People can't seem to get to grips it isn't as straightforwards as just saying ta ta walking away and signing for the first club to slap a better paid contract in front of him. You can sense the desire to see him going to Wigan for 5k a week just so it's 'i told you so' 🤣

I've stopped worrying about it. Eustace walking out to leave a relegation threatened Derby was the final straw for me. We're not a serious football club.

Pears wouldn't get a game in my weekday 7 a side kick-a-bout. He's awful.

But if he now gets a £15k a week contract, which isnt unrealistic for someone who has been a Championship regular for years, then its 2 years £2k a week and then say 4 years at £15k. It isnt "dumb" to reject a contract at lower than his worth just because its more than the tiny contract he was already on. I am not even saying that its definitely the right decision. But declining our offer doesnt make him this greedy, badly advised money grabber that many fans seem keen to prematurely label him as. The club will be happy with that reputation though. If he gets a Championship move or a move abroad on a competitive wage, then I would say his decision has been justified.

Our marketing people get (rightly so) pelters sometimes but on this occasion I can see the logic. They go on sale on Saturday morning and there will be many, particularly kids who want to wear the replica shirt we are playing in (my granddaughter is one of them). If this helps to shift a few more shirts on Saturday then I say well done.

Is this not having a proper badge lark going to become a thing on the grounds of convenience and screwing even more profit out of a shirt.

You wouldn't. If it was our decision to debut our new away kit against Everton I wouldn't particularly agree with it but that would be ok. We shouldn't be operating in a way solely to suit Everton though. If they have an issue with their kits, tough titty, that's their problem not ours.

Ah, well that probably explains him taking his time then. After the end of the month it becomes a bit more pressing for him. So from our point of view our failure to offer him a reasonable deal means we lose a good player, possibly for nothing if he moves abroad, AND we have to pay him for an extra month for nothing? Genius!

I bet we won't be saying that by Christmas.

To the final part, yes, but he is still only getting his low salary that he signed up for years ago. As for the part about not accepting the contract two years ago, it is difficult to justify. Let's use your figures and say that it was a 4,000 a week raise, that's a difference of over 100,000 pounds over the 2 1/2ish years since that offer was rumoured to be on the table. There's also a solid chance that he is currently on less than 2,000 a week and that his new offer was more than 6,000. Now, in the world of football, it's easy to turn your nose up at 'just' 100,000 more. But based on what Dolan is earning at the moment, that's a huge difference in income. We also assume that his current salary is irrelevant for any future contract negotiations, but there's a chance that he's now receiving offers where the interested club says, 'we know you are only on 2,000 a week now, so 10,000 a week is a huge raise and a fair offer'. He was dumb not to take a higher offer before, and he has put himself in a weaker position as a result.

yes If I remember correctly, the main purpose of this rule/law is to protect injured players during the off season, but the wording/ambiguous nature of it means that players can and do use it to mean they can shop around for a better deal for longer without being without pay

I see we're having an ugly away kit contest with the Toffees.

Even if the player has been offered a new contract on no worse terms ?

Only if we have offered him a new deal on at least the same terms as he's on now. If we didn't offer him a deal, then I think we would be entitled to nothing.

Not good enough for some of the Rovers 'jury' they more prefer head down quicker direct running types who take on the man every time. Knock it past him then run it into touch or cross into the empty seats.

I'm sure the head coach is getting concerned but it's what he signed up for. Gestede might even be getting in a flap he hasn't been able to fill the squad yet with his contacts players. The rest won't give a shit every week that passes with a few less wages on the books is a pat on the back from Pune. Blackburn Rovers - a club being run as if they are in admin without going into admin......

We're actually in big trouble here with the limited fees spent and squad unrest on the contract front.

Yeah not too fussed, it’s only a friendly and if we want to advertise our new away shirt, then go for it.

Yes, if players are not with a new club by the time their contracts expire on 30th June, their old club pays their wage until the end of July or until the player signs up with a new club, whichever comes sooner

Again - at any other club there would be concern because the focus and priority on those running the club is to get better and improve every year. But - at Rovers those that count - the owners and their henchman - have zero interest or concern in improvement or results on the pitch and are solely concerned with reducing costs and saving money - so the summer so far has gone pretty well for them. I'm sure Gestede and Ismael would have liked to have been in a far better position right now but both are mere pawns and employees in Championship roles they probably wouldn't have secured anywhere else, so they'll have to put up with it or leave.

Kaminski also ended up in L1 but I reckon most of us would have been delighted had we signed him back

But surely it shows that the contract offered 2 years ago was not at the level it should have been. Why would anyone agree to a pay rise if that pay rise was still up to a wage well below what similar players would expect to receive at this level, and then he would be tied to that amount for multiple years. Just using random figures, I am not saying these are reflective. But say he was on £2k and was offered £6k for 5 years. And the average regular Championship winger is on £12k. You wouldnt tie yourself down when your rise would still have you well below the average. Also, I might be wrong. But dont players get a months worth of pay following the expiry of a contract?

Yeah, not looking good right now. Even worse when you cast an eye towards the bench. Who's coming off the bench to impact a game? De Neve? Gueye?