Time to Think About Next Season?

[Revelian]

I hate West Ham.

We've now got no chance of getting a place in Europe. Now I hear that Bentley will leave Rovers if he's not playing club footer in Europe next season. Benni is bound to go, and if any decent clubs put in an offer, I'm sure (Shop Window) Rocky will bite their hands off.

We need to think about who to buy in the summer, and who to get rid of. I'll set the ball rolling, then, shall I?

Players I suspect will leave in the summer:

Bentley
Pedersen
McCarthy
Santa Cruz

Players I think we should get rid of:

Khizanishvili
Ooijer
Emerton
Reid

Players I think we should get (in Dreamland):

Ronaldinho
Rooney
Torres
Rio Ferdinand

Players I think we may be able to snatch:

Vieira (from Inter) - He's getting on a bit, and may be surplus to requirements, but he is one of the best holding layers I've ever seen.

Duff (from Nuke Hassle) - When he played for us, he was our best player. I miss him and want to see him back. Plus, if the Geordies go down, St. James' Park will become the Primark of football (ie plenty of bargains and every other club with their nose in).

Bullard (from Fulham) - I like a player who plays the game with a smile on his face, and Bullard is a decent player as well. He's just been unlucky with injuries this season. Fulham may go down this season too, and Bullard may want to remain in the Premiership.

Crouch (from Liverpool) - Unlikely, but I would love to see the big man ply his trade in the blue and white. He's unsettled at Liverpool, but I suspect he would rather play abroad than go to a non Big Four Premiership club.

Players we can definitely get:

Valencia (from Wigan) - Maybe he fancies a challenge for a European place rather than another relegation battle. Steve Bruce's arrival will either convince him to stay, or spur him to move.

Bent (from Tottenham) - I know Spurs paid about £15m for him recently, but that was the previous manager, and Dazzy Bent may not feature in One Day Ramos' plans - especially if he's given a huge kitty to buy further quality this summer.

Sidwell (from Chelski) - He's not featured much, a la Scott Parker, so why not offer him a chance of first-team football at another ambitious club, and give him big games rather than cup games against the likes of Hull.

Neill (from West Ham) - Hear me out. We should buy this guy, and keep him in the reserves until he retires - because he is a prick.

Revelian

[batch]

Valencia was only signed by Bruce permentantly in Januaury. He's certainly got the potential to eventualy play for one of the "big 4" but i cant see him being able to even get past Bentley for the next few seasons.

[Revelian]

If Bentley leaves, there's every chance, and recent reports suggest he's not happy.

Valencia wouldn't even need to move house, either.

Revelian

[JohnHolmesJr]

I think MGP and Betns have problems playing together but they are both critical mass to success.

ROque and Roberts are key players also.

Roque is the player I worried about the most leaving.


If Benni goes so be it.

-------------------------------------------------------

I do not think we should over-react based on the Hammer we swallowed yesterday.

The Backs let us down , Samba even, but I would never want to trade him.

[Revelian]

If we trade Samba, who have we got left, apart from Nelson?

I think if we want to get into Europe, we need to buy quality to replace the mediocrity already inherrent in the squad.

We have no strength in depth at all. An injury to a half-decent player cripples us, and that should not be happening if we maintain the same ambitions we had at the start of this season.

Revelian

[BlackburnRover]

We've now got no chance of getting a place in Europe. Now I hear that Bentley will leave Rovers if he's not playing club footer in Europe next season. Benni is bound to go, and if any decent clubs put in an offer, I'm sure (Shop Window) Rocky will bite their hands off.


Lalalalalalalalalalalalalala

I can't hear you.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalala

Bullard though, damn right.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalala

[Revelian]

Your attitude mirrors that of some of our players. ;)

Revelian

[BlackburnRover]

Lalalalalalalalalalala ...

What?!

Yeah you're not kidding.:(

They're "Lalalalalalalalala ... Wow we've not won a lot of games we should have this season ... Sorry? Bad league position? No Europe next year? Not my fault. I want a transfer!"

[dring1]

bentley not going as he is only into the first year of a 4 year contract unless we get a stupid offer and that would be £25 million plus. But i agree that the squad needs a major overhall with 4 players going out and 5 plus coming in. This year has been a major dissapointment after a start that promised so much. Then again it just shows how far we have come to be dissapointed with a season where we are in the top 8. Next year we need to push on and challenge for that champions league place.

[USRoverDE]

I would be upset if we changed the back 4 much. Ooijer has been fine, Nelly has been crocked which unsettled everyone, Samba just needs to stop going walkabout, he's a liability at the moment, but when he stays home, he's solid. Zurab isn't a true right back, but he's decent cover across the entire back four. Emerton is a great attacking player from that wingback spot, but he's not great defensively, I have no problems with him though. that setup gives us a lot of versitility, only if a very gifted true right back dropped in our lap ont eh cheap would I want to make a change.

Bentley won't go anywhere, like was said before 1st of a 4 year deal. He's too expensive for anyone to take away. Besides he's spoken about how he loves the club enough times over the last 2 years, its not made up. He came to blackburn because he wanted to play, anywhere he goes in the Prem, wither he'd not play, or he'd have no guarantee of European 'ball either. I also don't see him going overseas with his England career just starting.

Benni can go, he's 31 and outside of pens, his scoring this season has been dreadful, however, he's making himself a useful player dropping off Rocky. Rocky will stay. He had such a dismal return for so long in Germany, I doubt one year of a decent return for lil'ol' Blackburn will win back all his detractors.

my view....

Outs - Benni, Roberts, Mokoena, Tugay, Henchoz

In - Vogel, some random striker Hughes unearths (or Rigters if he wakes up), another midfield player (guessing a Koumas-Huddlestone type), and Olssen and Kane from the reserves.

If we shipped out MGP and got in an "in-form" left midfielder, that'd be fine by me.

Rev - your "definitely can get list" is wrong, very wrong. We can't afford the fee for Bent, and we can't match Sidwell's wages. I'd HATE to see Duff back here, he's a shade of his former self, I prefer the memory of the younger exciting duff to stomaching the perennially crocked lead footed winger he currently appears to be. I dunno enough about Valencia to talk about him, Bullard would be nice, and he fits the team mold well, Vieria would never stoop to Rovers, he'd retire first

[tibbar_eht]

If Fullam goes down would Dempsey be available? And would he be worth going after? I am biased but I would like to see him playing for us.

[USRoverDE]

dempsey is a decent player, but I'm not sure he is a "top half" of the prem attacker. Where would he fit in this team? He's not a true replacement for MGP or Bentley if either would go. I'm also not sure he'd do anywhere near the job that Rocky or McCarthy can and have done.

[BlackburnRover]

Not Dempsey, no, sorry. He's OK but I'd be disappointed if that's the level we aimed at. He didn't stand out when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and it's not hard to stand out in that Fulham team.

The only player I'd like from them is Bullard.

[dring1]

Not Dempsey, no, sorry. He's OK but I'd be disappointed if that's the level we aimed at. He didn't stand out when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and it's not hard to stand out in that Fulham team.

The only player I'd like from them is Bullard.

judging who our scouts have been watching i think we will be aiming a lot higher. The likes of bruno alves and farfan i would snap him up quality.

[IlRosaneroUomo]

I didn't know Pedersen wants a transfer

Where did you hear this?

[JohnHolmesJr]

Not Dempsey, no, sorry. He's OK but I'd be disappointed if that's the level we aimed at. He didn't stand out when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and it's not hard to stand out in that Fulham team.


I would not want Dempsey. He is selfish player who brings his team down with his play. If you want a soloist pick him up otherwise leave him be...


Would be nice to have a good striker to help Roque, he takes a beating.

I think we need help in the back field they have really let us down the last couple of games. If only Samba where fast He is being beaten be fast players all the time. I am not sold on Khazi-Money or Ooooijer. Brad needs some help back there.

[BlackburnRover]

judging who our scouts have been watching i think we will be aiming a lot higher. The likes of bruno alves and farfan i would snap him up quality.

I heard a lot of rumours about them on Saturday. That's the level to aim at.

[Bonus_Game]

Bye Benni :)

And hopefully warnock

And I would love to get Nickey Shorey from Reading

[dring1]

Bye Benni :)

And hopefully warnock

And I would love to get Nickey Shorey from Reading

you having a laugh warnock is one of our most consistent players.

[Revelian]

I agree. Warnock has been alright. When you're talking about getting rid of some of our players, Warnock does not spring to my mind, and I'm sure most people would agree on that.

Pedersen has been scouted by Valencia, apparently.

I don't think Dempsey is as bad as some of you are saying. Sure, it might be easy to stand out at Fulham, but it is also more difficult to score if you're playing for Fulham, because of the number of chances created in ninety minutes, and the fact that you are under even more pressure to put away the few chances you get.

Does Henchoz still play for us? I thought he'd retired (no joke).

Bentley's number one priority will certainly be the England team. If he can play for England, whilst being at Rovers, then it's a good thing. If the team around him at club level loses its other decent players, and brings in nothing but shite, it will affect his performances, and will therefore affect the England caps he receives.

Our problem, and I've ranted on this before, is that no one takes us seriously. Granted we're founder members of the football league, and one of the oldest football clubs still in existence. Granted we're one of only four clubs to win the Premiership. Granted we have a superb young manager with his head screwed on (most of the time). Granted we can sometimes be a force to be reckoned with. On the other hand, we are located in the North of England, where the weather is poor. We cannot even fill our 31,000 capacity stadium for big games. We don't have the finances to keep up with the ever rising wage demands of top players. We have lost most of our glory-hunting fan base who used to wear our shirt with pride.

If we lose decent players and don't replace them with decent players, we'll be relegated - simple as that.

Revelian (The Ranting Reverend)