What price Zebroski?

[Fonda]

It was only a matter of time, and the make-up of our squad without him is very worrying. He certainly is replaceable, but my concern is now - who would sign for us in our current state? One look at our squad and you can't help but think we're going to struggle. Players like Zebs and O'Kane were the ones that might entice others to come and join them. As it stands now, Eunan is the only player with real quality so i don't fancy our chances of suddenly spending £100k on quality signings.

[Jeff]

I too am not sure I'm buying all these excuses about Zebs being fed up with the commute. I may have interpretted it wrong, but the way the Herald article was worded the other week made it sound like Zebs had recently moved back to Swindon, rather than commuted from there. I don't know - the whole thing does seem like tapping up, I guess only time will tell if he's playing in Blue and White come august.

What is slightly comforting is that 1) We have apparantly refused the initial bid of £100k, and 2) Have accepted a second bid of more than that. If this is going to happen, we need it done soon. One flaw in Zebs is game is that when his head goes down, it really goes. I cite his performances immediately around his court case as examples. If he doesn't want to be here, he ain't going to perform and his stock will just go down and down. If Rovers are indeed sniffing, let him go and let him go now. At least it gives Ling a bit of time in the transfer market, and hopefully a bit more financial lee-way, to bring in someone else. I'm not saying they'll be as good as Zebs as he was devestating on his day, but we desperately need some quality brought in.

[Plymouth Gull]

Amen to that, Jeff. I'd also expect him to be another little extra spice should he be playing against us at the Memorial Ground, in August.

[Gulliball]

Even if we get a decent fee, what use is the money if we can't spend it properly?

Currently our wingers are Stevens, Halpin, Macklin and Parkinson. Our strikers are Kee and McPhee. With 2 players for each position that means we're going to bring in a maximum of two more attacking players. Looking at those players, you have to be realistic and say it's going to be a long, hard season. Kee's partner is going to have to be superman, and who are we going to attract here during pre-season that isn't already fixed up?

I don't like being negative, but lose Zebroski and I thing we're going to struggle.

[mlw]

I see on the gasbags forum someone is saying that Zebroski is in talks with them with Joe Kuffour coming the other way. Interesting!

[Jeff]

I see on the gasbags forum someone is saying that Zebroski is in talks with them with Joe Kuffour coming the other way. Interesting!

Apparantly Kuffour is on silly money. It would be nice, but it won't happen.

[PhilGull]

I see on the gasbags forum someone is saying that Zebroski is in talks with them with Joe Kuffour coming the other way. Interesting!

Now that I like the sound of! Especially as it was our former manager (Leroy) who poached him from us for Brentford! Maybe one day Zebs will return too!

[Colorado Gull]

I see on the gasbags forum someone is saying that Zebroski is in talks with them with Joe Kuffour coming the other way. Interesting!

I would love to see him back. It seems that Kuffour won't be used at Rovers now Buckle's basically bought a whole new team. Kuffour has always been a great player in my eyes but his wages (as Jeff said) will be an issue. So the wages part seems that him coming our way is doubtful. But you never know. I think we better ask teeboo

[AustrianAndyGull]

Even if we get a decent fee, what use is the money if we can't spend it properly?

Currently our wingers are Stevens, Halpin, Macklin and Parkinson. Our strikers are Kee and McPhee. With 2 players for each position that means we're going to bring in a maximum of two more attacking players. Looking at those players, you have to be realistic and say it's going to be a long, hard season. Kee's partner is going to have to be superman, and who are we going to attract here during pre-season that isn't already fixed up?

I don't like being negative, but lose Zebroski and I thing we're going to struggle.

great post gulliball. at the moment the squad is pretty uninspiring as are the signings, in my opinion. Kee works hard and McPhee is poor, in my opinion so we lack goals. I think our defence is quite solid with the addition of another C/H and Eunan in midfield we have something to add to but if zebs goes then we could be in for a long season.

[Glostergull]

great post gulliball. at the moment the squad is pretty uninspiring as are the signings, in my opinion. Kee works hard and McPhee is poor, in my opinion so we lack goals. I think our defence is quite solid with the addition of another C/H and Eunan in midfield we have something to add to but if zebs goes then we could be in for a long season.

Hey Andygullagain
Don't you think it would be in all our interests if we see how they gel/perform in the new season before we slag em off. Your sounding just like Brucie. I think I would hang back a mo and look at our first few games rather than write us off before a ball is kicked. There are plenty of occasions where a player hasn't exactly hit it off with a team, gone away or then had a new boss come in and the style changed somewhat to see a complete revamp in performance. I will reserve judgement untill I have seen the first few games played.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Yeah fair point Glostergull and i am probably more depressing, angrier and more negative than Brucie ( if that were possible!) but McPhee is crap,come on surely everyone knows this? He has had his time at Torquay already and we should never have signed him. Whats his league scoring record like? Thought so. Leadbitter i'm not gonna comment on as he is a young lad and i don't know owt about the lad. Most worrying for me is that Ling has offered Stevens a contract. Yes i have seen Stevens on a number of occasions and he should get a job at a leisure centre or something. He just is not a league footballer. I go and watch my local club Matlock Town FC play a lot and they have players who are a million times better and more consistent than Danny, yeah Ross Hannah went to Bradford and i wanted to try and get him to come south but it didn't happen. We should be looking at the Hannahs of this world and not the hasbeens of this world like McPhee and Stevens. Ling a genius? Not quite but deffo a BSP manager in 2012.

[bc-gull]

Too many people are being harsh on Danny Stevens! He is a very talented football, he has a bit of pace, few tricks up his sleeve and the odd big of magic to his football. He is a good player on the ball, running at defenders, I honestly think he would be alot better in a more central role. Or maybe even him as a striker, but all I know is that too many people are being too harsh on him.

Chris McPhee.... urrm.. again people are being harsh. Yes.. he was terrible whilst playing for us... but then again who wasn't. If someone said to you, we are signing a lad who scored 18 goals last season from midfield in the bsp you would have probably said.. yes please.

Leadbitter I haven't seen anything of him. All I know is he is quite a pacy wing back.

And finally Oastler, I think he is a very very good footballer, he shown us that he can play abit, and he does his job so well, I dont see him as a right back though.. but he definitely gonna be one for the future. There is a very good footballer in there, give him some games and you will see it. Although not to sure on his favored position..

[AustrianAndyGull]

sorry but stevens is the l2 equivalent of aaron lennnon. runs fast, dinks in and out, bamboozles defenders but then/................................................................................ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. NO SHOT, NO GOAL, NO PINPOINT CROSS FROM THE BYE LINE, NO COMMITTING THE DEFENDER INTO A FOUL IN THE BOX RESULTING IN A PENNO, NOTHING. His end product is zero so in my very humble opinion Ling needs sectioning for offering the lad a contract. He is basically a footballer who can't play football.

[mickyflash]

As I understand it Ling didn't offer him the contract, the board did and Ling has openly said he has stuck with the boards/previous regimes opinion on both Stevens and Oastler as they have seen him play much more football than he.

When the season opened this time last year Stevens had a starting position week in week out, as the season went on he lost his place to loan signings/pushing Zebs out wide. I dont expect Stevens to get much more football under Ling than he did under Buckle, but that all depends on who Ling brings in not just this summer but over the course of the season to come. Maybe I clutching at straws now.

[Jeff]

Too many people are being harsh on Danny Stevens! He is a very talented football, he has a bit of pace, few tricks up his sleeve and the odd big of magic to his football. He is a good player on the ball, running at defenders, I honestly think he would be alot better in a more central role. Or maybe even him as a striker, but all I know is that too many people are being too harsh on him.

Chris McPhee.... urrm.. again people are being harsh. Yes.. he was terrible whilst playing for us... but then again who wasn't. If someone said to you, we are signing a lad who scored 18 goals last season from midfield in the bsp you would have probably said.. yes please.

Leadbitter I haven't seen anything of him. All I know is he is quite a pacy wing back.

And finally Oastler, I think he is a very very good footballer, he shown us that he can play abit, and he does his job so well, I dont see him as a right back though.. but he definitely gonna be one for the future. There is a very good footballer in there, give him some games and you will see it. Although not to sure on his favored position..

That's the key issue. You don't get that return if you're awful. The Chris McPhee that left us would never have scored 18 goals a season, so how come the one that is coming back has? Because he's improved. Bear in mind we were his first permanent club away from his roots, and we were a club in turmoil. It didn't work out, and McPhee was a relative youngster. He's had the chance to go away and work on his game, and every time I've watched him since he's been begrudgingly good.

You just don't get 18 BSP goals if you're poor - Benyon, Zebroski, even Scott Rendell (who i think only ever notched a maximim of 13 or something), never managed it.