Whatever happened to the 'tifo' display they were inviting suggestions on? Is the club planning on doing anything to commemorate its' milestone 150th anniversary in a little over 9 months' time? If so what? Is there any chance the club could be liberated from Venky oppression before that momentous occasion?

That isn't correct. Chief Operations Officer comes below Chief Executive Officer in the hierarchy. Rovers' own website lists him below Waggott in the structure. He might 'run the show' but he is beneath Waggott in title, and Waggott takes ultimate responsibility and accountability for the performance of the organisation. Technically he reports to Waggott. On what planet could promoting Gestede to such a role be justified or make any sense given he has only worked at the club for a little over 6 months and in a role totally different to CEO?

People like O'Brien, Brereton, Schlupp, Asante and the other known names we have been 'linked' with were never going to happen. Most sensible people know that and therefore there's no point in having a discussion or expressing an opinion on their suitability, and no, the club doesn't get any credit for 'trying' but failing to get them. I suspect our 'interest' went as far as ringing up Forest/Southampton/Coventry, asking if they might be available on loan and if so what minimum % of their weekly wage they'd be willing to accept us contributing. All probably gave us short shrift as they will want to prioritise a sale and if going down the loan route will want the bulk of their wages covering, which we are clearly not willing to pay. I really have to wonder what else they have been doing for the last 3 weeks. Waiting and hoping that one of these clubs suddenly changes their minds or drops their demands possibly but that's a daft approach given how unlikely it is to happen.

With Venkys it is and always has been about control. I think they get off on controlling everything, even though they've no interest, it makes them feel powerful that they have to ok it all and don't cede power to people who know what to do with it. Although their dogsbody has seemingly some limited authority I think that is heavily restricted and as we saw with the last couple of January debacles they still need to authorise incoming substantial signings which is why they fell through at the 11th hour as their approval did not come through in time. This is the reason why they will never sell the club or indeed put it into administration, because the second that happens their power is gone, probably forever. They can't stomach that so yeah, they'll just keep us in perpetual zombie like state as we gradually rot and decay. So far the worst of it has been avoided due to the good football management of Mowbray, JDT and Eustace in a very poor league. But the chickens will come home to roost very soon as they did in 2017, only because they decided to turn the taps on again on relegation, and very nearly did last year. You can't operate like this in any professional support and expect to be anywhere near successful.

Now we've got McFadzean's wages off the books we might now be in a position, combined with other savings made e.g. O'Riordan back out, to cobble together enough to bring in one. They're also not totally daft and will be able to read the room in terms of how fed up Eustace is getting and how the majority of fans seem to be aware of what they are up to. So yeah about now is where they drop a signing in just to shut people up for a few days. Nothing big but perhaps a loan.

Any contract renewal for a senior or established player is going to require a pay rise, commitment to a Championship level salary, probably some sort of signing fee, additional bonuses and a commitment beyond the time of the current deal, probably of at least another couple of years. This isn't on the agenda. Scumbags like Venkys and Waggott would see absolutely no reason or purpose behind doing this, as it would simply cost them more money from now onwards. Of course anyone with any sense can see the medium to long term benefits of doing it, but they aren't into that sort of thing. When we hear about people like Dolan 'refusing' to sign a new contract that's 'on the table' I suspect any offer, if there is one, is poor and not worth the paper it is written on, probably well below what a Championship standard player would expect. I suspect Waggott will probably get a cut of any savings made on this too. Despicable.

Sorry meant Waggott by the gravy train ride. This gig is the best he's ever had and he'd obviously not get anywhere near the equivalent elsewhere. Same applies to Gestede and the other invisible people. Yeah Eustace gets another Championship job after this, infact those employable elsewhere don't last here long - JDT, Lambert, even Broughton.

Season not quite over as we still need 2-3 wins to hit 50 points and with it effectively secure Championship status. Waggott's interview last year let slip the reality of what he and his little gang are focused on and need to ensure. There's no reason to think that 'ambition' has changed in any way, shape or form. So just a few more wins for Eustace to eke out between now and May and then it's job done, bonus qualified and job for another year (if he wants/needs it which I'm sure he does, a ride aboard the gravy train can be hard to give up). Promotion, top 6, growth, development, long term? HAHAHAHAHAHA

True, I was specifically referencing his final season when we were in the best position we've been in since relegation from the PL, 5 points off top of the league in late January, and we oversaw a frankly ridiculous recruitment policy which saw us sign a collection of players who contributed F.A. to the team in the second half of the season. There were implausible suggestions at the time that the owners had made money available for a promotion push but that for some inexplicable nonsensical reason Mowbray had declined to use it and instead signed Markanday and Hedges. It didn't make any sense because it wasn't true, just like Ian Silvester suddenly forgetting how to register a new signing wasn't true either. All lies and nonsense made up by certain people behind the scenes desperate for the anger and blame for what goes on to be focused on people other than the pondlife in India and their lackeys. I'm almost excited to see what they come out with this time. They've set a high benchmark after 2023 O'Brien and 2024 McGuire, it's going to take some topping. Maybe they'll just give up on pretending to sign decent players and just batten down the hatches until it blows over and hope Eustace doesn't walk.

"Still hopeful of Rovers adding" Good god almighty

Remember when they blamed Mowbray, JDT, Broughton, Silvester, FFP and various other things for a lack of investment and new signings? Well now we are seeing clearly what the reality is. That was all rubbish designed to protect the architects of our misery. Slowly but surely Eustace is realising the truth. They'll have been feeding him rubbish over the last few months about doing stuff in January, he will be realising now that it isn't happening and they aren't going to back him. Anyone want to offer any guesses what the excuse will be this time around? Surely even the most deluded Rovers fan out there wouldn't accept 'admin error' again so soon. I think I'll go with the QPR game that week shortly after the Preston match leaves just not enough time to get it done. I really hope nobody is still falling for this con but I'm sure there will be a few lapping it up and feeling sorry for themselves about our 'injury crisis' - almost as though heading into a 50 game season with a small squad after signing people in the summer unaccustomed or no longer able to keep up to the demands of the Championship has nothing to do with it.

True story, but unfortunately for them, maybe fortunately for us, they don't have a choice on that front. If they can't or don't want to spend money there is only one solution - leave - preferably by handing the club over. That's the only way they can avoid spending more money. Not coughing up a few million of the club's own money to give it a chance in the promotion shake up is only ensuring that we at best remain a Championship club, have few/no assets and we soon return to costing them £10-15 million a year at least. Not a lot they can do about that. If they aren't leaving then there's promotion to the PL (not happening in a month of Sundays) or sell players for big profits (soon to be at an end). It's one of the few things keeping me going here....knowing that in the not-too-distant future those who don't want to spend any more are going to be getting a request for a multi-million transfer to keep the lights on. And again and again and again forever and they won't be able to direct Waggott to sell a few players to cover it as there aren't any. What a shame. Then it's back to their responsibility to cover.

It isn't the only thing that matters, though I agree it is the most important. It also matters when we get them. If we don't get them until 10 minutes before the window closes then we've got to get through games against Coventry, Bristol City and PNE. There's also a fair chance that someone signed on deadline day might not be fit and ready to start by the time we play QPR away. That's 12 points we could miss out on - season over if we lose them. If we miss out on the top 6 by 3-4 points after losing to Oxford and tonight, or Saturday, I'll be allocating some blame to our once again dilatory and shambolic transfer window.

Admin errors suddenly a thing of the past when its getting people off the wage bill and money in. Funny that.

Agreed. Very impressed by what I saw of him this season as well on the touchline, clearly a big influence on the bench and behind the scenes. I would have preferred him around for the run in but thanks to Venkys we clearly need everyone off the wage bill to save up enough to bring in a couple of loans on deadline day.

I quite liked Thomas. I wouldn't be thrilled if he came here but certainly think he is a more than capable Championship player.

Yep correct. And they appeared to understand that when they sanctioned signings like Armstrong and Diaz for reasonable amounts of money knowing they were likely to grow in value. That plan has clearly been abandoned. I could almost understand that if it was their personal cash they were being asked to put up to pay for such signings but it isn't - it is club money received from selling club assets that would need spending. I could also understand if it was a decision taken with a view to cutting all input into the club and getting out at minimal expense but that's clearly not the case. So the idiots are only causing more damage - stopping us getting promotion, depriving us of future assets and ensuring that their tab is going to be back at an 8 figure sum every year once the sales dry up. Morons.

I don't think any of our current crop can be considered 'investments'. Even those still at a good age for potential resale - basically Carter, Travis, maybe Brittain, are in positions that don't usually attract large bids and even if they could their contract situations are such that come the summer we are going to be in a weak negotiating position anyway. It's up the top end where the money is to be made as we saw with Armstrong, Diaz, Dack, Szmodics and we sadly know that we are now woefully short in those areas after stripping the cupboard bare and spending nothing replacing them. Adam Wharton a slight outlier but an exceptional case based on his age, quality and being English. You'll find one of him once a decade if you are lucky. Could and should have been a game changing sale equipping the club with the resources to build a really strong squad of assets but they won't allow that. So thanks to Venkys not only have we sold most people of value, failed to reinvest properly but we've also neglected contract renewals. It's a ticking time bomb and the only consolation I'm clinging to is that once the assets are all gone and they are back to needing to find £15 million a year from their own reserves this is the final push needed to get rid of them. They've had it relatively easy the last couple of years by wrecking our squad and promotion prospects to pay their bills, that can't and won't carry on much longer. Tick tock.

That's kind of the plan I think. Get through a few years by blaming 'legal issues' in India, forgetting to press submit, changes to our recruitment department and then by the time we are a few seasons down the line everyone will have forgotten about the Wharton and Szmodics cash and they can revert to blaming FFP for a lack of action as they successfully did a few years ago.

Lots of talk about processes and committees. It almost sounds professional. What happens then when the 'committee' (whoever they are and however they are qualified) agrees on a target, makes a bid, gets it accepted, speaks to the player/agent, eventually agrees personal terms, player comes to Brockhall, has the guided tour, puts on a Rovers shirt, has his photos taken, club media plaster the news all over social media, then it all comes crashing down because the rancid ones won't provide their authorisation (or if you believe the bullshit version someone 'forgets' to press submit) Not very professional after all. Infact the sort of thing I wouldn't even expect in my local amateur cricket league where people can barely even use a computer yet still remember to submit applications and press send.

Eustace is new to this and by the tone of your posts it seems you are too. We play this game and routine every transfer window. Talking about players, asking other clubs, telling Eustace we are trying, even getting players in the building at Brockhall and wearing the Rovers shirt are all irrelevant here because there is always the Venky factor which stops things getting over the line. I have no doubt at all that people like Waggott and Gestede are telling Eustace all about how serious they are, about how hard they are working, it might even be true. In the end it matters not if players of sufficient quality don't arrive. I will believe there is 'some money' to spend when we actually do it. And I am not accepting loans or another O'Riordan type punt as 'spending money' because that is totally unacceptable in the position we are and with such pressing need to strengthen.

Agreed. I'll never forgive or forget what they did. A dingle would have struggled to sabotage us more than they did. No coming back from that, ever, no matter what claptrap they come out with to try and rewrite history.

Most prospective managers would know all about the past here but assume that if they haul a small squad into the top 6 against all the odds that the owners might sit up, take notice and invest to try and get to the PL even if they are disinterested or trying to save money. That's because most owners want to get to the PL and when presented with an unexpected yet very good chance of getting there would make some effort to finish the job. It was January 2022 that Mowbray realised that this wasn't on the agenda. It was January 2023 that JDT realised that it wasn't on the agenda. It is January 2025 when Eustace will realise that it isn't on the agenda. As for Dembele / Oxford I am of the view that Oxford is now a more attractive prospect for a potential player in terms of finances and professionalism. They will conduct themselves in a manner befitting of a Championship football club and will be paying wages commensurate with this level. Even if we do eventually reach a financial level in keeping with Championship clubs, and I expect other than Plymouth we are probably right at the bottom these days, it follows all sorts of shenanigans and sometimes disgraceful conduct as we have seen with O'Brien and McGuire in recent seasons. Any potential player, agent, club would treat very carefully indeed before getting into any sort of 'deal' with this lot.

Waggott and the shadow dweller are close to meeting their objectives for the season and we aren't even through January yet. Almost certain to survive as even an implosion like last year would still likely see us limp to 50 points. Increased TV deal Still getting the Szmodics and Wharton instalments. Still counting the cash from the Boxing Day and Dingle games. Extra cash for the Wolves home game Fans happy and many ready to lap up the 'unlucky' line as injuries begin to take hold. We need to recognise that the owners don't know or care what happens. The only two people who are in any sort of position to influence the owners in any way are not employed to try and get us promoted or win games. They are here to reduce cost and hassle to the owners and to keep themselves in well paid employment. There is absolutely no reason that I can think of why either of them would attempt to seriously back Eustace in January. Their only concern will be doing just enough to prevent Eustace from throwing his toys out of the pram a la Tomasson last year, as mid-season managerial departures are extra hassle and expense that they don't want or need. So they'll have to bring in a few just to try and keep Eustace content for the next few months. That's about it.

Looks like Waggott's November request to India for funds hasn't come to much. Still trying to clear out wages before committing to anything.