I see Waggott's 1875 scheme is up and running well. Having spent the last month trying to force people into paying an extra £10-15 on top of their season ticket costs on the basis this will secure priority on away ticket sales, I discover this morning that Bradford cup tickets are on sale with no priority window for members or season ticket holders. Now this isn't going to be a problem for most as the allocation will be sufficient to ensure all those who want to go will be able to, and it probably won't be a big following during a busy schedule. But I'm not happy that I've bought this membership on the basis it achieves priority on tickets and then I find that actually that doesn't exist.

I'd hope and expect given the seriousness of the situation that rapid progress was being made to sign at least one permanent CB. The transfer window shuts anyway in a little over 2 weeks. It wasn't long ago that Sharpe was suggesting not 1 but 2 CBs were being sought and since then we've lost Barnes and Wharton to injuries which only escalates the urgency. That there has been little to no suggestion of any permanent CB being sought, with only links to the Liverpool lad, this makes me wonder why, yet again, we are resorting to 'solving' the CB issue with a loan signing. Why not invest in this position? Ayala will be out of contract this time next year and I suspect is highly unlikely to be renewing, at least not close to his current wages. Question marks too over whether Barnes and Carter are the solution. I'd expect to see steps taken to deal with this yet it seems little is happening. As for Phil Jones - I wouldn't touch him with a bargepole. Completely at odds with everything we are supposedly aiming to do here - build a squad for the longer term, develop assets and focus on younger players with good fitness levels. He's had his chance with Rovers.

If we mean business this season, and I think the manager and at least a good portion of the dressing room does, then we can't be going to Reading or indeed many other places this season and being happy with a point. They are a poor side and have a very poor manager. I expect them to react after their Rotherham thrashing and their home form hasn't been the worst but we should have enough about us. In times gone by this would have been a crashing back down to earth fixture so just hope that Tomasson has another plan up his sleeve.

And it wasn't long ago you were predicting a swathe of new signings before the season started, and we've signed 3. So you've been proven wrong there haven't you? We can all play games about where predictions made on here haven't materialised. Window still open so nobody proven right or wrong on transfer predictions yet. I don't recall ever saying we wouldn't make any cash signings at all this summer. I think I said that we would be limited to a few hundred grand signings here and there in similar fashion to last year when we got Pickering and Edun, and I also said I expected that they would recoup any outlay made with sales, which if Brereton leaves they certainly will.

I was referring to a loan signing. That can't be for the long term by its very definition. Either it happens when we need it to or we move on. The injury situation and lack of incomings has the potential to derail an excellent start to the season. We got away with it yesterday due to a monumental physical effort but we need bodies quickly - everyone knows that none more so than the manager. So hopefully things will move quickly rather than adopting the "we're just fine and don't need to do anything" attitude.

I'm still looking forward to what Broughton has up his sleeve. Promises of "good budgets" yet to really materialise with only 3 signings, one of which on loan. Tomasson confidently stating last week that we would be stronger come deadline day. Only a couple more on loan and a Brereton sale would torpedo that.

If you rely on loans to fill up your squad then you are entirely at the behest of the loaning club as to when that player will be made available. The loan is just as much for their benefit as it is Rovers. If we are now at risk of going to Reading and Sheffield without reinforcements because we are waiting on Liverpool then we need to move on and we need to quickly get some permanent business done We cannot allow momentum to be disrupted by this.

Well, what an effort from the team delivering a very good win. I thought WBA would be a tough nut to crack and with the news on Wharton being out I was apprehensive before kick off. Despite there being few chances and a backs to the wall job for us in the 2nd half I thought it was an eventful and exciting contest. But what an effort to overcome all the issues and things going against us. I don't know what is going on but for 3 young lads to all be out injured after 2 games of the season is a worry. But on the plus side this was going to happen sooner or later and now we've got chance to do something about it. We need 2 CBs in quick. That last half hour really put me through the mill, can't imagine how the players must have been feeling.

I think the big thing for me is the structure. I have faith in it. I've loved everything about Tomasson so far and long may that continue, says and does all the right things, an impressive resume to back it up. One thing I have picked up on is that he is adept at playing the media and handling them very well. He seems to be one step ahead of questions, can come up with a smart response in inteviews and is no fool. I remember watching an interview of his after Malmo had played Juventus in the Champions League and I detected a whiff almost of arrogance (in the good sense) in the way he handled the media. But at the end of the day he is the 'head coach' and he's always quick to remind us of that - he shouldn't be integral to the success or future of the club - the structure and setup should see to that. So if he ultimately turns out to be a dud, or if he gets a better offer from elsewhere, or if he gets fed up after a couple of years and leaves it isn't the end of the world, we task Broughton with finding another one, rather than persisting on easy street for 5 years with Mr Unsackable in the dugout. Most of the good stuff - the academy, the development of good players, the investment, the signings, the backroom staff - should keep going year on year regardless of who the head coach is - I think this is key. Importantly his appointment has shown for those doubters out there that this is an attractive club, that good coaches from across Europe - JDT, Carvalhal, Farke - will be interested and will come here and manage in the Championship. This is the market we need to be looking at moving forward no more overpromoting coaches, no more scrapheap appointments No more of this 'lets never sack a manager because we can't possibly do better' which we were hearing last season. Even the Mowbray worshippers are starting to acknowledge that things are looking good and have now resorted to crediting him with laying the foundations.

If its another loan so be it The way I see the CB situation is that we need 4, at least 2 on the pitch at any given time, sometimes 3 and at least 1 on the bench to step in. Forget about Barnes for this season, this leaves Ayala, Wharton, Carter (when back from injury) and Phillips. I wouldn't be making any plans that are reliant on Phillips unless he commits to a deal. If he doesn't he should be treated like a loan player. We don't even know if he is good enough yet. I want Carter to get a shot at it as he needs to and earned rave reviews at Portsmouth last season. If he doesn't make the breakthrough this season then he's going to be moving on. What won't impress me is if we sign this Dutch lad from Liverpool on the proviso that he is going to be playing every week, and in doing so dislodges one of our own CBs e.g. Carter. Whilst Ayala is the most likely given his age, cost and injury record he is simply too good to drop when he is fit.

I hold out hope that we get through and play Stockport away in the next round (I think the only possible tie which is a new ground for me) Longer term it would be good for the Club, finances, fans and young players to have a game against one of the top sides either filling Ewood or a good away trip. We haven't had one of those now since Liverpool in 2015.

Until the people running the club start looking beyond the M65 as our catchment area and towards the wider region then we are doomed to fail. We will never get sufficient numbers attending from the town of Blackburn. Nothing wrong with that per se as long as the club recognises it and does something to maintain numbers from other towns. The usual places - Clitheroe, Ribble Valley, South Ribble, Rossendale, Hyndburn. Sadly, either because they don't understand our fanbase (postcodes of season ticket holders would explain it), because they don't want the hassle of making the effort I have seen almost zero effort from the club over the last 10 years in those areas. In the PL it is easy - you don't need to make the same effort as people will come from afar either way - but in the lower leagues you have to keep people going and engage them. Instead this lot seem more comfortable with a local small scale operation. They can churn out data about how many more people from minority communities are attending but when losing thousands of long standing season ticket holders from other areas it is only going one way.

Because when 'Hartlepools United' was formed it came about from a merger between two Hartlepool clubs - one Hartlepool the other West Hartlepool I think.

People overestimate things based on a summer of no games, a natural tendency to be optimistic about our own youngsters and a positive result on the opening day with an almost fully fit squad. Get through to the depths of winter with 3 games a week, injuries, suspensions, tiredness and a few bad results / performances and the lack of depth will be brought into focus and cost us. Unfortunately when that time comes we won't be able to do anything about it because the window will be shut and it will be a case of limping through to January and finding some loans. I'd prefer we prepared for those eventualities by adding depth now, when we have time on our side and a full season ahead of us to try and accomplish something, than taking a gamble and potentially jeopardizing success by cutting corners now.

Does it? 10 outgoings, 3 incomings, 1 a youngster on loan and 2 from League One. Long way to go yet. Another 3 needed minimum. Looks like they've allowed a slice of the Armstrong money into the pot a year on, or if Brereton goes they will still turn a huge profit on trading again. Not to mention the wage bill which will be a fraction of what it was 14 months ago. So lets see where we stand at the end of the window. If there's been a significant net outlay on new players I'll applaud them, but if this is the limit of it or it is covered 8 times over by Brereton being sold I'm afraid it is just more of the same from Venkys.

I'll reserve judgment on Morton just like I will on any signing I know very little about rather than heralding it as a masterstroke. He could be another Harvey Elliott, Leighton Clarkson or somewhere in between. My views on borrowing other clubs players to fill gaps in the squad are already known. I'm not a fan of it. Unless the player is so good that we couldn't possibly do better by signing our own or it is the icing on the cake I don't think it is a sensible policy in any respect other than financial - it certainly isn't a policy that is suggestive of building an asset base or a long term plan. Yes I know what Broughton has had to say about our own academy lads having 'pathways' into the first team but that suggests to me that we are approaching recruitment based on a short term arrangement in the hope that a year or two down the line the academy lads step up to the plate. Having let so many players leave I am worried that those numbers required keep on being cut down. Having offloaded 10 from last season's squad I would hope to see 5-6 permanent additions and then maybe a couple of loans to finish things off. I can see it now people will be saying after this and the Peterborough lad that we are almost sorted. I think not.

I refused to watch any of the game but knew they would win tonight. It all stacked up in their favour. Huddersfield bound to have the post play-off final hangover and then on top of that have lost their manager and two best players in the last 2-3 weeks and appointed a rookie coach. Ideal conditions for the dingles, lucky them.

According to Waggott (I know, I know) there are around 1,000 people who held season tickets last year who haven't yet renewed for this year. I find that to be alarming and I would hope Waggott does too. Given we are only starting from a base of circa 8,000 season ticket holders to begin with, to face a situation where 13% of those are not renewing, despite a decent season last year and the new manager ''bounce'' suggests there is something very wrong. Of course some of that is natural drop off and will be replaced by new people which has been the case since the start of time, but I do think that is a high number / percentage, especially when you factor in that renewals got the cheaper 'loyalty' price - so I'm not sure how much of this can be put down to pricing alone.

Earlier this summer people were suggesting James Brown as a competent Championship RB who could fill in to replace Nyambe. He's just joined League Two newboys Stockport on loan. Best of luck to the lad but I think that brings things into perspective. What people think we might have available isn't all that.

Preston have not only sold considerably more than us, but in doing do have likely made more money (despite far lower prices), will certainly make more on food and drink on matchdays through having 5000 more a week on watching and will reap the benefits of having a 2/3 full ground every week and only 7000 empty seats rather than a 1/3 full ground and 20,000 empty seats. It doesn't look good for us on any level. If our higher prices were enabling us to rake in substantially higher income than them then there might be some justification for them. But I fail to see how that case can be made. Even if we have made slightly more money that has to be offset against the income from food and drink and benefits of having a full ground.

No, my clever plan would have to be honest and transparent with the fans and other stakeholders. Just say that it isn't resolved and couldn't be until he turned 17. Instead Waggott once again seized the opportunity before him to try and get some free credit in the bank by leading people on a merry dance believing that the situation was resolved. He got a big pat on the back from it and then surprise surprise it isn't sorted, far from it, and we stand to lose yet more money. He didn't say it was 'pretty much done' either. If you read the article it says a 3 year deal is agreed and clearly implies that the situation is done and dusted and that everyone should feel good about it. Nowhere have I said we could force him to sign a contract, and nowhere have I said we are immune to the threat of bigger clubs coming in and taking an interest. But then again patterns are emerging here that are impossible to ignore. Patterns which involve the CEO leading people to believe things are happening, or are going to happen, only for them not to. This corresponds to what I have been saying for months - that these people can talk the talk - promise the earth, tell us how great things are going to be at some point in the future, tell us how Player X is going to sign, how Venkys are going to provide money for players, how we are going to spend fortunes on a new training ground or new pitch. It's all jam tomorrow. Yet time after time people fall for it. Believe them. Then believe the sob stories and excuses that come with it when things don't happen. I fully expect this summer to go the same way. Lots of big talk for weeks on end about how recruitment is going to kick into gear, about how we are lining up good players rather than adopting a scattergun approach, about how money is going to be invested, how we've plenty of time to do this before the end of August. Hope I'm wrong but I've seen this before. It ends with excuses, bullshit, 'we've done our best', 'money was there but we couldn't spend it'. Hope and pray I am wrong because if I am not then the bottom 3 won't be far away this season. I know people like to think I enjoy being negative or pessimistic about things but I think that is an entirely reasonable and fair stance to take given the above examples.

I wouldn't have gone to the press and said or implied that the situation was resolved. I would have been honest and said it wasn't. Of course nobody can be forced to sign a contract. Though given the numbers who have declined them I think if you haven't already it is perhaps time to start questioning the approach of those offering them.

Which is precisely my point. Plenty of folk are keen to take Waggott's word for it, not just in this instance but in most other areas of concern. "We've done a,b,c" "We've offered x,y,z" "We've got big bids on the table for new players" "We've done all we can" "It's not our fault" Time after time stuff he comes out with then doesn't happen. I just don't get why people are so keen to believe the party line when he's got such a track record for bullshit or saying things that don't happen. Player after player depart for nothing, costing the club millions in lost player value, yet rather than question what the hell people like Waggott are up to instead it's easier to look away from the club - FFP rules, crowds, income - all the usual easy excuses. Responsibility starts at home. And lets be honest we are only talking about Ash Phillips now because of the lack of CBs we have following another exodus this summer. If we'd have recruited properly up to this point we wouldn't even be considering putting him in the squad.

You believe what you want. I know what he's up to. He'll tell anyone and everyone what they want to hear but in the end fails to back it up. September 2021 was around the time he was telling fans Lenihan was days off signing his new deal. Not a word that he comes out with can be relied upon. I hope it makes you feel better about things telling yourself it's never an issue at Rovers' end and always something else out of our control. Won't get us anywhere though.

Not tell the press and fans the situation is resolved?