roversfan99

Thats not the case. Travis hasnt been let go as part of aggressive attempts to make us better. We wanted him to stay, like with any of our better players we couldnt get him to sign a new deal so have had to replace him with someone who will take a smaller wage.

I find the narrative that hes collateral damage in an attempt to "change" to be a bit of a stretch. We wanted him to stay, he was an important player. We offered him a contract that like many wasnt sufficient. The manager didnt want or expect as much change that has happened. He isnt this hanger on that has been left behind as we move forward for the better. And he is a good Championship midfielder who knows how to win games and leads by example.

Excellent news. The usual suspects will be like blood to a hound with this. He didnt ask for more money will be turned into him actively not wanting to get promoted, even though all logic suggests that it was in his best interests to do it. And more blame can be taken away from the real reason that we have never really come close to promotion.

Greedy for not accepting a sub par contract here like everyone else? But a crap player moving to Saudi Arabia is emotional?

I dont think Ohashi is a number 10 but he is our only competent striker.

But Ismael has been here (and so has McKenna at Ipswich) for longer than this season. I personally dont agree with setting random dates as to when judgements can be made. But each person is entitled to their opinion. Im not saying that Ismael is rubbish and we should sack him, just that I have been underwhelmed so far with him and his results have not been very good. But early days. Also have different opinions or at least impressions on the players good and bad that have signed but again, obviously not in stone.

I remain very unconvinced that we will bring in a striker but I desperately hope to be wrong as we really need one. This seems like a busy agent.

He chose to rotate the team, including picking a kid in net when we have 2 senior keepers, did he not? Not as important as the league results, but overall they have been poor too. Like I said, its not all been bad but I am unconvinced so far.

They didnt have a competent left back, they were short there. I think he is a good signing like I said, but obviously if we are witholding opinion on some (which i dont think we should, as long as there is a caveat that it is very early) that havent started well then surely it becomes a widespread rule. I mean theres a lot of mental gymnastics there. Discounting cup games, putting games lost into a "should have won category" etc. I am unconvinced but equally I certainly havent written him off and there have been glimpses, there have been mitigating circumstances and there are new signings to consider. But results across his tenure overall, especially this season, are poor.

If that is the logic, doesnt that make Dolan the best of all of the players that have left? I think McLoughlin will be a good signing, but he struggled to nail down a starting place as a centre back at Hull.

Is he winning matches? His record isnt the best and its 1 win 3 losses so far this season.

Equally, would it not be poor to assume that McLoughlin and Alebiosu are good enough just yet?

He joined an Ipswich team already at the top mid season. They weren't going to change their team regardless of the ability of Travis. They had an established duo performing in his position, they signed him to strengthen the squad. It doesn't prove an inability to do anything. Your second to last paragraph implies that we have actively chosen to keep him. What has actually happened like with many others is that we have failed to offer him a contract sufficient of a player of his standing and ability, it's being made out like we have decided we can do better. We wanted to keep him but with a year left, we can't. So we have had to sell and paint him in a bad light with no real substance as a result.

As @MarkBRFC mentioned, it was part of the plan. Gestede said one of the summer priorities was getting someone to compete with Ohashi and Gueye. Then it dropped off.

Whatever has happened, we dont know. But he is being painted as the villain and its being assumed that hes this bad egg. A narrative pushed by the club but without saying what hes actually done wrong.

He has asked to leave with reports that he didnt want to run his contract down and that he asked to play v West Brom. Im still not seeing any substance as to what he has done so wrong.

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.