It's all very odd. I mean it isn't unusual by any means for a manager to be followed around by the same assistant everywhere he goes. Plenty of others do it especially those from a traditional background. But the Mowbray/Venus partnership does seem a bit different. Like at Coventry, when Mowbray brought Venus in but then decided he wasnt going to be his assistant manager and instead was going to take a seat on the board and be his director of football. Bizarre stuff. Almost like appointing his own superior to a more powerful position in the club. Then when Mowbray leaves Coventry Venus succeeds him as manager. Again unusual to say he had been in the boardroom up to that point. Coming here it seemed he had reverted back to being a traditional assistant but then all of a sudden it turns out he is actually also 'Head of Football' or some snazzy title which seemingly puts him responsible for contracts and recruitment. Then we see random games where Mowbray decides to take a back seat, and makes a point of going and sitting upstairs or staying rooted to his bench, effectively handing over touchline duties to Venus, then the week after the roles are reversed and Mowbray is stood up barking orders and Venus looks half asleep. Then we hear rumours about this divergence of opinions between them. All very strange. I think we can safely prepare ourselves for Venus becoming Mowbray's eventual successor though.

Has there been any announcement on whether tomorrow's game will be streamed online? I thought Rovers said they would try and set this up given fans aren't allowed.

I heard yesterday that they had sold out their initial 4500 in the lower tier and so we were cleaning the upper tier to open up to them. Expect those will then be sold and then we will give them the Riverside. Quite possibly looking at 10,000+ from Leeds and about 3,000 from Rovers. Will anyone care? Not Waggott that's for sure.

Our income isn't especially low by Championship standards. At least it wasn't so long ago. I'd say our 'boom and bust' approach is absolutely senseless. I could accept it if the 'boom' seasons saw us spend substantial amounts in an attempt to gain promotion and then had to reign it in for a year afterwards by selling a couple of assets. But this? I mean I know Mowbray has had good backing through his time here, in terms of net spending, wages and time, but we aren't exactly big spenders. Since Gallagher came in 2019 I think we've made a profit on player trading. In addition, the fact that all these other clubs both outperform us on the pitch, lose less money than us AND avoid this situation of FFP restrictions AND a mass exodus of players suggests they have got it right and whatever we are doing is wrong. I suspect we are now going to pay the ultimate price of losing our Championship status which I think could be the death knell for this club. If i am expected to believe that the primary cause of that is FFP rules and woe be us for falling foul of them then I don't. The blame lies at home for mismanagement, one way or the other.

I quite like it. Would prefer alternate halves on the back as I don't like all white on one side when seen from the side.

I predicted months ago that we would be in this position, heading into the season a shambles with no business done. Not because of FFP, but because of Venkys getting fed up and going silent again. Reading Mowbray's comments in March and April it was obvious he was quite rightly expecting the sack and was braced for it. Yet word never came from India so inertia and on the show rolls. The same silence is the reason behind no contract extensions, no ability even to sign free agents, no management changes, no season tickets until they had to be released. The whole setup is a joke. Not just player recruitment. You can't use FFP to justify all of it. It is a convenient excuse.

If this fiasco is FFP caused then the next question is why this only seems to be a major problem for Rovers. Almost everyone else manages to avoid restrictions or this situation of being unable to do any business. We're in it for the second time in 5 years. Why?

The Brereton stuff is just a very convenient distraction for the Club to fall back on. Something to keep the fanbase entertained for a few weeks whilst the real issues stay on the sidelines.

This! I suspect that this is Mowbray's transfer strategy. Invite a PL club for a run out, make them feel very comfortable and welcome, put a side out to play football against them and obsess about the possession stats, then have a cup of tea with their manager afterwards, prattle on about his philosophy and beliefs and try to persuade them to send some players our way. Seemed to work with Liverpool and Klopp. Alright if it is a cherry on top but doesn't look like there's any other strings to our bow at present.

Next news is that Mowbray will be so impressed with Leeds and so grateful to Bielsa for sending a team over that he will decide that they are the model to follow this season and will tell anyone who listens that we are setting about emulating them. Of course he won't be taken to task on how ridiculous he sounds and how the Leeds project started over a year into Mowbray's reign here. But it will sound good and impressive and keep the dwindling number of fans he has hanging on to promises of a bright future.

If Cooper is leaving Swansea due to limited funds, being fed up or at the end of his tether then he ain't going to be coming to Venky Rovers for the same and then some. The remit here is cheap, desperate for a Championship job and grateful to keep it and take whatever crap Venkys feel like handing down. I think after 2 play off campaigns in 2 seasons of club management he will have better things to do with his time than come here.

They can't use a telephone to communicate with India so think arranging photos and press release of new kit still in Italy will be beyond them.

I think on balance the best assumption to make is that the Club has allowed his contract to run down. Just about every element of the Club is slow and late so to suddenly do the opposite on expensive player contracts is unlikely. But it actually doesn't matter. Because whatever the reason or cause of it the fact remains that Armstrong is a major asset that we are going to lose at an undervalue. Of course if the Club did make him a good offer in good time he should have been sold before now whilst we were in a position of some strength. I dont recall ever saying Armstrong wasn't worth what we paid for him. My recollection is that I was happy and supportive of the deal to bring him in permanently. It seems you have a better memory of my posts going back 3 years than I do so I might be wrong on that. Not that it actually changes anything. We keep hearing about these Bolton and Wigan comparisons. I'm starting to ask if we are really in that much better shape. OK we are currently a league higher but off the pitch and medium to long term prospects?

How come nearly everyone else managed it then?

This is the first mistake. The assumption that it costs £20 million a year to exist as we are. It doesn't. We are a basket case financially. Yes we will always lose millions a year at this level without player sales to plug the gap. But the losses are substantially higher than they need to be purely through mismanagement and neglect. For mid-table Championship Preston, Millwall, Luton, Barnsley all manage it spending a fraction of what we do. Why can't we do that and save £10 million a year? Bring that figure down to less than £10 million a year. Be more streetwise with recruitment and sales rather than allowing contracts to run down as with Armstrong. Get competent people running the club. Problem isn't solved but it is a hell of a lot better than it is now.

November 2019 was the turning point for me. Up to then promotion and a season back in the Championship fine. Events at Deepdale that day told me all I needed to know. Since then it has been wasting time and money.

Just looked him up. What an impressive background. Joins from the City Football Group. Graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a masters in business administration and management. Worked all around the world in scouting and management positions. Recruited immediately after the departure of his predecessor after a thorough process. And we've got Waggott. Mowbray's mate. We are so far off the level it is untrue.

Our offical season ticket sales figures for the 4 years after relegation: 2012/13 - 10,500 2013/14 - 10,700 2014/15 - 11,400 2015/16 - 10,400 Fast forward 5 years and here we are at 3000. The sad part is that even if by some miracle we managed to get back to 8,500 as per 2 years ago this would be hailed as a resounding success and yet even that is substantially lower than what we were getting at this level not long ago. Sustained decline. Where does it stop? I used to think the bottom point would be 7-8,000 hardcore. Seems those days will be yearned for before long. Who down there is concerned, interested, bothered in these alarming figures? Nobody.

I'm sensing a surprising level of consensus on here between people. Almost complete acceptance as to who and what is to blame for this and those pitiful sales figures. Usually you'd get a chunk of 'get behind the lads FFS' or 'the club has done its bit and can't do any more'. Not yet this time though. Seems that we are nearly all on the same page as to the weary state of the Club. Refreshing to see but sad that this is the state we are in.

Waggott has delivered his first increase in numbers. 2500 last year and already 3000 this! Hooray and keep up the good work. The likely gap of 3000 or so between what we sold in 19/20 and will reach this summer if we are lucky will be put down to Covid. After all, they've done all they can

At least it would kick the can down the road until January. Can't spend or do business now but just you wait until the next window when we have these targets lined up. Cheaper to plonk Mowbray's mate on a deal than signing a player or two.

I don't know. They used to have my email address and I haven't changed it. No I haven't renewed. I haven't even had the courtesy of an acknowledgment to my 5 page letter that was sent in 3 weeks ago. I may yet renew but this will depend on my discussions with my two friends who i have gone with since we were teenagers. If one of them are keen I will probably do it to not let them down. If not then it might be 3 of us stopping.

Some people don't use email, or twitter, or the Internet. Might sound ridiculous to some people on here but it isn't. I haven't had an email, letter, or call. I don't buy local newspapers. Good job I spend my time online. If I didn't I doubt I'd have known without word of mouth. I see Rich Sharpe is still awaiting a response to a question on how sales are going. Tells me all I need to know.

I agree we should be targeting promotion. If you are in this league but don't target success then you are in the wrong job. You can guarantee the likes of Warnock, McCarthy, Pearson, O'Neill, Hughton will be planning for their sides to be challenging and even the likes of the vile Jones at Luton will be gearing his side up for a push. Sadly at our Club all I see are losers from top to bottom. Owners who don't give a toss and let the manager set his own targets and then miss them without consequence. CEO more used to corner shop operations than aspiring PL Clubs and more interested in telling us why we can't do things and covering his mates backside. Manager who has repeatedly put the club down with negativity and defeatism and excuse making, who to all observers had thrown in the towel by March and was practically begging for the sack still here stinking out the place ready for the next phase of whatever plan these cretins have. Yep. Losers from top to bottom. This club sorely needs a change in mentality and mindset. Away with the downgrading, downsizing, dumbing down and in with the winning mentality that just because some clubs have more money or fans means naff all if we do our side of things properly. No more 'can't do' and much more 'can do'. This is going to require significant change in personnel because those there at the moment clearly haven't the interest, wherewithal or capability to do this, just keep the status quo going and justify it through minute savings and incremental 'improvement' e.g. putting pounds on an individual valuation.