You trust the CEO to provide an honest account? Wow

I think you are coming at things from the polar opposite to me. When I see Nyambe and Lenihan moving to clubs like Stoke and Middlesbrough I don't feel good about it, and I don't think it proves anything about those players moving to rival 2nd division mid table clubs. I think it only offers a very alarming insight into the state of things at Blackburn Rovers, that despite nurturing these lads and them being mainstays of our team having been here since childhood, that these lads are now seeing their future away from Ewood and seeing clubs like Middlesbrough and Stoke as better places to be. I think that is very alarming, worrying and needs changing, because those running this club are effectively reducing us to a lower class than even the likes of Middlesbrough and Stoke, not to mention Lancashire rivals when it comes to attendances and ticket sales. A lot of Rovers fans seem to want to ignore this angle and instead adopt the approach of "told you they weren't that good" as they move to rivals, as though it somehow vindicates our approach and that we are going to come out of this situation better off. I think we are better focusing our efforts on the former and not trying to convince ourselves that moves to Stoke and Middlesbrough prove us right.

There clearly is or certainly was an issue with extending contracts. Armstrong, BBD, Nyambe, Rothwell and Lenihan are living proof of that. The only reassurance since then is the commitment of Travis, Kaminski and Gallagher which suggests something changed later on last season. But prior to that we had gone circa 2 years without getting any senior player tied down to new terms. That suggests to me something wrong at the clubs end. Whether that be budgets, negotiators, timings, who knows, but for ALL of those players to turn down the offers after so long tells me there's a problem with how the club went about it. 'Nothing we can do about it' is precisely the attitude Waggott wants us all to take. Of course there are other things the club could have done, as is the case in every contract negotiation - offer more money, increase the budget, come to the table much earlier

I remember a lot of people questioning the fee paid for him, particularly given the massive imbalance compared to lack of investment in other positions of the team. To be fair to Mowbray and co. after 4 years the investment has been vindicated. It took a long time but we got there in the end. I don't remember any talk about giving him away or being happy for him to leave for nothing.

Hardly. Mowbray, Waggott and Venkys had obviously satisfied themselves of Brereton's potential by shelling out multi-millions for him when he was a teenager coming through at Forest. We all raised our eyebrows at that outlay and commitment but the decision was made and I assume made following extensive scouting and research from our staff. Having made that commitment and then persevered with the lad from 2018-2021 a decision should have been made by the end of summer 2021 as to where we were going with him heading into the last 12 months of his deal (forget the 12 month extension which is little more than a last gasp insurance policy). If you are willing to spend that sort of cash on him and willing to put the hard yards in for 3 years developing him it seems bizarre that you would then sit back and let him head into the last 12 months of his deal without either moving him on or giving him an extension. It was always a long term project signing, so when you get to the last 12 months of his deal you have a decision to make, seems we did neither and kicked the can down the road

Would it? There may have been debate over it and his role in the team but if the Club and those running it genuinely had faith in him and his abilities (they will claim now that they always knew he'd turn out good) then they would have dealt with the contract situation.

Meanwhile over on fantasy island we get the 'cannot criticise the club in any shape or form' angle. Even if you are right does it matter or change anything? Simple fact of the matter is that we are losing valuable assets at reduced or zero fees. Millions and millions down the drain that is irrefutable fact and unacceptable for a club in any position let alone one with our FFP obsession. End result is what matters. We can debate how we got here but you can't paint this situation as good or desirable however hard you try.

I don't care whether it has or not. Changes nothing. Discussions are free and easy. Getting business done is the benchmark. The key to managing this is getting players tied down early before the vultures start hovering. We can spend all January talking to Assombalonga. End result is he doesn't come. We can spend years talking to Lenihan, Nyambe, Brereton, Armstrong. End result is no contract extensions and a massive loss to the club. We can talk about good budgets, grand plans and exciting players. End result is those things cost money and need getting over the line.

The time for sorting Brereton out was 12 months+ ago. Once again Waggott and his paymasters have missed the boat. They've tried being clever and saving a few quid, and it has now put us in a very weak and risky position. Ineptitude doesn't quite cover it. An absolute sh1t show 3 years in the making neglecting contracts and trying to corner cut. £10 million down the drain this summer already and more to come when we are forced to shift Brereton for a knock down fee.

Waggott out

One of the latest in the division for putting them on sale Next season starting earlier than ever before due to World Cup Pricing set up to try to force people to buy before the end of June with 'loyalty' discount And Waggott thinks it is impressive that the rate of sales is higher than usual.

Birmingham still advertising season tickets starting from £225. Ours start from £429 unless you are renewing and doing so in the next few days. Absolutely no justification / excuse for that price difference.

As I've pointed to before after Waggott has referenced this 'investment' - is this voluntary spending to try and make things better, or essential maintenance costs faced by most modern professional football clubs ? - how does this figure compare to rival Championship clubs? It all sounds great until you realise that actually in the scheme of things this is probably just the bare minimum needed to keep things ticking along and probably enhanced by years of corner cutting making problems worse

I'll be very surprised if we spend near to £5 million

I know what Broughton has said to the press. Which specifically of the owners has he spoken to? This might appear to many to be a minor point but my view is that this is very important, because if you want to get things done here it needs to be the owners who have the power to delegate. As I said earlier 'healthy' budget could mean anything. I imagine even with budgets slashed on last year it would still be 'healthy' compared to what Bodo Glimt players were on.

I suspect so but given the backgrounds of JDT and Broughton I expect they will have a lot more patience than Lambert did. What Lambert and the Championship might consider a good budget is probably very different to what Gregg Broughton sees as a good budget coming from Bodo/Glimt.

Lots of talk about the Wilder factor in Lenihan going to Middlesbrough, given he wanted him whilst at Sheff Utd, about how he suits Wilder's ways and how Middlesbrough have a better chance of promotion this season so makes sense for Lenihan. Taking those points in turn, Wilder only turned up at Middlesbrough towards the end of last year when they were stuck in mid-table and we were in the promotion mix. First off the Lenihan contract should have been resolved way, way before Wilder was even considered for Middlesbrough. Secondly given the respective positions of the clubs as recently as last season I find it very difficult to accept this inferiority complex I'm seeing online basically of 'we can't compete with the likes of Middlesbrough'. This is of course what Waggott wants us to believe but the reality is we can compete and there's nothing they should be able to do that we can't. Their greater ticket income a drop in the ocean when you consider what their wage bill must be compared to ours right now.

The key is going to be what budget is available to Broughton and JDT and what the chain of command is to get deals done. I am worried that as there has been no India trip this signals a tight budget as they tend to only cough up serious money following India trips. If Broughton has authority to conclude deals himself we might be in business. If not then little will change.

Again, it isn't so simple. Nobody had offers on the table 2 years ago. The club did nothing on new contracts during the Covid lockdown. This is part of the issue. We were too late addressing things. Of course it is a simple fact the players declined the offers made to them. The issue is what offers were made, when, how were these players treated in negotiations. Very easy for the Club to offer 'improved' terms. But if it is too late, disrespectful or a pathetic raise then that adds another dimension to the simple situation you refer to.

Unfortunately it is a bit more serious than "we move on" and from what I have heard it is more of a complex situation than "greedy players". To ignore and absolve the Club of any responsibility is just not acceptable IMO. I want to see accountability and consequences to such a damaging turn of events. A shrug of the shoulders and "we move on" won't cut it. We have lost 3 key players for nothing. Unacceptable at any club but especially one where executives and fans have spent the last 5 years talking about FFP problems. I am just waiting for the latest 'we can't spend due to FFP' article in the Telegraph. I will flip my lid when it does. £10 million down the toilet in lost player value and at least part of that is a direct result of the way the Club has approached the issue of contracts. The people responsible for this almighty mess need identifying, calling out and at a normal club sacking. They want fans just to shut up and accept it. JDT is another conversation. I am optimistic about him, wish him the best and don't blame him for the mess he's walked into. But I can't just accept this. My complaints on here and in private settings will have zero impact on the team and JDTs management.

I think the other one was that having introduced a Final 5 game package for £99 it would have been cheaper in the end to have bought each one individually: Bristol City - season ticket holders could bring a friend for £10 Derby - £20 Blackpool - £25 Stoke - £25 Bournemouth - £10 tickets in all areas So a saving of nearly £10 to buy individually.

There's a difference between us having cash / spending cash, and Steve Waggott telling us via the Telegraph that we have cash. If he told me Rovers play QPR at home first game of the season I'd go and check the fixture list to make sure. I've seen and heard enough excuses and failures over the last 4 years to hold my horses on talks of good budgets. The warning in there is about the 'wage structure'. This the 'structure' that means we cannot keep our captain from the clutches of Middlesbrough, have lost an assortment of valuable key players for nothing and has seen an exodus of players from the club in the last 12 months. It is also this structure that sees a ridiculous discrepancy between what academy graduates playing every week for us get compared to others who barely play. It really wouldn't surprise me to get the familiar talk in September of 'there was a good budget available but getting those deals done was tricky', 'we'll carry it over to January', players in the building to sign but terms changed at the last minute. All the excuses Waggott comes with in his latest interview - FFP, wage structures, significant increase in costs - all apply and exist at every other football club in the land - don't they? And I'm not aware of any other club at this level that has managed to offload such a large amount from its wage bill whilst raking in substantial transfer fees in the last 12 months either.

Sooner he's gone the better. 6000 less season tickets than PNE and Bolton and 3 key players off for nothing. CEO should take responsibility. This is unacceptable.

That's a fact is it? According to who? Liar Waggott? According to him Lenihan was signing a new deal last year. I wish I was so relaxed to be able to shrug this off as "it is what it is" whilst rivals pillage out squad. I prefer to see a reaction. At the very least heads rolling to ensure we aren't in the same situation next year. This club can't afford what has happened today. Something needs to happen to ensure it doesn't occur again.

And that makes us different to Middlesbrough how?