Gordon greer

[robinrover]

Is training with us following his Brighton release
now despite his age I feel he would be a decent short term fix for hanleys departure more so than an injury prone Wes Brown.

[AucklandRover]

Is training with us following his Brighton release
now despite his age I feel he would be a decent short term fix for hanleys departure more so than an injury prone Wes Brown.

Robin - is either them a serious possibility, I wonder? We've seen a lot of these pre-season "training with us" characters before. They generally just slip quietly away.
On the other hand, if they are being genuinely considered, that presumably means Wharton is considered to be not good enough or not ready.
Is either Greer or Brown a better bet than Kilgallon? Perhaps they come with the prospect of much lower wages.

[Bobcrompton1896]

I think youve hit it there,Aucks. Rovers are into serious barrel-scraping with Venkys"cheapest is best". That said,Greer looks a better bet than Brown if only because he can make the numbers up.Browns fitness record suggests he cant.

[AucklandRover]

I remembered reading an article in the LT on this topic a couple of weeks ago, so I looked it up. (July 12th). Sure enough, OC's comments on Wharton after the tour confirm that he doesn't believe Wharton is ready for this level of competition yet. Coyle is full of praise for the lad's attitude, but you can tell he is implying that there is still some way to go before Wharton can command a place.
I'm assuming we can also take it that we won't be using Lenihan in that position.

[robinrover]

Wharton will more than likely be used at some point this season but I agree it is too soon for a first team place
next season he will be considered for that role when greer/Brown finally call it a day
if Duffy does go under no circumstances should both Greer and Brown be used its one or the other
when you have a tent and it has a hole you have 2 choices
buy a new one or patch it up
at what point do you think there is more patches than tent?

[Despair]

'Barrel scraping' pretty much sums it up.
I will bore folk to death I know, but I for one am STILL totally in the dark as regards Venkys direction/plans/hopes/aspirations ???

As regards 'viable' playing staff, for me personally the days of being able to bring through the younger end into the throws of the Championship (as opposed to the second div.) are well gone. Many seem to deride the poor quality of the champs, which does have some foundation when judged against the obscene money laden 'talent?' within the top 5 or 6 Prem places. But I believe the drip feed down into the said Champs has made it a far more combative league to make the intro of the said younger end of staff into the first team ranks a little risky.

[robinrover]

Signs on a one year deal
good signing for a quick fix however we have huge problems if Duffy leaves or won't sign a extension because we will not only need Wharton to step up to first choice but also unearth another academy talent to step up as back up
alot to ask for in my opinion.

[AucklandRover]

Signs on a one year deal
good signing for a quick fix however we have huge problems if Duffy leaves or won't sign a extension because we will not only need Wharton to step up to first choice but also unearth another academy talent to step up as back up
alot to ask for in my opinion.

I can see exactly why it's been done, Robin. If Duffy stays, we won't see much of Greer, but Coyle couldn't take the risk, as he knows what can happen as the deadline approaches. I suspect that Wharton will be given the odd appearance as a substitute, as a forerunner of a more regular place the season after. A bit like the way Lenihan was introduced, actually.

[robinrover]

I can see this too
Where it becomes a problem is next season if Duffy was to go
Greer will be over the hill so that automatically puts pressure on Wharton to become a first team centre back and the need for another academy talent to come through
It's very difficult to run a football team on a shoestring these days as we are going to find out.