Just now, RoverKyle said:

Can't be classed as young? The lad is 21.

Young as in terms of first team experience.

Just now, 47er said:

Yes really! They are the ones I was thinking of! Thanks. Both became regulars too late.

But Macgloire, Chapman ,Nyambe, Davenport and Buckley could have been given more chances and they certainly didn't have time to prove much.

Nyambe is a bit different, he had an extensive run early on but latterly hasn't featured. 

Nyambe can't be classed as a young anymore he has been in and out of the first team for many a season.

Rothwell was a first teamer at another club so I wouldn't say he was one of the inexperienced players.

The others gave glimpses but only that. It does not prove anything. We've had many a young player do this but never mount to much. time will tell.

Personally think Nyambe would benefit playing as the right side defender in a system that Shef Utd. employ. Would need a very experienced leader who will bark orders to him.

Just now, 47er said:

I don't mind "giving them an opportunity". The problem is that the 'opportunity" lasted the whole season or most of it.

And it came at the expense of younger players who proved they could do better.

Really? The younger players showed they could do better? I'll give you Rothwell and Travis, the rest weren't given enough time to prove or disprove the second statement

Wonder why Mimms never got another gig?

2 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

I agree that agencies aren’t great. But dealing with SEM was never the problem. It was the control that SEM once had over the club that was the real problem. That issue no longer exists, ergo...

......hopefully.

Or we were too low down the food chain for the bigwigs of SEM to be interested

6 hours ago, Stuart said:

You don’t have to employ anyone that you don’t want to. Pretty sure that agents are not a protected characteristic against which there are grounds for discrimination - although give it time.

Of course youre right but selection has to be transparent. Selecting one person over another on just because you dont like a person's agent alone will be 's against the law if proved. It is like you cannot select a person for a job because you dont like the colour of the other applicant's hair.

Just now, Paul Mani said:

I think Stuart pointing out that SEM represent Smallwood was an intimation that the stench of Anderson and Kean is still alive. I’m pretty sure that it isn’t. 

There will always be the link whilst Venky's are around....no avoiding that......damage already done

Just now, philipl said:

SEM is not the only problem.

Although they are not supposed to, prominent agents in effect work as networks with affiliated smaller agents. 

One such agent has about 150 ostensibly independent agents tightly inside his network.

On the general point, agents cannot be avoided but it comes down to management and ownership as to whether the agents are de facto running the club.

On this basis, within the last two years, Rovers have again come to look like a proper football club business. Agents crossing boundaries thrive where there is no effective management to shoo them out of where they don't belong.

Being optimistic, Venky's have perhaps learned the very hard and expensive way.

So it could be that in theory that not only we don't deal with SEM, we could have to not deal with upto 150 other agents? If we know there connections? How does that get policed?

Also not employing soemone because of their agent does that break freedom of employment laws?

Just now, Stuart said:

It’s a good question.

On the face of it, I think for a time, we should have, or had, a self-imposed ban on using that agency. If it was an agency that owed us money I’d suggest that we would stop using them until the debt was paid.

I’m not sure that what people associated with that particular agency cost our club will ever be repaid.

While we continue to deal with them the stench will remain.

On that then I would also suggest to avoid any future stench then we also impose a self imposed ban on the agency that Mowbray and team belong to. This would avoid suggestions that we are connected to that agency.

I'd agree with you about the money owed if it was my money but that is Venky's choice as it is their money. If money is owed then they also need to recover it by usual channels.

If future deals involve SEM then I'd only go ahead once they have been heavily scrutunised by independent agencies so that both parties are clear of any stench. It wont happen I know. 

30 minutes ago, Stuart said:

Richie Smallwood is a SEM client.

Is he the only one? 

If a player we want is SEM do we avoid?

Is there links between the club, agents and players signing like it was 'alleged' before?

One player I would suggest is manageable and although not great it is not a plague that infected us previously

This season Norwich have employed a high press which has allowed their full backs to overlap but next season the likes of Sterling will have a field day playing in behind the full backs. There were times last night when Bell and Bennett were playing as wingers there were that much space but what should up was their in ability to do anything with the ball. Usually when their names were mentioned on the ball the next name mentioned was a Norwich one.

Higginbottom comentating on Sky was going on about what Bereton brought to the team as sub but you need someone quick to run the channels from centre. Armstrong is wasted on the wing if we are going to play this he needs to be more central to stretch the central defenders and pull them out of position. We musy be only team that field field 4 wingers in Bennett, Conway, Chapman and Rothwell and still play a player out of position in a wide position 

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/17592767.why-rovers-boss-opted-to-use-ben-brereton-in-the-no9-role/

"I think we need to try and get away from the almost one dimensional style of a diagonal ball to Graham, knock down to Dack, which has worked so well for us over the last couple of seasons"

Good to see Tony's been listening to the experts. 

BRFCS - Football consultants. No job too big. 

what by? by playing the one dimensional ball to Bereton instead? D. Lenihan needs the memo as several times he tried it on Saturday and it didn't work

18 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Other player links off the top of my head:

Simon Barker was a top, top player for both clubs in the 80s and 90s.

Roy Wegerle

DJ Campbell

Ryan Nelsen

Darren Peacock

Danny Simpson

And Gareth Ainsworth is a Blackburn lad who played many games for QPR as well.

Also Ossie Ardiles

3 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Armstrong would have a great signing 20 years ago when most teams played with 2 up front. Normally a big target man and a nippy little player along side him. That style of football seems to have gone out of fashion. If we played like that now with Graham and Armstrong up front where would Dack play ? Armstrong's not a winger and he's best suited to a way of playing we don't use even when we're chasing the game. I said as much when we signed him back in the Summer.

Yes you're right. One way next season, on the presumption Dack goes, is to go 3 at the back, play with wing backs with Rothwell and Armstrong narrow playing off Graham.

Dack adds to the problem as I can't see him playing like that.

14 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

I think his return has been pretty good for a lad playing out on the wing. He's contributed to a few goals as well. I honestly thought he had scored more than 4 though so it shows how clouded my judgement probably is on him!!

His performance vs Leeds at home shows me that there is a player somewhere in there. You just feel in the system he is being played in he isn't ever going to get a chance to lead the line for a prolonged period of time.

 

The Leeds performance also showed how he can be taken out of the game when Leeds changed tactics and fullbacks.

15 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

He definitely does not have a poor touch, in fact ive seen him numerous times pluck a ball out of the air and stop it dead.

Also, Alex Neil said after he came here that he had done so choosing us over Preston so thats not true either.

I dont think hes offered enough and I think hed be better placed on the right rather than the left as he can use his pace to go on the outside. His decision making is a major downfall.

God knows what Mowbray sees to seperate him and Rothwell defensively either.

Actually think the old inside left or right would suit him better, exploiting the space between centre half and full back. such as the vast space left between Mulgrew and Williams/Bell which regularly gets exploited by other teams. 

16 hours ago, Don Said said:

At the time of signing he was a 21 year old forward, with 40ish league one and championship goals under his belt, also played and scored at every level for England up to u21's.

All opinions but I wouldn't say paying £1.75m with that record and further development potential in today's market is anywhere near over the top.

 

Not on the wing though!

16 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

It always seems to take Armstrong an extra split second to get his shot off, which means they are often blocked.

Another difference from League 1.

Is that not a confidence thing? Playing more centrally in Janurary he became more instictive. Since he has been shunted out wide again he has to think more about the game and his confidence drops again causing that extra split second of indecisivness. Another case in point of Mowbray not playing to a player's strengths

16 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I think you have your dates mixed up, following the win v Pompey we played Wigan away and drew nil nil, followed by a dissapointing draw v Fleetwood and 6 wins on the bounce.

I think Mowbrays time is up like you but its totally unfair to suggest we went up "despite" Mowbray you have to be prepared to give him credit even if it was a minimum requirement you have to still do it. And its not lucky either as others have suggested.

Sorry you're right but still Mowbray started with Chapman, Dack and Graham up front against Pompey and we played some great football then against Wigan he dropped Chapman and Graham opting to play Antonnson up front on his own.

At Oldham, Antonnson played up front as well and we all so how effective that was. 

The fact remains Mowbray worries too much about the opposition rather than concentrate on his own team's strengths

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

In all Mowbray's time at Rovers I've never had the feeling that we were a well coached team. 

I said at the time we won promotion despite Mowbray but not because of him!

I still cannot forget that performance at Oldham last season where the week before we hammered Pompey 3-0 at Ewood then Mowbray changed the team because he was afraid of Oldham's right back and centre forward. It showed all we need to know!

On 03/04/2019 at 15:03, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Peter Dobing played for both Rovers and Stoke. A real class player.

So did Viv Busby.

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

Mulgrew barks orders to be fair, he just can't defend. 

He doesn't read the game though and its hard to mop up your own mistakes.

11 hours ago, Blue blood said:

I bet with a decent manager organizing them, and ideally, but not essentially a proper leader at centre back, both Lenihen and Nayambe would improve vastly. Both have a fair amount of talent, but are being dragged down and not pushed to their best by the current set up. 

Yes a decent manager is essential on the training pitch but once the game is underway you need a leader. Mulgrew isn't it. Every successful team has one leader at the back. One who can organise. Historically if we go back, Kevin Moran made Colin Hendry into a better player by the fact he organised and had the ability to read the game and mop up the mistakes.

Berg on his return was another case in point.

21 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

One of the things I learnt regarding full back play is that you have to be looking over your shoulder constantly. This means every couple of seconds when the opposition have the ball. That way you don't get ambushed on the back post.

A commanding centre half or keeper who can read the game also helps. One that barks orders and the keep the entire back four or five in position and moves to cover any potential danger of the full back being beaten. Ours just stand and usually mark space instead of anticapting that our full backs are going to get beat.