Summer sales are done!!! + Everton preview

By: David | August 13th, 2008

Coach Paul Ince has insisted that no more first team players will be leaving the club this summer.

Ince told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: “The door is shut now. The players can’t go, full stop. Clubs are trying to unsettle some of my players.

“I don’t like it. It’s my first job in the Premier League and the last thing I want to do is sell my best players.

“There’s always going to be speculation about players, but I can categorically say, 100 per cent, that nobody will be leaving this club.”

This seems to be good news to me, and Ince seems to be very adament. However there are a few rough edges:

1. Getting rid of the Axe wouldn’t be a bad thing, and Roberts is overpaid (though still a decent player), so should we offload him?

2. This sets a gauntlet down for Benni Mac. If he ain’t leaving, he’s got to perform for his large salary. This club simply can’t afford to have it’s best paid striker score less than 12 EPL goals this season! He has encouraged us by saying a few months ago that an uninterupted pre-season would make him perform like he did 2 years ago. He’s had that, so lets see what he can do.

3. Skysports have said that Steven Warnock wants to move to Newcastle. Ince’s language suggests that players are being unsettled from the outside rather than asking for transfers (which is obviously preferable). If he is right then I’m sure noone else will leave.

4. Rumours also suggest Andre Ooijer may be off back to the Netherlands.

So, who’s being lined up to come in?

For a while we have been linked with Ghanaian midfielder Anthony Annan - people are saying he’s quite something. Reports are suggesting several things: either he really wants to join us, or he wants to join Arsenal, or Racing Santander. Reports are also suggesting that his club, IK Start (of Norway I think), want £2million, but Rovers want to pay a little less. One thing is for certain: the newspapers know nothing….

There’s an off chance we might sign Valencia flop (an ironic term given his height) Nicola Zigic. Apparently he’s being offered out on the cheap, and if we could pick him up I think it would be great. However, if Benni Mac is not leaving then we don’t really need him.

Theres also talk of Ince bringing in MK Dons player Keith Andrews. I don’t follow lower league football a lot to be honest, but it seems a bit of a step up for the guy, even if Ince does get on really well with him.

But anyway, the season begins on Saturday so finally the football can begin. First up for us is a trip to Goodison.

When this fixture was drawn I was a bit worried since Everton were very strong last season and seem to be going places. However they don’t seem to have strengthened at all this summer and certainly won’t have anyone to bolster them in time for Saturday. If anything their squad looks a little thinner and weaker. Hence I believe we could come away with a good win, though a draw would be fine.

I think it’s very important to start without loosing though (duh….). We’ll just have to see what kind of a manager Ince turns out to be, and if he really can deal with the EPL (though I’m sure he can).

Team news wise, well errrrrrrrr, I can’t find any details on that at the moment. Hopefully I’ll find some tomorrow and edit. I’m really well cut out for this whole blogging thing!

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PS: I’d like to use my little corner of the Internet to say that Michael Phelps is super-human.

PPS: I’d also like to use it to pray, pray and pray some more because it’s exam results time tomorrow….. Regarding religion, Rovers have installed a multi-faith prayer room at Ewood Park. What a fantastic gesture and this is surely to be commended as a pure exercise in philanthropy, rather than the cost cutting and lust for profit shown by most football clubs. Kudos, especially since the town has large devout Muslim and Christian communities.