That game was an utter disgrace, one which many will never forget. JDT totally downplayed it, VK didn't. I had to look at the team the other to remind myself and time away hasn't made it any better. Morton. Ayala. Mola. Throw in an ineffective Diaz, a powderpuff Hyam and it was a recipe for disaster (I'll never forgive Diaz for some of those phoned-in performances that season).

Listen you Dingles, the daughter of the chairman has told all you to be kind. That starts on Saturday with an easy 3 points to us, thanks in advance. Love thy neighbours and all that.

It isn't a stretch of the imagination to say that Rovers will have at least 4-5 hours between the window shutting 11pm tomorrow night and the build up to the game to work out who the hell is starting for you and prepare accordingly. But yes I get what you mean. Of course, I hope we just turn up, keep it tight and defend well regardless of who you have left. It looked like you might lose Koleosho and Foster at one point, but I imagine they will start now, unless there's late bids. We are a known quantity, big lad and a little lad up front, semi-broken Welsh lad on wing, Icelandic lad who may nor may not turn up. Petulant lad in middle who is ineffective on a booking. Dodgy keeper and powder puff centre half. No pace. Easy peasy. To have a chance we need 8 or 9/10 performances across the board and some sort of game plan to stop you. Eustace did it last season against bigger teams. Whoever is left after the window is shut will want to kick on presumably, unless there in a massive sulk, and the derby game is as good as any.

Sensible signing, not going to set the world alight but adds experience and cover. Cannot expect Trav and Sonny to last a whole season. Just need bodies in there.

Eustace always downplays this stuff. I think he just wants to get on with his job, but as fans though we're so starved of any decent communication that we hang on every word, just want someone from the club to actually tell us what the hell is going on.

I can't relax knowing we've got the ability to concede 2 goals in the game. We have a special ability to gift goals out of nowhere, and we seem to switch off really easily. We need a few 6/10s to become 8, 9/10s fast. We're going to have see a monumental improvement of our backline to get a result. What concerns me is the wildcard nature of their team, I feel Eustace could have prepared against a settled "known quantity" Burnley side, we might have possibly pulled a Leeds or Leicester result out of the hat by riding our luck, but who knows what side they'll put out. Any new signings will want to impress, enthusiastically encouraged by a boisterous home crowd. However, those backs-against-the-wall performances last season weirdly seem a million miles away and we seemed to have lost discipline at the back. If the game is open we may end up committing men forward and leaving our slow defence exposed, but conversely I hope that makes for a total free-for-all and a wide open game, as I don't think our nerves can hack a cat and mouse affair. All I know is we've got to give Gueye something to work with in the air, keep their centre halves busy and pushed back, and we may have a foothold in the game. I hope that our lads who experienced the last game at Ewood are really hurting and are wanting to prove a point, and also, are they even those kinds of players? Do they hurt? Do they care about it? Only time will tell. It will be really interesting to see how we react, we'll know a lot more about them. I also weirdly hope that on the flip side, that the new players like Ohashi don't give a flying fuck about the crowd, the occasion and the pressure, and just play with all the vigour and verve they've shown so far. It's the hope that kills you. COYB. Do us proud.

Gueye is bonkers, one minute clearly frustrated at the lack of service then next high-fiving with a beaming smile after Wiemann put it narrowly wide. Love it, but please Buckley, try and bend one through to him...

I think playing the new boys early on is tough, the worst time to play them - their tails are up, they have nothing to lose and they haven't been mired by the slog through January that drags all the teams with thin squads down. I was dreading these two fixtures if I'm honest, actually felt sick with nerves on Saturday knowing what a defeat meant in the build up to the derby.

He's probably one of our most mysterious players of recent times. I get the feeling, and this is pure conjecture, that JE has said to Arnor that he has to play a certain way and reach a certain standard and he'll have a part to play. I don't think tracking back and being positionally perfect is in his locker, but he makes up for it with natural talent on the ball. I get the impression he has a great attitude though, he's suffered with injury and also perhaps has had to adapt his body, many times he seems to be playing "within himself". I think it's taken time for him to also adaprt to the rough and tumble of the league. But not once has he seemed to have ever moaned or downed tools. We take him for granted, but if you're an Oxford fan on Saturday you're putting the defeat down to the fact that Rovers can bring an Icelandic international off the bench.

We're one deep winter injury crisis from disaster - and we don't have any pace. The only difference with the bench is with options, not necessarily cover. We're also relying on Pickering and Brittain heavily, with only Duru as a like for like backup, and then needing to use JRC and Wiemann to cover all sorts of eventualities. We're just about scraping by, JE knows it.

First time seeing him play on Saturday. His enthusiasm and smile are infectious, can't help thinking that his very presence within the squad is worth it alone, regardless of first touch or shooting ability. Loved the way he was on Brittain's case after 2 minutes for a crap cross. Get it on his head, he seems to back himself. He feels like a player who I've seen play against us, making me say "wish we had someone like that". I feel like we've signed very similar players over the last 5 years due to our predicament, similar stage in their careers, similar temperament etc, similar backgrounds even - don't know about anyone else, but it's all about group dynamics - a character or someone from another country like Pape and Yuki can often give the others something to unite around, even take the piss out of when they pronounce words wrong in a friendly way and lighten the mood, take the pressure off. It probably sounds daft, but from my experience in working around Europe etc the best times have come from being around all sorts of people, backgrounds and nationalities, I've wanted to treat them better and impress them, rather than the same boring lot I see every day! Possibly a load of romantic bullshit but I feel it's true, you just need characters, a good dynamic and sometimes the team can manage itself... Time will tell, but so far so good. Just needs that league goal. I'm sure we'll have some dire games and some sublime ones. In a way JE has it easy - just tell him go to Turf Moor and score the winner and you'll basically be regarded as an utter legend by 30 odd thousand plus people for the rest of your life. Up there with the likes of Lee Williamson 🤣

I know it wasn't perfect on Saturday, but it dawned on me how long it had been since experiencing these once "normal" things: Going a goal behind and feeling like we could get back into this Actually standing up and cheering multiple subs on A sub coming on with experience, leaving me reassured "he'll know what to do with it" (Weimann) A winner, for us, in the last 10 minutes of a match, at Ewood Players looking like they might actually enjoy their jobs (Gueye & Yuki) A playing demanding a cross A headed flick on from a free kick or corner Madness. Though I admit our crossing was absolute shite, and good to see Big Mak haranguing Brittain after barely being on 2 minutes. My main concern was Dolan, I'm a fan of his, but having to cut in onto his right when he's got their fullback on toast kept holding up our attacks allowing their well drilled defense to get back - I would love to see him get to the by line and stand it up for Gueye. A lot of credit to Oxford, they got forward well and overan us in midfield, Tronstadt had a great game in terms of workrate, he's a real unsung hero but at times him and Travis were left marooned - it's been the one constant ever since AW left, we seem to get dominated in there.

I'd love it if someone had the balls to say this: that one of the main factors for Sammie having the season he had, is the fact that Rovers are a basket case off the field and wouldn't back the manager (JDT) with a striker, so HAD to turn Sammie into our main attacking threat. Not taking anything away from him, he's totally risen to the challenge, but if he'd been kept as a 10 behind two strikers he may have gone under the radar. He's been playing with Gallagher who's currently at £100,000 per goal...

JDT never had a plan B, that was the biggest issue - see Reading, Dingles, Sheff Utd last season away - I never felt like we prepared for the opposition. The No Tippy Tappy Podcast with Warnock is interesting in this regard, they talk about their dislike of this now common modern theme of managers having a footballing philosophy and wanting to impart a style of play onto a team regardless of the talent at their disposal, they both comment that you have to work with what you've got - possibly a reason why they've had long careers in lots of different clubs. Many fans, including myself, defended JDT for not being backed and not getting the attacking options he wanted, yet we still tried to go all out attack leaving massive gaps in midfield. JE comes in, has the same attacking options, the same lack of striker, and get's criticised for being too defensive and playing a supposed "boring" brand of football, I personally don't get the double standards myself and although some of the football under JDT was amazing, I'd take JE's brand of pragmatism any day. He's literally had the same team to work with yet some fans don't give him the same slack that they gave JDT, especially when it comes to attacking options. Fans bemoan the games at home we drew - take Coventry, if Sammie puts that sitter away we've won, JE can't control that, neither can he control Hyam's disaster at Bristol and Aynsley's against SW. If I had one main issue with JE is that he's made us too relaxed, perhaps a result of trying to take the pressure off too much, but he's dealing with a squad devoid of any confidence. I think Sheff Wed at home was the perfect example of that BUT at 1-1 before the errors, SW were looking rattled (everyone seems to forget about that) and our more relaxed approach was looking to pay off. Any of JE's decisions/approaches to me can explained with pragmatism and logic, whilst many of JDT's seem stubborn and rash to me. I saw a comment somewhere saying Eustace is "soft" and comparing him to Big Sam - if you listen to the Under the Cosh podcast, any time Big Sam is mentioned, almost every player says how great he was, his famous Dubai trips, giving them days off and time with family etc. If Allardyce does it, it's great management, if JE does it it's lack of backbone. Can't have it both ways. I think this is really harsh. I really believe that if Rohl, Harris or Cifuentes came to Ewood they would struggle too - just due to how disjointed our squad is and the lack of attacking options. We don't have the aggression, nor the bodies in midfield to play like those teams ended the season. I also don't think Eustace has less demanding standards due to where he played, look at someone like Mourinho - I think he walked into the dressing room saw a completely destroyed team with no clear direction, I think he got a sense of something not being right just by the "vibes" in the room, and quickly got something together to try and get some points. People can compare records on paper all day but the slide under JDT before he left was horrendous, no stats can accurately convey exactly what was going on in real life at that point. People say we were lucky and "stole" wins by parking the bus against Leeds and Leicester, but for me that was the only way with the options we had to get some points: soak up the pressure and use Sammie on the break. The jury is still out but I've got confidence him, forget what he says in the press- he's not being media managed and his post-match stuff for Brum wasn't any different, some are good at it some aren't, who cares.

Robbie Savage said on 606 that he's a fan of JE: "a great guy and that we'll do well next season" according to the blonde one.

My worst fear is the owners get involved with the transfer, slap an unrealistic figure on him and refuse offers a la Diaz, thus scuppering a dream move for the lad who's give his all for the club and it all turns sour. We end up with a pissed off Sammie on our hands until January and another disrupted squad.

Really good post that @JHRover Now that we've seen Ipswich and Luton go up, the argument that you need the parachute money to compete is looking somewhat shaky. What a surprise that both clubs have owners and managers who are completely aligned, on and off the field. Can you imagine us signing a player like Kiefer Moore in January last year under JDT, or even the Mowbray season before the decline? Just wouldn't happen. That's a normal footballing decision that normal well run clubs do.

Yeah there's been a few comments from him regarding our obsession with all things 1995... ...but that was funny to be fair to him... Interesting in the Sherwood episode he mentions Ipswich have removed all of their history and achievements from the walls of the ground, go figure... Maybe it is a thing, who knows? As a player maybe you do walk into Ewood and see the images of Jack lifting the Premier League, Shearer etc and think "how do I even compare to this". Sometimes you need to let people make their own history, I suppose it depends on the person - doesn't help when our owners seem to be actively halting any chance of achieving anything.

I really liked Warnock at Rovers, great player. That was a good listen, but odd that he seemed to be so very badly treated at every club, almost as if there's a common denominator...hmmm

yeah it's great innit? For the first, I still can't believe he carried the ball at pace for that long, my heart is still in my mouth over that last touch that just drags a tad, and looks like it's going to go under his foot - it still gets me. But the calmness of the finish is something else, to take it that early. Pure instinct. Some great footage here of the 2nd on Rovers insta, look at that away end...credit to you all, especially to whoever that is caning it down the steps at full speed 🤣 I believe the kids call it "limbs". I know it's been a shit storm of a season, and the club hierachy and owners are what they are - but they can't take away moments like that.

yeah it's pricey stuff I was referring to this interview by the way

I was just thinking of the Norwich game as they're in the playoffs. Yeah that's the point it turned - those two fumbles by Leo, set the tone, our collective arse went. That positive feeling we had when Adam scored after 5 mins feels an age ago. I do remember thinking after the home win against Birmingham that something wasn't right, that performance was an odd one, got away with it. The whole thing of not feeling comfortable, even at 3-0 up.

Dam, I'd forgotten about him, hardly pulled up trees has he? Hanging around with Obafemi hasn't done him any favours it seems.

I still can't get my head around the table after we beat Norwich 3-1 away. Madness. Another managed decline in the second half of a season.

This is our level now with the way our recruitment and finances are. Money buys you players who are consistent, 7 or 8 / 10 performances every game. It's the problem across the board, the lack of depth doesn't help either, as we're asking players to overperform every week, stretching their ability. Need to look at Ipswich, Luton and see how they do it...