alias75

Ive been pro signing Neil all the way because i think he is a good player and his versatility is great. BUT im 100% with Rafa on this one, if a player is even debating whether to sign for us or West Ham id have serious questions about the type of player they are. It could be Neils advisors are behind this, but if he has to think about this for too long hes the wrong personality for us and he should enjoy counting his money in the Championship next season.

Heinze would certainly improve the left back position and of course provide cover for centre back too, for that sort of money id hope we'd be interested. Of course its another question if Man utd would sell anyone to us, although the Argentinian contingent here could help

I agree which is why its irrelevant really if it happens today or next month.

We'll all probably have to wait a while until its announced "officially" but i think its pretty clear this will go through, i guess the time aspect is only relevant if Rafa wanted big money for someone in January but since that doesnt look the case its irrelevant if it happens in the next few days or next month.

first manager to sell Michael Owen

Signed our first player from Mali?

Agree with that i thought we had a relationship with Crewe and they are struggling at the moment and im sure they'd welcome someone like Paletta. I hope we do start loaning a few young players to English clubs, they need to understand what English football is all about. Man Utd have done it for a while with their younger players.

Id be tempted to loan them out to Championship teams or even bottom tier PL sides (like we have with Carson), that way they get plenty of games and get used to playing the English style. We expect these young players to come over and start performing straight away, but thats not realistic. In the past i dont think we've handled our young overseas signings very well, id have liked to have seen Le Tallec and pongolle go to somewhere like Crewe when we first signed them, instead they were loaned back to France.

And people wonder why PL teams are signing more young players from abroad. We've just signed 2 Argentina U20 players for less than 2 million each and here we have an England U21 being touted for 10 million - 4 million more than Bellamy and Garcia and the SAME as Alonso!

Id watched him in the flesh numerous times for Wales so knew what we were getting. Hes similar to Kuyt in that his workrate is such that even when things aren't working for him hes still useful for the team because he never stops trying. On form hes almost unplayable, as we're now seeing he has the ability to drift into wide positions and get assists and when the game is stretched there arent many better with balls over the top. His other great asset is that hes never satisfied and is always looking to improve, even yesterday you could see that. I knew we were getting a bargain for 6 million and glad hes started to show the form to back that up.

Ill think you'll find the knee jerkers were in the minority even not long after the game had finished. Most of them have admitted they got caught up in the moment and were wrong with their level of criticism. Yet we still get mindless drivel from paid journalists, the level of football journalism really has nosedived the last few years and Rafa really does seem to targeted by these guys. For a manager thats achieved what he has in the game it really is out of order, no doubt had we won the Carling Cup this season the very same media would be pointing out how worthless that trophy is.

Think hes played about 10 times for Depor so hes getting some good first team experience. from memory even though we sold him im sure there was some terms in there whereby we had the option to buy him back after 2 or 3 seasons for a set fee so even if he goes on to be worth a lot more than we sold him for the fee is set should we want him back. Think that was a very smart move by the club hes going to get games in La Liga and will obviously improve. Right back is a position he could have a chance of filling in the first team in a few years so if hes given those sort of assurances and we want him back I could see him returning to the club. Even if we're not interested in him for the first team if the fee has been set and in 2 or 3 years time hes worth much more than that fee then it would be stupid of the club not to take advantage of that situation even if it meant we sold him again fairly quickly for much more than we paid for him.

I havent heard Neil comment anything really but im guessing from the way we're expressing our interest hes keen to come here. If thats the case those are the 2 options Blackburn have. If Neil doesnt have his heart set on Liverpool then of course that changes things, but its not as if he'd be badly paid here anyway.

Really enjoyed reading that, it really does amaze me how ex pros with no record in management can constantly criticise a manager thats won the CL, UEFA Cup, La Liga and FA Cup, i just dont see the same level of absue aimed at Fergusson or Wenger when their teams are also having a bit of a bad spell. Rafa certainly doesnt get the respect his record deserves, even yesterday when the team was named you had average ex pros saying that he didnt know what he was doing! your talking about one of the most thoughtful managers there is, everything he tries may not work but to say he doesnt know what hes trying to do is so far off the mark its laughable. Its also true how the Carling Cup has all of a sudden taken on this huge importance within the media, no doubt if we had won the Carling Cup this season and nothing else the very same media would be telling us how worthless a trophy it is. I also think its a decent point about Gerrard, no doubt he plays well from the middle against most teams but you can count the number of huge games hes played from that position against big sides on one hand. Top read that.

re Neil: hes in control of the situation, even if some club (most likely idiots like Newcastle) bids say 4 million for him he doesnt have to move anywhere he doesnt want to. Remember when we sold Baros apparently there were bigger offers on the table compared to Villa but the player reused point blank to even talk to those clubs. If he wants to play for us Blackburn have 2 options.. 1. Take our offer in January 2. Lose him for nothing at the end of the season

comparing Nolan or Zenden to Mascherano is way off the mark ,before he signed for West Ham he was one of the most highly regarded young midfielders in the world, a few average games for a team struggling in a new league is hardly reason enough to write him off. This is an ideal chance to sign one of the best young central midfielders in the world for a relatively small fee. You can say we already have 3 top quality central midfielders which is true, but we dont have decent cover for Alonso. Sissoko and Gerrard are both similar types in that they get about the pitch and are all high energy, Mascherano is a good alernative to Alonso if he gets injured or needs resting, they could also play together in a 4-2-3-1 for certain games against tough opposition away from home.

Good report here from Dave Usher over at TLW http://217.199.172.89/tlw/forum/showthread.php?t=41292 The reds youngsters showed they are in no mood to relinquish the FA Youth Cup trophy they lifted last season, as goals from Jimmy Ryan and Ray Putterill gave Steve Heighway's side an impressive victory over a much fancied Chelsea outfit. The visitors line up read like a who's who of 'Football Manager 2007' stars, and cost a fair bit to assemble. There were some players with big reputations in their side, but they rarely troubled an outstanding Liverpool back four led by skipper Jay Spearing. I saw Chelsea win at the Academy earlier this season, and they looked pretty useful that day. The side that took to the field at Anfield was even stronger, boosted by the inclusions of imported strikers Carlos Tejera and Morten Nielson. With highly rated wingers Miroslav Stoch and Scott Sinclair (who appeared for the senior side at Wycombe the other night), I honestly feared the worst. I was guilty of underestimating our lads, whose resilience and sheer will to win gave them the edge over opponents who on paper were much superior. Heighway's kids were first to every ball, well organised and on the balance of play thoroughly deserved to win. In a week in which the club's youth policy has come under close scrutiny in the wake of Arsenal's success at Anfield, this will have been a hugely satisfying win for the reds Academy chief, especially as nine of the starting eleven are local lads who have been with the club for many years. Only Danish goalkeeper Martin Hansen and Scottish midfielder Ryan Flynn have been brought in from outside the area, whereas the Chelsea side had talent brought in from all over the place. Sinclair was signed for big money from Bristol Rovers, Tajera came from Espanyol and is very highly rated, Harry Worley was nabbed from Stockport, Michael Woods was the lad they nicked from Leeds (prompting Ken Bates' 'Siberian schysters' rant), Miroslav Stoch is a highly rated Slovakian winger, Morten Nielsen is a Danish youth international and they had two Portuguese u18 internationals on the subs bench. Their expensively assembled squad was completely nullified by the reds back four however. There is a lack of height in the reds backline, but that was never an issue as Chelsea play on the floor. It was only in the closing stages that they went route one when they sent big centre half Worley up front (a common Chelsea tactic against us!). Spearing and Threlfall contained Tejera and Nielson with surprising ease, neither striker got a kick throughout the contest, whilst in the first half dangerman Sinclair couldn't escape the close attentions of the dilligent Stephen Darby. This years youth cup side lacking the flair and attacking threat of Hammill and Anderson, as well as the muscle of Antwi and Hobbs, but there are still several players left from last year. Jimmy Ryan was one of those, although he missed the latter stages of the competition through injury having scored in an earlier round. He is back in the side this year, albeit out of position on the right of midfield. To me, it would have made more sense to play Jimmy in the centre and switch either Charlie Barnett or Ryan Flynn to the right, but Steve Heighway clearly knows better as it was Jimmy who proved to be the reds main goal threat in the opening 45 minutes. He was within a whisker of opening the scoring on 8 minutes, when Chelsea failed to clear a Barnett free-kick, and the ball fell to Ryan on the edge of the box. His left foot drive fizzed just past the post with the keeper nowhere. Six minutes later he did find the net. Lee Woodward made a good run into space down the left, and was found with a superb ball down the line (I don't remember who played the pass unfortunately). He held the ball up, and then laid it back to the supporting Putterill, who looked up and picked out Ryan in the centre with a terrific cross. Ryan was closely marked, but flicked the ball with the outside of his foot on the volley into the far corner of the net. Three minutes later Putterill released Lindfield through the centre, and he unleashed a superb dipping half volley from 20 yards that was narrowly over the bar. It wasn't a free flowing attacking display by the reds, but they were still looking the more dangerous of the two sides. Chelsea tried to use the pace of their two widemen, but for all their obvious ability they couldn't get much change out of the Liverpool full backs. Their best chance of the entire game came ten minutes before the break, when Liverpool failed to clear a corner, and when the ball was sent back in Stoch had a glorious chance six yards out in front of the Kop, but he scuffed his shot wide. I expected an onslaught in the second half, but it never materialised. In fact, the longer the half went the more Liverpool got on top. On 65 minutes Woodward went close with a curling shot after good play by Barnett, and five minutes later the striker got clear of the defence after latching onto Lindfield's flick, but the keeper saved at his feet. All this time, Hansen had not had to make a save. In fact, the only time he was remotely extended was when he had to make a fairly routine save from Spearing's headed backpass. He dealt very well with any crosses that came his way, and his kicking was good too. He looks a very assured young man. The reds made the game safe with six minutes remaining, when Spearing's 'Alonso like' diagonal ball found Putterill in the box, and he brought the ball down on his chest before steadying himself and drilling a low left foot shot into the far corner. An excellent goal from the in form frontman, who also got the winner in the last round at the Hawthorns. I had expected a lot more from Chelsea to be honest, but rather than focus on how disappointing they were, I think great credit has to go to our lads for simply not letting them do what they wanted to do. The boys all worked extremely hard, but the win wasn't just down to that. They used the ball well when they had the chance to attack, and tactically they were brilliant. The defence caught Chelsea offside time and again, and the organisation of the back four was very impressive. I sometimes worry about Spearing at centre half because he's so small, but in terms of organising, reading the game and generally having a football brain, Jay is as good as I've seen at this level in a long time. You can see why the Academy staff love him to bits, he's a born winner. He and Threlfall play very well together and they were the foundations on which this win was built. Putterill and Ryan were both excellent too, and thoroughly deserved their goals, but the two centre backs share the star man award. Team: Hansen; Darby, Spearing, Threlfall, Burns; Ryan, Barnett, Flynn, Putterill; Lindfield, Woodward (Wignall):

Could be any of those and probably some we havent thought of... Maybe wing backs of Finnan and Aurellio and a midfield 3 of Alonso, Gerrard with Kuyt in the hole behind Bellamy and Crouch?

I think the comparison with Rooney is a good one, thought he was excellent in the world cup and before that at the Olympics he was the best player there by far. offers something we dont have much of in the side which is an attacking player that isnt afraid to run with the ball and commit defenders. His time at West Ham could be ideal if another PL team takes him on.

How would Blackburn feel if west Ham did offer 8 million for Neil though knowing full well he'd simply refuse to sign for them. Didnt we get a bigger offer for Baros before he left but he wouldnt even talk to them.

Thanks guys...

The media are quoting between 80-100 million ive seen some posts from guys that seem to know what their talking about and have seen the numbers that say thats not correct. Ive looked for explanations on here but its like looking for a needle in a haystack. can someone give me the reasons as to why the 80-100 figure isnt correct, or point me to the relevant posts. Thanks in advance

Ok thanks, it was a stupid assumption on my part when he was here for the CL game i assumed he'd be staying and training before officially signing. I guess thats a no no then unless things get desperate.

He was in the crowd for one of the CL games a while back i assumed he stayed over and has been training although that may be wrong.

I doubt many on here have seen him play at all but Rafa seemed very confident he would be pushing for the first team before the end of the season, any player aged 17 playing for his countries U20 side is clearly very highly regarded. From what ive read his best position is probably centre back but he is left sided so hes probably played left back for the U21 side because they have more experienced central defenders that are a couple of years older than him. Now we have problems down our left with Garcia out for the season and Gonzalez for maybe a month, also theres talk of Warnock going to Blackburn. The obvious solution is Aurellio and Riise or maybe even Lucas Neil if that happens, but maybe Insua will egt some first team action sooner than everyone expected. I know he couldnt sign until January but hes been here for a few months now, be interesting to see if hes named in the squad for the first team anytime soon.