JHRover

We're being played Chaddy. Don't you see it? Bring in another bloke who is supposedly going to aid recruitment 2 weeks before the start of the season, people calm down for a few weeks expecting big things, sees them through to January with the promise of jam tomorrow from the new setup. What matters is here and now. Beyond the ludicrous situation of appointing a head of recruitment 2 weeks before the season having waited all summer, they're just buying themselves time again. It will be another Park - 12 month deal and brought in too late to influence the summer business - what's the point other than to appear to be doing something?

QPR, Birmingham, Dingles, Blackpool, Watford, Huddersfield all changed manager this summer with less time to plan for it yet all or nearly all have cracked on with recruitment. Then there's the clubs that got relegated or promoted yet have got on with it. Ultimately when there's the will and the cash stuff gets done. There's neither here.

If I had £1 for every time I had heard that I'd be a rich man. Truth is it won't be PL or bust at all. We all know that deep down, just like they will never be put under an embargo or given a points deduction. They might have to sell someone if there is interest, they might have a quieter summer with less expenditure than this, but they will go again as a competitive outfit. They certainly won't sell off £20 million of players and invest nothing, and won't slash their squad back to the bone like we have, and we won't be picking up their main players on free transfers.

Because FFP isn't the problem that Rovers would have us believe. Rovers want us to believe that the looming spectre of FFP means we cannot spend anything for fear of being slapped with a points deduction and it is a constant issue to tip toe around. Of course there are limits to it - you can't go and spend £20-30 million in a transfer window and will have to sell an asset or two if you don't get promoted - not that anyone on here has suggested anything remotely close to those levels - but if you have the will to spend and determination to do it you will find a way to make it work. The same applies at Stoke and Bristol City - staggering levels of losses yet no fire sales, no sanctions and sensible level investment in the squad. No doubt we will get the 'but Reading' comments them being the only example of a club actually sanctioned in recent times after years of massive spending including big fees on Joao and Puscas - yet for all that Reading have got business done this summer whilst we make excuses. Djed Spence hasn't yet been sold, sounds like that could happen imminently but even if it does isn't it intriguing how there are two big differences compared to us when we sold Rhodes/Armstrong: One is that they are doing business AHEAD of a POTENTIAL sale - so strengthening in advance and getting straight for the season knowing there is a risk that deal might fall through. Compare to talk here that we need to see Brereton off before we know what we have to work with. The other is that they are reinvesting the proceeds of a potential sale - compare to us where we don't see much at all of the vast proceeds and instead it goes into "running costs" or "FFP compliance" with next to nothing appearing in the transfer kitty.

Its annoying but end of the day they back up their bark with bite. They actually go out and get stuff done including taking players away from here because our setup is inadequate or insufficient, whereas for all the talk we hear at Rovers there is precious little by way of result to show for it. What we are witnessing right now is pretty much bang on what I predicted was going to happen this summer, although I must admit even I would have expected at least a signing or two by now, but to be sat here in mid-July 2 weeks from the start of the season having made 0 signings is simply inexcusable. Yet the excuses coming through to the surface; a new manager, a new Director of Football, last regime leaving a mess behind, FFP, limited income, kids doing alright in friendlies v Accy, Dundee, Hartlepool. None of it really matters, what matters is what shape we are in come kick off and barring a rapid change we are going to be substantially weaker. I suppose where I and others disagree is I don't think it was ever going to pan out much differently to this. The budget cuts imposed clearly make it difficult or impossible for us to get the signings we want and this has been a problem for years, all the talk around the time Tomasson turned up was about the slow build and using the academy. Its a dangerous game in the ruthless Championship and also quite pointless if we are just going to let them walk away in 2-3 years to rivals as we did this summer. Others seem confident in the belief that Tomasson wouldn't have come here without assurances on funds. I don't agree. I think he will have been very attracted by a big club, big job, big league from a position of unemployment and would be happy to give it a whirl and see what happens.

Why would Macron only deliver a small batch and themselves miss out on precious revenue? We are told the new designs get approved a year in advance by the club. So if a year after that we are being provided with limited stock then we need to be terminating our deal with Macron. Of course the less palatable option is that pound shop operators at Ewood only get round to ordering limited numbers as they are badly organised and want to see how sales go rather than commit to a large volume of stock in one go. Hardly the behaviour of a club worried about income though is it?

Quite right, but the evidence of the last few years is that we are in a phase where they don't spend. They also don't spend on defenders bar a few hundred grand here and there. The big buys have all been at the top end of the pitch and never at the back. So whilst I don't know for sure there is no or minimal money to be spent the mirror of that is nobody else knows if there is good money to be spent. All we have to go off is actions, words cost nothing, and actions so far suggest I'm right. Happy to be proven wrong, I need to be for our sakes.

Doubt we will get him anyway. Only if its a loan and for some reason Liverpool elect to send him here on a heavily subsidised deal. Can't see why they would do that if others are interested. We won't be spending cash or at least not at the level needed for permanents of that nature.

I'm unsure on the 'overheads' part. To my knowledge all Clubs have stadia to maintain, and most spend more on upkeep and maintenance than we do on Ewood, which is evidenced by the state of the place. All clubs have reserves or U23s, all clubs have training grounds. Granted we have two sites at Brockhall which most clubs won't but I'm not having it that the running costs of that put us so far off the scale compared to rivals. I don't think I've ever suggested that we should try to 'force' players to stay, and of course I realise that once a player is free to talk to other clubs it will come down to what the player wants to do. The issue here isn't 'forcing' them to stay. The issues are a) whether we dealt with the contract situations professionally and expeditiously, I don't believe we did, b) whether we offered remotely what players of their calibre can expect, I don't believe we did, certainly not early on in negotiations, and c) why these players see the likes of Middlesbrough as a step up, better option or advancement, I don't believe they should. Forcing doesn't come into it - get your house in order on the above 3 options and those players stay Of course covid caused issues, but it seems to me that Rovers basically did nothing during that time, whereas other clubs continued to deal with issues such as tying key players down to deals and ensuring their squads were recycled and filled with sufficient personell. It looks to me as though, with a couple of exceptions, we have just ignored the iceberg, allowed an exodus of players and now are struggling to 'get back on the horse' through a self-imposed wage limit Of course last year - and credit to Mowbray - it wasn't a problem as due to that purple patch through November and December we outperformed expectations. But the downside to that is I think a few have deluded themselves as to how easy it is going to be - I think we could be in for a shock.

Any money on a fee in the last few years? Without trawling through the record books of the 'last few years' I'd put money on it that pretty much every club, including ourselves, has paid some money on at least one transfer fee in recent seasons. We did it with Hedges in January, inexplicably. The important part of course is what the money is spent on and how it compares to other clubs and how it compares to incomings. For example, I'm sure you are aware that in the 'last few years' we've sold David Raya and Adam Armstrong for pushing £20 million and will be forced to sell BBD hopefully for at least £10 million. Together that money comfortably wipes out whatever fees have been paid out, meaning the owners have covered their outlay on fees and instead pick up the tab on the wage bill, which they have always been ok with. I'm pretty sure that not many Championship clubs other than Rovers have had such a net profit on trading in the last 2-3 years. You reference the £10 million + on two strikers but those signings were made 3-4 years ago before the latest round of cost cutting came along, and they've made their money back comfortably on that with AA and BBD. I'm well aware of football finances, I'm well aware that we lose more than we bring in. I'm also aware that the same applies to 75% of Championship clubs who don't have large crowds, parachute money and I'm also aware that in the last few windows we have been outspent by smaller clubs, who don't have billionaire owners, who haven't brought in tens of millions in fees and who haven't demolished their wage bills in the last 12 months. Any guesses where we are on wages right now compared to 18 months ago? In my view the training ground stunt was just another desperate move by a Club ill equipped to manage the situation. Meanwhile we see rival clubs managing their finances, investing whilst offering cheaper tickets and not having to sell off infrastructure. You mention we were forced to sell the training ground to avoid a 'registration ban' - would we be any worse off now if we hadn't sold the training ground and had been put under a ban? We would still have been able to bring in loans and cheap signings just like we did when Bowyer was working under an embargo. We might disagree on most of the above but surely we can agree that whatever the situation we are poor at managing the situation, as evidenced by the latest contract fiasco which if avoided could have meant a £10 million difference to the Club finances?

Shouldn't even be entertaining letting anyone go at this point until we have new people in the building or signed and secured to come in. Selling players now or getting them off the wage bill is just another "jam tomorrow" stunt - cost cutting dressed up and justified under the false pretence of the money being reinvested when it never is.

They just need to get the lot on sale at one flat price now No categories and no waiting until 2-3 weeks before the game to start selling. Everyone knows there will be a surplus of seats no matter what and away clubs can have as many as they want in the Darwen End.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2022/july/12/save-with-an-1875-membership--/ Anyone hoping that their £399 (if lucky) or £429 for your season ticket has earned you priority on away tickets this season think again, as at the 11th hour (why leave it until mid July?) the Club has decided to complicate matters. You now have to pay an extra £10-15 on top of top end ticket prices to ensure you can have first dibs on away tickets. Just as I think it can't get any more ludicrous we now have a premium to pay on top of premium prices just to get priority on tickets.

Why's that then? They overspent and were sanctioned, yet despite that have survived, still have a decent looking squad, haven't slashed costs right back and are signing players. Speaking of 'only frees and cheap loans' what are you expecting us to do? Spend money? Think you'll be disappointed if so. For what its worth we might as well be under a transfer embargo. Could still sign cheap loans / nobody which is what we are going to do without an embargo.

They're just disproving the FFP myth No major sales Still got Lucas Joao, Puscas, Hoillett and others there Difference is that their owners want to invest, ours don't. Quite simple really.

Anyone who went to Accy Stanley on Saturday would have seen what a bit of pride and effort can achieve at a Club that should probably be non league on crowds and finances. Nothing to do with FFP there, just plain old effort and wanting to improve, grow and do better against the odds. No washed up Waggott bleating on about how impossible it is and how he's done all he can. At Rovers there has been no pride, plan or ambition for over a decade. Just a succession of excuse makers and Venky apologists taking the coin whilst the club rots.

If it was black, orange, yellow then it would be perfect, but I'll never understand the logic behind us repeatedly going for a blue away shirt. Can pick any colour in the world other than blue or white. We won't be able to wear it at Millwall, Birmingham, Reading, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Wigan so is there really much point?

They just work on a complete whim IMO. Year to year or even window to window the plan shifts and changes depending on who is taking the most interest in India (if anyone). If the manager wants clarity or assurance on funds the only hope he has is to wait for a flight to Pune and go and sit in their mansion for a week waiting to tell them about how great they are and how good it would be to invest some money. After those meetings the manager tends to get a decent chunk of cash to spend. There's no plan or strategy and what we have now is the top owners - Desai and hubby - backing off and delegating to lower rank people. These people might have more idea (might not) but cannot sanction funds close to the level required, which is why we get what we have seen over the last 2 years - inertia, very limited transfer business, reliance on loans which require no capital commitment. I don't believe for one minute that the 'top' owners have appointed Tomasson or Broughton, have met them and probably haven't even spoken to them. The sad thing is that the structure we now have - a head coach who can focus his energies on the team - and a D of F who can handle the recruitment - is probably the most sensible and logical setup we've had in their 12 years of horror. It is sad because no matter how good these two guys might be unless things have changed and the top owners have delegated then it can't succeed.

Won't we be a sixth of the way through the season by the time the transfer window ends? A bit late in the day to be getting worried or upset about things.

Why would you imagine that? We spent next to none of the Rhodes and Armstrong windfalls. Nor Gestede, Cairney or Raya cash. It all went into the "running costs" pot whilst the first team was left to rebuild on a shoestring. Absolutely no reason to think any Brereton cash would end up in the transfer pot and even if it did the timescales would probably prevent us spending it wisely. As for "FFP side of things" within the last 12 months we've: A) Sold Armstrong for a £10 million+ profit Sold the training ground out of Club ownership C) Demolished the squad and wage bill Despite all that still spending nothing, relying on loans and unable to secure key players to new deals. Doubt a Brereton sale will make an ounce of difference on that front. They'll just wheel Waggott out with some fancy terminology for the local press to tell us how it will help in next years figures and how we've a good budget (that will never be spent). Meanwhile the key point is we lose another senior player and his goals and replace with cheaper and inferior. It's operation downscale in full flow just like 2016 all over again.

Given our limited income (at least partly self inflicted) what would be very useful is to be able to sell a couple of players for big money, then use that money to our advantage over rivals. The cash we got for Armstrong immediately wipes out any advantage the likes of Middlesbrough or other non-parachute clubs have over us. But the money disappears. Fortunately we've another asset who will have to be sold for the same again this summer. Perfect. But we know those funds won't see the light of day either. Point being that we can feel sorry for ourselves about income and FFP all day long - the Armstrong, Brereton, Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell situations prove that the Club won't reinvest and won't protect its assets, so what should have been a huge financial advantage over rivals has achieved nothing - not even willing to pay players the going rate so they leave for nothing.

There's nothing that Blackpool, Preston, Wigan, Dingles, Huddersfield, Hull, Birmingham, Rotherham, Coventry, Luton, Watford, Reading, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, QPR, Millwall have that we don't or can't have. So that's 75% of the league we should be as strong if not stronger than. Of the rest we have Norwich, Sunderland, Sheff U, Middlesbrough, West Brom and Stoke. Of which Norwich have zero external investment, West Brom relying on parachute money to stem losses and think Sheff U will be in financial trouble soon if they don't go up. Stoke's crowds have plummeted.

Football League clubs voted to introduce FFP. They could vote next week to scrap it. They won't so they need to start looking at themselves if they don't like it.

Predictably the talk is turning away from multi-million CBs and towards the inevitable loans. Never any intention or plan to invest or build anything, its just rely on the academy wherever possible and plug gaps with some cheap heavily subsidised loans. Can't build a side on that. All this talk about copying Brentford or of a multi-year plan is just window dressing.

It's all a game of confuse the masses. Who is responsible? Is it Venkys? Is it Pasha? Is it Waggott? Is it Broughton? Is it Mowbray? Is it Tomasson? Nobody knows and yet again we are on the cusp of a season well off where we should be and nobody takes responsibility. They know what they are doing. Keep shifting the focus and avoids anyone taking the blame.