Just complete bull covering the fact he was getting fit for his move here whilst we were struggling for defenders. Must be 4 or 5 now under Mowbray who've been able to sort themselves out whilst still being paid by Rovers.

Are they really still that numb in India to think he, his tactics, selections and signings haven't made a contribution to this dire season along with everything else ? What is this 'understanding' that they have ? And do they really swallow that selling half the training base and scaling down to the Brentford model is going to deliver top 6 ???? Or are they just not that bothered ?

With the amount of bods we might lose i'm almost certain he'll try and keeps his pals first and foremost.

I know it doesn't make fook all difference on a match day. Is there a whole dept allocated to study Boro players ? Amazing how their stats must be better than many others. What were Ayala's stats for the previous 12 months i wonder.

Manager wants a certain type to fit into his system, scouts get the nod and go scouting. Scouts who know how the managers team plays. Now it seems they look at a spread sheet, A runs more than B but B comes on strong late on. C hasn't the stamina of either but his pass completion is better than both. Ok we'll try for C first then ! Might explain a lot of signing that seem scattergun and the unbalanced teams. Put your faith in the stats then if it doesn't work it isn't your fault. No wonder games and teams are largely full of robots these days. Fitter athletes than in the past mostly, better basic skills mostly but flair and character ? Its all but gone. Don't get me wrong some of it is needed and is good but as with everything tech related, it takes over. There'll be no need for managers soon it'll just be stat sheet v stat sheet teams faxed down from the stats dept. Cut out the middlemen.

Just looking at the midfielders who's contracts and loans are up is eye watering. What's the betting this manager tries to keep Bennett, Evans and Downing then lets the rest go ? I fear next season will be a real struggle or another mid table plod at best, unless there is some proper ambition or nous from somewhere.

The lip service Kean played about the Champions League is just the same as Waggot and Mowbray are trotting out about the Brentford model. Cannot for the life of me fathom why some still don't see through this shite. Contract extensions are the aim in between all that, just safeguarding their own journey. Only journey this team is on is a circular one.

Yet so many wealthy people and corporate structures are happy to do so as long as they can afford it. So there has to be some kind of advantages in it alongside the ego trips etc. Although there are still a few Simon Jordans who eventually find they can't.

The expert in his wisdom knows he or whoever has made giant boo boo's investing so much in those two. Play one or the other up top every week and don't see any results then his game is up. The cat is well and truly out the bag. Play them bit by bit, here there and everywhere and he drags it out and to the owners he's 'bringing them along' and integrating them into the Rovers way. You know the same excuse he applies to everyone. If in doubt, drag it out. Is his motto.

They obviously didn't listen to the accountants for a long time but when it came around to suddenly getting 2 sets of auditors in something had changed. And don't forget at one point there was a fire sale of around 30 million quids worth of players. At a time we made no cash buys for several years and they were dripping in a million or two not 10 or 20. All that may have been to avoid FFP sanctions although we walked into embargo anyway. Chances are it was to stop the club going bust though. Also it isn't set up to lose money to make money that's a bit of a nonsense suggestion. I'm just saying it is on the company books as an oversees 200 million quid costing 'asset. And note the word theoretically, money could move either way IF it was ever needed or made sense. Same with any other subsidy they own within the corporation. Although non of them will sell one item for 10 million or more in one go very often. Plus there's the far fetched notion of the Premier league somewhere in there and all its riches. That could reset the balance on paper if not actually in the pocket. So to me it's all about where it sits in the company books as to why it's allowed to continue. And that alone allows the kids to play with it i wouldn't be so sure Barry ignores it. More like he just doesn't take it as serious as he should and won't change his deluded notions. But yes even they have to listen to the accountants and bankers every now and then. And i think we may be approaching that point in the cycle again....

Why not splurge spare money you can afford on a 'real life' game of football manager though ? They won't be the only rich people to do this the game is littered with them. They just don't normally stick it out this long once the novelty has worn off. If it sits there in the companies portfolio though swallowing up 10/20 million of profits per year that surely helps against the tax bill. Propping up a cash hungry arm of the conglomerate that sits in the books as a 200 million dollar oversees asset. That theoretically if you really needed to could send money back the other way it it ever made sense to do so. Daft, distracted, busy and odd as they may be there team of accountants and financial whizz kids aren't.

I confidently forecast Gallagher was a decent signing and would get 10 in his first season back. I've recoiled in horror at most of what i've seen since then. 75% of that is down to the clowns in the dugout imo.

Yep they could pay for it all on a separate tab if it was so vitally important right at this moment. They won't even do that for the pitch though, this is obviously something that's been completely cooked up by the ex Coventry lot. I hope the residents burn effigies of Waggot and Mowbray the pair of chancers.

Don't posts on the LT comments section have to be approved before they appear ? Probably says a lot if so.

Yeah it wasn't the FMC game i know that for sure i was on Riverside that night but BBE the night in question.

Thought it was Ipswich but wasn't sure which keeper, did we loan Marriot after that then ? You weren't the one clattering Vince for Ipswich were you ? 😅

Maybe that's why he's so keen to give them credit then.

I hope the recruitment dept are in sole charge of this summer signings. No more ex Boro or overpriced duds please.

That's exactly what'll happen this is no different to them selling a player and assuming the fee will be used for re-investing. It never ever happens here as once the money comes in it's swallowed up. That would then mean the owners having to tip up for the whole lot or player sales to cover it. Whether it's by hook or crook this will end up a fook up it's almost guaranteed.

Pretty amazing he just happened to chose one from the same agency that delivered the previous 3 !

I've never really bought into the face saving thing certainly not after the first few years when it might have held a bit of sway. As daft as the snowball = taps off, coyle and relegation on purpose theory. They are embarrassing themselves more by throwing money down the drain every year. Now maybe it could be an ego thing, look at us we own this club and don't mind pouring tens of millions into other pockets, just because we can. That might make a bit more sense in their world and adds to the play thing theory. But just sheer face saving costing 150 million, nah i'm not having that at all. Arse covering and skeletons in closets now that's a different reason entirely.

The positives - Well it'll be easier to clean and maintain all under one roof and might save a few quid annually. The manager and whoever is in charge can see everything that's going on under hi nose. Less pitches to mow and maintain and maybe some kind of tax saving due to smaller plot. And...... er........ oh yeah somewhere down the line it might work like the Brentford model. The Negatives - It's a proven working model as it is so any change will alter that, it isn't broke it doesn't need fixing. Just maybe upgrading and that'll cost a few quid. This project nobody knows how much it'll cost so it will likely end up costing more than it'll bring in. Nobody connected with it has done anything like this before so it's a shot in the dark. These pushing it have an average track record at best, very poor at worst. These owners track record is even worse. The academy is just about the only thing they've got right in ten years. The mess the changes and work and timeline it'll take will probably cause chaos and effect the teams and residents negatively. Results and poor league position will be blamed on all this. People in the middle of it all will be filling their pockets it's extremely naive to think otherwise. It won't end up working like the Brentford model as it's a downscale, they've started from scratch and built up. A totally different dynamic under different ownership and agendas. The people driving this and who'll be running it aren't capable. They can't even make the best use of what they have now. It won't deliver the top 6 or promotion on its own. In terms of turning out players to select for the first team squad it is already out doing the Brentford model. They'd probably have aspired to us if they had the facilities and space already. Try buying a sight like that around London ! And last but by no means least it really is not a priority it's just being pushed by people trying to keep themselves relevant and make a bonus. The pitch, the stadium and the first team are the absolute asafp priorities right now. Oh and the closing thought, it would probably mean another 5 years on the Coventry 3 !!!!

Yeah inept and they aren't that bothered about it because it just sits handily in the portfolio. There's no proof of washing but there can be no other sane reason why they are happy to 'lose' all that money yearly other than it's a handy accounting tool. If they couldn't afford it and it didn't serve a purpose it just wouldn't happen it's as simple as that. No way are they dim enough to put their own conglomerate or personal wealth at risk for a British football club. Who knows who's actually on the payroll over here anyway, nobody but them and their accountants know where every penny goes.

Well it was a few years ago that i spoke to this lad on social media as at the time he was engaging with a few people. He was only young obviously but his attitude reflected what we all suspect and see anyway. Basically he could see no wrong in what was going on - this was in the crazy days - but acknowledged things needed to settle down. He then just said people needn't worry because his family had the wealth to see it through. Probably another 50 million gone down the pan since then so he wasn't wrong. Sadly though the too much wealth seems part of the problem. It's created a midtable monster than has the appetite of a top club but the direction of a hamster wheel. Round and round we go and i wouldn't hold much hope of this lad making any difference. It's still just a handy loss making toy to play with and fire surplus money through.

Been wrecking my brain all night to remember who the opposition was. I distinctly remember my young self watching him in goal once, don't think i dreamt it but you never know. I'll take a punt and say it was Ipswich at home when either Gennoe or O'keefe got stretchered off. Garner took over and we won 1-0 i think Hendry scored just after the keeper incident. I recall the BBE roaring every time Garner touched it, a wall of noise helping him keep the ball out. He was probably the smallest on the team as well ! Imagine a time with no reserve keepers, what were they thinking back then 😂