I hope we win and in doing so hit 66 points, finish 8th and above PNE. If that happens I will consider it a decent season's finishing position. Normally finishing there you would think a reasonable summer of transfer business would put us in good stead for next season, needing to add 5-10 points to the tally for the top 6 and perhaps 15-20 for automatic promotion. What actually comes next is anyone's guess but its a shame we can't build from a position of relative strength. I'd actually have some confidence provided Mowbray could properly address GK, LB, CB and replace Graham.

He'll want a break until someone comes along and offers him and his brother 3 year deals and another multi million pound deal. Bit like when Allardyce retired for 6 months until Everton offered him huge money to save them.

If you want to grab a bargain then taking advantage of the situation at Wigan or even Charlton would be a decent place to start, but to do that we would need to be quick out of the blocks and decisive. Mowbray will be lucky to have an answer from Indian before next season starts in September.

Fair do's, I don't think anyone expects us to be going out splashing cash around in the current climate and with Mowbray running recruitment I'm not sure id be comfortable even if we could. If the plan for the summer is wheel and deal, keep our prized possessions unless big offers come in and fill in the gaps using loans then thats more or less what we've done the last two summers other than the odd deals with Brereton and Gallagher. It's when we start taking knock down bids from tinpot clubs for prized assets e.g. Raya and Cairney that people start getting fed up.

We don't have £30 million in players to sell. The only one who might attract Premier League bids is Dack and that won't happen until he is fit and firing. The others aren't ready. Between them Trav, Armstrong, Lenihan and Nyambe might fetch £15-18 million on a good day. Given the lack of money around at present I'd say that is highly unlikely. It also means certain relegation to League One next year with no keeper, no defence and no goals in the squad and no money to spend.

Given the current state of the squad and work to be done on it the last thing that we should be doing is entertaining bids for those five. The rest aren't a problem but the above we should be building on for the next few years.

That's when the club PR machine kicks in to turn the player into a villain and ensure that there isn't a future here for him. Players like Cairney weren't keen to leave either but when the club starts courting interest and makes its intentions clear its obvious how things will end up. E.g. manager dropping hints in public that we need the money, suggestions that he has refused a new contract or isn't committed to the cause (Ben Marshall) or promises about it being a sacrifice worth making to generate cash for reinvestment (Raya). Double edged impact of turning the fans in favour of it whilst also making the player feel unwanted. Not saying that's what's happening here but I wouldn't rule it out.

If Wigan avoid any sanction for entering administration and are allowed to stay on 58 points and in doing so survive in the Championship then somewhere along the line there will have been an advantage. That is the idea of administration. It enables clubs to work through their debts and clear them usually at a loss to their creditors. It is for this reason the League introduced the automatic points deduction. The aim being to deter clubs from simply entering administration whenever they wanted, and being allowed to continue uninterrupted in the League without sanction. Ultimately as you say Wigan rely upon a benefactor model as do Rovers. For whatever reason the bloke in Hong Kong has pulled the plug on that but the end result is the same - that Wigan currently have a cost base too high for its natural income and now an owner not prepared to cough up the difference. The likes of Luton and Barnsley have smaller wage bills and losses and less reliance on owners. At the end of the day at Rovers we are fully aware of the reliance on Venkys for funds and the risks to the club if they suddenly decided to stop. But if they did plunge us into administration then I would fully expect the 12 point sanction. If I supported a rival club I would expect it do. Without a sanction we could effectively wipe the slate clean, pass the club on in reasonable health to new owners and be no worse off in the table for it. Meanwhile a Luton or Barnsley could, in theory, go bust if they go down to League One because the mandatory deduction isn't imposed. You actually have my sympathies especially if something dodgy has gone on. I know all about potentially sinister foreign ownership and what can come with it. You are right that Venkys have allowed the show to continue so far but we are only a recommendation or board meeting away from disaster here. But looking at the League overall there simply has to be a consistent enforcement of the rules. It is the failure to enforce rules that has meant Ffp has failed before it even started as Derby and Sheffield Wednesday have been able to ride over it all without punishment.

What the fans want or what the player wants are immaterial at this club. I agree that for what Travis is worth none but a select few Championship clubs should be able to afford him. I'm not going to give it credence by discussing what appears to be a baseless story. General point remains - nothing is off the table with these owners. Let's suppose Waggott needs the cash for July pay day. The phone to India is dead. Venkys are silent. Not beyond the realms of possibility that in desperation Waggott would accept a cheeky bid of a couple of million from somewhere to keep things ticking over for a month. Should it be possible? No With Venkys it is.

Hmm. I'm not sure i agree on the figures but yeah, the general point remains. I wouldn't trust anything at Rovers and the noise coming out of Ewood at the moment are not good ones. If the tap from India is turned off then ANYTHING is on the table. These are the people who ushered Tom Cairney out the door for a knock down fee without even consulting the manager It could be a fire sale but surely even they know the consequences of selling our few prized assets.

At the end of the day Wigan have gained an advantage by going into administration. Their owner might not have passed that advantage on to the club but entering administration enables a club to avoid paying all its dues. Why should Wigan be allowed another year of Championship football, the income and profile that comes with it, whilst a Barnsley go down instead who have paid their debts as they fall due? There's a bigger issue at stake here than 'poor Wigan fans'. Its about the integrity of the division. Same applies to Sheffield Wednesday who have clearly fiddled the system deliberately to gain a financial advantage. Their sponsors don't even exist!

Without checking is that commercial director or Head of commercial e.g. replacing Greg Coar? Wasn't he leaving? Dave Biggar was the last commercial director and he was above Greg Coar. Either way 7 months on I'm not aware we have a commercial director at present so what has happened?

Rovers should never need a third strip. I don't know why it is so difficult to alternate away strips whilst avoiding blue or white. Red, black, yellow are obvious away colours, but if you wanted you could have gold, orange, green, pink anything but blue or white. I wouldn't mind having third kits if it was a commercial decision to generate extra income and shirts were marketed as such. But the fiasco this year with the stock 3rd kit which arrived on the eve of the season and wasn't available in sufficient stock to sell shows that to not be the case. Umbro are not a good technical supplier and their kits have been dull and unimaginative. The range we get in the shop is limited and overpriced. Other clubs have stock including hats, vests, gilets etc. Hopefully we will get something better soon but I won't hold my breath in the absence of a proper commercial director

I think Hoyle is owed a lot of money back from Huddersfield which their new owner agreed to when he took over last year. Something like £40 million secured against their parachute cash. Looks like they are having a clear out and a new coaching structure put in place. Don't think they will have much money to play with.

Surely big cutbacks needed there with their squad. Very rich owners yes but piling more onto the losses and wages will cause chaos for them and FFP. Plus they've also got the costs of firing managers to account for. Parachute money will halve this summer. After 2 years down. I don't doubt you are correct they could easily afford it, as could Venkys, but surely they will have to reign it in a bit.

How can they? Brentford don't spend £15 million in the Championship, might do if they get promoted. West Brom will surely have to make big cuts if they don't go up, parachute cash dropping. None of those clubs know where they will be next season so can't believe they are going round bidding that sort of cash

Really looking forward to the final round of fixtures and glad we aren't involved ourselves with the relegation battle but also glad we have a role to play in our match v Luton. Some huge games coming up. Wigan v Fulham - both sides need a win. Brentford v Barnsley the same. Hull virtually down but could survive. Birmingham, Boro and Charlton still in trouble. Charlton at Leeds. Fascinating stuff. Also complicated by the potential deductions for Wigan and Wednesday which could see teams out of jail. The ramifications and wranglings over those clubs and the League will be entertaining itself- I hope Barnsley take legal action as they have threatened to do. I won't lose any sleep to see Wigan down, I also want us to finish above PNE so want a win.

Sounds like it might be the Leeds u23/assistant manager, some Spanish bloke, but they are waiting because of Leeds game against Derby this afternoon

Cowley has done a decent job there at what was a crisis club facing relegation to League One. Sorted their defence out. Wonder if he will be on the radar at Bristol City, Birmingham or Middlesbrough now. That chairman at Huddersfield is odd and not very popular with their fans.

Nope, wouldn't have any of them even if they offered to crawl over glass to join us. We can do better without recruiting any of them.

Anyone else just thoroughly depressed reading Mowbray's comments which of course the Lancashire Telegraph have run with gusto? I mean, fans are disappointed and frustrated with our latest damp squib of a play off push, once again failing to get any higher than 7th for a few days. We should now be looking forward to next season with some sort of optimism. A plan and determination to go better, eradicate mistakes and ensure that we get to the top 6. I want to hear the manager with some fighting.talk. 'I am going to make sure we give a damn good fight of getting there next year and will recruit on that basis' Instead the message is one of confusion, crossroads and bracing fans for a lack of spending. Nobody wants to hear it. It might be true but no fan wants to be told that there is no money and for whatever reason we have no idea what the aim is. We should be selling season tickets now and this should be the point of optimism and ambition. Instead it is boring and dull. We all know things are hard with coronavirus. Most people accept that this could well impact finances (although for those billionaires with the resources to do it this could also be seen as an opportunity). Nobody demands millions to be splashed around but some joined up thinking and fighting talk would be nice 'We will wait and see what happens and we might struggle through by giving the kids a chance' is not what people want to hear and will not encourage people to sign up and hand over money (not that they can yet anyway)

But we've already used these fabled young players this season. Buckley hasn't done enough IMO. Butterworth has had a serious injury all season. Davenport is 22 soon so not what I would describe as young and for me hasn't done enough. Is he a better bet than Travis and Evans who have been an excellent partnership? Carter was put on the bench as a token gesture by Mowbray who then brought Mulgrew back from his exile when push came to shove and we had no other CB available. if the budget is cut we don't need to pay fees. Good recruitment can be done with free agents but the decent ones will all be snapped up by the time.we get round to it. I'm just curious why a cut to the budget automatically and immediately means we have to sell or throw in the kids. Surely we can keep our best players, free up cash with the deadwood going and bring in a few decent frees and loans rather than nothing? I was talking about Graeme Jones at Luton who was fired during the pandemic and replaced with Nathan Jones. So clubs can afford to change managers despite the pandemic if they feel it is necessary.

Mowbray is droning on about wanting to copy the possession based styles of the top clubs and this is apparently our route to the Premier League, although he accepts we don't have the budget to do this and that it could take a long time to deliver. Personally I think he is wrong. I think there are different ways to get promoted depending upon where each club is and what strengths you have. Leeds, West Brom and Fulham have spent fortunes, have excellent squads including parachute money funded wage bills and in the first two cases excellent managers and coaching staff. Brentford are a world unto themselves and nobody can copy them. Forest don't play possession based attacking football. Nor do Cardiff, Millwall or Preston. In my view with our resources we would be better placed trying to emulate the likes of Cardiff, Hull and Brighton who got out of this league on lesser resources. The other problem is that even if we did get promoted playing this famed possession style we would then get slaughtered trying to use.it in the top flight. At least a defensively solid and hard to break down unit could go up and grind out results. I don't think Mowbray has the capabilites to deliver either. He certainly can't make us defensively solid and tough to break down/beat. The 'work in progress' stuff is clearly aimed at someone though. Muddled thinking and it will not pay off.

I don't understand why a change of management represents 'pulling up roots'. At most clubs you fire a manager and his staff and replace with a sensible candidate. Why should getting rid of Mowbray mean that the club is set back years and the progress undone? Surely the plan, owners, board and staff would all remain or is the entire edifice built on Mowbray's presence and it all comes tumbling down without him? We've seriously allowed the future of a multi million pound organisation to depend on the continuing presence of a man who should live or die by results on a football pitch? What sort of club allows such a structure? Sunday league clubs are built on more solid foundations.