Those are typical statistics for a side managed by an inexperienced manager but one that is still packed with quality players. We had similar under Kean when we came down (not trying to be harsh on Moore by comparing him to Kean). Relatively easy to let a team containing the likes of Gayle, Rodriguez, Sako, Phillips etc. off the leash in the Championship - they'll score goals all day long and dish out some thrashings along the way - but the dirty work of organising a defence is a bit more difficult and that is clearly their Achilles heel. Only one clean sheet all season for them. By all accounts Moore seems like a nice bloke and I think it is good that they've put their faith in an unproven British manager but I still think that it might be what costs WBA this season. I think on paper they've got a top 2 squad but I'd be surprised if they ended up getting close to that. Maybe play-offs. Unfortunately we've got our own defensive issues to worry about and don't have the attacking capabilities/depth that they have. I've no doubt that this is going to be a long afternoon, as even if we get ahead it will be a Bolton style performance where we've got our backs to the wall hanging on for dear life, which rarely works out well.

About 4.5 according to Google maps. Think we're going via M50 on the way down and will come back via Oswestry to avoid motorway closures.

I went to the 3-0 defeat back in 2012. That goes down as one of the all time lows at the nadir of the Kean days. An utterly abject, embarrassing performance and Swansea wiped the floor with us. 2 days off work booked, £30 ticket bought and a 10 hour round drive ahead, be nice to come back with something.

A ridiculously tight division with just 5 points between Norwich in 5th and Bolton in 18th. The bottom 6 are slightly cut off but other than that the rest can switch massively off a couple of results. Back to back wins have catapulted us from bottom half to top six and a couple of defeats could see us drop significantly. We're doing well and the team are a joy to watch at the moment but too early to talk about play offs. Nothing to fear in this league where consistency is king. We're consistent at the moment and aren't losing games. Get through to Feb as we have been doing so far and survival should be all but secured.

When it comes to the Telegraph then yes, I think it is a lot to ask. This sort of nonsense has been spouted for as long as I can remember. Dingle arm of the operation healthily populated with died in the wool clarets but the Rovers side seems to have a high turnover of non-Rovers supporting people. Cryer was the epitome of that. Rovers correspondent and yet you could almost taste the envy and bitterness in his words whilst his beloved Bristol City were slumming it in the lower leagues. Then when he left he came out of the closet and now makes little/no secret of his contempt for the club.

Yes but Chris Wilder is English, born in Sheffield and before his current club has managed Halifax, Oxford and Northampton. Please ignore results and relevant achievements. Bielsa is from far away, has managed exotic clubs and Guardiola once said he was good.

I'm not really interested in what Spurs do. I'm very doubtful that they will be targeting players like Dack in January with Champions League qualification up for grabs. But if they are interested then what will be will be. I don't think anyone could have any serious complaints if he wanted to go or if Rovers held their hands up and let him go. A club with a lot more money, in a higher league, at the top end of that league, in European competition = fair enough all round. We don't want it to happen but we accept it is a step up at this stage and that is fair enough. My gripe comes when we get the Nixon fuelled transfer rumours to mediocre Championship clubs. That isn't a step up and I would be very unhappy if Rovers allowed such a thing to happen.

If Bielsa is a 'world class' manager then how come he's managing Leeds in the 2nd division and not Man City or Chelsea?

Fine thanks I just don't appreciate our local media playing the 'underdog' game with Rovers by portraying us as some plucky little club up against the titans of the Championship. Never thought I'd see the day Swansea City were referred to as a heavyweight. I don't care how much cash they get from Sky Sports, they aren't, and never will be 'heavyweights' in comparison to Rovers. As I've explained above if Swansea are heavyweights then presumably so are 12+ other clubs in this league. Where does that stop? Mowbray himself said he wished we could be like Bristol City and have a full house (even though they don't).

But you get additional payments each time a game is broadcast, or certainly do for the home games, to 'offset' lost ticket revenue. In addition you reap the benefits of regular live broadcasts around the UK and Europe, which no doubt significantly increases tv coverage, audience and profile for sponsors, who can then be charged more by the club. If you own a company that wants as much advertising coverage as possible the first port of call would be Leeds knowing that potentially half of their games and 10+ home fixtures are going to be beamed around the country on Sky Sports. Comparing to Rotherham who probably only have a couple of home games a season on Sky and so more often than not their audience will be limited to the 8000-10000 who turn up. I can completely understand Leeds fans being sick and fed up with it all but I don't buy this argument that Leeds are losing out from all this. Maybe they don't get as much as they think they should get but they do get benefits from it.

So that's Leeds, WBA, Swansea, along with Stoke, Forest, Derby, Villa, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wed who are all 'heavyweights' because they've all spent money, then also Sheffield United because they're top of the league, and Brentford because they've a decent side and are tipped to do well, and Norwich because they get quite a few on home games, and Bristol City because Mowbray was impressed that they had a 'full house' against us. Crikey. That's a lot of 'heavyweights'.

I presume that wouldn't be an option, I suspect the contract he signed in August contained permanent terms that would come into play in January.

According to the Telegraph we've got three 'heavyweights' coming up this week. Not the language I'd use to describe second tier fixtures at West Brom and Swansea but hey ho. Also seems we're coming up against 'promotion chasers' Leeds tomorrow, a side that sit a massive 5 points above us in the table.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/18/blackpool-takeover-valeri-belokon-owen-oyston Good article on the state of play at Bloomfield Road.

Difference is Matty you know the truth or if not you spend time researching the facts. The buffoons in the Telegraph have only been on the scene for the last few years and probably don't spend much time researching the truth or go back into the history books. They're being naughty at the moment. In the absence of any discontent at results and performances they're stirring it up about numbers through the turnstiles. Meanwhile positivity galore in their Stanley columns. Don't recall much doom and gloom around Burnley's gates rarely breaking past 12,000 on their way to promotion or the rows of empty seats in the Premier League yet they're getting well stuck in to crowds at Rovers even though they have risen, albeit not as much as hoped.

The Premier League and Sky Sports control football via the money they exert. I've no doubt they would prefer it if the big city clubs occupied their 20 slots instead of the unfashionable small clubs like Huddersfield, Burnley, Watford etc. It's no surprise to see increasingly elaborate ways of weighting things in favour of the 'big' clubs in an increasingly desperate attempt to see them back in the top flight.

Anyone would think with the way they're going on it's the first time we've been lucky enough to play them or they've pummeled us on a regular basis. We've played them 10 times in the league since relegation and as far as i can recall only lost to them three times, all by narrow margins, and 2 of those were under the 'stewardship' of Coyle. Nor is them bringing 7000+ a new thing or a game-changer. It hasn't done them any favours in the past.

Is putting season tickets on sale in February or October rather than June or December going to reduce the number buying them? Almost certainly not. I can't think of one single reason why anyone would not get one with a wider window than we currently have. Is putting them on sale in June or December going to reduce the number buying them? possibly. Why? Well, in the summer months once the season has ended people go away and do other things. They get out of 'football mode' and find other things to occupy themselves, other things to spend their disposable cash on, holidays, don't have football on their mind. Contrast with Feb/March and if you're playing well, winning games and people are going down to Ewood enjoying themselves every fortnight the chances are one or two might push the boat out and get a season ticket whilst they're enjoying themselves. Yes a lot of those who turned up vs Oxford were morons and were out for a day on the drink and to act stupid and wouldn't have a season ticket if they were given away. I'm not suggesting that 15000 more people would have signed up just because they went to that one-off game. But a few might. If 20 of those 15000 extra fans went into the shop before/after that game, perhaps after a few pints, perhaps in the heat of the moment having just had a brilliant day out, and signed up for a ST then an early release was justified. But we'll never know. Those people went home, slept on it, sobered up, then we had a month with no games before finally releasing increased prices.

Sharpe is mistaken if he's saying clubs haven't been compensated for the red button. It may not come in the form of a specific payment but will come with the League's agreement through an increased payment to all clubs. As I said the other day - why on earth would any club consent to the red button introduction if they weren't to be well compensated for it?

Nobody in the Championship can spend £20 million on one player unless a) They sell someone for a huge amount to generate the funds or b) They are almost certain to get promoted and have one eye on next season knowing there is little to no chance they will be in the Championship. A very small number of clubs could afford £20 million and unfortunately for them FFP rules would make that virtually impossible to do.

The EFL continues to stick to the claim that the Checkatrade Trophy project has been a success. Everyone knows it has been a disaster for the competition and crowds yet they still claim it has worked. They're on a different wavelength. For them success is all about how much cash comes in from sponsors and media. Nothing else matters.

I care because it is another example of a club facing arguably bigger challenges than we are that has taken the decision and made the effort to get a head start on sales by putting them on sale in October rather than leaving it until December. They aren't the only ones. Norwich have announced their half season ticket prices this week. They've got the luxury of 20,000+ turning up every week yet still make the effort. I bet if you go through the leagues there are plenty of others who won't wait until December, just like there were lots and lots of clubs who got their full season tickets on sale in February or March rather than June. 'No point any sooner'. I'm sure that's the cavalier taking it for granted attitude that saw the 27,000 crowd v Oxford come and go without the opportunity to commit to a season ticket and why hardly any of those people could be persuaded to come back, and why a promotion season failed to see a significant rise in crowds. Clearly very well paid executives at rival clubs feel there is a point in making it sooner. If that decision results in a mere 10 people making a decision to buy a ticket then surely it is worth doing? Again it comes back to the basic theory - the wider your sales window the more time and opportunity people have to buy the product. The narrower the window the less chance people have to sign up and get the money together or be persuaded. What possible harm could it do to follow other clubs and get them on sale earlier?

I'm sure Sky need the consent of the EFL to alter the package they currently offer. I'm sure that the decision to allow the red button facility this season will have been debated between member clubs at the AGM and approved on the basis that the increase in tv money would easily offset any losses in ticket revenues. I'm also sure that the EFL clubs and board (who supposedly act on behalf of member clubs) could turn around to any broadcaster and make it clear under no circumstances can they broadcast live matches between 3pm and 5:15pm. Maybe I'm being naïve or missing the point here but I still don't get why this stunt from Eleven Sports and La Liga is such an issue. I've seen it reported in a few papers and understand there is a lot of concern about it but again if the EFL are determined to stop it happening I'm not sure what anyone can do about it. The problem develops when the EFL starts conceding ground and allowing things to happen, and once the door is slightly ajar it probably won't be closed again. La Liga is a different country and different rules. They seem to have no problem enforcing a UK blackout on satellite broadcasts, forcing pubs and customers to pay higher prices than people in Europe do for live football. So one rule for England and another for abroad isn't a problem. As far as I'm concerned they could broadcast Spanish/Italian football 24/7 on UK tv, I find it boring, so long as they don't extend that to English matches. Sky can surely only do what their agreement with the League allows them to do.

Yes I thought that but surely if League clubs were so concerned then they would be able to agree between themselves that no broadcaster can show live English games on a Saturday. If there's a problem with foreign games being shown live then don't allow any English games to be broadcast. Presumably we're getting into territory of it being discriminatory to pick between nationalities of the EU or something on those lines and they will claim that any live broadcasts have to be treated the same regardless of country.

I seem to recall something about clubs getting an increase in exchange for the red button service. If they don't then why on earth have they allowed it to come in?