extension despite his injury issues. Buckley needs to be sold; his career has stagnated for the past two seasons. Think Ohashi could do a better job dropping a bit deeper to AM position and combine with the lone striker so not sure we need strengthening in this position. LW: Hedges, Kargbo Kargbo need to show a lot more next season in terms of improving on his decision-making, otherwise this position looks rather weak. RW: Dolan, Markanday Dolan will most likely leave so we need to bring in a pacey right winger as replacement and maybe a backup on loan. Markanday might need another season in L1 before being able to compete. ST: Gueye, Ohashi, Leonard Need a new striker, preferably a physical, mobile one with good aerial presence. Gueye has shown to perform well at times as target man but is inconsistent. Ohashi is decent as pressing forward but lacks pace to be a genuine threat in transitions or counter attacks. Summary: Sell (4): Pears, Hyam, JRC, Buckley Buy/loan (8): experienced GK, left-footed CB, loan in a LB (preferably Beck again or someone similar), athletic RB, two DMs (one permanent and one on loan), pacey RW, and a mobile, physical ST

Managers / head coaches Eustace 9 - overachieved with a limited squad and budget. Would've gotten us into playoffs if not for the lack of investment and commitment from board/ owners in January. Ismael 6 - horrible start but has saved his face somewhat in the last 5-6 matches. Still have my doubts whether he's the right man for the job. Board / owners 0 - no further comment needed other than they need to get out of the club. Players Overall rating: 8 - tipped for relegation at the start of the season but finished 7th in the end. Proved to be hard to break down when working together as a unit defensively. The chaos that unfolded in January with the lack of investment and Eustace leaving derailed the season. Individual player ratings: GK: Pears - 5, Toth - 6 DR: Brittain - 9, JRC - 4 CD: Hyam - 5, Batth - 8, Carter - 5, Wharton N/A, Sanderson - 4* DL: Pickering - 6, Ribeiro - 5*, Beck - 9 DM: Tronstad - 9, Travis - 8, Forshaw - 5*, Baker - 6 AM: Cantwell - 6, Weimann 6, Buckley - 4 LW: Hedges - 5, Kargbo - 4* RW: Dolan - 6, Dennis - 3*, Cozier-Duberry - 4 ST: Ohashi - 6, Gueye - 6, Woodrow - 4* * = January signings; some have had limited game time so hard to give a fair rating Best Rovers players of the season: Brittain, Tronstad, Batth, Travis and Beck. Underperformers of the season: Dennis, JRC and Buckley. Feels like JRC and Buckley have both taken a step back this year; perhaps time for them to move on.