I think Bowyer did achieve similar levels of unity and optimism among the fanbase. Between his first summer in 2013 and when it started to unravel in the summer of 2015 I felt a closer connection to the team and club than I have at any stage since Venkys arrived, including today. I think some people are forgetful of how positive things were for a season or so under Bowyer and the team he put together. Some people are also being led by the fact that we are winning more games and are challenging for automatic promotion in contrast to the Bowyer era, although the drawback to this is we are a level below and playing Bury and Rochdale rather than Wolves and Derby. I remember the first game of the 2014-15 season at home v Cardiff on a Friday night on Sky Sports. Gorgeous evening, optimism sky high after a summer where we kept our best players, great run at the end of the previous season, played well against just relegated Cardiff, nearly 16,000 on Ewood. We've come a long way in the almost 4 years since then, mostly for the worse, and as far as I'm concerned we are well short of where we were that night. It is for that very reason that I don't trust them, and I'm struggling to get as much enthusiasm going as I perhaps should at this moment in time, because they've hoodwinked me before, and I'm reluctant to let them do it again. I believed they had learned and changed their ways in 2013 and then 2015-17 happened. The Bowyer sacking, Lambert fiasco, Coyle appointment, boardroom chaos - right back to where it all began when Allardyce and Williams left. It blew beliefs of lessons learned out of the water and showed that no lessons except maybe financial had been heeded from previous mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes and every club appoints the wrong manager or suffers bad seasons from time to time. But I refuse to accept a one man board of directors, the club being run from India with a henchman doing their bidding from the shadows, and making decisions like the Coyle appointment, were in any way, shape or form normal or acceptable ways to run a club, or ever likely to result in anything other than damaging decline for this club. We had a united squad of good young players representing the club with pride under Bowyer. These owners and their associates destroyed all that in the space of a few months by getting back on the managerial merry go round and selling anyone they could. Ironic that people are now referring to 1 defeat in 28 as evidence of a job well done for Mowbray, which it is, yet plenty of the same people were saying that 13 games unbeaten in the Championship under Bowyer was irrelevant because we drew too many and didn't reach the target of the play-offs. Can't have it both ways. Both Bowyer and Mowbray did well. Mowbray has done a good job to date and deserves credit for some of his signings and results. But I'm afraid it is going to take more for me to trust this regime ever again after the damage they caused. They've conned me before with leaving a good man to do the job and nice signings and paying the bills and then look what happened.

Big problem with Sunderland is their debt. £150 million+ at the last count. Their owner is desperate to get rid and has even offered to give it away to someone who will take the debt on. Sunderland are an attractive investment even in League One with their stadium and fanbase. But throw that amount of debt into the equation and it becomes much more difficult to find someone to take it on. Ellis Short will do as Venkys have here and keep the doors open and pay the bills and wages each month. Not through benevolence or generosity but because he's no alternative short of shutting the club down. But will he go further than that and stump up some cash for Sunderland to have a chance of bouncing straight back up? Venkys did it, swallow some additional losses on the basis of getting it back through promotion, but there's no guarantee it will work. It is more effective in League One than the Championship where the competition is weaker and the finances so much tighter elsewhere. Unfortunately it seems Birmingham are going to crawl their way out of trouble again. Shame because in League One their 'big club' claims might have some credence.

Frustrating that they've less points than we have from same number of games, also lost almost double what we have and scored less/conceded more. They've got promotion virtually wrapped up with 7 games spare whilst we could well need to win another 5 or 6 to secure it.

I've no gripe whatsoever with Stanley. A lot of my friends are Stanley supporters and I've been to numerous Stanley games home and away over the years with them just taking an interest. Its good to see them doing well up against the odds in a depressed area. I don't want us to be in the same league as them as I would consider it an embarrassment if we were playing them as equals. Yes it would be down to their spectacular rise but on a personal level I would find it hard to take and the ramifications of competing in the same league as them, or heaven forbid not beating them home and away, would not be pleasant. Some people would relish it as being good for Lancashire or a good day out on the Crown Ground but not for me thanks. I don't see why the emergence of Stanley as a League force should prevent Rovers making efforts to obtain or build up support in Oswaldtwistle, Harwood and Accrington. Cheap tickets for school kids, sending players into schools etc. Its a dog eat dog world and we need to be pushing Rovers in our traditional backyard, yet it seems we've backed off doing that and have retreated into our own shell of BWDBC areas. Same applies to Chorley, Leyland and South Ribble - all areas with sizeable Rovers support and areas we should be trying to expand our influence into yet I don't see much evidence of that happening despite fierce competition in all directions.

One issue I have is the 'shrinking' of Rovers targeted catchment areas. Back in the 90s and 00s when Stanley were a non-league outfit and Rovers a Premier League club a large amount of support from Hyndburn naturally gathered at Rovers, and the club didn't need to make any effort to achieve that as people will always come when its Premier League football on offer. These days a lot of those people continue to support Rovers and always will, but the club should consider those areas to be Rovers areas and should boost Rovers in those places. I always felt that when we were in the Premier League we should have opened a Rovers store of some description in Accrington town centre. These days, through a combination of Rovers' demise and Stanley's rise, it appears that Rovers don't make any effort to draw new support from Hyndburn. I'm talking about advertising, going into schools, pushing promotions, offering free/cheap tickets, that sort of thing. The club do good work sending players into schools and doing things with kids but that seems to be limited to a radius of about 4 miles from Ewood, and nothing seems to happen beyond the confines of Darwen and Blackburn. Hyndburn has always been a big catchment area for Rovers. Places like Ossy and Rishton are as close to Blackburn as they are to Accy. There's a population of 50,000+ there on the doorstep yet because it isn't Blackburn with Darwen Council any efforts to tap into it are a 'no no'. I suspect Rovers are worried about Stanley complaining to the League about 'encroaching' onto their patch. I once got told there were rules in place preventing clubs 'encroaching' onto other clubs areas. That didn't stop PNE advertising season tickets in the Telegraph and on the back of Blackburn buses. The attitude seems to be that Hyndburn (a made up entity in itself) is Stanley territory so Rovers leave them to try and tap into those areas whilst Rovers don't. That's a mistake. Rovers are the dominant force in those areas and need to act as such. Burnley have a lot of support in those regions but don't need to worry so much at this stage as they have the product to offer.

How do they have the 'equal lowest' budget? I keep seeing this mentioned but I'd be very surprised if their budget was to the penny the same as another club. I said on Thursday night that 2 wins over Easter would do it for them. Think they're up now. Extra pressure for us to get promoted. Amazing what can be done by an owner who is interested. Bowland Brewery bus for away fans, Magpie ale, Winners Hour in the bar after with pints for £1. Cask ale served in the fanzone. Cheap tickets = substantial increase in attendance. Meanwhile Rovers carry on with their £27 tickets and £2 surcharges.

I've got bigger things to worry about than Mowbray. If he gets us up he's done his job, if he doesn't then he hasn't.

https://m.skybet.com/football/manager-specials/event/22052872 Mowbray 3rd favourite in the early odds at 4/1

Suppose it depends on whether Venkys left him to it or made it hard work for him. Apparently they've trusted Mowbray with a budget and left him to get on with it so surely could have done the same with Warnock. He's also managed to strike up a working relationship with Vincent Tan who doesn't quite fall into Venky level but isn't far off. I bet he and Cardiff fans can't quite believe we turned him down to appoint Coyle. Painful to even think about it really.

McClaren's the obvious one. He's desperate to get back into work, available and wouldn't make excessive demands. Very much doubt Bilic would be interested.

Fans want promotion and McCarthy's record is behind only Warnock and Bruce at getting teams into promotion contention. I don't recall Megson's West Brom or Pulis' Stoke playing like Barcelona when getting promoted last time.

When they got rid of Jewell they had the sense to get the right manager in who would work to a tight budget and it paid off for them. Doubt they'll be daft enough to go down the route we did of firstly appointing a manager that demanded millions to spend before walking when it didn't materialise and then appointing a charlatan like Coyle who had previously managed most hated rivals.

Go on Ipswich's main forum and there's a lot who are keen on the idea of Mowbray. Seems to fit the bill for them - they like going for British managers with experience of the division, Mowbray would be popular as an ex-player and has a reputation for playing good football which is their biggest gripe with McCarthy. Also on the outside Mowbray has gone a long way to rebuilding his reputation by nearly keeping us up and then having us in promotion contention. They do seem to be realistic that it would be difficult to lure Mowbray away from here if he gets us promoted, especially as they have no money and won't want to pay compensation, and I think Mowbray has said previously that he wants to be in the north near his kids and that was a problem for him at Coventry. McCarthy has worked wonders at Ipswich. Firstly to keep them up and then finishing 6th and 7th in his first two seasons on their budget. Last couple of seasons they've been mid-table but never in any relegation danger. Seems the fans have had enough of him and he's had enough of fans moaning. Crowds have plummeted. Someone like Sheffield Wednesday would be sensible appointing him if they want to go up instead of the succession of foreign coaches. West Brom or Stoke if they come down.

https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2018/march/mick-mccarthy-to-depart-ipswich-town-at-the-end-of-his-contract/ Mick McCarthy on his way from Ipswich at the end of the season. Uneasy relationship between him and supporters. Good manager coming on the market there. Expect Ipswich to struggle next season. On the subject of this there's a fair few Ipswich fans who want Mowbray as their next manager - ex player, popular down there, Venus was there also, plays 'better football' than McCarthy.

Losing money is a fact of life in the Championship. To begin with we need to get rid of the notion that its only Rovers or the less well supported clubs that lose money hand over fist. Every club does it, even the supposedly 'well run' ones, its part of life at that level and whilst it might make some people uncomfortable it isn't likely to change any time soon. Some clubs have it at a 'manageable' level of a few million a year, whereas others are up in the tens of millions a year. Ultimately it depends on the resources of the owner as to whether that is sustainable. There's a multitude of reasons for it all but the primary driving force is unsustainable wage levels which non-Premier League clubs cannot afford without major external funding. Owners of clubs know what the game is all about and know if they own a club at Championship level then it is going to cost them a lot of money. Some owners deserve to lose money more than others. For example Venkys are responsible for not having a Premier League income having cost us that through their decision making, have then brought the majority of their losses upon themselves through incompetence and negligence. Some want to credit them with still paying the bills every month but as I've suggested previously they don't have much choice. The alternative to carrying it on is to cut and run but then their 'asset' is either liquidated or picked up by someone else at a knockdown price and their £100 million of debt needs to be stacked against another part of their portfolio. Other owners have sustained heavy losses chasing the dream of promotion with good intentions and doing everything by the book but falling short. All part of the gamble. The Walker Trust somehow managed to saddle us with £20 million+ of bank debt despite years of access to the Premier League riches, so who knows how far into the red we'd be by now if they were still here and we'd been relegated (highly likely with no investment). If Venkys start to run the club properly and continue to pay the bills then I would applaud any serious efforts to rebuild the club. However I'm not convinced we're at that stage yet and I still remain of the view that a lot of their losses are brought about or enhanced by continued poor management. One example - we still don't have a commercial director at the club - so its no use pleading poverty if you don't even make the effort to employ someone to run the commercial arm of the club.

How much have Cardiff spent to be on the cusp of the Premier League? How much have PNE spent to be on the cusp of the play-offs? How much have Millwall spent to rocket up the league and be in with a chance of the play-offs? How much have Sunderland spent on their squad to be going straight through to League One? The clubs that are stable (ownership, executive, playing staff) that make sensible, thought out decisions, signings and appointments, will survive or thrive on limited funding. That doesn't mean spending millions for the sake of it, it doesn't even mean you need to keep hold of your best players every year, it doesn't mean you have to keep a manager in place for the sake of 'stability'. It means that people at the club know what the aim is, know where they stand, know what is happening and are able to get on with it to try and do the best they can. The clubs that are clueless, badly managed, throw money down the drain and have a revolving door of personnel will fail. For the first group see Cardiff, PNE, Bolton, Millwall, Brentford and previously Dingles. For the second club see ourselves, Sunderland, Birmingham, Hull and to a less disastrous extent Leeds and Forest. Can we made the transition across that divide? Possibly, but I think it is too early to say that. Winning games is a nice, unusual feeling but does have the effect of papering over cracks and putting other issues and concerns onto the backburner. It can be done and hopefully the appointment of Waggott is a step towards that but its a long way off being sustained.

The club's annual accounts came out this last couple of weeks. More of the same stuff as usual but they said that the overdraft facility with the Bank of India expired around February/March but that they were confident of it being renewed and even if it wasn't they would be able to fund the club. I don't know what 'arrangement' they have with the Bank but it seems to keep on rolling on every year with no end in sight. Although the £30 million in player sales and slashed wage bill might have helped win round the Bankers. With business seemingly booming back home I doubt they're losing much sleep over it Venky's India: Shares of this company soared 28 per cent in the past week. The company is expecting strong operational performance till May or June. "When you are adding new products and expanding your core business and seeing the realisation improving, the shareholders should be more confident about the quality and services," the company told ET Now in a recent interview. Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/63146289.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2018/march/club-statement?utm_source=Direct Jaap Stam sacked at Reading. Complete collapse for them following their penalty defeat to Huddersfield in the play-offs last season. If Birmingham and Barnsley pick up then Reading are in deep trouble. Stam has also been linked to Oxford - the new owner at Oxford was involved at Reading when they appointed Stam - and has been waiting a long time to make an appointment - perhaps waiting for Stam to get sacked.

Makes you realise that Rovers fans pleas to the authorities for help with Venkys and Kentaro were never, ever going to get anywhere. The authorities today won't do anything even when there's evidence of rule breaking and Courts of law making findings against club owners, so hopes they would go digging into dodgy deals with agents and 3rd parties were far fetched. The way of business is to brush under the carpet, pretend nothing is wrong and cover themselves when the trouble starts. They're completely unfit for purpose. We had no chance.

I did wonder about this and the potential for Belokon to claim damages from the league. It has been found in court that the Oystons stripped the club of the Premier League money. If there's evidence that the league's rules prohibited Owen Oyston from owning/running it and yet despite this allowed him to carry on running it and stripping it of millions of pounds, which Belokon was entitled to a share of having invested to get them promoted, then are they potentially at least partly responsible for this stripping of the club. If they had enforced their own rules at the start then surely Owen Oyston wouldn't have been able to siphon off the money to the exclusion of Belokon? Nothing to worry about though, because Belokon isn't 'fit and proper' whereas Owen Oyston is.

All because the FA can't or won't get a grip on it. They allowed the beast of the Premier League to take control of English football and will now sit back and allow this to happen. Everything is well with the world because the ££££s keep on flowing in.

I'd sooner be in Wigan's position than ours right now, yes. In a few weeks that 'might' change if we continue to win our games and they start to drop points directly as a result of having too many games to play. As it stands they've reached the QFs of the FA Cup knocking out multiple Premier League sides on the way, whilst keeping their promotion destiny in their own hands with room to spare. That might change, or it might not, but to date they've managed to keep us at arms length whilst also performing very well in the cup, and its only through missing games and bad weather that we've climbed above them.

https://www.lcfc.com/news/625538/lcfc--efl-settle-ffp-dispute/press-release According to this QPRs challenge is still ongoing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43336700 So now the Football League are going to re-visit the more than suspicious goings on at Wolves after numerous clubs have reported concerns and applied pressure. Goes to show they will only do anything if sufficient 3rd party pressure is applied otherwise they do nothing. I expect by the time they 'report back' to the board in 'due course' Wolves will have wrapped up promotion and will no longer be bound by the regulations of this league. This should have been thoroughly investigated by an independent panel months ago. 'The club has confirmed that the undertakings given at the time remain in place and are being complied with' - irrelevant - it is for the authorities to determine that not just take the clubs word for it and assume all as above board. This is all because the 'bigger' clubs like Villa and Leeds are kicking up a fuss, the league are being pressured into appearing to do something. Those clubs unhappy that they're potentially going to miss out on promotion. Nothing will come of it but they have to be seen to be taking the issue seriously. If it was a Blackpool or 3rd/4th division club nothing would happen.

The expectation or rule is that those clubs in the bottom 2 divisions are to play a full side in the competition, whereas those in the top 2 divisions are able to play their reserve teams.