Yeah, youd think given definite game time, and our relationship with Liverpool we should be in the driving seat?

I don't think it does really. Attendances have dwindled but Venkys have not been fussed. Their issue is they are not engaged, and reduced attendances don't catch their attention until there is a financial review, and then all it will lead to is reduction of the budget. Whatever is done needs to be something they will hear about and have to pay attention to.

Good point... !

Fun fact - until the industrial revolution Norwich was the second biggest city in England outside London as the economy revolved around the wool textile trade with Europe. Then the population growth moved west to staff the factories that exported out to the empire.... Blackburn is in a very unusual position that there are just so many clubs nearby. Only other part of the country with so many professional clubs so close to one another is London and obviously there is a lot higher population density and it is a lot richer. I think there are 12 pro clubs within 30 miles of Ewood - Rovers, Burnley, Liverpool, Everton, man Utd, man City, accrington, Preston, WIgan, Bolton, Blackpool, Fleetwood Way more density of clubs that Leeds (3 pro clubs within 30 miles) Sheffield (5 clubs), Birmingham (5 clubs), Newcastle (2 clubs), Bristol (2 clubs). There was a period of time around 2010 where I think 5 Lancashire town clubs were in the premier division at the same time (Rovers, Burnley, Blackpool, Wigan and Bolton). Then of course you had both Liverpool and both Manchester clubs. So pretty much half the division was Lancashire. Map that shows this density pretty well : https://www.myfootygrounds.co.uk/AreaMap.asp?view=ENGLAND

Undav who we just missed out on in the summer because of Brightons injuries has scored 12 goals in 16 matches for Stuttgart on loan in the Bundesliga.... 😳😳

Seems mad that Ipswich want to pay £2M for a player whose been injured so much and close to end of contract . But gives us options. I guess question is who we bring in. If Gally goes we need two established proven strikers. Yates and McGuire would maybe do it? Yates obviously solid record at this level and McGuire had about a 1 in 2 in the MLS and recently got capped by US so id be intrigued by that. MLS is a decent standard these days.

Really surprised Gilesenan isn't getting a crack tomorrow... Thought it would be ideal for him. Based on the players available i think we're looking at Pears Jrc. Hyam. Wharton. Chrisene Tronstad. Wharton Dolan. Szmodics. Sigurdsson Gallagher Should be enough to win surely? Carter and Pickering are big losses but I think having Pears, JRC, Dolan and Gallagher back outweighs them considerably. Hopeful that Chrisene shows a bit more on the ball than he did at WBA.

Yeah, i see Szmodics as an ideal half of a classic little man big man combo. Dont know much about Yates but hes 5ft 9 so would he be a bit too similar to Szmodics?

I hate reality TV generally but have to say the traitors has absolutely perfected the art form.

Top six clubs maybe, but Palace certainly need something given their current predicament!

He plays a lot of quality forward balls but he also has given the ball away quite frequently in the centre of the pitch that kick off very dangerous opponent counter attacks. His on the ball quality is obvious but I wouldnt say overall he is playing that well atm (as the rest of the team isnt either). Id actually argue that he hasn't yet really had a run where he has been consistently our best performer for a decent run of games - unlike say Szmodics or Tronstad. To be honest he seems a bit of a strange signing for Palace given their defensive woes... Not exactly what you would say they need right now, but maybe its more for the long term? Edit - had a look at palace's results this season and actually the spanking by Arsenal last weekend was a one off. Generally they've been pretty tight. THeir issue is they have only scored 22 goals all season. So maybe Wharton is being bought with a view to create more goal scoring opportunities immediately?

Surely will get a crack in the cup?

Very well thought out post. We will definitely sell though in my view... once a premier league club comes in for a Championship player with no hopes of promotion the clock is ticking. We won't be able to hold onto him for more than six months, absolutely no chance. So it's all about playing our cards right for the maximum fee. I guess the question really boils down to sell now or sell in summer. In my view if someone hits £20M then we need to strike while the iron is hot. We have seen with Brereton that the valuations can drop off significantly. It's quite plausible that Wharton's relatively poor form at the moment for will continue to the summer. Personally now Crystal Palace have made such a big offer I will be absolutely amazed if he's still with us on 1st Feb, much as it pains me to say it.

Yeah - if I was him going to somewhere where he knows he will play is better than a bigger club where hes lucky to make the bench and finds himself back on loan in the Championship in a couple of seasons.

Sure 50% is the absolute minimum?? 20% wouldn't be a model, it would be self sabotage!

If Palace really have pushed the button on £18.5M he is as good as gone by start of next season. There's not a player in the last 30 years whose turned down a move up a division.

Yeah tbh why i dont really buy that they are a malevolent exploitative force. They just dont really act like one. Though are they incompetent and disengaged - absolutely. And its fair to say incompetence has brought down far more companies and institutions than fraud or malice. So its not much of a comfort.

Given the way they operate on players I can easily imagine if they do decide to sell it could be a very long process as they will look for an unrealistically high value.

We explicitly said he was our number 1 target too. Leo obviously wasnt signed to sit on the bench. I think generally the recruitment has been pretty good in defence and midfield, but up front and in goal it's been disastrous and those are the two most important positions. Still I wouldn't write Leo off long term. The way its been at Rovers with keepers is we'll all slag him off on here and then he'll be playing in the prem getting highlight reels on his stella performances on MOTD in a couple of seasons.

Thanks for this! I wonder why we have higher "other operating expenses"?

That's absolutely brutal. I've got it down as more like 4 to 7 league games looking at the fixtures.

Personally I think I'd stick with three at the back and play Garrett at left wing back. don't think Brittain at left back works. Pears Hyam S Wharton Chisene JRC Tronstad A Wharton Garrett Szmodics Gallagher Sigurdsson That said given JDT's comments about overloads etc I wouldnt be that surprised to see JRC play RCB and Brittain at RWB?

I would definitely be interested in seeing a side by side comparison of PNEs vs Rovers accounts over last 5 years. Similar size fanbase, similar yo yoing around mid table. Would be fascinating to see how they have managed the cost vs revenue gap compared to us? -Did they pay players less -Did they get more revenue -Did they have other vehicles to manage the losses -etc Is that something @canadaroveror @wilsdenrover could do? Huddersfield might be another similar club worth comparing to? Basically we all want to get rid if Venkys so understanding how it could work is very important.

Im a bit more on the fence with JDT now. I was a big fan, but if you step back essentially we are great if we score first but if we concede first we more likely than not get battered. It's been like that since he arrived. Id be interested to know how it was at Malmo. When things are going well hes great, but the Championship is a brutal league and your team needs to be able to fight when under the cosh. 18 months in I would have expected to have a few games i could point to where he really dug us out with a team talk, subs, firing up players, smart changes of tactics. But he just doesnt seem to have that about him. If we go behind its game over. If we just scrape through avoiding relegation at the end of the season I would still change him as I would be terrified wed start poorly next year and then be fooked. Only way Id want to keep him is if he really showed some capability to turn our form around significantly in the next month. Ive definitely gone from a big fan to very worried that hes a fair weather manager with little to offer when the chips are down.

I think the worse we play the more likely he'll still be here next season. He isnt going to leave without an offer, and no one is making him an offer until we start looking decent again for a good run.