We only played 3 youngsters, 2 of which got minutes in the Championship last season. The rest of the team are seasoned professionals and/or recent first team signings. There are no excuses for losing, especially with a bench full of our very best players (if you can call them that!). I’m hoping the new look team can kick on, starting with a win on Saturday which would change everything. But so far the signs aren’t looking good!

Thank you - so can we add him to the list of people where results are the most important thing to them?

This season will be the one where the academy streak ends. The sense of pride knowing our academy regularly churning out quality championship standard players, I'd say right now not a single player in the academy is of championship standard. A crying shame.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED....we are run by complete idiots from top to bottom!

I think there are issues behind the scenes, however the fact they're all going to Eustace isn't a massive indication that they love him and are leaving to be with him, so far he's taken the old men and is due to take Travis who has wanted to leave for a long time but has had no takers. The fact that Dolan, Travis, Tronstad and Hyam are all refusing to sign contracts yet have no one queuing up to get a bargain, begs the question are they all already being paid over the odds hence why no one wants to give what they want and neither do Blackburn any more?

You would think that but it sounds like he has an agreement with Derby in principle pending an offer being accepted again whether that’s because they are the only team officially in for him remains to be seen but I agree Coventry would be more ambitious but won’t be an easy gig for him there either they have Allen torp grimes and sheaf all competing for centre mid

tldr: boring shit It can be a bit simplistic talking about a player being on £10k or £20k/wk. All contracts will have numerous perfomance-related bonuses (Trav himself was laughing about the 'win bonus' being the best part of winning on our socials last year). You can convert all this to per week as a benchmark, but while Travis may currently be on a 'base' salary of £10k/wk, as a regular starter, various bonuses will boost the effective weekly rate. Add in employer NI, pension contributions for another 15+%. As a bottom-up exercise, suppose you assume Rovers' 25 senior players are on an average of £8k/wk. So, 25 x £8k x 52 = £10.4m (excl. NI+pensions). However, our 23-24 staff costs were around £22m (excl. NI+pensions). Perhaps subtract £3m for admin / academy staff and players / directors, £1m for the senior coaching staff, and let's say £1m for loan wages, that still leaves a gap of ~£6.5m, suggesting our average weekly cost per senior player is more like £17m / 25 / 52 = ~£13.1k/wk. I'm sure someone will pop in about something shady going on (to which I have no response 🙃), but, at least from the accounts, its been more about real than nominal wage cuts in recent years. Who knows where Travis lies, but that would suggest he's effectively earning well north of £13k/week. Even if we negotiate up that £1.5m offer, Derby know they're getting an out-of-contract Travis at a discount, so can add on a chunky signing bonus. Offering, say, a £500k signing bonus on top of a 3-year contract works out to an added £3k/week (moreso from a PV perspective!). Perhaps we've offered to boost Travis' base salary to, say, £12k/week (although suspect the regime are happy to think they can replace him with a £500k + £8k/wk import), but his agent can easily demand various bonuses knowing what Travis can demand in the offseason/that bidders are circling. 'Free' transfers allows agents to push for hefty signing-on bonuses for in-demand players. I'm not criticising Travis as greedy, more highlighting where our apparent budget inflexibility and lack of contract impetus bites us in the ass. One of my suspicions is we manage paying below-average-ish Championship weekly salaries ok (never been a suggestion of missing payroll like some other basketcase clubs), but the powers that be step in whenever major one-off payments come into play due to our inflexible 'budget' heavily restricting 'discretionary' cashflow. --- While I'm at it with boring things, I was curious about Derby's financials. Extrapolating their 2023-24 accounts (in L1), I put them at ~£12m of matchday revenue, £8m commercial, £10m broadcasting, or £30m total. In comparison, we're at about £5m, £7m, and £10m, respectively, or £22m. Assuming the same wage-to-turnover budget, that would put them at £30m to our £22m (excl. NI+pensions). I assume they haven't hit that yet since their promotion, but, along with being net transfer sellers in recent years, they should have plenty of dry financial powder.

People need to be honest with themselves. Travis leads the culture of the team. You only have a high performing team with a good culture. The way key players are leaving and not being replaced makes me think the culture is fucking rotten. It's got relegation written all over it.

He didn't start a game after Mid-March and made fleeting substitute appearances. He'd gone off the boil and been dropped long before the season ended.

If you've got ambition as a player then surely Coventry more attractive than Derby. Stronger financial position, a few years ahead on development, play-offs last year and managed by 'Super Frank' Lampard which will probably appeal to players.

Rovers will budge eventually, but probably in a couple of weeks once they realise Derby aren't paying the figure we want. Derby know we are in a financial crisis and know that all parties want the move and we need the money. We are in a very weak position of our own making.

There are thousands feeling like you Bohinen. Most of them just walked away and won’t come back. Even for me it doesn’t feel like the club I supported for over fifty years. I went from watching Ronnie Clayton running out with the ball under his arm, to the Stewards invading the fans in the Darwen end to tackle the anti Kean protestors. If there was a turning point that was it. I just felt everything had changed. It wasn’t the club I’d grown up with.

I think this will be the case Derby have other needs and won’t spend the 3mill itl take for venkys to budge on Travis 1.5 plus bonuses was their second offer which is insulting in itself Coventry could well step in - however Travis said he wants to go to Derby whether that’s because they are the only official team in for him or if it’s because of Eustace

All this is secondary to the question "is the replacement cheap?" No luck, it's the plan and has been for a while. Only for the fans, nobody else gives a hoot.

Looks like Coventry's Rudoni is going to Southampton, wonder if they will target Travis.

Agree, I said we should of played full strength then filter the youngsters in . But what do I know

He doesn't seem to have picked up where he left off. Winds me up flapping his arms around at a poor pass but doesn't chase it down its like he runs abit to force place but gives up chasing. I think lastnight changed when cantwell and kargbo came on. They were playing to the right most of the game but felt we were more dangerous from the left when we started running at them.

Elliot Jackson: Lewis Travis state of play: #Rovers are not budging from their valuation and Derby have yet to up their offer. Understand they’ve bid twice with latest around £1.5M plus bonuses. It’s an impasse that needs resolving quickly. Hard to see how he features on Sat right now. Can see this turning rotten. Dont think Derby will pay what we want.

Nothing has changed. This is the problem. Look forward to welcoming you all to Ewood Park Saturday

Another new member of Sgt Eustace Lonely Rovers Club Band. Let's see if he can play his Tuba as well there. He certainly got caught out at Ipswich.

Rovers have just shared an advert for the new Panini stickers coming to the EFL this season and the comments are all quite good "can't wait to stick all our players in the Derby section" etc The advert mentions collecting your favourite players but another comment says "all my favourite players have just left" Great times isn't it 😄

This whole transfer window is being completely side tracked by players leaving. Brittain refused to play, then went on a lads holiday and then went. Travis too, Dolan where would he end up. No matter how good or important we think they might be, if they're going the club needs to name their price. If they don't meet our valuation tough shit. None of the names mentioned are irreplaceable or worth keeping around if unhappy. Enough so that they tell the club they want to go. Ship them out and move on. I like how open and honest the manager is but at the same time it's detrimental to the group, who are staying and the fans who just see it as our captain wants to leave. If a bid comes in and the club deem it good value and the players are actively trying to push for the move. Do it, we can't go back to losing players on a free. Who down tools in January and have one eye on leaving.

Unlucky fellas, those questions were really tough & as said above, the lads from Bolton were superb. Done as all proud there. But...... Luca Toni? 🤦‍♂️😄. I did have a bit of a chuckle at that with the amount of times he gets a mention on here.

Well done guys. Brilliant effort throughout.

That's an insult to Kuqi. He would mop up in the Championship at the moment.