This post is a part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which offers our FLW Fan Pundits their personal thoughts on teams, players, managers, breaking news, possible signings, and more.
The news that goalkeeper Balazs Toth will be out for a long time has delivered Blackburn Rovers a serious blow.
After joining Blackburn from Hungarian team Fehervar last summer, Toth first found it difficult to unseat Aynsley Pears. However, head coach Valerien Ismael gave him a chance towards the end of the previous season, and his arrival to the team came as the Lancashire team was on a run of success that nearly put them in the Championship play-off spots.
In addition to solidifying his position as Rovers’ first-choice goalkeeper, Ismael stuck with Toth at the beginning of the season and solidified his place in the Hungary national team by starting each of his nation’s last three World Cup qualifying matches.
In the final moments of Blackburn’s 1-0 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night, Toth was substituted off due to a knee injury. Toth had already maintained four clean sheets in his first 13 games of the season.
Ismael’s confirmation that Toth will need surgery and could be sidelined for up to 12 weeks allayed Rovers’ biggest fears regarding his injury, and Pears made a comeback to the starting lineup for Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Derby County at Ewood Park.
Although Blackburn has Felix Goddard on their books and highly regarded young goalkeeper Nick Michalski, who is reportedly the focus of a tug-of-war between England and Poland over his international future, was named on the bench for the match, Toth’s injury has spurred discussion about whether more goalkeepers are required.
Valerien Ismael sent a transfer demand, and Blackburn Rovers backed Aynsley Pears.
Simon Middlehurst, a Blackburn Rovers supporter for FLW, stated that he is confidence in Pears’ ability to fill in for Toth while he is away. However, he urged Ismael to bring in a backup goalkeeper with experience in January.
Simon said, “It was a bit of a shame,” to FLW.
It was a bit of a shock because Toth has emerged as our top keeper and has pushed his way into the Hungary team and starting XI.
However, Aynsley Pears has demonstrated in the past that he is a dependable goalie, so it could be worthwhile to recruit a backup keeper just in case.
“Although we now have a number of young keepers, their experience is severely inadequate.
“Nick Michalski is in the England Under-19 squad as well, so he’s maybe one for the future, but we potentially do need a bit of experience to back Pears up.”
After the disappointing Balazs Toth news, Valerien Ismael is facing a transfer dilemma with Blackburn Rovers.
The timing of Toth’s injury is extremely distressing for everyone involved, especially as it occurred amid an outstanding run of form for Ismael’s team, when he was really starting to establish himself as Blackburn’s number one goalkeeper.
Although losing Toth is a huge loss for Rovers, they do have Pears, who was a first choice for the majority of the previous season as the team pushed for the playoffs, as a more than capable replacement. Pears will undoubtedly be a safe pair of hands for the coming months.
Ismael may find it difficult to persuade an experienced goalkeeper to join in January, especially since Pears is expected to fill in for Toth during his absence. They will probably be third choice once the Hungary international is healthy again, but it might be risky to depend on Michalski as a backup at this early point in his career.
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