To any journo worth their salt (which is the whole problem), that is a story in itself.

Ormskirk is nearly the halfway point between Brockhall and Wrexham…

I hope you’ve sent yours 😉

I’ve said before from my time in the Trust, in addition to those who made public offers (The two Ian’s, and the Qataris), there are at least 4 potential owners (I believe all are consortia) who had maintained an interest from when they first privately engaged Venkys up to at least the point I left the Trust a couple of years ago. That means they were still interested during our L1 season. Nobody should underestimate the appeal to new potential owners of the ‘kudos’ of ‘taking a founding member of the FL and PL back to the top’. It holds real appeal for those people that can afford to play Football Manager in real life. But it continues to beg the questions: Why does that not appeal to Venkys? Why do they not sell or seek external investment? What is in it for them to cling to our carcass?

Now that I’ve paid attention to the source of the figures, could Rachel Dugdale have based her figure on the fact Venkys London Limited costs (year to 31/3/24) were £43 million?

Fair point actually. Although that does just remind me what a shitshow Venkys have reduced us to 😕

You think £6.4m isn’t realistic? If we include events since those accounts were finalised, including the sacking of two managers and a DOF, as well as multiple backroom staff, and around £1.8-2m in agent fees alone, then I think we could hit that additional figure reasonably quickly.

We do accept it, but you keep using it as some sort of brag. Prioritising Rovers games over literally everything isn’t the flex you think it is.

Girls who rejected City, Everton, and Chelsea pathways for Rovers (including two who did so purely for their love of Rovers) have been badly let down. I don’t like what our club has become at all.

My ideas for the 150th were conceived 6 years ago and presented to the club: 1. Ask the council to twin Blackburn with Bilbao (we influenced the club, and the human geography between the areas is very similar, historical links, working class, trade etc). 2. Arrange mini tournament between ourselves, Southampton, Bilbao and Atl. Madrid. ‘The Fred Pentland Trophy’. 3. Flat rate £150 season tickets across all ages for home areas of the ground.

It is quite literally not remotely what GB was doing.

Between this (Andy and Pete) and BRAG (Glen et al), that’s a lot of clout with the FSA and EFL.

You bastards, I thought he’d died for a minute!

Link?

Should happen more often if clubs feel it is warranted. John O’Hare tells of when he was banned from Anfield as a scout for Leicester City. It was because of the clear and obvious penalty he got for Forest when piledrived by Phil Thompson in the European Cup (he dived, obviously). He got to the ground and was told at reception ‘Fuck off, we don’t like you here’.

Of course I would always rather see Wharton playing at as high a level as possible, including the men’s side BUT Devil’s Advocate: Might he benefit from playing every game of U21 international tournament football (similar to the old Toulon tournament) rather than two friendlies?

An absolutely superb series. A real love letter to the 80s imo.

A return to the ‘benevolent dictatorship’ model favoured by GlennP and SteB?!

Nah fuck him, absolute tosser. I’m joking obviously, great representative. Passionate, fair, dogged, and thorough.

It continues to amaze me how so few fans actually care about the club or Jack’s legacy when it doesn’t suit them to do so. Jack’s ’Think Big’ included establishing Rovers Ladies in 1991. Some of our fans deserve Venkys. Just a shame it gets inflicted on those of us that DO care.

What Rachel has posted: Time to Speak out… Last year, I was advised to protect myself and not speak out when Reading WFC’s owners made the decision to self-relegate us. I followed that advice. But after the confirmation that Blackburn is taking the same path, after careful thought I believe it’s time to speak out. Not enough attention has been paid to how we can stop this from happening again. I want to protect the women’s game more than I want to protect myself. I hope this message is received as I intend—not as an emotional response to one club, but as a call for football to do better and protect our game. Did Reading receive enough criticism last year? Did their actions make it acceptable for clubs like Blackburn to simply U-turn on their women’s teams and submit £0 budgets? Could they be encouraged or required to sell the women’s side to new investors rather than self-relegate? Reading Women had multiple offers to be bought out, but the owner, Dai Yongge, simply didn’t and the only reason that makes sense to me is that couldn’t be bothered. There are legitimate investors out there who see the long-term potential in women’s sport. Outdated mentalities are holding us back. If you don’t care, step aside—gracefully and in time—and let someone else invest the money, time, and passion. You can miss out on the rewards. There’s been a severe lack of communication and care for the impact on players and staff, who have worked tirelessly to keep the club in the league—despite being given by far the smallest budget. Does the "fit and proper owners" test have a category for the women’s team? When Owners pass this test to take on the men’s team is there any requirement for their intention to invest in the women’s team because we are always the first thing to be sacrificed? In the club statement, the fans were blamed for low attendance. But fans are frustrated with the owners—they aren’t attending the men’s games either. There’s been a complete lack of investment in marketing and advertising for the women’s games. You can’t expect fans to turn up without a proper strategy. Emma Clark, Head of Commercial, worked tirelessly to bring in new sponsors, but her creativity and ambition were constantly restrained. Last year, the women’s team budget was £100,000. We were told the men’s budget was £45 million. In our league, the next lowest women’s budget was more than double ours. And yet, through resilience, determination, and unity, the staff and players kept this club in the league—even when the bookies had us down as certain to be relegated. To put things into perspective: the highest-earning player in the men’s squad, earns £20,000 a week. We don’t earn that in a year. Blackburn’s academy has produced countless internationals—Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway—and that's just to name a few. But the next Keira Walsh now has no pathway to professional football at Blackburn. Talented girls will have to leave just to have a shot at progressing. That may mean traveling over an hour to places like Manchester, often during GCSEs or A-levels.There is a positive: the FA and women’s professional leagues are introducing minimum standards for 2025/26, including a minimum salary. For someone my age, that would be £27,000. This year, I was only paid £15,000—less than minimum wage. But because our training day was condensed, and we had to leave the ground right after lunch, the hours just about kept it classed as “part-time” despite full-time demands. These new rules will force owners to run women's teams properly—or step aside for clubs who will. Another improvement: this year, the deadline for these decisions was brought forward. We’re finding out in May, not July like at Reading. That gives players and staff more time to find new clubs and allows the league time to replace us so there are 12 teams next season. Last year’s late decision left the league with an odd number. Despite it all, the Championship is growing every year. Newcastle vs Sunderland had a record attendance of 38,502. Clubs like London City and Birmingham have budgets over a million already. One final issue: WSL2 players still don’t have access to the PFA. Only players who have played in WSL1 are eligible. I’m fortunate—I played for Doncaster Belles in WSL (another team that folded while I was there), that gave me access. The PFA have been excellent in helping me get out of my contract at Reading, they supported me during my ACL rehab at Charlton and continue to support me during this situation at Blackburn. However, the vast majority of my teammates don’t have any support. This includes the likes of Niamh Murphy who is just 2 months post ACL op! In the men’s game, the PFA supports the top four tiers. I’ve been told WSL2 players aren’t eligible until the league is 100% professional. With these new minimum standards coming in, surely that time is now. Can we have clarity from the FA or PFA—will WSL2 players have access from next season? The women’s game is still fragile. We need owners and investors who see the long-term gain and are willing to risk their time and money on something truly special. You can’t under-invest, neglect the team, and then expect to profit when the sport becomes more lucrative. Either invest—or let someone else do it properly. Please share this to raise awareness and encourage those in power to step up and protect the future of women’s football.

Exactly this. Has the same feeling for me as Elliott Bennett, who at least has the bonus trivia of being the only Rovers player to have 4 lots of double-letters in his name.

I’ve said to you before, that argument means Jason Lowe should never have played below Championship level. He made his debut in the PL and was picked regularly by 7 different managers.

Completely agreed. But I wouldn’t think it weird to watch Madrid games and hope he wins or for younger fans to buy Bellingham Madrid shirts.

I still don’t get it. Part of loving football is idolising players. I have R9, Ronaldinho, Zidane, and Buffon shirts from when I was a lad. I also have Duff and Friedel international shirts. Don’t see anything odd about it. I sort of get why the Palace Wharton shirt might be odd, but when it’s one of our own, I can easily accept a 12yo idolising them wherever they go in addition to his love of Rovers.