JHRover

Same reason they didn't reinvest the Rhodes, Gestede, Armstrong cash. It disappears into running costs, or supposedly 'used' towards FFP. Or, if by some miracle it was provided for new signings, we would then move onto Chapter 2 of the book of excuses- lack of time to get signings done, richer clubs coming in and offering what we can't, our self imposed wage structure which essentially means we can't get players from above League One level irrespective of transfer fee. We've seen and heard it all before.

We sat back and allowed £10 million to go down the pan this summer by neglecting the Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell situations, even when presented with a chance to claw some cash in for Rothwell in January. So it seems to me we can afford to let his contract run down. If we aren't going to reinvest the proceeds and spend on quality does it benefit Rovers in any way?

Looks like our dingle friends have come completely full circle. Under Dyche clinical, efficient, little possession but got the job done. No plaudits for style or passing but results consistent. Now getting the plaudits but not for the reasons that really matter.

There's a camaraderie in the camp that you'd struggle to quickly replicate by bringing in even a quality outsider at this point. People like Brereton, Dack, Buckley, Travis, Gallagher have been together now for years and seem to get on well off the pitch too. Sometimes you just can't buy that even when you get to reinvest.

I think the benefit of having Brereton in the team for the next 43 games is at least as great if not greater than receiving a few million quid profit that won't be spent.

I could not care less about bids made that failed to come off. As I have said many, many, many times, it matters not who we enquire about, make bids for or try and fail to sign. Just like the stuff about Assombalonga, Kipre and the others in years past. Hard luck stories about how tough it is and how we've tried and failed to get the bodies in won't be good enough for me, and I'm pretty sure won't be tolerated for long by an ambitious manager. Fully agree - we've time left yet to do things and I hope, pray, that things develop soon on that front. But the point remains - we've had months to sign a CB and haven't done it - despite claiming to have a good budget So what are the chances of getting a Brereton replacement in? Slim I would say, at best. I don't blame Broughton for this, it is the finance people and owners. In the Brereton situation I am asking myself will BRFC benefit from the money from a sale? Will it make a difference to the bills being paid on time? Probably not. Will it see substantial cash released for reinvestment? History tells us probably not. It will be the same stuff - we've tried to get the players in, made enquiries but got priced out and ran out of time.

It has been blatantly obvious since the start of the summer, and even before then given the loan status of Van Hecke and uncertainty on Lenihan, that signing a CB was essential. Yet here we are, 2 weeks from the window shutting, having not signed a CB, and seemingly the only significant progress on that front has been to try and get another loan from Liverpool and we now have to sit around waiting for them to decide what is happening. Now if after all that time and opportunity we still can't or won't get a CB in - of critical importance - despite claims of a good budget regardless of the Brereton situation - then I don't think the omens are good for a Brereton replacement to be completed in a matter of days. For all of Broughton's work - and I am impressed with what I have seen from him so far - it is clear that getting bodies in is still an issue here, with only 3 signings to date. The key of course is that ultimately he might be the best D of F around but if he's working on Venky time or with no money then he's not going to be able to get the job done. Anyhow - the media crew will be happy as they can divert the positivity of our excellent start away and turn it into panic stations about losing our key man. That's the way they like it around here.

Nice owned by Ineos and one of the richest clubs in Europe. £10 million laughable in this climate. Better off sticking and hoping for promotion.

Rhodes. Gestede. Armstrong. Anyone who thinks the Brereton money goes back into the kitty or that Venkys will reinvest need to go back and look at their track record.

If this manager isn't backed in the next fortnight given his fantastic start to life, scaled back wage bill and gaping holes in the squad then we've got serious problems. I'm not interested in the slightest about the usual excuses of 'asking' about players, or lining deals up that then don't materialise. The shortages are there for all to see - the manager wants and needs signings - excuses won't cut it. This guy isn't a dolloper who is going to sit here for 4 years and be mucked around every window.

Spot on and fully agree. Of course I'll be delighted if I'm proven wrong within the next fortnight and we get these players but my money is on more of the same as you say - a couple of loans and excuses as to why we couldn't get deals over the line.

But is the £10 IFollow thing in operation - and is this the same as Rovers TV? I'm completely lost on this now

Can anyone clarify the situation with broadcast of this game? I'm finding it very difficult to understand if it is available and if so where. Mixed messages as to whether Sky are doing the 'red button' thing or not.

Yes I know, and as I said earlier it almost certainly won't be an issue for this fixture as we will have a large allocation should we want it and the ground will be half empty But the gripe I have isn't with the availability of tickets, it is with the fact that I have been effectively forced into paying extra for 1875 membership. How is that? Well the Club have said that if I don't pay that extra money then I'm 2nd in the queue and as a result might not get tickets for away games. I also can't get seats next to my mates who are members because they can buy as soon as they go on sale whereas if I'm not a member I can't. Then having sold me that membership, which I didn't really want in the first place, it is absolutely worthless when getting cup tickets for Bradford. So why did I bother? If we progress and play Barrow, Fleetwood, Dingles in the next round tickets will be highly sought after. Will my membership count for anything then or will it just be 'tough luck'?

I'm afraid that is an overly simplistic way of looking at things as ever. You appear to be under the impression that Bradford are allowed to just do that and there's nothing Rovers can do, which I don't think is the case. The more likely situation is that Bradford have offered to do it this way and Rovers have happily agreed to do so as it saves them a job. Rovers should not be selling membership on the promise it secures priority on away tickets if they can't guarantee that. That is a quite simple principle. You don't sell something, take people's money and then turn around a week or two later and say 'sorry about that but Bradford are selling them, not us'

I don't know, but I'm certain that had we drawn against Dingles, Stanley or similar and there was a ferocious demand for tickets then they would have introduced a tiered system and sent tickets over no problem. As I say it won't be an issue with Bradford but there's a few gripes - i feel like membership delivers very little and has been falsely advertised, and also if we are buying tickets via Bradford then we won't get credit on our database for buying which is always something I'm keen to get for when we get high demand fixtures.

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.