Can somebody point me to the transfer thread ?

You’re taking yourself down a dark, murky hypothetical hole there. Let’s get it right, there is no one reason why we didn’t go up last season. But if you are going to hang your hat on replacing Raya with Walton then why not the season ending injury to Cunningham? playing him over Bell would’ve netted us 7pts surely? Or what about narrowly missing out on Harrison Reed to Fulham? Surely he could’ve carried us home? The list is exhaustive. The elephant in the room here is Dack. Our best player by miles! If we HAVE to play this game then his season ending injury is surely the reason we didn’t reach the top 6, right? He’s the most likely Rovers player to effect any game and he was out for 50% of the season. The answer is of course that no one facet is the reason we fell 7pts short. But for you to point out that the loss of a VERY inconsistent Keeper for another VERY inconsistent keeper is THE reason for us not getting in the playoffs is...well... just wrong. Walton conceded less goals than Raya did in the season before and had more clean sheets. Fact. Rovers missed out on promotion for a whole host of reasons. Not replacing a decent goalie with a better one was a contributing factor, but 100% not the primary one.

As a supporter for some 50 odd years, I have renewed through blind loyalty to the club. I appreciate people's reluctance to commit for whatever reasons. My main gripe is the appalling lack of awareness of the club to the current situation. To withhold season ticket sales for so long, then put on sale days before an obvious tightening of lockdown rules is unforgiveable. Then to plead to fans as a form of blackmail , further strengthens the disconnect between Waggot and reality. Yes we are on the brink of a financial precipice, but an increase in prices for a diminishing product is financial suicide. I would dearly wish that we emerge from this crisis intact, but the blame is surely at Waggot's door.

Well this thread's died on its arse!

Unbelievable. in the light of the Government's (predictable) cave in on allowing fans back in to live sporting events, most rational people would be admitting they made a huge mistake and coming back to supporters on bended knee asking for forgiveness. Waggott has obviously never heard of the phrase "When you're in a hole stop digging." His response?, double down on the original mistake on 20, hope that people will miraculously change their minds and suddenly won't object to being taken for granted and to being asked to pay more for something they're not actually getting in the first place, and hope that that miracle ace comes out. It's mind blowing, it really is.

The message board comments got completely ignored then.

Ryan Manning would be a massive upgrade on Bell. Surely a fee can be produced that suits both parties given his contract situation. He is 24 so at a right age too. These last minute collapses with deals needs to end. We have missed out on quality players as a result of sitting there while other clubs pinch them from under our noses. Its a massive problem.

Just wish social media would reign it in a bit ..Tyrhys this that tother ...off Twitter .. Sky ..EFL Team Of The Week ...Rovers own media ...even Sky Super Six bigging him up ! Lad even replying too ..lets not spoil a decent young prospect by going overboard about him. Quietly does it!

“We have reached a precarious point in the club’s history and, right now, every penny counts, as we try to keep moving forward against a backdrop of uncertainty and challenging circumstances.” Our precarious situation is chiefly down to the decision making of the last 10 years. The lack of rallying round by fans right now is due to the utter contempt we are being treated with. What sacrifices is he personally making, while asking Riverside fans to pay JW upper prices for their own seat? The reality is the contribution that fans make doesn’t even touch the sides of what it costs to run the club - even before the current situation. Our loss of income isn’t a fan problem but a relegation-from-the-PL problem. £180m later here we are. COVID-19 is a red herring at this juncture. Our future depends on promotion and that relies on the huge wages we pay players and which Venkys are footing the bill for. For some reason. Loss of matchday revenue may hurt Waggott’s pocket though. Dig deep everyone!

Probably neither. I fully accept both had roles taking them inside the compound but I don't think either were trusted as the eyes and ears of the family. As for what the Raos did as a result of fans' writings on social media and elsewhere and whether it had any direct influence, I don't know. But Mrs D in particular was (and probably still is) interested to know. They did seek (and were obscenely reliant on) advice from others deemed to be expert. However, after the initial three or four years they set great store by their own appraisal of the character and intelligence of the people they were/are interfacing with. In general (not just Rovers) they work with and through people they invest a great deal of trust in. They expect loyalty and don't expect any exposure through loose tongues. Mrs D is by all accounts a lady of her own opinions. She is also willing to take a long (a really long) term view and I think we are seeing the impact of that at Rovers and, in some ways, it is beginning to really pay off. I am thinking of the Academy in particular. For big decisions, they seek unanimity between the four of them but they can be quick moving and decisive when they consider it necessary. How those factors played out are the story of the last ten years of Rovers. I will repeat my controversial views. Up until the sacking of Coyle they were a catastrophe (being polite) but since then they are the best owners a club like Rovers could realistically possibly have.

As CEO of the club he's responsible to gauge the current situation and act accordingly. If the financial consequences of the pandemic lead to unavoidable results, then it is entirely out of his hands.However the current situation as regards the uptake of seasons tickets and the ramifications short term are entirely at his door. Foresight outweighs hindsight.

What a great response from the Colchester Chairman. Top man. The "Government's whack a mole" approach to high risk areas. What a great way of putting it but sadly true. Whilst Boris and the medics play silly theoretical games which will never have any impact whatsoever on them, in real life people are losing their jobs, businesses and entire sectors of the economy are at risk of going under. BTW, can you imagine Waggott going to the trouble of removing 1800 seats or changing the surrounds to the stadium around in an effort to get games on? We can't even be bothered to open the Club shop or keep the surrounds of Ewood Park tidy and free of rubbish!

Big fan of Chaddy’s posts is Anuradha, I’ve heard.

Going to draw a line under all the Raya chat in here as it’s gone too far off topic. I’ve moved the last one to the existing thread, which is here- Thanks.

You said Arsenal agreed with you that he is not worth anywhere near 10m. As for the facts: It was reported that they had bid 10m and Brentford rejected it. So clearly, Arsenal did think he was worth 10m. It was then reported they went up to 13.5m. Again, Brentford rejected it as they did not want to lose their keeper and have to replace him. They held out for 15m and Raya being sent back to them on loan for this season. So, i think ill judge their opinion and my own over yours.

If we can get a left back in and conclude our business then that would be fine, if other clubs are in the same scenario there won’t be many spending much. Forest have signed a few but they definitely seem a team of individuals rather than an actual team. There’s no stand out sides in this league this season, I’m actually feeeling optimistic for some mental reason.

Yes but he major one imo was the manager. His transfer deals, his baffling selections, tactics, subs, playing players out of position etc. If there was any one reason, it was at his door.

Couldn’t agree more Darwen! Knew it wasn’t transfer related but I had to write it. Apologies.....! Now any positive transfer news?

So out of interest why could we not sell anything from March until September 15th and then all of a sudden we could start selling and are continuing to sell season passes despite having less idea now than at any other stage? We can't put a product on sale that we can't guarantee- but isn't that exactly what we are doing now? Why couldn't we have released the package we have but 2 months earlier? I think Waggott is winging it. Basically he panicked because the season started and the rumour was that we could have fans in as early as the Wycombe game. He had to get something sorted ahead of that so got them on sale.

Along with the several audit firms they employed....

Course it's at his door. We can argue until the cows come home about the timing of season tickets/memberships going on sale. To me it was the most obvious thing in the world to keep people engaged and prevent them losing interest and sign them up on a nominal membership initially and as early as possible then upgrade them to a price commensurate with an I follow pass once the Government made their decision on fans and upgrade again to the full ST price if and when fans are finally allowed back in. What surely can not be disputed though, is that if you have a product on offer which isn't as good as the one you had on sale before, you don't put prices up!

I'm amazed you believe this. The manager has to wait weeks to get answers on his budget and approval to do business but you think the owners spend their time on our messageboards? They couldn't give a stuff. As for Covid maybe it has caused them difficulties. Maybe it hasn't. We don't actually know. People can put share price graphs up but I thought the club was funded personally by the owners, not by the company. One thing I do know is that other clubs with bigger crowds and overheads than Rovers will be losing more money and have to find more to keep meeting wages etc.

Pleaaaaaase can everyone stop talking about Raya. He must have taken up a good 50 pages of this transfer thread. Just go on his own specific thread. Mods could you not start chucking Raya chat in there to help?

Let's just be clear, Stock market price has no direct correlation to free cash flow a company has to offer a club. A higher stock price is driven by external belief of the company to continue to generate profits over time (ultimately to pay dividends). However that only benefits Venkys if they have a need to raise cashflow from a stock float. An annology to this I may own a house that is increasing in value over time but day to day I'm broke with nothing to spend. Sure I could sell the house or remortgage but it's a big decision that is strategic and takes time to exicute When you float shares it's usually for a big investment decision that your current share holders can get behind. Not to pay Mark Venus European nights out.

it does`nt take a spreadsheet or bar graph to tell me that brereton is underachieving?

I love the stats and the details that go into them. It reminds me of that film Moneyball! Anyway, you know what I love even more? Goals and assists from our attackers....

Armstrong has been involved in most goals in 2020 in the top tier of English football. Rovers and Mowbray must get Armstrong on a long term deal.

My knowledge is from eight years ago but one of the staff in the Pune compound had the job of reading supporters' comments on all the various threads and preparing a daily report that was available if asked for. I think that pre-dated Shebby who among other jobs was expected to get closer to the fans and influence perceptions positively.

Even more odd is that John Buckley doesn't even have his own thread and I suspect will end up as the best of the three of them.

Evans, Johnson and Holtby are prone to being injured. Travis is out for a while. We need Buckley, Davenport and Rothwell. There's always Mr reliable Bennett as back up also. Buckley is developing into a superb player and should continue in our first team doing it.

What are you trying to argue here that the owners don't give a crap about us?I think that obvious to most. They don't care, we are just one of a number of businesses that they have. At the same time I can't understand why you expected us to go on a spending spree this summer?The reality is the club has hardly any income so it isn't a case of our incomings being covered by the outgoings. We have hardly any income coming into the club, other clubs in this division who have done any significant business have sold players to fund it. You bang on about promotion being the only thing that matters yet you are dead against the loan market? Seemingly wanting us to buy permanent squad fillers to replace Smallwood,Hart, Samuel etc instead of using what little money we have to improve the first 11. You don't take into account our youth and their development as your posts read like you are nearly crying when it turns out we were never interested in players like Naby Sarr who got relegated last season. On one hand you moan about Mowbray and the club's terrible recruitment but on the other readily accept Venkys are putting in the minimum and the manager's hands are tied by having to get the deals signed off in India. They have spent money, we are in debt, have already had a transfer ban for overspending.Just think it's totally unrealistic to expect us to be splashing the cash in the middle of a Global pandemic where a lot of people's jobs are at risk.Id rather the cleaners,Stewards,tea lady etc etc etc kept their jobs rather than us spending a bit of money on journeymen to pad out the squad. IL add the manager has been backed last 3 years there can be no arguments with that.Even you can't argue with that.One sale for 3 million in 3 years.In that time he has brought a lot of players to the club and a lot of players got new contracts,he has been backed.You can't argue with that the evidence is there for all to see

The Bob Willis trophy final is being streamed live https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/54247914 I will catch the afternoon session on YouTube

Love all these old clips showing up. Chris Sulley & Scott Sellars down that left flank attacking the Blackburn End is one of my earliest memorys of Ewood whilst sitting in the old nuttall street stand.

As far as I am aware Bolton don't have a refund option. When they started selling them they were clear that they couldn't guarantee entry and would give fans I Follow access instead. They might offer some refunds given the developments this week but doubt they will be obliged to do so. Anyone who 'shelled out cash all summer" will have done so knowing the uncertainty. They still shifted 7000 or more. Few problems with Waggott's failed policy. 1) By leaving it until mid September to start sales we have lost months of selling time. Why leave it until now? Waggott claimed that the reason he didn't put them on sale earlier was that he didn't know what he was selling. OK. So why did he then start selling last Tuesday all of a sudden? What changed in the few days before Tuesday to suddenly make him decide to put them on sale. I'm not aware of any announcements that changed things at our end. 2) Even if these clubs, like Bolton, Stanley and Burnley, better run clubs than Rovers, were all wrong and we were right, and they now have to hand money back (unlikely) then they will still have healthy numbers of fans tied in, on memberships or otherwise until 2021. They can work back from a position of strength having already got the money in their accounts. They can smooth talk or do deals with their fans to wait until next year or accept any refund as deferred. We can't do anything like that because our numbers are so low and our sales have barely started after 6 months of inertia. Thats before we get to the ludicrous pricing. We've at least 6 or 7 thousand who haven't renewed or handed any money over. By the time this pandemic is over who knows whether they'll come back. Id rather keep them tied in somehow than let them drift off.

I'd imagine most of those fans who bought season tickets at other clubs, did so knowing full well that there was a possibility of most of the games being behind closed doors.

It must be my dislike of reading unfair criticism of professional footballers that has prompted me to respond to this post. Christian Walton played every match last season for us which is a testimony to his fitness, his attitude and to the fact he had the full backing of management and coaching staff. He also was on loan at Wigan and he couldn’t have done too badly as they retained him for a second season. I think Paul Cook was a pretty demanding manager. Walton has also achieved international recognition playing for England at junior levels. Where has he gone on leaving us? To Brighton in the Premiership whose manager Graham Potter will be assessing his progress after his awful injury in his first game with them. I wish him well.

Dickov terrorised more centre backs than those two ever will and he wasn't much bigger than Jimmy Clitheroe. It's what's beating under the badge that matters more than just size. No point playing a direct game with what we have at the moment, the ball would come straight back at us.

So by a combination of not putting memberships on sale early enough and when they were finally put on sale raising prices by up to 25% at a point in time when it was obvious that it would not be possible to attend in person for large parts of the season, Waggott has single handedly managed to decimate the season ticket base from around 8'500 to c1200. Hats off to the bloke, genius, that takes some doing even in the current climate.

Now this will be the last time I join in the Raya conversation as nobody will chance their stance - rightly, or wrongly (Wrongly - in the case of those who defend selling him for £3m) but... Raya wasn't perfect (for us and Brentford - see Playoff Final). But I guarantee you that if we would have played last season with Raya in net for 46 games - and not Walton - we would have had at least the 7 extra points needed for the playoffs... and then potentially a place in the Premier League. Heck, Walton probably cost us 7 points - on his own - after lockdown. I'm prepared for a ton of negativity to this statement but here goes "Selling Raya (to replace him with Walton) cost us a genuine chance at £200m." Fact. Not buying a LB and keeping Bell as a starter may do the same this year...

And that's thanks to TM, like him or not.

If true, I have a few suspicions.

You doubt they know anything about our situation but admit that you don’t know anything about theirs and assume everything is fine.. Isn’t that exactly what you’re accusing them of with the UK restrictions? Slightly hypocritical I’d suggest.

No one is really saying different, just that it's early days, and he's not played against the likes of Morsy yet. The sort who would kick their Gran for fun. He's exciting and long may it last.

I haven’t posted on here for a while but I feel quite strongly about what’s happened today. This seemed the best topic to post on. Clubs and venues in all sports have been royally screwed over by the govt today. They’ve worked with the govt thus far banking on things being relaxed after 1st October and now Boris has pretty much said no crowds for 6 months. Clubs and venues now need to get canny about this and utilise the restaurant loophole. I attended a greyhound racing meeting last Friday in hospitality and it was absolutely superb. They are opening it as a restaurant, it’s Covid compliant as per the standard restaurant guidelines and it just so happens there’s live sport outside the window! There isn’t a thing the govt can do about it as it’s a restaurant with waiter service. It also happened in Australia in Rugby League when general crowds were not permitted to attend a few months ago. The NRL teams opened up their hospitality and the Australian govt conceded it fell under the definition of restaurant. Ewood has more indoor window table seating than most grounds. There’s space to accommodate several hundred at window tables in a Covid secure environment. I think they would sell out every week. I couldn’t afford it every game but I’d do it several times. I suspect many season ticket holders would have the same attitude as a means to watching a live game. It would also bring in some much needed income. Hopefully it’s something Rovers and sport in general will consider after today’s bombshell.