roversfan99

With West Brom about to appoint Mowbray, I wonder if that stops any potential of agreeing to sign Jed Wallace.

*what Alan Nixon heard.

Another that comes to life as a wannabe ITK.

It wasnt aimed at you, was a general point. I agreed with your point.

Absolutely, reasons both for buying and selling a player alike. Finances a big one, interference/joint decisions from others especially nowadays etc. And its not an exact science, judgements on a players ability is subjective. So there is no reason to disrespect supporter for having them.

Edit: apologies, my mistake.

I dont think these hyperbolic examples of supporters (similar to the one about twitter and doing terrible things to cats or whatever it was) do the situation justice and I dont get what you would gain from a supporters messageboard if you show such disregard for what people think. We dont know even if Robins is interested in him, and also as @RevidgeBlue touches on there is a manager in all potential transfers who has been watching the player at his most recent performance level every day and has decided that he is happy to let him go. So if you follow that line of thought, surely that would come into the thinking if your stance is, well I think the professionals know a little bit more than us? Of course these professionals clearly know more than any of us, I dont think anyone has suggested otherwise. But nowadays, its so easy to see these players and lots including myself have seen Thomas Asante play on a number of occasions. Beyond highlights and transfermarkt. And enough to hold a respectable opinion as to what we think of him. If you was talking to someone at the game or down the pub, and they said well I dont think this player is what we need, would you turn round and shut them down by saying I think they know more than you, mock their job and exaggerate how little you think they have seen the player in question? Another thing to consider is that these managers are working in conjunction with other staff members and under budgetary restrictions. It is feasible that he maybe is the best option for what we can afford and also not suitable to lead the line for the ambitions we should have. (Not that I personally am specifically saying that)

Dolan like all of the front 4 was fairly anonymous but he did put in one excellent cross that Hyam should have scored with and was probably just about the best, or moreso the least bad of the front 4, I would agree.

Hes not the player he has been at the past. Playing in the Premier League or scoring 20+ for Bristol City. Think of the various managers that have signed Jason Lowe for example. They arent always right. And managers are often not responsible for signings directly, and they are working under budget restrictions. And you often see players who have played at the level going to various clubs because its sometimes easier rather than taking a risk looking further afield. I do think Thomas Asante has something about him, he is very quick. Hes not a waste of space or anything like that, there is some logic to it. He is probably better than anything we have too. Maybe he will prove to be the best we can afford in our budget. But he isnt a natural goalscorer or the difference maker to be more ruthless that Eustace touched on in the press, unless he does something here that he never has before. Considering its not a case of waiting to borrow someone, if we do want him so much, theres no reason to drag it out. Some important games between now and February.

We have been signing loads of players under the loans/freebies/very cheap deal bracket even since the court case. As I said the other day, we havent signed a player for over £2m since 2019. We sold Armstrong and saw nothing reinvested. Covid and FFP were the excuses prior to the court case. Either way, during a number of years before and after the start of the court case, they have merely being offsetting the losses, not actively funding any sort of progression on the field. I feel like people put too much onus on the court case as if the owners will start putting money into players, even though they werent before anyway. Everyone gets themselves into a frenzy as to when the next hearing is and I dont get it. Even if it actually got heard, I dont forsee any changes.

We seem to be solid regardless of the personnel in the wide areas, they all work hard and it all comes down to the way we are setup. I dont feel like we become more solid and organised specifically when we have Hedges there as opposed to someone else. But even if you are brilliant off the ball, you have to offer something going forward to justify selection as a wide player. Buckley isnt miles away anymore, he is 3rd choice and currently in the team down only to one injury.

The court case has made them even less interested in funding us, but they hadnt been in the years before aside from merely offsetting the losses. We hadnt been reinvesting.

Shea Charles might be being recalled by Southampton which would be a big blow. Good manager but not a very good squad. Atlanta are trying to sign Latte Lath, that would be bad news for Boro.

I dont get why, apart from that he had that good game against us. Loads of baggage and seldom scores.

The reaction to Thomas Asante is a mixed bag. Even if Robins does want him back, it doesnt invalidate any opinions that others have.

He offers zilch going forward though. Even the basics break down with him. In one attack, he had Beck overlapping and in a great position, Hedges messed up a 5 yard pass and it broke down. There was once in the second half where a simple ball was played down the line to him, hes a big lad and just couldnt get hold of it and conceded possession. I dont think hes amazing off the ball either. Buckley wa still guilty of his usual frustrations. He takes a touch or 2 too many and gives away silly fouls and it just kept breaking up the game.

Gueye's 45 minutes in a friendly at Stockport could become as legendary as Myles Anderson's tackle or Brett Emerton's debut v Wolves.

Depends if Plymouth are willing to do a deal on 3 of their unwanted players in those positions.

Eustace said at the weekend he wants another left back.

Is ACD better from the bench? I actually think sometimes he has struggled to really impact games in cameos whereas from the start he actually has looked more threatening before he tires in the second half. Notably v Luton at home.

Important that we go again at the weekend, Oxford arent packed full of quality even if Rowett has given them a bit of a bounce. With the quick change around and with the starting 11 struggling before some of the subs helped to turn the game, changes based on selection could freshen us up. Hedges and Buckley need dropping and Gueye and ACD deserve a start. Pears Brittain Hyam Batth Beck Tronstad JRC ACD Cantwell Weimann Gueye

He gets so much stick because he is a striker who offers very little goalscoring threat, whatever you offer outside of that (and he does have games where the ball bounces off him etc) as a striker you will struggle to avoid criticism unless you offer a goal threat, its not something that can be easily dismissed. Thankfully he did tonight by getting a goal with his head where he does show a threat, with his feet he is very poor in front of goal. He definitely offers more as a sub than as a starter it seems. When he starts games he is often anonymous. When he comes on and we need a goal, sometimes just the chaos of a target man can lead to knock downs etc. Although tonight it wa a very skilled header. And if we are winning and he comes on, he (not always) can hold the ball up and get us up the pitch as he did at the weekend.

Does Dolan have much pace? Not that I can see. Im not convinced that Thomas Asante is the answer, thats if we even do get him which is far from certain. But he is much quicker than Dolan.

Exactly. Which is not particularly impressive anyway, and thats if you just ignore his record at Coventry. But again, my posts on Thomas Asante are mixed, weighing up positives and negatives of which I listed both. You presumably agree with the pros, ignore them, attack the cons because you cant bear to admit that its not solely positive, and say "its my first port of call." Because we needed a good midfielder, one to play while Travis is out and be immediate cover for him and Tronstad for the rest of a busy season. We instead signed a Plymouth reserve and bump Buckley up to do the role that Baker was doing, which is a big downgrade as he isnt good enough. Is your opinion on the Forshaw signing purely positive?

No, you read my posts which I try and combine positives and negatives, unless its someone like Forshaw. And you focus on the doubts only. You dismiss any bad spells, you deny any potential weaknesses, and just shoot people down who dare mention them. In your mind, he can only possibly be good. The only 2 strikers weve been linked with that I know of are Bamford and Thomas Asante. I wouldnt even entertain the former, hes injured. The latter I am mixed on. 11 or 12 goals a season would be reasonable on top of pace and pressing. But thats not his regular yearly yield so you cant just assume thats what he would get. 11 in 39 league games is his best, which is still 1 in just over 3 and a half games, so nothing special. Theres also a 7 in 33 and a 1 in 25 at this level which dont fit the narrative so youve dismissed them and assumed he scores 11 or 12 every season. His Championship record overall is 19 in 97 so 1 in 5. So based on that, he gets 9 goals if he plays a full season, which is a Gallagher ratio. Obviously, we could well sign anyone and they could become prolific, its not a linear observation. But equally, its totally baffling logic to use that about any player. It would suggest that you can sign anyone, they MIGHT suddenly start scoring loads. They might, but if theyve done it before youve got more evidence that theyll do it again.