can we just call him 'Luca' for short.............

This is where Rovers really don’t help themselves. They are using this inspirational signing to have a dig at wavering fans for their lack of “commitment”. Waggott hasn’t impressed me one bit since he’s been here. Without Mowbray he would be toast.

Excellent news. Personally, I think he has been one of the best and most consistent performers this season.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2018/december/a-day-to-remember-2018/ As I recall from previous years this is always a poignant event as I recognised several Rovers fans on the big screen who sadly passed away in the previous year. Well done Rovers for showing respect and also giving the fans an opportunity to show our respect to them and their families.

Couldn't agree more Stuart. If I didn't have a ST already and was thinking about investing in a half ST the thought of having to watch Evans for another 2 and a half years would be more likely to put me off than inspire me to make a purchase. Now if it was the news that Reed had signed a pre contract agreement with a view to penning a permanent deal on Jan 1st......... then you'd be talking.

Disappointed with this news. Not good enough and if we are looking to improve we should be looking to offload Evans and put the money saved towards bringing in better players who can take us forward at this level such as Reed.

I would of let him go. Not what we need going forward. With Rodwell, Bennett, Travis and Smallwood he is surplus to requirements. Not sure handing two and three year contracts to players that have got us relagated and will at best keep us mid table is the way forward

Back to mediocrity now then I expect.

Phil Jones' first mistake was leaving us too soon.

That would be the club investing in young exciting talent and letting the ‘product’ sell itself. Maybe ‘dig’ is the wrong word but it’s certainly trying to guilt fans, particularly lapsed season ticket holders, into returning. It’s not the first time they’ve done it either. They should try to encourage fans to feel they are “missing out” by not being here rather that “not being loyal or committed enough”. Marketing psychology 101 stuff but it shows how out of touch Waggott is with the fanbase that he chooses this line with Blackburners. “Get your season tickets, back the lads, or you’re not a real fan” - actually that could have been written by...

I think both Evans and Smallwood both desperately need replacing in the summer. With a new cm, preferably Reed on a permanent deal and Travis coming through with Bennett, Rodwell and Smallwood as cover I don't see the need for him. I'm struggling to understand why all of the above players have new deals when we are supposedly re building for the future. The telegraph has already allured to player unrest at lack of opportunity. If we add one or two in January and one or two in summer who makes way when virtually all have new contracts til 2021

I would prefer Evans in the centre of midfield to all of them personally. Hes been one of our best players this season and signing him for a couple of years is a wise move, albeit a gamble as hes never too far away from an injury. You touch on an interesting point regarding new contracts. Its all about striking a balance between stability and improvement. The likes of Raya and Lenihan signing new deals is positive in that they are young and have plenty of improvement in them. The likes of Evans and in particular Mulgrew are also crucial in terms of them being important players in their last years. It is players like Smallwood, Williams and maybe even Bennett (considering he had 2 years left) that have been given them solely as a reward that im not sure about. None are at risk of being nabbed by bigger teams and im not sure you should dish out contracts across the board to reward players, so I dont understand the urgency.

Lower half of the championship standard midfielder at best. His form has improved this season, but then it did the last time a new contract was in the offing. He then reverted to type. He doesn't strike me as a "winner" and rarely risks himself in tackles. But if lower half championship is what we want, then he's ok I suppose.

When I think of Birmingham city 3 things come to my mind 1- Robbie Savage Loved Robbie when he was here. He was a real warrior in that Hughes team. Snarling and snapping around midfield. Thanks Brum 2-Alex McLeish Big Eck, a gruff Scotsman who these days can mostly be found fighting with Tony Mowbray about how much he is allowed flog that old war horse Charlie Mulgrew. Did well at Birmingham, winning their last major trophy, the 2011 league cup. The win was against your textbook later period Wenger team, devoid of bottle. The winner coming from a last minute Obafemi Martins goal on his 54th birthday, which was nice. 3- This Well at least when he went back to Rovers the most embarrassing period of his career was over. Well, mostly. Recent times Following the cup win and relegation from the Premier league, like many clubs, they have had a bumpy few years. They are owned by a Hong Kong based business man and following my intensive 5 minute online research on this, I am even more confused. In short, lots of shenanigans have gone on there since he arrived on the scene. I remember them sacking Gary Rowett when on the cusp of the play-offs, only to make a disastrous appointment in Zola. they floated around relegation after this, up until their last managerial appointment. In a match that looks to have worked out well for both parties, Gary Monk has gotten his promising looking career back on track at the club, after dodgy spells at dodgy Leeds and not dodgy Boro. They are currently sitting in 9th place ,equal on points with their illustrious hosts. This is a huge game for both sides as we are now getting to the point where you either break from the middle pack and keep touch with the play-offs, or you drop off to mid table obscurity(or worse). A quick look at their squad suggests to me that Monk is getting the best out of the players at his disposal. They have their financial difficulties and were restricted during the summer when it came to incomings, so credit to Monk. This is the kind of game we must win if we have any hopes of keeping in touch with the play-offs. Hopefully the performance is more Sheffield Wednesday than United. Prediction 2-1 Rovers

18 month ago I would of been seriously miffed at this. But he has won me over. Been pleasantly surprised with his simple way he keeps things ticking over in the middle. Is always hassling but for a supposed defensive midfielder he is pretty weak in tackles. If he keeps up his last q8 months level going forward I would be happy. Not gonna win us any games. Or even score. But I can appreciate his game.

Harsh. Especially the tackling bit. He goes into 50/50's that others would be happy to avoid. He also got promoted with Hull to the Prem so I'm not sure 'lower half Championship at best' is accurate, although the standard has improved in the 5+ years since Hull went up. I'd agree he's underachieved at Rovers, whether that's because of attitude or continual injury problems it's hard to say. However, I do think on his day he's a good old fashioned midfield schemer and that without spending a few £m he would be hard to replace.

"Rarely risks himself in tackles"??? THE guy might not be a winner and his scoring record is terrible, but a fighter he is. I am glad he has signed a new contract, would love to see him pairing with Rothwell thou

Dig was the correct word Stuart Classless stunt which will have the opposite effect.

Things continue to improve and rebuild the relationship with the fan base

If you see that as a dig I think the problem might be you.

Birmingham City...not all that much to say about 'em really in a footballing sense. BIG CLUB™ though! 2-0 14,300

Well, yes, it's not my money we're wasting and if it was a case of funds being unlimited and we ended up with Reed AND Evans I could put thisdown as an irrelevance and fools and their money being easily parted etc. i presume it's not quite as simple as that though, I assume we're still paying lip service to FFP so every penny spent on players who won't improve us like Evans is less available to spend on players who will take us forward like Reed.

He’s decent enough, not something I’m jumping for joy about as not one there was any real risk of losing I bet

Ambivalent really. Average sort of player in this division who we would need to replace if we had any ambitions for promotion

Difficult game but one we should go out to win. When playing at home i feel this is our strongest line up and it’s what I would play on Saturday: Raya Nyambe Lenihan Mulgrew Bell Reed Evans Rothwell Dack Conway Graham If in form would have Armstrong over Conway but been unimpressed with him lately so would go with Conway.

I can barely contain myself

Gordon Taylor signed for us from Brum.

I think that new deal is fair enough. His performances at the end of last season and so far this show that he can be an important player for us and he still has years on his side moving forward. Think they're pushing it a bit with the 'Commitment' line in an attempt to encourage more season ticket sales mind.

Vince O'Keefe started his career at his home town club. A hero for us in the Full Members win.

Another one who played for both teams - Howard Kendall.

This is going to be one dull game. 0-0 or 1-0 either way.

Looking at the games coming up this is an important game at home. I'd want us to go at it from the off. Need Reed in the middle. Raya Nyambe Lenihan Mulgrew Bell Reed Evans Rothwell Dack Armstrong Graham

Billy Joel - Piano Man

Raya Nyambe Downing Mulgrew Williams Reed Evans Conway Dack Rothwell Graham Subs: Leutwiler, Lenihan, Travis, Smallwood, Brereton, Palmer, Nuttall

Basil Rathbone, Scott Dann and Paul Caddis.

Martin 'tiny' Taylor another

Never gets old that Neal. I love the way he freezes in sheer panic at the thought of driving forward.

There is a young fell who does match blogs, I think he goes by Briggsy boy. He is good now. Ye should try and get him involved

Like many, Gestede had his best years at Ewood. He isn't the answer to what we need.

The Jam - Away From the Numbers. A little bit out of place on the 'punky' first Jam album but Paul Weller's first great soul song.

I'll not lose any sleep over that

Bloody hell, you were flush with cash for a newborn!

Googled “classless stunt” to get some idea of context, and I found a story about Janet Jackson showing her breast at a super bowl half time show. So, I think we’d agree, that’s if Waggott did the same at Ewood, at half time trying to sell HST’s. Not an image I really needed tbh.

That will be one of the shortest videos in captivity.?

Confident finish from Phil Jones there. Wrong net mind, but well taken nonetheless.

The source of my most embarrassing Rovers moment. When he made his home debut I was waiting outside the main entrance with my young son who was collecting autographs. I thought Jeff Kenna came out so I asked him to sign my son's autograph book. While he was signing I congratulated him on playing well. He said ' I wasn't playing today'. When I looked at the autograph it was Tony Gale !

Any chance to post this which sums him as a player and his career at Rovers perfectly...