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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/18/19 in all areas

  1. Up to a point, martonrover. Because I no longer drive, I tend to leave Ewood about 10-15 minutes before the end of the game so that I can get a bus to Bolton - the first leg of my journey home - before Bolton Road is closed to traffic. Increasingly, it feels like common sense to have left early - not only am I likely to get home a bit sooner, but I won't really be missing anything by doing so. And yet; and yet; within this 73-year-old frame, beats the heart of the 7-year-old who: was born in Blackpool to a couple of Blackburners; was dead proud at that age to wear a blue and white replica shirt among all the tangerine; and will be, in the words of the song that always has a lump in my throat each time I join in, "Rovers till I die". But I fear that pragmatism will win. At the moment, it's 60/40 on me not renewing my season ticket because the team Mowbray puts out seem to me an unexciting amalgam of footballers, usually with several playing out of position, rather than their proper - best - positon. And in turn that seems to be because the manager - the buck stops with you, Mowbray - has signed: few defenders so that the defence is always one injury away from being a real disaster zone; a plethora of midfielders but no proper wingers to feed our strikers who are a pale shadow of the attack Uncle Jack bought us. I think you're right, martonrover, when you talk about the fire in Warnock's belly. But, personally, I think that signing him as manager - even if he could be induced to come here - would only lead to a temporary improvement in our present situation at best. I certainly don't think he could build a team with a reasonable chance of avoiding a return to the Championship after one season, as Chris Wilder seems to have done at Sheffield United or - excuse my language - as Dyche has done with That Lot down the M65. I've previously expressed the opinion that Damien Johnson ought to be given a chance. Given the way the team - our team - are floundering at the moment, what have we to lose?
    16 points
  2. I work abroad a lot. Got chatting to a guy from Pune in a bar the other night. A very well educated guy. He could only talk about the venkys in glowing terms, how they were an example for Indian business and actually had a surprising knowledge around their various interests. He had never heard of Rovers. Says a lot
    8 points
  3. Smallwood is a worse player than Evans at this level (but better than him in League One, where his technical deficiency wasn't shown up), and there is literally no room for him in the squad other than to occasionally, pointlessly, hold back a u23 from getting a game at that level. However, Evans is probably on double, maybe triple the money. I'm of the opinion we could shed both and not be any weaker as a squad. In the medium, or maybe even short term, we'd be stronger, as it would open the pathway for the youngsters who play that position. Even if we decide we need to rely on experience instead, we'd still have: Travis, Johnson, Bennett, Downing. Even Buckley and Davenport both have a bit of experience at this level too. Arguably Rothwell or Dack can play there too in certain games, in a more advanced capacity. Thanks for the immense effort Richie, and thanks for playing well when you felt like it Corry, but it's time for you both to move on for the good of the club and your own careers.
    8 points
  4. At the moment, having Tony as our leader is as good as it’s going to get. We’re an average Championship side that’s going to be stuck in mid table forever. Tony’s a nice guy who has sorted out some of our problems, forged a good relationship with our owners and got rid of a lot of deadwood. However, his track record as a manager isn’t too impressive and, for me, he possess neither the nouse nor the credentials to take us to the next level. Were we to get someone in with a bit more mettle, a bit more authority and the ability to win games by employing both the right tactics and the right players, you would hope that this type of manager would have sat down with the owners to discuss a plan. Yes, a plan. Maybe a short term plan or hopefully a longer term plan. That’s what a Souness type manager would demand. A plan on where we would want to be in two or three years time and a more importantly a budget for player purchases to help that plan unravel. Ever since Venky’s rolled in to town (other than paying us a bit of false lip service and a few photos in the LT) they have been conspicuous by their absence. That’s nine fecking years of absence. Nine years of managers having to travel to India for discussions and coming back none the wiser. No strategy, no budget, no plan. Big Sam grasped hold of the situation immediately and walked. Not that they didn’t have a plan. He didn’t get that far. He foresaw the car crash that we were about to become. We’ll never get anyone of Sam’s ability, or close to it, ever again. So, unless Venky’s change the way they operate (if it hasn’t happened in nine years, it never will), we are left with relatively unambitious, run of the mill managers who will gladly take their very nice monthly salary without asking too many questions. Or...we take a chance on an up and coming, younger manager at a lower level. Someone with something to prove. Someone like Gareth Ainsworth. Bearing in mind Waggot falls into the same category as Mowbray, he’ll be unwilling to rock the boat and more than unwilling to have a poor decision (if it turns out that way) fall on his shoulders. So, that leaves us in a sea of mediocrity, with a bang average captain, riding the waves in permanent mid table until such time as our hand is forced ie. relegation or as near as. We’re right back to November 2010, knowing that the club can’t and won’t progress until new owners are at the helm.
    7 points
  5. He can rot in hell. Don't care if he turns into a new Beckenbauer, he can fuck off. I remain convinced to this day that he took money to pop those own goals in. Astonished it was never investigated.
    5 points
  6. Our Championship status. At the moment, as dull as it is and as obvious it is that a change in the dugout is required, we still remain a member of the 2nd tier, one good season away from the Premier League. Unlikely to happen under these idiots yes, but possible. A return to League One would be horrific in many ways. The job of being Rovers manager is one for an experienced gaffer who knows the duties, expectations and pressure of being a boss at this level or higher. Particularly when handling the extra baggage of the idiots in Pune and the sham board of directors. Weve seen this with the spells of Kean, Berg, Appleton and to a lesser extent Bowyer. I've no doubt that they will be desperate for Johnson to step into the managers office after Mowbray. I think this will be for a few reasons. Firstly he's already here and under contract which removes the need to conduct a comprehensive and potentially expensive recruitment process. Secondly they appear to still have delusions of being able to circumvent the transfer market by using all our own homegrown players and enhancing their values ready for sale. Sadly that isnt compatible with success on the pitch and will likely relegate us sooner rather than later. No other club does it. Do we know better than everyone else? Almost certainly not. Only a few clubs have gone with the promote a reserve coach to manager routine and none have lasted or ended well. The best there has been is Bowyer here and most people wanted him gone after a couple of years. I worry that the worse it gets under Mowbray that it will become more acceptable for us to take the easy option with Johnson and for it to be sold to the fans as a logical step. I don't dislike the bloke and saw what a good job he did with the u23s but my interest is in what is best for Blackburn Rovers not for one mans career or as a reward for hard work. The manager job is crucial and we need to explore the world in search of the best man for the job. Not just take the easiest option because we've a nice bloke who did well with the reserves already here.
    5 points
  7. Not sure I agree. The money was big, I’ve seen him a few times for forest and I quietly thought we might have a good one. In a few games for forest he was unplayable and 18, something’s gone wrong in his development from his arrival here. A mixture of shyte day to day coaching, lack of any game time in his correct position, injuries, the team is crap and is looking like a relegation side. im not saying he’s a world beater but we’ve screwed it up in my opinion. The lads had no confidence since he arrived
    4 points
  8. On Mr Smith, very odd really. Are you telling me that in his 20 years of writing he has never witnessed somebody disagreeing with his opinions? Almost feels as this was an excuse to quit rather than being the actual reason. 2 or maybe 3 posts that maybe went over the top and he cannot hack it and so suddenly leaves. Either needs skin that is 100 times thicker or was looking for something he could pin walking out on. My opinion, his hands are obviously tied as to what he can say in the LT, and with our current run he knows that it is far too difficult to keep putting a positive spin on things.
    4 points
  9. Good faith? Not quite. Before we get too sackcloth and ashes, he didn't always come to the site in good faith. See his own "Thanks for the love" thread, which was launched as a provocative and antagonistic dig at posters here. Sure, two or three posts on this thread were OTT, but only a few....and we do have to see the context. I agree with Philip that the underlying problem is the bitter divide in the fanbase. Simon has largely taken one side-the loyalist one. I happen to have taken the other side, although, significantly, not in a local newspaper column.
    4 points
  10. 4-1, piece of p***. We’ll be swigging back the merlot by full time. What are you worried about?
    3 points
  11. Calling it now, he'll return to Forest on loan. His contract will wind down and we'll cut our losses for a few bob.
    3 points
  12. Evans can be a tidy player on his day. Problem is it's mostly Northern Ireland who get to see that. Is he more suited to international football or just going through the motions here? I think he's been coasting for a long time and we need to get shot.
    3 points
  13. As long as he doesn’t wear ripped jeans, is willing to play in a position that he never has before, is a good human and likes lemon drizzle cake, he’ll get a 4 year deal.
    2 points
  14. lets just say he`s yet to make a favourable impression on me!!!
    2 points
  15. Just to clarify, are you saying you don't rate Brereton that highly?
    2 points
  16. Love this post, Andrew. Cheers.
    2 points
  17. I predicted something like this the min he signed something isn't right with that signing. If something like that did happen he and a few others will have made a nice few quid out of it.
    2 points
  18. I actually think Downing has been our most consistent player this season, barely had a bad game, hardly ever loses the ball.
    2 points
  19. I haven't been able to get to a game for quite a long time but i'm flying over for this game and PNE. After reading posts on here I'm anticipating wanting to top myself at half time. It's also the first time in 15 years I'm going to Ewood by train and not car. Where's good for a pre-match pint these days? I feel like I'm gonna need a few before going in.
    2 points
  20. As daft as that post is, another Peter White at the LT would be great. Would he survive alongside 2019’s social media-fed fanbase though? Not sure. Maybe he would lead it!
    2 points
  21. It used to be Nyambe but he has since gone quiet on that one since he has been featuring. Now every second post of his is this weird obsession with Chapman.
    2 points
  22. You dont get pi55 splash back at PNE
    2 points
  23. I'm pretty sure that even the shower of shite in Pune would allocate funding for ongoing maintenance if Waggott found his bollocks and asked for it.
    2 points
  24. No wonder Travis rarely makes those forward passes and driving runs forward anymore.
    2 points
  25. As for Ainsworth, his obvious enthusiasm for the Club is an asset but is no guarantee of success. Dyche had no affinities with Burnley before they made the decision to sign him, as far as I'm aware. We're just desperate to get this club back on the up again, understandably so we clutch at straws. We need a trusted and proven manager or we need to pull one out of the hat. Venkys won't pay for the former and there is no-one at the club capable of picking the latter. So we go on, week after week, season after season. We really are cursed.
    2 points
  26. Wigan are selling tickets for all games up to the end of January. Huddersfield and Preston are selling tickets for games into January. We are only selling November games. Maybe this is because we have another 3 game ticket coming out but whether or not that is the case, why not have them on sale now? Huddersfield half season tickets go on sale tomorrow. You can choose which game it starts from and just pay the appropriate price. So it can start any time between 15 games and 11 games. Clubs of a similar size to us are on the front foot making it flexible for fans to attend. We will bring ours out last minute when xmas presents are bought and fans are skint. We are not doing all we can. Far from it. We are doing almost nothing. Tomorrow is the pre-meet to set the agenda for next fans forum meeting on the 18th. I don't think we give a shit about single use plastic and gluten free pies. Why are tickets not on sale yet as with other clubs, to maximise Xmas spend ? How many 3 match tickets were sold ? Why are Xmas period games not on sale yet ? Where are you up to with the matchday buses from strategic locations ? What about working with the council to re-open the car parks at Ewood ? Are we actively having a plan for safe standing area next season ? What is the process to make it a reality ? Is the manager's position being reviewed and monitored by the owners ? Are there any targets set because we are clearly worse than last season and playing very badly. Who is responsible for this process ? Steve or Suhail or Balaji ? What task force does the club have in place or planned for addressing the very serious issue of 20,000 empty seats, dire matchday atmosphere and repeated failure to reach sales targets? What was the outcome of the data collected in the recent survey? Just a small list of very real and important topics I hope to see addressed with the club when the minutes come out. Not at all interested if Bennett washes his water bottle and re-uses it next week.
    2 points
  27. I now live on the south coast, my biggest local club would be Bournemouth I guess. Honestly, whenever I get into a football conversation here and say I support Rovers, I'd say nine times out of ten I get the questions 'who is your manager?' 'Which league are you in?' and if I mention that we're where we are because of poor ownership the question is 'who are your owners?' The sad truth is that a lot of football fans have actually forgotten the whole Venky situation. We aren't on their radar any more. Once the chicken farmers stopped doing funny stuff for the papers other fans ceased to care. I don't get sympathy, but I don't get ridicule either. We had a good reputation, then we had a bad reputation, now we're just irrelevant. I die a bit every time.
    2 points
  28. lol,all this talk of playing ben up front,we`ve got five centre forwards and none of them are played up front,apart from armstrong who`s a midget and the one who should`nt be there,it`s mowbray logic and the odds of brereton playing as a striker are very long indeed
    1 point
  29. I'm clearly not thinking enough like Tony. Good shout. Didn't he also get sent off? It was against Cardiff if I recall correctly. An absolute disgrace.
    1 point
  30. I too am sceptical that Brereton will come good and that he has yet to make any real impression on me except vs a very poor Bolton side. With what we’ve already sunk into him i think it’s worth giving him another go when fit through the middle. Especially if we try to move the ball on the deck and use his movement in the channels.
    1 point
  31. He has all the attributes needed to play in defence though, in that he is a midfielder. Bit of competition for Bennett maybe??
    1 point
  32. I have a feeling this guy may have been mentioned before, but Marcus Maddison's contact is up in the summer. 16 appearances, 9 goals and 6 assists already this season.
    1 point
  33. whoever scouted and sanctioned the transfer of brereton should be sacked forthwith,never in my long football watching career have a seen a player who is completely without any decent attributes whatsoever,he can`t pass,he can`t run,he can`t head a football,he can`t trap a ball,he`s as weak as a kitten,he`s got no awareness and he does`nt even look like he`s interested,bloody hell,even chris brown had some good points,desperately bad as he was,he did make himself a nuisance to the opposition centre backs
    1 point
  34. A newspaper could lose its accreditation for critiquing comments from a representative of private enterprise? Journalism is well and truly dead!
    1 point
  35. Looks like Waggott is fluent in corporate bollocks speak. What does multi year plan even mean when it comes to ignoring basic maintenance? What a prick.
    1 point
  36. Southgate has lost three key games where the sides were reasonably evenly matched - Netherlands in Nation League, Belgium at WC group stage, and Croatia in the semi. He's won three key games Spain and Croatia in Nations League, and colombia at WC. Sweden at WC is one you can write off as an expectation we would win. So it's an okay record, nothing more, nothing less. I would say he deserves a chance to improve on it. The players he has are not particularly great. Only Kane and Sterling are truly world class. GK, Midfield, Defence are considerably poorer than Hoddle, Venables, Eriksson, Capello had available. So all in all reasonable performance in my book. Need to see how things develop. On a side note the emerging key player in my book is Harry Winks. When we play him we look a much better footballing side. Hope he plays again tonight. He's not an exceptional footballer but he ties everything together extremely well. We need to nurture him.
    1 point
  37. I think it’s wishful thinking to think this season is over. There is a very real chance of a relegation battle to contend with yet.
    1 point
  38. Two posts in a row from Parson Blue criticising the club just shows you where we are at the minute.
    1 point
  39. Chaddy, it is impossible to defend the kick-off time for the Burnley game. It's another kick in the teeth for supporters. I can attend but friends who work can't attend. If I had been working I wouldn't have been able to attend - despite going to games at this level home and away on a regular basis. As someone who spent all their working life in education I would be amazed and shocked if any school thought of taking children out of school during a working day to watch a football match. You really are losing touch with reality if you think any headteacher would court that sort of publicity! I'm afraid at the moment the club really doesn't help itself. I'm quite sure if they could get away with it - but they can't because of the rules - they would play behind closed doors with no supporters. Then they wonder why attendances are dropping. You really couldn't make it up!
    1 point
  40. Dwight Gayle on loan? Daniel Ayala nearly out of contract? Pantillimon not wanted at Forest? Marcus Olsson Free? 4 players that would dramatically improve our squad and not break the bank. However non of the above are midfielders so I doubt we'll see any of them lining up for us in January.
    1 point
  41. Poor recruitment in summer 2018 was overcome by still being able to rely on the Mulgrew, Graham and Dacks who were on form and banging in goals, usually from set pieces or the good Dack and Graham partnership rather than good team play. In getting shut of one, trying to phase out another leaving Dack isolated he's brought problems on himself which are exacerbated by his terrible transfer business.
    1 point
  42. Hearing Mowbray say he needed to play centre mid like Smallwood is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. No wonder he cleared off.
    1 point
  43. We certainly did give it a go. There has not been one decent attempt, since the Venky's dismantled us down. So many of our fans have just chosen to re-write the pre-Walker years, when we were regular challengers, even if we never made the final push...1978-fifth, 1981-third ( missed out on goal difference) 1984-fifth, 1985-fifth, 1988 -fifth, 1989-fifth and play off final, 1990-fifth.. Too much accepting the unacceptable imo..
    1 point
  44. Honestly, I never rated Robinson at all, so for me the last decent keeper we signed was Friedel (unless there's someone obvious I've forgotten).
    1 point
  45. True enough. Trouble is that slimming down would likely see us lose Rothwell and keep Evans.
    1 point
  46. A new man needs to come asap and assess the squad ahead of the January window. Why wait until January to make a decision? By then we'd be struggling to get another manager in before the end of the transfer window which would be another one gone and wasted and we'd be in real difficulty avoiding the drop. We made this mistake in February. TM should have been axed then and a new man been brought in for the last ten games or so to assess the squad and have a clear out and stamp his authority on the squad in summer. By not doing so what could have been a very good campaign in the most mediocre Championship I've seen will instead be at best another wasted season where we've gone backwards and at worst another relegation to League one. I'd take Warnock if he was interested. Not sure what he would make of the attitude of this squad of players though and the relaxed holiday camp "we're aiming to make a challenge for promotion sometime within the next ten years' type mentality which seems to be prevalent. I think he'd be disgusted by both.
    1 point
  47. I think he'll be done with football now. We had our chance and managed to cock it up in the most spectacular fashion. Comfortably one of the worst decisions our clueless owners have ever made.
    1 point
  48. Whilst I agree that the manager is struggling at the moment I can't agree with any of the above. He certainly isn't a bumbling fool and I think to accuse him of been some sort of con merchant is totally out of order. I would never question his honesty or integrity because I think they are beyond question. I personally believe him to be a genuine guy doing his best but who is struggling at the moment to find the right solutions to problems, which in fairness, have been of his own making in terms of defenders. I think it's those attributes that many supporters - perhaps not on here - have latched onto and is the reason why he is being given more time by the majority of the fanbase. Ultimately, as with all managers, results will determine when the fanbase turns but, as yet, there is no real sign of it - either at Ewood or at away matches. In recent weeks I have questioned many of the decisions that have been made and certainly have doubts about some of the signings we've made - Gallagher, Brereton and Chapman to name but three - but I would never question the guy's honesty or integrity. Managers have to have total self belief in what they are doing - after all there any number of folk telling them they are doing it wrong every week! I believe Mowbray genuinely believes that he will take this club in the right direction over a period of time and I suspect that at the moment the owners will give him time. The decision to pay up the remainder of his contract - together with others on the coaching staff - and then employ yet another manager and staff will not be one that the owners will be keen to take from a purely financial point of view. After the international break we have games where we would expect to turn our recent defeats into wins and draws. The period between now and Christmas will be the one that may well determine his future.
    1 point
  49. The way I think it works is this: Mowbray has to 'sell them' a vision in order to receive funds from India to spend on players. The owners (Mrs Desai and hubby) who have the keys to the safe listen to the pitch and decide if they are going to go with it or not. This is the primary reason Mowbray and before him Bowyer and Kean went out to India to keep her sweet and get direct approval from her. Without doing that she won't bother with it, probably won't even consider requests and no money will find its way into the club for new players. Mowbray's sales pitch to the owners is that he will make them profits on player trading which of course will help reduce their losses, It is obvious from Mowbray's comments this is a big part of what he sells to the owners. He still has points on the board with the Dack one despite quite woeful business elsewhere. The Brereton was an indicator of what it is all about. The nature of that transfer was utterly bonkers from the price, timing and way it came about. To suddenly go out on deadline day with that sort of cash having spent little before that on the squad suggested things weren't as straightforward as they would have us believe. From the word go that deal was described as a project signing, clearly with more than one eye on Brereton's potential development and future value more than his immediate use to the first team. Mowbray let the cat out of the bag with his infamous 'defenders are coming' speech at the end of last season. Our failure to do what he promised either comes down to him having some sort of brain transplant and completely reversing his opinion on the team or because people above him prevented him from getting those defenders. I know what I believe is the answer. I don't believe any professional manager would have spent £15 million on young attackers without spending anything on defenders. It is ludicrous.
    1 point
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