JHRover

Yeah, I didn't mean that Pulis was a bad manager, just that there appears to be little to no idea what they are doing there. To go from spending fortunes under Monk, to bringing Pulis in, then getting fed up with him and giving it to Woodgate just suggests that there is no plan.

Depends on how seriously they consider relegation to be. If it was me I'd be terrified of the prospect and I'd be prepared to take whatever emergency action necessary to try and avoid it. I'd be on the blower to Warnock in the morning giving him a big bonus and a 10 game contract for survival. It clearly isnt working there. Loyalty and patience are commendable in some circumstances but facing imminent and disastrous relegation I'd be expecting proper action. It's a bit like arguing that we might as well have stuck with Coyle in 2017. It is the duty of those running the club to take action. A fair few Middlesbrough fans are fed up with Gibson and given their recruitment over the last few years - Agnew, Monk, Pulis and Woodgate - I can see why.

Not at Championship level they don't. Sadly investment into our facilities and pitches has been more in keeping with clubs at League Two level, and the result is there for all to see.

Half the teams in the division do. Anyone above Reading can still do it, although unlikely without a winning run. That's the point of the playoffs. In February half the division will be in the race or thinking they can be with a couple of good results. Being in our position is ok but it is clear there is another step we need to take to actually get in there, never mind stay there. Sadly what I've witnessed against Brentford and Stoke doesn't give me confidence that we have that extra thing in our lockers. Can't hold a lead away from home and can't overcome the poorer sides at home are longstanding issues which have come to the surface again.

Wellens signed a new contract with Swindon. Not sure why Wellens or Robinson would leave their current jobs to join Blackpool. Swindon top of the league and Oxford with a chance of the play offs. Blackpool going nowhere. Expect they will end up going for Evatt from Barrow. Probably best just leaving it to the summer from here.

Hull looking a prime example of what happens if you sell your best players mid season and don't reinvest properly. Luckily for them they were in a decent position before the sales began but still not safe yet. Reading also looking poor again. Bowen has surpassed expectations there but that's a shocker against Wigan and suddenly a potential 11 point gap becomes 5 with Barnsley up next.

Can't have worked that religiously on it given the second of those hammerings was 10 days ago and they've also had Cardiff to play since then. The alternative is that we are too easy to predict and set up to defend against and have no plan B.

Fun fact of the day. In their previous two away games Stoke had conceded 8 goals. 4 at QPR and 4 at Derby....

I can see Middlesbrough potting Woodgate very soon and perhaps parachuting Warnock in until the summer to keep them up.

It's also a nonsense to keep harking on about how 'dominant' we are. Dominance to me is not having the majority of possession at home but producing nothing with it. Teams like Stoke will be more than happy for our midfielders and defenders to keep passing it around in circles before sending it back to the keeper whilst their banks organise and nullify our few threats. Dominance is actually making things happen and creating proper goalscoring opportunities, not being limited to a handful of mainly long range shots that the keeper deals with comfortably.

A completely predictable performance, game and result. I think all of us knew, deep down, that Stoke would be resilient and hard to break down and this team wouldn't have an answer for it. We simply don't have that extra string to our bow of being able to grind out the wins when teams make it tough for us. Lets not pretend that it is a result of injuries, lack of options or just that Stoke offered something unexpected. We had the same way back against Luton and Charlton and even going back to League One v Wimbledon and co. at Ewood. The reason that Preston are on course for the play-offs and us a mid-table finish is that they have snatched wins from these sort of games by finding a way to finish teams off at home - even if that means going direct, bullying teams or cheating. We don't do any of that, we just persist with the same slow build up play hoping that sooner or later it drops for us. It does irritate me to see people 'taking the point' or claiming there's no harm done because other results were favourable this week. I think those people need to realise that we have a chunk of points to make up to those in the top 6 and we aren't going to do that if we celebrate not losing ground on them. Next news is we'll be quaking at the prospect of tough sides in Swansea and Derby. My regular mention for the laughable Darren Bond and his performance tonight. I challenge anyone to explain to me how he could arrive at 3 minutes injury time after that second half, and sadly was all too happy to allow Stoke to slow the game down at every opportunity. Just a shame we didn't get such luxuries at Brentford when the referee was on to Walton at every goal kick to get moving. Lenihan's upcoming absence surely means Mulgrew has to at least be on the bench, yet I suspect there's more to this particular scenario than people believe. It seems the Telegraph are assisting with the propaganda that Mowbray has 'moved on' from Mulgrew but with our options he simply has to be called upon. A refusal to do so gets me thinking if there are non-footballing issues in play here, again.

It may well be tough but the sides that achieve things find ways to win when the pressure is on and there's a carrot dangling to close that gap and make a statement. Truth is that if tonight at home is the sort of fixture that causes panic and apprehension against a poor struggling albeit improved side then we are going to have a rough end to the season. The next two, Swansea and Derby, are more difficult fixtures yet we need a decent chunk of points from. Failure to win tonight puts huge pressure on those. I'd rather not be going to Derby under pressure to win, nor indeed v Leeds or WBA

Pretty sure Huddersfield (home - draw) and Sheffield Wednesday (home - win) are the only times we have come from behind to take points from a game. So 4 points.

Bristol are a bit like us in that they seem to alternate between really good patches and then terrible patches. They're on a bad one now with 3 straight defeats but to be fair they've just had Leeds away and WBA at home, prior to a tricky away game at Huddersfield so probably not crisis stations just yet for them. What i like about the table most at this moment in time is our goal difference. I can't remember the last time we were in positive double figures at this level and we are comfortably better in that department than anyone outside the top 6. It looks like a top 6 goal difference. If we can find a way to make up the 5 point shortfall we currently have that GD could count for a lot. Ever since Bowyer's days at this level we've always hovered around the 0 GD mark or been in negatives. Lovely to see a +10 at this point.

Draw ideally, failing that a Swansea win then Fulham beat Nobbers on Saturday and we beat Swansea, gaining points on everyone.

As with Hull a few weeks ago you simply won't get more than a couple of hundred turning up on the day in dreadful weather to pay £25+ to watch the game. That isnt just Rovers. Looking at games on tv tonight some terrible attendances. It was never great but Red button and expensive tickets are killing midweek games.

About 600 as of the weekend I was told.

Loads of businesses based at Whitebirk, Shadsworth and Darwen. Must be countless people who need somewhere to stay on business trips. Clearly the focus would be on attracting fans, players and delegates before and after games and if we were to get promoted we would be looking at double our footfall with the usual tourists turning up from all over the place to watch the big clubs here. Our USP would be staying at a historic football ground, close access to the motorway and town centre, good parking, pitch views, include gym, fitness centre etc. Bolton have done well out of their hotel in their ground when there's nothing around there to do other than go shopping and plenty of other hotels down the road in Manchester. In the last 5-10 years we've seen a Travelodge at Darwen services, 2x Premier Inn, Hilton at Whitebirk, Marstons at Guide and Wetherspoons all open hotels and they keep coming. I feel we are missing out.

I'm more concerned about finishing above Cardiff than Forest. Forest will be top 6.

The club has already missed the boat on the hotel front by sitting around talking about it for years whilst all over Blackburn hotels catering for different types of clientele have sprung up left right and centre. 'No demand for that' is just another excuse to do nothing when we need to be proactive. Massive Hilton being built over at Whitebirk. Them lads at Euro Garages know a thing about business and can see a demand yet the world famous historic Blackburn Rovers couldnt run a hotel with 15,000 folk minimum coming through the doors every other Saturday. Pull the other one.

Can't see much happening to the Cricket Field end there unless it has to. Capacity wise there isn't the demand for extra, and even if there was the options are very limited with the footprint available. The only way that changes is by buying the cricket pitch and building back but again is all that hassle worth it for a couple of thousand extra? Very limited as to options with the space available. With the size of the existing concourse I can't see how that can realistically change.

I worry more about the games at Barnsley and Wigan than the others. Those will be real battles. Away games at Millwall, Derby and Cardiff very tough also against sides not far off us in the table.

Assuming we don't go up then It's only an achievement if we harness the momentum and build on it, learning from mistakes and doing everything we can to go one better next season. I'd hate people to equate top 6 as promotion, when it isnt. I'd hate people to think it was job done and no need to do any more. We would need to move quickly to strengthen and go again next year aiming to get to the top 2.

We don't need the boxes. Seats in the Riverside, particularly those near the half way line, should be premium seats and the most sought after in the stadium. Sadly because of obstructed views, lack of proper facilities and no shelter for the first 8-10 rows this takes out a huge chunk of seats that in a modern stand could be filled every week.

This will require a different side to our game than that shown at Brentford, Charlton and Fulham. They are going to be hard to break down and will probably be happy with a point. These are the ones If the play offs are a serious possibility we need to win. No ifs or buts. I keep hearing about our remaining fixtures and this lot at home are just about as kind as they get.