JHRover

Need some serious points on the board from the early home games. The away ones are tricky - 2 relegated sides, Swansea and a promoted side.

Derby or Forest. The Rooney factor probably swings it Derby's way.

Which horses mouth? When?

I feel perhaps too much is being put on this idea that Venkys haven't sold any assets since 2017 and that suggests that they care etc. First off you need a serious bid before selling anyone. With the exception of the Lenihan Sheffield United interest in 2017 when they were a Championship club and not a wealthy one at that i don't recall any serious reports of interest in our players. The Dack stuff in the Sun/Mirror little more than space filler. They obviously like and trust Mowbray so if he advises them to hold firm for now with the promise of bigger money down the line they are likely to go with that. We sold Raya last summer which was an asset as soon as Brentford came calling. We are led to believe that it was because Mowbray was happy to be rid but financially that money effectively covered the payment on Gallagher. So maybe last summer there was no transfer cash without sales first?

Making enquiries. Not quite the same as signing players or spending money. I can make enquiries about a million pound apartment. Ask the seller if he'd consider a knock down deal if he is desperate to get rid. Doesn't mean anything if the answer is no or I can't afford it. It is infinitely plausible under these owners that Mowbray is making enquiries as to prices and demands hoping something can be sorted out whilst still waiting for approval from India. It also wouldn't be the first occasion that he has wasted time on a wild goose chase (Assombalonga, Darlow, the other Newcastle lad)

File Westwood in the tray with Darlow and Hart. A nice idea but practically won't happen. Not unless he halves his wages, Sheff Wed release him on a free or loan him here whilst paying 50%. I expect Mowbray will be trying to get a deal done there to save them wages on an out of favour player. Notwithstanding the dingle issue with Hart all have the experience and quality we desperately need. Sadly when it is all about the money we will end up with the opposite like we did last summer.

Beautiful. Would love that.

I'd just take an away kit that isn't blue, white or grey so we don't need a third kit that we end up wearing more than the away kit.

So the search is to be stepped up. My god. 12 months after selling our keeper, a month on from waving off our loan and benchwarmer, pre season on Saturday and 3 weeks away from the big kick off and we are stepping up the search. Coincidence that this has only happened now that Mowbray is back from his holiday and at Brockhall? I think not. So amateurish its almost unbelievable. Can anything happen without Mowbray running it?

I genuinely believe that the biggest issue here isn't that Venkys are suffering extreme hardship as a result of Covid or that they can't make some funds available for the team. I think the biggest issue is that due to the travel restrictions and delay to last season it hasn't been physically possible for Mowbray and Waggott to get out there and meet with them face to face. I think that the only way a manager here gets any proper backing is by flying out to India and putting his case forward to the top dogs in person and persuading them to do it. Without being able to do that there simply isn't the direct line of communication in place to get the answers he needs to invest. It appears to me that Mrs Desai will only make decisions about Rovers at set times e.g. when her manager goes out to see her at her convenience. Without this the club is left to drift with no clarity or alternative. For some reason or another they will not work remotely. If they were willing to then Mowbray, Bowyer and Kean wouldn't have been out there twice a year. Notice also how they were the only ones to get any serious backing from Venkys. Of course it is mental and may well cost them millions if it ends up costing us promotion or relegating us but that's happened before and it didn't seem to bother them. Nothing but an irrelevance that only becomes of interest when Mowbray turns up at the front door with all the platitudes asking for some cash for players.

Joe Williams from Wigan joined Bristol City, 4 year deal. Notice how no income hasn't stopped their billionaire owner from making a signing.

Stalling tactics to calm the masses.

And yet most other owners of Championship clubs have made money available. Maybe not millions for transfer fees but enough to enable competitive signings to be made and wages committed to. What's the use in Venkys if we can't even sign a goalkeeper?

No club to be taken seriously at this level would want to lose him or base financial plans on selling him. If it is correct that they were planning on cashing in before his injury it is just another concern as to what the agenda is here.

Please can we stop going on about FFP as though this is the issue here. It isn't. The issue here is a manager or club that saw fit to splurge what money we had on unnecessary signings that haven't delivered whilst repeatedly failing to address key areas. The issue here is clueless, disinterested owners who aren't fit to run a professional football club yet because they keep the lights on we are supposed to be grateful. All the FFP talk does is play right into their hands and provides a ready made excuse. There is no excuse for the situation we are in. FFP is almost certain to be frozen for the foreseeable. How can clubs comply with no income for 6 months? FFP does not prevent the signings of defenders and a goalkeeper. Our wage bill has already been slashed this summer to start with. The blame lies first in India for inadequate ownership and then with the manager and his cronyism for failing to do the bare minimum on recruitment in 3 years. The clock is ticking. I'm frankly disgusted by it all and it is panning out exactly as I predicted last summer when certain people were hailing loans as a brilliant way of doing business.

'This type of financial dealing' They're selling season tickets and raking cash in. As are many others. If Bolton in the 4th tier can sell more than 3500 in this climate within a couple of days of sales then what numbers could we be selling?

Yes. What I think will happen is that Northampton will offer cash for Wharton and due to the issues at Rovers we will accept it. The plan then will be to use the money to get a loan player in at CB. Quite disturbing that I expect him to be sold to raise some cash from Northampton given the state of our defence.

3500 now since Monday morning at 4th division Bolton. Why can't we sell them again?

I'm not sure there had to be a reduction in spending at all. I agree there was always likely to be with Venkys. They move in cycles. They backed Bowyer and spent reasonable money between 2013 and 2015, then decided to slash costs which eventually relegated us to League One. On that occasion it was excused due to FFP yet nobody else did it. They backed Mowbray in their own weird way with Brereton and Gallagher and not selling anyone but those who have learnt lessons under these owners knew they would expect a return within a couple of years or would extract it in some other way. Again I'm not sure why this is mandatory. It appears to be the Venky cycle that they want to run the club by. A couple of years of steady investment followed by a couple of years of cost cutting and no investment. Let's remember Mowbray claiming he put the handbrake on after promotion and persuaded them to follow a long term project. Not really worked out, which many of us expected.

I can go online and book a holiday abroad. If I do the advantage is that I might get a good deal, but I would do so knowing full well the risks involved which might mean that I can't go when the time comes or that I might be able to go but not enjoy it as much as I would like. Of course it would be easier and safer to not book. But if everyone did that the airlines and tourism industry would be bust already. I don't see any reason why Rovers cannot do something to generate income. Ps Bolton are at 3000 sales since Monday.

In my interpretation we are in one of two scenarios right now. The first is that Mowbray and Waggott are still waiting for communication and answers from India. Neither have any idea as to budgets or plans moving forward because there has been no summit meeting and the owners haven't approved a budget. This explains the lack of season tickets, the lack of transfer activity, the lack of communication from all levels of the club and the fact that all out of contract players have been released including Downing even though the manager would have liked to have kept at least one of them The second is that Mowbray has been told his budget, but this is either a negative budget, meaning he has to sell to buy anyone, or at best he is limited to frees and loans only, which explains the lack of incomings and the dull and uninspiring names we have been linked to, many of which directly contradict Mowbray's own preferences. As such it will be waiting and hoping that we get some favourable loans. If the answer is the first set of circumstances, then even Mowbray's patience will be being tested to the limit right now and his resignation cannot be far away. If the answer is the second set then he'll stick it out for now, but probably come under extreme pressure from the fanbase if we are struggling next season. It's hard to have much sympathy for Mowbray really when he has overseen transfer policy and led us into this disastrous situation of having no keeper and 1 CB on the eve of a new season. Either he is to blame for that or he has allowed those conditions to develop under his watch. Either way he should be accountable for it.

Yes, apart from we actually get a proven quality Championship keeper who can hit the ground running rather than a youngster learning his trade on the job ultimately for someone else's benefit

This season is a golden opportunity for a side or two from mid table to get promoted. No big money being spent, no giant club with huge squad, relegated sides all in transition and under new management. Shame because after a couple of steady mid table finishes we should be set now for an assault. We know where the weak points are and these could be addressed relatively cheaply and easily with a couple of steady eddie defenders and a keeper, along with a manager ready to draw it all together. Instead bumbling along wasting the opportunity we have playing games with recruitment and hamstrung from India.

Nobody here will buy one or so the excuse goes. Meanwhile 4th division Bolton had sold 1000 within 3 hours of sale yesterday and today people are complaining because they can't get through on the phone such are the queues. Excuse after excuse down at Ewood.

Marshall on £12 k per week on a 12 month deal. Low risk. We know he is good enough and will be able to come in and pick things up quickly. Then next May review and give him another year if happy. What's the difference between giving an older keeper a 12 month deal and review next summer and giving a kid a 12 month loan? Next summer we might need someone else but at least we don't have to nurture someone else's player still learning the job and making errors. If we are going to sign a good young keeper on a 4 or 5 year contract to establish himself as a top keeper fine. I look forward to it. We ain't paying for anyone and ain't offering 4-5 year contracts though. So it becomes about here and now not nonsense about tomorrow or years from now.