Faulkner??

[IDM]

You don’t rate the lad we got from Palace.?

[selby]

  I will make that judgment when I see him play IDM, I actually hope he is brilliant, but have no idea at the moment, and after signing players like Long, Barlow, Ennis and quite a few others over the years that have come from top clubs and proved to be damp squibs at best, I have learnt to wait to give judgment.
  The one thing that is certain, the level of club they come from gives them a distinct advantage over players coming through the ranks at lower division clubs even at their own club.
  I have seen many players sacked off by other clubs at academy level who have been released by top clubs but have reached their ceiling and the reason for release who have marched in and have taken the place of lads from grass roots with a better chance of improving later if given the chance.
 And its the same at senior level, a lad from a premiership team comes with that label like Louis Vuitton when in fact they are better suited to the Aldi in a some cases.

[IDM]

That opinion is fair enough, but you didn’t even mention him by name, as if he wasn’t part of the equation.

I do agree Bailey should be part of the CB plan. He was excellent in those last few games when it really mattered to push us over the line.

[Ian Nimmo]

I can’t see there will be any movement regards our defenders for the next 2 weeks.
Grant and his team will want to assess all of them before making any final decisions.
If any of the current cb’s do go out on loan, I can’t see all of them being for the full season without the ability to call them back.
I honestly don’t see Owen being considered as a centre back within the 4 mentioned,  and it wouldn’t be unusual for injuries to occur within the first few weeks of a season.

No point speculating at this point in time because Grant will already be aware of how he sees his final squad, there will still be movement whilst the transfer window remains open, so this is another factor which will influence his final decisions.

[selby]

 IDM, I will be honest with you I have no idea what his name is or which one is from Crystal Palace.
  Of the ones I have seen, my choice would be Pearson and Bailey, one has had a career at that or a higher level, and Bailey I rate, and has played well there in the matches I have seen him play in the position and am confident he can step up to division one level.
  Of the others that have played central defence and who are at the club I have seen including McGrath I am doubtful whether they will be good enough at division 1 standard in that position IMHO others will disagree and fair enough everyone is entitled to an opinion.
  In Faulkner's,  Flint's, and Sam Brown's  cases IMHO they have the attributes to go as far as they want to in the game given the chance to develop in good loans, Faulkner being knocked back through injury and missing two seasons and has proved nothing yet, and Flint and Brown  young and all needing more experience to really be assets at that level, but if they do get good loans and go well could come into contention in January and probably show more promise than some who are in and around the first team squad now.

[IDM]

Sean Grehan..  been discussed on the forum for several days now.

[Alan Southstand]

Surely, the point is that the manager knows him and has had him watched for some time. He’s seen enough for us to acquire him and that’s good enough for me.
From a purely supporters point of view, we all should wait and see how they perform before any of us can judge. That applies to all new players, despite who they are or where they’ve come from.
The area in question - central defence/ keeper - will be under the microscope due to all the enforced changes we’ve had to make. It could be an early weakness in the team, we’ll have to wait and see.

[Pancho Regan]

I find it bemusing that someone can write lengthy posts discussing our back-four options and completely omit from the discussion a CB we have recently signed.

[selby]

  Pancho, I have no opinion at all about the lad I can comment on not having seen him play at all, and like you have faith in The club management.
  But, we have even paid a fee for such as Long in my time,  and he was absolutely garbage although I would think going through the vetting procedure, the same with Barlow and quite a few others coming from higher ranked teams.
  I will judge him when I see him and will comment only then on the lad, and I genuinely would like him to be brilliant and if I think he is I will say so.
  The flying mop of hair from Brighton was the best of the lot, but only for a laugh unfortunately.

[KingKendrick]

  Pancho, I have no opinion at all about the lad I can comment on not having seen him play at all, and like you have faith in The club management.
  But, we have even paid a fee for such as Long in my time,  and he was absolutely garbage although I would think going through the vetting procedure, the same with Barlow and quite a few others coming from higher ranked teams.
  I will judge him when I see him and will comment only then on the lad, and I genuinely would like him to be brilliant and if I think he is I will say so.
  The flying mop of hair from Brighton was the best of the lot, but only for a laugh unfortunately.

Selby to be fair I think you could watch Van Dijk and a prime maldini at centre half and still think Faulkner is better

[scawsby steve]

  Our only realistic aim this season is to stay up IMHO. My present thinking is that Pearson and Bailey would by far be our best pairing to start the season in central defence as I don't see the others myself as division 1 standard in that position.
  Flint and Faulkner in my opinion are as good as the rest we know of and we will have to wait and see what the new signings bring to the table as realistically looking at their history they have not exactly set the world on fire, so can only be judged as to how they play when they are here.
  Faulkner, Flint, and Sam Brown did well, in fact very well last season on loan and need to be playing at a good standard and if not here good loans need to be found for them, as they might be needed in January as rescue dogs, hopefully not and have done well if out on loan.

I very much doubt that Terry, Gavin, and Grant would agree with your first sentence, Brian.

Also, has it escaped your attention that Sean Grehen recently captained the Republic of Ireland under 21s? Surely you must be impressed by that.

[ncRover]

While McCann and his team have done a good job in helping turn the club around people need to remember another big reason we’re doing a lot better is that a lot more money is being invested in to the club nowadays.

Haven’t seen Grehan play, but I can guarantee he’s miles better than Adam Long because we’ll be paying him considerably more.

[steve@dcfd]

  Pancho, I have no opinion at all about the lad I can comment on not having seen him play at all, and like you have faith in The club management.
  But, we have even paid a fee for such as Long in my time,  and he was absolutely garbage although I would think going through the vetting procedure, the same with Barlow and quite a few others coming from higher ranked teams.
  I will judge him when I see him and will comment only then on the lad, and I genuinely would like him to be brilliant and if I think he is I will say so.
  The flying mop of hair from Brighton was the best of the lot, but only for a laugh unfortunately.

Adam Long was signed while Gary McSheffrey was manager with hardly any staff backup so I would hope comparing him to Grehan who’s been tracked over the last 12 months is a bit ludicrous.
We can only tell when we see him play along with other new players.

[Danmckay456]

McCanns got more signings right than bad and some of the bad ones you could tell they didn’t want to be here

[selby]

  I was looking at a lot of England u21s teams the other day right back to the 1950s on line.
  Lot's of players I had never heard of in every team with players who became the games greats.
  You could counter that by asking the Carlisle supporters who watched him in three games what he was like.
   I hope he is great for us but until I see him play I have a completely open mind.
  Anybody remember Reece Brown from Manchester United on loan.
  I think we signed him because he was the brother of Wes and looked like him, not because he was a footballer.
  Another donkey from Manchester United.
   Played 10 games for England u19s   and 5 games for England u20s and there was better at Accrington,

[mpc123]

It's always confuses me when people before watching them play after coaching from Mccann and his team, they write them off.

Silly silly.

[selby]

  Nobody has wrote him off at all,  have no opinion at all I have never seen him play,  I can see why your confused.

[Pancho Regan]

  Pancho, I have no opinion at all about the lad I can comment on not having seen him play at all, and like you have faith in The club management.
  But, we have even paid a fee for such as Long in my time,  and he was absolutely garbage although I would think going through the vetting procedure, the same with Barlow and quite a few others coming from higher ranked teams.
 

Well at least you’re now acknowledging that he exists and is part of our squad; this is a step forward.

What a shame though, that you then go on to ridicule Adam Long and Aiden Barlow, presumably in some strange attempt to cast doubt on the signing of Sean Grehan, whom you admit you have never seen play (or indeed have never heard of).

If you have “no opinion at all about the lad” it’s a shame you can’t welcome him to the club and put some faith in Grant McCann and his staff to have done their homework and signed a player who will add quality to our squad.

I sense a continuing sense of bitterness from you due to the fact that Grant has not elevated your prodigy to the first team, and has the temerity to sign other players who are judged to be better than your boy.

It’s not a good look Selby. You need to get over it.

I wouldn’t presume to speak for most Rovers fans but I suspect, like me, they want Bobby Faulkner to continue progressing and developing with the Rovers and ultimately to become a successful first-team player.

But casting doubt and making negative comments about those Rovers players competing in his position really doesn’t do you any credit in my opinion.

[Jonathan]

Heard he has a really good loan lined up. Hope that’s true.

[Metalmicky]

Heard he has a really good loan lined up. Hope that’s true.

New house or car?

[GazLaz]

Heard he has a really good loan lined up. Hope that’s true.

Scunny would make sense.

[Jonathan]

Heard he has a really good loan lined up. Hope that’s true.

Scunny would make sense.

I agree, although I understand theres another very good option for him.

[Barmby Rover]

Heard he has a really good loan lined up. Hope that’s true.

Scunny would make sense.

I agree, although I understand theres another very good option for him.

Maybe York? That would be a good move and give him a chance of earning a promotion.

[Usher wide.]

Grant ‘knows’ Bobby’s attributes well having had two years to cast an eye over him, so if the manager doesn’t feel he’s ready to be a part of the match day squad at this point in his career then ‘we’ have to accept that.

Grant’s the manager after all so it’s his head on the block when we don’t progress as a club because we’re ‘bogged down’ with player’s contracts that ultimately won’t progress the club.

Now I’m not saying (far from it) that Bobby Faulkner won’t one day be a main stay in the Rovers central defence (& he has been given a contract to prove that to be the case) however, ultimately we want/need to be a Championship club before our Chairman’s money (& forgive me for being so blunt) is no longer there to sustain us as a club able to achieve those heights.

We’re not a club in a position to offer Bobby a longer term contract (as Lincoln did with Rob Street) but he has been given a contract so, do your best with it Bobby.

[selby]

   I would hope that the club cast their eyes at least on the film footage of games that young players on loan play in, and collate the stats if available, but know for a fact the coverage of games in person is very very rare.
  With the number of games the first team play clashing with games in lower leagues that is no fault of the first team staff immediately attached to those games, and scouting players from other clubs we fancy would also take precedence I would imagine and rightly so.
 But attending matches when the Rovers had an away game, or in midweek involving Flint, Brown, Faulkner, and Williams and asking as I entered the ground the teams attending with scouts, only once at Darlington were we represented as a club with player in the teams playing.
  Whether it is a weakness in our coverage, or the teams we have loaned players to report progress, which I hope they would be encouraged to do I have no idea. but was partly why I started to comment my thoughts on here of games I went to and some mates went to others where the lads played, which were mainly at Buxton, Darlington, Peterborough Sports, and Gainsborough and Alfreton when Whitby played there just the once.
  It certainly improved my admiration of non league football with better food and drink outlets and everyone fully committed on and off the field of play.
  The Rovers preseason game I recommend this season to attend is the Alfreton game although the ground and bar facilities are not that great.
  But the style of play, massive players, long throws to the far post, challenge for everything and really long ball physical play will give you probably the best idea of what the new central defenders are all about, and could be the young players their biggest test in preseason.

[mushRTID]

Gone to Harrogate on loan. That’s a great move for him.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Great move for him and not too far from Selby either. Wins all round I think.

[MachoMadness]

Good loan move, big opportunity for him that. Let's hope he takes it.

[DonnyOsmond]

Make or break, if he's decent he could be in the first team squad for us next season, if he's not it'll be loans/transfer further down the pyramid.

[ncRover]

Called it!

Might try a career as a football agent

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