roversfan99

Can't say that I have seen enough of Ruddock Mpanzu to hold a strong opinion either way, but seems like Boro are the front runners anyway. I suspect that the question was more around your bizarre insistence that no matter how good, that you would never consider a manager with links to Burnley, yet with players you don't seem to be as bothered. Correct on Neil, Mercer again making up nonsense.

Main links in the last few days are that we have offered former Luton midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu a deal according to the LT but he seems to be going to Boro most likely, we have along with half the league been linked with Tommy Doyle on loan, a kid from City with only one senior league appearance, and yesterday Watford were linked by Nixon of wanting Armstrong and offering Andre Gray in return, which seems unlikely due to wage demands.

Of course you are.

If they are better players than what we already have, then they are successful loans. As I touched on, there is loads of other things wrong with our squad, but that doesn't make Elliott and Harwood-Bellis anything other than successful loans. If we had from the start of the season taken the attitude that we may as well just play young players that we own as we wont go up anyway, with a team full of kids (inferior ones to Elliott) we would have likely gone down.

Middlesbrough have Rotherham midfielder Matt Crooks in for a medical today, although I suspect that there is a chance that Lewis Wing will be going in the opposite direction, Warnock mentioned a swap the other day and he was at Rotherham last season: https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/exclusive-middlesbrough-closing-in-on-signing-27-year-old-medical-booked/ They are also close to finalising a deal for Argentinian midfielder Payero who is currently at the Olympics. Wonder where this leaves any deal for Ruddock Mpanzu.

But they are obviously not as good as Harvey Elliott. Whilst I stop short at fawning over him as many did, he was undoubtedly a successful loan signing. The aim is to create as good a team as possible, if a couple of those players are loanees then so be it. We would have finished lower without Elliott. Obviously, there are so many things that we did get wrong, wrong manager, many other poor signings, tactics, contracts, you name it. But if loanees we can attract are better than what we have already, we should sign them.

The information is so vague regarding the testing for the Leeds game. Do we need to show proof of a negative test, is it enforceable, is being double vaccinated adequate? I don't think that it is viable to need to go and do a test at a testing site before every game. Also, Blackpool and Bolton have had games called off. There I suspect will be so many cancelations in the near future.

What is the evidence for the individual? Just because he is from City doesnt make him directly comparable to the other 2. He may be good, he may be not, at senior level there is no evidence so it is a stab in the dark.

I dont agree with that necessarily, of he is better than our players then by all means. Plus it is more likely to be about survival next season. But there is no evidence to know either way. Very true. Hope he is worth the risk if indeed the rumour is true but very difficult to be enthusiastic about a player who has played a solitary league game ever.

Totally agree if he turns out to be like Elliott or Harwood Bellis. My attitude to loanees is always if they are better than what we have, then go for it. We do need experience too but if he is good enough, great. Point being that we cant possibly know how good he is yet in the context of senior football. Playing kids football is not the same.

Venkys had Alan Myers eating out of their hands, he is still an apologist for them now.

Doyle has played 1 league game ever. Looking at our squad, I dont think that is what we need.

Yeah he was absolutely hopeless for Huddersfield and is not fit fot purpose. We need experience but Keogh is not useful.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/19451012.middlesbrough-hoping-sign-lutons-pelly-ruddock-mpanzu/ Looks like Pelly Ruddock is going to decide on his future this week, most likely heading to Boro.

I'd take Dyche or Howe, 100%.

Just watched the first half of Derby v United, Derby have loads of trialists playing, like us they are under self inflicted limitations, Rooney seems to have had to go right through the bottom of the barrel with the likes of Sone Aluko, Phil Jagielka, Sam Baldock and Ravel Morrison with Richard Stearman as a sub. Blackpool also made a very curious signing yesterday of Richard Keogh. He was a laughing stock in the second half of last season for Huddersfield, not the signing of a club with serious intentions of staying up.

Why? Do players not get tarnished in the same way?

He definitely isn't anything other than a central striker but I am unconvinced that he can just be taught how to do what Graham did, Graham's main asset was his brain, his ability to pick up goal scoring positions which Gallagher doesn't do is instinctive and the way he held play up, giving defenders a slight nudge, getting his arse in between the player and ball. Of course Gallagher should be trained on how to hold the ball up etc as should all strikers but I think the idea of him becoming a direct replacement for Graham was always a flawed one. That is not me having a go at Gallagher because whilst I do think Graham was far more useful, Gallagher does have attributes that are better than Graham, he is not rapid but he is much quicker than Graham and quite a powerful runner for example.

I think the point is whether you retract your assumption that our recruitment would be unaffected by Harvey leaving because signings would have already been identified. Now you know what you have seen since, no signings and when we finally replaced him, comments that imply that recruitment starts only now.

Would signing an ex Burnley player still be a 100% no go area? Agreed on the wages, never in a million years can we afford them so it proves that Nixon has for the second week in a row made up a swap deal story. Next week my prediction is Liverpool will offer Origi and cash for Armstrong. Dont really get the style of play argument even if we have to fit any signings into Mowbray ball. Gray is quick and likes to run in behind so surely he would fit in? Plus he could no doubt play the wide striker rubbish. Age is a weird one. We really need some experience but I suppose that at 30 he might start to lose his pace. We definitely cannot wait for Armstrong to go before we start signing players though.

Even if it had a 1% chance of being true, it wouldnt be happening any time soon. Andre Gray is playing in the Gold Cup for Jamaica at the moment.

Presume if you are consistent, that his Burnley links will make it a no from you?

😂 is his weekly feature to dream up a hypothetical swap deal that has absolutely zero chance of happening? Gray is on massive wages so its never going to happen in a million years.

I personally dont think that we can consider Davenport or Dolan to be first 11 calibre at the moment, both are young players to have in the squad but neither has proven themselves to be players that we can rely upon week in week out. I think we need a new right winger, a new striker, a new sitting midfielder and a more attacking one to help to make up the Armstrong deficit once he leaves. We also need a new centre back with so many question marks over Ayala.

You would imagine that the back 4 and goalkeeper are the ones that will go into the season, although there is no competition for them, a particular worry considering that Ayala is made of glass. The midfield and attack are less convincing, Travis is a shoe in, Rothwell maybe, Davenport, Buckley and Butterworth unproven and Armstrong set to leave. No goals in that team aside from Armstrong either. Then that second team is frighteningly young, we need some players in ASAP.