I've been wondering about that since the summer. I struggle to accept that our transfer activity was how Mowbray wanted it to be and wonder if he's had his nose put out of joint. The long failed pursuit of Bauer, 'defenders are coming' and the loan of Mulgrew/spending all our money on Gallagher. All seems off to me.

I like to think of myself as quite a patient person but I'm looking now at the November international break as decision point. We've 3 tough games before then. I want a minimum of 4 points from those games. If we don't get those and don't win any of them then it will be 8 without a win which is unacceptable and time for change. If we get the 1 or 2 points I expect is the best case scenario then we're going to be in the mire and need a fresh approach to avoid a season long relegation battle. I'm easy to please. A clean sheet would do for me tomorrow. No fancy passing around, no clever formations, systems or subs. Just the basics. Sadly I don't think we are capable unless we get lucky and Preston fire blanks all day. Never been so apprehensive about a local derby.

The manager is the most important position at any club. For owners flushing £15 million a year down the drain I'd say shelling out on a quality manager who might get us up is a worthwhile investment if serious about promotion. Sadly I don't think they are, so they will try and do it on the cheap and get nowhere.

Oldest trick in the book is to argue against a managerial change because 'who could we realistically get?' or 'nobody better out there' If that attitude was followed at every club then nobody would ever improve or escape relegation. There are always improvements out there. Key is finding them. When you've got an incompetent and disinterested ownership and management structure and shop purely on the bargain aisle then you end up interviewing Russell Slade and appointing Owen Coyle. When you have some nous and ambition you end up unearthing people like Wagner, Farke and Cowley. Huddersfield could have accepted their lot in life and stuck with Chris Powell and battled relegation every year. They didn't, they wanted better and pulled off a masterstroke.

Lowe was involved in the academy. At some point during Bowyer's tenure he was sacked. Shortly afterwards he was back in the academy which I believe took a few people by surprise. He remained in the academy until Mowbray arrived when he and David Dunn stepped up to 1st team duties. Dunn was demoted back to the reserves to make way for Venus to come in whilst Lowe went to being First team coach. I didn't know Lowe had played with Mowbray and Venus before.

It's not what you know but who you know....

He didn't survive. Wasnt he axed during the Bowyer era and then mysteriously reappeared soon after Bowyer had gone?

On Walton alarm bells were ringing for me when lowly Wigan who just avoided relegation passed on the chance to keep him for a 3rd season and went elsewhere. Then we sent them our captain and paid them for the privilege. Reality is Walton was cheap and easy and when it comes to goalkeepers and defenders that's how we roll. Talk about Karl Darlow and Scott Carson was never going to come to anything.

It's not a conspiracy theory that Kean and Bowyer had more power than anyone else including board members because they were well in with the owners in India. That's a fact and the reason board members have come and gone with regularity. Now maybe Waggott is different but given he's Mowbray's mate from Coventry I'm not confident of that.

Do you think Mowbray helped get Waggott his job? If so do you really think Waggott is ever going to push for Mowbray's sacking? Even if he did push for it why would Venkys listen to him? Mowbray has been here longer, appointed all the staff and has his feet under the owners table. Remember Paul Hunt and Steve Kean? Only one winner with the owners. The only prospect of a change being made is if Pasha emerges to do something but he would be taking a risk there. Remember Mowbray is the only decision he has made that worked.out. sacking Bowyer, bringing Lambert in and appointing Coyle were all poor decisions that ultimately caused relegation.

Delusional indeed. I went to the shareholders meeting at Ewood in September which Waggott and Cheston hosted and took questions. The impression I got from Waggott was that he thought Mowbray was the best thing since sliced bread. He even came out with a comment that the club needs more fans supporting it to be able to 'keep hold' of people like Tony Mowbray e.g. we are lucky to have him and will struggle to keep him. Bonkers but no wonder really. Everyone down there at Ewood probably quite happy with the status quo and probably pay little attention to things like results and performances.

I'm honestly dreading this one. I have zero faith in this manager or his team being able to come back with a result. Preston's home form is very good and they will be well up for this one, like they have been every time we've played them recently. My expectations are so low that I would be quite pleased just to see us turn up somewhere, keep it simple, focus on getting a clean sheet and come away with a 0-0 but I don't think we are capable. Conceding is guaranteed. Go behind and at best we might get a draw. Take the lead and we aren't capable of holding on. So depressing. Preston are fast starters as we saw to our dismay last season. At the very least I want to see us keep it tight in the first 45 minutes.

Mowbray thinks it is appropriate for the manager of Blackburn Rovers to go to the press and label Stoke and Middlesbrough 'huge clubs'. Comments like that destroy credibility and respect almost as much as inept management.

I'm not so sure. I reckon Mowbray is more secure than anyone other than the snake Kean. The difference might be that Mowbray doesn't know it and probably fears the sack without realising that he's as safe as houses, whereas Kean knew full well he was bulletproof. Crucially Mowbray has that link.to India and was there only a week or so ago. The other managers they sacked didn't. Bowyer did but then they refused to meet him which suggested something was amiss. If we look at how Lambert walked and it took them months to get rid of Coyle I just don't think for one minute Mowbray's position is even under any sort of scrutiny.

I'm not even confident of that right now. I look around trying to find 3 sides who I would be relaxed and confident of finishing comfortably above. I can't.

Interesting selections there. Pearson - no nonsense, excellent record in this League with Leicester, ticks numerous boxes, available. However - an odd bloke who seems to fall out with people, poor/strange spells recently in Belgium and at Derby. Just cannot see him working with Venkys. Would at best 'do a Lambert' and walk. O'Neill - once upon a time I would have loved him at Rovers and a top manager in his day but now late 60s and no longer with his trusted team of Robertson and Walford. Hasn't really done it at club level for 7-8 years. Coleman - never rated him - very poor record in club management with reputation enhanced by a good tournament with Wales fired on by Bale and Ramsey. I'd avoid completely. Di Matteo - very good at West Brom in this League but struggled at Villa. Still an impressive CV and worth a shot with a vast network of contacts but would cost heavily. Hughton - ticks every box and the ideal option but is too clever to come and work for us. Will have his pick of clubs so why bother coming here. Moyes and Hughes in similar bracket to each other - vast experience and quality managers in their day however both now finished in the top flight and so will likely need to drop to the Championship to rebuild their careers. Doubt Hughes' ego could handle that and certainly not back at Rovers. He's also lost his two best mates at Reading so that tells me Hughes isnt looking for a job. Never managed at this level so a bit of an unknown. Moyes has but many years ago. Perhaps a gamble worth taking but would cost. I'd rather we looked at people like McCarthy or Michael O'Neill or went abroad. Big thing for me is it needs a new management team not just manager. Expecting a new manager to work with existing staff just to avoid making changes is only going to end one way.

Bowyer's recruitment was miles better than Mowbray's. It's not a competition but the reality is recruitment is important and for a club like ours perhaps more so than elsewhere The signings Bowyer made on a small budget raised expectations of a promotion push. The signings Mowbray has made with one or two exceptions have been a waste of big money. Bowyer's results in the Championship were better than Mowbray's too. I enjoyed watching us more under Bowyer than I do now. Bowyer was better than Mowbray, IMO

Give it Tony Pulis to the end of the season. He would put discipline and organisation into a haphazard squad. Give him a good wage to take it. He would at least guarantee survival which is the best we can aim for now. Relegation would be a disaster and is not worth gambling with to save a few quid and experiment. Spend the next couple of months thinking it through and talking to people about starting in the summer and a fresh clean sweep of staff. My choice would be agreeing a contract with Mick McCarthy who is stepping down from Ireland next summer. Failing that then Carvalhal, Karanka, Garcia - plenty to go at. Mowbray wont be going anywhere until it is too late. Venkys will not sack him even if we get relegated.

I doubt it but that was what someone usually reliable said. I suppose 'pushing 4000' could actually mean just over 3000.

If we'd survived at Brentford I'd wager Paul Senior wouldn't have quit as Director of Football. He would have been involved in recruitment and possibly got his feet under the table with the owners whilst Mowbray's power would have been shared or restricted. Bizarrely relegation spelled the end for Senior and the short lived Director of Football and saw Mowbray concentrate all power in his hands. Not healthy for a professional club.

I was told last night pushing 4000 and then later 4500 but was surprised at that.

I remember us playing at Birmingham towards the very end of Bowyer's tenure (it might even have been his last game). We drew 0-0 or 1-1. It was a poor game and it was clear we were struggling but no worse than what we've been getting recently.

Gestede, Cairney, Conway, and yes Duffy, Marshall and Evans were among our best permanent signings since Venkys took over. Only really Dack can compare. Bowyer never had more than £1 million to spend on a player albeit possibly a bigger wage bill. He wins hands down on recruitment and to be honest I don't recall performances under him ever being as consistently poor as they are now.

The fact that Bowyer had that squad without anywhere near what Mowbray has had to spend in itself shows how well Bowyer did. Mowbray miles behind him in terms of recruitment.

A team devoid of ideas and a set of players that looked disinterested, disillusioned and as though they weren't playing for the manager or at least had no idea how they were meant to be playing. Truly awful. The second half was a marginal improvement. We managed to make a few tackles and had a couple of attempts that nearly hit the target. Hooray. Mowbray's body language appalling. Wandering around the technical area with his arms folded and reacting to errors by placing his head in hands. I want to see the manager encouraging or berating the players not aimlessly wandering around with head in hands. Then the second half he makes a point of sitting down for the duration whilst Venus got to play manager and he was suddenly the one barking at the players whilst Mowbray nowhere to be seen.