Miller11

We have 5 players who would command any sort of transfer fee. Lenihan - we have a tendency to think he is better than he actually is, but the prospect of a defence without him is frightening. Nyambe - no talk of a new deal, and I imagine his agent telling him not to sign if one was forthcoming. Lose him and we all know who plays right back. Travis - lose him and our midfield looks woefully short. Dack - won’t be going anywhere til he’s fit. Would likely command the biggest fee. Up until his injury was far and away out most important player... although we coped better than expected without him. Armstrong - really stepped up to the plate and proved to be our only regular source of goals. Stock will continue to rise. While losing one or more of these looks inevitable, it’s not going to be pleasant. We lack quality replacements for any of them. In fact only Dack has anything approaching an adequate replacement within our current squad. Lose a couple and we are fucked. We don’t need to break the bank, but we need to sign a goalkeeper. We could muddle through in other areas, providing we don’t lose any of the above, and we’d have to keep our fingers crossed for no injuries. Mowbray is going to have to put a lot of faith in the academy graduates with those who broke through last season becoming key members of the squad. This last minute approach is standard. Look how long it took to get Adarabioyo over the line last year. He was “on the verge” for months and in the end we started with Mulgrew against Charlton because of how long we dithered. Walton, by Mowbray’s own admission, “fell into our lap” after we missed out on our real targets. When we wasted money on Brereton we did so after the window had shut. I remember in the Kean days N’Zonzi started at centre half against Wolves before we signed Scott Dann... there’s never a rush with Venky’s.

Tap up Gaz Aspden, see if he can swing it for us to have the adidas Spezial logo. Do a really cheap deal, sponsorship revenue wouldn’t matter so much... we’d sell shirts at the level we did in 95. Obviously this can’t happen cos we are saddled with Umbro for another 12 months, but this would be the exact sort of out of the box thinking we are completely lacking in, but desperately need.

Absolutely! We need a couple or three key players to really challenge for promotion. If we lose a couple from Nyambe, Lenihan, Travis, Dack or Armstrong it’ll be the bottom end we will need to focus on. If I had to call it now I’d say we will end up somewhere similar to the last couple of years.

Cheers. They have handled this appallingly.

Was this a response to asking directly for a refund, or a wider conversation?

Good window - we can make the playoffs Bad window - we may well get relegated Mediocre window - another year of mediocrity

Might not be totally within the spirit of the rules, but conversations like this happen all the time throughout the game.

Can’t argue with much of that... although I did say SOME players, not all. You make a very good point, I’m probably giving far too much credence to what I see on here and Twitter at the moment... I had a big break while the season was halted, since I’ve come back I’ve had far less real world football interaction than I normally would have!

I haven’t mentioned bias or agenda, just pointing out that our fans are historically quick to write off some players, and have unlimited patience with others. Hill and Wilcox show it’s been going on as long as I’ve been watching Rovers! Of course everyone’s entitled to their opinion and to voice it (pretty much as freely as they like on the internet as far as I’m concerned... booing your own players at a game is obviously a different matter). To be honest I see more of what I consider to be flimsy defence of Brereton than grief. Opinions and perspectives again I suppose. It’s a funny one with him... as much as the price tag might increase the pressure on him, it also means he’s afforded far more chances than an academy player would be. If we hadn’t paid so much he wouldn’t still be here. Personally I’d give academy products leeway before an expensive signing who’s been in and around the first team for two years. Can’t (or can’t be arsed to) dig out the comments or tweets about Buckley or any of the others, but I’ve seen plenty of “he’s not good enough” and “get rids”.

Absolutely not black and white! Not specifically talking about Rankin-Costello, more generally that our youth players seem to quickly fall into one of two categories in the eyes of fans. Nyambe was routinely slated before this season (Chaddy still wants him replacing). As someone touched on earlier Lenihan gets a lot of leeway. I’ve heard Buckley get far more vocal criticism in Ewood than Brereton (who if he’d have come through the academy would have rightly been at Barrow this season). I’ve seen Buckley make several peoples ‘deadwood’ lists on here and elsewhere too. Wilcox v Duff, Lowe v Travis, Nyambe v Lenihan, Hill v Hanley... extreme examples, but some were heralded as saviours immediately, while others were deemed not good enough by a large section of the fanbase pretty much as soon as they’d kicked a ball.

It’s really disheartening to see so many fans writing off so many of our academy products, and as @JoeH picked up on its also bizarre in its inconsistency. They seem to be able to do no wrong, or they are shit in the eyes of many. They get it badly wrong at times too... the one homegrown player to win the league with us got crucified throughout the decade he played in the first team. As a vocal detractor of the current regime, seeing a really talented crop of youngsters coming through is something I could really get behind, and really excites me. I’d love to see the likes of Buckley, Rankin-Costello and Vale become mainstays of our team, and I’d much rather them get ample game time to be given the opportunity to flourish. I really hope we use all available finance to strengthen in the areas we really need to, ie. Goalkeeper, and not waste wages on loaning players who’ve come through from premier league teams with no hope of breaking in their first teams, or ageing pros who’s best days are long behind them. We have a lot of depth with these young lads. None of them are mugs, and they will only realise their potential by playing.

Chaddy, do you really want/hope/expect us to replace Nyambe with a better option? Where would this fall on your list of priorities? Do you genuinely feel that Nyambe being replaced with better is either realistIc or important... or are you reading into the fact he is going into his last year of his contract and is the most frequent victim of scapegoating by Mowbray, and is therefore the most likely of our saleable assets to be cashed in on? Are you preparing your defence of this sale before it’s even happened?

Sounds like this lad has some good physical attributes. Big and quick. Bit worried Mowbray may quickly brand him a “boy”, so hopefully we go for a “man” as well... a no nonsense, been there, done that Championship centre half. Not holding my breath though.

No, they are the ones who have to green light transfers. As if they have any knowledge whatsoever about players. They won’t spend on defenders, but believe there is resale value in attacking players, so sanction silly spending on them. We can only speculate as to who is telling them this, but it’s more than likely someone with a history with SEM.

I get the feeling that Mowbray and his team at Ewood and Brockhall do work very hard in identifying targets. I also get the feeling a lot of these never come to fruition because of the whims of our cretinous owners.

Some good names in that lot. Jackson Irvine is a very good midfielder, if we are going to continue to stockpile in that position at least make it a good un! To be honest, all our efforts need to be concentrated on goalkeepers at the moment. Shouldn’t be worrying about anything else until that’s sorted.

No, not a legend... definitely a term bandied about too freely. A couple of legends come about every generation, if we are lucky. Samba was an excellent player and had cult hero status, not in the legend bracket.

I’d agree with you completely in normal circumstances, but at the time Venky’s, Kean and Anderson were at the height of their demolition job on the club. So the circumstances were as far as possible from normal.

If Venky’s decided to pull the plug tomorrow, there would be plenty of people saying “you can’t blame them, they have propped us up long enough, look how much they have invested, blah blah” and it would all be the fault of the stay away fans.

Funnily enough I was doing a bit of digging into him the other day. No links to the usual agencies, which possibly contributed to his swift exit. His CV is quite interesting... part football, part “leadership roles”

Here’s how I see it playing out... By the end of this week, a couple of the out of contract players will have left. It will be reported that we are still in discussions with a couple of them. dEfEnDeRs ArE cOmInG. Next week the rumour mill will start, we will be linked with dozens of players, one of whom will definitely be Ronan Curtis. Then fans will start speculating about who we should sign, tweeting asking everyone with so much as a blog on Twitter if there is “Anything on Marcus Maddison to Rovers?” and it’s quickly accepted he is a target. Week two - few slightly more concrete links. Tony tells us we have irons in the fire, people chirp up about the overseas scouting network. Dominic Samuel signs for Barnsley. Week three - we “miss out” on Marcus Maddison and people start getting restless. But don’t worry, talks with Downing are ongoing. Week four - Another interview from Mowbray. It’s difficult. People are valuing their players too high. We might have to find a gem within our squad and polish them up. Ps. We might have to sell someone. Week five - everyone getting a bit frantic is told to be patient by the Rovers Twitterati. Loads of time left. It doesn’t matter that we have rotated all the youth goalkeepers in friendlies, the European scouting network is hard at work. Besides Dack/Evans/Davenport/Chapman will be like a new signing! And it’s definitely Brereton’s year. Week six - Mowbray and his ardent followers point out that we don’t need defenders... we’ve got loads! If anything we have too many centre backs with Lenihan, Williams, Mulgrew, Carter, Magloire, Wharton... even Nyambe can play there! Left backs? Where are we going to find one as good as Joe Rankin Costello?! Anyway, Bell is good back up, and Downing will be signing later this week. Week seven - Nyambe is sold for £1.75 million plus add ons. For all the uproar, there are as many people claiming this is an amazingly shrewd bit of business by Mowbray as Nyambe was personally and completely liable for 87% of our goals conceded last season and provided zero goals or assists, and Bennett is actually a better full back. Anyway, we can reinvest the money. No news on Downing, but Leutweiler has signed a one year deal. The day before the season starts we announce the signing of a goalkeeper nobody has ever seen or heard of on a free. After a quick look on Wikipedia loads of people are suddenly convinced he is miles better than Raya, and know beyond any shadow of a doubt he commands his box well. The modern keeper. We start the first game with a back four of Bennett, Lenihan, Williams and Bell and concede several goals. It’s ok though, our defence isn’t bad, it’s individual errors. Instead of putting the ball in an open net from 6 yards out, Brereton puts it out for a throw. Because people were shouting so loud at their ifollow screens he heard them, and he couldn’t see properly for the tears in his eyes. The day before the window shuts we loan in a generic midfielder from a mid table premier league team and stave off bids for Armstrong. Downing signs for Rotherham because how can we compete with teams like that? With 14 minutes to go we bring in Marcus Forss on loan with a pre agreed fee of £9 million. Obviously we pay that in January... but really it’s only about 300 quid cos add ons, structured and flex. Cue the “Men... character... frustrating... ripped jeans... polish them up... Nyambe is shit” interview from Mowbray and the “it takes years to implement a European scouting network... We’ve actually improved the squad... it could be worse, look at Bolton” comments from a large section of the fan base.

That’s a really good point. Having said that I think there could be some gems available on frees. I expect a lot of players who have made up bloated squads to be off, but players with a future to stick around.

I think ‘stale’ sums things up perfectly. I can’t see promotion any time soon under Mowbray. Unfortunately I can see a tightening of the belts coming. The dismantling of the current squad, cashing in on our playing assets and in doing so, relegation becoming a distinct possibility. Mowbray failing to tow the party line, if this were to happen, would be the most sure fire way of getting himself sacked. I think the question you pose is one a lot of fans will be asking themselves, but I doubt Venky’s give a toss. Plans, long or short term are at best vague. We are at the mercy of the whims of the idiots.

That would explain what him and David Lowe were fighting over... Lucky for Jones Mowbray didn’t get involved! He’d have killed him!

Well done Luton. They wanted it more. Notice the people complaining about their “gamesmanship” are the same ones who celebrate Lewis Travis’s “shithousery” the loudest. Anyone else see Bennett with Jones at the end? Take it they are pals from their Brighton days, but he seemed to be celebrating more with Bennett than any of his own players. Comical really. Didn’t see this dangerous Ben Brereton some others seem to have done. I saw a bad striker never getting ahead of a full back and waiting for a pull back on the edge of the box quite often. Woeful player, I’d give him away. This brand of “possession football” is shit. When the majority of possession is on the edge of your own box it’s as ineffective as it is boring. On more than one occasion we went from the edge of their box back to Walton in three passes. Carter had a tough time, but there seems to be an expectation on our centre backs to be Beckenbaueresque. Wish they would concentrate on defending. Mowbray looked kind of spent tonight. Looked about 20 years older than that first game against Burton where he was barking out instructions. Tonight just about summed our season up. Our improvement year on year is three points. That will be enough for some fans, and probably won’t even register with Venky’s. God knows what this summer will bring.