JHRover

I'm convinced that those people on the ground are just in autopilot mode now. Reading between the lines Venkys have either gone silent/uncontactable, which is quite possible as this seems to happen when they don't like what is happening, run out of money or don't know what to do next, or alternatively the owners have just said that there is no money whatsoever for new signings and that's the end of that. Sort the rest out yourselves. Of course many managers - Swansea's this week - Lambert here a few years ago - would not put up with this and would walk out - but we've got Mowbray who is a different personality and who knows he and his chums won't be able to get another job certainly not with the freedom and power and a commutable drive from Teesside. He probably still thinks that he is the right or best man for the job and that he is doing us some sort of favour being here, or that he is such a good manager that he will sort us out even without new players. I suppose the next question is whether they need Indian approval before player sales. If so then that might explain the lack of progress on Armstrong as they will take an age to authorise it.

I forgot what day it was. Good news there was an Adam Armstrong 'story' in The Sun written by Alan Nixon so quickly knew it must be a Sunday. You can almost set your watch on him.

Main question from me - can anyone tell me the possession statistics?

Few pennies will be dropping over the next few days as to what a mess this club is in.

Warren Joyce was at Salford and resigned last week. Wonder if he's lined up for that job? Another exciting opportunity of career progression away from Rovers no doubt?

We should be blessed with owners willing and able to tip in such amounts each year It should make us the envy of other clubs in this division. It should see us armed with a strong squad of assets. It should see Ewood immaculate. It shouldn't see us slashing the squad back, relying on unproven kids, risking our Championship status. Yet it does. It isn't good management and it is awful value for money. They seem happy or comfortable with it. The trouble is that the club crumbles and stagnates whilst this goes on and how it ends up is a big worry.

I think they were asking for membership numbers but you might get away with it with a Bradford address/postcode.

So basically for £15-20 million a year extra on Preston and Luton we get nothing. Infact less because they can look after their facilities, improve and expand them (Luton new stadium, Preston new training ground), and both are able to avoid our boom and bust model of having to slash costs every few years in a desperate late attempt to avoid FFP sanctions. I don't agree that money not spent on facilities can be spent on the squad instead. I just don't think that expenditure on our academy can be used as an excuse or reason for FFP difficulties when the truth is that Venkys could tip endless cash into facilities and it ought not to harm our FFP position. It was this 'model' of management that saw the chaos of 2015-17 and our relegation to League One. The parallels are obvious and clear. It isn't acceptable.

No problem with that. More worried about who is going to be supporting Rovers in future and what we are doing about it.

I know they haven't signed new deals. Which is all that really matters. Trying and failing is still failing. Question is have they even tried?

Hold on, so Luton and Preston have bigger commercial incomes than Blackburn Rovers? And that's acceptable? The same Luton that have no corporate facilities and were non league recently? You do realise that expenditure on facilities and academies are exempt from FFP? Even if they weren't why does it cost so much more here? Deepdale is better maintained than Ewood. They have two training facilities to operate. Simply doesn't add up which ever way you put it.

I've just been online and offered £1000 for a brand new Mercedes. It won't be accepted so is a waste of everyone's time. Apply the same principle to our 'offers' to senior players all of which remain unsigned. JRC, Dolan and Buckley do not count as senior players for those purposes. They will have been on effectively youth or u23 level contracts.

I don't think we are seriously looking at anyone. I don't think Mowbray or Waggott have authority to bring in any signings, certainly not spending cash or issuing contracts. That might change when Venkys realise there is a new season starting and that we are looking at relegation again or if we sell Armstrong and they can persuade them to allow some of those funds to come back to the Club, but until that happens I think the best we can hope for are 2-3 cheap loans, which will inevitably be last minute and a case of taking whoever we can get. We all know, deep down even if the eternal optimists won't admit it, that this is a ticket to relegation next season, especially with this management team, bereft of ideas and tactical nous and exhausted of patience among the fanbase and probably the squad of players too. I can only imagine how fed up some of our remaining decent players must be that after the weariness of last season to be turning up listening to the same monotonous drivel from the manager whilst looking around and seeing an exodus of personnel and no reinforcements. The only chance we had of keeping Armstrong here, i think, was to show some ambition this summer, ditch the manager, bring in a winner and recruit well. None of those things have happened so why would he stay? I think the people reacting with horror and ridicule to reports of bids of £8 million from Southampton may have to revise their expectations when it becomes clear that this might be the only or best offer we are going to get any time soon. In terms of FFP I don't agree that we have to chose between copying Brentford/Barnsley or gambling by spending like Leeds/Derby There is a middle ground. Preston. Luton. Millwall. QPR. Bristol City. I implore anyone to explain to me how those clubs, with less well off owners, similar or smaller fanbases, can outperform us or at least match us, whilst expertly avoiding issues with FFP, yet there seems an acceptance here or feeling of inevitability that we just have to accept FFP as something we cannot avoid. Yes we can avoid it. We need better management though. The inevitable Armstrong sale should be the golden goose that pays off FFP issues for the next 3 years in one swoop. Yet more hard luck stories coming about that one and why we stand to make very little on a 25 goal a season young English striker. We should be laughing to the bank on that one (or building a formidable side around him to go for promotion)

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.