roversfan99

I think Dolan was really well suited to Ismael. He improved when Ismael came in and hes really energetic and a good presser. Some of the players we have signed dont even fit into the remit of pace and power so I dont think its critical that every single player has it or the intention to build a team where everyone has to have it. Morishita is tiny and quite slight, on paper he doesnt fit the mould. No reason he fits and Dolan wouldnt have. McLoughlin is quite a slow centre back, he doesnt fit the mould. And with some of the current players. Ohashi doesnt fit the mould, but still plays above Gueye who is bigger and stronger but ultimately is crap. Hyam is an important player, as is Tronstad, Ribeiro is a regular too. Hedges isnt really an athlete. None are stand out athletes, so I dont think the intention is to build a team where every single player has to be purely an athlete. You need more than that. I still also think that Travis as much as anyone was a real athlete and would have suited Ismael down to the ground. Buckley and JRC were coasting. Certainly neither of those 2 will be a miss.

Jackson's article today suggests that a midfielder is being chased but that a striker is far from a guarantee. Surely those priorities should be swapped.

What about Dolan? I know you arent a fan and I think have been massively unfair on him. But in terms of style, surely you agree that his high energy profile suits Ismael down to the ground? And surely you acknowledge that his form improved when Ismael came in. Totally get why signing these exotic players are exciting and I appreciate that much of your post is satirical. But obviously it goes without saying that it is not a case that many of these players are being "left behind" with Ismael wanting them gone because the boys club vibe is no more and theyve not been able to keep up. Theyve left because we cant get them to stay on the peanuts that are offered. They leave gigantic holes. Tronstad and Travis very much did stand a chance from a footballing sense, they arent the T1000S that need to move on, its a hell of an assumption that Tavares and Baradji will just wave them on as they come in as superior models to take us forward, again jokes appreciated. One comes from being in and out in a mid table Portugese league team and one was relegated in Switzerland, there is reason for optimism with both but I suspect if we had all 4, then the latter 2 would be the ones providing competition and learning from the T2000s, who actually contrary to the above are very much the real deal.

We definitely shouldnt hold on to academy lads purely because they came through. But 2 exceptions to what you say. Newcastle fans were gutted to lose Anderson who has been excellent for Forest, he only went due to FFP rules. And the likes of Buckley and JRC are not big losses. But Travis is a giant on.

Another key objective to make a successful window has to be to tie down Tronstad and Hyam to new deals.

Im not over estimating that compared to last season, some really crucial players and also some very useful players have left the club. That doesnt mean that some might not be adequately be replaced or some new signings might not improve us. They may very well do that. Thats a seperate argument. But we dont have to pretend that some of the players that have left have done based on our decision. They left when we didnt want them to. Nor do we have to pretend that some of the players that have left were not as good or as useful as they actually are. They do leave big gaps. Whether those gaps are filled, time will tell. But those gaps are still left nonetheless. Brittain, Travis, Dolan, Batth. You wanted them all to stay. I wanted them all to stay. Now they are gone, similar to your trick with managers. It is of little surprise that you will downplay their quality or their influence. Its what you do. As soon as anyone heads through the Ewood exit door, in your eyes they become 50% worse. Eustace, JDT, and now a series of key players.

But we are at a point where as you have said, we have barely if at all seen the new players. So all we can do really is speculate and also discuss what we have lost. Even if they wouldnt fit into the new way, if we are comparing the quality of the respective squads, regardless of styles, its worth noting key personnel that has left. Take Batth. He is seemingly potentially starting to decline. And I dont think he would have suited our style as much now anyway. We didnt want him to go though, Ismael wanted him to stay, he turned us down. But I would be amazed if we keep as many clean sheets this season as last. So it is a fair direct comparison still. People are downplaying the quality of those who have left too. You mention Travis. Ismael seemingly wants to play athletic, high energy stuff. That would have been right up Travis' street. Full of energy, a great presser, in your face. I dont get why you think Tavares would have knocked him out of the team. You also consider the intangible differences. Travis in the team against Birmingham doesnt show the same naivety that Tavares did. Dolan, a player I know you really did not rate. Again, Ismael really wanted to keep him, and his form was possibly the only player to actually improve when Ismael came in. Loves to press, high energy, and started to become more and more productive. So he is again a big loss, both in terms of comparisons to last season AND as someone who would have really suited Ismael. And obviously he had great success with Brittain before and he was another key player. You also say you can understand why most have left. It isnt out of choice. We tried to keep them, they just didnt stay because the club has a continued inability to get players to sign new deals. This summer hasnt gone to plan, the plan was to sign 6 or 7 and Ismael has said numerous times that we have had to "transition" and sign more players than initially planned due to unwanted departures. Travis, Brittain and Dolan in particular would have not only been key features of the team had they stayed but perhaps would have suited Ismael as much as anyone. Which of the players that have left are you NOT glad that they have left? Ie which do you think would have thrived and improved in an Ismael team?

I still think that people are underestimating the holes that some of the leaving players have left. They might not be fancy exotic names with youtube highlight reels but they were crucial players in us doing so well. Travis is a leader but hes not just that, he might not be a silky player but hes an intelligent one. He reads danger, he protects the defence, he wins the ball back high up, and he manages games well. If he played instead of Tavares v Birmingham we win that game. Hes also not as bad on the ball as people make out. I think McLoughlin might be our best signing and I think he will do better than Batth does at Derby, but not as good as Batth did for us last season. He was superb. Brittain is the best right back in the league, I think both of our new ones show promise and our sub RB will be much stronger this season, but our starter will be weaker. No shame on either, but its going to be so hard to equal Brittain. Dolan has his critics, he isnt stand out at this level, but he is a good Championship winger who had a productive season. Beck and Weimann played lesser roles but still important. I am not saying that some of the new signings arent quite exciting and some could go on to be really shrewd pick ups. But there is a lot to just equal the side we had last season, never mind eclipse it which has to be the aim.

But even with lots of time, he isnt particularly productive. I dont think he is bullied particularly. His ability on the ball wouldnt stand out to make him look brilliant in a more technical league.

There was plenty of time before Wharton emerged. Buckley had the only real somewhat sustained run of form under Mowbray, ironically as a false 9 which was questioned. His form massively tapered off before the season ended. Wharton only emerged the season after and was soon back out of the team with questions about his attitude. In all of that time, Buckley struggled to get to grips playing deeper and never fully established himself or got back into any form. Buckley's style makes him look like a graceful player. He just isnt very good.

Nothing happens if we dont. I would just consider it to be petty and in line with the way we tend to treat people under Venkys. He has offered a lot more to this club including more graft than Buckley has, captained the side very well for years. Therefore warrants a decent send off. Pretty simple.

See if we also show the same courtesy to Travis. A player who has put years of constant graft in, no coasting, to help the club having come through the academy. Or if we go down the petty route of continuing to paint him as a villain without ever saying what he is supposed to have done wrong.

I dont think he needs to sell them a dream. He is essentially an extension of the owners, he is not someone that has to justify his employment to them. The academy is more cost effective to keep, its heavily subsidised, might throw up the odd big sale or two and fills squad roles that otherwise would cost more than our contribition to academy costs in filling those squad players externally. We scout the lower Belgian leagues because they are cheap. Im sure all below him are striving to do as well as possible. But Suhail's objective is to keep costs low as per the owners, and his job is clearly safe regardless of performance. I think your issue with both of these is based on underestimating the contributions of the 2 players leaving. It doesnt have to be seen as a slight on Kargbo and Henriksson. You have been IMO unfair on Dolan, suggesting that he will soon be in League 1, instagramable Hedges, like a youtube player etc. He was a productive Championship winger. It is too early to say I appreciate, so is basically all of this thread, but we are essentially just predicting. But if Kargbo had a season as effective as Dolan last season, it wouldnt be outstanding, but it would be a very productive season. Weimann and seemingly Henriksson were/will be squad players. The former offered valuable goals in doing so. Again, it will be a very healthy first season if the latter matches that.

I think McLoughlin was the back up option when we couldnt strike a deal for Kapuadi. I dont think it was a decoy at all. We just couldnt afford our main target. As it has worked out, with us shedding so much crucial domestic experience, McLoughlin may well be a much better fit. I also dont think that Suhail has any interest in beating any system. Gestede/Owen seem to have deemed that going abroad is the best bet but Suhail will only be bothered about cutting the wage bill.

That old chestnut. No one is ever "that type of player." He probably didnt go out to injure him, he was probably just pumped up. But his challenge was high, wreckless and out of control and a red card was to be expected.

I dont think you have factored in that most of the fees bandied around have been in Euros. Also, dont just take the idea that fees received have no impact on the budget. Use logic, we have made a lot in completed and soon to be completed sales. Obviously thats why we have spent more than expected. Im not overly interested in what they say. If you want people to be annoyed with regarding Eustace's departure, how about the owners, Suhail and to a lesser extent the likes of Gestede and Owen. They are the ones that pissed off another manager to the point of leaving. Point is, you always rate the current manager higher than those who have gone before who you only start to criticise upon their departure. Always the case, everyone knows. You prefer Ismael to Eustace because he is the manager now, no other reason.

I think its very unfair to call Eustace's results lucky. When you are repeatedly winning games often to nil it isnt luck. Im not convinced that weve been very attacking under Ismael. In the first 2 games we created very few chances and we didnt create any more under him last season.

Ismael has been very consistent in saying that we wanted one more, before sales, a right winger. Therefore I was always reasonably confident that we would get one. I am not sure if this new lad is specifically a right winger but he is an exciting addition to our attack and I am assuming that he is the winger/the 1 attacker before sales that we anticipated. We absolutely desperately need a striker but its never been mentioned by Ismael and it doesnt really align with any of the potential exits that now seemingly needs to happen. Its also hard to read into exactly what the policy is. Travis is leaving, was Baradji considered to be his replacement or was he a seperate case having initially failed a medical? Buckley was frozen out, will he be considered as someone who needs to be replacing? Will Pears? Leonard didnt even go away on tour, does he need replacing? Does the 1 in 1 out policy mean only direct replacements positionally? Could shifting a few mean that a striker is possible simply because the budget has been shifted about? I am not convinced by the likelihood of this transfer link. No way are we coming close to the fee suggested, and he seems to be strongly linked elsewhere, albeit at a much lower amount. But either way, it is of paramount importance that we bring in a striker. Its hard to predict exactly what will happen. Still lingering is the situation with Tronstad and Hyam. Considering the shrinkage of the wage budget and their subsequent increased importance, there is no excuse to not give them improved deals but it seems like its not being considered.

100%. Couldnt say a bad word about Tomasson until he left then regularly laid into him. Now predictably the same with Eustace. Will also only judge on results but still prefers Ismael because specfically he likes what he says in the media.

Hes got that sort of idiotic play in him. Not the brightest bulb. Never understand why when a player does something so stupid, and gets a red, he gets a standing ovation.

Yes, Eustace is better. His results last season were very impressive, Ismael hasnt replicated them. The job he did at Derby to keep them up was very, very impressive. The job he was doing at Birmingham was impressive. You are basically admitting that you are allowing feelings around his departure to cloud your judgement. I have given a firm answer. Eustace 100% I would prefer over Ismael. I am guessing I will not receive the courtesy of a straight answer from you.

I never said that they were all holes that we wouldnt be able to fill. I am saying that we have lost a number of key players that subsequently leave huge holes. We may well fill them holes adequately, we may have done already. Its not the point I am making. Eustace showed that when Rovers manager. He also then went to Derby and kept them up which was a very impressive achievement. Im not really sure that him having 2 less points than us (and a cup win to our loss) after 3 games proves otherwise. The hypocrisy of you saying that after 3 games and in the same post saying to judge others over a season sums up the mental gymnastics you use to justify things. I am guessing that you would prefer Ismael to Eustace now the former is in charge and not the latter.

So you dont agree that Ismael is a downgrade on Eustace? Same question to you @chaddyrovers who has liked it. You wanted Ismael gone after 7 or 8 games and wouldnt commit to saying that your gut feeling is that Ismael is going to work out the other day. And loved Eustace. So a bit confused.

I get that, and theres obviously a different manager. I suspect a downgrade considering how much Eustace was getting out of the squad he had. But its hard to deny that if you do a direct comparison, the contributions of Travis, Brittain, Dolan, Batth and to a lesser extent Weimann and Beck of last season do leave considerable holes. Some players that we already had may do better (or worse) too. Its not a linear comparison necessarily. But we have lost a lot of important players. Hopefully weve gained a lot of quality too.

Quite excited to see Morishita. Should be at his peak and seems to be coming off a good season. We need attacking threat and hopefully he can give us a new dimension. It is critical that we sign a striker and its never really felt likely. Not convinced by this Soumane link, especially with suggestions that he has his heart set on Widzew Lodz (who?). But I hope we do get someone in.