JHRover

We see with the stadium just as we see with the pitch and the squad. Cutting corners and avoiding spending in the short term results in long term problems. Yet only one of these can be blamed on FFP rules. Two are exempt yet still people believe Venkys want to spend but can't.

I'm sorry but I'm going to have to get going again on this. 'Decimated financially because of Covid' - I'm not sure that we were, or at least not to the extent some would suggest. The club retained all its season ticket income for the 2019-20 season, refusing refunds where rivals offered them. Sky and media money increased considerably to cover losses in ticket revenues during the 2020-21 season. I'm not sure why or how Covid has affected this club any more or worse than anyone else. There's an argument we should have been best protected against Covid given our relatively low reliance on gate receipts and crowds in comparison to those who budget for 20,000+ a week turning up. Even if by some strange reason we were in a worse state than others because of covid, since the summer we have had no restrictions, and unlimited ticket sales. Just because Waggott botched season ticket sales once again doesn't mean it is covid caused. The purchase of the training ground we are led to believe was a FFP dodge, and nothing to do with Covid. Covid losses can be deducted from FFP calculations as clubs clearly should not and cannot be sanctioned for unforseeable losses beyond their control. The CEO is clearly out of his depth but anyone with the time to go and read his background in football could have worked that out in December 2017, yet instead the idiots in India decided to employ him on an astronomical salary seemingly on Mowbray's suggestion or recommendation rather than employing an experienced, quality CEO who would perform the role as it should be, independent of the first team manager rather than in tandem with him. Then we get on to the transfer ins and outs. Adam Armstrong sold last summer adds at least £10 million onto the balance sheet even with Newcastle's cut taken off. Since last July with the mass exodus of experienced players we are looking at weekly wage savings of over £100,000 adding up to £4 million by next month. The club has spent a few hundred grand at most in the last few windows (and I think people probably overestimate on that given the contractual situations of Markindy, Hedges and Edun). The club knows there is a strong likelihood of another major sale in the summer in Ben Brereton, as he won't be signing a new deal and we will turn at least £15 million on him. So even a relatively small investment in January - and I'm talking signing a CF from League One or Two or even an Andy Carroll until the end of the season - would not have breached FFP. It is nonsense. Even if that relatively small expenditure caused issues we have the Brereton sale to make up for it with interest. It is inexplicable and unacceptable. It has almost certainly blown automatic promotion in a month going from 2nd in Feb to well off it in March. It will probably cost us a play-off spot too. Shame but that's what happens when run by the likes of this lot. It is time people accepted the reality. Venkys don't care. The only way they pump more in than the bare minimum is if the manager gets on a plane, goes to Pune, waits for his meeting, tells them how great they are and persuades them to spend. Mowbray hasn't been able to do this which is why the club has been left scrimping and saving for the last 2 years trying to walk the tightrope of managing with no investment from the owners. I personally doubt that Desai and her hubby even know we've been near the top of the league.

I'm not sure a new manager would be given the opportunity to overhaul the coaching staff. I am of the opinion that if Mowbray did depart that Lowe, Benson and Johnson would be able to stay on under the next manager and that would be a requirement for new managers to agree to. It is this stipulation that is likely to limit the calibre of people interested in the job, as any manager with ambition or clout will rightly expect to be able to assemble their own coaching staff and work with their trusted people rather than have people imposed on them. I also think that if we are going to part company with Mowbray, which by the sounds of what went on on Tuesday night at half time and full time he might need for his own health if nothing else, then there needs to be a clean sweep. The best argument for getting rid of Mowbray is there is a feeling of history repeating itself every season and the same old mistakes and excuses each season. With that in mind it would be madness to remove the maanger but keep the coaching staff the same. For me if the backroom staff are staying the same then it is almost getting to the point whereby Mowbray might as well stay on because there won't be that much point changing him. If the club can't or won't pay the going rate to replace the coaching staff then it has serious problems because the cost is insignificant in the scheme of running a football club and aiming for promotion. If it is an emotional decision - keeping people in situ because they are nice people, work hard or get on well with people then again - we are wasting our time here because no such sentimentality should apply in such major decisions.

This lot score goals and have firepower, but also a very leaky defence. This is must win for me. There won't be many better opportunities and we need to get some momentum going. With the ridiculous games in hand situation (how the hell do all but one of our rivals still have these games in hand?) we can't afford more slip ups. Whilst they won't all win their games in hand and indeed can't (Sheff U v QPR one of them) there is a strong chance at least a couple of the teams will. Line up wise I think something similar to the 2nd half v Derby although I am loathe to change the defence which has worked well we do need goals and probably more than one to win here.

Hoping for draws between Luton/Preston, Millwall/Huddersfield and Forest/QPR Hope for a Blackpool win over Sheff Utd and for Hull to win at Coventry.

I may be reading too much into his interview and body language. But I would expect a manager that had just masterminded a turnaround from dire straits and getting beat and awful performance to good peformance, 3 goals and 3 points to be emboldened by that when dealing with the media afterwards. I might expect him to try to take credit for the changes that turned the game. Or credit for getting stuck into the players at half time. I might expect him to at least spend some of the second half, especially when the game had been rescued and we were in the lead, to be back to his usual behaviour on the touchline. The sulking in his seat for the full 45, combined with one of the most downbeat, miserable, exhausted looking interviews I have ever seen from a manager, especially after a win, suggests to me there is more to this.

Yes on the stadium planner for Blackpool adults are £25 starting price.

Johnson also posted something on Instagram a short while ago which was simply a cartoon of a headless chicken. EDIT - just seen the above post earlier

So in 19 away games Bristol City have conceded 38 goals and kept 2 clean sheets - both against us

Tonight was an extreme version of the Rovers I have become used to seeing at Ewood Park under Mowbray's management. An atrocious first half performance with absolutely nothing of positive note to report, followed by a significant improvement and upturn in the second half. Another occasion where we only turn up for part of the game rather than the full 90 minutes, but if we win who cares. Lets be honest it is quite frequent for us to spend the first half of games at home asleep or uncomfortable/poor, only for them to come out second half when attacking the Blackburn End and there to be a massive improvement. I think the only real difference tonight was just how bad we were in the first half. Really bad. And the Johnson selection - I knew he would throw a curveball into the equation but that has to be up there with his most random of all time. But in the end we turned it around, got 3 goals and 3 points so a difficult night dealt with. I still think we have some major issues some of which are entirely self-inflicted but hopefully we can get a win at Reading which might put us back on track before the international break. Onto Mowbray. I have watched his video interview with Andy Bayes after the game, and noted his behaviour in the dugout tonight and I have to say I'm almost worried for the bloke's wellbeing. First half he prowls the touchline in animated and excited fashion. Even throwing his jacket off in frustration half way through. Then second half makes a clear point of remaining sat down in the dugout for the entire 45 minutes except for one occasion when he spoke to the 4th official about injury time. This is a throwback to his behaviour in the second half of last season when he would spend some games - Wycombe away one that immediately springs to mind - sat down on the bench for the whole game whilst Venus was the one stood up speaking to the players. I don't know what sort of relationship they have but it is very strange. It seems sometimes they are co-managers rather than boss and assistant. Having watched his interview I must have missed the part about him accepting responsibility for getting it wrong with the team tonight. I heard him mention that they hadn't had time to prepare following Saturday's game. I heard him mention that there were some players in the dressing room who don't want to win enough and I heard him mention that we'd been on the wrong side of fine margins over the last 10 games. I didn't hear him hold his hands up and admit fault because he never does. That interview though. Wow. He almost looks like he's having some sort of medical episode. I mean I'd expect something like that if we had lost but even then I'd expect anger rather than the look of exhaustion/weariness on his face. Head in hands, clearly unhappy, just like he was this time last year. Like he doesn't enjoy the job and doesn't want to be here.

The evidence to date, if you believe in such things as crowd numbers and away fans, is that the increase in numbers / relocation of the away fans to upstairs in the DE has actually had a detrimental effect on results. Because since Xmas there has been a clear increase in home fan numbers, even putting them behind both goals recently, yet we've struggled for goals and wins. Back in the early stages of the season we had away fans downstairs behind the goals and were getting 10,000 total crowds yet were scoring more and winning more. Maybe they need to look at that.

Another round of fixtures that should be ideal for us to make up ground on rivals with them all having tricky fixtures. Preston don't lose many so tough for Luton, Blackpool decent at home, Forest v QPR playing each other. We've got a home game against a side in dire straits. But matters not if we can't score.

Punching above our weight next to Huddersfield, QPR, Luton and a few points above Coventry, Millwall and Preston?

Last two home games at 0-0 with 10-20 minutes remaining and desperate for a goal and Mowbray has turned to Jack Vale and Bradley Dack. If you can find a more succinct summary of what a mess the January transfer window was than the above I'd like to see it.

Almost perfect results today in dingle relegation operation. Only downside was Everton getting nothing but still think they'll come to when the pressure is really on. With a bit of luck Watford and Roy will haul themselves to safety and relegate both the dingle and Leeds/Everton.

I didn't expect Sheff Utd to win because their away form is dodgy and Coventry are strong at home usually. I expect we will discover that when we go there. Also masters at comebacks and late goals as we found out at Ewood earlier this season. But we really need to stop drawing comparisons to the sides around us because whilst from time to time there will be hammerings - Sheff Utd getting a battering yesterday - Middlesbrough getting a battering last week by Sheff Utd - their form over the last few months is good and solid - they score goals. The myth that an FA Cup run is detrimental is being demolished once again by Forest and Huddersfield rapidly climbing the division despite both being in the Cup until this week. So much for "f*ck the Cup, we're going up" nonsense being sung at Wigan at the start of this horror run (Wigan another lot who have managed to balance two cup runs with automatic promotion push in the league below). Forest have had ground to make up from their abysmal start to the season when they were marooned at the bottom. We should be embarrassed to be talking about falling below them given the gap and lead we had established. It is completely unacceptable form overseen by a manager with a track record for this sort of rubbish. It falls into two categories. First he is a poor in match manager - results prove that - he is unable to turn a game around so if we concede first we are almost certain to lose. If we are desperate for a goal he will make all sorts of strange decisions like he is playing football manager on his laptop whilst neglecting the other end of the pitch - see Bristol City and Sheff Utd recently. An extra 2 points from those - the minimum we should have had - could be crucial yet lost through incompetence. Secondly his transfer business in January was diabolical, and the more i think about it potentially dodgy too. When it comes to determining his future these two things have to be looked at, because those two things aren't going to change with him. He's too set in his ways and too stubborn to even admit he's made a mess of it, let alone able to learn from it and improve.

I wouldn't want us to be no, but if the UK government imposed strict sanctions on them then we would have to deal with it. I think there is a league rule that proof of ability to fulfil fixtures is required before being allowed to start a season. If that can't be provided then the rules should be applied equally - just as they were for Bury.

Fingers crossed for Everton beating Wolves, Leeds beating Norwich, Watford beating Southampton. If the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions on Abramovich continue - which I expect they will for the next few months at least - then Chelsea need to be kicked out of the League. He isn't able to sell them and isn't allowed to bankroll them. The League will require evidence that Chelsea are able to fulfil their fixtures in order to start the new season. This is why Bury were refused permission and kicked out.

All there in black and white Chaddy. Join the dots and think outside the box.

I think the only person happy with the Hedges deal so far is Darren Mowbray

Yep. If this run continues until May then even his most loyal fans will be having to question him. It won't. We will get the usual upturn in form once the pressure and expectation is off in late April but by then we'll have no chance of overtaking Forest, Hudds, Mboro, Sheff Utd or Luton. He's blown it. If I had an ounce of belief that he accepted his errors, or would learn from them, then I might support him having another season to go one better. But this bloke has spent the last 10-12 years doing this which is why he's never got above the middle of the Championship. He thinks he is Pep Guardiola but he's a very average manager who can't change and won't learn.

We'll announce prices at the back end of June when the season is history, most people are off on their summer holidays and we've sold Brereton and put prices up to the most expensive in the Championship. Then wonder why sales are poor.

So around 13,000 home fans on. Despite being served up with dross since Xmas. That's 5000 on top of our season ticket sales. If the club had any interest in making efforts to boost attendances they'd be trying to persuade those 5000 to buy season tickets for next year.

Its been a spectacular collapse and it shows little sign of slowing. To go from the start of February in the top 2 and 9(?) points clear of 7th to be here on 12th March and likely to drop out of the top 6 is a travesty. I'm struggling to think of a comparable rapid collapse in position and results. Mid table form since January would have us still sitting pretty. But it has been relegation form. Today was a shocker. From 20 minutes in I had that feeling in my stomach. Bristol City are a side that leak goals like mad - 36 conceded in their last 17. To fail to score against them horrendous. I'm not even going with the chances galore routine. I don't think it was the same as against Millwall. Against Millwall we had 3-4 chances in the first half that normally you would expect to put one of them away. Today, other than the penalty miss and the long range Khadra effort I'm struggling to recall many other times they've been seriously troubled. I think the season is over. Such a waste and I only hope there is an inquest into what has gone wrong because there needs to be. What is not acceptable is the shoulder shrugging, hard luck and claims we are doing everything right but scoring.

I'm sorry? I think I've been on here many many times rubbishing the suggestion that you put forward that the only reason we couldn't keep Reed was because his girlfriend didn't fancy it up north. I was keen on signing Reed permanently and Southampton were open for a deal. I would have preferred we paid £5 million for him than Gallagher, yet you came along and said there was no way on earth that could ever have happened because his girlfriend wanted to be on the south coast. I pointed out that was a ridiculous attitude for a professional footballer who would have no such qualms if facing a PL move to City, United, Liverpool It seems to be one of your favourites from the book of excuses - absolve the club of any responsibility and pile it all on uncontrollable elements that we can't do anything about. Just blame family reasons and that will avoid anyone at Rovers being responsible. My understanding of the situation is that Rothwell was keen on a new deal this time last year and wanted to sort his future out with Rovers. That fell on deaf ears and nothing was done until we suddenly triggered the 12 month extension. This of course fits with the radio silence from the club, no news about anything, no signings and Mowbray not knowing what he was doing. So not baseless conspiracy but actually a reasoned explanation. I suspect Rothwell will have been quite unhappy about that - firstly that the club made no effort to keep him long term, secondly that he didn't know if he was being retained, released or sold last summer and thirdly that he was forced to stay for just another 12 months on the same salary. Once that had happened (if that's the way of things) I can completely understand him telling Rovers where to go. Waggott probably felt very good about himself and his clause when doing that last summer - come back to bite him and us. I suspect the same or very similar applies to Nyambe.