Brentford are a dangerous side and score plenty of goals. They've won 12 home games this season. They put 5 past PNE earlier this season, 4 past Reading, Rotherham and Derby and 3 past QPR, Brighton and Villa. 73 goals scored this season which is only bettered by Norwich, Fulham and Newcastle. If we're still alive by the time we go there it is going to take a big effort to go there and get the win that might well be necessary. Amazing what they can do on 10,000 crowds and a shoestring budget Mike.

Birmingham have done the same as us and reduced prices to £10 anywhere in the ground for a huge game. This morning they announced that they only had 100 tickets left. They've already reduced Huddersfield's allocation to increase the home section.

Huddersfield have let us down at every hurdle. Let us hope they break the habit of a season and turn up against Birmingham. I know we shouldn't get into the habit of trying to heap blame onto other clubs but their results against our rivals have been absolutely terrible for a side pushing for promotion. In theory Birmingham's 2 remaining games are just as difficult as ours. Huddersfield haven't yet secured a play-off spot and might need a win on Saturday to guarantee it. On their day they are a strong side. Bristol City away is a tough place to go at the moment and although they will likely be safe by then I wouldn't fancy going there needing a win.

Where has this conviction come from that the players will be taking substantial pay cuts next season if we go down? Whilst these owners and the club have been setting up for relegation for some time now, it wouldn't surprise me if there was very little by way of wage decreases in the event of relegation. That seems far too sensible and well thought out. There's no way that the likes of Graham, Conway, Evans, Bennett, Mulgrew and Lenihan will be here next season. All our transfer 'strategy' for May and June will be geared towards getting those lads out of Brockhall for as much money as possible. This has been the strategy with our 'best' players now for the last 2-3 summers and will continue regardless of our league status. Relegation just makes it that bit easier as the players themselves will be in more of a hurry to leave and they can use the relegation to justify a mass exodus and further cutbacks. I reckon in today's climate there's a few million quid still sloshing around at Brockhall. Lenihan has had a good season and could fetch a couple of million at his age with a couple of seasons now under his belt. Evans when fit would bring in 500k, so would Bennett. Once these lads are out and the cheques have arrived in the post then expect to see Stokes dealt with by way of a pay-off for his 12 months remaining. Then they'll start to look at putting together a squad for next season and Senior can get to work on his list.......unlike some I have little to no confidence in the latest 'director' selecting quality players.

Lets look at our likely partners in relegation - Wigan and Rotherham. Will relegation be a disaster for them? Probably not. Both clubs know League One, both have been there recently, both have owners and boards that understand the league and know how to deal with it. Both have squads of players that will be able to adjust to that level on wages that are probably manageable at that level. I fully expect both will be at least pushing for the play-offs next season. Will we have a plan? Senior reckons he does, but if/when we go down will we see action or inertia? Our finances are shot at. Our squad is a joke, a mixture of loans, crocks and short term deals. The few with any value the club will actively attempt to sell rather than try to keep for a promotion push. Its obvious that their intention is to use the U23s to fill up the first team squad, both to try and boost player values ahead of another batch of sales and also to avoid having to pay any transfer fees It pains me but I'll be expecting back to back relegations.

Far too good a man to be working for SISU and Venkys

More down to Fawaz's unusual business style and refusal to appoint a CEO than a lack of money or investment. Infact just about the only thing he can't be criticised for at Forest is spending money. He's spent a fortune, albeit with a lot wasted. Recently they've had a few big sales as he looks to cut costs but then he still allowed re-investment into quality like Clough to the tune of a few million. Investment in football is putting above and beyond the bare minimum in to keep the doors open to try and improve the club and its chances of success. Venkys think investment is servicing the debt and paying the wages they have contracted themselves into paying. A bit like me buying a house and claiming investment because I pay the gas and electric bill. Never mind the walls are falling down and there's no roof.

Forest have spent cash, but remember that they've brought a lot in through sales of people like Antonio and Oliver Burke. Unlike our lot who have used the cash from player sales to pay wages and bills, the Forest owner has allowed some of that money (not all) to be reinvested into decent players such as McCormack and Zak Clough. Cheston will try to tell us all that it can't be done due to FFP but that simply isn't true. Forest brought in about £15 million through selling Burke last summer and in January spent a few million the other way. They've still made £10 million+ and avoided FFP sanctions this year. We could have done the same if we had owners who wanted to invest and had any ambition.

I agree that it is a shame that Mowbray wasn't in place in December so that he could use the January window to his advantage to give us a better chance of survival. I suspect the whole reason that the managerial change was left so late was to ensure that the new man wouldn't have the opportunity to request cash for transfers. Conveniently with Mowbray arriving in February he couldn't demand support/funds and has just had to work with what was already here. Also the refusal to spend in January was dressed up by some as a way of Senior pushing Coyle out the door and vetoing his transfers. I suspect these people aren't as daft as some think they are. They usually find a way to get through transfer windows without spending anything. Managing their coaching changes to avoid having to back the new man with cash is the oldest trick in the book. If Mowbray does keep us up expect a summer of inertia with him walking away in disgust after months of trying to get backing and someone else given the job with no time to make signings.

You have to earn it. Wigan are a limited side but a team willing to graft and not give up. Unfortunately if last weeks evidence is anything to go by that is the opposite of us. The poor sides who work and don't give up can turn those sort of games around. Those with no plan b and no idea won't.

Exactly. Wigan winning is annoying but doesn't really change things for us. We're well behind the pack of Forest, Bristol and Burton and unless we win games ourselves and catch them 3 then we'll go down. Wigan have shown fighting spirit that we haven't in the last couple of games. A last minute win against Rotherham followed by turning around a 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2.

And that only covers since 1992. If applied to the non-Sky Sports created window of the entire history of English football we're inside the top 10 and likely will be for a long time.

Ultimately my belief is that as long as Venkys remain in control money is irrelevant. It doesn't matter whether we have the same income as Accy Stanley or the same income as Newcastle. Whatever money is made available will be squandered, and regardless of how big the wage bill is or whether they allow cash for players, the structure is so flawed that we will fail. This will remain the case in the Premier League or League Two. I'm trying to look at things from the hypothetical angle of 'IF' Venkys left or 'IF' they suddenly decided to act differently, neither appear to be likely any time soon. But 'IF' they did, then this club ought to naturally be a big club in League One. 5,000 a week or 15,000 a week I don't think success will ever come under these people and so discussion about club size or income is best applied to what happens if/when they leave.

Yes, but how much of that is due to the 'size' of the club and how much is to do with the last 7 years? Whilst it might not provide an income what it should do is make it easier to attract players who want to represent such a famous club and managers who want to resurrect it. Of course its hypothetical at this point because the people running Rovers will waste whatever advantage it brings and continue to recruit poorly, but in the event we have a future after Venkys are gone the name Blackburn Rovers and Ewood Park should set us apart from most clubs down there and put us in a decent position to rebuild. I notice that Bolton's crowds actually increased this season despite a lower level of football. Likewise Preston's gates around the 10,000 mark in the 3rd tier and Wigan almost 10,000. All clubs that would these days be considered 'big' for that League on the basis of standing in the game, stadium and achievements.

We'll mess it up. Again. My prediction is that they will stick with Mowbray. I'm not opposed to that providing they do it properly. That starts with allowing him to assemble his own backroom staff rather than have to work with existing staff. If they aren't going to allow him to change his coaches then it won't end well. Then they need to allow him to overhaul the squad in the summer. That means being able to sign players from the word go, being able to spend some money, and being given a fair crack of the whip. I don't expect any of those things will happen either, and that's before we get on to the Paul Senior issue and what role he will play in transfer policy. In the event Mowbray walks, which wouldn't surprise me if he's messed around like his predecessors, then of course the people we should look at are the likes of Rosler from Fleetwood or Darrell Clarke from Bristol Rovers. Young, hungry, proven in Lge 1. Having a past association with the club ought to be last on the list of criteria. Unfortunately I expect either a promotion for Dunn or someone like Neil Redfearn to pitch up.

Despite what these muppets are doing to us we will be a big fish. The fact we've spent all but a few years of our 130 year presence in the League above it sees to that. Who will be a bigger club than us? Arguably Bradford/Portsmouth on the basis of larger fanbases but they don't have anywhere near our pedigree, trophies or facilities. Bolton have been a 'big club' this season down there and we will be the same. The question is can we use that to our advantage or will we waste it? Coventry have wasted it and are suffering because of it, and I'd bet everything I own that if these people stay here long enough we'll follow them into the 4th tier eventually. Whatever gates we end up getting will be more to do with their 7 years+ of horrific mismanagement than a reflection of club size.

In League One, as in virtually every professional football league, you need a core of tried, tested quality players to rely on through the season. Even in recent times, under Gary Bowyer, a man who knew the youth scene better than anyone and who had spent years working with the kids at Rovers, we saw this to be the case. Bowyer understood that attempting to throw youngsters into the squad en masse would end in disaster both for the club and the players and we therefore saw a 'safety first' approach with him relying predominantly on experienced players throughout his time here. I've no doubt that the fantasy world that Venkys live in they foresee a squad assembled directly from the Under 23s. Not because they have any idea about the abilities of the players, but because it is a cheap alternative to recruiting experienced players. Once relegation is confirmed in the coming weeks the first thing those in power at the club ought to do is attempt to copy the recently successful League One clubs. Look at what Bolton, Wolves and Wigan all did when they dropped out of this league and then bounced back immediately. I'm almost certain, unless someone can show me otherwise, that none of those clubs cleared the decks and turned to their under 21 squad for promotion. We probably will because the people running this club have no intention or ambition to get promoted next season and are prioritising cost cutting and individual player values over on the pitch success and results on the pitch. Just to confirm, I have absolutely no problem with a club keen to develop youngsters and see them make the step up to the first team as and when the coaches deem them ready. I have seen the Under 21s/23s numerous times this season and I very much enjoy watching them and hope to see as many as possible feature for the first team in the future. But this process has to be gradually managed with a solid experienced squad of 20+ pros in place under contract and 3-4 youngsters adding to that, not the other way around.

Regardless of opinions on Keith Hill's managerial abilities or whether he should have had the Rovers job or whether he's good enough for Rovers, using his achievements at Rochdale as a foundation for why he should get the Rovers job isn't the best idea. There's next to no chance that he would have ever been able to do at Rovers what he has done at Rochdale. He fits in well at Rochdale like John Coleman does at Accy. There's an environment there that he can work well in and do the job to the best of his abilities. At Rovers no manager will be given the best possible chance of success. They could appoint Conte at the end of the season and they'd find a way to make his position untenable. The club is set up to fail and until that changes via ownership changes or brain transplants in India then whoever is sat in the dugout will find it virtually impossible to do anything. Besides, these lot clearly aren't interested in making healthy profits on player trading. If they were then they would have realised what a good job Bowyer had done in that department and would have backed him with a view to another crop of Cairneys and Gestedes emerging about now. Instead they preferred to rip it all up, spend millions in pay-offs and contracts for Anthony Stokes and Wes Brown and deliver another painful relegation.

Coming to something when the former Premier League Champions are likely to be getting much lower gates next season than a fake club (MK Dons). If there was a semblance of a plan or ambition I'm sure that our gates next season could be similar to Bolton's this season - 14,000ish. If the people expect a promotion push and victories every week they will buy tickets even to watch a lower level of football. In our case there's only so long before people don't fall for the lies and deceit any more and we passed that point with Lambert's departure. We'll be scraping around on 7,000 crowds with them announced as 9,000.

Any competent owners would have had a plan in place for relegation to League One. It nearly happened in 2013 and 2016 and has been likely since the day this season began. Their decision to cease investment and sell everyone has ensured that. Yet we all know that once relegation is confirmed that a period of 'confusion' will set in. If we are lucky we'll be given another 'statement' confirming their commitment to the club. We will have to wait until their summit meeting in late May before the subject is even discussed and budgets are even looked at for next season. Then a few more weeks will pass before Mowbray or whoever is manager finds out what is happening. The priority will be shifting people like Graham and Evans out the door and using the cash raised to pay off Stokes, any incomings will have to wait until that business is done and enough is saved in wages to authorise some incomings. We'll be messing about in late August throwing a squad together from what loans and frees are still available meanwhile the likes of Fleetwood (providing they don't pass us this summer) will go into next season with a quality manager and coaching staff and a settled tried and tested squad in place ready for next season. Its all so predictable. Senior will talk about having to wait to get the right value for money and the right characters into the club.

Senior could be the best Director of Football in the industry. He could have a raft of quality players lined up ready and willing to join Rovers. Unfortunately unless Venkys are prepared to change the habit of a lifetime and give him a proper budget and let him get on with it then we'll fail.

I expect we'll get a surge in public support over the coming weeks as our plight becomes clear to the world and there's a story to be had about the former Premier League Champions dropping into the 3rd tier. Most will be sympathetic to our fall from grace and understand where the blame lies. Unfortunately it won't be sustained. Once we're entrenched in the 3rd division or even worse we'll become yesterday's news. Just like Coventry and Portsmouth became after a few seasons down there. As much as I dearly hope that our imminent relegation will be the beginning of the end for Venkys I just can't see it. Magic Mike will be tasked with reducing expenditure in line with the further fall in revenues and as long as their input doesn't exceed a certain level I think they'll be content to cart on as usual.

Indeed. Lambert was a bolt out of the blue and they surprised us all with the appointment and opinion at the time was he was the best appointment this lot had ever made and would ever make. Surprise surprise all wasn't what it first appeared and he was off and we were brought back down to earth with an almighty bump with the disgraceful appointment of Coyle. Its a possibility Mowbray is on a 6 months suck it and see arrangement. Mowbray has nothing to lose and a reputation to rebuild. Keep us up with a squad that is performing below its abilities and then step aside in the summer and he's back on the managerial bandwagon when most Championship clubs wouldn't have given him a job after Coventry. Really hope I'm wrong and Mowbray is here for a 2-3 year rebuild job whatever happens between now and May but I've not got much confidence.

I'm of the same view. I worry that despite Mowbray's good work so far that it will be too late. I think most people can see now that this squad is good enough and has been good enough all season to be better than bottom 3 Championship. Coyle actually deserves some credit for that as several of our better performers were recruited by him or given more opportunities under him (Guthrie) than previously. The worst part of the whole thing if we go down will be knowing that we were good enough to survive, and have even ended up with a manager good enough to keep us up, but it came too late because of the terrible appointment of Coyle and sticking with him for far too long. I can handle relegation if we're one of the worst sides in the league and the club has done everything to try and avoid it. But we haven't got one of the worst sides in the league, and the club certainly hasn't done everything it could to avoid this predicament.

At best the 'gentleman' Mowbray spoke to was Balaji, which I suppose is a start, but we all know that the only way to get business done with this freak show is to get answers from Mrs Desai, and it appears the only way she does her business is if people fly across the world to visit her and kneel at her feet. Balaji doesn't have the cash to fund this club, hence the drastic cutbacks we've witnessed in the last 2 years after Mrs Desai realised promotion isn't quite as easy as signing cheques and adding to the debt every year. Mowbray is in a no lose situation here though. He's already proving to be very popular with the supporters, firstly for being 100% better and more likeable than Coyle, and secondly for delivering an immediate improvement on the pitch. Everyone knows what the problem is here. If Mowbray keeps us up this season his managerial career will be revived even if he walks out in the summer. If he gives them a chance to do things properly, which Lambert wasn't prepared to do, then he might be able to cobble together a squad next season that can do better than this year, but if not and he leaves nobody will hold him responsible for the situation.