JHRover

Good way of ensuring that all the 'in crowd' - sponsors, corporates, guests, directors and basically anyone with loads of money get in to watch but keep out the riff raff. I think some in football would like that to be the permanent way of things.

With the Brereton phenomenon in full swing I would expect the Club to be well down the line with arranging some pre-season fixtures in Chile for the summer. This is the sort of thing required to tap into the mania and grow a new legion of interest and support in the club. Of course there's a possibility that Covid might be an issue in 7 months' time but the Club has to operate and plan on the basis it will be possible to travel and get things lined up. I'm sure someone will be along to tell me how it isn't possible for us to go on such a long distance pre-season tour (even though most sides go abroad pre-season and many go to Asia or America). I'm afraid a couple of t-shirts with a Chile flag printed on simply won't cut it but expect that will be the extent of things here.

Its amazing how the confidence flows after good performances and results. For example I would normally look at a trip to Cardiff in January as a tough one we would struggle to get anything from but now I think - particularly given their position and form - I'd be disappointed not to win. In fact I look at our remaining 23 games and other than WBA and Fulham away, possibly also Sheff Utd and Preston away I don't see anything as daunting or something we should be happy with a point from.

Every season since we got promoted in 2018 we have had spells where we have been great to watch and had good results that have got us wondering about the play-offs promotion. This has always been the biggest frustration with Mowbray. Because he clearly has enough in his managerial locker to assemble a decent squad, achieve a minimum i.e. keep us clear of relegation issues and keep a happy camp at Brockhall and conduct himself well with the press etc. whilst walking the tightrope of dealing with the loons in India. But there has always been that issue with him that the good runs quickly come to a catastrophic end and we embark on similar bad spells of 6-7 games which has always ensured we ended up nowhere near the mix in May. The one last season after Xmas was especially dire and it was abundantly clear in his media comments that even he was fed up and going through the motions. Go right back to his days at West Brom he has always been a popular bloke and had something about him management wise but then factor in his jobs and seasonal finishes since then and it is clear he has missed that extra bit that the promotion experts like Bruce, Warnock, Hughton have been able to replicate across multiple clubs. This season feels different for a few reasons. Obviously one of those is the height of the position we are in which is much better than any other time. But beyond that is the way we are playing - the goals being scored, the defensive performances. No season ends in December so lets hope and pray this can be maintained over the next 23 games and see where it takes us. I still worry he will start to tinker if a few games go against us or if a few injuries strike. I think/hope one of the reasons we are doing well is that Mowbray has thrown a bit of caution to the wind and stopped with all this 'project' talk that dominated previous seasons. He also hasn't got that group of senior pros in the dressing room to keep on side in his selections and substitutions. It is quite obvious there is no medium-long term plan here with owners who don't communicate, a manager and squad out of contract in 6 months and seemingly still no idea on what (if anything) he can do in 10 days when the window opens. Seems he might have just gone for it knowing it might be his last chance.

This time last year they allowed limited fans into grounds in London/low Covid rate areas like Norwich and Brighton whereas most areas of the country including NW were not allowed any fans in. We had a long time of 'local' restrictions with Lancashire one of the longest and most severe in those due to Covid rates. Fast forward to now and we keep being told that 'Omicron' rates are high in London but less elsewhere. Strange how they don't adopt a localised approach this time around and allow low Omicron areas to continue to function normally for longer whilst restricting those areas with high rates.

Anyone have any figures for how full the Riverside is on a typical matchday? At a guess I would say there are maybe 1000-1500 in there on a good day and the stand holds what? 4,500+? So maybe a quarter to a third full on a typical matchday. Given that this stand runs the length of the pitch and provides what is traditionally a sought after side view of the action it seems that the people buying their tickets don't agree. Anyone think of any other 'side' stands in the Championship that are usually only a quarter full on matchday? It really does let the ground down and as I've said before it isn't all about the attendances - if the club had an eye on anything beyond the next few weeks and months and any semblance of a medium to long term plan it would be developing that lucrative area into a modern facility - media, disabled, covered, concourses, better floodlights, internal spaces. Fulham have been building a new stand at their ground - started in the Championship - they didn't need to as they don't need the extra capacity as a Championship club and their old stand was ok. But their owner wanted to improve the ground and grow the club. Really galling for me the losses the club has racked up and yet the facilities have been left to rot through neglect and starvation of funds. The money comes in, the money goes out, the club sees little benefit.

We've heard that theory before though. I'm sure people were saying it when Armstrong was sold and Mowbray had mentioned at one stage not spending on new players to save money for contract renewals. The only gambles the club should be considering at this moment in time is how far out to push the boat to give the manager what is needed to finish the job this season. If the owners and management of the club aren't going to push the boat out in January then that is their decision but they won't ever have a better position to build from going into the second half of the season. They have told us that selling Armstrong (£15 million) and Brockhall (£16.6 million) along with slashing the wage bill (rough guess £5 million per year) were steps required to ensure FFP compliance. I hope nobody believes that selling Brereton is another FFP enforced step because that would take income and savings to the best part of £50 million in the space of 6 months with nothing spent on new players. Every club has the same concerns and risks with Covid. Not every club has billionaires funding them and not every club has the benefit of having recently sold a player for £15 million to plug the gap. No I'm afraid a sale in January would just prove people like me right that the owners don't really want promotion and won't do what is required to get there.

I'd personally have rather Fulham drew with Sheffield tonight. At the moment I am looking at reducing the number of clubs who might be able to rise from mid-table and overtake us. I'm looking at in-form and decent squads Sheff Utd, Forest and Middlesbrough in particular as potential threats to deal with. Fulham will at the very least be in the top 6, probably top 2 come the end of the season. It would take a disastrous collapse for them to not at least finish 6th. So we need to accept that. Meanwhile clubs like Forest, Sheff Utd and Middlesbrough we will probably need to finish above if we want top 6. Hopefully we continue to put distance between ourselves and these clubs. I am hoping that all 3 just have momentum after managerial changes that won't be sustained, but I think Wilder and Cooper are good managers who will fancy their chances of getting top 6 so every point we gain on them will be important.

It will be in the summer because that is the earliest point at which Venkys will authorise any spending after their annual review.

But that's my point. We won't always have assets on the books if we are unwilling or unable to pay them Championship level wages. I could accept not paying those sort of wages if we operated on a sustainable budget including not losing £20 million a year but we wouldn't need Venkys if the plan was to be self sufficient. As I've said before - Nyambe and co. will be going elsewhere in the Championship I'm still waiting for an explanation as to why we are losing so much money and selling substantial assets but unable to pay key players what they want yet rival Championship clubs will be able to pay them what they want without selling assets or losing £20 million.

I wouldn't describe it is shocking no. I dont think anyone would expect much different with what has happened in the world. As for it being reduced that is of course a decision for the owners. Matters not really if they are still prepared to fund the shortfall Of course once again you are focusing on cutting wages which is the easy part. How come there's never any talk about our pitiful income and measures to increase it? And I think I pointed out yesterday that we shaved about £100,000 a week off the wages in the summer, along with pocketing £10 million+ from Armstrong, so those are substantial measures to reduce it Of course selling good players for good fees will make much more impact on these figures than just releasing them and avoiding paying their wages. A sale of Nyambe for several million would be so much more beneficial to the club's accounts than losing him for nothing but not paying him slightly more. Can't you see the short termism of the way things are done? Fast forward a year or two when we have no assets on the books and you will presumably be saying that we can't do anything because we haven't sold anyone for big money.

Blinkered again Chaddy. I know what 'management' have repeatedly said. I've already told you why I can't take that seriously given 'managements' recent track record for lies and bullshit. Of course they are going to tell journalists and fans that they and the club have done all they can. Can't you see that? You might be correct - they may have had improved offers that they don't want to accept. I'm really struggling to word it in a way you will respond properly to. This club is (according to some figures) losing £20 million a year and in trouble with FFP rules on a regular basis. I want to know why that is the case if we are unable to put a package together good enough to persuade these players to commit when the alternative to them is another Championship club with lower losses and compliant with FFP. How can this be? And I'm afraid 'that's their choice' is an unacceptable response to such an alarming sequence of events. It might warrant a shoulder shrug if it is one maverick player but when it is 4-5 key first team players, 2 of which are academy graduates then I don't think that is shoulder shrug 'we move on' stuff. I think it is 'what the hell is going on here?' stuff. I'm glad you recognise it is normal to be in talks with players when they have 18 months left on their contracts. Shame that didn't happen with these others which is why we are in the mess we are today with them.

I tend to agree. The Gallagher one to me smells of a case of panic realising that they've made a mess of the Brereton and Armstrong ones where we could have had much much more from sales. I dont think it is a coincidence that Gallagher will be the only 'investment' player left if Brereton leaves - the only one where the owners have authorised substantial cash for. I hope that even Venkys can understand that we won't be in a better position than this heading into January and won't have a much better chance of the play-offs ever. If they are remotely serious about promotion then they will resist offers in January and risk getting less in the summer and keep the momentum going

Maybe true, maybe not. 'Improved' can cover a wide range of things. A penny a week more is 'improved' but still derisory. Matters not though - whatever we are doing (if anything) isn't good enough for them to sign up. The fact that Nyambe and Lenihan in particular have been here since childhood and Rothwell is now a pillar of the team playing at the highest level he has in his career to date and yet all 3 are supposedly rejecting 'improved' terms tells us all we need to know - that there is clearly something very wrong either with the offers being made or with other things at the club. As I say - none are going to be off to the PL - so for them to be attracted elsewhere in the Championship given their histories and importance at this club and how well we are doing at present suggests something is very off.

That MIGHT be the case IF you are under League embargo/restrictions. We aren't - so this is irrelevant to us So over the last 6 months we have: - Shaved £100,000 a week (approx) off the wage bill through releasing lots of players - probably saving in the region of £5 million over the next 12 months - Sold Adam Armstrong - even with Newcastle's cut and taking off the initial fee for him we are looking at £8 million profit - Sold our training ground to a different company for £16.6 million All in all there is almost £30 million in income/savings made And I'm supposed to believe that we can't pay good players more or that we are under FFP trouble??

Those are pandemic figures aren't they? In normal times we are not spending double our income on wages. How does that compare to other Championship clubs? Well I think you would struggle to find many spending less than 100% of income on wages. So that doesn't really explain how others can afford to renew contracts whereas we can't. That also ignores the absolutely massive wage savings made last summer - Bennett, Downing, Bell, Evans, Williams, Mulgrew, THB, Elliott, Trybull, Holtby, Armstrong - how much a week you reckon saved there alone? Pushing £100,000 a week would be my estimate. Anyone else in this league achieved such wage savings recently? This is all very important.. because the figures often produced for wages are out of date. Add to that the pandemic impact which everyone else has had to deal with along with the Armstrong cash boost and I really am struggling to comprehend it. We are supposed to believe that they were offering Armstrong a substantial wage rise to try and keep him here. Still don't understand why they couldn't use that money and his wage savings to split between these others to keep them.

1. Which Nixon or tabloid links have I started taking seriously? The thing I read was a direct quote from Mowbray on Talkshite. If that was an incorrect quote then I apologise 2. I know all about FFP. I also know that you can still renew contracts under FFP and most other clubs at this level have been busy doing that. Discussions on here don't necessarily amount to fact on that front. Also ignores the elephant in the room which is the best way to avoid FFP trouble is to sell good players under long term contracts for good fees. We won't be able to do that due to our contract situation. That awkward fact gets overlooked in discussions which focus on our 'wage structure' because it sounds good when Waggott prattles on about it in Fan Forum meetings. 3. I'm absolutely delighted with how things are going on the pitch at the moment and hats off to Mowbray for turning what was looking like a dangerous situation into a potentially very exciting one. It is clear that for all his flaws he has got most or all of the players working their socks off for him. That doesn't mean I can't be concerned for what the future holds and look forward beyond our current excellent run. Nothing would hurt more than seeing this good young side dismantled and head off to mediocre rivals because we haven't got our house in order. The prospect of losing some of these players to Championship rivals who have nothing going for them that we don't is a scary one and I really struggle to accept that given the money these owners have put in and the losses racked up along with the sale of Armstrong - there really should be scope in all that to be able to retain our good young players and protect the club. I don't accept it can't be done and strongly believe that this is nothing to do with FFP but is because the owners have decided they've had enough spending for the time being. No amount of slideshows and spreadsheets will change my opinion there and I think Mowbray has suggested that the issue is in India with his comments about the owners 'struggling' with the pandemic. Merry Christmas JBIz

No I won't accept it. I won't accept selling our training ground supposedly to comply with FFP rules due to losing £20 million a year and yet at the same time losing our prized academy developed players for nothing to other Championship clubs. Because that is what is going to happen unless something changes fast - these people like Rothwell, Lenihan and Nyambe won't be getting PL moves. They will be joining the likes of Middlesbrough, Huddersfield, Sheff Utd or Stoke. I won't accept that. It is bizarre that suddenly at this point we are (supposedly - will believe it when it is confirmed) on the cusp of getting Gallagher to commit. Why is it bizarre? Because he is already one of (maybe the) biggest earner at the club and we are under much less pressure time wise to get him signed up. I'm not opposed to giving him an extension to protect our investment but I'd like that to follow much more urgent and valuable deals for those leaving in 5 months time. I suspect (if it is true) that Rovers and Waggott know what a clanger they have dropped with the others, doing nothing until it was too late and are now taking steps to try and avoid such a scenario unfolding with the last remaining investment in Gallagher. Now that Armstrong has gone (cash disappeared) and Brereton soon goes (cash will disappear) there''s only Gallagher left of the 3 'big' buys they made. They'll be looking to recoup his fee and then start the cycle again.

So less than a week after a fantastic performance and win at Bournemouth to bring the top 2 into sight, cement a top 6 spot heading into Xmas and with the rest of the league starting to take notice we've had: - Mowbray heading to Talkshite to confirm Venkys might sell Brereton in January because they've had a tough time with covid (not mentioning the £16 million they found to transfer the training ground and the £15 million we got for Armstrong not long ago) - Still no progress on the expiring contracts of key players - Bizarre rumour of Gallagher set to sign a short term extension despite him being one of the highest paid players at the club making a mockery of claims we can't afford to keep the others. Suggests to me Rovers know they've dropped clangers on the others and are now desperately trying to avoid the same fate with Gallagher as with the others. - Transfer 'links' to Hedges and Tony Watt Exciting stuff.

In relation to your number 3 - I'm not really interested in the demographics of BwD because that is increasingly irrelevant to our attendances and support base. Perhaps you or someone else will have some statistics as to what % of our paying attendance live outside of BwD boundaries. I bet it is a very substantial portion, and it is only going to increase over time as more and more people move out to different areas and rarely visit Blackburn. Your 28% figure for BwD is only really relevant if we start and finish our efforts at the artificial boundaries of BwD. If we are doing that we might as well give up as the club won't sustain itself on that. There really needs to be an acceptance and embracing of the fact that a massive portion and increasing portion of our support lives in neighbouring boroughs and the club needs to start treating those boroughs as its catchment area. I think it is a disgrace how the club appears to have surrendered any interest in Hyndburn and the massive Rovers supporting population there seemingly for no reason other than it might upset Accy Stanley. I couldn't care less what ethnicity anyone is but think it is very short sighted and ignorant of the realities of our support and very unambitious if the extent of our efforts is focusing on the relatively small population of BwD when really this club is much more than a Blackburn town club.

I was about to say precisely the same thing. I am always bewildered at those people who want to credit Venkys for their investment and support and who then at the same time refer to our crowds and income as a reason why we should be grateful to Venkys. Seemingly oblivious to the sustained relentless decline in our attendances over the last decade due to their management of the club and their employment of incompetents to run it. It is their fault that we are now mixing with the likes of Luton, Preston and Peterborough on attendances when 5 years ago we were comfortably above them and 10 years ago we were getting 20,000 home fans on. Not natural, not inevitable. They have caused it. Our poor gates are an asset to those who want to criticise Venkys, not to those who want to credit or defend them.

It's all well and good and I'm happy they are doing something to try and develop things. A couple of issues. One is that those children are at an age where they won't have the cash nor freedom to go on their own steam and will need adult(s) to agree to pay for them and accompany them. This makes it unlikely unless they are getting freebies or travel/supervision provides. Second issue is that it is all quite pointless if at the same time the club is pushing established supporters away through ridiculous pricing and schemes (20% fall in season ticket holders in less than 2 years)

It is a perfectly easy decision. January is a bad time to do business and so a sale of our star player even if by some miracle the owners allowed money to be reinvested would not be value for money and would not be conducive to a promotion push in the second half of the season. I bet if we head onto Fulham or Bournemouth pages they aren't discussing the merits of selling Mitrovic in January - because there aren't any - they are serious about promotion and know their best chance of delivering it is by retaining their best players. The player will be told that if he wants to leave he can do so in the summer if we don't get promoted. That might mean we get less for him than in January. It might mean we get more if he continues to fire in goals every week. But it is a price worth paying to try and sustain a promotion push because the reward for succeeding vastly outweighs what we might get for him. We have been told since day 1 that the owners want promotion and will back the club to achieve it. Lets see if they are serious. I'm afraid a sale of our leading goalscorer in this position will show that they aren't. I'm glad you have confirmed where the Armstrong money went - to avoid an embargo last summer (not that we needed to given our recruitment) and that this will keep us out of an embargo moving forward. So if we sell Brereton or don't spend any money once again in January what will your excuse be then? FFP again?

The studio in the JW stand hasn't been used for years as all broadcasts use a studio off site. I don't know what facilities your journalist friend uses but I don't think it will include the studio in the JW stand by the DE corner flag. My understanding was that the studio we have would struggle to accommodate the ever increasing requirements of broadcasting from the ground. I notice you didn't respond to the point about the inadequate disabled facilities and the need to provide better if we were to get to the Premier League and even if we didn't have to we should still be looking to do so to improve things for those who need those facilities.

A new Riverside would bring a plethora of benefits to the Club over time. The existing stand has a large number of restricted view seats and also the first 7-8 rows are uncovered meaning people get wet. A new stand would remove those issues. At present disabled fans have to sit in the rain at below pitch level. A new stand could provide a good number of elevated and sheltered disabled areas. I understand that if we were ever promoted to the Premier league there are now strict rules in place on the number of disabled seats a club must provide, which is why United lost seats at Old Trafford and the Dingles had to spend money building those horrible corner structures. A new Riverside incorporating these facilities would avoid the need for rushed work if promoted especially if that meant losing seats in the other 3 stands. I also understand that there are even more strict media requirements which the existing TV gantry and media room in the JW stand would probably be insufficient for. A new Riverside could provide these with ease. Then there's the aesthetics. The ground looks lopsided and let down by the Riverside which itself was a cheap job in the first place, the accoustics would be much better if the walkway at the front was built over and the stand moved up closer to the pitch. For those who sit in the stand it would avoid the need to get wet through going to the toilet or kiosks at half time. Then there's non-matchday benefits. Depending on how big you wanted to go there is no limit really to the amount of space in the stand that could be opened up to other revenue streams. A hotel is one option - not many people visit Blackburn for the views and I don't think a Riverside hotel would be any worse than looking onto Whitebirk roundabout or Darwen services. I suppose what it comes down to is there is no cost cutting or cash raising when building a new Riverside. It would require cold hard investment from the owners up front with no immediate guarantee of a return. Contrast to the training ground activity where we have a juicy estate in the Ribble Valley prime for housing to get rid of and the cash from that can more than cover the costs of obtaining an alternative and throwing up some inferior facility and the difference goes elsewhere.