Always interesting to see managers compared to Mourinho and players compared to Shearer to make a point. The chances of Brereton being another Shearer are minuscule. If he was, then we would be fighting off City or at least United for him. Shearer really was that much in demand at the time as a prospect.

Seems to have been forgotten about despite being used as the reason we wouldn’t/couldn’t/shouldn’t make any big signings- much less than £8m I might add. Have Venkys decided that they can have a couple of years of spending gambling on promotion before FFP kicks in? If not then it does seem foolish to spend that kind of money without the aim being promotion as we’ll end up with a fine and an embargo. Maybe if we get the players in early on long deals we can just ride out the embargo? All very strange.

Do you think so? Surely they are on our doorstep if we want to go to watch games over there? Did we used to have one by the way, because we have a history of bringing in very decent Irish players?

There is no value is spending £8m-£10m to stay up. The returns on investment aren’t there. If staying up is the only objective then we may as well stick with what we have and get a couple of loan reinforcements.

Ignoring the fact that this makes no sense in the context of my post, this from the poster who tried to scold me for using the acronym ‘LOL’. So you think we should all be delighted that we have gone from £4m to £6m to £8m for Brereton and don’t look any nearer to signing him? Yet we need three players. Do you really see us spending north of £12m this window? And that would mean spending little over £1m each on a winger and cb (or even another cm that’s being talked about). That’s about what our current squad cost in total! Our recruitment strategy looks to be in disarray and has reached desperation stakes. The alleged budget seems to be burning an imaginary hole in our emperor’s new pocket. Feel free to answer in emojis again if it’s easier for you. In the meantime... Btw, your epiphany didn’t last long.

Good point. And Rhodes was a prolific goal scorer before he came and a prolific goal scorer while he was here yet still didn’t justify his price tag to many. Also could you imagine if Venkys had given Neil Warnock £8m instead of signing Coyle on the cheap two years ago? Nothing they do makes any sense. They are schizophrenic. Which is why I’ll believe we have £8m when we spend it. If we spend it all on one player (another prospect) I’ll be even more bemused. He will need to be sold for £15m to be classed as good value in the sell-on stakes - unless we are promoted in the next two years.

In the scheme of the debate, I’d include Irish with British or certainly home nations. Appreciating this won’t sit well with you as an Irishman. Put it another way, I don’t really see our Irish cousins as foreign.

@chaddyrovers £8m just seems way over the top for a player with potential. It also seems hugely unlikely for us to pay that much and would make us the third highest net spenders in the division after Stoke (£14m) and Forest (£15m - if we buy Brereton from them). Nobody else comes close. (Source: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/transfers/wettbewerb/GB2/plus/?saison_id=2018&s_w=&leihe=0&intern=0) The only way this one works is if we sell a player - with Dack being the most obvious. It makes no sense at the prices being discussed.

Nor you me.

What made you change your mind? Was it when you thought there was no money that you tried to spin it positively and now that there might be money you are trying to spin it positively?

Odd question. Surely it needs no explanation? How about a couple of players at £4m. Christ, Dack is being touted as the best player outside the PL and he cost less than £1m. Armstrong was £1.2m plus add-ons. £8m is a bloody fortune for us. Are you telling me we couldn’t find that kind of value anywhere? May as well sack our scouting team if the fans need to put names forward. As noble as it is, we seem obsessed with British and English players. Other clubs find value overseas yet we do not. There should be a balance. I’ve never known a Rovers squad with so few foreign players. Raya and Nyambe bring the only first team regulars with Leutweiler making up the squad’s foreign players.

Looks a bit like Craig Holding - Sports Therapist...

Surely £8m could be better spent?

Ferguson Moyes Imposter Allardyce Rogers Hughes Lambert Pulis McCarthy Howe Redknapp? Bruce? McLaren? Hughton? ?

2.

The number of non-English British or Irish managers is worryingly even less than English managers though. 4 in the top two tiers. Where are they all??

This post seems to have been overlooked by the optimists. A permanent move at the right price could swing that one if the players wants first team football but that certainly doesn’t sound like a loan opportunity. Brereton needs to come off then or it’s back to the drawing board with 2 weeks left.

Wouldn’t disagree. In the context of a bad September then yes it would have been a poor start. Which is why (already) we need to be looking at getting points where we may not have previously targeted.

Depends. 2 points from 9 is poor. 3 points from 9 is disappointing.

Agreed Al.

British managers are not fashionable enough for today’s Premier League. Now SAF has retired there isn’t even a mentor and referee (in the job sense) for any young British managers. It’s a global brand these days and needs a global image. Dyche certainly doesn’t fit the profile except for an unfashionable Northern club getting their turn to play with the big boys. But you have to blame the chairmen who don’t bring through the young British managers. It’s all about instant success. Other top flight leagues seem to have plenty of home grown managers who get to gain experience. As soon as they are ripe, they are plucked from the tree by impatient club chairmen who want, nay need, instant success. I guess the other side of that coin is that suitably qualified and experienced European manager’s are applying for PL jobs as soon as they can, chasing the coin. The applicants in other top flights mainly only attractive to nationals from that country. For interest, here’s how Europe’s top divisions line up: Premier League (20% domestic) 4 ENG 16 Foreign (4 SPA, 3 POR, 1 WAL, 1 IRE, 1 FRA, 1 ITA, 1 ARG, 1 USA, 1 CHI, 1 GER, 1 SER) La Liga (75% domestic) 15 SPA 5 Foreign (All ARG) Bundesliga (78% domestic) 14 GER (incl 1 dual national TUR) 4 Foreign (1 AUS, 1 CRO, 1 HUN, 1 SWI) Ligue 1 (80% domestic) 16 FRA (incl 1 dual national ARM) 4 Foreign (2 POR, 1 GER, 1 URU) Serie A (95% domestic!) 19 ITI 1 Foreign (1 SPA) Liga NOS (100% domestic) 18 POR 0 Foreign SPL (50% domestic) 6 SCO 6 Foreign (6 ENG) Despite having just over half the number of teams the SPL has 2 MORE English managers than the English top flight!! Meanwhile... Championship (75% domestic) 18 ENG (incl 1 dual national Jamaican) 6 Foreign (1 GER, 1 SPA, 1 WAL, 1 SCO, 1 HOL, 1 ARG) - Tony Pulis being Welsh It isn’t a stretch to say that the PL has taken on new different identity and a European Super League is already here and is being played (in disguise) in England with the Championship taking the proxy role as the new English First Division. The way the game is going it won’t be long before PL games are regularly played across Europe as non-geographical franchises and our England team and managers are being picked from the second tier. Maybe the game will be better off when it does.

Not really the point. If we need a 7 and an 11 and second 9 then we need to stop recruiting number 10s.

Fair enough. I think Smallwood is suspect at this level and have no confidence in Evans but there you go. On Palmer, it sounds like poor scouting/recruiting if we are already dropping our shining star loanee because he isn’t good enough to play against Hull. Armstrong is wasted wide and we will lose something playing him there. Again, poor recruitment if we need to play an out-and-out forward on the wing in place of a midfielder/winger.

A handful? Come on, there’s way more than 6! Without being sarcastic... Liverpool City United Chelsea Arsenal Tottenham Leicester Everton Newcastle Rovers Sunderland West Ham Leeds Villa Birmingham Fulham Norwich Sheff Wed Sheff Utd All of these teams have more expectation and therefore pressure than Bumley. Then you have non-English clubs... Celtic in Europe would be a step up He might fancy doing what McLaren did in Holland with a more experienced European side. When you take a club like Bumley to 7th then you get offers. To turn them down shows he has hit his comfort zone. With respect, you lot probably can’t believe your luck at the moment and are just enjoying the ride fully expecting it to come to an end soon.