roversfan99

Massive game already. Lose again and the concerns really grow. I have always thought that people have overestimated our likeliness of relegation in past seasons but this one feels different. Birmingham and Wrexham already have miles better squads so they wont be close to a dogfight. Potential rivals like Hull, Charlton and Preston have all started well so a loss would just leave further ground to catch already. We also know that no matter what results are, Ismael is safe as they wont be paying between 2 and 3 years of his contract up. I presume we again will be choosing not to include our captain despite him still being a Rovers player for the time being?

Michalski is not ready. There are no cup games until Jan partly because of his performance. We have to have senior cover because if he is chucked in at Championship level, it will cost us points. None of that is a criticism, hes 18. Shouldnt be an immediate Championship deputy.

Its not harsh. Hes 18 years old, it would be harsh on him by the club to expect him to be second choice at this stage. I didnt say I want Pears to stay. I want him to be replaced really. If he did stay and/or in the mean time, he should be second choice over Michalski. To be fair, Venkys were the ones who nearly relegated us single handedly. I certainly dont rate Pears, but my point is that he is still a more capable deputy than an 18 year old who clearly isnt close to being ready for Championship football. I would want a new senior goalkeeper but such is the cost cutting, they will probably want a kid who is clearly nowhere near ready to be backup.

Hes an 18 year old who in his first senior game made an error as bad as youll see leading to a goal 4 minutes in, 2 minutes after letting a shot go under him. He also got fortunate again spilling a simple shot back into danger. Pears is poor but you have lost all sense of balance with him. He is still an actual senior goalkeeper who is a far safer bet than Michalski. He is very much a bad number 2 keeper, as he is today, at this level.

Chaddy, everyone is obviously aware that Sky offer clubs more money to show more games. That isnt escaping people. Sky want more games to justify continuing to flog increasingly expensive subscriptions, clubs just want as much money as possible, which only then goes to ever increasing wages, all the while ticket prices go up in spite of these TV deals. No one doesnt understand the above. But the above doesnt justify the disregard shown towards fans. 7 games all at that same time is a kick in the face to fans. And I would love to know the viewing figures on those extra 6 red button games. What can anyone do other than moan? Your whole argument in trying and failing to justify it boils down to you thinking that people dont understand, which they do, or to just tell them to stop moaning. Its all a build up, clubs, the EFL and Sky would all happily do anything to inconvenience fans if it led to more money.

Have things really got that desperate?

Who said that and to who?

Will give the benefit of the doubt and assume sarcasm. New poster so otherwise, a club plant.

Some people go to regular away games. Will they have to repeatedly go down the night before and get hotels and book time off? @arbitro highlights examples of the nightmare it can cause re public transport but you dont use it so you dont acknowledge it. And what about even home fans who might have for example their kids playing football in the morning? Ive told you my alternative and it isnt a series of different kick offs across the weekend. Its to revert back just to 1 game each Saturday 12.30. The viewing figures for the other 6 games must be very small because you can only watch 1 at once. Its not worth the inconvenience. Yes it means clubs getting less money, so less greed which only ends up in the hands of players, agents, directors etc anyway, clubs are still losing loads of money. It also gives Sky less chance to keep putting up their prices. Its not going to happen, football clubs, the EFL and Sky dont care about fans, but at least acknowledge that it causes massive inconveniences up and down the country for fans and is just greed going out of control.

Al Sahafi has been in Antwerp finalising a move.

Kargbo also said when he joined that the deal nearly happened in that summer.

I do know how it works. I just think it shows a total disregard to match going fans, and I dont see why they need so many on at one time. Its clearly not me who has seen no justification for it. Just repeatedly saying that exposure increases revenue (no shit, sherlock) doesnt justify it. I know the greed benefits clubs so in turn players, directors and agents. It benefits Sky to have so many games on, so they can keep driving their prices up. It all sticks 2 fingers up to the inconvenienced and out of pocket fans. Yet you lap it up.

Notice is the least they can do. But it doesnt offset the inconvenience that the unjustifiable and inconsiderate decision to show SEVEN games at once at half 12 provides. Simple. Its greed that just feeds through the clubs and to players and agents. Clubs are still pissing money, ticket prices are no lower and the fans have the double kick in the bollocks of an unnecessarily high number of games moved.

Youve clearly not read my post or understood my point. It ws about using up an ESC slot on an under 21 gamble when we clearly had plans to look abroad for signings.

It is a lie. Why does giving notice negate the fact that away fans are having to set off at ridiculous hours, possibly before public transport can get them there? That justification has never arrived. I dont get why any fan would see 7 games at 12.30 as anything other than a bad thing for supporters.

He couldnt do those things but he was a highly intelligent and gifted footballer and one who is respected both in this country and by foreign players. Regularly see those quotes from big names (Zidane, Xavi etc) constantly recycled saying how they wished they had played with him. Or talk of how he was wasted for England, often with the myth that he retired because he was played on the left which was obviously a poor decision but he has said certainly not the reason. Certainly dont think its an anti English thing either way.

But then youve got to keep a sub and a sub window available, its influencing the manager when making in game decisions, and you are dropping a more suited player off the bench to give a player a few humiliating seconds purely as an administrative procedure. And what if the games in the balance which is probably likely? Not for me. He doesnt seem to even impress or regularly play for the under 21s.

Thats absolute nonsense. A very good player but equally not remotely underrated, he has always had loads of plaudits. Former players, pundits, fans. Not a good example of the no one rates the English mindset.

Even if it would take 1 minute of football to put Mafoumbi on, if hes nowhere near good enough. It means taking up a space on the bench that could go to someone else who actually could contribute, it means saving a sub (and one of 3 potential windows) to potentially use him, and if there is one goal either way or if the game is level you are then prioritising registration technicalities over the game. And its a bit humiliating for him to do that and then he goes back to being in and out at under 21 level. I wouldnt be comfortable doing that. Should just have been paid up at the start of the summer as an acceptance that we should never have signed him.

Why would you have any faith in Gestede to learn lessons? Do you have any faith in him? There were obviously slots available. My point is, for a club with seemingly grand plans of looking abroad, knowing that a lot of players will subsequently need these slots, especially at the prices we are paying, you wouldn't tie any up for players who arent first teamers.

Mercer had said the day before that he wasnt playing. So must have been a figment of your imagination.

That last bit is a total guess. Point being, for a club that had intentions of looking abroad, you surely save the slots purely for immediate first teamers.

3 games gone, less than 2 weeks to go in the window and we still havent done anything to improve our attack that desperately needed improvements long ago. Guessing the Travis situation is a bottleneck before we can scramble in some nobody of a right winger and thatll be that, 4 or 5 senior bodies down. Exciting indeed.

The issue I have with the Mafoumbi situation is not that we took a cheap punt on a youngster, didnt work out, thats fine. Its that we clearly had intentions of looking abroad. So it was a total lack of foresight shown by Gestede and Owen to be willing to use up an ESC slot on a cheap punt.

Where is this from? Also, you have not elaborared on your comments about Hyam being missing at the weekend.