JHRover

Yes it should stop us trying. If the players aren't good enough or ready then we look elsewhere. The only focus of time and effort for the first team should be assembling a squad good enough to get promoted. The academy side of things should be run separately and should be organic - i.e. when a player in the academy is good enough he will inevitably force himself into contention for the first team. The academy exists ancillary to the first team and to support it when needed, whereas the 'modern' thinking seems to be that the first team exists to support the academy and build value into academy players, so that a profit can be made and points earned by people employed down there.

Unsurprising. The days of us luring people away from other clubs, even Plymouth Argyle in League One, are gone. I still expect that we will end up with an internal appointment or the remaining stooges stepping up and making do with no CEO. Cost and obedience are the two most important considerations. They will however need a box ticker to ensure the League requirements are all complied with and I have my doubts as to whether the remaining triumvirate have the necessary capabilities to even do that. A bit more to it than wearing a fancy suit, waving your arms around on camera and posting on twitter.

Hoping to, planning to, wanting to. Actions speak louder than words. Whoever gets it will last 18 months tops before they give up or jump ship due to ridiculous ways of these owners. I see Nixon is also suggesting the tax case could be resolved within the next month HOPEFULLY allowing the owners to invest. Heard all this before but at least it keeps the transfer tittle tattle flowing for the summer.

"We want you to be our new CEO, but you won't be able to speak to the owners, the only person who can is the COO who should be subordinate to you yet actually runs the club" Only the daft, desperate or grateful for a job would take that, not a CEO worth the name.

Brittain, Travis, Tronstad, Carter I reckon this lot would snap someone's hand off for £1 million guaranteed immediate cash for any of them, and plenty will test the water now that it is public knowledge the club is still embroiled in a financial/legal crisis, despite the best efforts of the stooges and local media to pretend it isn't happening.

We will find out in time to come, if anyone ever bothers asking Dolan, that what is reported and claimed in the media and what actually happens at Rovers' end are two very different things. As I keep pointing out - it is free and easy to put it out in the twittersphere or feed tid bits to Jackson/Bayes that the club are working hard, trying everything, making offers. That costs nothing and in return you get lots of fans swallowing it as the truth and believing a certain version of things. All the evidence in terms of what actually happens however shows that the club's approach - not just with Dolan but with pretty much every senior player going back 5 years - is failing and nobody should overlook that or forget it. Already I am seeing too much of a focus on Dolan and his supposed desire to play in the PL as though this is the issue and it is his desire to play at a higher level that is the issue here. I call BS on that, the issue here is that Rovers have failed to sort out an appropriate extension in a timely manner, just like they have with everyone else and the excuses will follow in time to come with those as well.

Prior to Waggott's stint we didn't have a CEO or Chairman for 7 years. These awful owners have never seen any need for one, and I believe only agreed to bring Waggott in after Mowbray pushed hard for it and they were persuaded that it would pay for itself by way of cost cuts. Now we are in a new era of Venky cutbacks I'd say all the signs point towards another period of having no CEO and basically the staff down there 'making do'. Of course at a normal functioning organisation they would have prepared for Waggott's departure and have got someone new lined up ready to start work now whilst the demands and responsibilities of matchdays aren't there. I'm sure it won't be long before some people are saying that these are all reasons why we should have kept Waggott and 'be careful what you wish for' because the alternative to him is likely to be worse. I'm personally past that point - all I wish for is an end to this ownership regime and nothing less will do.

Absolutely. It will be like Christmas came early for Venkys and their stooges if Wharton goes for mega money. The sell on cash will sort their problems out for another 6 months and to add an extra layer of cringeworthiness to it they'll probably plaster the social media accounts with 'one of our own' stuff expecting more free credit for it. Surely even the most 'head in sand' supporters can accept that this situation, running for over 2 years and counting, is utterly unacceptable, unsustainable and intolerable? It baffles me that so many seem convinced that the current regime represents safety and stability despite clear evidence before us that the clubs continuing existence remains dependent on the outcome of court hearings on the other side of the world. The ease with which some have been able to close their minds to and ignore this crisis and then make out as though the current situation is better than the alternative is very strange. Get rid of this. Our football club should not be getting dragged through the Indian courts and the sooner it ends the better. The lack of media coverage about this crisis is a disgrace and should never be forgotten.

We are 5 months away from the big day yet our head of commercial is still talking about ideas, committees and projects. That time has passed. They're quite cute with this involving fans stuff. They can pretend that they are doing it to be inclusive and give the supporters a voice but really it is just a way of cutting corners, passing the work on to fans and absolving themselves of criticism if it's a damp squib. Anything that requires significant planning or expense - new club crest, prestigious friendlies, major events - already too late

Agreed, again their choice to use the money to prop up their disgraceful regime, they could have used it to improve the club/squad if they wanted to, but have made a conscious choice to try and avoid that. Nothing to do with: a) Low crowds, small town b) Covid c) FFP rules d) Admin errors e) The weather f) Rogue secretaries It has always been a choice for the owners and they have always been the issue

We don't need to , we choose to. We could, if we wanted, use some of the £40 million+ to recruit ready made Championship quality players like other clubs do after selling assets. The owners and their stooges have different plans. Their choice.

Depends on whether the player is as good or better than Batth. If not it's a poor result. Age is immaterial at a club where contracts aren't handled properly as they will simply walk elsewhere, even if we get some cash it doesn't come back in. Someone younger than Batth on a longer contract but who costs more and is inferior or takes half a season to settle in isn't a good move.

Usually around this time that we start to hear about how Batth's girlfriend/wife/great uncle has family in the Derby area and he wants to go and play there as he will be closer to home.

I'm not sure I attach any importance to his age. He was a rock for us for most of last season, and deserves another year. Making out like he is no great loss, not important or that it is wise to get shut just because he's 35 is in my opinion foolish. When you are working with our pitiful budget going for tried and tested in their 30s is important and sometimes the best way to recruit the experience needed as Eustace recognises.

I believe 'they' - chief Venky stooge and his dogsbody - never wanted the likes of Batth, McFadzean or Weimann. They were very much Eustace signings, he wanted experience and eventually demanded it last summer threatening to walk away if he didn't get it. So I don't think chief Venky stooge will be making much, if any, serious effort to keep those players here now Eustace has gone. It will of course be dressed up as part of a project, wanting to lower the age of the squad, wanting to build value in the squad, and certain people will lap this up and convince themselves that it is all part of a plan. In the end they are just making it up on a whim and the minute another club comes along with a comparable or better offer we step aside.

Wonder when Marinakis will be sanctioned for invading the pitch at full time to confront their manager. He wasn't there in an official capacity - he isn't on their board of directors, isn't on the coaching or playing staff and I don't think is even technically an owner any more after he divested his shares to get around the UEFA multi club ownership rules. So presumably he will be treated as any other civilian would for invading the pitch at full time - banning order or fine / prosecution I would expect. Surely all are to be treated equally.

So by my count Sunderland the 25th different club that has won promotion to the Premier League, some more than once (Dingles done it 4 times) since we were removed from it by these owners, and since when we have managed to avoid so much as a top 6 finish at this level in return for their 'investment'. It's almost impressive.

There were claims that Eustace was at the end of his tether last summer and ready to walk, and the stooges buckled and allowed him to bring in Batth, Weimann and McFadzean to give him the experience he wanted and ensure he didn't quit. This time around we've heard Gestede's textbook talk about developing players and the younger end of the scale. I suspect Ismael has less interest in experience and is going to be less forceful when it comes to signings. We ain't giving them a pay rise when a year older and the stooges will fancy not paying them from June to August and then hope they renew at the last minute.

If it wasn't for Venky funding we'd go the same way as Derby you know

They're after more free credit by dripping Nixon stuff. Close to, aiming to, trying to, talking to, will be sorted soon honest, all meaningless. We've heard it dozens of times before. All that matters is actually getting pen to paper on a proper contract extension. Brittain, Travis, Tronstad, Hyam, Dolan, Carter and Batth needed them months ago. I suspect some are already too late now and the others we are rapidly running out of time on as agents and rivals get busy. Rovers will not be getting a shred of credit from me for claims of being close to something. I've seen this one before and it ends with 'admin errors' or 'changes of heart' or something unforeseen changing the situation. As I've said many a time. Feeding Nixon and the rest talk of trying is free, easy and meaningless. Actually getting stuff done, deals complete is tricky and costly. We're good at the former, and have totally failed on the latter.

So much for trampoline payments creating an impossible barrier to promotion That could have been us today rather than Sunderland but of course we preferred to sign Forshaw and Woodrow and force our manager out to Derby instead.

Waggott's season ticket deadlines and dates was a warning sign for me. Get the cash in early before people see what unfolds in the summer. Now that 90%+ of that cash is banked they can crack on with stripping the squad of saleable assets with minimal impact on ticket income.

Unfortunately I feel that even if the current administration was removed by way of Pasha and his chum Rudy getting the boot, and I think that is highly optimistic as unlike Waggott and others Pasha is and always has been a Venky man, and even if after that the owners decided to bring in a competent and trustworthy group of people to run the club, their track record suggests that at best this would be merely a temporary reprieve before they changed their minds, funding, budgets, whatever and the whole thing comes crashing down again due to their decisions and policies. It isn't ever going to work on a medium or long term basis. They just won't allow it.

We're going to face a full summer of this sort of thing, especially with a relatively new manager and Gestede in place. Most of it is self inflicted due to our recruitment and contract policies. But we all know from experience that little of it will come fruition and we will be scraping around at the 11th hour. The fact we seemingly want to keep both Batth and Weimann yet haven't got either over the line tells us where we are on summer business.

This guy has by most accounts been involved in various capacities since before the wretches even completed their takeover. Two relegations, three near misses, collapses in attendances and income, losses over £200 million, negative publicity, chaos, humiliation, yet it appears he has even more power now than ever before, the latest move being to oust Waggott leaving his little gang in control. It's going to take a lot more than a couple of dodgy interviews or banners at Ewood to shift this bloke unless he gives up of his own volition. The intriguing part will be if he is shifted who the wretches get to replace him because they ain't giving that job and the direct line to just anyone.