1) We simply had to improve the squad for the here and now but probably weren’t able to as we spunked a lot of money on the wrong kind of investment - one for the distant future, rather than one(s) for the first XI to drag us through now.

2) The type of signings we needed (leadership/defence) were GLARINGLY obvious come January. For whatever reason we didn’t address it in the slightest, adding nothing of the type, and it’s bitten us. Never mind January we’ve not signed a leader in years.

John Buckley signs a new deal after well publicised interest from the 'big' clubs - good news

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2019/march/buckley-buoyed-by-new-deal/

Should be similar numbers to what was a very good, noisy away end at Birmingham. 

Last week was actually really enjoyable. The season petering out means that we're at the game supporting the team not bothered about owt else other than that game and that day out. Would obviously love to be fighting further up the league but it's nice/rare to have an almost stress free day following Rovers!

19 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Wtf?

Is English not the first language on here anymore?

Lol.

Is irony not one of the primary forms of figurative language on here anymore?

7 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

What does this mean? 

I am thinking about flying over to it. Would you not advise just rocking up on the day? 

Yes you can rock up at the Blackburn End ticket office and buy one on the day with out problem.

However on a match day, the ticket price rises by £3.

If you wanted to, you could avoid that extra £3 by buying over the phone beforehand. Tell them you'll collect it on the day, you can just pitch up at anytime before kick off and pick it up from the window at the side of the club shop facing the car park.

1 hour ago, Oldgregg86 said:

You tell him Ali G

Fight the power

Respek

2 hours ago, Bowlandforest said:

The sooner you accepted that you are just a championship club now who have had your golden years purely to the generosity of a very wealthy benefactor with a dream.  You  now & in the past attracted  quite small crowds like we all do who play there football in north west . For to long we longed  for the Tom Finney days & finally with his death we have put him in the past & I am afraid if you don't put your great time behind you it will kill your enjoyment of football at Rovers. I am not jealous of Rovers in fact the opisite North End are  slowly becoming one of the best teams in the championship & not just my opinion but the all the top clubs have said it. But for the injuries we have sustained Untill the last 3 weeks & yet still missing 4 first team players injured shows how well we have done and am positive we would have made promotion.. Results since October 1st to now puts us in the Top 3. You  luckily  managed to carry your momentum from last season & had very few injuries to your key players.  So sorry to say all the comments about us is  because you can't accepted your demise as a club  & your poor owners have to take the blame even though they have pumped millions well over 100 million since they arrived. 

Time for you lot to look forward & not the past that's what North End fans are doing and we are enjoying our football.

Da sooner u acept u are jus a small club hu will never even have a bronz era in ya lifetime da better

U attrac smaller crowds like bambrough bridge HAHA

results since start ov season leave u not even in top 6 LOL more lyk best team in the CHUMPionship

can u accept dat ur just a small club on way 2 blackpool? 

Time 4 u lot to stop finkin u will ever be anyfin like us i neva heard of u til last season hu are ya hu are ya hu are ya

3 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Blackburn Rovers away is to them what Feyenoord was to us, they get a tad excited at a trek to a big famous ground housing one of the countries most illustrious clubs bless em .

EE YAH SON, WHAT DER YER THINK THAT STADIUMS CALLED CHA?

I don't know dad?

PLASTIC CHICKENWOOD PARK CHA, HA HA HA

We've been to Feyenoord, Salzburg, Leverkusen and Moscow, now all we get is PNE, PNE at hooooome

Interesting game.

Rovers and Birmingham are very similar sides at the moment. Two average championship teams, both containing one of the better players in the league in attack giving a slight edge over teams like Wigan/Millwall (Dack, Adams).

Consistently inconsistent throughout the season, neither close to going down, neither in all likelihood has the squad to make the play offs. That's not a bad thing as mid-table was probably seen as a 'good' season for both due to differing circumstances.

We're poor away from home, they've got home advantage coupled with a defence that has conceded a lot less than ours this season. They're 3 points closer to the play offs with an extra game to play so a possible motivational difference. Might be a rocket up tharse, but they did lose their last home game to the mighty force that is Bolton Wanderers. Keep a solid back line and do the basics right and we should get something.

All said, 1-1

19 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

Tony Parkes for me - qualifies on all fronts. Player, Coach, assistant manager & manager (albeit caretaker).

Over 30 years service to the club. If that doesn't justify a spot then I don't know what does.

Absolutely - second to none in terms of service to the club since it began.

Tugay & Hendry would also be at the very top of my list, closely followed by Dunny.

Trying to think of somebody a little less obvious. We haven't won a major trophy without Henning Berg since 1928. Though along those lines of logic Souness would be knocking on the door. Jansen might be more in the mould of a cult hero but his story, personality and goal at Preston are etched in to Rovers folklore.

I dislike Bolton more than Burnley!

Chim chimeny chim chimeny chim chim cheroo, we hate those barstewards in white with a little bit of blue

11 minutes ago, CP Company Lad said:

Dan James in at Leeds. £1.5m loan deal rising to around £10m if promoted. Smart bit of business. James on the left and Jack Clarke on the right gives massive options. Rip some full backs another ring piece.

The highest peak in Norway is Galdhøpiggen, 2469 meters above sea level.

Seems like the recently mentioned striking targets are dropping off one by one.

Maybe this will be the year John Carew finally makes it to Brockhall?

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

What’s Henri Lansbury doing these days?

Hamstring after hamstring. Cracking player at this level but too much of a gamble.

1 minute ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

This line on the official site would suggest not

Tony Mowbray says the centre back position is Jack Rodwell's to lose following another impressive display from the former England international.

Hadn't seen that - thanks.

Good on him for rewarding performance/form rather than defaulting to the captain if that's the case.

14 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Just read the quotes from Tomo. That is unequivocal, Rodwell is centre half with Lenihan even when Mulgrew is fit. 

I think we look better at the back with those 2, but Mulgrews dead balls could be a big loss....

Big decision for him to make.

For me it would be daft to drop Lenihan or Rodwell. Their last two games have been clean sheets, picking a motm award up in each.

On the flip side we have missed Mulgrew's delivery and he directly gives us a goal every 4 games ish, but that said we've scored 2 in each.

After winning 3 on the bounce in the league with 4 at the back it would be criminal to suddenly switch to 3 centre backs imo. So, personally I'd go Lenihan/Rodwell but with Tony's previous loyalty picks I expect Lenihan/Mulgrew.

I haven't seen it back on any of the highlights, but I've just remembered Rothwell's double-touch skill to get between two players and in to the box in the corner infront of the Blackburn End after a really good piece of work. A well crafted, clever little move that got everybody up off their seat ala Damien Duff, that's what we want to see at Ewood.

For improving the quality of our starting 11, and increasing the financial worth of our squad, getting Rodwell on to a proper contract is arguably just as much of a priority as trying to do a permanent deal for Reed.

Jack was great on Saturday and even better in a battling 90 mins at Millwall the week before. The fact he hasn’t played centre back since youth football is baffling, undoubted technical ability aside, his positioning and reading of the game from the back has been bang on. He’s at the stage of his career where this will develop further through playing experience and the signs are that he could forge a really good partnership at the back with Lenihan, something that is a bit of a god send considering Mulgrew’s age & the fact it could possibly save a decent transfer fee this summer.

We’re starting to get a small glimpse of why he has commanded two massive transfer fees in the past. We don’t know what Rodwell wants, but if there is a financially viable deal to be done we shouldn’t even be stopping to consider it.  

1 hour ago, benhben said:

Disagree with this. Williams must be the worst player I've seen in a Rovers shirt since Lowe. I also said this all last season. Bell isnt good by any stretch but much better than Williams. Id look to replace both in summer. 

 

Important we win this to get over the newcastle game dissapointment. Hoping Reed is fit. Given Armstrong has found some form and scored a few goals lately I would keep him upfront even if it means moving Dack around a bit. Give Dack a free role off the left. We shouldnt be worrying about Ipswich at home and play how we want. 

                      Raya

Nyambe   Lenihan Rodwell Bell

               Travis Reed

Rothwell                         Dack

       Graham Armstrong

Decent shout that team, not the ideal position or system for Dack as stated above, and definitely not enough defensive cover from him for Bell but its hard to drop him - Tony's call as manager.

I think we play at our best with 2 up tops. Arma warrants a run of games playing as a striker and Graham is the ideal partner for him with Nuttall first in waiting. Travis and Reed are also an ideal energetic midfield partnership to make this system work fitness permitting.

We need to take the game to them from the first minute. They beat Rotherham 1-0 last week, interestingly Ipswich had 3 shots to Rotherhams 18. Rotherham play with 1 up top and aren't the most creative side. Put them under pressure from the start and our front line should do the business.

36 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Leftie.. ..Shane Ferguson from millwall for me. Should be no problem getting him.

Seemed slow and not much of a threat at all on Saturday. Aside from the 2 goals he scored in the FA Cup last week, he's only got 4 goals in over 100 for Millwall with a lot of those games in League One, we could do much much better than him. A poor man's Conway.

Delighted with the 3 points. Rodwell. Lenihan. Travis. Arma. Absolutely immense performances.

I don’t mean to open the ‘sell our best player and reinvest in to the squad’ debate but we look so much better playing 4-4-2. With Reed as a permanent  addition playing next to Travis, and the addition of a new left back and a natural winger or two, I think we would be a better outfit next season.

3 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Quarter final and replay, and thankfully that clown shoe had gone.

Was in the dying days of Appleton. We spent two games hoofing the ball to Danny Shitu’s head...

Great trip down for the away leg with a really good following from us that day.

Our minibus driver nipped out for food in the first half and wasn’t allowed back in to the locked gated away coach area to pick us up so he waited a few streets away. After the game the 16 of us were escorted to the minibus by 9 or 10 policemen whilst the locals literally barked and growled at us - strange place is Bermondsey.

Going for a score draw today.

3 minutes ago, Tom Stinny said:

Give some of the young players a start here. Lads such as Travis and Brereton should be starting this game. Would play Rothwell and Palmer as well.

 

Leutwiler 

Bennet Downing Williams Bell

Travis Evans

Palmer Rothwell Armstrong 

Brereton

 

Don't risk Graham, Mulgrew and Dack. Could push Lenihan into the team but for me I'd rather build in the league.

 

Are there any academy players that could step up that anyone knows of?

I'd like to go strong by keeping more or less the same side as last Saturday tomorrow . If we're thinking about the league we don't want to lose momentum from the WBA win ahead of two games that we want to win in Millwall and Ipswich.

Eitherway we won't be going up or down this season so a decent cup run would be ideal & we have 3000 Rovers travelling who want to see a win.

16 minutes ago, 47er said:

The problem is TM is still considering loaning Travis out. Cannot fathom that one at all.

Likewise. We wouldn't dream of loaning Evans or Smallwood out so doing so with Travis based on recent form and recent line ups would be insane.