I'm fairly confident too Wrexham TV would provide more neutral commentary than BBC are doing. 

Maybe its me sitting far away from the pitch when I go but my word, half our team look like they should be in pampers.

Just now, wilsdenrover said:

Just spotted a Rovers fan with a half and half scarf.

Throw him out…

The way we are going this is a glamour tie for us... 

18 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Good find. It's not a massive increase in revenue but crucially it isn't a loss either and the feel good factor from having 33% more fans in the stadium is immeasurable.

I'd say even more significantly is the redundancy effect. Circumstances from ill health through to finance WILL mean that some people stop going. Having boosted attendance by 33% is only going to provide redundancy when this happens. Our approach is squeeze the 10k who go and ignore the moo.jng issues of what happens when they drop off for whatever reason.  We're the only club I know of who doesn't think it needs new fans even to stand still. 

Gally is clearly off. He's on big money for us and we want to slash and burn the wage budget to at least league 2 level. So yeah he's off. 

As for ability, he's a championship squad player level ability imo. Sadly that's miles above any of the others bar Sami, hence he'd be a big loss for us even though he's mediocre at best. 

17 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

It would have been well spent had the owners not blocked the potential sale last summer. Had we brought in 8 million or whatever it was, it would have meant that we had brought in a profit on the three as well as having loads of goals in the process. 

Brereton had 2 awful seasons, one decent one and then 2 in which he scored a combined 37 goals in 2 seasons, making him far and away our top scorer and right up there with Championship goalscorers across those 2 years. Armstrong obviously also scored lots of goals for us and made a big profit, his fee covering the 3 fees combined before Newcastles cut. And no team gets recruitment bang on, but if you are bringing in 20m+ for 2 of the 3, which we would without moronic owners as you say, you can afford to swallow up the third who wasnt as successful. And its not like Gallagher has been a total waste of time who scored 1 or 2 goals, he has contributed in his time albeit certainly not for the value of the fee paid.

Couldnt agree more on the owners being moronic. Ultimately if they had cashed in on Brereton, which they had to, and also had stuck to a model of buying, selling at profit after the individuals did a good job for us and then reinvesting, then they would have been well in line with such a model. As it is, they have a model of sometimes interfering and stopping the income entirely, or just not reinvesting sales at all even when they do come in. End result, the mess we are in today.

17 hours ago, booth said:

We needed defenders badly when Brereton was bought. It’s easy to look at it free of context and look at the important goals he eventually scored but we needed some pragmatic signings at the time.

Gallagher was a terrible waste of money. Probably Mowbray’s most bizarre signing. Was he drunk?

I think booth highlights some of the issues as to why Bereton wasn't a good signing. 7 million was then and is now even more so is huge outlay for us. Not only were there more pressing issues back then I don't see how a signing can be good value when they do nothing for 2 years, and arguably in 3 don't do enough to justify such a big fee. 

Agree it would be easier to see it as favourable had we got a fee for him - only our owners eh? Mind you only at Rovers would a player do nothing for 2 years, meh in a 3rd and still be at the club! I genuinely cannot think of any other player or club after 2+ years of failure has come good. Such situations don't exist in football outside of us. 

Mind you him seemingly slacking off as his contract ran down doesn't endear Bereton to me either. 

44 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Why are you so fixated with a transfer from 4 and a half years ago?

Mowbray signed 3 strikers in 12 months for a combined 15m. The money overall IMO was well spent, one scored loads and generated a massive profit that wasnt reinvested. Another scored loads and should have generated another big fee but said owners stopped it. The third was undoubtedly overpriced, hardly a total failure as an average Championship striker but not worth that fee.

You have ignored my post explaining how they have not funded a reasonable fee for a striker since despite selling Armstrong and blocking the potential for further fees for Brereton and Rothwell that have raised over 10m but should have raised over 20m.

We shouldnt (and arent because of that one deal) be hamstrung because a signing we made 5 years ago hasnt been an unqualified success.

Agree with your latter point. 

Strongly disagree on your point that the 15 million was well spent. 

Armstrong yes, Gally clearly no - that amount for us was huge and has hardly had a significant (if an OK impact.) Contrast it with what happened last time we spent that much- Sami and Hyam and you see its a poor use of the money. 

Brereton is imo similar in that the massive amount didn't yield enough success to warrant such a big fee. Granted its not as big a botch as Gally but its still poor. He did nothing for 2 seasons, which is a huge expensive waste. He then had a couple of OK seasons sandwiched between an excellent one. That's solid but given how huge an outlay 7 million is for us (and is now a pipe dream) you feel we could have used the money better. 

Of course letting him go on a free sours my view as well, albeit that's nor on the player. Not that we would reinvest it anyway - bringing us back to poor deals but utterly moronic owners. 

Hard to care any more. No one but the fans do. 

Heard it said the positive are returning players. When you are pinning your hopes on the likes of Gally and Hesges returning or JRC staying fit,  you aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel, you are breaking through the base. 

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Very true about Dolan, but Hyam, Gally, Hedges and JRC have also been huge misses. 

This season has been ruined by injuries, there's no other way of looking at it (and that's ignoring the shitshow of the last two transfer windows and the budget cuts)

Disagree. I've said it before but if Hedges and Gally are the answer, it's a terrible question. Hyam is a huge loss but then having so few seasoned pros at the back is always going to make every absence worse. JRC huge loss too but as he is so injury prone it's not that surprising. 

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

It's to JDT's credit that he has been able to grind out enough wins to keep us within touching distance of the play-offs as we approach the halfway mark of the season. Add to the excellent season we had in 22/23 and it will be a huge surprise if he isn't poached at some point. 

Totally agree. That we are doing as well.as we are with even less investment is incredible. 

Honestly, whilst JDT could be a bit more flexible and try other things, I do wonder how much he's trying to send a message to the owners. And more to the point, I think it's worth considering how little he has to work with! 

Look at what he has missing. If Hedges or Gally are first team necessities then you have huge issues. We hardly ever add any experience and rely on  the youth team to fill the squad. Every year the squad gets weaker. Every year we just over-promote squad players to more senior roles regardless of whether they are ready. 

Yes we should have done better with our very limited recruitment. But how much of that is on JDT? I imagine Waggott and Broughton shoulder a lot of blame. Its a crap budget but we don't use it well either. Restrictions like no one over 27 can't help us miss out on the right puzzle pieces at times either. 

Don't get me wrong JDT is far from perfect and has made some mistakes in his tenure but given what he's working with I'm amazed we have done as well as we have  

3 hours ago, arbitro said:

For last night's match we were missing Pears, JRC, Hyam, Carter, Pickering, Hedges and Gallagher. That's seven players who would all potentially have started last night. If you take seven key players out of any squad it will have a massive effect.

There are two whopping issues with that list. 

Firstly is that they are all missed to some degree. Some more than others.  Hyam and JRC in particular are huge losses. But all would massively add to the squad if not the team. 

The other big issue is that they are all considered big losses and key personnel. Even a year or so ago, much less 2, the majority wouldn't have been missed in the same way. Half would have been squad players, some wouldn't have started that much. That we are in a situation where a poor back up keeper like Pears is missed, where Gally is the main striker, where Hedges 1 in 4 performances is considered a loss and he's likely a starter, where Carter (who I think is a decent player) is an experienced defender, shows a chronic lack of investment. It shows how much the squad is stagnating and regressing as time goes on. We're only heading one way with that trend. 

Proper relegation 6 pointer this one. Feel like we will get a result, but if we can't it will be very worrying given QPR are one of the weaker teams in the division. 

Getting worried about our ability to stay up. Not that I blame JDT at all. 

I was worried prior to last season with the squad much reduced, key players still not replaced and an over reliance on youngsters from the academy.

This year has seen that but in even starker fashion. At least last year we replaced the three who went on frees with players with championship experience. This year we lost yet more experience, and haven't replaced a single one with any championship experience. 

We've lost striker after striker and not replaced or replaced with very green players. It's got all the hallmarks of disaster. That we are still in games, picking up points and having some good performances is impressive, but the absolute neglect of the squad is only seeing us go one way. 

Our squad players are now key men, which they have proved they can't be. We're on barrel scraping and punts on the unknown - some of which won't pan out. It's only going to go one way. 

Venkys are pure scum for what they have done to this club. To think we shouldn't have been relegated from the Prem, and now Championship future looks sketchy.  

1 hour ago, Ricky said:

Russell Martin has done nothing to have this reputation he appears to have. They have conceded more goals than anyone in the league and added another 3 to the against column this half.

Agree. Just because he plays "nice" football he's hailed as some hot prospect in management. Never mind the fact it didn't work at his last 2 clubs, and unsurprisingly isn't working at Southampton either. Bizarre that style over substance allows him to get gigs in the game.

On 13/08/2023 at 14:55, Gav said:

just imagine playing at home to the English and European champions, first game back in the Premiership and they’re foaming at the mouth over Blackburn Rovers and Jack Walker.

We are living rent free in those empty heads over there 👍 

Hilarious 🤣 

In fairness they wouldn't be able to charge much for lodgings anyway... 

"You should judge football on the performance level of the team but we don't, we get judged by results. The results are not very good but the performance level in both games has been pretty good."

TM at his finest after yesterday. The man is deluded.  Only Sunderland won't put up with it. 

7 hours ago, JHRover said:

When they are doing things like avoiding two local teams both playing at home on the same day there is a reasonable excuse and basis for it - avoiding / minimising the risk of fans clashing or stretching police resources too thinly. It also doesn't affect who plays who just that one will be away when the other is at home.

But when the actual games - and teams - are being fixed to suit a media company's agenda - which is what I think is happening here and has happened several times in recent years - that's taking it to a new level and leads to the question - if they are capable of setting the fixtures to suit what the media people want then what else are they capable of fixing or changing in the name of 'entertainment'?

Oh I agree entirely. But then as I said the top clubs not playing each other in certain weeks has been around since inqas a lad - which can solely be an entertainment thing - so its not new. Doesn't mean its right though. 

On 09/08/2023 at 22:01, JHRover said:

An amazing coincidence that the fixture computer throws up Kompany's dingles at home v City for the first game of the new season and Sky Sports just happen to have a documentary on the dingles that they are ready to release the same week. Funny how these things work out.

I remember reading am article when the fixtures were done by a person not a computer 90s, early 2000s?) and the guy was very open and transparent that it wasn't particularly random. There were all sorts of deliberate changes. I think 2 teams in the same city not playing at home the same time,  avoiding other sporting events and top teams avoiding each other in the last week. And those are just the ones I remember. So it doesn't surprise me that criteria like this could be added in,  nor do I think they are really promoting it as coincidence either. 

Did we not play Walsall in the league under Kidd years back and end up with 9 men? Or am I having a senior moment? 

As for the game, not sure we have any reserves to play! Feel a weakened side would lose and be overpowered, a full strength team even with current issues would have more than enough to best them. 

Absolutely bricking it before the game so a win vs a good championship team is very much appreciated. All the more so considering how thin the squad is. 

Delighted with the win but more than ever am aching that our owners aren't backing decently our best manager (bar big Sam) of their tenure. The squad is still paper thin and needs experience and cover as others have also pointed out. With that we could really go places - the desire is there, so is the effort, but we need more. Hopefully now a few sales have happened we can invest and go places. 

6 hours ago, philipl said:

BBC coverage of the Championship is abysmal but they have stirred themselves to write this:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66302766

What is striking is unlike Burnley last season, the relegated outfits haven't done a thorough job of sorting out their squads yet. They seem to be relying on the shell shocked relegated players who aren't good enough to get a transfer away.

What strikes me about the relegated teams is that all 3 have significant risk to them. 

Southampton have gone for a manager who is the definition of style over substance. Given that and the spineless way they went down - that culture may be hard to get rid of - despite some talent I definitely wouldn't be backing them to get back up. 

Leeds seem to have let everyone go out on loan. (Strange that.) As you say the squad is far from sorted but they seem to have shed a lot of talent. Feels like it's a starting again job. 

Likewise with Leicester. Add in that assistant managers don't always make good managers and it's a heck of a risk. Big difference between assisting at City to leading at Leicester. Mind you Kompany did OK so it can work. All the same though seems risky to me.  

Well after a summer off from football and the mb it's back to another season and one that's seemingly stacked against us. 

A lot of experience has been lost and whilst I think the wages could be perhaps used better from what we'veosr, we've hardly strengthened the squad. Operation depend on the academy continues. 

Beyond depressed Pears has been chosen as first choice keeper - form is temporary and all that. Still very worried by our lack of striking options. Honestly was last season not enough of a clue we need options up top? 

Positives, last season I thought we were goosed with so many players gone and was pleasantly surprised (and depressed at the same time) by Rovers finish. So despite feeling like we are up against it again, there's potential and history there to show we can buck the doom and gloom. Plus whilst not a top manager JDT is fsr superior to the previous incumbent. Mind you one of these years the lack of investment will come back to haunt us even more than it has. 

Onto the game. Eek. West Brom are a good outfit and seemed to have brought and built on last season. They have some very good players who on their day can be deadly. So not at all optimistic about this one. A loss I feel beckons. 2-0 to WBA.

Oh and adding to the Waggot debate. If anyone thinks he's competent and a good guy they are off their trolley. ALL the evidence from keeping the previous manager in place despite death spirals through to the January transfer window debacle that was beyond gross incompetence,  through to y'know basic A level business principles he doesn't get points out he isn't fit to run a bath much less Rovers. Along with our owners another reason we won't get promoted. 

On 25/05/2023 at 19:44, RevidgeBlue said:

The more offerings I hear from Broughton the more I despair.  The guy is a bs merchant extraordinaire. He must think the supporters are completely thick in trying to make out the season can be viewed positively because during the final disastrous run in various irrelevant "performance metrics" allegedly improved. There are only 2 indicators that ultimately matter, scoring more goals in a game than you let in at the other end and securing enough points to secure promotion.

Agree. Call me naive but the performance metric that matters most is wins and losses. Another tool who is passing off failure as success. 

On 25/05/2023 at 19:44, RevidgeBlue said:

I also see in an LT article that we're thinking of employing a throw in coach. Absolute insanity -  we need a decent squad of players and a couple of decent strikers before we start fannying around with window dressing like that. 

Agree we need a decent squad but I'm not against stuff like this. It costs relatively nothing and if it improves our limited set of players then overall its money well spent. We have to get the maximum we can from the players we have.

Mind you if the attention is on this over securing a squad then yes it is a poor way to run things. As an addition alongside a squad its a good move imo. 

What annoys me is the stupid short goal kicks. Inviting unnecessary pressure. It's odd what constitutes the "right" way to play these days  

Well done Luton  Shows that with an ounce of competencein the board room or ownership we could have been back in the prem, even without parachute payments