JHRover

What we do is put a bid in of less than the asking price. It leaks to the press that we are interested. The seller wants more so then begins a long process of negotiation or the offer is refused and we are no further along. Then even if the offer gets accepted and we can speak to the player we have to be able to agree personal terms and wages. How we do that with a wage 'structure' like this I'm not sure. But all the while these names are circulating in the press when in practice we could be well away from actually getting anything done. Jam tomorrow.

Waggott is here to "handle" the fans. At the same time justifying his salary by screwing the same fans for every penny he can dream up. He turns up to fans meetings, appears in the Telegraph from time to time and will have a brew with people and tell them what they want to hear. Before Waggott rocked up there was only Mike Cheston left to handle the media and fans, and despite trying their best to persevere with that it started to attract unwanted attention, especially when he publicly admitted the Coyle appointment had been made by someone else and presided over a series of comical meetings. They even wheeled Bob Coar out to make the numbers up. But the important part is that the cowards in India and their lacky on the ground stay silent. Nothing Waggott says is of any use to anyone. It probably isn't true and even if it is he can't promise or guarantee anything. He's a puppet for the real culprits.

'Money is available but we can't get deals done' Heard that one before.

Agents are there to get the best deal for their client. If they didn't or if they focused on getting the best deal for themselves instead of their client then they wouldn't last long in the business. So Nyambe's agent will have advised him not to sign whatever 'offer' Rovers have come up with and if he joins Wigan will have negotiated whatever deal he gets there. It really does amuse me the lengths some will go to ignore the obvious warning signs and very concerning indicators of this and instead try to convince themselves that all is well with the world, that Rovers have been entirely right and proper in their approach to this and that the only problem here is Nyambe's choice in agent. The uncomfortable yet most likely scenario is that whatever offer Rovers have made is woefully inadequate for a proven Championship RB, and that even recently bankrupt and League One Wigan Athletic are now offering far better deals and packages for players than Venky Rovers. Extrapolate that across a squad and several years and it only ends one way - a repeated exodus of key personnel to rivals, little money generated and eventually relegation to a division more suitable for penny pinching and corner shop operators more interested in individual player development and value than in assembling a team and club to progress. When your first choice players are opting for Wigan instead it is time to be concerned, very concerned. I and some others have been concerned for the last 12-18 months having seen the warning signs yet were shot down for being negative or conspiracy theorists, yet horrendous developments like these are the direct result of what has been predicted for some time.

I'm so glad that Steve Waggott says season ticket sales have been good. Of course the actual figures will show we are 5000ish behind PNE, Burnley and Bolton, but if he says our figures are good then never mind about that. Who are we to worry about such things? My amateur cricket club has bought grass seed this week and bought a new mower at the start of the season. That means money has been spent on the pitch. I'd hope there was more to it than that though. Only earlier today another one of Waggott's false statements was exposed when an article from last September where he claimed the Ash Phillips situation was sorted has turned out not to be the case. He's doing exactly what he is paid to do - talk supporters into believing all is well and under control whilst his bosses and their enforcer hide away in the shadows, silent, unaccountable, uncontactable but responsible for gross negligence.

Doesn't that make it even worse? It's one thing losing players through some self-enforced wage ceiling or (unlikely as Wigan are showing) FFP constraints, but to lose them through not offering more than Wigan even though we could? I mean Broughton said his first job was to speak to Nyambe - looks like he's failed on that front - and now we are losing a valuable asset through deciding not to offer him a wage he wants to accept? And now have no RB on the eve of the new season.

You reckon we are offering players £8k a week? I'd be very surprised. I think if we'd offered Nyambe that 12 months ago he'd still be here. Venky cuts are on and JDT and Broughton are the fall guys who will be blamed when it goes pear shaped.

You know these things how? Last season they spent heavily in League One to get promoted. Of course neither of us have the figures needed one way or the other but what we do know is that our only senior RB, academy graduate, has elected to join them rather than remain with us. I think most Rovers fans will be at least privately very concerned by this. I understand some will put their rose tinted glasses on and try to convince themselves otherwise but Wigan are getting a decent RB, Nyambe a financial package we weren't willing/able to offer and we are short 11 days before the season. Can't get around those facts. And bollocks to waiting until September for the window to close. Season starts Saturday week, points will be won and lost whether we are ready for it or not.

That tells us something then doesn't it? Wigan not signing many yet able to do what we couldn't where Nyambe is concerned. Derby are offering more money than us and will be above us within the next 2-3 years and in far better financial health.

Actually I think most people in football would see them as a better prospect these days. Just promoted, new owner who likes football and has invested. Wants them to improve. Don't think the same can be said of anyone in power at Rovers. That's the fruit of Venkys labour, making players want to leave us for rivals and yet amazingly some think we can't ask for better. His agent has done fine. Got him a better deal than we were offering, same division, plus a signing on fee, plus no longer dealing with unprofessional wasters as at Rovers.

Anyone else remember the good old days when we were told to be grateful for Venkys as without them we'd end up in a state like Wigan or Blackpool?

Think some of us are in for a surprise on that front. This new 'wage structure' that they wax lyrical about looks like it puts us in League One on wages paid. This is why Nyambe and Lenihan went and many more will follow. We are probably now struggling to even compete with Rotherham, Wigan or Blackpool on wages. Venkys out, Waggott out ASAP

You are of course bang on with highlighting the false economy of it. Waggott can trot out his fancy terminology but it doesn't take much to blow holes in it. The problem however is that I don't think there is any plan or intention to sign any proven experienced players, so talk of people like Brittain or Byrne is a non-starter. I genuinely think we will be going down the road of hoping JRC, James Brown and Hayden Carter can cover the RB spot and then if the worst comes to the worst they will dip into the usual academy loan market hoping that Everton, Liverpool, City have someone on their books they are willing to send here for 20-30 Championship appearances and we can contribute £5k a week maximum to. Then the money men will think they've done well - avoided a new contract for Nyambe, avoided issuing a permanent deal as a replacement, avoided a transfer fee and hope that one of the existing lads can make the spot his own.

Who said anything about 'over paying' on wages? Just because we are unable or unwilling to pay the going rate doesn't mean it is a case of overpaying. I'm baffled with how you seem to be so comfortable with the Lenihan situation, just like the club, shrug shoulders, move on and forget all about it. I don't wish him good luck because he's playing for a direct rival. It is unacceptable. I don't have to accept anything. I can recognise the situation without accepting it is good or right. The money saved through this 'wage structure' has just been wiped out overnight by losing Lenihan and Nyambe for nothing. So no I don't accept it. I don't know what Nyambe's circumstances are. But to suggest the lack of an announcement on his next move as being indicative of him not being in demand I think is wrong. I think most of the Championship would take him on a free in a heartbeat.

"Ash Phillips agreement and Blackburn Rovers contract latest as negotiations take focus - LancsLive" https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackburn-rovers-phillips-contract-latest-21594468?fr=operanews Once again we've been taken for fools by Waggott and co. Why tell the local press his future is agreed and secured if it isn't?

£3 million per year is the total cost for the academy Couple of points to keep in mind. One is that we recieve grants of over £1 million a year towards the total cost. Waggott himself claimed these grants came to approximately £1.1 million per year. Another is that assuming we have any academy, B team or development squad there will be a cost so whilst it is higher with the demands of Category 1 status it is still substantial even if you only have Category 2 or even 3. So rather than consider it a generous donation of £3 million per year from Venkys take away grants and the costs there would be anyway even if we downgraded the difference is nowhere near £3 million. It is £1.9 million minus the costs of having an inferior academy, which would obviously be 6 figures if not 7 per year. So yes, it is a no-brainer, but the shame is it is being ruined by the no-brainers at ownership and board level - it is a waste of time if we are losing players for nothing.

So let me get this right then, we can't spend money or pay the wages to sign established players, can't pay our existing academy graduates enough to keep them here and out of Championship rivals' hands, and can't tie down the next crop of academy products to contracts. Can't Do FC in full flow. Is there anything we CAN do other than make excuses?

If that's correct just think for a moment how absolutely ludicrous that is.

Well he's here and paid to lead recruitment. And we haven't recruited. We are in desperate need of recruitment and have been all summer. Season starts in 12 days, not September.

Actions speak louder than words. I'm sick of hearing things from jokers like Waggott that then don't happen and probably never were going to. As it stands Broughton has failed, dress it up with whatever excuses you like but 0 signings to a squad that needs several less than 2 weeks before kick off is failure. He can still turn it around and recruit well this window but that's ifs or buts. We all hoped his arrival was the start of a bright new era but looks like another false dawn as it stands. Another one who talks a good game but can't do the job properly, either because he's not up to it or because his bosses won't let him.

"Bids were in for players who were exciting names but we couldn't make the numbers work / the financials changed at the last minute and we weren't willing to break our structure or be held to ransom" Everything they say and claim is cheap and easy - it costs nothing to tell people what you are planning on doing, it costs nothing to bid for a player. Actually getting deals over the line, committing to wages and paying out a transfer fee are the tricky parts - and we fall short on that.

This is precisely what they are up to. Keeps the fanbase quiet for a few months as people believe there is a serious plan and intent to attract good quality players. There's no such intention, in my opinion. Come the end of the window I predict we'll have brought in 2-3 young loans and all the talk will be about how we tried and failed to spend money and how the new Head of Recruitment and Director of Football need more time. Jam tomorrow.

On what evidence are you so confident that James Brown is the answer at RB? He's 24 and has played 1 Championship game. I hope he is good. But to go into a 46 game Championship season expecting to rely on him? Nothing short of lunacy motivated purely by the low cost. As we've seen before, focus on doing the cheap way (Warnock-Coyle) it ends in disaster You might think it is true support of the Club but I'd like to avoid a return to League One and won't sit in silence or blind support as we charter a course back there. I demand better.

I think you are only saying that because it is what you expect will happen, not because you want it or really believe in it. If Rovers signed 10 in the next 2 weeks you'd be in full support of that too, even though it would push those young players out of contention. Whatever the club serves up you will support.

The shadow man and Maggott are the two most likely contenders for the role of playing us for fools. Who knows what Venkys' plan, if any, is, but I think it is safe to assume in the absence of an India jolly for the last 3 years that whatever the plan is it is being projected back to Ewood via the man in the shadows. Too many cooks spoiling an already unpleasant broth here, as much as I don't want an unsackable manager at least when we had India trips he could go straight to source and get answers and action. Instead now whilst we have a more conventional structure in place it seems there are about 6 or 7 people involved and hurdles to overcome before anything happens. Probably installed with the right intentions but how many times have we heard that and it struggles to work. I agree I don't think JDT or Broughton are remotely involved in any conspiracy or stringing along but they are probably now realising the reality of Venky poisoned Rovers. What might appear on the outside to be a good club, in a good state, backed by rich owners, I think once you scratch away at the surface there is a very different situation that the goons in the national press don't see. I think what gets offered or promised is very different to what actually materialises with this lot as Lambert and probably Mowbray found out. Mowbray put up with it and got 5 years work from it whereas Lambert wouldn't put up with it. Lets see which one Tomasson follows.