JHRover

When Adam Armstrong leaves it will be because a club comes along that offers him more than this club does. It will be nothing at all to do with what fans think, or don't think, of him here. It will be because this is a club going nowhere, with no ambition, sticking with a poor manager at the end of his shelf life because it is more important to stick with good old Tone who will dance to whatever tune the owners decide than it is to shake things up and show some ambition. He will leave because he doesn't want to play for a tin pot outfit with 4,000 fans a week turning up, which is where we are headed soon. He will witness this summer unfold, will see what direction this club is heading in, and will want to move elsewhere, just like any other player of any ambition will want to do too. Convenient because I expect the priority this summer will be to sell anyone with any achievable value. It is unlikely that he has even been offered a new long term deal, because the club has been in a state of inertia for the last 12 months (except on plans to flog the training ground). So our intentions there are already clear, that's before our manager tries advertising him in the press as up for sale. We are at a club where the manager selling our star player and brining in millions for him is the ambition for the summer because it will protect his position and earn him credit with the owners. What a backward club we are.

I think Waggott and Mowbray could sort him out a new deal and I doubt Venkys would even know or care about it. I expect they think it is a minor issue and not any of the supporters business what contracts they give to their employees. For all we know they could have extended it already and just not announced it.

Presumably next season is also a write off due to Covid 19 still being around and the "unique conditions" that creates. We won't be taking a foreign training camp and will lose Armstrong so all the excuses are ready to go again. Just wait for the ones about struggling to adjust without Armstrong's goals, filling the void he leaves and transitioning to a new style of play to cope with it. Great for the Football Manager laptop brigade but depressing as hell for me.

Its Brockhall to Nunthorpe. Less than 2 hours. Lovely drive. Beautiful part of the world. How the hell did he cope playing at Ipswich and Celtic? How do others cope managing abroad? Mourinho moving between 4 countries? He's pathetic. Oldest trick in the book to trot out the family guy line, as though no other manager has kids or grandkids. Warnock has children and a family in Cornwall/Devon and works in Middlesbrough. All a carefully constructed image to garner sympathy. Repugnant using his family to do it.

I said a few weeks ago that I wouldn't be getting a season ticket, at any price, with Mowbray and his henchmen remaining at the club. I had hoped that the passage of time would lead to my anger and disillusionment subsiding and me reconsidering things. A few weeks off, calm down, put the season behind us, along with the training ground scam. But no. The more and more I hear from Mowbray the more angry I get. He's a coward and a liar and the sound of his voice alone sickens me. He's trying to be clever with the excuses and nonsense about last season. The blame lies at his door. His drivel might convince morons like Pasha and Venky's but it works in reverse for those who know what is going on.

His dad played at Ipswich in the early 90s and again in 97. Presumably knows Mowbray or Venus from there. If not then David Lowe was there at the same time so all joins up.

For the sake of repeating myself I'm not bothered about us losing Evans, Bennett, Johnson, Holtby and co. What I am bothered about is that it was abundantly clear from Mowbray's interview that he wanted to keep Evans and knows he will end up at a rival Championship club. So if we aren't even willing or able to offer someone like him a new deal when St Tony wants it then what sort of mess are we in behind the scenes? How on earth are we going to recruit better? I've heard people on Twitter celebrating Evans' departure and then suggesting he's bound to end up at Stoke. The same Stoke who are better than us. So how does that work? Wages freed up - and lets not let them erase the likes of Mulgrew and Williams who will both have been big earners - could and should provide good scope to rebuild the squad to a good level But that won't happen as we're in a state of confusion so it will be pocket the cash and rely on the youngsters. That's the recipe for relegation, especially with a deluded manager who thinks he is Guardiola

I think we'll find that everyone will be going except the kids on relative peanuts and those with year options on the same terms. The taps are off. Venky response to a poor season is to stop funding and not answer the phone. Said it last week we are at 2015 again. It will be cheap frees and kids to replace whoever we can sell. Mowbray will play along with it. Scum the lot of em. This is going to be a long dark summer and season. They'll get away with it now by letting the likes of Evans and Bennett go because most fans will be happy to see the back of them. Trouble is this isn't a football decision. Its financial. And if we can't keep these players who the hell are we going to be bringing in?

"Moving forward all I ask is they compete and give their very best" Wow. Exciting. Roll up roll up get your season tickets with a price rise for the next stage of Mowbray's reverse journey. Seems he's been burned by the bravado of aiming for the play-offs now he's realised that it isn't ever going to happen under him and people will hold that expectation against him. So instead lets just do away with any position, achievement, points tally and simply measure performance on the team 'competing' and 'giving their very best'. Of course these two elements cannot be measured nor judged and therefore can't be used to determine Mowbray's performance in future. Crafty old fool but most of us can see right through it. So from now on as long as we put 11 players out that try their best and we don't get hammered every week we're doing fine. It isn't fine and this is elite professional sport not the Dog and Duck league. This isn't amateur football or someone taking their teenage son out for a game. It's a multimillion pound operation, haemorrhaging cash with millionaires paid huge money. So no, working hard, trying their best and competing are not things Mowbray gets credit for. They are the bare minumum requirements of any professional sports club. I'm so sick of this now.

I suspect Suhail's involvement in the removal of Gary Bowyer (unnecessary), appointment of Paul Lambert (expensive and aggravating) and appointment of Owen Coyle (disaster) will all count against him and mean he is quite happy bobbling along with good old Tony than rocking the boat and risking more of the above. After all, for where we are now we might as well have stuck with Bowyer. He was quite willing and able to plod along developing players and working to a shoestring budget. Mowbray's delivering worse results and positions whilst spending more money. What was the point in the last 5-6 years? Might as well have carried on as we were and allowed Bowyer to rebuild post-embargo. Would have saved the expense of firing him and his staff, costs of appointing Lambert, Irvine, Kelly and of firing Coyle, Stewart and co. and the costs of League One.

I think that Mowbray and Waggott could probably arrange a new contract and Venkys wouldn't even know or care about it. I think it is more likely that he will sign a new deal than it is he will be sacked. I suppose it comes down to how they see the climate with the fans. Him signing a new deal might to them be seen as a step too far at this stage - if they have gauged things correctly they will know the fans are fed up and will try to keep them quiet and calm. On the other end of the scale they might see it as the message they need to send out to reaffirm his authority for anyone in any doubts about it.

I was in the pub at Stoke away in 2019 when we won 2-1. I spoke to multiple well connected Rovers fans in there who were adamant that Venkys were selling to Eurogarages and that Gareth Ainsworth was lined up to take over as manager. 18 months on and here we are. Venkys won't sell, or share.

Now is the perfect time to make a change. Also notice that no other clubs at our level are on the lookout right now, unless you count Sheffield United who seem confused. Give it a couple of weeks and WBA might have a vacancy if Allardyce walks away. Maybe Fulham also. Wouldn't be surprised to see Derby make a change if their takeover gets sorted. Could become a congested market quite quickly. See the favourite for the Salford job is Alex Neil. Are they really going to have two better managers in one season than we've had in 10 years?

I can probably save those attending the time of going to the meeting. 1) Season tickets are ready to go and we should be able to announce details 'soon'. It is difficult due to the pandemic (doesn't stop everyone else getting on with it). Because we've been in a pandemic we can't cut prices but our team have been looking at groundbreaking new ways of doing it. 2) We've got everything sorted with a new kit manufacturer but aren't yet in a position to announce who or release photos/stuff for sale. Hopefully 'soon'. 3) We are all disappointed with the season we've had but Mowbray is busy working on his squad for next season. But we have to be conscious that we are in a pandemic so it is difficult, FFP rules, we've no money, not fair, massive clubs blah blah blah. 4) Renovation work is soon to begin on the Ewood pitch and just look - it looks fine now so we don't need to rip it up and lay a new one - that would be a waste of money. 4) We will 'look into' what flavour pies are on sale for when fans return.

I see Bradford have sacked their managers after a dodgy run. They did a good job in keeping them away from trouble when struggling last year but the club have taken decisive action and are not seeking applicants for the job. Coming to something when 4th division Bradford can do it but we can't.

Are you expecting Waggott to honour that offer? I've learned the hard way not to trust him with my money.

Can still do away games and u23s. That should be enough. Mowbray and Waggott might start to care when there's only 4000 rattling around in Ewood including kids and comps.

Bull5shit Waggott in full view for everyone to see. Things kicking off in January because of our disgrace of a pitch, caused through neglect and limited investment since Venkys turned up, including bringing national attention after games having to be postponed because of it. Waggott shuts people up promising grand things in the summer. All sounds wonderful. What are they moaning about? Then it doesnt materialise. I'd have put my life savings on us not spending £1 million+ on Ewood this summer. All a con. Substitute 'pitch' for 'training ground', 'players', 'sponsors' or just about anything else that he's failed to deliver in his time here. I do think there's possibly something in the suggestion that this won't even have reached the owners door. I think the attraction of the current regime to Venkys is they can just leave them to it for the year and they are confident, via Suhail, that there's no dodgy business or waste of their money taking place. Waggott has got his hefty good number here on the basis that he has the skill set to achieve cost reductions and income increases. All sounds good to India. I also expect Waggott is on some sort of bonus scheme where he gets paid more the more he saves the owners/club. On that basis it serves him absolutely no purpose to go off to India with a begging bowl and request £1-2 million for a new pitch. Venkys might refuse it but even if they didn't it would probably take too long to get approval or would reflect negatively on his figures and 'performance'. Cheep and cheerful is the way of things here, except when it comes to his salary of course.

Indeed but I expect there willl be many hundreds if not thousands who will be thinking and doing similar. These people will range from those who will refuse to renew until changes are made to those who won't make such a black and white decision but will nevertheless not feel it is worth buying a season ticket next year. Clearly keeping Mowbray and co. in work and doing the bare minimum is more important to the owners than running the club properly. That's up to them, they pay the bills as their staff like to remind us. But they expect hard working folk to just sit back and hand over good money to put up with whatever they feel like doing? On what possible basis are they hoping to sell season tickets next year? Simply hoping that people are desperate to get back to watching games in grounds regardless of how bad it is? Other clubs are slashing prices, begging fans to renew, offering bonuses or prizes to do it or can rely on new managers or changes to get some excitement going. If only life was so simple as 'just get behind the lads' at whatever price they come up with. You can't take people for granted like that. You have to earn it in this day and age.

Pre season will be easy enough to predict. Any 4 or 5 of Carlisle, Barrow, Morecambe, Blackpool, Stanley, Oldham, Rochdale, Wigan, Fleetwood, Bolton and Tranmere followed by our showpiece friendly against Everton or Liverpool reserves as thanks for developing our players last season/anyone else we can have? How can we possibly entertain making a change now he has rung some mates up at other clubs and got to work on new contracts.

The Barry Douglas situation sums up neatly the Mowbray curse on defenders at this club. He is clearly a decent player. Not under Mowbray's management though. In his time in charge he has had Williams, Hart, Bell, Douglas, Cunningham, Ayala, Mulgrew, Lenihan, Wharton, Magloire, Tosin, Rodwell, Bennett, Nyambe, JRC, Caddis, Harwood-Bellis, Branthwaite, Buckley, Carter, Downing x 2 and Johnson in his defence. How many of those have had positive reviews for their defensive ability whilst at Rovers? Fact remains we have a manager who doesn't take defending seriously and couldn't organise a side to save his life. Until that changes the conveyor belt of disappointing defenders will continue. Put a McCarthy or Hughton on the training ground and things would improve immeasurably.

It isn't one man though, it's 3, plus inadequate staff throughout and owners that couldn't care less. The trust has long gone and the only way that gets repaired is if one or preferably all of the 3 stooges depart. Admittedly my anger goes well beyond football and results. In normal conditions I might forgive/forget the horrendous results and performances and put it to the back of my mind when renewal time comes. But after the training ground stunt and blackmail of fans over the last 12 months too many bridges have been burned and I simply can't justify offering any level of support to these charlatans who are not acting in the interest of the club and are not worthy of the positions they occupy. My position might change but i think it is very unlikely. I also won't allow them to guilt trip me further. If the club is in danger of insolvency then the wages of Waggott, Mulgrew and co. need to go first.

I think where we are up to is that those players willing to accept more of the same - another 12 months at the same or less salary - will hang about. So Johnson will come into that category. The others - Evans, Bell and more to come - will be getting advised that they can get more than 1 year elsewhere which is why they will be leaving. Doesn't bode well that's all I can say. No way would Mowbray be allowed any input into contracts at this juncture if he was leaving. Shame because I was looking forward to being back watching games.

if you live in Blackburn and work in Manchester it can take 90 minutes+ to get there in rush hour or if you rely on public transport. Mowbray is incredibly lucky having a job that pays very well, can car share with his cronies and he's his own boss. The journey from Teesside to Brockhall is a nice ride and time it right it isnt a busy route or difficult. Other than his beloved Middlesbrough no other Championship club is as convenient to reach from where he lives. He's worked in Glasgow, Ipswich and the Midlands. A nightmare in comparison. He just can't help himself with the family guy hard working line. He knows it touches home with the Desai clan. It really is that easy to keep your job.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/05/10/nottingham-forest-plotting-major-rebuild-afterunderwhelming/ Just read this article on Forest. Its enough to make me weep. They've had a dismal season, yet their owner is going to ring the changes to sort it out and have them at the other end of the league. Owner is going to invest this summer to support Hughton. Hughton and key staff travelling to Athens soon for talks with owners. Determination to achieve Category 1 academy status and investment being made to secure it. Compare to our shower.