Just saw a tweet that says with 3 games to go, no club is mathematically guaranteed to be in the Championship next season. Without doubt the best competition in the country.

Wycombe promoted. Whata fantastic job Ainsworth has done at Wycombe.

If Dack is being replaced by Rothwell/Holtby and Graham is being replaced by Gallagher/Brereton, then Dack’s injury and Graham’s age should have provided a great opportunity to get them used to that this season. Instead he has played all four of them predominantly as wide forwards - to poor effect. Personally I’m with @philipl and would expand to say that we’ve not really had much of a plan at all. They just became available. Gally in particular was an ex-loanee so “knew the club”. Rothwell and Holtby were opportune. Brereton is the only curious one. Certainly an investment given his pedigree as an England youth international but how many of those have failed to kick on? The price tag alone may have ruined that lad because of the expectation. Especially when it was one the club couldn’t afford.

Whilst Farke is correct about financial security, the idea that they went about the season the right way is laughable. Burnley and Sheff Utd have shown that with a smart plan in place smaller clubs with limited budgets can survive in the PL. It was obvious when Norwich went up that unless they changed their style of play they'd be coming straight back down, as they conceded the most goals of any Championship winners in over a decade. Failure to address that is a pretty big oversight and as a Norwich fan I wouldn't be very happy with these defeatist comments from a manager who clearly did not put the right strategy in place to give the club the best chance of avoiding relegation.

I will not hold the miss against him, he got in the position. At the moment effort is all I ask for. With effort and an improved defense, this squad could be successful.

Honestly absolutely gutted Davenport, he seems like a top lad and a good footballer- You can see how much it meant to him when he missed that chance. Hopefully he keeps going and gets there.

Ainsworth does it, Wycombe win!

Jesus christ neophox, I don't think anybody is suggesting it will get that bad!!!

No and im not interested enough to watch it. I stand by my comments that it makes no sense to accept relegation and come out with quotes like it was men against boys and that it was almost certain from the beginning. You relish and cherish the promotion and the prize it brings. Theres a happy middle ground between over spending and not spending at all and giving up before youve started. It can be low spending compared to the prize, 10-20m say just to help out the team from last year. That money could be spent in a calculated way and potentially recouped or even profited on even if they did go down. If I was a Norwich fan I would be annoyed not that theyve gone down but that manager and chairman alike accepted it before it happened. We spent more than them last summer. But its something youve grafted for to become one of the top 7 teams in tnlhe country. Even if it does jeapordise your league season slightly, its worth it because of the memories. All of these European away days would be great memories and experiences that might never come round again and you cant sacrifice them in order to try and replicate that league season otherwise you are going round in circles. Absolutely bang on regarding that last comment. We finished 6th twice and 7th in the Premier League post 2001 but the most memorable season is the one we won a cup in. Football is about memories like that. I remember when Wigan won the cup and went down and it created a media driven question, would you rather win the cup or stay up? (Obviously they arent mutually exclusive so its a flawed question anyway) Id take winning the cup every day of the week.

The Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling Down

Weird isn't it, but that's modern football for you for some clubs. Qualifying for Europe is a great achievement, actually being in it seems to be a hindrance. We have been guilty of that at times, I'm thinking the games against CSKA and Genclerbirligi under Souness. On a slightly different note, but it drives me mad that teams situated in midtable in the top flight play weakened teams in the League & FA Cup, these clubs should be throwing absolutely everything at the chance to win a major trophy.

I thought it was pretty ironic, bearing in mind he's got the phrase completely wrong.

Whilst I don't think Mowbray should be saying publicly that he fined Brereton your assertion that the sending off should have been challenged is wrong in my view. Appealing a sending off costs £500 which is non returnable if the appeal is unsuccessful and there is a possibility of extra games for a frivolous appeal. From my viewing it was a clear sending off and wholly unprofessional from Brereton.

I'm not sure Gallagher is a number 10. I remain convinced that Brereton & Gallagher were signed to learn "our way of playing" as Mowbray always puts it, in view to replacing the Dack/Graham partnership from the 20/21 season.

How good was that Brazillian lad ? Pure natural talent. Best player in the Championship surely.

I have to go in the Brown Cow for a queue.

They have Invested based on mortgages on the land they own increasing in value 15 fold since they purchased us and being able to remortgage etc at higher amounts. As land prices are now reducing and the Indian banking system having liquidity issues due to Covid, i would say they may not have the available cash to invest that much at the moment even if they want to.

I believe he did intentionally kick the Barnsley player which is the key point in the referees judgement.

Not a clue why some of you are talking as though he intentionally kicked the lad well after the ball had gone rather than lunging a bit recklessly, but it's not the case. Oldjamfan, we don't have an issue calling it bite when Lenihan and Travis do very similar things but get away with it. In fact we seem to applaud them.

Don't know where this talk of him having no final ball. Whenever I've seen him cross it's always a really good ball. Mowbray just doesn't want him running at players and getting the ball into the box.

And Gillespie, Flitcroft, Berkovic, Short, Hignett, Bjornebye, McAteer, Damien Johnson. Some squad that for the second tier, and no wonder the core of it won cups and qualified for Europe in future seasons.

That challenge wasn't Brereton showing 'bite'. It was silly, and if he can't work out the difference between a good, strong challenge and one that gives the ref a decision to make then he shouldn't be playing professional football. Being able to hear the reactions before and after the challenge from those around it because of the absence of crowd noise shone a light on it as well I think. I do think it was a harsh red, and I was raging at the Barnsley manager's inflammation of the situation, as well as Mowbray's impassiveness, but I don't think - for all his faults - Mowbray could support the lad on this one, though I agree that any club punishment should have been kept quiet about.

As someone on here said a couple of weeks back....Hart is Buffon compared to Raya and Walton. Won the premier league, Fa cup, league cup, englands number one for years not too long ago....Pep drops him because he can't play outfield, and spends 70m replacing him..... The guy is primed to settle down at a club like ours and be a success for 10 years.

Really hope to see Butterworth in the first team. He certainly has the desire. I just hope his injury doesn’t have any lasting effects.

I too would like to see them both under a different manager. Preferably at a different club.

Think 'tombola' Tony is going to be at it again: https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/18579455.mowbray-hints-changes-ahead-rovers-trip-millwall/ These are young professional athletes and if they can't manage two games a week then I think it's a p1ss poor effort. Leading tennis players will spend up to 20 hours s week on court in a highly competitive, physical and mental sport. Tony seems to think 180 minutes a week is a bit much for some of our lads. You play your most effective team - when you are winning, you don't feel the fatigue, the strains, the soreness etc. Millwall to win by at least two clear goals as, sadly, I think tombola Tone will strike again.

Let’s just hope for better than that FA Cup QF a few years back. Odds on to reach Wembley and we completely bottled it. To think, Wigan went on to win it all

If I was the manager before the Millwall game I would take the team to Wembley and say to them . This is where you could have glory , or you could end up not winning at Millwall. Take your pick.

The Championship is a bloody hard league to get out of as many bigger sides than Norwich have found out. For them to get into the top flight and show such little ambition is in my opinion pathetic. Of course a newly promoted side will usually struggle but in Norwich's case they just accepted their fate and never put up a fight.

Their assets on the pitch will now be prematurely poached from the look of it. I totally get prudence and not spending loads like Fulham did, like Villa have. But why is the only alternative to that not spending at all and accepting relegation before it happens? Surely there is a middle ground.

Sorry OJF but I've never managed to get into his solo stuff, its hard to forgive him for splitting up The Jam.... He also needs to cut his hair, he looks slightly sinister with that new barnet. But no doubt about it, a music icon, one of the greats.

Never in a month of Sundays am I going to buy that was a red. Just a clumsy, rash challenge that is a yellow every day of the week. It's the ref's decision that was indefensible as there are worse challenges nearly every game. He may well have gotten pelters for actually being sent off. That's not my point, my point is that when similar or worse challenges happen and we aren't unlucky enough for the ref to have a brain fart, we don't see the players who do it getting pilloried.

That's exactly what I was laughing at

I find the criticism of Bamford really excessive from the outside. He has a very competitive goal record, and whenever I see Leeds, he leads the line well, he works hard, he makes clever runs and he walks into the vast, vast majority of clubs in the division, barring Fulham and maybe at a push Forest. I get that he misses his chances but he scores goals too. The job Bielsa has done is remarkable and fair play to Leeds for thinking outside the box and getting such a big name from abroad. I recall a lot of people dismissing him when he came and of course he needs paying well but when we have paid 12m in the last 2 years on strikers who have contributed about 5 goals combined, and the manager is the most important person, Bielsa will now be seen as a bargain.

Brereton's kick was about as petulant as the Leicester guy's kick yesterday which he also got a red card for. It's not going to hurt anyone, and once upon a time they would just get on with it, but nowadays if you kick someone without the ball being there you are going to walk.

Secret Affair - Time For Action

Cliff Bennett And The Rebel Rousers - Got To Get You Into My Life

Just watching highlights from yesterday, why is rothwell so good off the bench? He was class, but when he starts games hes shite

That's what we have had with Walton though, and before that Raya, and it's hardly been to universal acclaim in either case. Both have been pilloried on here (sometime overly so IMO) after those changers. Hart would be totally crucified if he did the same. I'm sure there are better, more consistent & less showboaty keepers out there than Hart, whether from lower leagues, Prem reserves or Europe.

There's an Arthur Lee Glasto set on the BBC iplayer. Watched it the other day. They play Forever Changes. Magical.

Yeh, we could've been 6th if we were good enough, but we're just evidently not. Getting into the play-offs would give us 2 more games that we'd be highly likely to lose. If we made it to the prem we'd surely get absolutely mullered for 38 games. We're just nowhere near that level at the moment. But far better to be here than where Wigan or Bolton are. Let's hope we can improve next year.

Yazoo - Only You

So just as Armstrong has hit a rich seam of form this season and thus become a good "money well spent" signing in his 3rd year here, couldn't that also happen with Brereton & Gallagher (I of course acknowledge that their fees were more substantial and agree that their contributions to date have been underwhelming)? I mean, we saw today a glimpse of what Gallagher can do against the side widely considered as the best in the division, and we all saw a big improvement in Brereton post-lockdown prior to his red card. It would be very typical of football for one of them to hit an Armstrong-like run of form and then for their signings not to look as shabby as they currently do, right? I mean few on here - me included - thought Armstrong would become the central figure he has become did we? Might we be talking about Brereton and / or Gallagher in similar terms in 12 months time? Let's hope so!

TM is accorded the benefit of the wider context of if we get rid his replacement would likely be worse. It's an argument I have a lot of time for given we recruit from a second rate agency. However the wider context should also be applied to how quickly we need promotion and the odds of a slow build happening being slim indeed. Dack, Armstrong, Lenihen all will be gone in the next year or two - it's the nature of football and a pattern under Vs. So a slow build isn't really that viable, and I feel we stand on the edge of another shut down resources and bust cycle. With this in mind IF we can keep the squad together next year it very much must be last chance saloon. As it is, I fear we are already drinking in it. The squad needs a fair number replacing with loans and aging stars and there's never been a more open championship where an ounce more consistency or quality and we would be a few points better off and comfortably in playoffs. Which brings us on to today's game. Another one that shows the skills and flaws of TM's Rovers in equal measure. A point against a very good standard of opposition is not to be sniffed at and shows we are a decent to good side. However we perhaps could and should have won, which would have put us solidly back in the race, but once again failed to do so. We really are a close but no cigar (wherever that phrase comes from) type of team. We clearly are nearly men and won't actually break top 6, but equally and frustratingly we aren't far away. We perhaps could and should have won today and have been in that place before. It being tantalisingly just out of reach, being just not quite good enough is what gets us so frustrated. In a way I see a lot of parallels with Bowyer. The team isn't as good but we get more bang for our bucks out of this lot. If TM was just a bit cannier at signing players maybe we'd be edging it. As it is we're nearly men and I feel we are on the edge of another bust cycle. Could coronavirus be our rescue, with a lack of buying power for clubs keeping the squad together, giving TM another chance at promotion. Perhaps. Certainly bar Tosin - admittedly a huge miss - the replacements would struggle to be worse than what we have. That said TMs record in the transfer market has not been good so it's an anxious time. I guess my theory is we will see another Bowyer cycle through, then get through a few more of our agency's rejects. Hopefully we will get another Bowyer cycle through and third time lucky - this one has the nous to get us over the finish line. That we've come kinda close with the loons in charge, a substandard structure and imo mediocre management, means it is possible. It's the hope that kills you.

Have been feeling somewhat down since the final whistle but my grandson has just been to see me and said he was feeling upset as well. When I pointed out that play offs are all but out of reach and Pope the Burnley keeper might win the golden glove, he agreed. After a moments silence he then said does that mean they will need to make a special glove with six fingers? Now that cheered me up so I thought I would share it with you.

Yes the 31,000 (with potential for more) seems a complete white elephant now, but it was built on the proviso that we would spend the 90s growing and remember Blackburn itself was demographically different with a massive support within the town boundaries that doesn’t really exist now in large parts of it. By 1996 time you could see it bearing fruit with coaches coming from all over and clubs like Burnley/Bolton/Preston/Blackpool floundering in L1/L2, Accy in the Northern Premier. Even clubs like Man City were weak. Which would have meant even with the town itself changing, we would be covered long term by a branch network all over the north west. Alas, that calamitous relegation in 1999 (yes we came back in 2001 but much weaker, as the game was rapidly changing, growth of the southern clubs, Abramovich and so on), Jack’s death and the relative renaissance of other local clubs meant, we threw away a once in a life time chance to be the go to club outside Manchester and Liverpool. Yet, even up to 2011 we were averaging 25,000 crowds due to switched on executives who did everything they could to protect PL status and understood our demographics and priced games accordingly. Alas, this lost decade, 10,000 fans long out of the habit, a conveyor belt of carpetbagging executives who seemingly know little of how our fanbase is made up, neglectful owners, plus rapid demographic change, notwithstanding the as yet unknown pandemic impact, tells me we never even get back to 2011, never mind those halcyon days of the 90s

It’s such a shame butterworth got injured I thought it would be a breakthrough season as he’s by far a better prospect than brereton. I tend to be more forgiving than most but I’ve given up on Ben doing anything here, I really thought there was something there (or maybe it was just in dumb hope). There was a complete lack of trust from the manager from the start (why spend that money if no trust) and through his own stupidity v Barnsley he’s never had a run of games here. It’s so bizarre. From the signing to the actual management of the lad himself it’s been a complete shitshow and the worst handling of a player since Mowbray arrived by far and considering the money that was spent just makes the mis-management even more sickening.

Now whilst he is a prime dolloper it has to be said that even so TM doesn't have him playing anywhere near his limited best. He has put in the odd good performance but all of these have come centrally. So put him central. TM is delivering a master class on how to make a bad situation worse. I still maintain that with the right management Gally might hit the heights of a useful player but it would take a far greater manager than TM to do that. I'd get rid of Gally in a second but I don't think we will, no one will be interested based on his performances or wages so we have to find a way to make the most of a bad situation. That way is not arsing about on the right wing.

Take a bow " roverandout ".