So starting to look like it is Farke or bust for me. Sounds like Carvalhal has decided to go to the UAE for a year so we've missed the boat there whether through our own decision making or him getting fed up of waiting. None of the other names in the betting come close to Farke or Carvalhal. There are a few small but intriguing names the rest are nothing short of abysmal. I just hope they have a plan here because I'm getting a feeling of deja vu and expect some horrendous name to get the job just before pre season starts.

Yes, I've long suspected that whilst the initial plan and impetus will be on getting a 'big name' or 'big hitter' in as manager that there will be a gradual scaling back of this grand plan over the course of a few weeks. Initially there will have been expressions of interest from some relatively big names. There will probably have been some excitement in Waggott's office seeing some of the quality coming in. This is an attractive club and job and there will be countless unemployed or lower division managers who would fancy coming here and having a good season or two, getting promoted or at the very least enhancing their reputations in the game. But I think as time wears on, and as other considerations come into that mix, we will gradually whittle down the list eliminating the good quality, sought after managers leaving behind a mixture of untried and untested, lower league or unwanted options who will happily wait all summer or agree to our demands. Getting a bloke like Carvalhal will be a relatively expensive and complex undertaking, requiring commitment to a substantial outlay on wages and transfers, bringing in his various coaching staff members and removing those already at the club. Of course at most clubs with any semblance of ambition this is par for the course, a fact of life when changing managers but here if there's a corner to be cut it usually is. Think of it like a transfer window - time after time we've sat around for weeks being 'linked' to good players (Assombalonga syndrome) being told there are exciting names being worked on, that there's a budget to be used, that we should trust the process. And at the end of it invariably we are left disappointed as we fail to get the job done or resort to cheaper, easier options that are of lesser quality. Same people making the decision on a new manager. I also think those running Rovers perhaps arrogantly assume that these managers will sit around waiting for weeks on end whilst we decide what to do or whilst we get approval from India or that these managers will take whatever salary it is we are offering with various strings attached to do the job. I also think they overestimate their own abilities and when a decent manager gets around a table with them or applies any sort of scrutiny to what the Rovers people are saying it will become clear quite quickly that all isn't as it seems at Ewood and whilst on the outside looking in we might appear to be a normal, functioning, stable even ambitious club scratch beneath the surface with Waggott and Shadow Man and we are anything but.

I think there's a few misconceptions or myths developing about him 1 - has he done well as caretaker? He's had 5 games in total across 2 spells and won 1 of them. He galvanised the club but that was more down to his status at Everton and maniacal behavior on the touchline, neither of which he would have elsewhere or be able to sustain as a full time manager 2 - has he worked his way up? Would he have had the job he has if he wasn't an Everton legend from his playing days? Does he know how to develop kids? How do we know this? 3 - see above - he has given a damn about Everton because that's his club and he's had to galvanise them in the short term with a vocal fanbase behind him in the PL. Completely different to a permanent role in the Championship. 5 - he hasn't failed (yet) because he hasn't done anything. Why at 50 has he never managed before?

Has the deadline not been extended because it has only just dawned on them that Thursday and Friday are Bank Holidays, so it seems a bit daft having the cut off as the Saturday

Ah right ok

He doesn't have a record. He's never managed before. Of course Evertonians will push him. He's a legend there.

Sigh. Could you name me a professional football club that doesn't carry out remedial work on the pitch during the summer? Why is this seen as some sort of accomplishment that a Championship football club replaces the top layer of its pitch after a season of use? Crafty use of the word 'weaved' too - similar to 'stitched' - this is not a 'stitched' pitch which would cost considerable amounts and was what Waggott lied and said we would be getting last summer. What we are getting is the bare minimum. Communication on kits? Crikey I thought the Community Trust was an independent charity. Not sure why those running Rovers deserve credit for that work.

Well if we look at the 3 promoted managers this season I don't think any of them were appointed following month+ long searches, expanding shortlists and sitting there waiting for applications and expressions of interest to come in. Each of those clubs knew more or less what they were after and went after their targets.

I've seen a few saying we should relax, and that as long as the new guy is ready to see the players when they report back for pre-season (June 13th is my understanding) that until then we can take our time. Whilst strictly true that works on the assumption that it wouldn't help for the new manager to have some time before then to prepare. assess and do groundwork. The job of a manager, especially when we need plenty of new players, does not begin when pre-season training starts.

You missed off the all important criteria of the Merseyside link (Critchley, Ferguson, Lewtas) and past record of working at youth level, both of which keep on cropping up with alarming regularity.

And Sam Allardyce brought through Phil Jones and Grant Hanley, is he one of these managers that 'promotes youth' that seems to be the obsession around here? Anyone who has managed before will be able to point to some young players who have developed or progressed in their time in charge. As far as I am concerned working in an academy is irrelevant to the job of managing Rovers. Ferguson is 50 and has never managed before, save for two short caretaker stints at Everton. I would also be worried one of the reasons he's been behind the scenes there for so long and worked under good managers is more to do with his experience of the club and popularity with fans than it is him being an excellent coach. Disaster waiting to happen IMO but one I can see the idiots at Rovers rolling with.

Which of the names you mentioned have a proven background in that area? The way I see it is that any decent manager will do those things IF the players are good enough. What we don't want is a manager that focuses on individuals to the detriment of results. Willem Tomlinson made his debut under Coyle, Adam Henley under Kean. Neither of those people should have been anywhere near the job of managing this club yet both could show they had 'brought through youth'.

It could be irrelevant who we have interviewed or who is interested anyway. As we saw with Warnock we can get the best man for the job lined up and agreed only for other parties to change things at the last minute. So even if our list is Farke, Carvalhal, Dyche and Santo and all are willing to come here it might not matter if someone else decides otherwise and Adkins or Woodgate get the job instead.

The Telegraph might be correct and others might be wrong. If those names you've produced are correct then it shows there is no rhyme nor reason to this search, its just scattergun.

So if reports from Sharpe and Bayes are to be believed it seems again that we are all over the place. I've already raised how strange I find it that we are planning on appointing a Sporting Director AFTER the appointment of a Head Coach, as surely you would want said director to have an input into the head coach appointment if he is going to be working with him every day. It now appears the shortlist has grown rather than shrunk, and even more concerning is that it seems there is a possibility that none of those 8 will be given the job and that we might yet go on to interview people already in work. This doesn't inspire much confidence in the process. Some element of relief on my part if it is true none of those interviewed are working as this means Ferguson and Ainsworth aren't in the immediate running.

When they referred to 'big names' being interested in the job I think most would interpret that as being high profile, proven experienced quality managers I think really what this means is people who are well known in football but as players, rather than managers, e.g. Ferguson. I can't quite comprehend why he's even being mentioned tbh.

But Waggott can't make a quick decision. All he can do is recommend to the owners. So my point remains the same. We sold less than 8000 (embarrassing) last summer and prices have gone up since. I would expect something from the club as to sales figures if they were anything to be proud of.

Not just the Carvalhal deal, if there is a deal, I think they will mess up the appointment of any manager that can attract interest from elsewhere. It is one thing speaking to these people, gauging interest in the role, and even making a recommendation to the owners. It is quite another getting the owners to approve and sanction an appointment in a timely manner. Those, like Carvalhal, who have other irons in the fire, need not waste their time for us to get our act together, they'll just move on to other opportunities. Those who hang around and are happy to play a waiting game whilst Venkys muck around tend to be those who won't get anything better than Rovers and know it - Mowbray, Coyle

Let's be honest. If there is genuine interest from another club or the manager concerned can command offers from elsewhere then we will miss out. The reason Carvalhal has managed all over the place is because he is sought after. The reason all our other Venky managers and most of the other names linked are in the reckoning is because they wouldn't get near a Championship job elsewhere We will balls this up I'm confident of that. I'm also increasingly of the belief that things are being dripped to the local media in an attempt to boost embarrassing season ticket sales. The latest being 'big name' interest in the job.

Combine expensive tickets with poor marketing and uncertainty and you get poor sales. This has been years in the making under Waggott and the only way its changing is if prices are cut or if we do some exciting business on the manager/player front.

Hope we steer well clear of Ferguson. Not sure exactly what he would bring to this party but an unnecessary gamble for no reason at all. Of course people will push him, particularly from the Everton end. They don't have the balls to appoint him to their own managerial job so want him to come somewhere local, learn the trade for a couple of years, if he does well they can take him off us and if he's rubbish no harm to Everton. No thanks.

Yeah. For all the talk about big names and Carvalhal, and as much as I'd like it to come to fruition, I just can't see someone like that ticking the Venky boxes. Carvalhal is in a position of strength in that he doesn't need the Rovers job and he could easily get similar or better elsewhere if he waited. They don't like that. They've always desired a younger end coach seemingly with one eye on player development, and I think that Manning will be at the forefront of their thoughts there. In addition to this, because he is a relative unknown entity rather than one of the boring old names, much of the fanbase will buy into such an appointment. It will be cheaper and easier than getting one of the big names, and track record suggests that's what they like here.

I heard a decent rumour that Manning had been interviewed for the job. That was at least 2 weeks ago, I put a bet on him at 33/1 and since then his name has barely been mentioned. It would be an intriguing one but after dangling the likes of Farke and Carvalhal, and talk about 'big names' being interested and the shortlist being expanded I would probably be underwhelmed if it was him. I suspect they are trying to find a candidate who won't require bringing in 3-4 staff with them which is the reason for the added names on the list as they start to scrape the barrel for other options. Manning would probably be one who might want an assistant but other than that would work with what we have left given he is so young and new to the job of head coach.

I wonder whether Waggott has given Bayes a call to drop in the "new, high profile names" bit into his information. Season ticket deadline approaching remember.

None of us had heard Coyle until he was stood waving a scarf down at Brockhall. None of us had heard Mowbray until he was appointed. This lot have a nasty surprise up their sleeve and can ruin even the simplest of decisions. Lets remember Warnock. It is clear Carvalhal wants the job. It is clear he is more qualified than most who have been linked or would be interested. He will quite rightly want to bring his team with him. Any decent manager will.