These guys gained promotion at clubs with committed, enthusiastic, mainly local owners and probably loads of help from board members who wanted nothing other than their club to succeed. Rovers is not the same. You simply can't run a successful football club at this level with owners who don't know the game or the club. Mowbray and Waggott are doing their best but there needs to be so much more support behind the scenes at Ewood. This is exactly the sort of idea Rovers should be employing but who is going to investigate these opportunities. Mowbray is busy with the football side, Waggott is looking at match day revenue and finances. Over to you Venky's.....

Albert Camus - good goalkeeper as well as a philosopher !

Isn't that their problem ? Why own a football club if you aren't prepared to push for success and put a bit of effort in. Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Brighton, Sheff Utd - why can't we do it if they can? I know FFP exists and needs to be taken into account but other clubs find ways around it. Alternatively use the promotion-or-bust model - Venky's can afford it. They're just not interested.

It will never be forgotten. My worry is we will be in that situation again at some point. Rovers is a business to Venky's - they want to balance the books and have no interest in the football side of things. They've taken the soul out of the club.

Sigh!, How I wish you were talking about Rovers

Is that an Irish calendar you are using ?

I lived in London for a number of years. When Rovers played evening matches - no internet, couldn't get radio Lancs etc, I used to work late so that I could call Clubcall every 10 minutes using the office phone.

Yes that is true. My statement was inaccurate thinking about it. But there did come a point where virtually all fans wanted Kean out and Venky's simply remained silent and watched from afar while the club was relegated. That was the point I was trying to make. I really don't think they take any notice of us at all.

On point 1, I don't know any Rovers fan who didn't want Kean out almost immediately. We were certainly ignored at that time. I doubt they have listened to any concerns raised by fans in the subsequent years. On point 2, I agree that they are paying the bills and trying to keep the business on an even keel - they need to, it's their business after all. However, football is not a normal business - it only exists because of the passion and enthusiasm of the fans. This is where they fail totally. They have no connection or understanding of what Rovers means to the fans or the community. Their absenteeism and lack of any communication shows a lack of any real interest in the club. Remember Rovers is a CLUB of which the fans are the most important element. They want to run it as a faceless corporation. It doesn't matter how much money they have, there is no point running a football club if you don't have the interest. They will eventually get fed up. Mowbary and Waggott have all the responsibility and are trying their best to make a success of things but they only meet the owners once a year ( has Waggott even met them ?). The one Venky representative anywhere near Ewood refuses to engage on any level whatsoever with local press or community. That might be a good model for a some businesses but it will not work for a football club. They can carry on putting 50p in the meter whenever necessary to keep thinks ticking over but for me it feels like we are in limbo until they completely reassess their approach or sell up. Sadly, both options look unlikely. Remember the old chant 'We want our Rovers back'

What did you tell him ? It's a question I regularly ask myself but I don't really have a full answer. For me, there would have to be a dramatic improvement in their communication with the fans. Stop being so aloof and realise we are the lifeblood of the club. I would not expect them to apologise for anything but if they were more open and provided explanations for their previous actions and identified their ambitions going forward then that would be a start. It still feels to me that they consider Rovers as a hobby they spend a bit of time and money on every now and again - as necessary. I know it's a lot of money but they seem to be able to afford it easily enough so it's not a big sacrifice. They say they consider Rovers part of their 'family' yet they haven't paid a visit for many years. Not the way you treat something/somebody you care about. Despite Mowbray and Waggott informing us how dedicated the owners are, I don't see any evidence besides paying the bills. It feels like we are just treading water while Venky's are here. I just don't feel that sense of belonging that is so important.

EFL Website: Clubs are required to meet with a representative group of supporters at least twice a season to discuss significant issues relating to the club. The framework for each club’s specific consultation strategy is to be documented within its customer charter. Anyone know if Rovers have a documented customer charter? If so is it publicly available ?

Preston's scouting and recruitment on a limited budget has been very successful over recent seasons. It's one thing we are sorely lacking and need to sort out as a priority.

Evidence ? Long way to go with that one I think!

A couple of weeks ago I was all geared up to go to this match but then somehow just forgot about it. Only remembered this morning that we were even playing today. I think it's called Venkyitis and it just drains your enthusiasm. Only one cure as far as I know. Anyway, now that I have remembered and we have all our top defenders back I am brimming with confidence. ( Venkyitis also affects your judgement )

Two relegations , a string of disastrous managerial appointments and the creation of a rudderless club suggest none of the above can match Venky's for ineptitude.

If this current run was at the start of the season and we sat bottom of the league on 4 points after 9 matches I don't think anyone would be defending the manger. If we were a normal club with a competent board made up of people who understand football I would say now is the perfect time to change the manager - International break for him to settle in and then 8 games to assess the current playing staff. Then recruit over the summer ready for next season. However, we are not a normal club. VO.

I think we are heading the same way now. This team is worse than the one he inherited despite the money he has spent. 4 points from 27 ( probably 4 from 30 after Villa ) seems to prove that.

I used to play in a football team with Craig MacKay - Don's son. On a couple of occasions, despite being obviously busy at Rovers all week, Don came down to watch from the side lines. He never tried to tell us how to play but It terrified the opposition who thought he had come to scout one of our players. In that same team, incidentally, was Steve Archibald's brother and Neil Arthur of Blancmange fame.

I hope you are right about beating Wednesday. I work in Preston and I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning.

Unconfined joy at Bloomfield Road today by all accounts. Not because of the 2-2 draw with Southend but because the fans' sense of belonging has returned. They have got their club back and can celebrate as one. Who knows what the future holds but they have got something to believe in again. I'm jealous.

So we had a converted midfielder, a right back and a left back as our 3 central defenders. A right midfielder at left back and a centre midfielder at right back. Is anyone surprised they looked lost! Nothing makes any sense at the moment.

Exactly right. Venky's stated early on that one of the main reasons they bought Rovers was to act as an advertising vehicle for their company. Nothing has changed

Tweet doesn't mention it being a trial or anything more than a 3 month visit. Nice top he's got on - anyone know where I can get one ?

I think you are right. There are a number of things to consider regarding Dack: Celebrity lifestyle, loss of form ( and motivation ), tendency to look a little heavy, off field issues - court cases, not doing community service on time etc. He's got baggage. If he's not performing at his best on the pitch then other clubs may decide not to take a risk on him unless he's going for a bargain price.

This is the key issue - the owners. We can rant and rave about the manger ( who isn't good enough) and the team ( who aren't good enough) but until we get owners who understand football and care about the club we are going nowhere. We need a proper board and infrastructure to allow us to function as a real football club with ambitions. The owners are the root of all our problems. I don't rate Mowbray at all but I don't think anyone will succeed at Rovers under Venky's. I think we need to ramp up the protests again. Venky's Out.