The Ribeiro half a season contract on a permanent, and the 2.5 year deal for Kargbo who we paid nearly a million for, is a very worrying pattern when we already have a huge portion of the squad out of contract this year and then next, and haven't renewed a meaningful contract in over a year, nor for the most part does it sound like we're trying to. Something isn't right, even moreso than usual. Especially given the amount we have raked in through sales and having declared a profit last season.

Sorry but this thinking is flawed and dangerous. If we go up, which has to be considered far less likely than staying in the Championship at this point, we bring in something in the region of £200 million. The contracts of a bunch of players on mostly 5-10k a week, 15k tops, will be like pissing in the sea. I believe it's 8 players out of contract in the summer? One is Hedges, with a 1 year extension option. For some reason we are talking a new deal with him but I wouldn't, he's shit. Another is Siggy, who surely we will let leave. So that leaves 6 players, even if you gave them all 15k per week (which we won't remotely and I wouldn't advise) on 3 year deals, that would be a total commitment of 14 million over contract length. More realistically (and probably still higher than reality, if they were all 10k p/w deals it's a commitment of 9.3 million. Versus 200 million. Ignoring of course that some of them could probably be sold back to the Championship as promotion winners, or at least given payoffs bringing the cost down. Or you keep them/loan them out, we (probably) go back down and have some Championship ready players. Realistically you probably don't end up losing more than 5 million, worst case scenario. A pittance in the grand picture of Prem riches, basically. If we don't go up, which is most likely, we need to not have to wholesale replace the squad on what will be a pittance of a budget. TLDR: We should attempt to renew contracts of any players we actually want to keep, as the money will be irrelevant if we go up, and we don't have the resources to reliably replace such a large chunk of the squad. Players like Siggy and Hedges can swivel though.

What that tells me is I'm really, really glad we didn't sign Bamford. The worst xG conversion rate in the world, wow!

Incidentally, 3 of the 4 groups were topped by foreign sides. The exception was Brighton who won Group D with 4 straight wins against what I'd expect to be decent sides (Sporting, Sociedad, Anderlecht and Leipzig). That was also the only group that didn't have an English side finish bottom. Group C was perhaps the strangest outcome, Manure and Liverpool were the bottom 2, and the group was won by FC Nordsjælland, who apparently also have a better U-21s than PSV and Hertha Berlin if the table is to be believed. 3 wins, 1 draw (which was against Fulham who came 2nd).

So we're out of the competition, Bilbao and Lyon go through. We got 4 points from 4 games and finished 6th in the group, out of 8 teams. Boro were bottom. Bit weird you don't play every team, I think you only play the foreign teams. Match report here: https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/february/05/report--rovers-under-21s-1-2-athletic-bilbao-under-21s/

I'd say Pears has had a decent season overall. He was good, mostly, for the first half of the season. And has started to wobble again the last couple of months. Partly as a result, we have gone from conceding 0-1 most games to conceding 1-2 most games. Most of his mistakes aren't high profile ones like when he used to chuck it in his net. They're positioning ones, and just not quite getting to ones he probably should. He's still playing better than in years gone by, and that's what we've almost become used to as a fanbase. That, coupled with the fact most football fans don't seem, in my experience, to have their minds trained to identify goalkeeper positioning errors and are more focused on understanding outfield players, and of course the pretty good early season form he showed, is causing some people to give him more leeway than he has deserved lately. One thing I really wish he'd cut down on and should be very fixable is over-protecting his near post. I get that it's embarrassing to be beaten there and he probably does it out of fear, but he even does it when someone is virtually at the byline and is very unlikely to even try to shoot. It's happened several times this season where the player just cuts it into the box and Pears has left the vast majority of the goal wide open for an attacker.

Did you see Wharton at 16?

Haha brill...although I assume they're being very selective and probably talking about pre-1920s or something. Clowns.

No stream for this one?

Almost makes Ian Dowie look handsome doesn't he?

Huh, ok, that may change the dynamic too. Still, I really don't expect Dennis to start on Sunday, it will be a big surprise to me if he does given how long since he played any kind of football outside of training. Good old Notts Forest taking care of their players like their manager indignantly said that time... Oh and I don't think Rovers are as bothered about progression in this competition as they are with blooding the new signings in a way they deem best. Personally I'd probably keep Dennis on for about 60, as like I said it would be a big surprise if he starts Sunday so he needs some minutes in his legs, unless they don't think he's up to more than 45.

I was going off Eustace's general reticence to throw people in quickly, as shown by Kargbo getting about 9 minutes last night, rather than my own view, and the fact some of these lads haven't had much game time. But I also had it in my head the game was on Saturday. In that case, I'll predict he will start one, possibly two, if they look fit enough in the Bilbao game. I'm going to guess it will be just Ribeiro starting. Beck needs a rest, and Ribeiro has played the most football recently. Woodrow might start at a push, he has played a little bit recently but far less minutes and exclusively as a sub. He's also a bit older at 30. I very much doubt Dennis will start, as he hasn't played even at youth level since April apparently.

From this, I assume they're all going to be on the bench this weekend, and that Kargbo is in line to start.

They're not even willing to discuss what that price is though.

I don't know why you're even making this argument. They have repeatedly shown they have no interest in selling the club. They won't even entertain discussions with prospective bidders who have all been met with outright refusals at best, and crickets at worst.

Classic, top tier incompetence in a very simple task, sums the club up. Seems to have been taken down and replaced with a silhouette, along with new silhouettes for Dennis and Woodrow. Even though we've surely done photos with them by now. I mean hell, Garrett has a silhouette too, even though he's been here since a kid and is out on loan. They're not the most dilligent of staff who run that website...

Completely agree, we haven't worked well on our defending set pieces against this lot, and it's possibly cost us the game.

You said a Mowbray-Armstrong combo. Mowbray is irrelevant.

That still makes Hedges 33% worse at providing assists than Dolan, even ignoring that this season the figures have shifted far less kindly for Hedges. Given the original post was suggesting Hedges is better at providing, I think I'm still happy with my response to it.

I don't see what Mowbray has to do with it, he's a bog standard manager. Armstrong I fear, Mowbray, I really don't. WBA will beat us because they have a better side, not because they have a better manager.

Hedges has one assist all season, Dolan has 4.

I nearly said the same, although to be literal a moment, Hedges does have a goal and an assist this season, neither of which Kargbo got in his cameo (understandably). I already feel confident he's a better player though, which isn't hard.

I can't see the logic here. If he is crap off the bench against tired legs, why should he start?

Hyam fucking trying to dribble half the pitch instead of launching it with 10 seconds left.... Got what we deserved tonight. Bizarre subs didn't help. Kargbo looks quick, looking forward to him getting a proper run out.

Preposterous that we got 86 minutes of the latter and 9 minutes of the former.