Darrell Clarke expects to keep his promotion-chasing squad together for the remainder of the season. With the end of the January transfer window fast-approaching, Clarke has revealed that inquiries and offers have been rebuffed for some of Rovers' most highly-valued playing assets since the start of the month. Amongst those linked with moves away from the Memorial Stadium have been striker Matty Taylor, who has reportedly been targeted by Championship and Scottish Premier League clubs, and defender Tom Lockyer, who has been talked about in relation to Premier League club Bournemouth. Clarke stated last month that it would be "brainless" to sell any of his players at a time when Rovers are currently in the promotion-chasing pack and anticipates retention of all of his star performers when the deadline passes at 11pm on Monday. Darrell Clarke said: "There have been clubs watching one or two of our players all season. I said at the start of the month that no players would be going anywhere unless we received a hell of a lot of money. I don't want to go down the road of talking about individual cases but there has been enquiries about a couple of the players as well as some formal offers that have all been turned down. We have put ourselves in a good position and we want to have a right push between now and the end of the season. Selling any of the players who have got us where we doesn't make any sense at this moment in time and that is where we are with it." http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...tory-28618022-detail/story.html#ixzz3yXDD9kQT
How refreshing, if we had adopted that stance over the previous three decades or so we might not now be kicking a ball around in the fourth division.
Too right, well said. If certain previous players had not been off-loaded for a quick buck and not replaced by anyone of similar ability, then we most definitely wouldn't have been dragged through the mire like we have, in recent years. I know clubs like ours can't always afford to turn down big bucks but you must strike a balance between cashing in on your assets and leaving yourself enough resources to survive. At last we appear to have someone at the helm with a brain and a bit of common sense!
I know this won't go down well in some quarters but you also have to credit the board after all they could well have overruled DC
Quite a few seasons have been stuffed at this stage when key players leave. It makes sense to hang on to these players for the season. They might as well see the job through while there's still a chance of achieving something.
