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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 15, 2020 20:42:56 GMT
EFL hub bs twitter saying done deal gas incoming Fair play to efl_hub they seem to have got one rumour right, or Wael's started following Nicholson just as a wind up! Looks like he's scored some cracking goals for Hearts, although I wonder how he'll cope with transition from playing at the likes of Celtic Park to tent city at the Mem. Hibs??? SN already hates you Topper!! Good cover up!
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 15, 2020 16:04:30 GMT
Don’t forget Ray Graydon good winger useless manager 4 us I remember Graydon would go tearing off like a headless chicken and run in crazy zig zags all over the pitch. There was no concept of an orthodox winger firing down the touch line, instead he’d start perhaps on the right of his goal area and go racing around the pitch, perhaps ending up by the opposite corner flag in the oppo’s half of the pitch it was highly entertaining and the Tote would be urging him on. It must have driven Bill Dodgin spare. He got sold to Villa and we got Brian Godfrey and25k? in return. The next season when he came to Eastville with Villa he was a different player. Vice Crowe had obviously coached the mazy runs out of him and he was a very effective right winger for them. Bill Dodgin was replaced by Don Megson the following year and he brought in Kenny Stevens. He was good, but not the calibre of Graydon, in my humble opinion. My memory of Graydon was slightly different, he was undoubtedly a gifted footballer and on his day he was unplayable but he didn’t earn the nickname Greedy Graydon for nothing...and so a lot of promising positions came to nothing. Stephens never thought of himself as a finisher like Graydon did and was much more of a get the cross in type of winger, he also wasn’t averse to tracking back. So we lost a goal threat with Graydon’s departure but we gained an assist generator that Bannister and Warboys both appreciated and we had someone prepared to defend rather than just watch the opponents launch an attack.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 15, 2020 6:44:24 GMT
Re those free agents from abroad, I got the feeling from a recent BG interview that whilst Tommy W and the recruitment department have beefed up their operation to scout and assess more players from Foreign Leagues they consider to be similar in skill, ability and physicality to L1, COVID19 had forced them into a rethink that now was not the right window to uproot someone from their country whilst they, their family and friends are having to deal with the local aspects of the virus. Never say never, but it suggests that they would be looking at players already plying their trade in the UK, doesn’t preclude us from, say, pursuing a German defender in Kent. Lincoln City just signed a player from abroad. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53405659Yes, just that the article I was referring to (by James Piercy 13th June) quoted BG as suggesting they’d wait for January and next summer’s window to start harvesting the fruits of their expanded European Scouting set up: “Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, Garner revealed how lockdown has given him the chance to assess summer targets more closely with the aid of a recruitment company who have been sub-contracted to assist Widdrington and his scouting network. "I've worked pretty much every day," Garner said. "It's not been a productive period in terms of training and contact time with the players, but has been very productive in a number of other areas off the pitch. There's been an incredible amount of work on recruitment and the detail we've been able to go into. We were very strong on traditional scouting, eyes on the ground scouting. "But I wanted to add to that to give us a more all-round approach. So we brought in a recruitment company in January that doesn't just focus on data and statistics but also analyses games and provide us with a database of players from the profiles we give them. So that's been a really big help from January and particularly so during lockdown. Because, obviously there's been no football played, and no live games watched so that's been another string to our bow in terms of our recruitment. "We've utilised that alongside what we already had in place and that's given us a really strong recruitment department and will stand us in great stead for next season, in terms of the squad that we're looking to put in place." Garner made three permanent and four temporary signings in January, all under the age of 23, with the exception of Chelsea loanee Jamal Blackman, indicating the direction he wishes to take the club. With Rovers' retained list to be announced on Monday, the expected departure of experienced midfielder Liam Sercombe could also be followed by veteran centre-back Tony Craig, lowering the average age of Garner's squad considerably. In assessing leagues and potential targets, Garner admits Rovers' search has been across all domestic leagues, including academy football, but their radar into Europe and beyond has tried to focus on divisions with similarities to League One. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic and cultural fallout, Garner doesn't expect many clubs to be doing business outside the confines of English football. We identified leagues we felt are similar in style to League One in terms of the transfer of a player from a certain league abroad, how it would work in terms of coming into our league," Garner added. "We looked at past cases of that, how it's been successful - more so with Championship clubs - but adapting it slightly for League One. Where we made a shift was, because of the pandemic and the impact it's had, we felt it would be very difficult to bring players in from other countries during this window. I can't see many people wanting to move away from home, away from their families after what's gone on.
So we changed tack a little bit on that front, but all that work that we did will stand us in good stead for the January window and summer window of next year. "When we go abroad, Tommy and the recruitment team are (now) going to watch specific players for specific reasons. So it's made our process more efficient and more productive."
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 14, 2020 15:46:23 GMT
Seeing as neither have been signed yet, maybe not as close as first thought I assume nothing can be announced until after the 31 July when their severance pay stops? Although no idea why Mansfield's have already announced OC's signing if that's the case. Re OC - Perhaps because we’d offered him a new contract he was not eligible for severance pay? As such either we paid him for July if he’d signed the contract With us or Mansfield had to pay him for July by completing the contract on June 30th? I recall something about Gillingham talking to Ehmer but not offering any contracts yet. So he’s effectively working out his severance furlough month?
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 13, 2020 23:31:36 GMT
It sounds like he’s pretty certain Baldwin, Ehmer and Grant will be Rovers players next season. He seems less sure about Nicholson. Rovers also going after a striker apparently. He seems VERY confident. To say "On the deals for Max Ehmer, Josh Grant and Jack Baldwin, I understand they will be playing for Bristol Rovers next season" I think to say it the way he has, he has to know because surely if one or none of those signing come off then that's his reputation on the line and no one will take anything he says seriously anymore Even if he has a source within the club it’s touching he has so much faith in them...has no-one at his rag apprised him of the Clive Platt incident?? Even when we announce a deal ourselves it doesn’t mean it’s happening...we all wait for official confirmation that the paperwork has been done after that shambles!
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 13, 2020 15:34:19 GMT
Please not Baldwin.Not good enough for Salford or Sunderland. He was once thought worthy of a £500,000 Fee. If our new leader’s skills really do lie in unlocking potential in underdeveloped Or underachieving talents then Baldwin fits the bill as an experiment that has not cost a lot in outlay but may bear fruit as a player rejuvenated to his best form. I get the feeling that Sunderland lost faith pretty quickly and that can affect performance, perhaps our fans, known for our tolerant and supportive nature will be able to rebuild his confidence and reputation...no, wait, we’re the fans that diss anyone mad enough to sign for us!!
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 12, 2020 16:48:53 GMT
Here is every word from the forum. TLDR please summarise and bullet point 😉 Hi BG here is my summary: - Toppers post is about the forum so it’s on the wrong thread...you can read and view as much as you want on the Virtual Forum thread. - part of the forum discussion was about the training ground. cheers WG
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 12, 2020 9:31:47 GMT
I am personally already looking forward to telling my friends how much I miss the mem than the ‘soulless bowl’ we will eventually play in. I’m going to miss the stench of stale p1ss on my Desert boots. Luckily I don’t have any friends. Maybe rather than the fruit bowl or the soulless bowl we can name it the toilet bowl to help you reminisce?
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 11, 2020 8:15:41 GMT
I think we can be pragmatic and constructive in our discussions with JCH. First of all we tell him we will conclude contract extension talks only after the window closes, if he is still here he will have a fair idea what other clubs would have paid him in wages terms.
Next we advise him that if a club in any other division or country other than our own lays an offer on the table in this window that matches or exceeds our current valuation of his worth to us then we will allow him to talk to them and he can decide to stay or go. If at the end of the window we are the club that values his services most highly then it’s right that he continue to ply his trade with us and sign an extension on improved terms with us. In the event that he continues his development, remains injury free and thus attracts more attention meeting our valuation in the next or subsequent windows our promise still stands that we allow him to talk to them.
Where clubs in our own division are concerned it is our stated objective to play attractive football with the aim of attaining promotion to the championship, thus we will not entertain weakening our ability to do so by reducing our assets and boosting those of a direct competitor. Whether or not these prospective suitors are historically bigger clubs they are plying their trade at the same standard of competition as ourselves and thus JCH would not be making any upward improvement on the standard of football he would be playing when joining them. However, if they offered more than our valuation of him, then we would allow him to discuss terms as that would mean we could purchase an asset of equivalent value and still have money left over which would be a nett gain on our competitor. If during negotiations with any club in our own division it becomes known that the pay package being offered is above the current level he is on. Then that becomes the basis for negotiation of his contract extension with us that should be completed as soon as the window closes.
Think that would be a way of treating both the club’s and the player’s aspirations fairly.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 10, 2020 19:02:44 GMT
How is it we seem to be linked to so many players, he also seems to be a bit old compared to the rest of the squad Because our local journalists characterised us as having a “massive shopping list” whilst most other clubs are still cocooned in waiting out the financial effects of COVID19 To outline what their transfer strategy might look like.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 9, 2020 10:15:36 GMT
A bit more balanced set of views “from the horses mouth” in the Daily Record today suggesting he wanted a move to England prior to the interest stateside but the clubs involved didn’t pursue it to his bewilderment....mind you the article calls us Bristol City in the headline which is a grim mistake to make.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 9, 2020 9:56:32 GMT
Does AG now have a 50,000 capacity? Not only that, there is two of them 🤣😜 Nah, one is Ashton Gate and the other is Azteca Gas
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 8, 2020 15:58:01 GMT
Think you're missing the context behind this, Nicholson was specifically asked about Hearts the possibility of re-joining Hearts from the Scottish Sun. Not a slight on Rovers at all that he should talk up his boyhood club. It’s the same as When Jamie Cureton did it about us when we went to the National league. He ended up at Dagenham and doing well for them. If he’d said something about having an offer on the table that is attractive, at a club with a project/vision that’s appealing...or even that he has a tough decision to make etc then I might agree with you. His interview, His words, about his future doesn’t even suggest he might be excited at the prospect of plying his trade for any club in the EFL.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 8, 2020 15:32:19 GMT
Today’s reporting on this potential transfer by the BEP is apparently the player’s own words on his options. I’ve no reason to doubt they are his own words and to my mind suggest this would be an ill fated move should we proceed. To paraphrase the flowery talk - “I’ve had a decent offer from a club I do not want to play for, so if I get something close from a club I do want to play for I’ll sign for them”. I suggest we just withdraw whatever we’ve put on the table thank him for his time and move on. Players who move only for the money and whose hearts are not invested in their employers doing well very rarely work out. Let him play for who he wants to, which he’ll be able to do without having to make a choice if we pull out of the running. Which part of it made you think that? I can’t see anything g of the sort to suggest that’s his thinking, maybe I missed it. “I’m not going to beg any team but if they want me, and they think I could do well, then I’d be willing to listen”, Robbie (Neilson) is a great manager, we saw that last time. The club managed to qualify for Europe and that hadn’t happened in around ten years. So signing now would be good as it’s a special place” This is a come and get me Hearts because the “superior offer” I’ve got ISN’T a special place!!!
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 8, 2020 14:54:45 GMT
Today’s reporting on this potential transfer by the BEP is apparently the player’s own words on his options. I’ve no reason to doubt they are his own words and to my mind suggest this would be an ill fated move should we proceed. To paraphrase the flowery talk - “I’ve had a decent offer from a club I do not want to play for, so if I get something close from a club I do want to play for I’ll sign for them”. I suggest we just withdraw whatever we’ve put on the table thank him for his time and move on. Players who move only for the money and whose hearts are not invested in their employers doing well very rarely work out. Let him play for who he wants to, which he’ll be able to do without having to make a choice if we pull out of the running.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 8, 2020 4:22:48 GMT
Cannot get my head around clubs in lower leagues signing players without knowing when crowds will be allowed into matches. I get extending contracts of young players already at the club but how can a club justify signing players without having any idea what your income will be? But it isn't just footfall on match day that creates the income. For those that have better stadiums (most other clubs) there is all the non match day revenue, there's also gifting from owners and sponsorship etc... costs will in theory be reduced as they won't need to pay policing or stewarding, reduction in drinks such as beers, ciders and also reduction in food and casual staff costs.... So whilst they won't know what the final figure will be, they probably do know a certain threshold limit they can go to with a view of it increasing as spectator return plans are worked through Another big cash injection comes with the announcement and advanced sales of next season’s kits. These often go better if you’ve managed to acquire an exciting signing or two. It is no accident that new arrivals squad numbers are usually revealed on the day they sign.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 5, 2020 9:20:17 GMT
Exactly, it seems similar to DC but on a bigger scale. Every season they end up selling their best players nad try to replce them for cheaper expecting to carry on improving. Kodjia was sold on 30th August 2016 for between 11 to 12 million possibly rising to 15 million, looked it up this morning as I wanted to be sure of my facts date wise and that it was LJ that sold him. As this chart shows 0.5 for 2016 then it is clear it is working off of the financial year rather than the calendar year. So Kodjiia’s sale is the spike in 2017 and the major sales of Decordova-Reid, Webster, Bryan, Flint, Kelly and Brownhill are not reflected. Probably means a couple of large purchases like Kalas are not reflected either but I think the chart takes a dramatic turn over the next two years.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 5, 2020 6:29:47 GMT
It’s not twisting it we are talking about the money they have spent and they have spent £60 million great british pounds in a few years it’s not that hard to comprehend. I’m with GGMI here. I don’t believe he’s spent anywhere near £60 million. In addition to the names mentioned by GGMI add Brownhill & Kelly. The problems he’s had, he replaced them with rubbish. Think you’ll find find his sales have far exceeded expenditure. Where did you get this £60 million from - I’m finding that “hard to comprehend”. You could also add Kodjia to that list because whilst LJ didn’t buy him he was the manager when they realised the £10 million profit on him.
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 4, 2020 17:56:38 GMT
Interesting debate.....he’s too good to want to come here, he’s Scottish so it won’t work, he’s not under 23 with no experience so he doesn’t fit the profile etc etc. Maybe TW was given a brief to look for a left sided winger with a bit of pace, eye for a goal, stamina and a decent cross on him, who’d possibly be available on a free? Age not an issue because we’ve already significantly reduced the average age of the squad. If Nicholson’s name popped out when those criteria were used they’d be daft not to have a look at him. Having a look and sounding him out are a long way from agreeing terms and signing a player on ... so I think this is somewhere in the realm of “wouldn’t rule it out”
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Post by Wembley_Gas on Jul 4, 2020 17:43:06 GMT
When you have a poll about whether to back or sack and only 32 out of more than 1,000 think he should be given more time then the writing is on the wall. Some of the big money signings were left out straight after he said he needed players he could trust it effectively meant he couldn’t trust them...and players with big price tags and big reputations are not going to be shrinking violets in the dressing room. Doubt he’ll be out of a job for long and I doubt the dark side will spend much time reflecting on his departure as they’ll be looking for the manager that can take them closer to their PL aspirations.
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