They’d still have had to okay him signing the Rovers’ deal early and he still didn’t officially join until 1st July.

Not this again. Getting put on the ‘easy’ side of the draw pre kicking a ball is luck/fortune/chance, whatever you want to call it, as you have absolutely no input into it via performance on the pitch, it’s pre-determined. That wasn’t England/Southgate’s problem by the way, as you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

Plymouth wanted to keep Ennis. He rejected a contract offer to sign for Rovers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65730082 You can sign a pre-contract agreement earlier, but the registration doesn’t officially change until the end of the current contract.

Nope, all three of those signed/will sign on 1st July. (After contracts expired/will expire) https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2023/june/15/sondre-signs-/ ‘He will officially become a Blackburn Rovers player – along with fellow summer signing Niall Ennis – on July 1st’ https://www.swanseacity.com/news/cameron-burgess-seals-swansea-city-move ‘The 29-year-old defender will become a Swansea player on July 1, having agreed a three-year contract, with the club having faced considerable competition in securing his services’ The fact deals were sorted and announced earlier would have been because their current club gave permission. As we want to keep Batth that won’t be happening with him.

Yes they can't. How did we sign Ennis and Tronstad to contracts before their contracts ended at the previous? How has Burgess signed for Swansea when his contracts ends hasn't end at Ipswich.

If he aspires to be head of football and/or CEO, though, then he's all good.

My wife says a semi is never enough.

Imagine Wharton pinging balls through a year older. But it wouldn’t have happened as the club wanted to sell him, just as they wanted to sell Szmodics. Therefore I’d have said it to whoever objected and said to me whatever Bohinen1983 said. Let’s not pretend we were hopeful he would stay. As a club you can’t try and flog a player and then moan if he doesn’t want to get injured in pre-season to ensure said move happen. Another quote from Szmodics “Blackburn wanted to sell me for as much as possible.”

Yes it is, is this a 2 page argument or the full 4 pages?

It'll obviously never come to that - this is change found between the cushions of the sofa for them - but again it does beg the question with all of this going on why are they hanging onto a very public PR disaster? Surely they'd sell and batten down the hatches?

They clearly KNOW they're going to lose the case, which is why they're so reluctant to put any money into the bond with the government.

“I was still training, sometimes with the team and sometimes on my own, but I was going in and being professional.”

You'd have said that to who? The manager clearly wanted to keep him. Imagine 20 goals from the #10 instead of whatever Cantwell / Weimann contributed - we'd have been comfortably in the playoffs.

I'm not missing the point, I'm arguing the point. You get your wall chart and the route to the final Is mapped out. The fixtures are then determined by results, nothing whatsoever to do with luck. If you get an "easy " game or a hard one, it's as a result of how each team performed. Luck would be drawing an "easy" game out of a bag every round.

He was going though wasn't he? It's principle, he can train with the squad until he leaves..

I think if anything they've had it so easy over here for years because we're powerless to rid ourselves of them. They're arrogant billionaires who never fall foul of the EFL or HMRC - they always put in just enough money to satisfy the two bodies that could force them to sell the club. They're despised by the vast majority of the fan base, but it's irrelevant to them as they simply never attend.

No they can’t.

Exactly. He is more obsess with luck of the draw and completely ignore the actual results. He is belittling Southgate's and the players achievements and they producing results that meant we got so far in tournaments. Wonder how far Tuchel will get

No. But you seem to be missing my point that there is a difference between results that we control and ones that we dont. France's results in a seperate game helping to give us a favourable draw is luck on our behalf.

And then I'd have said "Fuck it then I'll stay and you can get Venkys to send the £11 million over you need, and also stick another £11 million in their matched bond. Don't forget you want me gone just like you wanted Adam gone earlier in the season - to actually fund the club. The fact is you are hanging on for a bit extra money but there's no chance you are going to keep me. And I actually do want to go to the Premier League but if I get injured in pre season it fucks me up. But as you are being a set of nobheads, I'll stick around and watch you sell everything you can to raise funds elsewhere. Without that £11 million you will be that skint you will probably end up doing something really drastic and embarrassing to save funds - like making the entire women's team redundant."

Funny isn't it that all three of those clubs you name were taken over within the last few years despite all being in worse positions than us. Wrexham were a non-league outfit, Birmingham perennial Championship relegation strugglers with a collapsing stadium and Swansea the epitome of an average 2nd/3rd division club with a small fanbase. Yet there remains a significant portion of Rovers' fanbase who have convinced themselves that for one reason or another there is no other viable option other than Venkys. No other people in a world of 7 billion with the clout or know-how to replace and do better than the architects of our demise. All these other clubs have managed it, but for some reason old Rovers wouldn't manage it. It's baffling, it's bizarre, and I'm convinced it is totally wrong, yet the belief continues. Until we get over that particular issue it's little wonder there's hardly any noise about Venkys apart from when another one of their self-inflicted debacles comes along e.g. Eustace walking out They've had it so easy here over the years because so many are convinced they are necessary.

It isn't luck, it's a result of winning or losing games. Would it have been bad luck for England if we'd messed up like France did, and we'd ended up on the other side of the draw?

We are so far behind in terms of funding and ambition for this level, yet a minority still amazingly want Venky’s in. Mind boggling stuff. Suspect we’ll be eating Wrexham, Birmingham and Swansea’s dust in no time. Rovers have billionaire owners with first team investment level of barely millionaires and it will only result in one thing.

But that is luck from England's perspective. It can be a French mess up AND English luck.

I'd have said 'no worries, you go home lad and we won't pay you then!' .. Little rat!