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.....

We also nearly got relegated because on top of JDTs open style once the squad had to be used the back up development players signed and our own products weren't good enough to sustain a safe level. I hope Mr Head of Heads is considering this, that you can't go from recruiting experience to stop the rot straight to inexperience just in the name of increasing value and expect a top 10 finish.

I never said it was a fact, but its a fair assumption shared by most. Easy to say that hes best off staying when you cant look past your personal bias. If we arent offering him a competitive wage and he can earn significantly more elsewhere, at a club with actual ambition, it would be a strange decision to avoid that sort of challenge in favour of staying comfortable at a club with no ambition of promotion.

We used to give over 2,000 minutes to under 23 academy graduates and we "want to go back to that model." Not factoring in that in the season before last. We had a special talent in Adam Wharton who we have since pushed out of the door. And we also were dishing out too many minutes to players like Garrett and Leonard in a terrible overall season because of cut backs.

I think the amount of home grown players who've gone on loan for their development and expected to be coming back knocking on the first team squad door, when many haven't done much in their loans, highlights the flaws of over reliance. Do we just stick some in and give them mins so it looks better on their cv and value sheets ? Not really the right approach but when you end up with no money and a thin squad you aren't giving yourselves any choice. There'll always be one or two at the most come through but you can't force it for the sake of it and the danger of that is developing here you can see it coming a mile off unless the finances are resolved.

Steven Croft as head coach has turned Lancashire's fortunes around. 3 wins from 3 in T20 blast

Where has Gestede said its the target? He has said we would like to go back to producing our own players from own academy Rovers will also look to sign younger players and maximise their Academy, to build sellable assets. That was part of the discussion when appointing Valerien Ismael and a value Blackburn want to return to. "You have to rely on the Academy also, Adam Wharton is an example. He is a rare one but you can do business with the Academy with player-trading," he explained. "What we have seen in the last year, the minutes played by our Academy players has dropped drastically. We used to be over 2,000 minutes for Under-23 Academy players. Last 12 months, 142 minutes. "That affects the value of the asset and we want to go back to that model. That was part of the discussions with Valerien. They have to be part of your squad planning. "We will also go in the market for young players. Instead of one-year deals for players at a certain age, you go younger and buy the assets. You don't have to buy an asset for £5million, it can be a lower fee with more resale value. That's an exciting time going into the summer. We have to refresh the squad with loans and players out of contract. Now is the right time. "We want to develop players, give a platform for Academy players to shine and attract young players to be on the pitch for Blackburn."

That's your opinion not a fact. Dolan staying here where he would be key players and first team regular I think would be his best move. Lets see where he ends up

As the saying goes, a stopped clock is right twice a day Nixon's scattergun approach means one or two of his fliers will hit the target but most of the time he's churning out clickbait to keep food on the table Best approach is not to treat his stories with a pinch of salt but a whole mine of the stuff