Championship winner: Blackburn Rovers Runner-up: Ipswich Semi-finalists: Sheffield United, Norwich, Leicester, WBA Relegated: Sheffield Wednesday, Hull, Preston Rovers finish: 1st First manager to go: Ismael, Rovers PL winners: Liverpool Wild card: After losing the first four games of the 2025/6 season, Valerian Ismael is sacked. BRFC fans turn on Rovers management like never before. In a surprising development they are bought out by Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Pep Guardiola is appointed manager. Mysteriously, ways are found around the fair play rules, and by the end of the January window the first team squad consists of the following: David Raya, Virgil Van Dijk, Alessandro Bastoni, Daniel Munoz, Lewis Hall, Jude Bellingham, Luca Modric, Bruno Fernandes, Julian Alvares, Victor Gyokeres and Kylian Mbappe. Unsurprisingly. Rovers win every single remaining game of the season and are crowned champions, being promoted to the Premiership, where they will win the title for the next 5 years. Nurse, is it time for my medication yet?

It's not "contrarianism" - it's looking at the facts and expressing an opinion founded in facts. You seem to have a problem with people expressing opinions you don't agree with.

So you agree with Suhail, nobody knew he was going to be a good player, Masher? I presume you don’t as you have eyes, so do you now take back your comment that the club do not take the FF for mugs? Exhibit A in my paragraph above.

Of course they knew 47er. Suhail isnt going to come out and say the owners saw the colour of the money and pocketed the cash is he!

Oh no, Jim’s going to WBA!

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/august/05/ticket-news--west-bromwich-albion-v-rovers/ Looks to be, yep

Contrarianism isn't entertaining. He will absolutely have been on their short/long lists. Crystal palace stole a march as they tend to do on championship stars.

I don't think they'll be too far off with that. Just about have enough belief that we'll avoid relegation but I think we'll be down there. That hope might have evaporated by tomorrow evening though.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/august/08/watch-our-battle-against-the-baggies-on-roverstv-/ If you haven't got it already

Again chaddy, quality. Its not about numbers, its about quality. We dont have enough goals, enough pace and enough creativity. The minimum should be a right winger and a striker. Which is exactly what you also want. The one you didnt want is an attacking midfielder which presumably you dont agree with the signing of as you didnt think it was needed. We arent close to registration limits.

Does anyone know if this is pay on the gate?

As @roverandout said, I thought pre season didnt matter? Scoring a few past some crappy Qatari side doesnt prove much. Where are the goals coming from in the side, beside some from Ohashi?

They would have done - had we hung on for 12 months!

In the context you wrote it, "or" means the same as "and". ie "both" not either/or. Straying way off the point though which was that I can't imagine we'll have learnt too much about how we're going to set up for the action proper from pre season and secondly despite efforts to complicate it football is basically a very simple game and within reason Id have to agree with Souness in that football is not won and lost by formations but by the 11 players out on the pitch winning their individual battles.

Of course, we hadn't thought of that. How wrong we all are.

If "EVERYBODY" knew that I would have expected the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal to have come in for him when he was available for sale - instead it was Crystal Palace.

Should of been in room, these are just minutes. I'm sure you can imagine what being in the room and what other things just slipped of the tongue

As Arbitro says the comment from Suhail on Wharton's fee says it all. EVERYBODY knew that Adam was special and would thrive in the Premier League and Play for England. Only someone who knew nothing about football could have reached any other conclusion. So what's he doing in charge of a football club then? We have no hope till he, at least, has gone.

Please read again, I said "or", not "and" No contradiction at all Apologies for the "maybe you should be watching another sport" comment, I just took exception to you pulling up Chaddy (on this occasion) who, whilst I do think trots out a lot of nonsense which borders on club propaganda, was not wrong in the comment he made that you responded to. But I am happy to leave it there

1) It remains to be seen IF we have been playing that way AND 2) IF that will be the preferred way of playing this season Which isn't too far from the point I was trying to make in a light hearted way. But I should be watching another sport or something. I haven't seen any of the pre season warm ups and couldn't care less whether we set up 2-2-2-2-2 or 4-4 fucking 2 in good old Mike Bassett fashion as long as it works. All that matters is that whatever formation we try it works, we score more goals than the opposition, and we win football matches.

I thought u said pre season games are meaningless

True, I'd omitted him on the basis I've not seen that much of him other than against our forwards which you don't have to be particularly quick to marshall

McLoughlin no faster than those mentioned either

I, like many loved periods of JDT ball, however a back 3 of Wharton, Hyam and one of Pickering/Carter/Ribeiro could be up there with the slowest defensive units we've put out, they'd make Nelsen and Ooijer look quick.

care to point out where?