Feels like you're going to great lengths to justify a previously held opinion. No one cares if you change your mind - or at least shouldn't... I thought Szmodics wasn't up to the required level only about 2 months ago. I was wrong. Looks like Broughton has bagged a good 'un for a very reasonable fee.

38 minutes ago, Andy said:

Just came across this on social media.

Despite some fans feeling that he’s not had a great season, BBD has clearly been our most effective forward in literally every area analysed.

Good to see the stats supporting Trav’s performances also, particularly after returning to the team.

TK has been stitched right up with that drawing

I think their point is that (presumably Broughton) managed to get sign off on £10m of spend from Venkys in hours, where over the past few years Waggot/Mowbray/Venus couldn't get sign off for basically anything for weeks or more. 

It's a reasonable point I hadn't really thought about, regardless of it being a drop in the ocean compared to PL riches. It shows either Venkys have greater trust in the new setup, Broughton is just a better operator than the previous dollopers for thinking of that type of deal as an option, or Venkys are more engaged with the new setup. Probably a combination of all 3 to different degrees.

Whatever the reason,  it can only be a good sign.

45 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Execution of contracts was prevented by what could be construed as negligence by Rovers' personnel.  Forest and O'Brien have suffered financial and other damage as a direct consequence.  I think those two points are quite indisputable.  IMO, the arbitration appeal before William Norris KC has done Rovers no favours, portraying the club in an unprofessional light.  I think some of the conclusions were quite damning which would not help in any future court case.

You should note that Case Law is based on judicial decisions concerning unique disputes - and this could well turn out to be one of them creating a new precedent for the football industry if it went to court (remember how the Bosman ruling came about).   Should Forest and / or O'Brien come gunning for financial recompense,  I think counsel would be advising Rovers to reach out of court settlements - then again, having read the 22 page report from the appeal, I am struggling to believe that counsel actually thought this was an appeal worth pursuing.  Maybe after the Berg, Shaw legal debacles and now this escapade, Rovers should be considering where they source their legal expertise.

The Bosman ruling was about footballers being classified as workers in EU law. There were already laws governing workers, but they weren't being applied for professional athletes.

If the EFL/EFL clubs have standard clauses written within their contracts that void that contract if it is not ratified by the EFL - as you would expect, otherwise we would currently be paying O'Brien's wages, he just wouldn't be allowed to play for us - what you're suggesting is that from nowhere courts could decide that you can be sued for not entering into a contract...

What have Rovers done wrong in law? They've cocked up sure, but legally how is this different to saying you'll sign Peter Odemwingie, have him travel down to your ground and then say "nah mate, off you pop"?

It isn't.

27 minutes ago, M_B said:

I don't really believe In over achieving, I don't see how it's possible, you can't do more than you're capable of, it's impossible,unless you purely go off money spent.

Over-achieving is achieving more than is expected, not achieving more than is possible.

For instance, we are over achieving so far this season given the squad we have. Last season we probably also over achieved given the squad. But we embarrassingly under achieved given where we were in January.

The season before that we under-achieved to such a ridiculous degree that the manager had no right to remain in post.

18 hours ago, sympatheticclaret said:

Championship/2nd Division (Tier 2)

• Winners:  1972-73, 2015-16, 2022-23 ( pending ! )
• Play-off winners: 2008-09

Second Division/Third Division (Tier 3)

• Winners: 1981-82
• Play-off winners: 1993-94

Fourth Division (Tier 4)

• Winners: 1991-92

Cup

FA Charity Shield

• Winners: 1960 (shared), 1973

Anglo Scottish Cup

• Winners: 1978-1979

😂 That list of "honours" brought such a smile to my face!

I can just imagine the scenes if you'd "won" the Intertoto Cup. Pendle Hill would never have recovered.

1 minute ago, Bethnal said:

I guess the point of difference here is me thinking we’ve set out with a game plan for the 90 minutes and you placing more emphasis on the fact that they’ve turned up very shit and we’ve responded to that. I don’t think your point of view is any less valid than mine, it could just be that.

Aye, same outcome regardless. Awful first half to watch, decent second, and a much needed win. Just hope we set out like the second half at home from now on, at least gets the crowd involved to our advantage a bit

6 minutes ago, Bethnal said:

You’re absolutely entitled to think that, but I’m just describing what happened. We contained them in the first half and played with a low line of engagement. They came out more open in the second half and we pressed nearly a full third of the pitch higher. We battered them in the second half, although our final product wasn’t up to scratch.

I might be influenced by the fact that I think Russell Martin is a dick, but I honestly think that’s how it panned out.

I think we just tried to do what we did to them away, sit off, be compact and when we win it back, hit it over the top. They sat their defence deeper when they had it so we couldn't do that, and had to just knock it about aimlessly when we won it back - so basically we just did what they always do... Leading to probably the worst half of football humanity has ever witnessed.

HT team talk probably went along the lines of... Fuck it, these guys are shit, just get in their faces.

19 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Of course. But he hasn't. More to the point, he hasn't even scored a goal at Championship level so on the face of it, the chances of that happening are exceedingly slim.

Wouldn't it be far easier to just spend £5m on someone with a track record at this level?

They cost more than £5m. Hence why we didn't sell Brereton to Nice.

If he does gain a track record while he's here, we get a "bargain". If he doesn't, we don't buy him.

I respectfully suggest you stop.

This is the most painful conversation I've ever read. If he isn't worth £5m when it comes to paying it, we don't pay it. If he is, we do

4 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Firstly wasn't be sarcastic as that not me as a person. 

You as a stapler?

5 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

deffo keep in the first team squad, I seen no reason to change that opinion

Vale might be decent in the future, but judging him on his two league starts, he has absolutely no business being in that squad.

2 minutes ago, Mellor Rover said:

To be fair, in that first video he's trying to Cruyff turn and it ends up behind him...

I would say you're playing pretty fast and loose with the phrase "to be fair", but each to their own.

2 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

To put it in layman's terms....he isn't comfortable on the  ball enough to play in a 3 man defence.  Just an opinion mate...

Big lump that lad

1 minute ago, Shirley Crabtree Wrestler said:

So, what position does this Schrodinger play, anyway?

Winger

1 minute ago, Shirley Crabtree Wrestler said:

And does the act of watching him change what he does?

The reality is defined by the eyes of the beholder, Mowbray vs everyone else.

21 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

A player has either signed or he hasn't.

Not if you put him, the contract and a pen in a sealed box.

3 minutes ago, rigger said:

Boro wouldn't let you.

Give it 3 months

1 minute ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Yeah, Tony Mowbray clapping your post. You seem a bit aggy so I've deleted it. 

5 years of him does that to the best of us!

Just now, Sweaty Gussets said:

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.8307bea5f32ee9e2d73434efce59e672?rik=OsdkG6kVjWeSyw&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

I'm going to assume that's either a picture of Tony Mowbray, or someone getting excited on the weekend. Neither of which are compelling me to find out

1 hour ago, 1864roverite said:

How can you compare if you haven't done the same role/job? You can only inform a biased opinion in that case. Your experience in the world? So what you are saying is that if you ran a corner shop as a manager/owner then you can compare that business model to running a football club?

If you don't listen to what he has to say and look at documents/review action plans, rad summaries of sports science at the club then how do you form an opinion? Truth is you cannot form an opinion without it as it is not a properly informed view.

Its not about anything he says verbatim, its about your research and information being up to date and then listening to what he says and either agreeing with him because you know it true from other sources, or alternatively, you go away with what he has said do some more research and find corroborating sources to ensure that he is telling it right and how it is or alternatively telling and feeding you a load of horse crap.

But hey, with your vast worldly experience you probably know better to listen to others you have already formed a completely negative view of.

Everyone's opinions are biased. Yours are, mine are. Some opinions are more well informed than others, but still biased.

Results are not biased, they are a statement of fact. And Waggot's results are not (yet?) very good on the whole, regardless of how well meaning, personable and intelligent he may be.

28 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

Call me simple but ever since I started watching football, I never understood why it wasn't

1

2 3 4 5 

6 7 8 9

10 11

1

2 3 (full backs)

4 5 6 (half backs)

7 8 9 10 11 (forwards)

[Edit] this makes me seem really old. I'm 34

[Edit again] That's when numbering came in as I understand it, then when it translated to 442, either the 4 and 6 or the 5 and 6 dropped back into defence, and the 8 dropped back into midfield 

17 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Left footers are often particularly one sided compared to right footers.

Based on...?

45 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

2 left footed centre backs are a very rare combination so I would feel a bit uneasy about it personally.

Just watch all the games in a mirror.

1 hour ago, windymiller7 said:

The big question is "Have you seen the home shirt out of the packet & are the halves reversed?" 😉

This.

The blue being on the correct side, front and back is 95% of the battle.

Even regardless of whether the offers were "good" or whether the players overvalued their worth, we wanted them to sign, otherwise we wouldn't have offered terms.

They didn't sign, and we had no contingency plan. What was the plan if they don't sign by end of summer 21, start of winter window 21/22, end of 21/22 season? It's a fact to say that either there weren't plans, or - at best - the plans didn't work (and in which case, they were inadequate).

It's a lack of basic professionalism, just hoping that they sign at some point is not acceptable at that level of any organisation.