briansol

He did address this in his pre-match interview. Confirmed that Baradji came with an existing injury and was going to be assessed this week. So basically they don't know the time scale yet.

Well I hope so, given the cards he's been dealt. Avoiding relegation should be the baseline, any thing else is probably a bonus. As somebody rightly pointed out, wage budget usually correlate strongly with league position so that should put us in 18-20th place. Add to that the dysfunctional club management with power struggles, lacking contract extensions, owners who don't care. I don't see how many manager can be expected to perform a miracle here? Ismael was clear before the summer that he wanted to keep the core and add to it. It didn't pan out that way with Dolan, Brittain and Travis. The gradual transition has now been a full blown revamp of the squad. I'm an optimist but also a realist based on facts and data. There is no doubt that there is a high risk of this going badly. Statistically not a all transfer work out, even when you are spending a lot more than us. (ref Man United). Our wild card approach will be even riskier as for most of the players, the Championship is a step up. It's very likely that result wise it will get worse before it gets better. Just hope that the club sticks with Ismael for some time to see through the rebuild.

There is no chance in today's football to get a proven striker for this level for 2 million, they will all be a gamble. Modern football with just one striker has limited the pool significantly as it also puts higher demand of the attributes to fill the role. Another aspect is that the extended European competitions has caused an influx of more money to sub-par leagues which has increased the transfer sums and especially for strikers. Gudjonsons profile is very similar to Aune Heggebøe, who WBA picked up for 5+ mill this summer. He's a 24 year-old striker with a 1 in 3 goal ratio including spells in the second tier in Norway. Judging by the top scorer table in the Championship last season, finding a 20 goal striker looks pretty grim: - Not a single player scored 20+ - Only 2 strikers hit 15 or more (Piroe and Sargent, both expensive transfers when bought)

I find the approach incredible limited. You are limiting yourself to average players without any potential upside from average clubs. Probably paying a lot more than you need as well. Derby will get exactly what's on the description, a mid-table finish. They will probably be happy with that considering last season. Been vocal about this topic before, but a club adapting their philosophy and transfers to whichever manager they appoint are mostly doomed. A well function club has a clear strategy philosophy on how they want to play, they appoint managers that fit their approach. Their scouting will be able to track and identity players of several years that fits their profile. Brighton is a good example here. Here in Norway you have Bodo/Glimt who have gone from being a second division team to totally dominant. They've been wildly successful in Europe, reaching the semi-final in the Europe League last year, and yesterday qualifying for the Champions League group stages. Their players as individuals are average, very few would hack it in the Premier League. However they have an incredible performance culture, a well drilled team and some look like super stars in that system. When they get sold on, they usually falter and many end up back in Bodo. No chance Rovers can replicate that with our owners and management, but at least there is some comfort in that there has been a clear strategy in the transfer approach, and replacements has been identified when players have moved on this summer.

Garett is probably a League 2 player, but won't be as bad as Tomlinson. Tomlinson had massive attitude and off-pitch issues and responsible for his own downfall despite obvious ability to have a career as professional footballer. Nothing to suggest that Garrett is similar. I saw another poster refer to him as athletic, he is not. He started out as a defender but lack of pace and strength meant he was moved into midfield which he is much more suited for. His strength is being on the ball, good passer and worked well for the U21 as a holding midfielder. His lack of pace and intensity/strength is not covered up by some wild crunching tackles.

There is certainly a player there. Saw quite a few games when he was in the youth team with Wharton etc. Good fotball intelligence, decent on the ball and good finisher. Clocked him then as someone who would probably be effective when he's older and bulked up. Might end up like Danny Graham, who dropped down a league to Carlisle, bulked up and made his way back up again. Whether Rovers is going to wait for that, remains to be seen, but I'm certain he is going to have a career in pro-football and might become Championship material in a couple of years.

Horrible end to the game. De Neve should never let him go on the outside for the penalty and very naive corner with no security for the second ball. Otherwise I thought it was a good performance against a promotion contender. Get Travis out, and this group will at least try to put up a fight.

Probably isn't fit before January anway 😉

Spot on. Of the players left (including Travis) you could probably say Brittain is the only top-end Championship player. The big issue is the impact on the dressing room. We had the same problem 2 seasons ago when we almost got relegated. The squad was young and experienced without any leaders. Last season Travis was back along the experienced heads of Bath, Weimann which has been highlighted in interviews by other players.

lol, that's a great one. Loosely translated they sing "Don't waste your goal chance, pass it to Henriksson"

Even if I'm probably in the half-full camp, I would agree that the loss of experience is a concern and we have a weaker squad for the first part of the season. That said I was probably even more pessimistic last season. Losing Smodiczs, Wharton and Gallagher from a team that barely avoided relegation I couldn't see any quality or goals left. Expected a struggle and the team certainly overperformed. The incoming was all over the place with a reported power struggle. In came some random foreign strikers, 2 old has-beens without legs with little playing time and winding down their Championship careers, a couple of loans and a Todd Cantwell with the potential to disrupt any harmony. This summer has at least shown some resemblance of a transfer strategy bringing in people of a certain profile, before pre-season and quickly replacing Brittain.

Guesswork based on Transfermarkt and quoted sums from different media outlets it's pretty even so far. including the Brittain sale, but excluding the Henriksson capture as it's not been confirmed. Probably spent 5-600k more so far. Would expect Henriksson to cost in the 1-1.5 range and add to the spend. https://www.transfermarkt.com/blackburn-rovers/transfers/verein/164/saison_id/2025 Of course all those numbers are uncertain as nothing is disclosed. I would assume they include clauses and installment payments, but that applies to both incoming and outgoing. Don't think any transfer is paid in full upfront anymore.

Think this is spot on. For once it seems that there is a strategy and execution around the recruitment, targeting more athletic profiles in an age group where they have first-team experience but young enough for growth and resale value. Too bad the financials means it has to be a high degree of gambling. Given that it takes probably at least 6 months or more to adapt to the Championship, we're probably not going to see much impact from them before the latter part. That's if they are able to cope at all. Still I prefer this approach to scrambling around deadline for some second rate Premier League youngsters and some veteran cast-offs where the legs has gone. For the upcoming season I would be satisfied to avoid a relegation struggle with this squad, the ultimate bonus would be to finish above Derby

Almost feel sorry for Brewster. Touted as the next big thing as a kid in Liverpool, had a serious injury where he probably lost some pace. He then came back with a good loan spell for Swansea. Surprisingly for Liverpool fans, Klopp decided to cash in and he moved to Sheffield United to become their main man for staying up in the Premier League. Flopped completely and has never established or performed their despite staying 4 years. 9 goals in 119 games is an awful return. From being a central striker, he now seems to be deployed in different forward positions. Has looked a broken man at times and move to Derby might to him good without the baggage carried by his big move to Sheff Utd. Probably his last chance to get any sort of decent career.

I also think they might struggle more than people think. Despite scrambling now to get some decent experienced Championship players, their squad is made up of unproven League One/Two players with some old heads that's well passed it. What got them here is not good enough for the next step. They will also find much harder if they continue with their route one style as Championship teams are much better in possession and will tire them out. Birmingham in contrast are in much better shape. They built a good Championship in League One with signings far above that level. They cruised the league and was seemingly untouchable. The core of their squad is good enough and if they maintain the promotion high they might do an Ipswich.

More likely a Travis replacement if he goes. Would be a really inspired signing, which makes it unlikely. He'd be a top Championship midfielder, with a high ceiling. Great competitor with a good engine, great passer and can travel with the ball as well. If the club is really trying for him you'd fear that Travis is being sold as it probably given they have already added Tavares to the midfield. You'd also think the club would need Travis of the books for wages as Mannsverk would not be a budget signing coming from a high profile transfer to Ajax. If we are able to sign him it would be quite a coup and probably raise a few eyebrows here in Norway. The feeling is he is too good for a mid-table Championship side.

They might have ambition, but I wonder what the strategy is?. They had the oldest squad in the Championship last year, and have now added 2 more veterans + Morris (29) to it. They basicly have a squad with no resale value and need to recycle the squad every year. Surely they will be solid and experienced with Eustace, but it seems like they are settling for mid-table security.

While I agree a high press would be the best tactics against Norwich, I really don't think we have a team that can execute that well. Certainly not the starting 11. You need a high defensive line and with Gueye, Cantwell and Forshaw lacking intensity in their press I fear Norwich would play through the press and open us up. Certainly not something you would be able to drill in one or two days in training.

You are correct. I've done some research and I see they didn't spend much on transfers. They mostly signed well known Championship players on a free. They actually started the season well before falling off a cliff. He was let go after 1 win in 11 games in this run:

Did a great job at Barnsley and played at their strengths. His WBA stint was a bust though. They spent and was aiming for automatic promotion back but ended up mid-table before he was let go. He tried to replicate the Barnsley platform with direct football, but neither players nor fans bought into it. Wouldn't say his manager record is poor, but think there must be better candidates out there.

Loan deal is probably the only thing with a chance to get done this late in the window. That said, not very confident in the club managing any kind of paperwork

Yes, needs the Danny Graham blueprint. Quite similar when he was young. Skinny teenager at Boro who grew a fat backside on in the lower leagues and didn't come into his own untill mid 20s.

Spot on. I watched plenty of the golden generation (Wharton, Phillips, Leonard and Batty) a couple of years ago. It was appearant that Leonard was an intelligent footballer in his positioning, decisions and was also a good finisher. Thought he had some similarities to Teddy Sheringham. However I predicted that he would need a couple of years to be ready for the first team. Since he's not quick, he needs to bulk-up and get senior experience. I know he was out for a significant time as 17 year old, and seems like he's been plagued with injuries since holding him back. A loan to league One would be good for him. Jake Batty a bit similar with injuries. Have a very high ceiling offensively with his pace and directness, but was never tested defensively and has had a lot of injuries. Hope he will grow from his Accrington spell and might be a good option for next year

Not a big fan of Asante. It's obvious that Eustace now seems to have much bigger say in the signings. After the more "exotic" approach in the summer with Gueye, Ohashi and Tooth, it's now all about "proven" Championship operators. Since our tactics is mostly sitting in and hitting on the break, they probably view Asante as a mobile and quick option to hit them on the break. Probably different from what we have, but very same in that he doesn't get much goals. We are very much to be solid, boring mid-table side. Some might argue that's better than playing your way into relegation like we did at the end of JDT's tenure. Personally I'm torn.

I agree. Having been critical of him in the past, I've seen a lot of improvement in him over the last season. Better decisions, better output, stronger. His final ball is still lacking at times, but for me a very valuable player to have in the squad.