Exactly. Neither Rhodes nor Gestede were here when we were relegated so it seems extremely harsh to blame Rhodes.

People can't really have it both ways about Gallagher. As We've grown increasingly desperate in recent days I keep reading about what a good job he'd do for us on Loan. If you think he's a decent player then 7m for a young striker his age on a permanent deal probably isn't that unreasonable. Personally I think he's willing but fairly ordinary at best and not the answer either on loan or permanently. I'd also have thought that with the prices being bandied about for mediocre home grown talent there must be better players available abroad for the same sort of money. The problem of course is whether they'll be able to settle properly in this country and adapt to the pace and physicality of the English Leagues etc. Edit: whoops see several others beat me to it.

Absolutely. I would imagine there is one in and if as we are led to believe he was happy to sign a new deal all along I'd guess the delay was most likely down to haggling over the level the release clause was to be pitched at.

Have to agree to disagree. I think Dack is potentially so far above the level of the rest of the squad you have to treat him as a special case. Albeit on a much lower level I would like it to Shearer. Uncle Jack gave him numerous unsolicited pay rises even though technically under the terms of his contract he maybe wasn't entitled to it.

You're just being argumentative for the sake of it here. You know as well as I do PSG was just a figurative example. If any major Club came in unexpectedly for him before the end of the window There's every chance he'd be off regardless of the new deal. However the new deal is undoubtedly great news. If he does leave at any point we should now get a price which reflects his true worth and it shows that as at today he is quite happy to commit to the Club.

I disagree re Dack , he carried the team practically single handed my at times last season and I think it was absolutely essential to offer him new terms to try and keep him as happy as possible. What we don't know at this stage is whether or not his new deal has a release clause in and if it does, what level it is set at. From our point of view it's hopefully as high as possible to deter any outside interest and ensure us a bumper price I'd he does leave. The player would obviously want it as low as possible if there is such a clause. I would agree with you that there was no need at all to give the likes of Smallwood and Williams new deals.

As will Dack if PSG come in for him next week. All players have a price. The good news is that he obviously has no intention of moving imminently. Still doesn't alter the fact we are two quality strikers and two wide men short though.

Yep. Times are fairly hard when yiu're jumping up and down simply because your best players aren't leaving imminently but the best news of the window to date by far.

Did he say "Championship Club" who weren't in the Championship last season? Otherwise it could mean any Premier League Club apart from the 3 who were promoted last season.

I would have thought for 3m we could do better and get more of an out and out striker but then again I'm not privy to the market. As you say if we hypothetically spent 3m on Armstrong it would be unlikely we'd lose that money as at the very worst he should retain his value. At the moment though it's looking very unlikely We're prepared to spend that much on a player, the evidence to date suggests the budget is only comparably to last year's 1.3m plus loans and that having been priced out of the market We're being forced to consider loan deals.

I think with just over two weeks to go before the start of the season the choices are becoming pretty obvious. We need to spend decent money on a couple of strikers and one preferably two wide men. If We're not Prepared to do that then fine but I would say if we were to go through the season with the squad as it is now we'd be stone cold knockers to be relegated.

Absolutely. Agents have been around forever. The market is what it is as well. All this "the market is overpriced" guff is doublespeak for either "We've misjudged the market badly" or "We've no adequate funding available and we never did have".

This. We are Blackburn Rovers not Manchester City. And the logo is horrific. If There's been a worse home shirt I can't think of one off the too of my head.

For me if Kent came in on loan and Chapman came in permanently or on loan with a view that would give us decent options in the wide positions. We would then need at least one and ideally 2 quality strikers. Armstrong and Maddison permanently would probably represent decent business. Gallagher isn't good enough imo. However this is all pie in the sky at the moment. We haven't got any of them yet and if Kent comes in in isolation then that would mean we've made 3 signings, all of whom would probably come into the "providing competition for places" category as opposed to being obvious first team starters. We badly need quality acquisitions who will improve the first eleven not just pad out the squad. Particularly in the striking positions.

If the post came across as being in anyway patronising, it certainly wasn't intended to be and I've no idea why anyone would take it that way other than in your case for the purpose of launching yet another gratuitous insult. There's nothing whatsoever wrong with everyone being hopeful but whether we have any interest in the player remains to be seen.

Good post. It's about this time I would hope that if the owners are taking an interest in us as was speculated on in another thread they are on the blower asking why we haven't landed any of our main or original transfer targets. I would also hope that the message is sent back to India that We've misjudged the Championship market badly and more funding is needed if we hope to bring in players of the requisite quality. We do have history for completely re-evaluating on the eve of the season. A few years ago our business was done, then Best got injured and thankfully with the benefit of hindsight £8m was spirited up out of nowhere for Rhodes.

It shows how dire things are when people are desperately clinging onto the hope that We're in for a player when the only evidence that We're in for him is that There's no evidence whatsoever We're in for him at all but it hasn't been denied either! It's a mightily impressive piece of collective straw grabbing. Let's hope everyone is correct with the deductions gained from their super sleuthing and that it's not just a case of putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with about six and a half.

Should we be even more worried that Chaddy has stalkers on Twitter tracking his every move? Lol. Good old Chaddy. God loves a trier. I wondered where he'd gone today. I thought he might have gone to lie down in a darkened room because Nixon had said "Mowbray not happy at Blackburn. Sick of chucking loose change at Clubs and being ignored" Or something.

Ouch. First me then Stuart. Cut to the quick with a few deadly strokes of the keyboard!

Oops sorry you're right - my mistake. That's me told isn't it!. ?

Looking back over recent LT articles that has been his prediction throughout the window. We'll soon see if he was right although of course it's not simply a case of bringing extra bodies in, they need to be of the right quality as well.

I wouldn't worry too much either way. Unless we sign some strikers We're unlikely to be needing the goal music very often!

Of course it is. Dack and his agent will be aware he's put himself in the shop window with his performances last season and I bet Dack is currently on a lot less than the likes of Mulgrew, Graham and Evans or most decent Championship players.

Ok you win you've got round me with flattery. Lol. I'm not averse to the loan system per se if it is used sparingly to add a bit of pizzazz and the finishing touches to your transfer business. Ideally you'd like someone truly exceptional that you could never afford to buy outright in a month of Sunday's like Woodburn from Liverpool or Foden from City. As OH says though you're heading for trouble if you're trying to make it the staple of your business purely to avoid paying transfer fees. One of my main objections to relying on the loan system though is the element of uncertainty. At least if you're in to buy a player permanently things are under your control to the extent that if you want to you can keep upping your offer until you get your man. If you're relying on Premier League loans after the transfer window has shut then the bigger Clubs are under no obligation whatsoever to let their players go out on loan to the lower leagues. You've no real idea whether players will be made available to loan or even if they are if they're in the positions you want or if they fancy joining you. And if it all comes to nothing it's too late to do anything about it then.

Not sure why a randomer on Facebook would have any of the above intimate info but just to humour him for a moment and assume he is correct I wouldn't pay £2.5m for the privilege of loaning Armstrong for the season, for that sort of money or very slightly more I'd sooner bring him in permanently. Neither would I touch Gallagher with a barge pole for 24k p.w. then being obliged to buy him for £2.5m. Chapman I would take a punt on and at those figures that sounds about right.