I dont believe that for one minute. I'm not up to speed with what is happening in India with Coronavirus but imagine the situation there is very different to that in the UK. Their business interests are likely unaffected by what happens in the UK. The club has had no income since February yet carried on spending. I think they already decided they weren't putting funds into the transfer kitty. The money spent on Kaminski and Ayala will have come from funds already allocated to the wage bill and saved since July by getting shut of Downing, Graham, Tosin and the others. I very much doubt they know anything about it or the situation with crowds.

As far as I am aware Bolton don't have a refund option. When they started selling them they were clear that they couldn't guarantee entry and would give fans I Follow access instead. They might offer some refunds given the developments this week but doubt they will be obliged to do so. Anyone who 'shelled out cash all summer" will have done so knowing the uncertainty. They still shifted 7000 or more. Few problems with Waggott's failed policy. 1) By leaving it until mid September to start sales we have lost months of selling time. Why leave it until now? Waggott claimed that the reason he didn't put them on sale earlier was that he didn't know what he was selling. OK. So why did he then start selling last Tuesday all of a sudden? What changed in the few days before Tuesday to suddenly make him decide to put them on sale. I'm not aware of any announcements that changed things at our end. 2) Even if these clubs, like Bolton, Stanley and Burnley, better run clubs than Rovers, were all wrong and we were right, and they now have to hand money back (unlikely) then they will still have healthy numbers of fans tied in, on memberships or otherwise until 2021. They can work back from a position of strength having already got the money in their accounts. They can smooth talk or do deals with their fans to wait until next year or accept any refund as deferred. We can't do anything like that because our numbers are so low and our sales have barely started after 6 months of inertia. Thats before we get to the ludicrous pricing. We've at least 6 or 7 thousand who haven't renewed or handed any money over. By the time this pandemic is over who knows whether they'll come back. Id rather keep them tied in somehow than let them drift off.

Waggott lied in May. I wouldn't believe a word that he or the club comes out with which is why I haven't handed over any money as yet and doubt that I will for the foreseeable. A bit of communication, honesty and respect and I'd have paid up already.

Waggott will keep bumping it up every year to cover falling sales and diminishing revenues. Then he can send his spreadsheet off to India each summer to justify his job whilst he collects £300,000 a year. He's no interest in playing the long game or even the medium game. He's all about immediate cash flow. Then he can retire in a few years a millionaire whilst Rovers have 5000 season ticket holders rattling around in a half mothballed ground covered in grime. We will have to pick up the pieces. He can enjoy his retirement or next job with CEO of Blackburn Rovers on his CV. Revolting.

It is likely because unless we get a contract signed and very quickly he will be leaving. It isnt some elaborate possibility based on numerous variables. It is quite simply what will happen if nothing changes before then. He isnt going to play here for free or on non contract terms. Come January the likelihood is other clubs will come sniffing and offer him better terms than us and he will be able to agree a deal elsewhere and count the days down until July. Of course that would be a very bitter pill to swallow but I ask myself why we have reached this situation. Covid can be thrown about as an excuse but what were we doing before that? He was in the last 18 months of his deal in January which is too little for a player of his age and ability. Glad though that you have such a relaxed attitude about it. You could work for Rovers.

So he isn't out of contract in 8 months?

Our own manager said a couple of weeks ago that he wanted 6 more. We've only signed 1. Are you saying he is wrong? What's the point in giving all these youngsters a chance if we are just going to let them leave for nothing as Nyambe is likely to do? I want promotion. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm not particularly bothered what a players background is. I don't believe in romantic ideas of nice football, promotion and doing it all with a team of academy products. It is a fantasy. By all means integrate players that are good enough but we need depth and experience for the cold nights at Millwall.

3 signings absolute minimum needed, assuming we have given over trying to shift Williams out and the manager starts speaking as though he is part of our plans moving forward. Realistically it is 4 or 5 required to add the necessary depth to the squad given the outgoings. The manager knows this, he said as much recently. Any subsequent scaling back is purely revising expectations off the back of repeated failures to secure targets. You would hope comprehensive review of our recruitment strategy and operation would be conducted with changes then made given the number of targets we have publicly missed, rather than just leave it all to Tony and his mates to run like its 1975. As I've said before you don't get points, credit or prizes for trying and failing.

Potentially yes. We are a side that goes from one extreme to the other. At times we can test anyone and outplay sides with great football. We can have runs of 4 or 5 games where we produce good results but we can just as easily go 5 games without a win and struggle by leaking goals. We aren't a side that will grind out 0-0s or narrow 1-0 wins. Mowbray just doesn't have that approach in his locker. It will be all about trying to outplay and outscore opposition teams. I think sides like the Millwalls, Birminghams etc. with managers used to absorbing pressure will relish playing us. I think it is too early to talk about relying on Dolan or Brereton. Whilst the signs may be positive so far it is very early days. The Championship is a long hard season usually for the tried and tested. If we continue as we are i think we are likely to be anywhere between 12th and 18th. Lose a few to injury or sales and that could very easily drop to lower than 18th. It doesn't take much to happen in this league.

I dont agree. I think we can be mid table IF we avoid any more injuries and IF our key men do the business. However if we continue to sustain injuries or key men lose form our lack of depth and options is alarming and will probably see us struggle. Even if we were in with a chance of the play offs, should we really be relying on luck to potentially 'sneak into' the play offs? Or should we be aiming higher and trying to take luck out of the equation as much as possible?

One permanent or two loans matters not. It isnt enough either way. Mowbray has admitted this earlier this summer, which is why he wanted two CBs, another goalkeeper, a LB and ideally a CM and RB. Since then we've added Ayala (good signing but doesn't cover two slots at once) and lost Travis probably until January (making a CM addition more important, though a loan in that position would be sensible rather than a permanent until Travis returns). So it seems our shopping list has been revised down from another 5 players to one or maybe two (on loan). Not good enough.

I still can't get round Mowbray's comments yesterday. So inconsistent with the message from earlier this window. After the Ayala deal the word was we were looking to swiftly move on to the next position, widely believed to be LB, with hopes and expectations being that a prime target would be in the building very soon. The suggestion was that we were working through a list of priorities and hoped they would fall like dominoes. A couple of days later Mowbray is suggesting that LB isn't a focus of his attention, and that there remains a question as to whether he uses the remaining cash on one permanent signing or spreads around loans. That isn't consistent with what was being said last week. I hope and pray he is playing media games here because if we are down to having to ignore positions given limited cash we are going to struggle. Loans aren't the answer and I hope that they aren't priming us for a wait until early October when we do a late dash for a couple of loans

Bringing in a few late loans was always in the pipeline as the late solution to recruitment. Why? Because that's what we have done every year and it is how they want to operate. I dont think that's suddenly changed in the last few weeks. Mowbray may want to get permanents but it seems he can't. Still need another GK, CB, LB and CM to come in and not doing so will leave us short. Doing them on loan is just kicking it down the road until next summer when we face the same issues and probably other positions to fill as well if Nyambe walks and we have to sell one or two.

Bottom half. We will play good stuff, create and score, but also continue to leak goals unless something drastic changes which will prevent any higher than last year. A lack of depth which is already being felt at this early stage with Gallagher, Evans, Travis and Dack out. More absences particularly in defence and we could be in serious trouble.

If those are genuinely Mowbray's comments and assuming he has been accurately quoted over the last few weeks then I think he needs testing for drugs because it makes no sense. The only logic behind those comments are that he is trying to dampen expectations and make people believe we are skint as part of his transfer strategy. We have other positions in greater need than LB? Where? What happened to the domino effect and moving onto the next incoming after Ayala? Now we are so hard up that we are having to sacrifice some positions? If so I sure hope Ayala is the missing piece of the jigsaw to make it worthwhile. His comments are completely inconsistent with those he has made previously.

Good performance and victory to get us up and running. 3 points were essential. 5 goals and a clean sheet should get the confidence flowing. Some tough games coming up which will be more difficult than Wycombe but good stuff all around today. Time for a few beers in celebration.

A couple of weeks ago it was claimed that we were after another GK, two CBs, another LB and hopefully also another CM and RB. That's 4 additions hopefully up to 6. Since then we've signed Ayala. An admittedly impressive signing i didn't expect us to manage to pull off. But nobody else. Now Mowbray is talking about choosing between 1 permanent signing or a couple of loans. Quite a way off the 4-6 incomings mentioned. Also making one more permanent signing with the budget doesn't quite stack up with the 'dominoes' talk after the Tuesday Ayala announcement. So either Mowbray is being very canny with his comments and there's more up his sleeve, or he's been having us on with his earlier comments, or he's blown nearly all the budget on one good CB at the expense of other positions. We will find out but there's something that doesn't add up.

Evans is one of those who many would be quite happy to get shut of yet I fully expect when he does leave here he will go to another Championship club and perform well under a different manager and backroom staff. I suspected since O'Neill got the Stoke job that he would end up there sooner or later. His bad injury last season likely put paid to that for a while. Perhaps a nominal fee or free transfer when his contract is up. I believe the attitude from many will be one of celebration to be shut of someone with his injury record and hefty wages. If we could do better on a permanent deal fair enough. I'm not sure we will though and I'm reluctant to lose more experience. This 'bring through the youth' thing is fine but it can be dangerous if done too quickly in too many positions.

My belief is that Mowbray and Waggott thought Christmas had come early when Brentford came along with multi millions for Raya. Mowbray probably couldn't believe his luck and was more than happy to take the money and run. Earn brownie points in India for generating funds and vindicate his approach to transfers. Also enabled last summer to pass by with little or no need for Venkys to put any funds into the transfer pot as the Raya cash covered the Gallagher down-payment. Just 12 months on and it shows Mowbray got it wrong. Whilst I agree Raya wasn't perfect and has improved im of the view that it is a result of improved coaching more than anything else. At a normal club we would have owners or a chairman asking Mowbray about this and explain why this has happened. Not here though. No pressure or accountability it's just 'one of those things'

You can put prices up to bring us into line with others. But an increase of close to 20% each summer is steep, given the product hasn't improved very much if at all. Doing so in the middle of a pandemic and recession without being able to guarantee entry? Well I'd say that's bordering on mental and I'm sure the sales figures (the real ones not the fudged ones) will confirm that. Extorting the most loyal fans to the tune of an additional £200 for this diamond club thing is disturbing. Basically the only way of ensuring that you can get into the pilot fixtures is to buy your way in. Good news for those with a spare £200 to chuck into the pot. Not good for those struggling yet have backed the club at every home and away game for decades. The morons in India are not committed. They are up to their necks financially and so keep the lights on. Whatever Waggott's job is it is something of a paradox. It appears he is employed to squeeze more out of the existing fanbase, yet his attempts to do so are likely to see 3 years of falling sales despite promotion and it will require around 750 paid adult season tickets just to cover his extravagant salary. He clearly isn't tasked with getting more bums on seats or making Ewood a nicer more enjoyable venue to visit given the non existent efforts there. The club can win in this. Just be honest and fair. Don't hold people to ransom by giving diamond club members priority. Don't suggest discounts are coming in May and then put prices up in September. Don't plead poverty whilst taking home £300,000 per year and issuing contracts to players who can't or won't play.

Deeply concerning yet will Waggott and co. learn anything from it? I doubt it. As it stands two of my three are unlikely to renew at this stage. This leaves me in a difficult position firstly because I don't want to go on my own and sit away from others and more importantly because I am very uncomfortable handing over £400 to fund Waggott's obscene salary with no guarantee of entry and have to pay an extra £200 to ensure I can go to the trial fixtures. I've paid enough over the years and my database is close to 100% since 2010. I'm not being held to ransom.

Wycombe should be a side we are dispatching at home. If we aren't then forget about the top 6 and think about the bottom 6. I am not confident given our history in these sort of fixtures since League One. Mowbray will not adapt or change his approach. He will, perhaps arrogantly, expect the team to go and outscore Wycombe and get all the plaudits for possession and passes. This will be exactly what Wycombe want and are used to. I hope lessons have been learned and we don't end up with egg on our faces come 5pm because any result other than a win would be difficult to take given the Bournemouth result and upcoming fixtures.

Pleased with that. Should be a much needed experienced addition. LB now please.

My prediction is that Evans is on his way to Stoke. This impending sale is the reason he isnt in the squad tonight and we've miraculously revived the Ayala deal seemingly persuading him to join us over other clubs. I've no evidence for this suspicion just putting a few things together and if it's nonsense fine but I can't believe his injury record.

Would they want a pilot at this short notice even if they could? I doubt it. Sales only starting on Tuesday. By Friday would need to assess sales, determine who can go and who can't and determine a seating plan Nah too much to do in 3 days.