The curious case of corry evans

[robinrover]

It would appear stoke city are chasing his signature.
We are holding out for 1.5 million,seems a bit cheap to me.

[AucklandRover]

I never understand valuations, Robin.
All I know is, prices seem to go up and up, the closer you get to the end of the window!
If Evans goes - and Smallwood is surely bound to - I really hope players like Davenport and Buckley come good.
That's an awful lot of experience to replace, and it worries me that Johnson is so erratic.
I wonder if people like Mols and Lyons have any chance of making it in those central midfield positions. I often wish the U-23 games were televised. It would be good to get a regular sighting of the youngsters.

[champs95]

No chance. He wont go with you talent. He hadn't got an idea what to do with classy players. Or young talent.
He will stick with Johnson or Bennett, or Rothwell. ****e like that. No risk, not heading anywhere. And due to the fact these lads are left out, if we lose someone like Evan's, they haven't got the experience to step in. Because he chooses the easy option of picking Jonhson, or Downing etc. And we clearly aren't going anywhere with these players.
Under 23 football is not real football. And that remain untested while playing there.

[AucklandRover]

I still think you're being odd about Downing, Champs.
I suspect that if you added up the ratings for every Rovers player this season, and averaged them out, he would be about equal top with Lenihan and Travis.
He has certainly been far more consistent than the vast majority of them.

[champs95]

I still think you're being odd about Downing, Champs.
I suspect that if you added up the ratings for every Rovers player this season, and averaged them out, he would be about equal top with Lenihan and Travis.
He has certainly been far more consistent than the vast majority of them.

And Travis and Lenihan are midtable Championship players.
Downing has always played the majority of his career for sides in the top half of the Prem.
Boro didn't want him for a reason Auks. Not because he was any good. We are not going anywhere for a reason.
Like Johnson wasn't wanted at Derby, for a reason. We did all get warned of him, by Derby fans. They were all correct, to a man.
Nobody is interested in players like Rothwell, for a reason.
This keeper we got on loan, has always had a question mark over his form, for a reason.
I'm sure Downing's stats stack up alongside a bunch of mid-table footballers not going anywhere. Who show inconsistent form at best. None of that equates to him adding anything. Or being any good.

There is a reason we are simply treading water, and going nowhere Auks.
You appear to be convinced I am saying ALL of that falls on the manager.
I don't think we are creating good enough players from our academy. I severely question the coaching at this club.
I rarely see us organised. I question what they do in a whole week to prepare for a game.
I feel we lack motivation.
I feel its all very nice, well paid and very easy. Nobody pushing to get to another level.
No real progression in players. Nobody really seems to improve.
It all feels very stale, all feels very safe and heading nowhere.
And the factors of how it is like this, are make up of different things.

I am not so single minded as to blame all that on one person.
All I know is, I have gradually over the season, just felt bored of it all.
Am I overjoyed with excitement at seeing Bradley Johnson tomorrow no. He can't be arsed. Neither can I.
Where I will never be able to change my opinion now, the end of Bury FC was pretty much the end for me with this modern football *******s. I am rapidly losing interest in it all.
Bury could survive for another season, off what Johnson earns in one season. We will be one of next to go, and its down to making these mistakes continually.
Or we sign some young kid, who is a great prospect. He never plays, visibly gets worse in his time here, and repeat.

I just don't want any part of this, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel no connection with this club, with its players, and the direction its all heading.

[AucklandRover]

Phew!
I just don't know what to say.
To be honest, I think we ARE - in terms of size, etc. - a mid-table Championship club, but you keep saying "We aren't going anywhere".
Nor are most of the other clubs in our Division, because only three get promoted. We have no special rights or privileges, Champs. I just don't believe there's a saviour out there, waiting to take us back to our "proper" place!
We might scrape our way back to the PL one day, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
I'd much prefer to watch game by game, and if the miracle happens, so much the better!
As it is, "Won 10, Drawn 6, Lost 10" doesn't strike me as disaster or a cause for depression.
On your broader point about modern football (and what it has done to Bury, for example), I totally agree, but we are powerless.
I played village cricket for many years and it was wonderful, but we had to join a league in the end because fewer and fewer clubs wanted to play "friendlies". I think that's just one small example of how sport has changed.
This is the "professional" and "commercial' era, and there is no going back.
Things change. I am a life-long Socialist. I am a member of the last generation that understands where Socialism came from and how it changed the lives of working-class people. Now, it is virtually dead - as the last UK election bruisingly demonstrated. My mum and dad must be turning in their graves at the sight of all those Northern towns voting Tory!
I have to move on. Now, I am looking to the creation of a merger between centre-parties, the old Labour parties and the Greens, in order to form some kind of Progressive Block. That is very hard for me, because of my far-Left background, but it's that or become a dinosaur.
In other words, what has happened to sport is just part of the massive changes I have witnessed during my lifetime in all aspect of society.

[robinrover]

Bad luck yesterday with him.
Now we are stuck with Bradley Johnson in the centre and now nyambe has ANOTHER injury,the likely hood of Bennett back at right back.
Would love Davenport and Rankin Costello given a chance over the 2 mentioned but it will never happen.
It will be a very long afternoon against Sheffield Wednesday.

[champs95]

They are looking at Mick Rathbones son who plays for Rochdale for around £500k. Local lad aswell

[AucklandRover]

Robin, I think Rankin-Costello, Butterworth and Annesley are still not fully fit.
The U-23 team has recently had a lot of U-18s in it (plus Smallwood!) because of that. We really are having a bad time of it with injuries at the moment.

[robinrover]

Question is do we stick tosin at right back and put up with Williams alongside lenihan?or stick Bennett back at right back?neither appeal to me that greatly so let's see which wets Tony's whistle.