Benni McCarthy looks set for West Ham

EDIT: BENNI MCCARTHY HAS NOW APPARENTLY AGREED PERSONAL TERMS WITH WEST HAM

It’s been an extremely quiet transfer window so far. Not just at Rovers, but across the Premier League as a whole.

But a few snippets of speculation have emerged recently as the window enters its final week.

It was always expected to be pretty movement-free, particularly at Ewood, where no secret’s been made of the fact that funds are tight and Big Sam has to sell before he can even think about buying.

The only deals that have gone through are those of youth players Andy Haworth (Rochdale) and Marcus Marshall and Gavin Gunning (Rotherham) who have all gone out on loan.

Rovers have been linked quite regularly with Eidur Gudjohnsen and  Valdiray Basturk (Daily Mail) throughout the window. But no move is likely unless certain players leave the club.

McCarthy is being linked with a move to West Ham as new owners Gold and Sullivan look to strengthen the Hammers’ squad. Alan Nixon wrote in The Mirror that he may have to go on loan until his contract with Rovers finishes in 18 months as his recent lack of international caps means he would not get a new work permit.

His strike partner and bezzie mate Jason Roberts, who is apparently back in contention for Wednesday’s clash with Wigan, is being lined up by Wolves, who have missed out on James Beattie.

Meanwhile, in a piece of speculation I’ve not come across until today, north east paper The Sunday Sun reports that Newcastle want Keith Andrews but Big Sam, instead of money, has told them they will have to give us Alan Smith, who Allardyce paid £6-million for in his time at Newcastle, in exchange.

Can’t say I’m sure how much there is in any of these suggestions. It’s certain that Benni Mac wants out and, if the deal was right for Rovers, Big Sam would let him leave. Unfortunately, despite being one of our more technically gifted players, McCarthy has made no secret of his desire to leave. This desire will not be doing dressing room harmony any favours and  getting him off the wage bill will be a big boost to finances.

Can’t say I’d be too sad to see Roberts go. As long as his departure paved the way for a replacement. He’s had a decent career at Rovers but has not been at his best this season and the fans are starting to criticise him. I feel if an offer did come in it would do us no harm to let him leave.

As for Andrews, I still rate the midfielder. His dogged style may not be pleasing on the eye, but he has a determination and a never-say-die attitude that we need to beef up the centre of the park. Since Robbie Savage left, we’ve missed someone with the fighting spirit in midfield. However, on a personal level for Andrews, the move would be a good thing. He’s been unfairly vilified by Rovers fans who were straight on his back before he’d even kicked a ball, just because he used to play at a lower level. A fresh start could be the right answer for Andrews, who certainly does not deserve booing when he comes on as a substitute.

On the incoming front, as is often the case, anyone who has previously played for Allardyce has been linked with the club at some point, and sometimes you feel the press looks for people in a situation they could move on from and trace back their ex-managers.

In this case, Eidur Gudjohnsen is unhappy at Monaco, what better way to revive his career than to team up with the gaffer that made his career in the first place? He’s on a good wage a week at Monaco, which means he would probably have to take a pay cut.

Alan Smith is, apparently, admired by Allardyce, however, as with Gudjohnsen, he’s on a massive salary – apparently about £60,000 a week – which I would be surprised to see Rovers match.

As for Basturk, I know nothing about him apart from he’s a Turkish midfielder. We could do with a bit more creativity and the Stuttgart player, who has 49 international caps, may be the answer. I do not know.

There’s only one more week for Sam to act and I reckon he’d be happy if there was no transfer activity whatsoever, so it’ll be interesting to see what the squad looks like come February 1.

- Nice to see Diouf get his first goal for the club. He’s done well since signing and this will only serve to boost his confidence. He looks really fired up, you can see that from his reaction to winning games, so I’m pleased for the lad.

- Jason Roberts yet again proving he’s a good player for us. Possibly the most important goal he’ll ever score.

- Paul Robinson keeps on proving himself as a top notch keeper. He made a great save from Nevland with the last kick of the game and must surely be due an England call-up soon!

- We didn’t deserve to win. Fulham probably had enough chances to bury us, but who cares? We dug deep and got the result we needed. It’s resolve like this that could see us stay up.

- 15th in the league feels a lot safer. Now we’ve got Newcastle, Stoke and Portsmouth move below us in the table, which is wonderful!

- I’d like to wish Roy Hodgson all the best. He’s doing a good job at Fulham and I like the man. He took us into Europe in his first season in charge and the 1997/98 season was one of the most memorable seasons we’ve had.

- Man it feels good to be out of the drop zone. Even though it’s only by the skin of our teeth.

- The first half was a shocker. The players seemed nervous and demonstrated a lack of confidence to run at the Geordies. The fans also seemed nervous and an eery quiet fell across the Rovers supporting contingents.

- The penalty was harsh, but who gives a shit?

- Two great goals followed. Both from Roberts. Have that JR doubters. The first a great finish where he had to act quickly, the second a wonderful run from Andrews let in Ped who crossed perfectly for Roberts to blast in from close range.

- Keith Andrews had a good game. I am still adamant he is a useful player, not as bad as he is made out by the quick to judge fans who hated him from the moment he signed! He also saved us in the first half by heading off the line in the only real moment of action in what was a poor first 45 minutes!

- Dunn’s introduction really livened us up. When it was him and Grella we bossed midfield and that proved vital in us controlling the second half and easing to victory.

- Dunn needs to shave. That beard makes him look a right tosser.

- Roque came on and looked like he was trying. Even tried playing in Roberts for his hat trick. If you weren’t there don’t believe what you see/read in the media. Despite being booed by some fans, most went on to chant his name.

- Benni’s free kick hit the post early in the second half. A great shot met by a great save from Given pushing it on to the woodwork. That would have been one of the best free kicks I’ve seen in a long while. It certainly had us out of our seats!

- I may have boosted our support numbers. Took a friend to her second ever match and she loved it. Obviously doesn’t know what she’s letting herself in for!

At Sunderland we should have won. We had chances throughout the second half but didn’t take them. Jason Roberts missed a sitter. We could dwell on that, or we could move on and remember what an asset he is to our team.

Roberts, I don’t care what anyone says, including Jamie Partlin, is a strong, quick and powerful player. A perfect strike partner for Benni and, as I’ll talk about in a minute, scoring goals!

Moving on from the disappointment of Tyneside, the disappointment of Ewood!

An excellent performance from every one of our players against City.

The Moody Blues had their chances early on, Robinho showing everyone why he’s worth every penny of that £30-million plus transfer fee by firing over from about 7 yards after just two minutes, and later heading wide when all he had to do was let the ball hit him and we would have been behind!

The dying moments of the first half saw some wonderful work from Roberts show exactly why people need to leave the lad alone! Emerton’s ball left him facing the wrong way on the edge of the box flanked by two defenders, with a deft flick he turned, taking out both defenders and then found the ball smashed home by partner Benni, but I’m sure he won’t mind.

He added to his tally with an excellent looping header which gave the keeper no chance, incidentally it was a lovely ball over the top from the monster Chris Samba.

I don’t usually dwell on the details as I know you have read all this from better sources than me, but I am trying to emphasise the quality of Jason Roberts, mainly due to an ongoing dispute with a mate!

Anyway, moving on, they equalised.

It was Derbyshire’s fault. Given the chance to run the ball into the corner, undoubtedly wasting a further minute and seeing us through with a win, he chose to try and play Emerton through. The muppet.

The rest is history, although why no-one was marking Robinho is a complete mystery.

We now have to move on and hope for similar performances in 2009. If we continue to play like that there’s no chance we will go down. We just need to remain focused for 90 minutes and, if we are 2-0 up with eight minutes to go, not sit back and defend as it just invites pressure!

Blyth away next. Hopefully a goal fest and not a giant killing, don’t think I could handle that!