JHRover

Super League indeed Arsenal - no European Cup and no league title in 16 years. Now a mid table side Chelsea - minimal success prior to 2005 Man City - minimal success prior to 2011, no European cup Liverpool- 1 league title in 31 years Spurs - no league title in over 60 years, no European cup Man Utd - no league title in 8 years At Madrid - 1 league title in about 15 years and no European cup AC Milan - 1 league title in about 15 years

I'm not saying he couldn't. I'm saying it is a big risk that appears to be based more on his origins in Blackburn than on anything else. I've already named half a dozen other managers who have also taken unfashionable, low budget clubs to the Championship in the last 10 years. I haven't seen any of those people linked to the job and can only assume the reason for that is because they weren't born in Blackburn. Infact I'm sure if Gary Johnson, Darren Ferguson or Steve Evans were the names being put forward there would be uproar, yet I fail to see what Ainsworth has done that the others haven't. I've already explained why we shouldn't appoint an 'up and coming' manager e.g. one from the lower divisions - it is a compete gamble and unnecessary risk when the club cannot afford another gamble. Wilder has just left Sheffield United en route to relegation and previously managed Northampton, Oxford and Halifax. Can we attract him to the job? Good god, we've got problems if not. I agree on Neil and Rowett because both have proven over many years that they have what it takes to haul clubs from the bottom end of this league into the top 6 or contention on limited budgets.

This will be a non-starter as long as FIFA, UEFA and the FA hold firm. It can't succeed without them allowing it, because there would just be too much to do. I always thought that football clubs operating in England had to be affiliated to the FA for starters, so without that, which the FA could refuse, then those clubs wouldn't even be allowed to participate in association football matches in England. Then there's many other ways of making it difficult or impossible for them to get it off the ground. IF they hold firm. Of course when the money starts changing hands these things have a tendancy to happen. The FA have already betrayed the national game once in the last 30 years by allowing the Premier League to break away and hoover up all the cash in the game, so I've no doubt that once a briefcase full of cash lands on their desks it will find a way to pass. I can see where people are coming from but for me this wouldn't sort anything out. All that would happen is the current 'big six' would eventually be replaced by a second 'big six' - probably Everton, Villa, Leeds, West Ham, Wolves, Leicester - who would get bigger crowds, more money and finish near the top every year. It doesn't solve anything, it just creates space for another batch of clubs to move in and take over.

All correct. But why are we looking at managers needing and hoping they will make the 'step up'? Why not just aim for one already at the step we are and take out any risk of not being able to take the step up? A decent CV at a small club shouldn't be enough to land the job of managing Blackburn Rovers with serious aspirations of promotion to the Prem. People like McCarthy and Warnock fit the criteria of 'dinosaurs' both being vastly experienced and have been around the block. I'd love either here and both would be a much lesser gamble than Ainsworth.

Who he supports isn't a negative per se. I just think it is a lazy way of dealing with a managerial appointment. As a club we need to be clever to get where we want to be. Bringing emotion and sentiment into this sort of decision is very risky. This is a club losing £20 million a year and needs to be getting promoted quickly. I'd hope the people responsible for such a major appointment wouldn't be hung up on a candidates emotions or place of birth. Let's face it. The reason Ainsworth is a hot topic is because he comes from Blackburn. Yes he's done very well with Wycombe. I'll ask again. Why does that put him ahead of Paul Warne, or John Coleman?

John Coleman has got 4 promotions at Accy who are a smaller club than Wycombe. Haven't seen him mentioned. Yes Ainsworth has done well. If you want a list of others who have done well on shoestring budgets in the lower leagues it will stretch to a long list. Again he might be a top manager one day. Just think there's too much being attached to his background. There really needs to be a lot more going into this appointment than plumping for the most obvious name because he comes from Blackburn. Lazy.

Paul Warne, Darren Ferguson, Nigel Clough, Kenny Jackett, Chris Powell, Simon Grayson, Gary Johnson All done well and got small clubs to the Championship and failed to keep them there/took them back down. Why does Ainsworth warrant special attention?

I expect what Waggott will end up doing is either keeping prices at £400 (which he will then declare and publicise as a price freeze and expect credit for that) or he will put prices up again. I think a price cut is completely out of the question and not something they will even consider. Shame because many clubs up and down the divisions have already got theirs on sale with reduced prices, knowing full well they need to take drastic steps to re-engage fans. I don't think even Waggott would dare try and renege on the agreement from last summer and the deal offered to those buying tickets then. If he did that would probably finish off everyone. What I think he will do is either put prices up for everyone to cover whatever cost there is and to absorb whatever loss the deal from last year brings, or alternatively spin it so that those getting money knocked off as per the offer last year will be made out to be benefiting from some brilliant prices (even though they've already paid for it this year).

Proactive, ambitious, engaged club in touch with reality and the fanbase and responding to a failed season and dire results = get shut of Mowbray and his staff, promptly appoint a new manager with some sort of clout or standing in the game that at least might surprise us and do well next season. Price season tickets at £250 in all areas except upper JW and give people something to believe in. For those 2500 or so who bought this season they should get next season for £100 as a thank you. Clueless Rovers = keep Mowbray and co. in the bizarre belief that he will change or things will come good or that he is actually the best/only man for the job. Wait until June or July to start selling season tickets and then do so at £400+ in all areas along with some ridiculous strapline, then act confused/amazed when people don't buy.

Just watched the interview with Travis from after the game on Friday and you can already see in the questions asked that it is all about moving on to next season now. Fair enough I don't expect Yardley to ask a player if the manager should be sacked but the way the questions are slanted is just so obvious they are planning, expecting, hoping that this season can be swept under the carpet and repeat again next season. All the talk about this season being a frustrating one and looking to get ready for next season to 'put it right'. It's just absolute rubbish, but I can see this is the way that Mowbray and his gang are going to spin this from here, and I just hope people don't buy it or lap it up. I can guarantee that the dust will settle and people will soon forget about the performances and tail spin and relegation scrap we've ended up being dragged into and it will all be about injuries, excuses and move on to next season with a clean slate. Only it won't be a clean slate. It will be the same manager, same assistant, same coaches, none of whom are good enough for the level needed to drag a club upwards and higher. Mowbray will never change because he's been doing this for 15 years as a manager and even if he knew how to change he wouldn't because it would go against his principles. He doesn't deserve longer in the job. Someone else deserves the opportunity to change it. What has happened has happened. It should not be forgotten as soon as the season ends. There has to be an inquest which should already have started.

Frustrating to see Birmingham get the win at Rotherham. Two very damaging defeats for Rotherham this week. Probably means they go down now. Shame because I'd have liked to see them survive and for FFP cheats and 'massive' clubs Derby or Birmingham to go instead but looks like they'll both do enough.

Oh how I bet he wishes Barnsley weren't sat in the top 6 and someone like Stoke or Derby were instead. That would just about wrap up the top 6 excuses for the year blaming budgets, giant clubs, we can't compete. Not even he can come up with an excuse for Barnsley doing it but not us. Of course the answer is clear - better management from top to bottom.

I don't think it was ever going to happen. But when the pitchforks were out and spotlight was on the pitch back in January he needed to come up with something to shut people up so blagged about a £2 million investment in the summer. What sponsorship are they hoping to get for a new pitch? Who is going to sponsor that? Surely financing means ringing up our great leaders in India and telling them this is essential?

How's the £2 million pitch relay doing? All on schedule for the summer? Someone went off to Sky and told them it was happening in the summer so hope we won't be disappointed.

The difference with Lambert was that he had only one blemish on his CV prior to coming here, and that was the last 12-18 months of his 3 years at Aston Villa. Prior to that it had been all good for him - in the lower leagues, shooting up the divisions with Norwich and then keeping Villa up despite cutbacks. Of course since then he's gone on to have short mediocre/unsuccessful stints with us, Wolves, Stoke and Ipswich and seems to be a busted flush. But I don't think there can be any criticism at all for his appointment, pretty much all of us were pleasantly surprised and impressed with it. By comparison it would probably be the equivalent of us bringing in Chris Wilder now - a manager who was hot property and worked miracles up to the last 12 months and then hit a brick wall at Sheff Utd and left them facing relegation. Most of us would be delighted if he rocked up here regardless of how he left Sheffield. The logic behind the Lambert move was there. Still think it was structured in a way so that it was a short term approach for both parties - Rovers 'invested' thinking him and his team could catapult us into promotion contention overnight and Lambert took it thinking he could repair his reputation and persuade them to back him with cash. The difference was that the other recent appointments of Coyle and Mowbray were less impressive. Both had gone through multiple years and clubs before coming here with downward trajectories. Mowbray's last and only major success was 9 years earlier in getting WBA promoted and he had failed at Celtic, Middlesbrough and Coventry since then. Coyle had one good season with the dingles 7-8 years earlier followed by appalling spells with Bolton and Wigan before being exiled.

Different options for me as it stands 1) 3 stooges all still in place, as you were folks = no season ticket 2) 2 stooges in the dugout gone, stooge upstairs still here = season ticket possible, depending upon who comes in. Another catastrophic or dodgy appointment or promotion from within, or another unjustifiable price hike and it will be a no. A sensible pricing structure, decency and a proper managerial appointment then it will be a yes. 3) 3 stooges all gone = definite season ticket What are they waiting for? Why can other clubs sell them now?

Its just more of the can't do attitude and excuses rather than can do stuff. He's a long list of excuses and sob stories. I'm bored of hearing it. Losers look for excuses. Winners overcome them. Mowbray spends more time putting this club down and explaining failure than hauling us up and having us challenging Winners at this level dont hide behind excuses. Listen to that interview and it sums Mowbray up. Excuse after excuse.

I'd put money on it that with the time and money Mowbray has had we'd be higher in the league under Lambert. We'd also not have been relegated if we'd have had him rather than Coyle/Mowbray.

This the manager who didn't care whether he won the league or finished second, so turned up at Charlton with the second string and let Wigan have the title. Little wonder he doesn't care whether we finish in the top half or bottom then is it? Almost a childish attitude. He knows we've regressed in the league and are going to end up in a poor position so he comes out with the playground comments of 'I don't care, It doesn't matter, I never wanted it anyway'. Like a little boy having a tantrum after getting beat at a game so he storms off pretending he never wanted to play or that he doesn't care about it, when its clear he does really he's just making excuses to cover his backside and pretend to others he doesn't care.

Venkys would sooner see Ewood empty next season and be well out of pocket on ticket income and risk alienating thousands of those who remain than get rid of their mate who they like. He's their man and nothing else matters. They trust him, like him and will ignore everything else. The only good side to it is they won't turn around and force sales if their buddy is in the manager's seat as they won't want to show weakness or let him down. Unfortunately any player with ambition will look to get out of here if Mowbray remains.

And now time for the bi-annual stuff that we can't afford to change manager and coaching staff, shouldn't question how the club is run, should be grateful for Venkys or that surviving in the Championship is an accomplishment, or we'd be Bury without them.

Whatever the result tonight we are still in trouble and will be until we win a game or limp our way there through draws. A Rotherham win puts them 5 behind with 2 in hand and still to play us at their place. Scary. A draw still closes the gap to 7 with 2 in hand and still to play us at home. A defeat for Rotherham puts Cov a mere 2 points behind us and still only leaves us 8 clear with Rotherham having games in hand and still to play us. In short it's in our hands but we need to win one somewhere along the way which should do the trick. Fail to do so and we deserve relegation as it will be 1 win in 20.

Mowbray once again managing to insult, criticise or degrade multiple people or clubs in a single interview Suggests Ayala is our main CB. He isn't, never has been and likely never will be. What about Lenihan? Includes a dig at Harwood Bellis suggesting we'd be much better off with Ayala playing rather than him. Includes a dig at other clubs suggesting their training isn't as intense as ours. Might have a point yet he's got to the Prem with his last two clubs and both are well above us now so perhaps their training methods would be worth looking at.

I've been impressed with Derek Adams since his Plymouth days. But he isn't from Blackburn nor did he used to play for or manage us so probably rules him out. He'd also cost some sort of compensation which probably means a no from Venkys Still think Chris Wilder is the one and that he would come here if the right offer was made - control over transfers, allowed his own coaching staff and left to get on with the job. Didn't exactly have it easy with the owners at Sheff Utd. Someone in the Championship will get him soon. Why can't it be us?

What has been unprecedented about this season and why is that an excuse for poor performance? Everyone has been in the same boat. Its just a convenient excuse. To their credit Venkys could have forced sales or cut costs last summer due to the pandemic but didn't. So there's nothing in the excuse book about that. The only excuses Mowbray can have are empty stadia and busier fixture lists. He's lucky on both counts. Empty stadia ought to affect us less with our 10,000 a week 2/3 empty ground than the titans like Bristol City with their 30000 a week crowds or whatever Mowbray reckons they get. He's also been able to assemble his own squad over 3 years leading into the pandemic whilst others have had no time or scope to prepare and are still dealing with others legacies.