JHRover

12 hours ago, Miller11 said:

They really do think we are stupid.

A completely transparent unsubtle propaganda piece that will appease a good chunk of the social media masses, but you don’t have to scratch very deep to see much of what the more observant fans were thinking was bang on the money.

Wage bill cut, wage structure problematic, all about “sustainability”.

That's because the majority of people they have to deal with / bullshit actually are quite stupid. 

They're still sitting comfortably at the moment because the consequences of their high risk strategy are yet to unfold. As I said the other week - Rudy has had it incredibly easy in his 12 months in this high responsibility position so far because thanks to players already here (Brittain, Dolan, Travis, Hyam, Tronstad), a manager already here (Eustace) and players Eustace insisted we recruited (Batth, Weimann) business took care of itself last season with a better than expected 7th place.

Rudy and his chums have recklessly and comprehensively dismantled all that this last 6 months, and over the next 6 months the results will become clear.

Unfortunately we have owners and a large chunk of fans who are quite content to plod along in mid-table/bottom half, and even scrape survival and finish 21st every year with little more than a shrug of the shoulders, so provided Ismael has enough about him to achieve that the circus will continue under the current setup. At a normal club a bottom half or relegation battle this season would not be tolerated after finishing 7th last season and heads would roll, but here we all know it isn't about results or performance it is about who you know and whether you are prepared to 'play the game' the way the owners and their stooge require.

Things will only get heated if our Championship status is coming under increasing threat. I think Rudy might struggle to bullshit his way out of that one with comfy in-house interviews masquerading as communication.

It shouldn't be overlooked that Waggott, like Mowbray, had a direct connection to the Indians.

This is of critical importance in the weird heirarchy and power struggle that we have witnessed here over the years. Now that the shadow dweller is the last man standing with that direct connection to India he has carte blanche to crack on with his agenda. A bit like in 2015 once Bowyer and Shaw had been ousted and he was able to play games with Lambert and Coyle beneath him. 

Mowbray's flight to India following relegation in 2017 interrupted that as Mowbray did what Mowbray does and won over those listening to him in Pune. Part of that meant they trusted him to recommend a CEO to do the upstairs work and along comes Waggott. Of course a total coincidence that they had worked at Coventry together just a few years previous. 

Waggott was also allowed to go out there with Mowbray and say his bit to those at the top table and off the back of it secured himself year after year of lucrative employment with probably little-no pressure from the Indians to actually deliver a great deal.

I would be astonished if any of the top brass in India ever put him or Mowbray under any serious pressure in terms of performance, results, targets, growth, league status, attendances, facilities etc.

Strikes me as something of a ghost ship here - once you are in and get the thumbs up from the Indians you are just left alone to coast along - pros and cons with that sort of routine - the downside being zero communication, direction etc to the point where you are literally your own boss and left to fend for yourself.

Things start to unravel if you expect more or better of them or dare demand or criticise them - but as long as you are willing to put up with this upwards/reverse hierarchy you're laughing. That is until the shadow dweller reasserts himself and re-establishes control and then the party comes to an end. 

I would be fascinated to know the truth about who the shadow dweller truly acts for and represents because from where I'm sat there is a clear divergence between what he has been overseeing the last 10 years and what people like Mowbray, Waggott and Bowyer were up to with their direct connection to the bigwigs. 

Often we get 'the owners' chucked out there as a term for who is running the show and making the decisions but that is really quite unhelpful. Even if we accept that 'Venkys' are the only ones who are the owners of the club, we already know there are four in their inner sanctum all with likely different ways of operating, then there's their children, and other board members/hangers on/family members, advisors, finance people. Quite the tangled web. Like who is the other Rao bloke who is on the board who, allegedly, turned up for a game recently (how anyone knows what he looks like I don't know). 

You could spend £50 million on transfers but if you are only willing / able to pay players £5k a week then they aren't likely to be very good and you probably won't improve as a team. 

Likewise you could spend £0 and bring in free agents and loans only, but if you are shelling out wages on a PL or parachute level then you're probably going to end up with a very strong side at this level. 

No doubt of course that this £8-9 million transfer spend estimate will enter the history books as fact once Gestede and co have told Jackson about it and then they can pretend as though there has been serious investment in the team. Anyone with sense can see we have drastically regressed off the back of it. 

This 150th game is the regime's opportunity to paint an image of normality to the world. They'll be expecting a bumper crowd of people to turn up for the 'special' occasion, probably stick some Rovers 'legends' on the pitch before the game, wear a special shirt. This will all make them look and feel legitimate.

I agree the best, probably only way, for supporters to send a message to them and the watching people on Sky, is to not turn up for it. I also appreciate that is everyone's own choice and might not be acceptable to some. 

So ultimately we will get a half-way house. We won't get a total boycott of the game or a ridiculously low crowd, but the ground will be more than half empty, which tells a story in itself for what should be a significant occasion in our history.

Personally even ignoring the 150th stuff the ignominy and humiliation of sitting there as our former manager, captain and half our side turn up for Derby, and imbeciles around me in the stands booing/blaming them for our demise, is enough to ensure I stay well away from Ewood, as I genuinely would not be able to go and sit there without either falling out with someone or walking out in disgust.

9 minutes ago, BRFC. said:

Fans outraged, Let’s go and appoint a fan favourite to please them. Would rather see qualified people rather than inexperienced people only here because he’s liked by fans 

Qualified people want paying. I imagine Rhodes, like Gestede, will be willing to work for very little or even nothing to get a post-playing career off the ground at a Championship club. Rovers get a 'fan favourite' to roll out for little-no cost.

This is the bit where the Facebook/Twitter/Venkygraph bots line up to applaud the club for 'honesty' and 'transparency' for this stage managed stunt to quell anger following another humiliating and disgraceful transfer window. 

Doesn't matter whether they talk any sense or indeed the truth or not. The questions will be vetted in advance, Jackson and Chaddy along with hundreds of others can praise the communication and 'honesty' of the trio (Suhail hides away of course) and on we go.

They're able to tick a box on transparency and communication and there we have it, it really doesn't take much for the Venky stooges to manipulate the narrative.

Will they be advising the owners to immediately take steps to sell the club?

That's the only question I'd like to hear them answer. Even then it ultimately makes no difference.

If anyone needed confirmation then the Hyam sale provided it - results, points, league position are not the priority here and haven't been throughout any of this summer.

Those that were concerned with results - JDT and Eustace - moved on because wanting to be successful and get results was incompatible with the agenda being pursued by the owners and their stooges.

Their desire to get Hyam out, his wages gone and their hands on a couple of million of cash overrides everything else, even Championship status. Remember that in May when they start pretending that relegation was unexpected.

Just now, M_B said:

Don't do the blaming the fans thing, it's embarrassing. 

I'm not blaming 'the fans' for our situation, but I do hold those (Increasingly few) who publicly defend the regime in contempt

How is the regime going to paint Hyam as the villain of this sordid affair? 

They pulled it off to perfection with Travis.....but pushing their luck expecting people to believe that sort of thing twice in a couple of weeks

10 minutes ago, Blackpool_Rover said:

What is going on with Elliot Jackson for Christ sake!?

His last update came an hour ago saying the Harry deal was in doubt. The club confirmed Harry had been sold about 5 mins later and now absolute radio silence on his ‘live feed’.

Probably just realised that what his 'sources' at the club say and what actually happens are often the opposite and that he's been played for a fool just like everyone else involved with this operation.

10 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Said all along on here that league one was the end goal, by the start of the 27-28 season.

Seems like we'll be getting there a year early.

Even Waggott could see the writing on the wall - announcing to the public in 2023, before a ball had been kicked, that his target was survival (despite finishing 7th and an FA Cup quarter final the season before).

Two years on and they've worked damn hard to get us here. That squad was far too good to deliver relegation and the annoying interventions of JDT and Eustace derailed the operation. Fortunately both were forced out of here so that staff more receptive to the plan could be brought in.

What we are now seeing is the culmination of a 2-3 year plan, orchestrated by the owners and delivered by their underling(s). 

Time and time again we are swimming against the tide with these owners dragging the club backwards every way it can. Still some can't see it. They deserve Venkys and what is coming next. 

5 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Erm...I'd take him as a striker coach tbh, given what his strengths were I think he could pass a lot on. But I don't see what he can bring to transfer dealings. And an odd time to hire him if true, on the day the window closes.

We won't be hiring him, we'll just be giving him work experience to keep him busy and try to get a job done on the cheap. 

Meanwhile almost 4 months on and still no replacement CEO for Waggott.

Who is picking up 'the slack' that he was covering last year? The work that required a £400k a year salary seems to have just fallen into the cracks between those that remain. Interesting. 

If Hyam wasn't keen to get out of here asap, especially if a club with ambition is sniffing, then I'd be questioning his sanity.

If he has a choice between sticking here for 6-12 months until his contract expires trying to lead a collection of foreign signings to enough points to survive, or heading off somewhere to collect a pay rise and get a 3-4 year contract at a club that actually wants to get somewhere and do something, it is a no brainer.

10 minutes ago, aletheia said:

Shoulda seen it coming, really.

Tronstad in Jan?

Count yourself lucky that he's still here and the regime haven't seen him off. He will be the 'project' for January, expect Jackson to release stories about him being homesick and refusing to sign a new deal during November / December. 

I suspect the only real ambition at the start of the summer was to ensure that Dolan, Brittain, Hyam, Travis, Tronstad were all out of the door for as much money as possible. 

A normal functioning club would have moved heaven and earth to keep as many of them as possible after last season's efforts, but no, at Venky Rovers the only aim is to get them out asap. 

Deliberately and consciously breaking up the core and spine of the side that finished 7th last season. 

I've seen some classics on the delusion scale in my time following this club but the suggestion from some that the club are getting shut of all that lot because they failed to get us into the top 6 and we are trying to improve on 7th has to be the best one yet. Laughable. 

This is deliberate managed decline. It has been for the last 2 years and will continue for as long as the two stooges can get away with it. The chickens will be home to roost soon though.

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

Replacing a centre back with a jack of all trades on loan?

Don't you just know it.

£2-3 million cash guaranteed from Wrexham, a top earner out the door. In his place a loan and miniscule contribution to his wage with an 'option' to buy. 

Job is a good one indeed. Couldn't have designed it any better.

Meanwhile the regime defenders will point to Hyam's (self inflicted) contract situation, and 'versatility' of the incomer and continue to try and argue it is a job well done. 

58 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

 

The spine of the team has been blown apart this summer.

Deliberately. I hope people remember this when we are struggling to retain Championship status. Or will it just be shoulder shrugs and excuses?

1 hour ago, roverandout said:

Forgot it was the transfer deadline tomorrow.  Never felt less enthusiasm 

At least there's no worry hanging over us about potential last minute departures. With the exceptions of Hyam and Tronstad I can't imagine anyone having any interest in any of our players and there's not much noise about either leaving this window. We've already quite efficiently got rid of the assets.

52 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

We have wage budget and you have to stay within that Just like every football club and business as told. 

Why do you have to?

You can increase the budget if you want. I can guarantee Derby have significantly increased their wage bill this summer judging by their recruitment and desire to progress as a club.

Wrexham another. Birmingham. Charlton. All budgets that will have shot up.

We didn't even need to increase or break our wage bill. Could have simply maintained what we had but that would have required the owners to maintain their financial input. They clearly don't want to. Their choice, we have to live with the consequences of those choices.

Constantly looking for cuts and reductions and hiding behind 'wage structure' is just a race to the bottom.