JHRover

Ah so the latest development now is that "money for contract negotiations" (whatever that means) may have to come out of Mowbray's transfer budget for this year. This is the first time such a thing has been mentioned. They're having us on. Its quite clear there's little to no money left in the kitty for whatever reason and Mowbray is now trotting out every excuse going to cover himself. I'm glad the penny is dropping somewhere as to the perilous situation we are in as to contracts with a raft of first team assets out of contract in the summer and seemingly little work done on securing them on long term deals. Maybe they all think they are being clever but pretty soon they'll end up with egg on their faces as these players walk away for nothing and we are left with muddled Mowbray trying to replace them all with no money and a flawed recruitment department. Then we can moan about no money and FFP troubles. We keep getting these 'updates' on contracts but no indication that it has gone anywhere other than Mowbray thinking about it and wondering about how to do it. Surely the costs of new contracts are spread over the life of the contract and any wage rises would be covered by those significant wage savings made this summer? A shambles.

Does anyone know what happens after 2nd October? No more season tickets on sale? Where's the logic in a sales window lasting just over 2 weeks?

You haven't answered any of my points. What changed in mid September to enable Rovers to put tickets on sale that prevented them being on sale in June, July or August? What was so special about Tuesday 15th September? I'm not aware that the club was suddenly authorised to let fans into Ewood. Infact anyone following the news would have had less confidence of fans being allowed back into Ewood as we went through August into September. I dont have a problem with the package Rovers are currently selling. I accept it is probably the best that they can do. I'd just like to know what was stopping them doing the same thing back in July before cases spiralled again. I do have a problem with the price, the approach the club is using and the diamond club thing.

This is absolutely the whole issue explained perfectly. All summer long Waggott and some fans have rubbished my suggestion to sell season tickets ASAP because 'the club didn't know what it was selling and couldn't guarantee entry' So can anyone explain to me what the club is guaranteeing now they are selling tickets and what has changed since July other than the infection rate has significantly increased thus making admission less likely than months ago. Reality is that Waggott has botched sales yet again with a fiasco of a price rise, late to the party and then putting them on sale as infections were getting out of control again When 4th division Notlob have sold 7000 by August and we're struggling to sell 2000 by October you know we have serious problems. And before anyone says what Bolton do is irrelevant no it isnt. They've had exactly the same issues and uncertainty as we have but were proactive with their sales and have hit a respectable level.

Still seems most of our efforts are on trying to strike a deal with Fleetwood Town to take last seasons opening day captain and likely biggest earner off our hands until next summer. It really does make you wonder sometimes. Of course when Mowbray talks about accountability and Waggott talks about the fans needing to do their bit to stop the club heading for oblivion this doesn't take into account the £1.5 million or more in wages lavished on Mulgrew to spend 2 of his 3 year deal playing elsewhere. I must say I am bemused/concerned by Mowbray now suggesting that the budget might be cut back as a result of the delay in fans returning to grounds. Having had no fans at Ewood since February surely a budget wasn't agreed in the summer that was contingent upon fans returning in October? That was always the best case scenario. Likely with restricted capacity, no away fans. Whatever income 5000 fans would have provided would pale into insignificance. An increase in cases was always inevitable and likely to delay the return of fans. It just doesn't make much sense to me. Give him a budget and let him crack on with spending it (which with more luck or urgency he might have done everything by now) yet through a predictable delay to fans returning the money might be withdrawn? Mowbray might regret not moving more quickly to get his targets but everything is just all so laid back here. No urgency or pressure just 'que sera sera' attitude.

Exactly. The Football League will have bigger issues to deal with than trying to enforce already convoluted rules in the middle of a pandemic where all clubs incomes will have plummeted.

The highest paid director received over £300,000 last year. It was in the last set of accounts. It is hard to believe Waggott warrants that but I assume it is him given he is meant to be in charge. If it isn't him then who is the highest paid director? The messenger man?

He really is absolutely shameless. Not a peep for months out of him or the club, lies and now another round of emotional blackmail. If it isn't price increases the it's telling the dwindling support base that its our fault if the club has no money. P.s. Mowbray can dish out another few needless contract extensions costing tens of thousands of pounds.

So out of interest why could we not sell anything from March until September 15th and then all of a sudden we could start selling and are continuing to sell season passes despite having less idea now than at any other stage? We can't put a product on sale that we can't guarantee- but isn't that exactly what we are doing now? Why couldn't we have released the package we have but 2 months earlier? I think Waggott is winging it. Basically he panicked because the season started and the rumour was that we could have fans in as early as the Wycombe game. He had to get something sorted ahead of that so got them on sale.

What happens after 2nd October? No more passes available to buy?

Kits aren't on sale are they? Last I heard you could order one but they weren't available for anyone to physically have. So that's one thing - find a kit supplier that actually takes this seriously and get kits out early. Another is to take season tickets or passes seriously. I'm afraid doing nothing until 15th September then cranking prices up is only going to reduce the numbers buying. Waggott is completely out of his depth.

I'm amazed you believe this. The manager has to wait weeks to get answers on his budget and approval to do business but you think the owners spend their time on our messageboards? They couldn't give a stuff. As for Covid maybe it has caused them difficulties. Maybe it hasn't. We don't actually know. People can put share price graphs up but I thought the club was funded personally by the owners, not by the company. One thing I do know is that other clubs with bigger crowds and overheads than Rovers will be losing more money and have to find more to keep meeting wages etc.

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.