https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2020/may/24/joe-hart-all-i-want-is-to-be-a-big-part-of-a-club-hope-burns-through-me Good he's doing some charity but the following article perhaps shows why he is out of the picture. He still thinks he should be playing for Burnley even though the team.statistically did so much better overnight when he was dropped! I think he is a tad optimistic thinking he will get a club in la Liga or Germany given he can't get in the Burnely team. Doesn't sound like he is learning or has much self awareness.

I'm not sure how you can base reassurance and everything being fine based on what might happen. Our scouting of keepers last year didn't pay off at all, so I'm not all that optimistic. (Based on the evidence of last year.)

Agree with all this although tbh I don't think he was that good in the first place. Remember watching him play for Birmingham (?) and having all sorts of problems with high balls and Pedersen's inswinging corners. Think his character must be a bit suspect as it cannot be on solely ability - and without any serious injuries either and age isn't a factor - to go from Champions League team to average premier league te reserve. That said in counter I think he hasn't perhaps fallen in ability as much as he has in perception/situation. But even so it's a hell of a fall in perception and situation nonetheless.

I think you are right he will get a heck of a shock. I get the impression (it could be wrong) that he still sees himself as an international class keeper who has had a bit of bad luck and is unfairly treated. As it is he is a bang average keeper who was never as good as he thought he was. This is evidenced by 3 failed spells away from the protection and prowess of a super talented and rich City team. He's now second choice at a very mediocre Premiership club which should give him a clue as to his level. Whether he picks up on that is another story. That said a bang average premier league-ish back up keeper is a hell of a lot better than anything else we have had in a while.

You appreciate them keeping us afloat financially when they caused us to be dependant on them financially? Tbh I don't really follow this logic at all. Also I won't do a third post on it to prevent getting too repetitive but we can't move on with these jokers.

I know it's a radical idea and all but have we ever though of perhaps spending money on getting a good permanent keeper? The last 3 keepers have made clangers that have cost us points, 2 have had potential but one was shipped out and the other isnt ours so his potential is irrelevant. A good keeper can make a huge difference to the team and save you a lot of points (even if in not costing stupid goals.) A good keeper would be my number 1 priority - pardon the pun. I also think whilst defensively we very clearly need reinforcements - a good lb and CB are essential - that the striker situation isn't that great. Sure we have numbers, which we don't in defence which makes it even more of a priority, most of our strikers aren't very good. Armstrong is great and Graham is proven at this level. But Graham is aging and Bereton, Gally and Samuel are at best decent and quite a way off proving to be decent at a consistent level. Wouldn't really want any of them on the books if honest. However at least they are there and in the squad next year - the defenders aren't...

Thanks for a well thought out reply. I get what you are saying. And here for me is the rub I think. I'm not sure that fans who have "forgiven and forgotten" and have moved on, actually have any more than those holding onto their crimes. You see better is a comparative word, and whilst I agree with you they are doing a better job, they can only be seen as doing so by recognising what a horrific job they did.at the start. Venkys are currently beneficiaries of their past as it makes any actions now look like saints in comparison. The thing is, and this is key for me, is that better isn't the same as good. And independent of the past the current job they are doing isn't good. Passing up on Warnock, managers being appointed by an agency, just in a more subtle way, transfer funds not allowed for the defence, TM having too much power - it's a real mess. It is miles better than it was but it cannot be seen asl good or something anyone could be happy with, or even vaguely positive about without a nod to their history. In the cold light of day we are still badly owned. The other thing is that their history, their past running cannot be seperated from the now. The halved crowds, the debt, the division we are in, the squad we have are all because of them and their history and past mistakes. We can talk about forgiving and forgetting but we can't actually do the latter because the implications of what they have done hit us in the face every day. We cannot erase the past and its impact on the present. We are where we are because of the past. The two are not inseperable. So yeah, whilst I agree things are better, that only works in comparative terms. The better is still nowhere near what I want for my club, and the past mistakes cannot be forgotten or relegated to the past as the consequences are lived out daily. As for forgiveness - I would agree that's less important, or is at least only important on a personal level. Whether I forgive them or not will not make them any less shambolic owners or improve our chances of success, or give them justice. It may make me more peaceful and I like the famous quote about unforgiveness being like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies; I don't think it helps us. But either way, even if forgiven, it doesn't change what Venkys have and continue to do to destroy this club and leave us in the position we are in.

I get what you are saying @Admiral Nelsen and in many ways agree - especially on the fact that at present they are necessary - but they are still doing harm. The hands off management is still causing chaos as in no accountability or evaluation of how TM is doing, not least in appointing his own boss, which can only harm the efficiency and effectiveness of the club. There's every indication the dark forces are still here and at work in the club and a transfer policy seemingly where we can't spend on the defence or keeper! There is harm going on, just not on the scale of before. That said I agree that their more backseat approach is causing less damage (not none though) then when they are hands on and is less of a sore reminder to fans of what they have done. I'll also grudgingly say they are necessary for now. Like the metaphors I've used, we need the life support machine, we need someone to not let go and drop us off the cliff. That said a necessity for now doesn't mean we should forget what they have done - and are doing.

It may be because of a conversation where Bereton was compared unfavourably to Bamford for £7 million and Chaddy supported the clubs choice of spending on a striker. Think you sum him up well. A decent player but a bit of a pillock.

To use an analogy that's like saying someone badly beats you up and dangles you over a cliff but then for some reason doesn't let you go. Should in that case you tell them to f off? Should you be thankful? I'm sure we both know that the answer is neither. See this is what gets me. At what point did they stop being badly advised? I struggle to see when that might be. On relegation, after the 5 managers season, after Coyle - it's hard to tell because there are so many poor choices. In fact there are so many poor choices you wonder how much is deliberate. After all random chance should suggest they get more right than they have done. Finally I don't buy that we are out on our own yet either. our last 3 managers have all had the same agent/agency which to me suggests the real dark forces are still at work. Especially since all 3 had poor to mixed reputations. This again counters the narrative that the owners are doing a good job at present.

This I think is what irks me most. Especially from NXT they most definitely DO have the talent to have some huge, huge stars but every time they come onto the main roster they generally do fairly badly. Interestingly it's better for women then men. The division is built on NXT - the 4 horsewomen, Asuka and Alexa Bliss being key examples. But for the men the use of talent is lamentable. Take Ricochet- the guy can do it all, brawl, wrestle, fly high and sells stuff well with the bonus of being able to do stuff no one else can do in an era of athleticism. To me that seems pure gold but he is lost in the shuffle. Terrible use of talent. Then there's been some clear successors to the old stars who've been used so poorly that they clearly aren't. Alister Black could have been the next Undertaker type figure, (ironically his run was sacrificed to boost an opponent of, yep the Undertaker) although the Fiend also could have held that moniker, or as Bray Wyatt if booked better. Sami Zayne looked so over in NXT he felt like he could be the next Daniel Bryan as the plucky underdog. Tag team wrestling is even worse. The Viking Raiders or Authors of Pain could have been the next LOD. The Raiders in particular are hugely talented, have the look and could do that role well. The Street Profits have a unique level of charisma and connection with the fans. The Revival were a brilliant classic heel tag team. That should be the basis for epic tag team feuds and stories for years to come. Instead they are doing stupid other sports competitions. The problem has been that NXT makes the stars and has the future very safely secured. The issue is the main roster seems to break them through bad booking and poor use. If AEW do take a bigger market share, WWE only has themselves to blame.

Spot on. That's like saying give credit to the person who provides our life support machine, when they were the ones who put us on it. Madness. Also I think I've been a tad negligent and missed the good owners time. In the last few years they have given us Coyle as manager (instead of Warnock), given Coyle a budget than an impoverished church mouse would be assumed of (a master class in how to make things worse) have not given any sort of challenge or accountability to TM, allowed TM to chose his own boss (I mean that's special in any area of life) and not communicated with the fans. Not my definition of good owners. Now granted that's not the initial levels of abuse they heaped upon the club but I'll say this. Such shoddy behaviour can only be considered good in light of the abuse before. In actuality it is still very poor. Do we praise the kid for mugging grannies instead of murdering them? Also using said analogy do we ignore the murders? I mean what they did to the club was horrific. They put us from a solid premiership club established in the top flight to a disfunctional debt ridden championship one and halved our fanbase. On that alone, such a game changing, future-altering irredeemable transformation (cause there ain't any other benefactors to get us out of it) is criminal. It's literally altered Rovers fortunes for generations to come negatively. It's denied us years of premier league funds, the opportunities to build towards success, to be able to kind of compete with the big boys, to maybe win trophies (or at least have a better shot). We've gone from having a secure future financially to an uncertain debt written one. Ok I get I am beginning to foam at the mouth but blimey, the fact I can list all these wrongs, that they have mucked up and given us all these consequences, shows how seriously they have shafted us. Outside of Stockholm syndrome I cannot think of any reason to be happy with them as owners or give them credit.

Don't get me wrong Vince has done a hell of a lot for wrestling, but I do think now he does more harm then good. Wouldn't have thought NXT would be a casualty of the virus because it got extra attention.

I think so. They weren't initially on my radar for likely relegation candidates- certainly not like Boro, Luton, Charlton, Reading, Wigan and Barnsley but they seem to be in serious free fall. It seems like they have a few injuries on top of selling their best 2 players which is something very few sides in this division could actually survive. Good win for Charon today but wouldn't say they are guarenteed out of it. I read 3 of their players including their main striker are refusing to play for them so not to jepodise summer moves which is a huge, huge blow. Given the striker in particular has scored a lot of their goals they are far from out of trouble too. If I were Barnsley or Luton I'd be optimistic that there are some prime candidates for them to overtake. Boro must also be seen as prime candidates to overtake too. To have that kind of squad and budget compared to the other championship strugglers yet be in the mix speaks volumes for how poor Woodgate is and how badly it is going. Probably his squad have enough quality to get them over the line but given the manager's inexperience I would imagine that it will be tight and give Boro fans some sleepless nights. A 3-0 tonking at home sets an ominous tone. Luton and Barnsley's small squad sizes do put them in a precarious position given the frequency of games coming up. The break in negative momentum will help but feel their resources begin stretched could well work against them. As for the rest Wigan go from looking totally out of their depth and on the worst away run ever, through to looking a decent outfit. Ditto Reading - look terrible or competent. I don't think either team will be troubling the top half of the table in the next season or two but their odd good performance will keep them safe. Stoke likewise fall into this category although with then I am surprised they haven't done better since the new chap has come in. So it's 3 from 5 imo and as much a battle as it is at the top.

Looks like results have really gone our way and with a convincing (ish) win plenty to be optimistic about. Still a heck of a lot of teams chasing that final promotion place though.

So Gally and Walton looking poor. It could be October rather than June! Good to see Evans get a goal. Don't really rate him as a player but every now and then he does something that makes you think there could be a player in there. A draw not good enough though for Rovers. Need a winner.

My worries with the team are twofold. 1) the full backs look very weak. I like JRC but in a role further forward. Bennett is just a liability there. 2) Beeston - no where near as good as Armstrong or Graham so it's disappointing to see him start ahead of them. If he starts with Gally shunted wide right then it's even more criminal. On the subs am disappointed no Chapman or Smallwood. Both may have limitations but both offer something very specific, with a very specific strength. Whilst that might not be enough to warrent a place in the first 11, with 9 subs, having said skills available doesn't seem a gamble and feels like it would be useful to have in our "toolbox" so to speak. Interestingly Mulgrew is back on the bench which could be a big option/impact sub for us.

He's had a bad season and shows what a difference a manager makes at this level. Very average teams like Millwall are looking towards playoffs with a good manager, Boro looking downwards because of a poor one.

And that could be the end of football as we know it, certainly for lower leagues, possibly for the premiership. Stopping going, seeing family and friends there etc., tradition and ritual is a much harder habit to break than turning off a laptop/TV. Geography is less of a concern for following a club. I use my time up in Carlisle all the time but even though the kids I worked with supported other clubs if they wanted live football, going to a Carlisle game was a prominent option - either you had to have sky or be taken to the pub as alternative viable options. However a subscription to watch at home at a cheaper price is a way more attractive option. You can see how that's going to go. It takes up less time, and requires less physical activity having a home subscription. In this day and age that's pretty attractive for culture. It really could kill the game.

Spot on. We need to not only get a load of points we need to make sure wherever possible those above us don't get points as well. A draw and we are no closer to Bristol with one less game to go and even more reliant on other teams to do the business. Hadn't looked at the table for a long time but checking it today and I'd forgotten how slim our hopes are. Think we blew it with that 3 games without a win spell just before the break. We're still reliant on other teams to mess up. Not that we give up. Whilst there's a chance, keep fighting. And a win would put us in an advantageous position Vs Bristol, if no one else. So yeah, huge, huge game and a real test of whether the hunger and ability for promotion is still there.

I just don't get it. The previous takeover in January, prior to the pandemic, was once again excellent and NXT was looking strong. It had adapted well to a longer format on TV. It was clearly differentiated from the rest of WWE and offering similar to AEW. If they change that then WWE is most likely giving a significant and loyal section of the market to AEW unhindered.

Well it doesn't half seem like a can of worms has been opened there. I can't say I'm surprised. Wrestlers or wrestling strikes me of being like footballer culture where lots of young men are given money and fame, without perhaps the maturity to go alongside it (NOT that this condones any of it if the alleged is true). Add in that unlike football you have a locker full of women athletes close to hand as well, and it feels like it could be a perfect storm. It's sad news, and terrible if true (which it sounds like it is), but I don't think it's that surprising. On the topic of wrestling now that there has been time for people to catch up with the last two big WWE events here are my thoughts on them. Backlash was decent. Drew continues to excel as world champion and provides good quality matches and Lashley worked well with him. Shame about the ending as they were having a really good match and it spoilt it. Orton-Edge was better than I thought after the debacle of Wrestlemania, and was actually a good match. Two very watchable matches. For the rest it ranged from decent to meh. Asuka v Jax was good bar the ending, and the rest was ok without really being PPV worthy. Two good matches worth seeing but overall these PPVs don't seem to have the wow factor, impact or level of performance I would expect from a PPV. Worryingly I'm not sure if that's solely down to lack of fans either... In Your House Takeover I enjoyed. It was good, really good, although not one of their best by a fair way. The action ranged from solid to excellent, and had 3 excellent matches: the women's triple threat, Lee vs Gargano and Priest vs Balor. All were great matches making it the best non crowd event we've seen. The women's tag was solid too. I'm not a fan of these shot elsewhere events, so the back lot brawl didn't do it for me at all, and was a weak showing considering the calibre of the performers. Cross beating Champa so easily too was also a bit of a surprise. That said none of these matches were bad or dragged, so 3 great matches and 3 decent, makes for the strongest non crowd event yet by a country mile, and an enjoyable one at that. That said it it's the first time I've come away with reservations about NXT booking. As in multiple reservations. They are: 1) Gargano and La Rae turn - it's huge given they are both pure baby faces and yet with neither picking up the win, there's no momentum to their change. Such a huge change in terms of star power and more importantly the type of characters they were needs to see some in ring success to mirroring the size of the story and character shift. 2) Cross beating Champa so easily. Champa is one of the top stars of NXT. If he can beat Champa so easily it doesn't give Cross much further to go. Win a title and then what? Who's there to feud with, who can credibly beat him, if he can kibosh Champa so easily? A win after a more titanic struggle would have been a much better story and given Cross a lot more room for development in NXT. As it is, there's limited story line scope and limited plausible opponents for him. 3) NXT can't make traditional faces any more. I'm a week behind with NXT (and don't know the results!) due to seeing it on the network, but it seems like Balor and Io are the latest two to turn heel, and then turn back to face in the space of 12 months. Now don't get me wrong being a heel and then turning face is a good way to go (The Rock being the best example of this) but I have two issues with this. Firstly it's not the only type and way of having a face character, and secondly the turning back to face is happening far, far too soon. It's not that long ago that they were bad guys, and their betrayals are still quite fresh. This limits the amount I for one can get on board with them as faces, and in general I think it detracts from their face turn. Add to which if you keep changing someone's character so often it gets confusing and farcial (e.g. Big Show in later years.) More to the point turning becomes less of a big deal. And turns really ought to be a big deal, What worries me most is that none of these ideas are dependant upon a crowd being present and makes me wonder if NXT is losing its touch. Rant over.

It's American Football-esque. Agree with you that that is daft.

True. But not in every match to the same extent. For example a team may have 4 quality players on the bench but previously could only bring on 3 of them. That advantage was there Vs all teams. Now they can bring on 5 which increases the size of the advantage considerably imo. For example Vs City you know they have a brilliant squad but they could only use 14 of those players against you. Now it's more. So think whilst the gap was always there, this rule makes it bigger.

See this is what a 8 week (or more?) break does to you. It makes you forget depressing things like our left back options. I don't rate Bell there either if I am honest. And he and Williams only seem viable choices for the role because of how horrific Bennett is there. I mean you talk about a bad set of choices, this one must be right up there.