The interesting thing will be what Rovers (Waggott, Shadow Man and Mowbray) do re. Nyambe now that they have 3 weeks to get some money for him or he goes for nothing. Whatever the reasons it is clear that unless Rovers change their approach he won't be staying. The awkward part is the league position and the fact that Nyambe has been a central part of the team and defence that has been the best in the league over the last couple of months. It is awkward because you start changing that - as we saw yesterday - and things can rapidly unravel. All very well bringing in a replacement but you'd be doing well to find someone who is going to improve what we've had since November. The 'loan with a view to buy' is typical Waggott. No cash required now, an option without commitment to pay down the line. Always tomorrow, just like all his other plans and claims. If Rovers are keen to claw in some money now then they do so taking a huge risk at a critical time. The other obstacle is that interested parties may well just wait 5 months and get him for nothing than pay cash now. Therefore expect to see increasing attempts by Rovers to push him out now. This will include public advertisements as to his availability, mysterious injuries and absences and rumours of unhappiness. Text book stuff its been going on here for the last 10 years. Best get used to it folks because unless we get promoted there's going to be the same thing happening with Kaminski, Lenihan, Travis and Buckley in the next 18 months. Amazing they must all be making unreasonable demands and have daft agents. Or maybe the problem is at Rovers end?

Don't think I've ever seen us win at Wigan. My first visit there was the 5-3 defeat at Xmas (Santa Cruz game) Since then think we've had a couple of draws and 3-4 defeats. I'm expecting a strong side from Mowbray and expect us to beat them. We are a league above them and a better side.

Yes I have considered that possibility. Then I naturally come to the next question rather than merely shrugging my shoulders and blaming those nasty agents (everyone's favourite villain in football). Why would it possibly be that someone like Nyambe - who has been here since childhood, made the grade to first team regular, playing every week in a side pushing for promotion - actively want to leave this club? There are only two acceptable explanations - that he expects to be able to get a move to a club higher in the pyramid (i.e. Premier League - very unlikely IMO) or that he knows he can get substantially better money at other clubs. Assuming he doesn't have PL clubs lining up for him that means Championship or abroad. Who in the Championship can and will offer them more than we can given our losses and investment from the owners? Other explanations might include that he doesn't want to play for this manager or he is unhappy at the club - neither of which seem to be the case going off his performances this season. Of course you might be right - but then I want to know why and what is going to be done about it - we cannot lose 2-3 key players every year on free transfers with a shrug of the shoulders blaming the player/agents. We need to look at this with great concern not just 'oh well, plenty more fish in the sea' (which we can't afford because we haven't brought any money in because all our assets have walked)

I said it at the start of the window and I'll keep saying it every day until the end of it. I find it bizarre to say the least that there are even notions of selling any of our first team players at this point with the form we are in. I am probably more surprised than anyone at the form we have been in and the position we find ourselves in and with that in mind and the standard of the division at present this is the best opportunity we will ever have (at least until we get decent owners) of getting promoted. With the prize on offer it would be bonkers to start shuffling the deck, selling or replacing key first team members. It just isn't necessary if the aim and ambition is promotion. We aren't just talking about another flirtation with the play-offs here - top two is achievable. No surprises that this Dutch lad is 'loan with option to buy' - another crafty move by Waggott no doubt. Get Nyambe out the door for a few million to whoever will pay, bring in a loan until the summer to keep people quiet and then worry about whether we can ever pay the transfer fee down the line (probably not). Seems to me that there are insidious elements in the media (some perhaps close to home) who are absolutely determined to fan speculation at the Club. The only outgoings should be Poveda, Clarkson and perhaps one or two of the kids. There should of course be some incomings - no problem with the Dutch lad if it is a loan to compete/eventually replace Nyambe but doubt that will happen.

It comes down to this - lets say Nyambe is currently on £4000 per week (this is the figure I've heard from a few people, and probably about what I would expect him to be on) He might be expecting to go to £8000 a week (this might be a very reasonable demand given the wages of others at the club and he and his agent won't be making that demand on a whim - they will know what he can get elsewhere. He's not going to turn down a good offer to gamble on someone picking him up and offering him more. We 'might' have offered him £5000 a week - a 25% increase on his current wage plus other perks. To someone like Waggott that probably represents an excellent offer and indeed to most people in the real world would jump at such an increase. But it isn't enough - not when the likes of Ayala are on £15,000 a week and barely play. So a 25% increase is strictly speaking a good substantial increase on offer - but still not remotely enough for what an established player would expect. That doesn't mean that Nyambe is 'holding the club to ransom'' for demanding £25k per week - just like Bauer wasn't ever demanding £40,000 a week to leave Charlton. It is nonsense. Brereton is another one that could have been sorted last summer and an extension awarded - now quite rightly there's little chance of him staying. Last summer he only had 12 months remaining on his deal - the time for renewing had already long passed.

That needless chartered plane down to Cardiff was £1000 a week towards Ryan or enough to compensate season ticket holders for the games they missed but as ever it's easy come easy go on one side and then skint on the other.

I'm not going over the free agent debate all over again. I've made the point in the past that for one reason or another during their decade of owning the club there has been almost zero investment in defensive positions and healthy investment in positions further up the pitch where the headlines are made. Conspiracy or not when we look at transfer fees paid that is the reality. 3+1 is par for the course on contracts for good players in their 20's. That would be my only criticism of the Gallagher one - it isn't really a long term deal. It is an extra year on what he already had. The reason we are getting into this situation is short sightedness - Kaminski another one. Infact the only 4 year deal we seem to have issued recently was for Aynsley Pears. It is more than disappointing the 3 lads are coming to the end of their deals. I accept that these things can happen in football. Players move on up the pyramid to richer/higher positioned clubs. Lets just see where these 3 end up because I'll put a bet on it now that it won't be a side in the Premier League that takes them on and they will be lining up at another Championship club. That is what I struggle to accept - that we are in effect acting as an academy for rival Championship clubs. Possession of Category 1 academy status - if we take Lenihan and Nyambe - should be a major asset for this club - it should see us develop players that are cornerstones of our squad for years to come or at the very least achieve healthy transfer reciepts enabling us to reinvest and avoid FFP troubles. As it stands we get none of that - we get no fee - we see them head to a tinpot rival club with inferior structure to us - we still struggle to achieve FFP compliance and we see minimal investment in new players. Slippery slippery slope. So no - I can't just accept this with a shrug of the shoulders - I want to know what the plan is to ensure we don't lose any more assets for nothing. This time next year it will be Kaminski and Travis, Buckley won't be far behind. More agent blaming and shoulder shrugging but it can't continue. Both our finances and football will be knackered if it does.

Of course I think my theories are fact. People like you think I am deluded, I think people like you are deluded. It's called a difference of opinion! Again this '£10 million bonus' supposedly on the table. I've already tried my best to explain that all the players will have promotion bonuses in their contracts from when they signed them, just like they will at every other club in the land. A promotion bonus is not unique to Rovers and there have not been any new contracts issued recently. Venkys can't just turn up with a suitcase of cash as an extra sweetner halfway through the season. I know what the 'club' aka Waggott and Mowbray have said - frankly I don't believe them. They are on the payroll and won't reveal information that will reflect badly on their bosses. You don't expect them to point a finger of blame at the owners they are being paid by? Much easier to do it towards the players who are leaving and their invisible agents. Fans are also naturally inclined to side with the 'club' - in this case Venkys, Mowbray and Waggott - rather than a player - that's a fact of life - Rose tinted spectacles. Doesn't mean what they say is true! I haven't said offers haven't been made - I said they might not or they might have made improved offers. They might be offering Nyambe £500 a week more - strictly that's an improved offer but a disgraceful one given his increased importance at the club.

Good question and my interpretation of things is that they don't pay much attention at all to the ongoings at the Club. Our CEO isn't fit to occupy the office, I think most people realise that, and wouldn't have got that job at any other club of the size and stature of Blackburn Rovers. But having said that he can only work with what the owners give him. If they won't communicate or won't authorise contract/wages then he is left to do whatever he can with what very limited cash the club generates. I suspect the owners (or their representatives) have at some stage or another ceased authorisation for wage increases. That appeared to happen between summer 2020 when they gave Ayala a bumper deal and January 2021 when we signed the two loan CBs. This might explain why we were able to get the short extension for Gallagher through (reportedly on the same salary but an extra year) which wouldn't place them under any additional financial obligation in the short term, whereas there has been nothing done on much lower earners in much greater need of new contracts but who will (quite rightly) expect a decent increase. We must not forget here the importance of the manager travelling to India. As insane as it may appear it has become quite obvious over the last 10 years with Kean, Bowyer and then Mowbray that the only way of getting serious stuff done is by flying to India and meeting Mrs Desai. The fact Mowbray has been unable to do that now for 2.5 years - which coincidentally came just before the last decent spend - speaks volumes to me.

He still sounds like a man telling the supporters what he wants and communicating with the owners via the press. He isn't saying that things will or won't happen, just offering an opinion on how it would look if we started selling our best players now. I stick to my theory that he hasn't heard a peep from India in months and hasn't the foggiest what their plans or thoughts are. His contractual situation all but confirms that. Still amazes me that people believe we are actively engaged in serious discussions with these out of contract players. Strikes me that Venkys are doing nothing. If Mowbray can't speak to them and has no idea as to their plans how the hell are we meant to keep players?

We missed a sitter and had at least one penalty (arguably two) ignored by an incompetent referee as well as a blatant red card. Due to the way Huddersfield set up it was always likely to be tight and decided by an odd goal so to be denied that by the above made it very frustrating indeed.

West Brom have already got Daryl Dike Middlesbrough have signed Aaron Connolly and expected to get Balogun from Arsenal Forest have signed Keinan Davies and Steve Cook and are linked with Jed Wallace. Lets see what Venkys have up their sleeves other than relentless talk about selling our best players whilst sat 2nd.

Good effort. I do find it strange that we would only get an extra 500 allocated yesterday, sold out in no time, and now have to suspend sales until Saturday. Would have made more sense to sell as many as possible today and tomorrow and then make a decision Friday on sales on the day. Maybe they wanted to make sure that there were more than enough to sell on the day.

An extra 500 tickets released for sale today - presume that means at least the initial allocation of 2,000 has sold out or is likely to do soon and takes us to 2,500 total Only releasing an extra 500 suggests not much confidence of shifting many more.

I agree the League is the focus and priority. However winning is a habit and I don't accept the Cup is an unwelcome distraction. A good cup run can help keep momentum going. We are playing in a local derby against a side in the division below us with a healthy travelling contingent so that alone requires it to be taken seriously.

Fully agree. Any signings made this month should be focusing purely on the next 22 games and winning them. The prize is there to claim. Long term project signings can wait until the summer when we know which league we are in, who leaves and who the manager is.

This club's biggest problem has been allowing our best players to run their contracts down and not getting top dollar for our assets. Whether that be Tom Cairney, David Raya, Adam Armstrong or the latest raft of soon to be out of contract players, all of them went or will go for less than they should. I'd like to avoid a similar scenario unfolding again yet that is precisely what is going to happen come the summer. Somewhere along the line people seem to be ignoring the countless millions in transfer value these players possess and focus on a few grand a week difference on the 'wage structure'. Strange that paying them more (deservedly so given their importance and performances) is seemingly a no-no and a risk not worth taking yet at the same time forgoing millions in asset value is absolutely fine, not a problem. I could perhaps buy into this 'wage structure' and the seeming obsession with sticking to it if this was a club run on a sound financial footing and competing at this level whilst breaking even and debt free - like Brentford managed to do - but we are a long way from that and always will be under these owners. They won't do anything serious to deal with that and appear to even enjoy it or certainly be comfortable with it. The only chance we have of being sustainable at this level whilst competing is by ensuring we keep our academy products when they reach the first team or at least ensure they have real value to the club in the event a sale comes along.

It seems to be good news on the half season ticket sales front yet lets not forget that we were recently selling 10-11,000 full season tickets at this level sat in mid-table so whilst we are moving in the right direction total sales of around 9,000 for season tickets is not really progress, it is just a repair job on the numbers we were looking at in the summer fuelled by good results and performances. No doubt Waggott will be patting himself on the back but just imagine if we'd have sustained sales of 10,000 like we were getting before he turned up and then added a few thousand on top. I was delighted with the crowd on Sunday as I expected it to be low at the time and price of £30 an adult so really good to see the BBE lower full (not a full BBE as some have said as upstairs remains shut) and the Riverside was noticeably busier. Circa 14,000 home fans on is progress the challenge now has to be to keep it and increase it, not look for ways to try and milk the extra for more money. Personally I would be looking at a flat rate of £20 for home tickets for every remaining game this season. And I would put tickets on sale now for every remaining game. I don't understand this thing of waiting until 3 weeks before the game to start selling match tickets. Do it now. Promote it everywhere. Contact all ex-season ticket holders. Schools in other areas. This won't happen.

If Nyambe, Lenihan or Rothwell are being advised to refuse good contract offers from Rovers (supposedly increased wages) at a club where they are settled, playing every week in a good team and loved by the fans to hold out for a potential PL move then they are going to be disappointed. Rothwell not a chance. Lenihan highly unlikely. Nyambe probably the most likely due to his physical attributes which might make him attractive to someone like Palace to have a crack at polishing up but still unlikely. Even with all that if they sign new deals and then PL clubs want them they will still get them as money talks - signing an extension with Rovers would not dissuade clubs higher up. I think it is more likely that whatever it is Rovers have offered or are offering isn't worth the time of day. I think we will find out in time to come that rather than months and months of 'talks' to try and keep these players that actually there has been very little (if anything) and that we are looking at a Ben Marshall situation whereby he was painted as the villain for wanting a move or asking for too much money and then we find out the club did nothing to try and keep him The big clue is Mowbray and his situation - the owners clearly allowing the situation to drift with the manager - a bloke they like, trust and who this season has done a good job. He has admitted he has no idea what their plans are - so are they really pushing to get these players signed or are they just leaving Waggott with his extremely limited resources to try and sort it?

My question is how the hell are we losing £20 million a year if we have a 'wage structure' that means we can't even pay the likes of Nyambe what he wants? Second question is which clubs does he or his agent think are willing and able to afford those wages if Rovers can't?

They are being kept alive by the ineptitude of Norwich, Watford and Newcastle. Our last hope is that Newcastle do some serious business and get their act together quickly because I wouldn't put a bean on Norwich or Watford surviving in their current states. Ridiculous that after 1 win all season they are still in the mix and not adrift but that sums up how rubbish the PL is outside the top 6-7.

No complaints from my end if we get to the start of February with what we have. perhaps shuffling Poveda/Clarkson for a couple of replacements IF we use our budget on tying down Nyambe, Rothwell, Lenihan, Kaminski. Travis to long term deals. IF we get to February and have not resolved the contractual situation, have not retained this squad and have not strengthened then that will be utterly unacceptable and will do nothing but confirm my long held suspicion that the owners couldn't really care less. Prove the doubters wrong - do some serious business or at least ensure we are keeping this good squad together.

Or if he hasn't got a pay rise.

The other huge difference is that Gallagher will be a top earner on big money by our standards given where he came from yet we have managed to find scope to at least match or even improve on that whereas the others who are on much less are supposed to accept we cannot match their demands. If I were Lenihan - club captain and in outstanding form - and the club had just agreed and sealed a new deal with Gallagher on double my wages I might be asking Waggott and co why they didn't value me in a similar ball park? Likewise if I were Nyambe on £5k a week and Gallagher has just got another year @ £15k per week then I might not take the Club's pleas of poverty too seriously and stick to my demands a while longer. We've obviously got the money if needed.

Again it is the inconsistency of it all. Maybe things are tough for the owners in India - yet a few weeks ago we discovered they had 'paid' over £16 million to buy the training ground off themselves supposedly for the sole purpose of dodging FFP sanctions? I have no reason to doubt that the Club - Waggott - have probably reached their limit on what they can offer these players without the owners sanctioning further funds to get it over the line. My belief is that because Mowbray has been unable to go to India and put forward a strong case to Mrs Desai for the extra funds that the owners have effectively left the club to wash its own face in recent months. We all know that on its own steam the club can't afford to do much - same goes for most at this level - it needs the owners to cough up the extra required.