The Rovers Return

Ah the excitement of the close season. Transfer gossip. Ins and outs. Comings and goings.

Erm, no.

This has been one of the most boring close seasons of my relatively short time as a Rovers fan. You may have guessed this from the dire lack of posts on here.

It’s nobody’s fault really. The club has so little in the way of money that we can’t afford to throw money left, right and centre at any half decent-looking foreigner.

Things take time when you’ve got a transfer budget of 99p.

It always makes me laugh when you pick up the Sunday paper and we’re linked with a £5m move for whoever. No we’re not. If it’s 5p we might have a chance!

Balls to the Dindanes and the Nugents. If we can’t get anyone worth getting on our meagre budget there’s no point getting anyone at all. Stick to what we’ve got. Give Rigters a bash, or use Hoilett if we need to.

If we’re going to sign someone we may as well make it worthwhile, otherwise what’s the point.

If I’m honest, my money is on Benjani being a Rovers player by the start of the season.

To make matters worse, it’s been the worst World Cup I’ve ever witnessed.

I’m not old enough to actually remember USA 94, so I can’t include that, but the close season is meant to be improved by international tournaments (every two years of course). But this year, it’s been crap.

England were atrocious. And so was pretty much everyone else.

Holland haven’t played that well and are in the final, which just goes to show the quality that has been on show.

I never got round to writing about the final round of group games involving Rovers players. It all came to something of an anti-climax.

Australia and Denmark both crashed out because of one awful performance. Lars Jacobsen’s Denmark should have been in the Second Round but went out with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Japan, while Brett Emerton’s Australia never recovered from their 4-0 drubbing against Germany and went out, despite beating the only team that has beaten Germany so far.

Ryan Nelsen and his New Zealand side went out, as was expected, but left with their heads held high, after being one of the tournament’s top performers.

The lowest ranked side in the competition could (If Spain or Germany win the World Cup) be the only unbeaten side in this year’s tournament. An astonishing achievement when you consider the population of the country, and they weren’t allowed to use sheep.

Rovers’ skipper comes back from South Africa as one of the stars of the tournament. We know his strengths. Now the world does as well.

The season finally gets under way on Saturday with Rovers taking on Sturm Graz in Austria, before returning home to face a trio of friendlies at Fleetwood, Preston and Huddersfield, then it’s off to Australia for the Sydney Festival of Football, before our final friendly at Hearts in Scotland.

I personally can’t wait for Sunday. Watch the World Cup final, then forget all about it and get on with the new season.