roversfan99

A strange one shrouded in mystery. I get that he was clearly one that was wanted but if he isnt fit any time soon then it is such a bizarre bit of business.

How do you know that there has been no in fighting? He was expecting to keep key players and only need to make 6 or 7 signings to build on that. Sure he is buzzing to lose all of the players we have and to see Hyam flogged without replacement on deadline day. If hes not had a moan about that behind closed doors then he really is all about not rocking the boat to stay on that nice long contract he wont get at another Championship club.

Who is? Brittain was 2nd in the league last season behind Bogle, maybe Roberts had a shout, but neither are in the league now. Van Ewijk is up there for sure. Young is 40, he probably wont even be a regular at Ipswich. No way is he better now. Pereira was better in the past but again his day has gone and he is mainly a sub. Roerslev hasnt shown he is better than Brittain either. He is working his way down the list now he has left.

Defensively, we look really weak, in terms of being at the top level. Stones and Walker were stand outs of the defence we had, they were key for Man City amidst their dominance. Stones just simply cant stay fit anymore, his involvement at City in the last couple of years has become massively reduced as a result. Walker was so important but his main asset has gone hence why he got bombed out and left to Burnley. Shaw was also important and his body has long since given up on him. The likes of Maguire and Trippier werent at that level but they themselves are out of contention. What we have now is really underwhelming. Rice is a really good player but finding a suitable partner to sit and protect the defence and use the ball well is a problem. Wharton is the obvious choice but until he is allowed to step up, is fit to step up and proves it then we cant assume. Anderson did well today but it was Andorra and im not convinced that he is a holding midfielder at all. We do obviously have some good players in attack but as we agree there is a big imbalance. Our best 2 players are probably Bellingham and Palmer and if you try and squeeze them in together, then one would be out of position. All the options out wide beside Saka are far from being top class.

Tomori only started 19 games last season in the league, White predominantly is a sub full back for Arsenal and Hall seems to be 3rd choice in the full back position at Newcastle. Unfortunately, we have a really weak choice in terms of defenders across the back line. We did have a solid defence but it has gone with time.

Surely we can replace Gueye with a traffic cone?

Of course we will miss Brittain, he is the best right back in the league. Tavares has had shockers in both of the home games. Looked decent against the mighty Bradford though. Baradji has the feel of someone whose whereabouts will be still unknown come December. We didnt manage to get that pace in attack that we were so desperate for. Although considering that we have stripped the squad of experience, have nowhere near enough defensive cover and still big question marks over goals, it seems not as big of a deal.

Minutes should be out once amended and butchered. So around christmas 2026.

I think everybody would take a mid table finish now. Lost our best whole back 4 (admittedly the left back was on loan), our captain, an important goalscorer within the squad and our most productive attacking player. Too much of a churn. As I said at the time and you dismissed as me banging on about it, our inability to sort contracts has dropped us in the shit. Only Championship experience brought in is a centre back from Hull who struggled for regular football in his natural position and a player on loan who has struggled for regular game time and to discover his natural position at 3 different clubs. Also signed a player seemingly not close to being fit to play and obviously are massively short at the back and in other areas. Totally short of proven quality and experience. From what we have seen from the new players that have played, safe to say it will likely be a mixed bag.

As high as 5 seems generous. I would have it at 2 or 3. Do you still think top half/top 6? I suspect we are bang in a dogfight that im not sure that we are equipped to handle.

What about Stones, Walker and Shaw who you have missed from your comparison, who were all key parts of a solid defence whose bodies are now failing them? Our defence is now James, Guehi, Burn and Lewis Skelly. A huge difference. Although to be fair, in those Euros we again got a fortunate path to the final but thats a seperate argument. The foundations of the team over the last 7 or 8 years has now gone.

You always say that to be fair.

These games are a waste of time for everyone involved. Just ones to get out of the way. Mind you, its very poor to only score 3 in 2 against these no hopers. The rationale behind Tuchel's appointment (especially considering contract length) seems to be to get someone proven as a final push now the foundations are built. Its totally flawed. Our chance of winning a major competition in the immediate future seem to have almost certainly passed. A number of key players from those teams are no longer what they were. Walker, a spent force. Stones, a spent force. Shaw, a spent force. Trippier, retired. Even Maguire and Henderson, similar. The squad is massively inferior, yes we missed a few players but the talented players we have all play in the same position so the attack is so imbalanced too. A similar side to the one tonight would be swatted aside by a number of countries. Dan Burn is not a top player.

As if Lee Carsley is the man to turn things around. The quality available has fallen off again. Key players have all had their day and we have big drops in quality in certain areas. The squad is not one of the best around now. If Dan Burn is close to your first 11 then you arent an elite national team. Not saying that Tuchel isnt doing his best to make things look even worse.

Whats your rating out of 10 for the window and where do you think we are likely to finish?

Very much a case of trying to cobble together a side to minimise the obvious weaknesses in the squad. Toth Alebiosu Carter Wharton Pickering TGH Tronstad Miroshita Cantwell Hedges Gudjohnsen Tavares has looked sub par so give TGH a game. Pickering is IMO better than Ribeiro. Ohashi has not started the season like the refreshed goalscorer some predicted so stick Gudjohnsen straight in. And how we are going into games selecting Hedges still shows up recruitment. Bets on how long it will take one of the 2 centre backs to pull up. Cant see past a home win but hope they surprise me.

That twitter account is at best a very debatable source. A wannabee ITK. Said all sort of shit in the last couple of days in the window. Either way, its impossible to now come close to replacing Hyam. Anyone now a free agent is there for a reason. Dawson is 35, his form dropped off a cliff and Wolves didnt even register him post January (after 2 own goals in the same game at Everton) so will not have got any better and will be totally unfit. Oxford were happy to agree to rip up Moore's contract. Their fans agreed and didnt see him as Championship standard. We are so reliant now on Carter staying fit and performing well. He hasnt come close to either in the last 2 seasons.

Any others? Or did you mean "a game where he was amazing."

I think he has only been really good on one occasion. West Brom away. Has obvious physicality but hard to find a poorer finisher or a player lacking as much intelligence as shown by the amount of attacks breaking down when he fails to even try to time his run properly. I also think at times towards the end of last season in particular, he has appeared petulant rather than with a point to prove.

Not connected to Gueye. But I really dont like this idea of giving game time to a 17 year old purely for the purpose of trying to convince him to sign a new deal. Its likely a futile gesture anyway, I suspect the odd start and some minutes off the bench would sway him from taking a big offer from a big club should it come up. But if that is the primary objective, then whats best for the team becomes of secondary importance. Its not even as if hes signed a deal and we know we are developing our own player. He has always played off the striker in his rare minutes too.

It was hyperbolic but he is certainly nowhere near good enough for a Championship club. He came in with the advantage of replacing Gallagher who had stayed too long and become unpopular. It was assumed that we couldnt get worse, we managed it, but combined with his clearly infectious character, people werent and many still wont have it. The goals and assist thing is a good example of the above. He wasnt scoring goals so people used the goal and assist stat. So its including him missing open nets and the ball hitting his heel, or winning headers 30 yards out as the equivalent to a goal. Bringing him on late in theory can cause carnage but more often than not he just totally spoils any attacks standing offside or losing the ball. Starting games, our record was far worse last season when he started. I would have liked another striker but I would happily shift Gueye.

Gueye is a waste of space, always has been. Would be losing a really poor striker. We could have done with a third striker but we have like at CB missed our chance there to get a reasonable option. Dennis though, did people watch the same player as me? Rubbish.

There is nothing to suggest that either left specifically because of him.

What other partners has Hyam struggled with? He has been very good for most of his Rovers career. People have always credited others when he has done well and blamed him when he and others have struggled. Maybe a mixture of Carter playing poorly and him playing on the left didnt help. In his poor season, we were also really open as a team and struggling as a team. Or more they were both playing well with each other. Why does it have to be one playing well and carrying the other?

What has he done that makes you consider him to have been an excellent appointment?