Adam Clayton

[donnievic]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

have I missed sumthing here!!!!!!money were not going to get back?????have we paid a fee for him like,sure any wages we spend on players we won’t get back

[pib]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

have I missed sumthing here!!!!!!money were not going to get back?????have we paid a fee for him like,sure any wages we spend on players we won’t get back

You recoup money if you can sell a player, yes.

[normal rules]

Clayton will be a free transfer. It’s just his wages we will be forking out for.
Based on recent performances, we must have faith that there are positive steps regarding having a cohesive team that can compete. We saw it against Wigan , Cambridge and mk. I suspect we will see some more green shoots come Saturday.
Anyone who thinks this club is in the market for big bucks signings of players who are under contract at other clubs is crackers. And there are not that many free agents out there of real quality, otherwise they would not be free. Clayton won’t be cheap wages wise.
We take what we can. And you can dress that up how you like. The youth crèche will argue we shop at Netto. Derby supporters and those of us long in the tooth enough would argue otherwise. Sustainable, affordable, manageable finances around what has always traditionally been a lower league football club.

[Donny Exile in York]

Alot will depend on whether he can prove his fitness given he hasn't played for a good year or so. If he can regain fitness, we certainly should have a quality midfielder to bolster the ranks and provide much needed steel.

[pib]

I never said we needed experience when we signed Olowu and Younger. Don't think Gaz did either. I think they were two decent bits of business that will probably have upside if they both develop as players.

I knew I'd get accused of moaning or being "never happy" - it's not that at all. This guy will probably be a tidy player for the next 6-12 months if he can get fit quickly. But I care about the club and am concerned in the mid to long term that we haven't learned any lessons from what's happened before. Short-term fixes, no resale value, short term contracts and/or contracts expiring in bulk, gambles on players who aren't physically up to speed, managers dictating the football strategy and everything being ripped up when the next manager comes along.

I may well be proven wrong if the club starts doing deals like the Younger one that outweigh these ones (I hope so!). But out of the 4 signings this January, half of them have been in their 30's with patchy recent records of actually playing football, so forgive me for questioning it.

That's what's got us into the state we're in now. If I'm a moaning f*cker for not wanting that to keep happening, so be it.

Did you feel the same way about James Coppinger when he was still playing for us at 39/40...?  I get where you are coming from, but Adam Clayton has only just turned 33 (younger than Tommy Rowe) and was playing in the Championship less than a year ago.... He will bring invaluable experience, cost us nothing and I doubt that he will be on a huge wage...

Let's see how hungry he is..... if we can get him fit and playing to anywhere near his potential, we will have a good player on our hands - for no significant outlay.

That's a big "if" to say he's not costing us anything.

Coppinger was a completely different example entirely.

I think I've made it clear in my post what my concerns with our approach are so I'm not going to ram it down people's throats.

[since-1969]

James Milner is still doing it in the Premier league at 36.  33's nowt.

Milner v Clayton . Who would you choose ? Milner at 40 will still be playing imo !!

[donnievic]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

have I missed sumthing here!!!!!!money were not going to get back?????have we paid a fee for him like,sure any wages we spend on players we won’t get back

You recoup money if you can sell a player, yes.

but we are only spending on his wages like anyone else that we would get and wouldn’t recoup any of their wages so don’t get this we won’t recoup any money we are spending on him

[drfchound]

Usually agree with you gaz but experience was exactly what we needed in this window

What is experience?? I think we needed maturity. You don’t have to be 33yo to have that.

Let’s be honest, he’s not fully fit but Agard looks like he can’t run and I saw Clayton at Birmingham, he’s the same.

They may end up being great players in L2 but this isn’t the way we need to be going. It’s not what intelligent operators do. Obviously depends on what he’s earning, if he’s on £500 a week then it may be a low cost gamble. Why not give him 6 months to see what he has left? I could make you 20 players that would walk to the Keepmoat for a contract in the summer that would be smarter options than Agard and Clayton.

There are players at Farley Celtic on £500 a week.
I know this for certain.

[roversdude]

James Milner is still doing it in the Premier league at 36.  33's nowt.

Milner v Clayton . Who would you choose ? Milner at 40 will still be playing imo !!

Still not managed even through gritted teeth to  complimentary

[DonnyOsmond]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

have I missed sumthing here!!!!!!money were not going to get back?????have we paid a fee for him like,sure any wages we spend on players we won’t get back

You recoup money if you can sell a player, yes.

but we are only spending on his wages like anyone else that we would get and wouldn’t recoup any of their wages so don’t get this we won’t recoup any money we are spending on him

Were less likely to receive money for Clayton than we would for someone 10 years younger is all he's saying.

[pib]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

have I missed sumthing here!!!!!!money were not going to get back?????have we paid a fee for him like,sure any wages we spend on players we won’t get back

You recoup money if you can sell a player, yes.

but we are only spending on his wages like anyone else that we would get and wouldn’t recoup any of their wages so don’t get this we won’t recoup any money we are spending on him

So when we sold Marquis and Whiteman for £1m+, we didn't recoup any of our outlay we'd spent on them?

[MachoMadness]

McSheffrey confirmed we've got an extra year option on both Clayton and Younger.

[rich1471]

McSheffrey confirmed we've got an extra year option on both Clayton and Younger.

they have to play X amount of games to trigger the clause in the contract for the extra year

[Sammy Chung was King]

It all depends whether he looks after himself as a player. We needed some experienced know how and we’ve got it. Not many would sign up for a six month contract, eighteen month is about right.

[ColinDouglasHandshake]

It all depends whether he looks after himself as a player. We needed some experienced know how and we’ve got it. Not many would sign up for a six month contract, eighteen month is about right.

Agree. I am concerned about him being given an 18 month deal but like you say, who is going to come for a 6 month deal?

[i_ateallthepies]

Usually agree with you gaz but experience was exactly what we needed in this window

What is experience?? I think we needed maturity. You don’t have to be 33yo to have that.

Let’s be honest, he’s not fully fit but Agard looks like he can’t run and I saw Clayton at Birmingham, he’s the same.

They may end up being great players in L2 but this isn’t the way we need to be going. It’s not what intelligent operators do. Obviously depends on what he’s earning, if he’s on £500 a week then it may be a low cost gamble. Why not give him 6 months to see what he has left? I could make you 20 players that would walk to the Keepmoat for a contract in the summer that would be smarter options than Agard and Clayton.

There are players at Farley Celtic on £500 a week.
I know this for certain.

We don't need any more Creche members.

[normal rules]

It all depends whether he looks after himself as a player. We needed some experienced know how and we’ve got it. Not many would sign up for a six month contract, eighteen month is about right.

Agree. I am concerned about him being given an 18 month deal but like you say, who is going to come for a 6 month deal?

Marquis went to Lincoln on a 6 month deal.

[Jersey Rover]

If he’s fit and hungry for the battle he’s the experience we’re missing. Looks a shrewd signing

[GazLaz]

We’ve signed three 32+ year olds in two windows and had a deal for another fall through at the last minute. That’s not how to be doing things.

Edit: 4 if you count Gardner.

[scawsby steve]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

It’s all about balance and people are never happy so the club can’t win.
When we signed the likes of younger and olowu the response is we need experience then when we sign experience the response is it’s not very strategic

I never said we needed experience when we signed Olowu and Younger. Don't think Gaz did either. I think they were two decent bits of business that will probably have upside if they both develop as players.

I knew I'd get accused of moaning or being "never happy" - it's not that at all. This guy will probably be a tidy player for the next 6-12 months if he can get fit quickly. But I care about the club and am concerned in the mid to long term that we haven't learned any lessons from what's happened before. Short-term fixes, no resale value, short term contracts and/or contracts expiring in bulk, gambles on players who aren't physically up to speed, managers dictating the football strategy and everything being ripped up when the next manager comes along.

I may well be proven wrong if the club starts doing deals like the Younger one that outweigh these ones (I hope so!). But out of the 4 signings this January, half of them have been in their 30's with patchy recent records of actually playing football, so forgive me for questioning it.

That's what's got us into the state we're in now. If I'm a moaning f*cker for not wanting that to keep happening, so be it.

We've actually made 5 signings this January, 3 of them in their 20s.

[scawsby steve]

Just the type of player we need. Experienced head to try and get us out this mess this season and if not then a top end league two player for next year. As we've seen from before experience counts in getting you promoted from league two (Jones, Painter, McCombe, Brown etc).

None of those players played for us in League 2.

[Campsall rover]

Looks a very good signing to me. Once he is match fit just the type of midfielder we need.
What’s the problem with him being 33. We need experience in the team, we need leaders and that is what we have got.

Shows real intent from the Club. Just gives us a sniff of staying up if we can get Agard, Dodoo, and Bogle scoring goals on a consistent basis.

If we do go down, then with these new signings we will have started building a squad that should be competing for the top 3 next season.

[pib]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

It’s all about balance and people are never happy so the club can’t win.
When we signed the likes of younger and olowu the response is we need experience then when we sign experience the response is it’s not very strategic

I never said we needed experience when we signed Olowu and Younger. Don't think Gaz did either. I think they were two decent bits of business that will probably have upside if they both develop as players.

I knew I'd get accused of moaning or being "never happy" - it's not that at all. This guy will probably be a tidy player for the next 6-12 months if he can get fit quickly. But I care about the club and am concerned in the mid to long term that we haven't learned any lessons from what's happened before. Short-term fixes, no resale value, short term contracts and/or contracts expiring in bulk, gambles on players who aren't physically up to speed, managers dictating the football strategy and everything being ripped up when the next manager comes along.

I may well be proven wrong if the club starts doing deals like the Younger one that outweigh these ones (I hope so!). But out of the 4 signings this January, half of them have been in their 30's with patchy recent records of actually playing football, so forgive me for questioning it.

That's what's got us into the state we're in now. If I'm a moaning f*cker for not wanting that to keep happening, so be it.

We've actually made 5 signings this January, 3 of them in their 20s.

I forgot Martin, but think the point still stands regardless that it's a high proportion, especially with JM being a loanee.

[wilts rover]

Tommy Rowe is 33. Hardly the worst signing in this team and who's going to tell him he's past it or his legs have gone?

I do wish people would wait and see people play/not play before they start slagging them off.

[dickos1]

We’ve signed two 32/33 year olds in one window. Both played a dozen games in 18months. Whatever the situation, you never need to do that.

No doubt you'll get pelters for this (and I may do as well for this response) but it does make you wonder what the thinking is when the season is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Not just that, but when you're trying to make the club sustainable, at 33, this is money you're not going to ever get back.

He's a decent player like and hopefully will do a job, but it doesn't jump out as very strategic to me.

It’s all about balance and people are never happy so the club can’t win.
When we signed the likes of younger and olowu the response is we need experience then when we sign experience the response is it’s not very strategic

I never said we needed experience when we signed Olowu and Younger. Don't think Gaz did either. I think they were two decent bits of business that will probably have upside if they both develop as players.

I knew I'd get accused of moaning or being "never happy" - it's not that at all. This guy will probably be a tidy player for the next 6-12 months if he can get fit quickly. But I care about the club and am concerned in the mid to long term that we haven't learned any lessons from what's happened before. Short-term fixes, no resale value, short term contracts and/or contracts expiring in bulk, gambles on players who aren't physically up to speed, managers dictating the football strategy and everything being ripped up when the next manager comes along.

I may well be proven wrong if the club starts doing deals like the Younger one that outweigh these ones (I hope so!). But out of the 4 signings this January, half of them have been in their 30's with patchy recent records of actually playing football, so forgive me for questioning it.

That's what's got us into the state we're in now. If I'm a moaning f*cker for not wanting that to keep happening, so be it.

Don’t worry it’s Dickos’ M.O. to put words in the mouth of others in order to cause an argument. He is either a WUM or lacks the capacity to process information properly.

There must’ve been 5 or 6 wums commenting on your ridiculous post then. Cause everyone was of the the same view as me

[scawsby steve]

After seeing some of the embarrassing performances from young lightweight kids this season, being bullied and outfought all over the park by League 1 mesters, I can't believe people are being negative about players in their early 30s being signed.

[dickos1]

We’ve signed three 32+ year olds in two windows and had a deal for another fall through at the last minute. That’s not how to be doing things.

We wouldn’t have signed Clayton if we’d got o toole.
And we’ve also made some good progressive signings this season in owulu, younger, knoyle,

[sedwardsdrfc]

I'm only concerned with the length of deal with this and Agard really. In theory they are both more than good enough for L2 but both have injury records to fit the rest of our squad and are getting on. Sometimes the drop in ability from ageing can be quite rapid.

I can only think that the length of deal is the only way we're getting them to sign. If Agard and Clayton were on deals to end of the season with an option to extend if they did well i think we'd have played a blinder. As it is there are certainly risks with the signings.

[Filo]

I'm only concerned with the length of deal with this and Agard really. In theory they are both more than good enough for L2 but both have injury records to fit the rest of our squad and are getting on. Sometimes the drop in ability from ageing can be quite rapid.

I can only think that the length of deal is the only way we're getting them to sign. If Agard and Clayton were on deals to end of the season with an option to extend if they did well i think we'd have played a blinder. As it is there are certainly risks with the signings.

18 month deal with the option for another 12 months if they play the required amount of games

[Lesonthewest]

Does he still have the beard?

Yes & it also looks like he has 4 knees, either that or extremely large gonads. Great signing, well done Rovers.