Brooker

[SkellowRover]

Did anyone hear anything tonight about him being finished and his career over? Apparently this rumour was doing the rounds tonight.

[roversdude]

heard that last night Skellow, apparently announcement due this week

[SkellowRover]

If that's the case then i'm gutted for the lad and for us because he could have done a good job and become a crowd favourite. If it is true then it surely adds more strength to the need for us to sign Billy?

[wing commander]

I have to admit i was told two months ago he was done and wont play again,by a normally reliable source yet a week later SOD said they thought they had fixed the problem.When nothing came out i asked him a couple of weeks ago if he had it wrong and he said it was a matter of timing for legal reasons..
  I hope not for the players sake however i never could understand signing him,teams never want to commit to signing a player with a calf strain never mind a knackered leg...

[The Red Baron]

Very sad news if true and my first thoughts are with Steve Brooker. It must be devastating to be told that you will not be able to continue doing something which is not only your livelihood but must also be very enjoyable. I hope he will be able to find another rewarding career, whether inside or outside the football industry.

As for Rovers we need to move on and try to find a similar player. There is no doubt that in the last 15 minutes or so last night we were crying out for a Steve Brooker-type of player- the sort who would give us the \"Plan B\" we need in these type of games.

[roversdude]

Putting his ability/use to the team to one side. Question has to be asked how the hell did we sign a crocked player, surely some medical person is in line for a writ.
IF it is true I wish him all the best and it is no doubt a shame we didnt get to see him.
This may also relate to a court case between Brooker and surgeon/physio at Bristol

[DRNaith]

It was always a gamble, I believe that DRFC protected themselves as much as reasonably possible by having him on a low wage but high appearance fee.

I'm grateful to Rovers for trying this approach, with our gates and our integrity of building something sustainable it was an idea that on this ocassion didn't pay off but I hope it won't put-off other ideas in the future.

[Drover]

roversdude wrote:

Putting his ability/use to the team to one side. Question has to be asked how the hell did we sign a crocked player, surely some medical person is in line for a writ.
IF it is true I wish him all the best and it is no doubt a shame we didnt get to see him.
This may also relate to a court case between Brooker and surgeon/physio at Bristol

Well it was known he had injury problems when we signed him although im sure they hoped he would not get has bad has having to retire early.Im sure the Rovers will have taken this into account when taking the gamble with him.When you are a small fish in a big pond these ARE the kind of gambles the club have too take to have a chance to compete at this level without braking the bank or risking the clubs longterm future.We have had some good profiteering from this like Stocky who is actually suceptible to injuries especially his back but upto now he is a bargain big player for us.Its similar to the gambles we take on some players making the grade with us or not,there are failures like Byfield,Elliott etc and successes like McDaid,Hird,Wilson.Unless we get crowd of 20,000+ we will always have to take risk's at this level.

[Branton Rover]

Hopefully this turns out to be another false story last I heard was that Brooker season was written off sometime ago & they were hoping for better news come pre-season this is devastating news if true for all parties.  Fingers crossed it turns out to be wrong

[DonnyNoel]

Rigoglioso wrote:

The only thing I've heard about Brooker lately is that he could cause Newcastle lots of problems!

So it was him texting Taylor pretending to be Carroll's ex? (or was it the other way round?!)

[Lesonthewest]

The Red Baron wrote:

Very sad news if true and my first thoughts are with Steve Brooker. It must be devastating to be told that you will not be able to continue doing something which is not only your livelihood but must also be very enjoyable. I hope he will be able to find another rewarding career, whether inside or outside the football industry.

As for Rovers we need to move on and try to find a similar player. There is no doubt that in the last 15 minutes or so last night we were crying out for a Steve Brooker-type of player- the sort who would give us the \"Plan B\" we need in these type of games.

I remember thinking exactly the same during the game Red Baron, had we had the type of player like Steve Brooker & a fit Stock & Coppinger I dare say we would have won that game against a very good side, that is how close we are to besoming a real force in this league. As for Brooker, if the rumour is true I will be gutted for the lad.