1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Bloody hell, he was trying to sign Zabaleta for us before City came for him.

I haven't had a chance to listen to this interview yet, so I don't know what else has been mentioned.

However, I do remember that Hughes also wanted to sign Kompany for us along with Zabaleta and Lassana Diarra.

Thinking back to the squad we had back then...with a couple of rocks at the back in Nelsen and Samba, plus Bentley, Morten, Tugay, Benni, Roque. Imagine adding Zabaleta, Kompany and Diarra to that squad. To a squad which had just finished 7th.

It wasn't to be, but it was not for the want of trying. We've had the opposite of that for 13 years now and that absolutely stinks.

22 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

It’ll be because some ‘analyst’ will have a stat that says ‘54% of crosses end up in lost possession, whereas 99% of five yard backwards passes keep it recycled’

Fun the modern game, ain’t it.

It will be along those very lines.

The likes of Duffer, Pires, Ginola, Gillespie etc would be lost if they were playing today. 

14 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Just proving balls whipped in from out wide near the bye line are hard to defend against. Plus you only need to get half a yard on the full back to get a cross in.

David Bentley was another who only needed half a yard. The amount of times wide players in general get into crossing positions today, only to then turn back and play it backwards, is incredible and also frustrating to watch.

If only Leeds had to worry about stopping big Al today:

Quick heads up, if anybody can't make it to Ewood . Our game isn't live on Sky tomorrow, but there is a stream available for supporters to buy from Rovers TV for £10. That includes UK based supporters too.

1 hour ago, islander200 said:

Look at the budget he had?

Where are these director of football that get the majority of their signings right with the budget we have?

Ennis was on the back of a very good season and at the time he was signed our budget hadn't been cut.

Telalovic was quite clearly a development signing , if he had the money to bring in proven quality then that's what they would have gone for.And maybe with some time he will come good, Tronsted was being used as a stick to beat Broughton with earlier in the season and over the last couple of month he has probably been one of our most important players.

Hill and Moran so far have looked excellent loan signings.

But that's just it, islander. He isn't a Director of Football. He never has been previously. Yet has been put in that role here. A role that is above him, imo.

An actual Director of Football comes up with better than Hirst, Telalovic and Ennis, in my view. That's even with our lowly budget.

1 hour ago, glen9mullan said:

I wil add, that GB took some convincing that Smodzics would be a decent capture and was very much against the idea. However given the leg work which had gone in, and the lack of a real target list (hadn't been here long enough to impact one) it was decided Hyam , Britain and Smodzics would be signed.

Thanks for the added info, Glen. My post was in response to those three being used as examples of his signings coming good. The scouting legwork had been done previously, before he arrived.

True, he concluded the deals, but I don't think it's right to credit him for those signings. Hill looks a very good signing, as does Moran, so fair play there. But it's truly desperate stuff upfront, imo.

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

I may be wrong but i'm sure i read a while ago that Brittain was on the previous lots radar as well.

Although as with the Hyam and Szmods signings it's GB who has got the deals done surely ?

Yeah, that's what I read too regarding Brittain.

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

It smacks of relying on agents again to conjure something up because the scouting has failed.

 

Exactly. The dominant theme of the last 13 years.

14 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

the signing of telalovic was desperate indeed,blindingly obvious that our recruitement team were on the phone to every agent in europe in a blind panic,not the lads fault but you can`t expect someone from the german regional leagues to make an impact in the second tier of english football,in a league known for it`s intensity,it`s clear that jdt won`t pick him because he`s not ready,at 23 you should be playing 1st team football,he`s not because he`s not up this level

Telalovic and Ennis are both desperate signings. Neither are of the standard required for this club.

I've seen a few say, Chaddy being one, that a lot of scouting and effort has gone into signing Telalovic. I'm not of that opinion.

Telalovic is represented by the same agency as Kaminiski, Wahlstedt and JDT himself. Yet JDT doesn't seem to rate him? Smacks of a last minute panic signing to me. Not one to try and big up Broughton or the recruitment team for looking far and wide.

2 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

On strikers his record’s been poor, no question about that.

That aside his signings and contract renewals have been anything but bullshit from where I’m looking.

Something that hasn't been picked up on, from what I can see, is point 9 made by Glen in his update:

It was noted that Hyam, Smodzics etc were scouted prior to the new Management set up and have been a success in terms of purchase price, but also the previous recruitment team.

Unless I've got it wrong, the credit for signings of Hyam, Brittain and Szmodics can't exactly be put at GB's door. This is the work of the previous recruitment team, that he has seemingly made use of.

Broughton, imo, is in above his head, and the signings of Mola, Hirst, Telalovic and Ennis are more reflective of his 'talent' spotting ability.

This is the best thread for it. An outstanding display from Brad against the red rats:

19. Stuart Ripley

Every Rovers goal scored at Maine Road/Etihad since 1993:

18. Benni McCarthy

To get the mood going ahead of this tie. How I wish we had just a couple of these guys in our side for Wednesday.

Every Rovers goal scored at Stamford Bridge since 1993:

We've got it in us to pull a big result out, even when in a not so good state. I'm taken back to early 2013. Drawn away at Arsenal in the cup, everybody thought it was a home banker (including me), but we dumped them out with a Kazim-Richards winner.

Wednesday has a similar feel about it for me. It could be wishful thinking, but it feels set for a Rovers win. Chelsea low on confidence, woeful infront of goal, all the pressure on them.

We got Mourinho the sack in 2007 after a 0-0 draw at their place. Poch out after Rovers knock them out of the cup? It's got that smell about it. COYB.

2 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

It's like I never posted this and bloody recently.

Is it in invisible print that only I can see.

Early Warning: The Norwich and Preston games are also on international TV.

Thanks for that. I was thinking I would have to settle for Radio Lancs, but it should be easy to find a river for it now.

On 19/10/2023 at 21:47, oldjamfan1 said:

My younger son’s first three Rovers games were Rovers 3 Barcelona 2, Rovers 7 West Ham 1 and this one; Not a bad little start for him eh? 😜

What a start for the lad. I'm sure he's just as grateful to you today for taking him back then 😁.

17. Roque Santa Cruz

On this day 21 years ago:

One more for tonight.

Duff to Cole to Yorke. What a goal. We've seen some real quality pull on a Rovers shirt.

32 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

 I much prefer the 4-0 hammering we gave them in 97/98

Definitely. Sutton for England! This is more like it:

8 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

Hakan Şükür

 Legendary Turkish forward signed for us for half a season, 2002/03, sustaining a broken leg at the start and then leaving after some sort of dispute or disagreement with the club. He scored two classy goals for us. This was the time Souness signed Hakan Unsal as well, at left back, who also left after a short spell.

He was past his best but if he had stayed, it could've been fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWDc2JNv_NQ (low quality video)

 

A classy striker. The skill and composure he showed for both goals there. Fantastic. There really is a shortage of quality strikers these days. So much money in the game today, but not a lot of quality out there, imo.

I think Sukur is a taxi driver these days in America. I saw an article not so long ago where he was speaking fondly about his time at Rovers and he was saying that he wants to see Rovers back in the Prem. Good man!

Rovers v Fulham (September 2008)

Rovers v Bolton (February 2008)

The present is absolute shit, Rovers wise. Nothing changes until the bastards sell, so I'll post some old highlights in the meantime:

Rovers v Aston Villa (October 2004)