Great list albeit I probably wouldn't want Hughes on there as the past few years he has been very hit and miss. But would still prefer him to TM. Had we moved a bit sooner we could have had McCarthy or Grayson both of whom were available. The latter may seem.a bit of a risk but 4 promotions and having worked for some batnuts owners before is nothing to be sniffed at and is preferable to TM and his genius ideas. Being an ex Rover and familiar with the club may help as well. A bit of a risk given his last couple of jobs haven't worked out but a gamble I would have taken over TM.

1) I think it is worth the risk as he is a good manager and may be able to hold it together in a once a year sort of thing. Surely he has to do that even in a hands off club like Leicester? 2) if it does go south I would LOVE to be in that meeting between Venkys and Pearson. Maybe he gives them a few home truths. This is beginning to sound like a plan without any drawbacks. The job he did at Watford was very good imo.

Yeah in fairness TM adds much more intreague to proceedings. Not sure I've ever seen a McCarthy team and wondered how many different formations they will use in a match or what position the £5 million pound striker will play. TM certainly is far less boring in that respect I'm give them that.

TM can only dream of McCarthys success. Several promotions to the Prem, managing an international side in (and to?) a major tournament, getting Ipswich punching above their weight. He's not an excellent manager but far better than Mr "I can play every player in the squad at right back".

Yes however if TM continues to play a centre forward at right back I'd say his name deserves to be in that company. And let's be clear for all the faults of the above list not one of them has made such a stupid error as playing a striker at rb. TM is clearly losing the plot. Whatever the relative merits of what he has done previously, TM has now lost the plot. The present is a nightmare with bizare formations, line ups and players out of position on a regular basis. Whether you think it Souness-esque after glory years of the culmination of years of mediocracy is largely irrelevant. The fact is that now is a chaotic head- scratching mess that needs ending asap.

See I agree about Venkys but then no other manager would play Buckley or Gally at rb and Elliott as a false 9. Literally none. So even if the next guy isn't the level we would want he cannot make dafter decisions. Gally at rb is like having a taxi driver who drives with his eyes closed. Doesn't matter how great the car he has assembled or how good his manouvreing is when he is focussed, they are a liability and a danger for you. Same with TM - regardless of squad or past achievements when you play your striker at rb you know that you have issues.

Put it this way. Not even Coyle or he who should not be named ever played a centre forward at right back. Just saying. To clarify I am not saying he is as bad as them but when he makes errors they don't you worry about his competence. Can't remember many managers allowing players to decide whether they are fit. Look at Buckley also being right back. Elliott as a false 9. These are all mistakes an 11 year old wouldn't make. I've seen hundreds of line ups on this board from those who hugely support the manager to those who are perhaps never happy. And never once has any of these players in these positions been suggested. What does that say about the manager? Are we all wrong or is it so stupid that no one else would do it? It's a clear sign he has lost the plot. Whatever he has or hasn't done these kind of decisions show he has run his term.

On Kaminski looking poor do you think the comical defence he is playing behind hit to him? Not trying to brush a bad performance under the carpet but he's been good so far this season. I'd be a bit jittery if the defence in front of me was auditioning for the circus.

Rovers fans: "Right wing is the stupidest place to play Gally." TM: "hold my lemon drizzle.cake".

Strangely think we might get away with it tonight and get a point. Not sure why. Even if we do the performances are evidence of why we won't go up under TM. Nayambe continues to show his versatility as right back and scapegoat. Red card not being given gives TM an excuse if doesn't work out.

3 years for that is criminal. Still it's not as if we have had these problems before or could have known about Ayala's injury record. Good job the rest of the defence never gets injured. Feel we will get something from the game. TM has crackpot formations but has assembled a pretty good squad we have a number of players who can produce a bit of magic and give us the win. We are on Sky so a bit of publicity for the great TM who plays football the right way. So a win for Rovers and then when the scrutiny dies down we can have another death spiral before anything gets too serious. 2-1 Rovers.

Brentford show what can be achieved without parachute payments and the like. Interestingly it's taken them years to get here but there had been clear progress year on year. I thought the owner has dropped a massive clanger when Warburton left over their change in scouting methods. Looking back I might have backed the wrong horse on that one.

With Pearson I worry his combustible nature combined with our owners would mean that it would be a disaster waiting to happen, even if he is a good manager (which I think he is). On the flip side with our owners absent maybe it could be a good fit. He can't argue with someone who isn't there, surely?

Brilliant post and a much more concise and eloquent summary of the situation than I managed. That's the £150 million pound question isn't it. My view, from all I have read and having spoke with a number of Indian friends, is saving face/hiding the skeletons in the closet from being viewed. There's no more plausible explanation for them both continuing to fund us and prevent administration whilst at the same time not doing anything to do with the club properly. Problem is with this is that it means we are stuck with them for a very, very long time.

Hope all goes well for your son and their partner. Can't say I disagree with a single thing in your post - a well thought out process of recovery imo. The problem is for me that Venkys seem utterly Incapable of point 2. There is no vision, strategy, nous. Heck even getting basics right like the timeliness of budget setting would be a huge step in the right direction. Until that happens the plan really won't work. They hasn't been any indication in the last 10 years that they will get this right, so I am not optimistic. With that in mind we're trapped in a Venkys nightmare, as agree with point 1 and would add Venkys aren't interested in selling to grey knights ejthrr. So we are dependent on them, with no way out and very little hope for better. It's a horrible place for us to be in.

@Gav won't quote whole post but I think you are doing a number of managers there a disservice. Wycombe has already been highlighted - bit surprised given how much you say we can't compete financially, that you haven't factored this in for them. The two I would disagree with are Boro and Barnsley. Boro have seen a bigger jump in 1 year with Warnock then TM has managed in three. What does that say for TMs ability? Also the Barnsley chap with very limited resources (again why isn't this factored in for other clubs?) has got them as a comfortable mid table side. Quite an achievement imo.

Always willing to listen to another Rovers fans views 🙂 And yes it is much nicer looking at matches and the club now than under Kean etc. My big issue is that the previous bad times have, I think, influenced us so much that we think that these current times are good, when they are in many ways still a painful shambles. Operarionally I think it's still amature hour. Likewise comparing to Burnley or Bolton is of limited use. Is that the bar and what we should be aiming to be above? Again it may be better but not by much and isn't good. That's Venkys legacy - accepting poor situations because it isn't rubbish. Is our best chance under Venkys run well? Honestly I don't see them pumping in the money. I could be wrong but I thought stadium/pitch stuff didn't count to the FFP costs and Ewoods looking grim. We haven't spent any transfer fee on a defender in 3 years. And operationally they definitely aren't running us well. Zero accountability for the manager, his mate as boss, managers all coming from the same agency, delayed decisions from Pune. Venkys don't give us much of a chance because they aren't really chucking money at it, but much more crucially are operationally horrific. It's like fighting with our hands tied behind our backs at times with them, so not sure it's our best shot or a good shot at all. The last 2 years is an interesting arbitrary place to put the line in the sand (why there?) but even so. Delayed decisions from Pune especially with regards to contracts seems to still be prevalent, a mate as the managers boss still exists, still no dosh spent on defenders. It still to me doesn't seem like any lessons have been learned. Then there's the fact TM is still here. We are never going to get promoted with him, it's Groundhog Day as we never quite make playoffs and always choke when we are near if. That alone might get a decent owner questioning a need for change. So yeah, still not impressed by Venkys ownership. I don't think I am unrealistic in expectations for Rovers. I'm not asking for the world or even (though I hope for it) promotion. But a bit of professionalism and competence would revolutionise how I see the club. Sadly I can't see that in our owners of whom the only defence seems to be it's not as crap as before.

It's Venkys flagilation not Rovers. And as to how to get rid of the debt two thoughts: 1) It's tricky and shows how badly Venkys have screwed us. 2) The simple - but not easy answer - is to get promotion. Which raises the question and we being run in a manner that supports or hampers us from this objective? I'd suggest there's more of the latter. When Venkys start running us properly - not better than before because that bar is so low- there'll be more room to discuss forgive and forget.

The problem with this analogy is it suggests the surgeon does something positive in saving your life and you are back in the same situation as before the surgeon. Maybe add the difference being after the surgery you can't walk and are addicted to the morphine the surgeon provides. That would start to illustrate the crap we are still in because of Venkys current running of the club and previous actions.

We have the mental resilience of a wet paper hankie. Am convinced had this bean a meaningless end of season game we would have got back into it and got at least a point. TM massively to blame for overcomplicating formations and personnel, as well as instilling a 'bottle it' mentality. Nature of the championship is we will get another few cracks at breaking into playoffs, everyone is that inconsistent. Nature of our team under TM is that we won't take advantage of them. Still at least we aren't facing relegation. The endless drift continues.

I blame the glass ceiling...

Really could do with a win here. Results are going our way. Stoke-Reading 0-0, Bournemouth aren't beating the shambles that is Brum, Bristol City losing. As good as we can hope for so we really need to do our bit. Come on Rovers.

Yeah that's what gets me. Aside from the momentum of errors (likes the rest of your post too btw) even the drawing a line in the sand argument is weak because it clearly isn't the case. Putting things right would mean we are back as a midtable Premiership team relatively debt free. Nowhere near that. Or if we say put things right is doing stuff right from now on (which isn't the same thing but let's run with it) then that's still not the case. An unsackable manager with his mate as his boss, no transfer fees on defence since promotion, all managers coming from an agency, decisions from Pune taking ages. It's still no way to run a club. It's like praising an inmate for dealing drugs instead of murdering people. It's still a crap situation.

On the flip side Bournemouth should be one of the favourites for promotion. Good squad, in the top 6 already, a few excuses like no transfer window to hide behind. To me it looks like a quick win job for him - get them promoted and see what comes up. Certainly an easier gig than doing decently with Palace.

Huge test today of our mental fortitude and bottle. Winnable but not easy, promotion teams get results in these kind of games. Will our lot? I'm not sure. Also it's a tad worrying I am more relaxed with two loan kids in the defence than Ayala and Williams...