JHRover

We've seen it many times before from board members and coaching staff that once the feet are under the table the job is yours for as long as you want it. There are only two conditions. Keep your head down / don't rock the boat and pay fealty to the Indians whenever you get questioned on the subject. Gestede strikes me as a Suhail / Waggott project. They've been looking for a patsy to oversee the football operation since St Tony departed with Venus. They got Broughton in and whatever your views on him that wasn't ever going to last the way this lot operate. So now onto plan B and it really doesn't matter to them or the owners whether the individual is any good or not, because improvement, development and excellence on the pitch has never and will never be on the agenda here. Waggott is still at the stage where he thinks that 'ex player' carries extra kudos with the fans and will result in less pressure/scrutiny. An age old trick that has been played here several times, roll out an ex player and the fans will lap it up/take the ex-player's word for it etc. I hope most have seen through it by now but sadly it seems to keep on working with some. I noticed a few posts over the weekend about how we are behind Sheffield United in the 'project', about how it is going to take a few windows / years for the 'new structure' to get us into shape and get us to a place where we are ready to compete for the top 6. These people must be from a different planet, because these owners will never ever allow us to develop to that point without first taking a wrecking ball to the squad to raise some cash or cut the costs and then the process starts all over again.

Gestede now on his second job under the Venky regime so he's got twice as many reasons to jump to their defence as your usual Rovers employee. Treating us like fools and insulting our intelligence but then again with the state of some Rovers supporters on Facebook and Twitter I can't really blame him. They probably think everyone is so stupid. Nobody else was giving him a job to learn how to 'direct' or whatever it is he does so of course he'll use his platform to defend the evil in India.

I stand to be corrected but I'm pretty sure debt levels are totally irrelevant when it comes to FFP calculations, especially when there is no immediate demand or plan for repayment of those debts and they are almost all to the owners anyway. What is important is incomings and outgoings. Thankfully we've brought in excess of £40 million through sales since summer 2023 which comfortably outstrips whatever advantage better run clubs get on us via bigger ticket sales. So about time we stop falling for the Venky/Waggott trap of blaming FFP and pointing at the fact other clubs get parachute cash and bigger crowds. We've outstripped that and then some in the last 12 months and yet have just cut back more and more.

Good job Millwall didn't receive the memo about not being allowed to beat sides near the top who are getting parachute money.

It will be something that costs nothing and requires minimal effort, coupled with the fact that there's nobody employed down there with any real knowledge or pride in the clubs history. One look at what Sheffield Wednesday did for their 150th the other year shows what we should be doing. I bet we will get some tatty t shirts in the shop, a few pieces with 'legends' in the phone book to put on twitter and that will be about that. That we are only a year away from it and still no mention of anything is already alarming. Nobody can be arsed.

It's no use at all bemoaning the parachute payment system when we've brought in more through selling prized assets over the last few windows. That money should have delivered a legacy and long term benefit to Blackburn Rovers in the form of capital investment in players and infrastructure. Better than getting parachute cash in some ways as it doesn't get used up on paying off Premier League era contracts and wages. Instead the owners have used it to pay their bills and help them get around their self-created mess in India. Their choice. Our problem. Could have been all so very different. They could have reinvested some of it. They decided not to.

The Riverside is usually less than half full. It is worth opening if the ticket sales aren't there or just keep opening it for a few hundred fans? They've already done it for the Darwen End, Blackburn End upper, town centre shop, matchday programme - all done away with in the name of 'progress' aka cost cutting. Tried it on with the training ground and academy too only you've to have a bit more about you to outmaneuver that situation given the obstacles to overcome there. Where does it end Chaddy? Put all the fans in the BBE lower and shut the rest of the ground? Only play during the day to save on putting the floodlights on? Not have a reserve or ladies team because it isn't making us money? Once again you and the club are looking it from the negative side - if something isn't working just get rid or shut it down to save on costs. Same with your favourite FFP rules - if in doubt just sell some players and cut the wage bill. There's another side to it all - GROWTH - try to get bigger, better, more fans in the ground, more footfall, enhance the commercial operation, get more people down to Ewood, get more tickets sold etc. etc. All of which requires a plan, effort, initial outlay and none of which are consistent with Waggott's way of doing things.

A totally bizarre and almost unbelievable situation we have where the club is actually now boasting about restocking its own shop with its own kit so its own fans can actually buy them. Ridiculous. This after doing everything possible to encourage people to stay away from the club shop including shutting it during the week.

Well I'm not aware of any other Championship club that erects barriers and employs external companies to 'vet' home fans entering the ground before reaching the turnstiles. I'm also not aware of any other Championship club that puts articles up on its website and uses such language towards its own limited and dwindling support base. Right back at the start of all this the Club is responsible. Like with 99% of all the other mishaps and fiascos we've seen down there under a wholly inadequate management team. They've sold the tickets in the first place. So if 'fraud' has been taking place I presume there will be a thorough review of how so many people have managed to get their hands on concession tickets and whether Rovers ought to have put measures in place to stop this at the source rather than half a dozen games into the season, in doing so annoying most people whether they have a valid ticket or not. We know the snake of a CEO and probably his little entourage in the boardroom are judged by those in India on financial performance. We know that season ticket sales are bucking the national trend and are shrinking whilst most other clubs enjoy good health on crowds. Sadly a sizeable portion of people are happy with that because "it were like that in 1981 you know" and because plenty feel better about themselves being 'one of the hardy few' Seems clear to me that the only metric by which Waggott is judged - the balance sheet - is looking unpleasant - and so he's now resorting to desperate tactics to try and recoup some extra cash by using these rather extreme steps and language. He's squirming because up until now his policies have worked in keeping the scum off his back, but it seems they are now asking a few questions about why numbers are so bad. The elephant in the room is that after their crimes and misdemeanours of the last 2-3 years (almost erased from the history books now thanks to Eustace having a decent start to the season, yet some of us won't be forgetting what they've done) causes far more damage to the club than a run of a few defeats and a narrow escape from relegation. People won't put up with it and will vote with their feet. Chickens come home to roost. Waggott can lash out at the small number trying it on with cheaper tickets but he can't do anything about the thousands who have found better things to do with their time than continue to fund this despicable regime.

My concern is that Eustace and a large portion of the support base appear to have decided that draws away from home are fine. Sooner or later there has to be some more ambition than that. This is something JDT had, aiming to win every game. Of course many times it ended in defeat and lots of goals conceded but we also won a fair few which is something that looks a way off at the moment. I agree draws away are good IF you are winning all/most of your home games. But when home form dips, which it will when we get around to playing the likes of Leeds, West Brom, Sheff Utd etc. and folk are then out in force telling us that a draw in those would be a great result, this shifts a lot of pressure over onto our away form and needing some wins from those. Win every home game and draw every away game and you are laughing. But we won't win every home game and we aren't drawing every away game. The product in the last 3 away games has been horrific, picking up 1 point from 9 against three very poor sides despite having a man advantage for most of one of them as well. This is worrying and I am concerned that Eustace's 'pragmatism' is becoming an issue. He was far too slow to act in the Preston game and that cost us 2 points and nearly 3. Coventry was the typical dismal midweek debacle against a side who had lost games either side of that in weary fashion. Plymouth could easily have been a horror show attracting far greater criticism, we were spared from it by poor finishing/good saves/late equaliser and the last gasp nature of their winner. On another day we could have been 2 or 3 down by half time and they'd have won at a canter. We all know that the owners and the board have zero ambition other than serving their own interests, but I think now that the 'unbeaten' tag has gone one or two need to get real and stop with the pats on the back routine.

A quick read through the minutes of the recent fans forum meeting clearly demonstrates that the 'powers that be' haven't got a clue what they are doing on this subject. That they seemed to expect a surge in sales after their behaviour over the last few years tells us all we need to know. Totally and utterly out of touch and to be honest quite an insult that they think people will simply ignore all that and renew regardless just because they imposed a minimal price cut IF you bought quickly.

We hear this from people every window. As I say amazing what a few reasonable looking signings does. Last time around some were celebrating the signings of Wahlstedt and Telalovic. What's the plan here?

Common sense and financial stability? Here? When does that start? Simply laughable what a few loans and cheap signings will do to people. We are nowhere near sensible or stable in any respect. We are a club in financial crisis and having to exist hand-to-mouth despite fortunes being brought in through sales. Give me West Brom's position any day of the week.

All those clubs spent substantially on both permanent signings and loans. We are doing neither. The comparisons end there, those clubs had a serious intention to get somewhere. This one doesn't.

We've signed 5 senior permanent players, of which 3 will be gone by July when their 12 month contracts expire. That number is eclipsed by the number of sales and departures since January. We've a heap of cash and massive FFP flexibility (two excuses for lack of spending in previous windows gone) and months and months to prepare for this window since selling Adam Wharton. And lo and behold despite all the talk about plans, changes, new structures, it's the tried and tested cheap, easy, last minute short term-ism again. Building? Don't make me laugh. It's cobbling together a squad whilst the cash disappears out the side door.

Depends that doesn't it, on the quality of the loanee and what state we are left in at the end of the loan. Hardly suggests long term planning or any shift in approach from what we were doing under Mowbray or Broughton's regimes.

So is reinvesting and building a squad. When does that start?

Names and faces change, 'new model' introduced, transfer receipts through the roof yet still got Liverpool and Brighton on speed dial in the last days of the window hoping they'll send us a cheap kid or two.

2 days to go At least 4 signings required No restrictions on the owners No FFP problems £15 million cash brought in this summer alone to put to use Should be in a strong position but thanks to Venkys and Waggott we remain in a weak position unable to even sign a goalkeeper despite knowing it could easily save us 10+ points. Venkys and Waggott: undermining, damaging, weakening our position each and every time.

Cost is the motivation at this club under a shady operation like this. Quality, as we have seen many times, is of little concern to those calling the shots. If they were interested in quality we'd have long ago addressed the goalkeeping position and wouldn't still be starting Jack Vale in games.

The main reason Gally was offloaded was because he was highest earner, and the main reason there have been forces at work trying to get shut of Travis is because he's now the highest earner. I think there is more chance of pigs flying over Ewood than Rovers under this ownership and management offering Szmodics £22k a week to stay, I think that is a work of fiction either created or at least encouraged by the people employed down there for people to believe we were willing to do that to try to keep our star man but that this wasn't enough, it looks a lot better than the thought of them actively seeking sales of key personnel. Rovers will be sniffing around Cantwell because he will be desperate to get out of Rangers having requested a move and will want to come back to England. Rovers will be hoping between that desperation a bargain can be found.

Been there done that. If we don't have the structure in place to afford him we shouldn't be meeting him. if we can't afford to buy him now, with this pile of cash behind us, then that is a total disgrace. He'll be the 2024 version of Assombalonga, O'Brien, McGuire etc.

I think the Cantwell one is just agent work. It's clear he's keen to get out of Rangers and probably secure a move back to England and the Championship will be his level. His agent, and others, will be beavering away trying to find him a club before the window shuts, we probably tick most boxes in that we need players and should have money to spend. They'll be hoping that we cough up and make that happen. They haven't factored in the Venky element which makes the pile of cash brought in irrelevant.

Indeed. Actions, or in this case inactions, have consequences far beyond the immediate embarrassment and damage to the squad and season. Who in their right mind - rival club, player, chairman, agent - would even entertain dealing with Rovers in the final few days of a transfer window? Even when they are saying there's a deal and inviting the player in for photos and putting it on Twitter the plug could be pulled. They've got different faces on the ground - Gestede and the other bloke I can't remember the name of - but they are still working for the same mob behind the scenes.

So if there's a Leicester move for Kaminski in the pipeline the end of the transfer window could be looking very rosy indeed for Maggott and the shadow director. Not because they're planning on making any serious effort to support Eustace or improve Rovers' prospects this season, but there might be another 6-7 figure sum coming from Luton in a sell on fee. Happy days all round.