Exiled_Rover

You need a few of them if you're playing a high pressing game.

In a team that refused / was unable to cross the ball to a 6'5" CF with a leap on him. I hope the new wingers can cross (I don't think the Belgian lad can from his highlights).

Someone in that front 3 has to be an outlet ball. It's a team game and the CF has to do more than score goals. When Gueye was on the bench we didn't have one. None of Ohashi, Dolan or Hedges could run in behind (and Hedges especially couldn't hold the ball up if you played it into his feet). Kargbo might solve that problem, if his hamstrings aren't made of cheese.

Ohashi nicks the odd goal and presses, but absolutely nothing sticks when he plays as a 9. He's a very good sub. I'd like to see him in a 2 or out wide in a 3. As the lone striker he gets bullied every week and piles the pressure on Rovers as we then don't have an out ball.

Depends what wage he was coming in on.

Staying fit is his problem, sadly. We've seen in the League Cup games that he's a decent player and should be very effective at that level. He's a #10 though, he doesn't have the pace to play out wide.

We're in the bottom 6, if not lower, for spending (including wage) and are in the top 10 on performance. We're consistently miles away from the PL relegated sides though (bar Luton last season). Some of that is recruitment, a lot of it is down to coaching. The frustration is nobody has asked us to spend big - just to be brave and bring that little bit of extra quality that would push us over the line into the Playoffs. A striker in JDT's first season would have done that, a CM and a winger in Eustace's second season would have done that. Alas here we are again begging for scraps. It's no way to live and surely you can understand why fans are incredibly frustrated.

Transfermarkt tells me Mohammed Al-Sahafi is 49. Marwan Al-Sahafi is the guy we've been linked with I think.

Who owns Barnsley - are they elusive billionaires that everyone hates too?

I think you have to commit to Cantwell and give him a free role behind the CF. A couple of his assists last season came from the left wing, but he's not quick enough to defend from that position - he leaves his LB exposed. If he's allowed to drift out there, when the space dictates it, that's a different kettle of fish.

If I thought we were a serious football club I'd be worried.

Brentford did it with data scouting before Brexit and the clampdown on unknown foreign players happened. They have to be established players (with 4 exceptions) which is incredibly hard to do.

Why are they determined to burn money?

Once again I ask the question: why do they own us? What can they possibly get out of it? Evidently they can't afford to run us properly.

He'll get a stony silence from me, like all of our ex-players do these days. No legends have run out the tunnel for us for many a year.

The Academy is the only reason we exist. Travis, Nyambe, Lenihan, A. Wharton, S. Wharton, Carter etc etc... Without the Academy pumping out quality Championship players over the last decade we'd have sunk without a trace.

They have turned off the taps - where did the Kaminski / Raya / Szmodics / Phillips / Wharton £40m go?

Games gone if anyone is calling for Pears to play for us ever again.

Were any of their undesirables foreign billionaires completely insulated from any criticism?

I remember under Williams basically every penny in went out on wages, which was probably unsustainable in the long run.

Evidently Eustace, Batth and Weimann think it's a higher level...

How long are Rovers fans meant to watch the life being strangled out of their club? I guarantee every other fanbase would be down to the bare bones in the ground, like we are, if they found themselves in our situation.

£60-70k a week?

I'll make a bet now that they'll be in a better situation than is 5 years from now.

Nixon talking about Phillips being whored out again - this time to Sheffield United. Everyone could see it coming when he went to Spurs.