Ricky and Tom discuss transfers, Sharp and pre-season
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00:00Hello and welcome along to the latest episode of our Rovers Chat, joined as ever by BBC
00:07Radio Sheffield's Tom Biltcliff. Tom, how are we doing?
00:09Yeah, good evening Ricky. Good to hear from you.
00:12You too. How was the time out of the Euros in Germany?
00:15Oh yes, Euros very good. Went to Dortmund, got up to see the Italy against Spain group
00:21game. Spain were a different class, but yeah, a bit like a busman's holiday to be honest.
00:29Dortmund and Germany in general, great hosts. I think the tournament properly gets underway
00:35doesn't it, at the weekend. That's when the action really clicks into gear, hopefully.
00:42Speaking as a proud Englishman, hopefully England can give us something
00:46to shout about. It's opened up for them, we'll see if they can...
00:52Yeah, that's it. You couldn't have asked for, couldn't have cherry picked a last 16 TI better
00:56than Slovakia. Not that we knew, it was quite just bizarre how many teams they could have played.
01:03I still don't really, I've got a world chart and I still don't really understand how it's
01:07become Slovakia, but they'll take it. Yeah, and say if Scotland had got a point
01:13extra or so and they'd have qualified, would they have stayed out for an extra few days?
01:18No idea the mechanics of it all. Can we either, can we just go back to 16 teams and then
01:23you've got the best. We've played 36 games to eliminate eight and were there any great
01:29surprises? Maybe Croatia, other than that. I don't know.
01:33Yeah, I'd say it's, no, I agree. And then if you say, it's either 16 or 32, but 32 is pretty much
01:40more than half of Europe. So, you know, at what point do you use to cut them off? But yeah,
01:46probably a conversation for another day. Obviously this is all about rovers and seasons,
01:51you know, we're in between, what, still two months to go till the new, or not two months,
01:55about six weeks actually, till the new season. But it's inching closer, isn't it? Obviously
02:01they've been busy, probably one of the busiest teams in League Two this summer so far. Seven
02:06through the door. What have you made to them? Because it's been a, and we'll come on to the
02:10sign specifically in a bit, but it's been a mixed bag, hasn't it? Some youngs, some young ones,
02:15Billy Sharp at the other end of the scale. So what have you made to the seven so far?
02:20Well, I mean, you said off air that we'd not spoken or done a Facebook Live
02:25since before the crew second leg. We all know what happened there. And then the aftermath,
02:30Grant McCann was very direct. I don't ever remember him talking. I couldn't tell you
02:37one thing he said about the game. Could not tell you one thing. What he did say was,
02:41all focus on next season and I'll get the players who want to be here. And if we're not going for
02:47promotion, then what's the point in being here? So, and he has, yeah, you're right. He has got
02:55some from non-league. He's got some who've been around the block in League Two. Some who've spent
03:00the majority of their career in the Championship and above. So it is a mixed bag. Bringing seven
03:07in, I think it is. Is that right? I think there'll be scope for more. But it always felt like,
03:14I thought it was going to be potential for a big rebuild as such. And a lot of people said,
03:18no, it just needs a fine tune. But I don't think football in the lower reaches works like that
03:23anymore. I think with the short term contracts that people are on, there is a constant state
03:29of flux. And believe you me, I can't see that the game that finished against Crewe will be too
03:37similar. It's going to be wildly different with the Keeper. So I hope they'll move on from there,
03:42the Keeper, Craig, Dalton. You know, there's a few that have gone back and big ins as well.
03:52So, yeah, I think things do change in football, even in a short space of time. But
03:57Grant is putting a marker down to the Rovers squad and the club, the fans, most importantly,
04:06and the rest of League Two, for what it's worth. They'll be thinking,
04:09crikey, they're on a bit of a roll here and know what they're doing. And this all leads to
04:15the first week, sorry, the opening game of the season in August.
04:21I think the speed has impressed me, you know, how quickly he's done it. We're not
04:25July, is it Monday, 1st of July? And he said the other day that he's probably, you know,
04:30he can't see many more coming in. You know, the squad looks strong, doesn't it, on paper?
04:34I know he'll say that, but I don't, I can't see it being double figures in and out. I mean,
04:41you could probably count, I'm not counting the Lowneys in that, you know, I don't count the
04:45likes of Bottomley or Seaman necessarily either. So, you think a row of big ins,
04:51Biamou, Laverie, you know, have gone out, bought seven in. Can you see him signing three more?
04:58I can see maybe one, two. I don't think it's going to be into the 12 and 13 in terms of incoming.
05:04Go on, you have one or two, I'll have three or more. It's like he's on champ manager or
05:10football manager. Just can't resist a little Lowne here or there. One more won't hurt.
05:17He wants two for every position and Rovers are looking in good nick in that respect. I
05:23anticipate a few go out on Lowne, whether that's Faulkner or whatever. I mean, one
05:28blinding bit of business is Tom Nixon. Yeah, you've not really seen the best of him. You
05:35obviously joined the beat in kind of January time, but prior to that, he was never present.
05:40And I almost got the sense with that, that Grant didn't want to put him in the shop window too
05:44much. He liked what he saw. A lot of fans like what they saw as well. Sterry got back fit and
05:50was, you know, kind of justifiably kept him out. But I think there's more to Tom Nixon than just
05:53pigeonholing him as a right back. I think he can play pretty much anywhere across the
06:00midfield, sorry, anywhere across the defence and then maybe even in midfield. Sparra,
06:06like the look of you, you can't glow in reports about Joe Sparra. Clifton knows the league
06:12inside out. Who knows about Yeboah? Absolute box of tricks, could be brilliant. I mean,
06:22a year ago, Rovers had signed Tyler Roberts and I think was it Louis Marsh and maybe a couple of
06:27others and Deji Satona on a permanent, obviously he's gone. So you don't want another one of those,
06:34but Yeboah, a chance for him to express himself. We'll see what he's all about. The keeper's
06:41clearly highly thought of at Chelsea. You don't get many mooks from there. Big lad under England
06:50Youth International. So he was quite keen, wasn't he, Grant McCann, to get a keeper in.
06:57I don't know what that means for the other two. I really don't. I can't see Rovers carrying three
07:03through the season, I'll be honest. So one will probably, and Lorner and Jones,
07:08between them, will want to play football. They'll want to play first team football.
07:12And won't want to play second or third fiddle to the lad from Chelsea. So, yeah, and then
07:21the renewal of Molyneux, big feather in the cap, I think. There was that interest, wasn't there?
07:29You'll have to remind me of the clubs that were showing a bit of an interest.
07:34Yeah, there was a couple of leagues too. I think MK Dons was the name checked. He said as well,
07:40or Grant said, a championship team. So, I think realistically, it would have struggled to get
07:49into any championship team. That's not a slight against him. It's just a big leap into two
07:53divisions. But I think if he does well again this season, then clubs will be knocking at his door
07:58again next summer, maybe even in January. Very much so. He'd come into his own, hadn't he?
08:07He was a big part of the renaissance, that second half of the season. I mean,
08:12you think back to that goal at Gillingham, where there's no way he was doing that a year,
08:18even six months beforehand. He just didn't have the confidence, basically. And he is a confidence
08:23player and he's enjoying where he's at. The last time I saw him, he looked like he was enjoying
08:27his football. If he can chip in with double figure goals, that'll be his aim, I'm sure.
08:32Maybe the same in assists as well. Next year, Rovers have done really well to tie him down.
08:39And if he shows the improvement again, what he's done in that first year under Grant, then
08:46yeah, you're right. He'll be playing at a higher level, 25, 26, no doubt, whether it's with Rovers
08:51or not. Absolutely. One person, well, we actually didn't mention Jordan Gibson as well. I know
08:56there's that many to rattle through, but the one, you know, I think you were teeing it up,
09:01really, is obviously certain Billy Sharp. Came back on Monday night.
09:07Yeah, what was your reaction? Obviously, you'll have seen him all three times prior.
09:12Yeah, got wind of this Saturday morning and you're thinking,
09:15I've been lured into this for the last 10 years, ever since he departed for a third time, I think.
09:22There's that loan spell. I mean, even in the loan spell, he wasn't at his absolute best. I
09:27think he tried, you know, he got four goals in that little stint under Paul Dickhoff as Rovers
09:32tried in Bain to stay in the Championship. And maybe a year ago, I said, no, thanks. I just
09:41didn't envisage Billy Sharp in League Two. I thought it still is a head it and kick it division,
09:47but I remember how he got injured at Brighton and a certain defender who's gone to the Euros did it
09:52to him. And I just don't want him, you know, kind of being taken out of the game. But having watched
09:59a full season or two of League Two football, there aren't that many. I think the game's
10:04moved on. You can't just hack at someone from behind. And I think he can handle himself and
10:10he's hungry. And there's all these, regardless of, you know, kind of what he's done previously.
10:16I think what can he do coming into the folder is now and all the rest of it. And I just think
10:22it shows intent from a variety of people. One, Grant McCann lays the marker down to the rest
10:30of the squad to say this is the kind of calibre of players that A, you'll be playing with and B,
10:34competing with for the shirt. It says a lot to the fans about the intent that they're backing
10:40the manager. And, you know, I'm sure if Rovers, I've said this continually, if Rovers are in the
10:45top three come Christmas, there will be suitors saying Grant McCann's done a good job. It happened
10:49at Knox County. It can happen this forthcoming season with Rovers. But statement signings like
10:57this, where Rovers have gone out and backed their manager to deliver the signs that he wants,
11:02are crucial. And then there's the kind of day-to-day or the week-to-week scenario where
11:08he's coming off the bench or wherever it may be and opposition defences in League 2,
11:14oh crikey, this lad's got 250 goals or he's waiting for that elusive 250th. But the movement
11:22and that knack, 12 yards out and closer to goal is just superb. And it is unparalleled,
11:29isn't it? I don't think there's been a Football League goalscorer like him. That's how
11:34fabulous all round and the feel-good factor has probably supplanted the groans of watching
11:42England. I think Rovers were kind of buoyant going into the summer. I think it might actually
11:48be a case of having to try and rein people in ahead of August the 10th.
11:53Absolutely, yeah. Just going back to Sharp, I mean, we spoke to him yesterday for obviously
12:00the local press and he just never, so when you mention goals, his eyes light up. It's like
12:07he said he was playing with his kids in the back yard and he says,
12:10you know, I'll be playing with them, practising, I'll be scoring goals, that ball hitting the net.
12:15I mean, he's a fully paid-up member of the goalscorer's club intake. I mean, he just breeds
12:20goals. You talk to him, I think he reels off stats like it's nothing. He knows how many goals he's
12:24scored, he knows what number he's on, he knows how many he's scored in certain divisions. I mean,
12:30he's just a student of the striker's school.
12:34Completely, absolutely. And look back at the reel of the goals he scored and there's some
12:41belters in there. And like, you know, someone from outside the box, I don't anticipate that
12:45too often from him next year, but there's that real emphasis on your wide man, put it in the box,
12:52on that penalty spot and there's going to be, I just want to say, I don't like the phrase per se,
12:59bagsman or something like that. I think it's what the youths say.
13:06I did have to Google that, but yeah, I think it's a new term for a, yeah, just lethal. And also,
13:14you know, you can lose your pace, you can lose, you know, to an extent your aerial ability,
13:19but you never lose that knack, like you mentioned, inside the penalty box, you know,
13:24and it's similar for midfielders who lose the pace. Picking a pass, it's a long time before
13:30you lose that. And I think that's, as you mentioned, whether he comes off the bench or he
13:34starts, to have that, not only have Ironside, but that as well, in reserve possibly. You know,
13:42teams would swap in a heartbeat, wouldn't they? Yeah, of course they would. And, you know,
13:46you looked at someone like Chesterfield signing a Paddy Madden, I think between the two clubs,
13:51between those two strikers, it's a real race for the golden boot in that regard. You know,
13:57Billy will have his targets in mind, and I'm sure by the sounds of what I've heard, he's still very
14:03hungry and very driven. And as soon as he's not, he'll call it a day. He's had opportunities,
14:10and I don't really see this as a slide down the leagues as such, or one last paycheck. I think
14:15he's here to get a promotion on his CV. He's got the taste and the hunger for it. Throw him and
14:22Richard Wood into the mix, it could be quite potent. You know, it's exciting times, really.
14:30But there's no one who could accuse Rovers of trying to old man the way through to the title
14:35or promotion till, because I think after those, I don't think there's anyone over 30 in the squad.
14:41Anderson, if that, I think he might just be 30. But yeah, it's a good blend, isn't it? The
14:46Wood's a good one, because those two, you know, they'll have been holding some ding-dongs down
14:52the years. Now they're teaming against each other. This is it, yeah, exactly. But yeah,
14:58the blend, I think, is important for what Grant's trying to get. We'll move on to one of your
15:05favourite days, Tom, fixture release day. Yeah, fixture release day, and then drip-fed the Cup
15:13draws this week, aren't we? But we know they're going to be playing now, sadly, another away game,
15:18Chipps United and Salford. Man United's youths in the Cup, but Barnsley and Huddersfield as well,
15:23which is quite an... For a competition that's maligned by a lot of people, that's probably
15:29as entertaining a group as you could have hoped for, really. Yeah, I mean, give the
15:35Bristol Street Motors trophy, it's due. The teams, I mean, this shows my knowledge of the
15:43tournament. I can't even remember who won it last year, to be honest, Ricky. I loved the day
15:47of Peterborough, yeah. It's a good opportunity for someone to get to Wembley. I mean, Rowe's
15:54got to a quarter-final maybe last year, and that game at Bradford. So, yeah, a little bit unlucky
16:02to go out in that one. But, yeah, it does represent a chance of Wembley, a chance for someone to just
16:10keep everyone on their toes around the fringes. It might be interesting to see Man United and what
16:15they've got. Youngsters, some stars of the future, I'm sure. I'm not looking, but I'm presuming a
16:21year or so ago, the likes of Kobe Mane, who were in these sorts of games, and look how they've
16:26progressed. So, that'll be interesting. The league cup draw could have been worse, couldn't
16:32it? I mean, you've got the same league opposition. You don't have to go to Barrow, Carlisle,
16:39anything on the Fylde Coast. So, that's all right. I mean, it would have been nice for Yorkshire
16:44Derby, any of them, really. And then my favourite day, yeah, the league fixtures. Well, Kelsa
16:50Preece would play it. You know, each side plays each other twice over a nine-month period. I don't
16:57know how and why it gets such a big thing, but there you go. From looking at it, and last year,
17:06I looked at the fixture list and there was a couple of... Ooh, Stockport, that'll be tricky.
17:11Mansfield, Wrexham, don't fancy that much. Notts County, who did the double-over-overs, but
17:16I must admit, this year around, I've looked through it, and other than a few stinkers,
17:23I think you mentioned there's a few long pokes on a Tuesday night here and there.
17:28But is there a lot to it? I mean, we are talking six weeks out from the start of the season.
17:35I didn't think there was a great deal that came down from League One.
17:40I think that the four teams that have gone up are stronger than the four that have come down.
17:46Chesterfield will be up there. Of that, I don't have much doubt they might need to
17:51sort themselves out at the back. But yeah, generally, I think the fixture list has been...
17:58I can't say it's been kind, because you just have spells, don't you?
18:03Robes will look to turn the eco power into a bit of a fortress, because they've not lost...
18:09What was it? January to May, in the end?
18:14It was seven on the spin before the play-off.
18:18If they can rekindle that, and that's where they got off to a really bad start.
18:24Opening day defeat at home to Harrogate. Robes have never won at the eco power on the opening day,
18:31but hopefully they'll change that. They seem to end up with Accrington quite a few
18:36occasions at early doors. So, it'll be interesting to see what they're like.
18:42But it's all about Rovers now, in terms of the next...
18:45You said that back in training next week, pre-season camp to Portugal,
18:49seems to be a plethora of fixtures up and around.
18:54But Grant McCann has said before that Rovers were a little bit off the pace,
19:00maybe not fit enough going into the start of that season.
19:02There's no way he's going to let that be the case this time around.
19:05No, exactly. I think you'll have to look at Cliff Byrne and his coaching style,
19:11his outlook. They won't allow it, will they? Grant certainly won't.
19:16Between them, also a leak of Kyle Leather and the coaching staff are going to be right at him.
19:20It cost them. That opening eight games of the season last year,
19:24two points from eight games, something like that, two from seven, cost them.
19:28If the season was extended by seven games, or we've taken it from that point onwards,
19:34Rovers and O'Donnell. But as that long run was going, six, seven, eight wins on the spin,
19:43thinking, if only this had been a few weeks earlier.
19:48I mean, they're not going to be able to, you wouldn't have thought,
19:50they're going to be able to replicate that again. Hopefully, they won't be need to.
19:55Absolutely. Just on League Two as a whole, and you touched on it a bit there, but I agree.
20:00The teams, you know, you look at the six newbies in the division compared to the ones that have
20:05left it. I think like, so Chesterfield, I mean, Dunkley, Grigg, Dobre, I think Dobre is still
20:11there. Paddy Madden, I mean, they've got a great squad. Nailer, is it Nailer?
20:16Tom Nailer, League One player, absolutely.
20:19Yeah, the squad they've got is far better than the conference. Certainly good enough for League
20:25Two, I think. And then you look at the ones that have come down, it's a bit slow in the recruitment,
20:30I mean, Port Vale, they're getting their act together, they're getting Stockley. Fleetwood,
20:34I saw Bizarrely were the favourites on some supercomputer, which I don't necessarily
20:39understand. I don't think they've done too much business. Port Vale, we mentioned Cheltenham,
20:44and then Carlisle. So, there's much of a muchness about all of them, really.
20:48Carlisle weren't spending heavy in January, knowing that they were going to come down,
20:52so they took the lad Armstrong from Harrogate.
20:55So, I'm sure Jordan Gibson will have, when the fixtures came out yesterday,
21:01will have earmarked his return to Brunton Park and the home fixture as well. And, yeah,
21:07I just don't think it's as strong a division. And if Rovers aren't in the top three,
21:13there'll be plenty of disappointed people. One of them will be a certain Grant McCann,
21:17because he's kind of hung his hat on this now. He admitted that last season took a few months
21:24for him and Cliff to adjust to the division. Well, they've been backed. They've got full
21:30knowledge now. Full steam ahead, I think. I was going to say, just as we finish up,
21:36that was the point I was going to get to, was the owners and Terry Bramwell specifically.
21:40I did a piece on it earlier this week. Grant came out and said, within an hour of crew,
21:46we're going to go for the title. And you cannot say that he's not been backed. You think of the
21:50budget in terms of the players that's come in. Sharp being the one, I mean,
21:54you know, don't know what he's on, but it won't be a pittance, will it?
21:57Molyneux, they'll have had to fork out extra for him. The training facilities at Campney Park are
22:04getting done up. You know, that's not going to be cheap. Going out to Portugal for this warm
22:09weather camp, I'm right in thinking that's the first time they've gone abroad since McCann was
22:13last year, 2019. They might have gone in between, I'm not too sure, but I'm pretty sure it was when
22:18McCann was here. The new sports science staff, you know, they're not throwing buckets of money
22:25at it, but they're doing it sensibly, aren't they? They're certainly giving him everything
22:28he needs to achieve that aim. Yeah, absolutely. And it's a far cry from, it's funny, when Rovers
22:37were losing over the previous couple of seasons, there was the horrible S word, sustainability,
22:43mentioned. And I think a lot of Rovers fans wanted the S word, well, either spend or speculate
22:51to accumulate and realise that if you don't put your hand in your pocket, then clubs go backwards.
22:58And we've seen that with various ones, there's always too many to mention. There have been clubs
23:04such as Forest Green who've put their hands in their pocket to their own detriment. But what I
23:08will say is, and it kind of refers to what I said earlier, the feel-good factor around the place is
23:14such that it wouldn't surprise me if season ticket sales are up, there is that feel-good factor about
23:21the place. And so it has been reciprocated. I mean, we've not spoken about it on this space,
23:31that feeling of anticipation ahead of that crew game. And I think Paul Goodwin has written a good
23:39piece, said, to the left of you, to the right of you, in front, sea of red and white, man, woman
23:46and child, all slug. I think it's arguably one of the highest home attendances or home crowd
23:53attendances the Rovers have had. And that was brilliant. And harness that for even just
24:00four or five times next season would be superb, wouldn't it?
24:04Absolutely. I think as well, the season tickets, the pricing needs to be applauded as well. I think
24:09it works out, I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's modest, to say the least.
24:15Not a plug for the club or anything there, but if they're playing football like they played at
24:20the back end of last season, then it's going to be a bargain. Hopefully, they'll get their
24:25money's worth as well next season. And like you said, the crowds, those on-the-day fans
24:31can hopefully turn up more often and it becomes a good atmosphere at the E-Cup hour.
24:36There's still a few, I mean, one positive of the fixture list, you've got Grimsby, Harrogate,
24:42Bradford, Knox County, Chesterfield, a few local games to get stuck into there. So that's a
24:48positive and that'll be a big selling point, I'd have thought.
24:53Absolutely, yeah. Well, we'll wrap it up there, Tom. Thanks for your company and we'll be making
24:57sure to do another one, hopefully, well, certainly before the start of the season. And hopefully,
25:03there might be a few more through the door to match your prediction. So, yeah, thanks for your
25:08time, Tom, and thanks for tuning in to this latest episode. Cheers, Ricky. Come on, England.