https://www.twtd.co.uk/blogs/21959/opposition-preview--blackburn-rovers Pretty detailed opposition preview from the TWTD website. Interestingly going with a 2-1 Rovers win.

It was indeed very cool to see The Rock back, and what a huge pop! Apparently the plan was for Reigns/Rock at the WM just gone, but the stars didn't align from a scheduling perspective. To be honest I'm not sure they ever will. Rock got busted up pretty badly in his last match against Cena, and that was 10 years ago. It isn't going to be any easier for a 51 year old Rock, and I don't see him putting potential movies in jeapoardy over a one off match at this point.

Well it is indeed my opinion, I would hope I don't need to put that as a disclaimer with every statement! Nobody has ever said he's the perfect player, but he's still contributed with goals and assists as a young player in previous seasons, and had improved from 21/22 to 22/23, reasonably enough from a kid who was only 19/20 at the time. This season however he's really struggled to make any kind of impact, despite JDT putting him in as a first team regular (granted mainly because we have no squad depth). He'd missed some real sitters as well, and his confidence seems dented. Would make sense at this point to take him out of the firing line for a while.

When Hull beat us on August 19th. In general though you might be right, it'd be interesting to see the stats for that.

There was a stat posted by someone last year which showed we were overall the worst at coming from behind to gain points, by some distance, over something like the past 3 years across the entire EFL. Whilst it may not be common, we're still on the extreme end of the scale.

Has had some very unfair criticism in the past, but unfortunately this season it's warranted. He's not been good enough.

Has to be a mentality thing that exists within the numerous players still left over from the Mowbray era, where this issue began. If JDT hasn't been able to coach it out of them after a year plus then it probably requires a lot of them being replaced. How we do that with little to no budget and stay competitive is anyone's guess.

Certainly in our case, as we continue this ridiculously poor record of being unable to win a match if we fall behind. As it's the first half of the season he probably would have bagged a couple. If the match had happened after Christmas probably none.

Playing badly and still being able to win tends to be the sign of a good team (assuming they don't play badly all the time). Playing well and still not getting results... well, usually that doesn't end so well as confidence begins to ebb away. Taking last season's second half dip into account we've been struggling for consistent form for some time now. Venky's ruined our chances of seriously addressing this in the summer, so it's no surprise we aren't really any further forward.

We were very bad at taking our chances and keeping the ball out of our net, they were very clinical. Some decent attacking options and we would have scored more than one - better defensive shape and we don't concede three. Sunderland weren't anything special but it's the same problems that sunk us against Plymouth/Hull and caused our problems against Rotherham. In my view there isn't very much we can do about the attacking side of things, as Venky's wrecked our transfer window, so we have to focus on making the defensive side of our game better. Problem is I think JDT is going with this attacking style because he knows we need a lot of chances to score, which will inevitably leave us vulnerable at the back.

Please don't make posts that contain insults, as that post and any quoting it will be hidden. It's fine to disagree, just don't be an arse about it.

Despite a strong start following the international break, Rovers sank to a dismal 3-1 defeat at the hands of former boss Tony Mowbray's Sunderland at Ewood Park. Despite getting back into the game after initially conceding, Rovers let in a goal on the stroke of half time and allowed Sunderland to score another midway into the second half. This defeat keeps Rovers erratic form going, and more concerning is that we have only kept a single clean sheet in our first seven games. Rovers drop to 12th, with GD now -3. Sunderland meanwhile continue a bright start to the season with a fourth victory in five games taking them up to 4th. Neil Warnock's final game as Huddersfield boss ended in a 2-2 home draw with struggling Stoke City. Huddersfield would have been aiming for a win here, but a draw means they've taken seven points from their last nine, and Warnock seems to be leaving the club in a decent enough position. Time will tell whether the 'mutual' decision to remove him will prove to be a masterstroke or a massive mistake. A draw ends a run of three staight defeats for Stoke, but isn't the kickstart to the season they needed. Hudds sit in 16th, with Stoke in 19th. Hull and Leeds played out a 0-0 draw at the MKM Stadium. Hull didn't have a single shot on target, but Joe Rodon's 60th minute sending off for Leeds was enough to keep the score level. Nonetheless Leeds are five games unbeaten with three draws and two wins, and move up to 9th. Hull meanwhile sneak back into 6th spot, nudging Bristol City back out of the playoff spots. Millwall handily dispatched Rotherham with a 3-0 victory at the Den. Rotherham's largely dismal start to the season continues with just one win and one draw in their first seven games, having lost the rest. They've already shipped sixteen goals and only scored seven, so the signs aren't good. Regardless of that they remain outside the relegation places for now, staying in 21st. Millwall climb to 11th, just ahead of Rovers, with both teams starting the season with similarly inconsistent form. Watford and WBA drew 2-2 at Vicarage Road, with all goals coming in the first 23 minutes. The result continues an underwhelming start to the season for both clubs. They fall to 14th and 15th respectively. Norwich's fantastic early form was halted with a 2-0 home defeat against Leicester. The away side now join norwich as joint-top scorers in the division, and the win pulls them back into 2nd spot, just ahead of Ipswich on goal difference. Despite second defeat in three matches for Norwich, they still sit within the playoffs in 5th spot.

We clearly have very different perspectives on things. For me a 3-1 home defeat, our third in seven matches, is not a sign of great things to come... but hey, I've been wrong before.

Really worrying. I'd take mid-table right now if it was offered.

He simply had too much control here and not enough expectation placed on him. Sunderland actually have standards and something resembling a decent setup in place. Granted they have their problems too, but it's a completely different environment for Mowbray compared to being here.

As a Rovers fan you might as well turn off the game when we concede first. It's fucking embarrassing how weak these players are.

With no decent attackers and a defence that is conceding goals for fun we're going nowhere. Our summer signings either aren't good enough to get on the pitch or playing in the u23's. What a joke.

So far we've conceded two or more against Walsall, Rotherham, Hull, Plymouth and now Sunderland. JDT has to find a way to make us better defensively - whether it's midfield or defence, something needs to be tweaked. Even with better strikers a solid defence is really important. We aren't going to score as many as we'd like this season because we don't have any real quality up top, so it's imperative to focus on keeping the ball out of our net. Especially as we struggle so badly with getting any kind of result if we concede first.

We've conceded two (again). They've had two on target and scored both. Doesn't really matter if we defend well generally but continue to give away goals.

Because we just aren't good enough defensively. JDT spoke in his press conference about preferring to win games 5-3 rather than 1-0, but that philosophy only works if you have goalscorers in the team.

I remember watching the first 45 minutes of Ipswich's opening match against Sunderland and saying they were overhyped and with the squad they had they were going to do well to finish mid-table. The next 45 and 6 games since, Leeds aside, have proven that to be a foolish take indeed. Whilst their squad isn't anything special individually, as a collective they are far more than the sum of their parts. McKenna has them set up in a way that perfectly suits the squad they have, and every player knows their role and what's expected of them. This will be a tough match and our defence is going to need to be very solid to avoid defeat. With JDT in charge I always feel like we have a chance of winning matches, but it'll come down to which Rovers turns up on the day, and how well we start. We still haven't shaken the inability to pull ourselves together when we go behind, so I think the first goal in this one will be crucial.

Probably the most worrying thing from Southampton's perspective is that their defence and attack have essentially collapsed at the same time. They've conceded ten goals in the last three games, and only scored one.

Had a quick look on a Plymouth forum and they all seemed absolutely baffled by the amount of changes, so it doesn't seem that there was a reason beyond tactical/rotation. Probably best not to do that again.

Plymouth's recent struggles continued as they were given a bit of a hiding from Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The home side won 4-1, thoroughly dominating the match. City have had a quietly solid start to the season, having only lost one of their first seven matches, and now find themselves in 5th, having won two and drawn two of their last four matches. They've also only conceded six goals, making their defence one of the tightest in the division thus far. Plymouth meanwhile have lost four of their last five matches. No prizes for guessing who was the one win in their last five matches. They drop to 17th, with their GD having taken a bit of a battering tonight. Cardiff built on their victory at the weekend with a 3-2 home victory against Coventry. It's their third win in four matches and lifts them to 9th in the table. Coventry meanwhile still only have a solitary win to their name so far this season, and their succession of draws is followed up by a defeat. They are now 15th. Preston's momentum continues to build as they recorded yet another win, this time a 2-1 result at home to Birmingham. It sees Preston back in top spot for now, having won six and drawn one of their opening seven games. Conceding just five goals makes their defence joint-best in the division alongside Leicester and Watford. Birmingham meanwhile continue to drop points after a good start to the season. It's their second defeat on the spin, and means they've only picked up one point from the last nine available. They slip outside of the playoff spots into 7th. QPR and Swansea recorded a 1-1 draw which does little for either club. Swansea were a goal ahead until the 92nd minute when QPR snatched an equaliser, and Swansea's misery was further compounded with a 98th minute sending off after Ollie Cooper managed to get himself booked twice in the space of a minute - not for remonstrating with officials, either, just two reckless fouls in succession. He'd only come on in the 73rd minute. This result means Swansea continue to wait for their first league victory, and are condemned to their worst start to a season in 32 years. They remain in 22nd position in the table. It was QPR's first draw of the season, and considering how the match went they'll likely be grateful for the point, having likely been initially targeting this as a three pointer. Russell Martin continues to work his magic at Southampton, as they fell to a third successive defeat, this time at home to Ipswich. Whilst they didn't concede a hatful of goals this time, it was a defensive error that gave Ipswich their goal. By all accounts Ipswich were the better side as well, suggesting that Southampton's confidence is faltering, whilst Ipswich will no doubt have had their morale boosted further by yet another victory. They've made an outstanding start to the season, with six wins from seven, having won their last three, bouncing back admirably after their 4-2 defeat to Leeds. Some job McKenna has done there. Ipswich are joint-second for goals scored, with fierce rivals Norwich remaining the division's top scorers. They climb back to second, putting pressure on Leicester to keep up. Southampton meanwhile drop to 11th, and questions will surely be asked now about Russell Martin's future at the club. Finally, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough played out a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough. Rovers' old boy Darragh Lenihan was on the scoresheet for Boro, claiming the equaliser which ended up being the last goal of the match. The match was otherwise notable for Sheffield Wednesday's supporters engaging in a tennis ball protest against their owners, causing a brief early stoppage. The result doesn't do much to help either team, with Wednesday remaining in 23rd and Boro still rooted to the bottom of the table. Both sides are yet to pick up a victory thus far in the campaign, and have an equal record of five goals scored. Boro fare slightly worse on goals conceded with 14 to Wednesday's 11. The draw does stop a run of defeats for Boro, but that won't lift many spirits as they find themselves still waiting for a sign of hope that they can revive themselves as they did last season.

I wouldn't be too worried about Sunderland's goalscoring prowess. 5 of their 12 goals came against a Southampton team who basically don't have a defence, and 3 of those came against 10-man QPR. They won't find it anywhere near as easy at Ewood as they did in those two matches. At home we very rarely concede that amount of goals.