rovers11

Tactical masterclass from JDT. Swansea are dire to watch. Pass the ball to death without doing anything with it.

It does seem a little surprising we'd make a big investment, by our standards, in a player who plays in the same position as Dack. I know Szmodics can play across many positions but it sounds like he's best in the hole. That to me suggests there are big doubts about Dack's fitness and ability to play a pressing game. For me, Dack is still our most naturally gifted player who has a huge role to play.

Brighton are signing a centre half from Chelsea. Looking likely Van Hecke won't be part of their plans. Still not convinced he'll end up here though.

Dead in the water now Morton is here. Always a long shot anyway.

One in, another one to come. I suspect Szmodics will be done by midweek. Don't know much about Morton or Szmodics but they get my backing.

Obafemi is one that I'm pleased we missed out on.

Overall I thought we did well today, especially given the amount of key players we've lost and the lack of incomings. It was a fairly routine win in the end (did they even have a shot on target?). I thought the defence was outstanding and the combo of Travis/Buckley in Central midfield was excellent. The front 4 didn't quite click - Vale struggled, Gallagher was his usual self, Hedges did OK, and Brereton was quiet. There's no doubt we'll need to be better than that to win matches consistently, but it's a good start and hopefully 4/5 good signings over the next few weeks.

Talk to Gregg

Thought we looked poor for the majority of that half. QPR were much brighter but lack a cutting edge. Happy to be leading.

"Growing sense" just means he's seen the tweet from the Peterborough owner like the rest of us. I suspect we have an interest in Bowler but it's unlikely to happen. I think he'll end up at Bournemouth.

From that it sounds like it's getting closer.

1. Where will Rovers finish ? With our current squad, we'll finish around 14th. With 4/5 quality signings I could see us pushing for the play offs again. 2. Who will be the Rovers (official) Player Of The Season ? Kaminski. Have a feeling we're going to need him to be at his best this season. 3. Who do you think will be the breakout/breakthrough academy player this season ? (Let’s say under 23 at season start & fewer than 10 1st team appearances to be eligible) Jack Vale. 4. Who will win the Championship ? Middlesbrough. Top manager and a good set of championship players. 5. Where will Burnley finish ? 7th

I do wonder whether the attacking players are completely confused about what they should be doing and what positions they should be taking up. It seems like the plan is to give the front 4 players complete freedom but I feel players need more direction than that.

Van Hecke won't come back here, I'm pretty sure of that. Far too good for this level. He'll end up in one of the top flight European leagues if Brighton decide not to keep him. No point him playing championship football again, he's already proved he's better than that.

It will happen but just not yet. PS. Why are people clogging up the transfer thread with their world XI?!

On Nyambe, I can only think it was a personality clash with the other lads and that's why he's moved on. I remember Dacky giving an interview on his Rovers teammates for RoversTV and he mentioned how Nyambe was the strangest person he's ever met, or something along those lines.

Good signing. Proven at this level, potential to get better, and good re-sell value. Job well done. Still lots of work to do in the transfer market but this is a very good start.

This feels like a realistic signing and within our price range, so I'm hopeful on this one.

Nyambe to Wigan. Wow, that's embarrassing for us and the player. What's he thinking.

Another one bites the dust then with Davies going to Rangers. It doesn't feel like we're a very attractive prospect to players financially or ambition-wise at the moment. We've gotta hope these young players can make the step up (and even some of those are not committing their future to us!).

Defensive reinforcements desperately needed. Full backs are not good enough and we're two central defenders light too (can we even count Ayala?). Barring injuries, we have a solid attack and a decent midfield. Not promotion material by any means, but competitive and enough to keep our heads above water. We're well short defensively though so that area needs prioritising.

The new structure sounds far too convoluted for my liking. I presume it goes something like this: Manager says he wants players in X positions to DoF - DoF tells Head of Recruitment to recommend players in X positions - DoF goes to Waggot and says we want X players - Waggot goes to owners and says we want X players - tumbleweed from owners

Davies would be a good start. An upgrade on Lenihan but a downgrade on Van Hecke. Still, I'd be happy with that signing overall. If if did come off, we'd still need: - 1 Centre Half - 2 full backs - 2 CMs - 1 striker That would be a minimum, we probably need more.

Still plenty of time to do transfers but, wow, what a shocking window so far for us. Lost 3 key players and missed out on a key signing to Sheff Utd. Plus, Breo situation nowhere near being sorted.

I'd say 6/7 new players is about right. We've lost 5 players who were first team regularly last year - the 2 brighton loanees and the 3 who have left on a bosman - who all need replacing. Then there's Diaz who will leave too. Did we ever replace Arma? That makes 7 new players needed. Dack, Markanday, JRC and Hedges (not sure the latter two are that good though!) barely featured so they're like new signings. The squad players who left, a la Johnson and Davenport, should be replaced by the academy players if they are up to it. Can they really offer any less than what players like Johnson, Davenport, Zeefuik, Giles etc offered last season?