Pity more of it isn't spent on replacing outgoing players.

£20,000,000 for Adam Wharton, that should have been £30,000,000 minimum. Like you said, hes turning into one of the best midfielders in the prem.

We could do with their winger at Ewood, putting decent crosses in the box for 6ft 5in Gueye, and Ohashi.

Like Ipswich and co before them - it's crazy how a PL promotion just catapults you into a different stratosphere financially. Sunderland are spending massive.

Exactly. Some seem to want to point to the fact that Middlesbrough have been stuck in the Championship for quite a while as 'proof' that spending heavily doesn't equate to success (as you rightly point out they have had success, promotion, Premier League, multiple play-offs. But there is so much more to it than just spending money. They have an ownership, board, management who want to be successful. They might not achieve success, but they want to, they try, and their fans can see them trying and trust them to get it right one day. Nobody involved at ownership or management level at Rovers can look in a mirror and say they have tried and every fan knows deep down that's the reality, no matter how much delusion or excuses they want to come up with to make themselves feel better about things.

I used to think they were just being disingenuous with this ‘BwD focus’ as their own database would tell them that the majority of fanbase certainly now resides outside the town of Blackburn if not the borough as a whole… but that post from Mike about them not knowing which post codes are even in BwD sums up what we are dealing with

I think you are being very generous saying that Rovers have spent £12 million in the last 4 years. I bet it is well short of that in terms of cash actually paid out so far.

I'm on the fence. Long term we're obviously fucked because the owners refuse to employ competent people and refuse to fund the club. As for this summer, I'm pleased there's at least a plan. We've signed 3 players that are better athletes than the players they've replaced, which is what Ismael's system requires. Forshaw remains a weird signing. I can see us having a season similar to JDTs first season here, without perhaps the top end results (sitting well within the Playoffs for most of the season - we simply don't have the quality or quantity upfront). We'll either win or lose with this high intensity, pressing style. I don't think we'll draw many.

The postcode thing is bizarre it really warrants further investigation and explanation from those who allegedly dreamt it up. Where i hail from Rovers was always the main team, the 'local' team as Ewood is about 3-4 miles away as the crow fly's and a 15 min car journey straight there. Yet we had a Chorley address and obviously PR postcode but a Blackburn phone code so now i presume these albeit small but staunch Rovers strongholds don't matter any more ? Oh let PNE flog their cheap season tickets around there instead and round up the kids or maybe Horwich Wanderers if they fancy it after they've had free reign over Chorley in recent years. The contempt these lot at Ewood have shown to the general fanbase it's no wonder they get it in return. I'm beginning to think the plan now is to have a very small club very cheap club operating at whatever level it can and that only appeals to those few who refuse to give it up whatever the cost and a 'new' tiny generation of fans from Blackburn. Why would that be ?

Ouch.

Of course they could all be great additions, we do need to see them over a reasonable period before judging too much. However the overall point does remain, that Taveres is highly unlikely to replace Tronstad or Travis as a starting CM, McLoughlin probably wouldn't be ahead of a fully fit Wharton/Carter and Alebiosu won't be displacing Brittain. De Neve, at least, seems to be in more favour than anyone for that left hand side of midfield. It doesn't feel like we have signed players to come into the first team, more just back up's for the players who are already here. For a club to move forward, you surely need to be signing players who are better than what you have already? Agreed, if he comes in and takes his chance, he should retain his place. The point being that if all our centre backs were fit to play, he probably wouldn't be getting that chance in the first place.

We've had a very poor window so far, there's no doubt about that. I'd give it a 2 out of 10. In the main, it's cheap punts from abroad whilst seeing experienced championship players go through the exit door. Oh and not a single new contract in sight for 3 of our best players. Brittain and Trav will likely leave this summer, Tronstad next summer. We continue on our downward spiral and the destination will be league 1 again at some point. Think we may be OK next season with Sheff W and Hull in disarray, but we're well on the path to league 1.

‘Think big 1970s civil servant drawn line around Blackburn and Darwen’

10 days till the season starts and we're still gonna have Ryan fucking Hedges starting on the right-wing... Jesus wept.

I must be the only one that thinks Delap is a donkey - well besides Chelsea who have immediately recruited over him.

Really is incredible to consider that Rovers have simply washed their hands of vast swathes of Lancashire which for generations have been hotbeds of support due to one, or both, of laziness and not wanting to upset Accy Stanley/PNE/Bolton. This is not the club I once knew and keep this up within another decade or two self-destruction will be complete.

Even after the '99 relegation we were miles infront...ST sales well over 15k . Just been a horror story since these clowns took over.

You could argue that not backing Eustace ended ours. Boro were 7th when they sold Latte Lath, they finished 8th. Impossible to say whether they would have broken the top 6 if they'd kept him. Point is, Gibson is a very good owner who invests in his club. They'll make good signings, they'll make bad signings, they'll good managerial appointments, they'll make bad ones, but you always have a feeling Boro are motivated to succeed. Since we got relegated in 2012 they've; Been automatically promoted, Had a season in the Prem, Had 3 top 6 finishes 5 top 10 finishes We've been relegated to L1 and never made the Champ play-offs yet.

My opinion is that you think that we need another 3 signings because that is what Ismael has said publically that we are trying to do. The idea of players all chipping in is a nice one but I am just pointing out that a number of the players we have in attacking areas have not really got a track record of doing so and it would be unlikely (not impossible) to see them considerably increase that output this season. Which is why I am calling for a few more additions there. And which is probably part of the reason why Gestede said before the summer that we want more power and quality across the front line. Proof will be in the pudding as to whether they manage to bring more goals and attacking quality in. As it stands with just over a week to go, they have failed to do that and indeed have actually seen us become weaker in those areas. If that does happen, excellent. If that doesnt happen, I wont be swallowing the crap they peddle as to why that has changed.

Straight facts and all you say is Iheanacho is awful?

I think we were planning to, on the way to, then the ‘99 relegation happened and we never quite recovered - plus the other Lancs town clubs started to improve from their third/fourth division berths.

Yes I know that's. Iheanacho is awful player. Boro selling Latth end their playoffs hopes

You rubbished Ipswich's signing of Delap and look where he is now! I understand Mowbray turned down the chance to take Delap on loan from City in his last January window with Rovers!!!!!!! What is Ismael very happy about? Do you honestly believe he would come out in public and say 'really, we need another 5 to 6 QUALITY additions'. In all fairness to Moyes he's done that at Everton. I think you are incredibly naive and gullible and just post parrot fashion whatever bullsh1t comes out of Rovers.

If we have only conceded 5 goals in 10 games he will not be dropped when others are fit; if we have conceded 15 then he probably will be.