JHRover

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.

Just have to hope that Mowbray gets chance to fly to India at some point between now and May. If he does and he can meet with Mr and Mrs Desai I'd be confident of him coming back with the resources to secure these contract extensions. If he doesn't then he won't get his meeting with them and I doubt will get the funds required.

I get what you are saying but it comes back to this: An extra year for Gallagher, at say £15,000 per week, is an extra commitment from the owners of about £700,000-800,000 (assuming he gets no pay rise). As you say his performances to date unremarkable and unlikely to see a profit on the fee paid for him at this point. Work for him to do to deliver a profit. An extra two years for Nyambe - lets say he's on £5000 a week now and wants £10,000 - that increase would be a commitment of £500,000 from the owners, yet immediately it would see his transfer value go from £0 in the summer to multi-millions. Overnight, just by signing the deal. I get the owners might be reluctant to increase the wage bill but it isn't as simple as that - there has to be an analysis of what happens if they leave for nothing - it costs the owners millions more in lost value and having to source replacements in a difficult market. And lets remember that whilst these deals might add substantially to the current wage bill, it would still be way, way, way below what it was last season which we are told had to be slashed only because of FFP rules.

Good news on Gallagher although with my Mr Negative hat on again I do have to raise a few concerns. Happy that he has signed an extension and happy that this seems to suggest that there is at least something happening at the club and some steps being taken to protect assets. This is the first 'major' contract extension in over a year since Dack extended his deal and by most accounts that one had been agreed and drafted before his first major injury. So it has been a long old time since the Club tied down a senior player. And yes - I am aware that Wharton, Buckley, Dolan and JRC are now 'senior' players but their previous deals were not and converting what were effectively youth or u23 level deals into something reflective of their newfound status would not have been onerous on the club. In terms of Gallagher I come back to what I said previously which is that I find his extension quite odd for 2-3 reasons. Firstly it is likely that he will already be one of our biggest earners having joined the Club from Southampton where he will have been on a big wage. Secondly we were under less pressure to extend his deal than most others in terms of timescales and performances. These two factors suggest something amiss with the other players. How can it be that the Club has the resources and the proactiveness to secure Gallagher for longer yet has been unable, supposedly after years of talks, to secure lower earners yet more integral performers such as Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell to new terms. My theory remains that someone upstairs at Rovers has realised that there has been a cock up with those other players and they are desperate to avoid the same happening with Gallagher. Particularly in the cases of Armstrong and Brereton someone in India shelled out big transfer fees to get those in here and both will have turned a healthy profit, albeit much less than we could have got had they been under long term contracts. As it stands, unless we get promoted, we will be forced to sell Brereton in the summer and we will get a fee reflective of his expiring contract - healthy but not a jackpot like we should get. It wouldn't be the first time that certain players are treated differently to others - for example the owners won't strictly be out of pocket if Rothwell or Nyambe walk for nothing as they strictly cost the owners nothing to bring to the club. Gallagher cost them a lot. I hope and pray that I am wrong with this and that new contracts follow for these others. I can understand Brereton not committing at this point but the rest - Nyambe, Rothwell, Lenihan, and yes we get onto Travis and Kaminski and even Buckley - need new, long term and improved deals otherwise the club is going to be left in a vulnerable position regardless of what happens in the next 4-5 months. I'm struggling to understand why when the owners are pumping in the best part of £20 million each year and have recently 'sold' our training ground for £16 million to 'dodge' FFP rules that somewhere among that vast sum of cash and Armstrong sale there is insufficient cash to pay someone like Nyambe what he is after. As others have said he will almost certainly not get a PL move this summer so who is paying him substantially more than Venkys can and how?

Huddersfield is £30 a head on the Blackburn End and Riverside for a 2pm Sunday kick off. So that puts paid to that being a 'big crowd' although they might shift a few thousand given it is one of their easiest away trips. I see Birmingham are charging from £15 for their home game v QPR at the same time (live on Sky). Less than 1,000 tickets left.