JHRover

I see Mowbray managed 3 things today that he didn't in 5 years as Rovers manager: 1) Taking the FA Cup seriously and putting out a strong side 2) Turning a game around in the last 5 minutes from a losing position to a winning one 3) Getting past the 3rd round Tosser

Nor is there ever any middle ground with Venkys. Of course they are perfectly entitled to demand whatever they want for a player under contract and if they are willing to run the risk of losing him for nothing that's their choice. If BBD stays, scores the goals to get us in the top 6 and the winner at Wembley it will be a masterstroke. The problem is that they or their finance men have imposed a strict wage structure, which has seen new contracts dry up in recent years and is why we rarely sign proven experienced quality. It doesn't seem to feature in their thinking that rather than let a player leave for £0 and then have to replace quality in the market in the summer with little money and limited wages that they could avoid it all by increasing the wage budget and ensuring the likes of Waggott get these contracts sorted well in advance. Instead they carry on with it and let these situations unfold. Ah yes, its late Saturday and Nicko is along with another 'Rovers exclusive' Regular as clockwork just in time for the Sunday papers. He's so obvious.

Not many non-PL clubs will ever have a commercial opportunity like Brereton-Mania drop into their lap unexpectedly with minimal input. An amazing turn of events that very few would have dreamt of but it happened and all of sudden we have a Chilean International in our ranks with millions around the world taking an interest, following the club and the story. What have Rovers done to capitalise on this unexpected bonus? Anything at all? Idiots.

Deary deary me. I'd almost prefer no effort at all than this. From PL Champions and Pride of Lancashire to a few desolate shelves at the back of a vaping shop. Waggott working wonders dragging the club down to his grubby level.

I agree with this. I have heard from several people the theory that there was money available at various stages in the last few transfer windows, but that Mowbray decided not to spend it. It's a difficult one to interpret. I know Mowbray is an odd one, some of his decisions whilst manager prove that, and we know he kept on about 'trust' with the owners, so I suppose it isn't beyond imagination to think that he chose not to spend in some effort to impress the owners or win credit that he wasn't spending for the sake of it. It also wouldn't surprise me if he had certain 'principles' on bringing people into the club in January that might dislodge his favourite players. On the flip side, particularly looking at last January, it simply doesn't add up that a professional football manager, with promotion to the PL dangling in front of his nose at the mid-way point of the season wouldn't do absolutely everything he could to try and secure that. This lends some weight to the suggestion that there actually wasn't much money available or that blame lies with the owners. Now 'money available' can mean anything to be honest. It can 'flex' on the wage bill to bring a few loans in - like we managed when we brought in Harwood Bellis and Branthwaite that January. It can mean relatively small sums available for cash signings, but obviously those can only complete if the player in question is willing to join on our wage budget and doesn't get a better offer elsewhere. I certainly believe there is a concentrated effort from people employed by the club to shield and protect the owners from any criticism or blame. I think this runs from Pasha and Waggott down, rubs off on lower ranking staff and then permeates through into people who are in contact with people at the club. Before you know it a throwaway comment is repeated and becomes fact. One thing I think we can safely say, based on conduct, is that the owners have little to no interest in what is happening on the pitch at any given time. Go back to Coyle's days and he wouldn't have lasted until February if they did, Mowbray would have been binned much earlier, and even mid-season last year when it was clear he'd lost the plot. With that in mind I find it quite hard to believe that they will respond to events on pitch to make money available to strengthen accordingly. These people react after the event in their own good time. I remember the talk that one of the owners had suddenly decided to offer a massive bonus to the players last year if they got us promoted. Didn't happen. The players might well have very lucrative bonus clauses in their existing contracts in the event we get promoted but those will have been agreed when they joined. Venkys didn't and would find it a very difficult task to offer every player a massive bonus in the middle of last season - it would require new contracts or amended contracts for everyone. So yeah, I hate to say it but think I am inclined to agree with old Coyle - it lies with the owners.

They're busy bracing the fans for another low key window IMO. All the talk in the press about a need to be patient, need to be creative, no major changes etc. It all points to being reactive rather than proactive. Probably waiting and seeing what cheap loans come available or what interest materialises in our players first rather than grabbing the bull by the horns and moving quickly to capitalise on our position. Interesting to see a play-off rival Middlesbrough straight into the market lining up Cameron Archer - a player who could make an immediate difference to them. When have we ever done similar? It all reinforces my long held view that an annual budget is set in the summer, Pasha and Waggott are sent on their way to run the club with it, there's little plan or ambition above or beyond ensuring the club functions on budget. We get to January and the budgets are tight meaning we have to tread carefully on signings and focus on loans. The owners don't know nor care about our position in the table and won't be making funds available to properly strengthen.

A bit weird at Bristol City so would exercise caution. The away end is quite big but for some strange reason they refuse to open the front half of it, even when teams comfortably sell out their initial allocation. WBA went there last week and this happened - all the lower blocks were covered with netting even though WBA had sold the back out easily. So we wouldn't be given the full stand even if demand required it. That won't be a problem for us as we won't sell out the back portion which runs the full width of the pitch but they don't seem to be very flexible with their policies there. I also seem to recall issues with them in terms of not selling tickets on the day. They seem to be a bit funny there.

This is the equivalent of having a car, not taking it for a service, not replacing the tyres when needed, not changing the oil, never cleaning it but then expecting credit for changing the screen wash when it runs out. It is now 2 years since that famous January Sky game at Middlesbrough the week after we had to postpone a Championship game due to the state of our pitch. 2 years since Waggott or a subordinate spoke to Sky who stated during that Middlesbrough game that a multi-million replacement of the pitch was planned for the summer, and 2 years on it hasn't happened, it was just another throwaway 'promise' made when the spotlight and pressure was on but with no serious intention of ever doing it. File it with the made up Brockhall project, new Riverside and just about any other scheme that would require serious effort or capital outlay.

I think anyone expecting cash to be spent on permanent signings, particularly 'proven' calibre players or foreigners, is in for a disappointing window. Someone like Rothwell would require a hefty contribution by Rovers towards his weekly wage which will stand at upwards of £20,000. What I'm expecting is perhaps another investment type signing along the lines of Markandy, Szmodics, Hyam - that being someone who has done well at the lower levels available for a reasonable price - and then perhaps a shuffle around on the loans. If we look at what we did last January I'm expecting similar - small amount of money spent back then on Hedges and Markandy, Giles on loan - that sort of business.

Give me another 10-11 of those this season and I'll be delighted. Give me more of those performances and wins rather than the so called nice football under Mowbray where we let precious points slip in the last 5-10 minutes on countless occasions. Early kick off, low gate, quiet atmosphere, horrendous pitch, playing a defensively solid side struggling at the wrong end - all the ingredients there for a frustrating afternoon. Not many of these Championship games end up comfortable. We got through it. Job done and on we go. We deserved more than 0 points from Sunderland and Middlesbrough. In days gone by we might have let 2-3 slip today. I'm happy. Just hope we can build on it now in the next 4 games which look attractive if you mean business in this league.

Just had my 'important information' email from Rovers ahead of tomorrows game. "Supporters who are planning on driving to Ewood Park should expect delays upon arrival and exiting the stadium vicinity. Parking for this fixture is extremely limited and supporters who arrive after 11am should expect delays at the turnstiles" They are on another planet this lot. Unless you are fortunate enough to live within walking distance of Ewood Park I suspect you will HAVE to travel by car given it is New Years Day and an early kick off. It isn't some preference people will plump for but the ONLY way of getting to the game for most. I'll be surprised if in reality more than 10,000 turn up for it, they'll announce it as just above to keep it respectable but in practice there will be a lot not going due to NYE, early kick off and tv. If we should expect delays on arrival for such a measly number how on earth do they plan on ever hosting a 25,000+ crowd in the future? Why is parking 'extremely limited for this fixture?' Why will there be delays on the turnstiles for people arriving a full hour before kick off? It's just nonsense. What time would they like people to turn up for a noon kick off on New Years' Day?

My sympathies to any Cardiff fan making this journey. I was unhappy with the early kick off at Sunderland but this is even earlier for a journey twice the duration. Combine with being New Years' Day it is an absolute disgrace and I'd love to know which selfish cretin at Sky Sports selected this and thought it was acceptable.

They've allowed a lot worse including not taking opportunities to take retrospective action. If that is 'violent conduct' we are going to need 2-3 red cards every game. It didn't meet the criteria for violent conduct, IMO, but conveniently there is extremely wide discretion on these things so it means they can accommodate any decision within the rules somewhere.

I thought the performance tonight, first half particularly, was more in keeping with our efforts earlier this season. I thought we did well and thought it was a good game, probably should have had a second through Dack or Gallagher. Second half we got caught out early, but then you really need calm collected heads, Buckley's act of petulance not the first time he's been in trouble and he needs to get a grip. I can tolerate red cards when they are necessary or part of managing a game but when for ludicrous things such as tonight or that one at Derby the other year he needs to reflect on it carefully. By the letter of the law a red which will get the officials off the hook with it but if I had the time I could go through Championship games this season and probably find dozens of similar or worse incidents in plain view of the referee or linesmen where nothing is given. So it comes back to consistency again. Can't argue with Buckley but then I expect to all such acts sanctioned in the same way. We all know it doesn't happen which is the part I can't accept. It seems Eltrincham was the one who gave it, which he did well to see in between his match-long discussion and conversation with Carrick and Woodgate. I wasn't sure the 4th officials' task was to analyse and explain every event to the management team of one club but that's what he was doing. Then when they had a corner and committed a foul at the DE he wasn't even looking as he was too busy talking to Woodgate. No doubt in my mind influenced by their theatrics after our first goal. A frustrating one as at half time I felt quite good about things and confident of getting back to winning ways. Where do we go from here? Well we've three 'attractive' looking games now - Cardiff, Rotherham, Bristol City - need a good chunk of points there or excuses will be thin on the ground. End of the day though we can all see that reinforcements and options are needed - a look at the bench tonight shows how limited we are and it would be negligent of ownership and management to not bring people in quickly. The existing players deserve help and yes we are in a good position to approach the 2nd half of the season from. I doubt we will get such business because the owners don't know nor care about where we are or what we might do, that's where the problem starts and ends. And if the owners won't back the Club (they didn't last January) in this healthy position with such a glaring need for options then are they ever? The project has been broadcast time and time again as one that revolves around developing players and using the academy. Most people seem happy with that. Don't think you can really be too surprised then if experienced tried and tested pros aren't added to the squad or the young lads fall away as the season goes on.

He just knows that the Club never wanted it. It was never his job to deliver and it was never the reason he was brought in. I think JDT would have come here wanting promotion, as would a Carvalhal or Farke in the summer, but a few weeks or months working for this mob will have got the message home that they've no intention of going for it. The proof will be in January. Yet again there will be a loan or two at best and all the talk will be of projects and FFP whilst rival clubs will go out quickly into the market and strengthen with players able to hit the ground running. They will think they sound clever but will ultimately look stupid as we blow what remains our best shot at promotion since we left the PL.

The evidence suggests otherwise. If the project claimed by the Club was indeed to become fully self sustained then there would not be situations occurring where £10 million+ worth of players, including academy graduates, walked out of the door for nothing to rival clubs. Yes that one again because it simply doesn't stack up. If the project claimed was to become fully self sustained then we would have a club shop stocked with products for Xmas shoppers to buy rather than no replica kits in October and a shrug of the shoulders 'no can do' attitude. We lose so much money BECAUSE of their management, their management has made this worse, not better. A few years ago we had 11,000 season ticket holders, despite the standard of football staying largely the same and a promotion since then we've lost another 3000 or so. Why? Because of mismanagement. Local clubs are proving that better numbers are attainable where there is an effort.

All seems a bit odd for a club hard up, desperate to increase revenues and facing a perennial battle to reduce reliance on owner funding and comply with FFP regulations.... You might expect that at the very least they would ensure that there was sufficient stock available in the shop to sell in the build up to Xmas. If this was the first time this issue had arisen it might be excusable, If it was May and not November when the issue arose it might be excusable. But when it keeps happening and it is the most lucrative time of the year heads ought to roll. Once again, I keep saying it and will keep on saying it because it shows that the Club isn't really serious about it but if FFP was such a problem and those running the club were determined to try and deal with it this issue wouldn't occur. It seems to me that having realised they are missing out on cash they have fast-tracked through this 'retro range' in a desperate attempt to provide would-be customers with an alternative product to buy when they turn up at the club shop and find no replica kits to buy. It just smells like everything else down there - the bare minimum done or committed to. Whether that be effort, tickets, stock, it is so typical of the Waggott regime. Put the minimum amount of effort in, do nothing that might end up costing the club but in the process reduce your capabilities and potential. So we don't get matchday programmes any more - the excuse being it isn't commercially viable (non league clubs think differently) We don't get a town centre shop any more - the excuse being it isn't viable. We don't get a Darwen End home section any more - the excuse being it isn't viable. We don't get sufficient stock even in popular kits - the excuse being it isn't viable. We don't get competitive or reasonable ticket prices - the excuse being it isn't viable. Meanwhile one thing that is viable is meeting Waggott's 6 figure salary for 5 years in a row. Then we see Preston and Bolton putting our gates to shame and doing all the above. How strange. Almost as though the bullshit that Waggott comes out with in these meetings isn't true.

They get worried and have to issue warnings to supporters if we get anything above 15,000. They'd have a breakdown if we ever got over 20,000 on never mind close to 30,000. I don't think they want it. The decision makers are quite happy with the 'optimum number' of 11,000 home fans paying top end prices and then a few bumper away followings to cash in on. Easy to cash in on away followings - those fans will turn up and pay without the need for Rovers to make any effort. Getting more home fans in on a regular basis however does require effort and imagination.

Chaddy if you want me to have the same opinion as you on things such as FFP you're going to have to do better than rely on articles from 'Lancashire Live'

I think JDT will be going through the process of 'Venkification' - the realisation and acceptance of how these clowns operate and the gradual destruction to ambition and excitement that comes from it. He probably came into this club as an outsider very excited about the 'project'. A good club, decent season last year, good academy, and most importantly a sniff of getting to the PL. Unfortunately after a few months working here it will become clear that there is no genuine plan or indeed desire to improve or advance the club. Just a collection of people on easy street collecting their wages and happy to bullshit their way through the years whilst the club goes nowhere. Mowbray was one of them, I had hoped his welcome exit would see a significant change. I still hope that between them JDT and Broughton have the ambition and drive to not be held back by the rest of them but it can't be easy. I am worried that we are hearing more and more Waggott/Mowbray speak these days about how massive the opposition are and how we are little old Rovers. Music to the ears of the deadweights around the place but not what I want to hear.

Once again we will see Venkys' true intentions this January. For the second season running we will go into January in a very strong position in the table and in theory in a good position to go out and add to the squad. I expect we will see a repeat of last January with minimal cash spent and a few loans to shuffle things around. That tells us all we need to know, because engaged and ambitious owners would ensure that the Club did whatever was necessary to seize advantage of this position. Then we will get the usual codswallop - can't spend due to FFP, multi-year project blah blah whilst rival clubs just get on and do it. They've already laid the foundations for a quiet month I think they need to be considering terminating the loans of Hirst and Mola. It makes little sense to me to keep either until the end of the season unless there is still an intention to keep either permanently, which is worrying if the case.

If we repeat the first 23 games and lose another 10 before the end of the season and play the same way and have complete no-shows in a few games we will still end up with 78 points and a play-off spot, which will by BY FAR our best league effort since Allardyce's days as manager. We might not of course, none of us can predict the future yet some seemingly want to blame JDT for a decline that hasn't happened yet. Number of times I and others accused Dyche and the dingles of being lucky as they edged teams out not playing well. All the talk of 'style' is the sort of stuff Mowbray used to try to get credit for whilst we plodded along in midtable. Results results results.

End of the day the manager can't really win with his team selections. If we do what has worked in the previous rounds and go with the same side that did well in getting to this point there are accusations of not bothering with the cup or playing our second string. If he'd have dropped them all and gone with the same side as at Norwich he'd have been accused of risking our league form for a 'pointless' cup competition and not rewarding the youngsters who had done well previously. There are lots of people who talk about giving our youngsters an opportunity to shine and develop in proper games - so I'm not going to criticise the manager for doing just that. Personally I've no issue at all with the team he put out and I've no real problem with the performance. They were the better side overall, they bloody well should be with the money spent and side they put out. Despite that I thought we settled down after a dodgy first 25-30 minutes and for the middle third were ok. Their 2nd and 3rd goals came from little - a misplaced pass into nowhere from us, a 15 yard wall set for the free kick and inexplicably not giving us a free kick but hey ho that's no surprise in these sort of games. I then look at the remaining sides left in the competition. Am I bothered we aren't in the draw? Not really. I know the money men would love a 'big tie' and it would be a good experience for the players but as a supporter I don't feel like I'm missing much not getting a game against United, Liverpool, City etc. Whoever it was at Rovers who decided to refer to the game as a 'potential giantkilling' on the website before the game needs a dressing down. I think that sort of language is a disgrace especially when we are talking about a club we were well above this time last season, but fits in well with some of the defeatists down at Ewood. As with everyone in the Championship it is about the League and focus on that.

As I said last week the Carabao Cup draw pitting us against Forest at Ewood was made on 10th November. No announcement about tickets was made until 25th November, then it was 15th December before the website, twitter or any other media channel of the clubs made any reference to the game. Since then there have been a few reminders. That does not suggest a club keen on getting as many people as possible to the game. It suggests a club that couldn't care less and is run in amateur fashion. Only yesterday an advertisement appeared aiming to 'cash in' on the Forest fans by opening the Legends Lounge. £10 a time to include a first drink. So basically £10 for your first pint and £5+ thereafter when you can go into a pub 5 minutes away and drink at £3 a pint. If there was strategic thinking the Legends Lounge would have been advertised weeks ago, but in typical Waggott fashion it is last minute afterthought aimed at cynically grabbing extra cash from a suprisingly large away following. Unfortunately he will probably use a poor turnout as evidence that pricing doesn't really matter - cheap tickets yet a small home turnout will be used to justify why he doesn't cut prices for league games.

So i've been back through the last few weeks and can confirm that today's announcement on the Riverside being closed shortly followed by a ticket price reminder are the first posts by Rovers about the Nottingham Forest game since the tickets were first put on sale on 25th November. This means that since the draw over a month ago there was one tweet on 25th November announcing prices and then today's reminder. Now when Waggott is sat in his office baffled by poor sales figures perhaps one thing he should be asking is whether 1 reminder in a month is sufficient marketing or promotion for a cup clash against a PL side. I'd suggest not - it is the bare minimum effort and therefore no surprise to see a poor turn out. Maybe one day they'll try and push sales and market things but until then we will be held back.