The idea behind a price change is to encourgae earlier renewal or purchase to advance the cash received, or peoples circumstances changing, or people having too long to think about what a shit show it is. From a business perspective getting the money in earlier is always a good idea to remove risk but also benefit from interest etc, especially in the low season for income when no matches are being played. I have used something similar in businesses I have been a finance leader to encourgae customers to pay quicker, say normal terms are 60 days but offer a cash discount if they pay in 15 days (2%) or 30 days (1%). The problem with a football club, esepcially one like ours, is that disposable income is not massive for most and in the summer with holidays, kids off school etc, it can get eaten up a lot quicker so having 300-500 quid to spend is tough many at this time of the year, especially if trying to justify it to the better half at the minute!

The Young Rascals - Good, Good Lovin’

I read that Glasner said the week after that Wharton was sleeping in the afternoons for hours at a time which was very unusual for him.

Actually, its not a target but its all part of a great plan whereby players will only play those minutes when they are ready and 3 selected players are 100% ready to play that many minutes based on very brief cameos. And if you doubt this, you must want the academy shutting down. We were at those numbers before due to 2 reasons. One special once in a generation talent, no longer at the club. And budget cuts meaning that sub par players ended up playing far too much and we ended up nearly going down.

The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

He took a hell of a whack to the head in the final. You could tell something was wrong when he came back onto the pitch. He ran back on like a maniac.

They made hard work of the Durham victory really. It should never have come down to the last ball. As you say, a cracking start though.

Not many players will sign for us given an alternative option.

Gestede actually said:- "The plan for our squad is to give as much (acadamy minutes) as we can. The year before was 2000 minutes for our academy players, almost 3000 minutes the year before, so now we want to go back to those numbers." i.e we have set ourselves a target.

Again i go back to Gestedes words on trading academy players and wonder exactly what he means. Sell the really good ones early with a load of add on's to provide a new income stream then try and make something of the rest ?

As I've said previously, the Academy is a business venture not a football venture. It runs parallel to the Championship side of things but are IMO only linked through branding. The Academy is a sausage making machine. It will (should) produce players who are solid enough in the lower divisions but will never set the world on fire. The occasional gem that gets snagged up in the net is soon recognised by other watching recruitment teams and are gone before we've even got a sniff of watching them contribute to a promotional push (ho ho yes I know, but we live in hope). The ones who make through to our first team are earnest tryers for sure but never amount to more than squad fillers. So ... what's the point? Venkys see us through the lens of a business (remember the renting players quote), they're just viewing the Academy as a machine to hopefully defray running cost, keep the cupboard stocked with pencils and bog rolls available in the visiting dignitaries toilets [the backroom guys get torn up newspaper pushed onto a nail]. Promotion will never happen because you have to buy most of it, talent acquisition, wages, coaches who can do the job etc., etc.. With Venkys in charge you can forget about every aspiration you ever had ... full stop. The Academy means nothing at all. I suggest we even stop thinking about it as a solution to anything.

I assume it will be a better club too---on the grounds that there are very few worse clubs right now. We are toxic.

I've always thought the price should be the price and that's that. I bet we haven't even sold double figures since the price changed. I can sort of understand as a business decision at clubs that have supply and demand and can shift the seats regardless, but it's crazy to implement it here where there is no demand.

Good, he's better than that and needs rest if he's not playing at a higher level than u21.

You might not, but he very obviously does. The quote is clear.

Surely that depends on which club he signs for? You assume it will be better club than us. You assume we haven't him a decent enough wage package. Depends what he wants and it's sound like he wants a PL move which I don't see happening for him

That he has set a specific target for minutes has he? I posted what he said in the interview with Jackson from the LT

I dont see that as set target but we want to see our Academy players play more when they are ready. I have named 3 young players I want to see in our first team squad this season. Plus I want to see Michalski as third choice

He said it in the Fans Forum and in the LT. I think you just need to accept it and move on 🙂.

Exactly, he wants to go back to the model of over 2000 minutes. It's very clear. Not sure how you're reading this and not seeing that he's saying that's the target.

Totally agree flaky pastry on a pie is just plain wrong. Having lived in the midlands, south-west and Wales there is nowhere like the north for decent pies. Whenever I see a pie on a menu my first question is always to ask what pastry it is made with.

I've been away a long time, please explain.

never really understood the part of season ticket sales where they increase after a set time. Surely it makes more financial appeal to the fan base to keep it the same throughout the on-sale. Has it ever been raised with the board in interviews or fans forums about why they put certain price phases out ? Or do they just copy other clubs? They must have a reason for it with backed up facts as to how it works vs not having price phases?

Yes it should stop us trying. If the players aren't good enough or ready then we look elsewhere. The only focus of time and effort for the first team should be assembling a squad good enough to get promoted. The academy side of things should be run separately and should be organic - i.e. when a player in the academy is good enough he will inevitably force himself into contention for the first team. The academy exists ancillary to the first team and to support it when needed, whereas the 'modern' thinking seems to be that the first team exists to support the academy and build value into academy players, so that a profit can be made and points earned by people employed down there.

Seeing which level or club Dolan is playing at next really is the least of our concerns and it's not some kind of win for Rovers if, say, he only joins a mid-table Championship club. The problem is we're losing - for nothing - a player who, while he blows hot and cold like almost everyone else, has been a regular here for years and is a proven Championship performer. Good on him for saying he wants to test himself at a higher level. It's a shame that thinking isn't aligned throughout the club. In fact if I had to bet on who'd kick a ball in the Premier League first between Dolan and a Venky-owned Rovers I know where my money would be going.....