His average tenure at a club is about 26 games. That goes back 10 years at Nurnberg, Wolfsburg, Apollon, LASK, Barnsley, WBA, Besiktas and Watford. He has only made it to 1 year in charge at one of those 8 clubs, LASK, where he made it to 14 months. So fortunately for those of us that have very serious doubts and concerns about his capabilities we've only got a few more weeks/months and then based on the above he is likely to be off. (I am being sarcastic because rather than proceed with caution based on the above we simply handed him a 3.5 year deal and are a club that do not sack people based on performance).

4 weeks on Friday is the first pointless 'deadline'. Nobody, probably not even those making the decisions, knows what happens on 2nd May in terms of pricing. Will there be a third or fourth phase? I won't be cajoled into handing money over early only to then watch them demolish the squad and fill it up again with frees and loans. The ball is in their court to show me (and others) why we should continue to fund this regime.

Very true. My expectation is that the Club will dress up this changing of the guard and reshuffle as a 'new era' and attempt to convince people that changes have been made to address the issues of the last few months / years. Unfortunately we still have a lot of fools in the fanbase who will convince themselves that the problems have been solved / addressed. Owners still remain. Stooge 1 curtain twitcher still remains. Dysfunction still reigns. Waggott gets his golden handshake and Rudy is promoted again to the 'top' job just 12 months after being on work experience. Ludicrous.

Season tickets are just part of the box ticking balance sheet exercise, nothing more than that. As long as enough money is being brought in to meet the stooges' targets and qualify them for their PRP then all is well. If they fall short they will be worried, not because their jobs will be in threat, because nobody gets sacked based on performance, but because their bonuses will be in danger.

The 5 games so far and the coming 7 games will mean he has had over 25% of a season to demonstrate he has even some of the requirements to warrant putting our medium term future into his hands. They keep talking about a rebuild, which they have ensured is necessary by running down the contracts of the entire squad, you don't then put that rebuild in the hands of someone who has been on probation for 4 months and 12 games and shown NONE of the signs you would hope/expect to see from a new manager. Given he was unemployed, an initial deal until the summer with terms on ice for a 2 year extension would have been appropriate, that way a probationary period with the ability to look elsewhere in the summer if things didn't go well. By god they couldn't have gone much worse. This isn't just results, it is performances as well. At a rational organisation overseen by competent qualified management he would already be on thin, thin ice (he probably wouldn't have got the job to begin with but hey, mistakes happen, especially when giving the work experience bloke the head of football job). This lot however run the club according to cost and convenience. So he's in place and will cost to get rid of, meaning they will happily let him 'build' his own team and ensure next season is a write off just because it is easier and cheaper to leave him in place. If anyone has any doubts, see the Coyle season, and JDT last season - they preferred to let him totally derail things rather than just pay him off earlier. Quite soon the 'next season / summer' propaganda will go into overdrive, both from Ismael and the club itself. They are going to have to 'offer' something to try and shift season tickets and will attempt to do the 'jam tomorrow' routine which is their favourite as tomorrow never comes and they can never be held to future aims / aspirations. All they will do is promise something else once the annual reshuffle takes place at Brockhall.

The players will have one eye on the summer and being employed elsewhere. Who can blame them? They aren't achieving anything at Rovers and Rovers themselves have their sights set on moving them on. All sounds great until you realise that we won't get better with no money and no clue.

I suspect in the not-too-distant future, maybe sooner than planned, Gestede will be occupying Waggott's role when slippery Steve has had enough and retires to Kent. I don't think slippery Steve will give up the gravy train easily, but at almost 71 if the pressure and scrutiny builds he might just head off down the M6 with a boot full of loot and never be seen again. Head stooge curtain twitcher will then need a replacement patsy and we know they won't appoint someone experienced or credible because such people wouldn't dance to the Venky tune. Gestede is on standby to step into slippery's shoes and keep the show on the road, allowing head stooge to remain in the shadows orchestrating things. If they get really lucky Gestede will agree to do Waggott's job for much less money, continuing the cutbacks further.

Also translates that they are going to try to divide the fanbase and blame these efforts for our slide down the table. They will stop at nothing to deflect and turning fans on fans is strategy #1 for this regime.

Any waverers reading today's communique from the Club may well have just had their minds made up for them. A totally rushed, half arsed, pointless, unhelpful, insulting and antagonistic statement, as usual failing to do anything to tackle the issues we face instead coming out with blatant lies and nonsense.

Neil Yardley's phone will be ringing off the hook this afternoon as Waggott/Gestede hurry to arrange an in-house interview to try and head off this anger and 'prove' their communication efforts via a comfy sit down chat at Brockhall. That's the usual way of it - once the fans discover a plot or anger is building then do a 10 minute planned interview and come out with a few of the typical soundbites to try and pacify the support base.

"While differences of opinion exist, our shared goal is clear - to drive the club forward together" Potentially the most offensive, untrue and inflammatory official comment from the club I have seen

I actually wrote my post above before I read that!

My prediction for the club statement (If one is released). We share and understand fans' frustrations at recent results following the departure of John Eustace The owners remain committed to ensuring the club improves and progresses We all need to get behind the team and Ismael as they battle to finish in the top 6 The new structure being assembled aims to ensure a brighter future in the summer and no repeat of past mistakes Season ticket sales since Tuesday have been encouraging and we thank those fans for their commitment Communication is very important to us and we take on board concerns and are willing to work with fans. Textbook stuff.

I see that this has been broadcast on Sky Sports News already which is good. Of course you then get comments asking about what the problem is, which shows how out of the loop some people are, but hopefully it makes a few more aware of the problems.

That and he hopes that the £50 price increase will sufficiently cover the cost of installing the safe standing rails to begin with, so essentially the fans are still funding the 'improvement' to Ewood rather than the owners or club. Basically just an underhand alternative to the crowd funding they had the audacity to suggest in a meeting. And lets remember they are only installing 400 of these seats, so about 8% of the lower tier.

It's the never ending conveyor belt/revolving door of new 'heads of' clicking into gear again, just in time for the summer transfer window and season ticket renewal time. Almost an annual event now. New 'head of' leading us into a 'new era', new manager/head coach, raft of new players. None of this is important, because what we actually need, new owners and new directors, remains a distant dream, and because of that everything else beneath remains totally futile, pointless and a waste of everyone's time. Unfortunately some still won't learn and I give it six weeks before we're being told to forget the past and get behind the new head of recruitment and head coach as they look to build an exciting new era. I'll be amazed if he makes it to the 12 months stage.

It is interesting how they want to compare us to other Championship clubs when they can find figures that suit their agenda, such as those appearing in the Lancashire Telegraph and those that Yasar Sufi has been spouting on twitter. They've obviously spent time scouring the internet for details on what offerings are available at other Championship/Football League clubs and are now trying to compare Rovers' to those as justification for the Ewood Park prices. They aren't so quick to draw comparisons when it comes to investment in players, contracts, facilities, general management, not allowing your manager and players to walk out the door to rival clubs. They want to compare to rival clubs when it suits, but when it doesn't, for example when there is an expectation on them investing in the transfer window or reinvesting proceeds from sales, they are very quick to point out that our gates don't stand up to rival clubs or our revenues are less and we can't do a,b or c. Of course we have 20,000 empty seats most weeks, which nobody else in the EFL has (save for MK Dons). We have managed to buck the national trend of substantial increases in attendances and have largely stagnated over the last 15 years. We have managed to make the conditions of the club intolerable to the point where our last two managers have run off mid-season including to Derby County. There's plenty more to go at on that front which kind of puts us into a different bracket to most other clubs. They really do seem to have an attitude there that all the nonsense that these owners and executives have created and inflicted over the last 5-6 years is gone, forgotten, irrelevant, nothing to take into consideration, all in the past, not a factor. I and many others don't forget or forgive just because now it's time for them to collect their money from us. They really do seem to have an attitude that the one and only concern of supporters is how much a ticket costs and how that compares to others. Ignorant or simply overlooking all the other stuff that has been going on that THEY have been a central part of. THEY are still here and THEY are likely to repeat it all over again as soon as they get a chance.

I put 'maybe' but that isn't based on any one of cost, results or who we sign in the summer. It is based on how I feel overall when the time comes. On balance I'm more likely than not to renew, but that doesn't make me feel good, happy or excited, it is begrudging and reluctant and I ask myself why I bother. A renewal if done will be a combination of habit, not wanting to lose my seat and routine of going to games with my dad and friends.

But what about Waggott's targets and remuneration? We need to remember at all times that the ONLY motivation here is maximising revenue, not because it helps the club but because it helps Waggott keep his job and maximise his own income by saving Venkys money. Nothing more to it than that. Filling Ewood, maximising numbers, encouraging new buyers, all sound good and logical at a normal club but not issues of concern here.

Fundamentally the literature on the club website has clearly been thrown together by someone with little idea about the realities of what has been going on at this club and just basically marketing drivel. "Join us in creating unforgettable memories together" "This year we celebrate our past and embrace our future" "From humble beginnings to three time Champions of England" Rabbiting on about totally irrelevant stuff about being founder members of the League and former PL champions I wonder how much the club have paid someone to come up with that drivel. The very future existence of the club is up in doubt, dragged through the Indian courts and seemingly on the cusp of financial collapse with negligent and potentially criminal owners and yet they really think nonsense like this is going to boost sales? They are totally clueless. The ST campaign is just a box ticking exercise - a chance for Waggott and Sohail to hit their targets on revenue but even if missed there will be no consequence other than perhaps a slightly reduced income. All this process does is determine whether slippery Steve and the stooges collect as much income next year as they are hoping. Nothing more, nothing less. They will batten down the hatches and pretend all the chaos and destruction of this season, last season and the one before never happened or that it was nothing to do with them. Total charlatans the lot of them.

Does anyone reckon Steve Waggott or Sohail Pasha have ever paid for a season ticket anywhere in their lives?

The brass neck that they claim to be doing this with 'sustainability' in mind. Absolutely nothing this club has done in the last decade, be that running assets' contracts down, failing to invest in personnel, allowing tens of millions of players to walk out for nothing, neglecting the commercial department, employing sub-standard executives etc. etc. etc. is indicative of a club with any interest in 'long term sustainability'. The only thing they want to sustain is making life easier for Venkys and keep the bonuses flowing on the gravy train for Waggott and co. Attempting to use the 'sustainability' buzzword as it sounds good and tugs at the fans emotions.

I suppose I shouldn't moan as my area has been 'frozen' at £349 in the JW Lower....IF I commit and buy before 2nd May, which I have already decided I won't be doing as this is too big a decision to rush into before the summer chaos unfolds Precisely how Waggott is approaching this - come up with an early deadline and price hike afterwards to force people into renewing quickly before the reality hits home in May, June and July. I also find it outrageous and totally unacceptable that they refuse to disclose pricing for phase 2, thereby preventing people from making an informed decision on whether or when to buy. You basically are coerced into a quick decision to sign up as if you don't you run the risk of being subjected to a massive increase in May. At least give the people the info they need, but then again suspect they won't even know because they will be intending on adjusting the phase 2 prices to address the response in phase 1. If Phase 1 is a disaster for their figures they will increase phase 2 even more to try and meet Waggott's targets. Disgraceful. None of this is about filling Ewood or achieving anything as a club. It is all about meeting his targets.

Also Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves, West Brom, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Preston could all join the club if they win a major trophy this side of 2100.

So still no prices yet boasting about them being on sale tomorrow. They have a unique way of doing things I'll give them that. Sales figures suggest that it doesn't work particularly well and I'm sure this summer will be a continuation of the decline, no matter what figures Waggott massages to make it look better than it really is.