Philip - I agree in so far as something very iffy happened with the Coyle appointment (I wrote to the club to protest at the time) but I don't think this is accurate. My understanding is that Cheston's preferred man was actually Warren Joyce, not Warnock.

The story I heard was that Warnock held a series of interviews with Cheston and Pasha, was on the same page as them, had verbally agreed to take the job with a budget in place and with Blackwell and Jepson set to come in to assist him, it was virtually ready to be announced to the media (hence the headline on Sky Sports News), before he got a call at the 11th hour telling him that the deal was off as they had found someone else to do the job.

That man turned out to be Owen Coyle.And he was then appointed the following week.

One thing worth bearing in mind was Coyle's exit from Houston which was announced on 26th May. Coyle was appointed Rovers boss on 2nd June. Now those two things could be completely unrelated. It might genuinely be the case that Coyle was homesick and wanted to move back to the UK after a couple of years in the USA, and he's got a good agent who can land him a Championship job (which most people don't think he should have got on the basis of his recent record) and that he was out of work for barely a week before being paraded around Brockhall as the 'outstanding candidate' despite having never been mentioned in the weeks and months prior to that when people like Joyce, Warnock, Slade, Redfearn etc. had all been linked.

The cynic in me thinks that there's a lot more to it than Coyle having the good fortune to conveniently become available at the perfect time by leaving Houston and just so happening to walk into the Rovers job.

Perhaps the powers that be behind the scenes weren't keen on Warnock coming in and doing things 'his way' with complete control and wanted an ally in place. Perhaps the drawn out managerial search was deliberately dragged out over several months so as to ensure Coyle could occupy it once he'd sorted out business in Houston.

Whatever the truth, I'm inclined to believe that he got the job for non-footballing reasons. Even if the powers that be were taken in by his verbal diarrhoea like so many seem to have been, and honestly believed he was the best man for the job at that time, he's since proved without doubt that he is incapable and that relegation is a certainty on his watch. Why they refuse to act and make a change now just leads to more suspicion about the nature of his position.

Hence the relentless 'we can't compete with these other clubs' line that has been coming out of the club over the last 6 months. Excuse already there for when these players go elsewhere.

Trouble is that all the teams around us will be busy working on budgets and lining up deals as we speak to strengthen their squads in January to try and stay up.

Meanwhile at our place the only interest the powers have is freeing up more funds by selling some more players. Then, and only then, will Coyle be afforded the opportunity to bring people in, but even then they will only be loans that nobody else wants and we get to pick up at the end of the window.

We're the only club down there that has owners/directors not interested in doing what is needed to survive or improving the situation, so irrespective of our squad's ability we're going to be up against it and on the back foot again in January.

Someone like Warnock will have a bit of money to work with and will know exactly what sort of players and characters he wants for a relegation scrap and he'll be allowed to get them.

Well it appears there are four truly awful sides in this division so we have a 25% chance of not going down.

I wish I could be that optimistic. I'm confident we'll finish above Rotherham and we're about on a par with Wigan who have shown signs of improvement under Warren Joyce, so that one could go either way depending on what happens in January.

Who else?

There's no chance either Cardiff or Wolves will go down. Both Warnock and Lambert are too astute and Wolves in particular will throw money at it in January. We're pinning our hopes on Burton dropping into it which is a huge gamble. They're a real tight knit group that are hard to beat, particularly at their home ground. Clough has them set up strong at the back.

QPR could be the basket case club that drops into it with Holloway prone to a disaster, and possibly Forest if they hit another bad run, but again I've seen nothing so far to suggest we'll climb above them and stay there. Plus if they do end up looking like going down it is highly likely that their owners will take emergency action to keep them up.

The proof will be in the pudding in January.

If they want us to survive this season then the very least I would expect is to keep hold of our important players and in the worst case be able to go out and replace Hoban/Emnes/Gallagher if they aren't staying up to the end of the season.

If they continue down the path of the last few transfer windows and start selling assets like Marshall, Conway and Evans mid-season to generate some cash then that is the equivalent of waving the white flag and accepting relegation. No club in our position would even entertain selling its best players and if they had to would immediately ensure the cash was reinvested to strengthen the team for the battle ahead.

Some very interesting fixtures coming up this weekend which could completely change the picture down at the bottom.

On Thursday Wolves head to QPR. I think I'd prefer QPR to win that one to keep Wolves down there, however a draw or Wolves win would start to drag QPR into the mix, although I don't think they'll go down.

On Friday Forest host Newcastle. Clearly most people will fancy Newcastle to bounce back and beat Forest, which if they do will keep Forest within reach going into our game with Huddersfield.

On Saturday Cardiff host Brighton. Given the form Brighton are in they will be favourites to go and win there, which could give us a really good opportunity to get a head start on Cardiff.

Burton play Rotherham, a Burton win would be surely the final nail for Rotherham even at this early stage, whereas a result for Rotherham would provide a chance for us to get above Burton.

Brentford go to Norwich who are desperate for a win. All being well Norwich would win that one bringing Brentford into trouble.

Barnsley go to Birmingham who are in fine form at the moment. Hopefully a home win there.

Wigan host Derby who are also shooting up the League since McClaren went back. Hopefully an away win there.

On paper with the exception of Burton we have the 'best' fixture this weekend of the teams down there. At home against a side struggling for form, particularly away. It is really important that we get at least a draw from this to keep the points coming. We're likely to have a chance to put daylight between us and the bottom 3 on Saturday which is hugely important given 2 more difficult games against Brighton and away at Preston coming up.

We've shown in recent weeks that we can compete with most teams in this division. However our poor fitness and lack of defensive discipline has cost us dearly several times. Its saying something when despite a terrible start to the season where we picked up 2 points from a possible 21 that we're very much now back in the pack after the last 11 games. Even those we have lost in recent weeks such as Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham, have been by 1 goal margins and we arguably shouldn't have lost any of them. So there are certainly reasons to be more optimistic moving forward, however it is imperative that we maintain this and don't let our standards drop.

There is some real dross in this league and this squad should have it in them to survive. Rotherham have all but gone already, meaning we're going to have to find another 2 clubs to finish above. Slowly but surely the likes of Barnsley and Burton are being dragged back into the mire whilst Wigan look poor. I don't think Cardiff or Wolves will be relegated, though it would be satisfying if they were, but ultimately I think they'll have too much managerial nous and will recruit well in January.

Also important will be our business in January. We are still short in defence and will need to address that, especially if Hoban and Ward are still not fit in the near future. Likewise we need to keep Emnes and Gallagher fit and at the club until the end of the season. If they depart then we're going to have issues replacing them.

Of course at a normal club the groundwork for January would already be nearly done and targets lined up with a budget. Alas no such work will be done here with clueless dodgy owners not communicating and therefore we'll see no business done until Marshall is sold.

Had it not been for such an awful start and those calamitous defeats against Wigan and Cardiff then things would be looking much better. I suppose we've got our esteemed owners to thank for such a chaotic start to the season with transfer business being conducted at the 11th hour only when Hanley and Duffy had been offloaded. I'm sure that had we recruited the likes of Emnes, Mulgrew and Gallagher earlier in the summer then they'd have got up to speed in time for the season beginning rather than late September.

Given the noticeable upturn in performances and results I am prepared to praise Coyle for this. I don't like him and I have little confidence in his managerial abilities, but he's managed to overcome a dreadful start and has delivered a noticeable improvement. So long may that continue.

For me the only reason the downward spiral had a break was the embargo which they welcomed as it gave them the excuse not to spend but it also meant things had to be left alone for a bit so the meddling eased up. The partners were happy because they could concentrate on making their % from moving people out and paying people off.

Half the reason GB did ok for a season or two was because they had to leave it alone for a bit imo. The minute we came out of that the bollux began again immediately. So maybe rather than holding us back as they and others liked to say it may well have stopped us being another 2 years further down the ladder. We would be with Blackpool now if it wasn't for that period I reckon.

Probably right. The only period of stability/sanity we've had in 6 years of them being here were the 2 full seasons under Bowyer's management. He deserves great credit for that in tough circumstances that no other manager has been able to hack. Kean, Berg, Appleton and Coyle have been disasters for a variety of reasons, some of their own doing, some of the clubs/owners. Lambert saw through them and had both the money, reputation and nous to get out of his own accord before things turned sour.

Season one we nearly went down, season two we did go down, season three we very nearly went down, seasons four and five we looked briefly upwards, season six we were back fighting relegation, season seven we're fighting relegation and will probably go down again. Seasons four and five clearly the odd ones out. It just so happens they were the ones where Bowyer had a full season and where transfer activity was dictated by the looming embargo. Bowyer was allowed to wheel and deal for a while because everyone knew the embargo was coming and steps had to be taken to try and comply with that and satisfy the league. They went with his signings with the lure of major profits down the line which is precisely what they've had out of it. I know for a fact that Bowyer was desperate to get the embargo lifted in the summer of 2015 so he could strengthen the squad and they refused to do it, then lo and behold a few months later Bowyer is on the scrapheap, Lambert is in the house, mystery man Pasha's lurking in the background and the embargo gets lifted.

Its been painted as Venkys getting ambitious, lifting the embargo and then changing their minds on funding and Lambert walking. Perhaps its time we start considering alternative theories which include the sudden ability to lift the embargo mid season, the question of why this wasn't done sooner, the question of why Bowyer wasn't given the opportunity to work without the embargo after he had made them millions from players, the question of why/where/when Pasha came from, the question of what Lambert was promised and by whom.

Lots more to this than meets the eye.

Perhaps the embargo was a reason why we saw such stability. Ironic that it was only in this period that the raft of successful signings came through and have gone on to made them/someone a hell of a lot of money in contrast to transfer dealings before and after.

Having said that, even if we don't get relegated this season it is only a matter of time before we do, with these owners and this manager.

Exactly this. Lets suppose Coyle manages to deliver survival this season with a couple of games to spare. Highly unlikely in my opinion but you can never say never, especially in this division. What steps would the owners, directors and club take to ensure next season wasn't just a repeat of this season or worse?

Would they give the manager a proper budget to go out and strengthen in June rather than running around picking up loans in late August? Would they allow quality additions to the squad? Would they plug gaps at boardroom level or delegate transfer authority to the UK? Would they fight off interest in what few decent players we have left? Would they make serious offers to try and sign the likes of Hoban and Emnes permanently?

No. They wouldn't.

On the flip side if we were relegated with 5 games to spare what steps would they take to try and ensure an immediate return? Would they appoint a good League One manager like Bolton did last summer? Would they cherry pick the best League One players early doors to assemble a promotion capable squad for next season?

No. They wouldn't.

Bad news all round really.

Is this the first time a concert has been held on the Ewood Park pitch?

On the whole I think it is a good thing. He's not my cup of tea but undoubtedly is a big name in the world that will hopefully attract a big crowd to Blackburn and help both the club and local businesses. Concerts and international matches are regularly held at rivals' grounds, it's something that has been neglected in this part of the world over the last few years. These are the sort of things that will get non-Blackburn Rovers supporting people to visit Blackburn, spend their money and use the hotels etc.

We should do something similar. A statue of Shearer and Sutton holding the trophy opposite the Jack Walker entrance or a statue of Dalglish with the trophy somewhere.

The trouble is I don't think Cheston's plan has had the desired effect this summer.

I have no doubt that the increase in prices in the Riverside, coupled with the drop in prices in the Jack Walker stand, was the beginning of a strategy to get as many people as possible to relocate from the Riverside to the Jack Walker.

I am one of those people. For the sake of an additional £20 I made the decision to move from the Riverside, where I have sat for the majority of the last 20 years, to the Jack Walker Stand, which had previously been about £100 more over a season.

However, looking at the Riverside on Saturday it seems there are still around 2,000 people in there. The stand must be per seat the most full of all the stands at Ewood, and I would guess contains on average the older element of Rovers supporters who have held season tickets for the longest period of time.

The reason the upper tier of the Jack Walker was much busier was because the Family stand relocation has resulted in all those people from the bottom tier, including those with staff tickets, being moved upstairs.

I now have my season ticket in the lower tier of the Jack Walker towards the Darwen End, and whilst slightly busier than in previous seasons it was still quite empty, so it seems not many others have done the same as me. Meanwhile the Riverside remains at similar levels to the last few years.

If Cheston's scheme is to close the Riverside then he's going to have his work cut out, because there must be at least 25% of season ticket holders in that stand, most of whom haven't reacted to this summers price changes, and it would be a massive gamble to risk losing those people at a time like this by closing the Riverside altogether.

Also did anyone else notice that the replays shown on the big screen on Saturday that the new gantry camera wasn't on the half way line (it was off centre) and that there was a slope on the camera angle? Either because whoever set the camera up didn't do it properly or because the Riverside roof slopes.

Barnsley, who are supposed to be 'one of those teams' that will be as poor if not worse than Rovers this season and who we are hoping on finishing above to survive, are set to receive 15% of the John Stones to Man City fee. This should see them land in excess of £7.5 million.

I wonder if 'little' Barnsley will moan about 'not being able to compete', having to 'cut their cloth' and 'adhere to FFP rules'.

Or alternatively they will be delighted to receive such a financial boost and wisely reinvest the proceeds into improving their squad whilst we bobble along looking for some loans to fill the squad up.

When I read the letter the first thing that occurred to me was the possibility that I could go down to the club shop today, purchase a season ticket on the back row of the Riverside, then next week moan about the view and ask the club to relocate me at no extra cost. I would then ask for a corresponding seat in the Jack Walker Upper tier central area, which cost £120 more, and this letter appears to suggest the club would be prepared to do just that.

Alternatively I could do the above and demand relocation to the JW lower and save myself £20.

I've never sat at the very back of the Riverside, but it was blatantly obvious from the moment I heard there was a new gantry being installed that people's views were going to be affected. On a stand that old with a low roof it was always going to happen, its astonishing that the club have left it until Tuesday before the season starts to admit it.

So that's now an increase in season ticket prices and poorer views for Riverside season ticket holders. What next? Removal of the roof? No toilets? Very hard to look past a complete closure of this stand in the next season or so, and Cheston is in the process of whittling down the number of season ticket holders in that stand to minimise the furore when it happens.

I honestly think they are/were naïve enough to think that signing 'fans favourite' Graham to a permanent deal would win over supporters this summer. I don't think they are completely clueless, they've probably been advised that they have to do something this summer to avoid a complete backlash/boycott from supporters, and seriously think that one player will achieve this. For them he's probably their 'new Rhodes'. They seemed happy to pay him big money whilst he banged in the goals and probably will do the same for Graham. They probably believed that pushing the boat out a bit more on his above average wages was worth it as it would dupe most fans into thinking all was well, meanwhile the systematic liquidation of our playing assets looks set to continue.

The club will follow this up by making him central to promotional material and interviews.

Whatever the value of Graham's contract, you can be sure that it has been comfortably covered in one swoop by the sale of Hanley to Newcastle.

Anyone have any news about the other changes that were supposedly going to be made at Ewood this summer? I heard there was a new jumbotron going between the Darwen End/Jack Walker stands and digital advertising boards around the pitch, but there's no sign of these from the photos taken recently.

Someone at the ground yesterday said that there was scaffolding up at 3 points along the Riverside doing the prep work in readiness for the gantry to be installed.

So it seems congratulations are in order. Finally they've followed up their statements by actually doing something.

In all seriousness looking at the numbers of season tickets sold in the Riverside this season it wouldn't surprise me to see that stand basically converted into a tv/camera structure closed to fans within the next 2-3 years, especially if we are relegated.

Any news on our Category 1 audit yet? The club must surely know if it has been retained by now. Numerous other clubs have announced they have passed the test.

It also seems possible that Rovers Under 21s might yet be invited to join in the farcical 'EFL Trophy'. After inviting 16 clubs, some of whom performed worse than Rovers U21s last season, now Man City have turned down the invitation and United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal are expected to follow them, meaning the 'EFL' will have to eventually get round to inviting Rovers to participate.

The 'EFL' will be most disappointed if they have to let Rovers join in the fun rather than just the Premier League boys.

Rovers were audited at the end of last year and were expecting to hear the result anytime now. I think that the feeling was that with the investment the owners have put into the Academy that they would maintain Category One status. I think the Rovers believe that they may be able to avoid the building of a stand etc, because the of the difficulties with planning regulations in that part of the Ribble Valley.

Thanks. I was thinking it would be slightly unfair if Rovers lost their Category One status due to not having facilities owing to planning difficulties in the Ribble Valley. I imagine that numerous other clubs with purpose built training facilities in the countryside will face similar problems.

I don't know whether it has been answered yet but would Rovers' U21s be eligible to participate in the Football League Trophy next season? I know they only mentioned 16 clubs with Category One status competing when there are about 20 odd with Category One status, so presumably some are going to miss out. Will there be a qualification process or will they just allow the Premier League clubs to enter teams and not clubs like Rovers, Reading, Wolves, Norwich, Brighton, Fulham and Villa who have Category One status but aren't in the top flight.

It seems unfair to me if Rovers' academy, along with the likes of Reading and Wolves are excluded from the competition just because the senior team is in the Championship when we all have equal status in terms of academy standard. Hardly fair on the young players in the Rovers and Reading academies that they will miss out on playing in that competition, especially when Rovers and Reading's Under 21 teams both performed quite well and better than a number of Premier League clubs last season.

I understand that the various clubs that currently hold 'Category A' academy status are in the process of being assessed to see whether they comply with the ever changing requirements. The criteria for Category A status has been enhanced making it more difficult for clubs to obtain and retain Category One status.

Wolves have recently been audited and confirmed last week that they had been given Category One status once again and have been given a 3 year licence (the highest possible).

http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/news-academy-retains-category-one-status-3144500.aspx

Manchester United have also been audited recently and are expecting to retain their Category One status going forward (so they can play their reserves in the Football League Trophy).

Presumably this means that Rovers have been audited or are being audited at the moment. Does anyone know when we will find out the outcome, or indeed whether Rovers already know the outcome?

I was under the impression that some improvements would need to be made down at the academy at Brockhall, including erecting floodlights and a temporary stand for spectators. Have these been done?

Also, the cost of maintaining a Category One academy is in excess of £2 million per year. Are Venkys going to continue to shovel that amount of money in or can we expect cost-cutting in this department like Bolton did last year?

There are different ways of relaying the pitch. Someone at the club told me that last year, the Ewood pitch was redone at a cost of £29,000 but it used to cost twenty times that. Whether that is accurate, I have no idea.

Yep, the Ewood pitch is relaid every summer. This is essential work that cannot be ignored and is done every summer by every club in the league. The question is how much money is spent on doing it. If the £29,000 figure is correct, for comparison purposes Sheffield Wednesday spent £1 million last summer installing a new Desso Grassmaster pitch.

So £29,000 is chicken feed, and probably one of the reasons why the pitch at Ewood appears to be getting worse every year in comparison to rivals when prior to Venkys it was one of the best pitches in the land.

I've also heard that in the last few summers Accrington Stanley have invested more into their pitch than Rovers have at Ewood.

It makes me laugh when Venkys expect credit for spending money on the pitch. Every club spends money on their pitches in the summer. Its part of maintaining the club's facilities, an obligation they signed up to when buying the club.

Some perspective here. At 'cash strapped' Wycombe Ainsworth has just presided over a 13th place (bottom half) finish in the 4th division after leading them to a failed play-off challenge the season before. This is the same League that John Coleman has just led Accy Stanley to 4th place and goal difference away from automatic promotion.

If it were Exeter's Paul Tisdale or Yeovil's Darren Way linked it would be dismissed immediately by those with sense, yet because he's got a link to Blackburn its seen as a go-er.

Or Bournemouth have been given a lesser fine than the rules say they should get and therefore are willing to pay it off now to get it over and done with and to avoid any future tribunals or difficulties if they go down.

QPR fought it once they were relegated, but as Bournemouth survived and will be awash with money next season I suppose £8 million now to put an end to it and move on might be a price worth paying.

Fine effort from our Under 21s last night in the play-off against Arsenal. Eventually lost 2-1 to a late winner, but important to point out that Arsenal put a side out containing Chambers, Rosicky, Cazorla and Gnabry.

The future looks bright for the younger Rovers and their performances and progress have been one of the few positives in this wretched season.

Massive win at Hartlepool after Saturday's draw leaves Stanley clear in 2nd place.

Remaining games:

23 Apr - York C (H)

30 Apr - Wycombe W (A)

7 May - Stevenage (H)

Need to win the two home games against struggling sides and get a point at Wycombe which will be tough. 7 points will surely do the job now for Stanley.