You also have to look at the bigger picture with Szmodics. This season his goals are likely to be the only reason we don't end up in League One, costing the club upwards of £10 million and then some. If we ain't spending in the summer, and we probably ain't, then someone somewhere has to balance potential relegation against a tidy profit on Szmodics. Selling him might be pats on the back in the directors box but medium term sees our Championship status go up in smoke. Of course there's never any accountability or recognition of this at the club. Never any acknowledgment that management and transfer decisions ultimately impact on the club and finances down the line.

Probably difficult if he's spending all week down in Kent and only turns up at Ewood for the matchday prawn sandwiches.

Yes I know. So why can't we?

I was reading a lot of Coventry fans comments after the game yesterday. Disappointed that they have fallen short in the playoff chase and technically regressed in League position having gone to penalties in the final last season, but generally a lot of confidence and belief in a process there and that with more investment in the summer they'll be in the promotion race next season. No talk on there about selling star players before this season has even finished.. Something to believe in and hope for the future. Us? How much we'll get for Szmodics and which youngsters on loan. How exciting. People need something to believe in. Most of what goes on at Rovers is unbelievable.

Thank god we sold him and got the money. Now we can afford to repair the BBE lifts and the undersoil heating. Who knows, get shut of Sammie and we might be able to get the moss power washed off the brickwork.

The question is why. Nobody else makes this loss to exist in the Championship. So why do Rovers??? When we have the answer to that we can't get any further.

Don't you know we've got the lifts in the BBE to repair this summer?

Fully agree. One thing these rancid owners are good at is rapidly transforming something good into something terrible. A year ago the play-offs within grasp yet THEIR ownership has reduced us to a side still working out the permutations to avoid League One (again). Horrible people, the worst owners in football and employing spivs and liars.

So another campaign ends at Ewood with no news at all about new season tickets. You'd probably expect a club desperate for cash and keen to get as many tickets sold as possible to have them on sale by now, or at least have announced prices and be pushing them like mad whilst there's a crowd on Ewood and a captive audience. But no, in typical Rovers fashion we do nothing, we let the season end and then we'll announce something in a month or so when people are off doing other things with their time and money.

A combination of their recent home form being solid, having Rowett in the dugout, and that they know they need to win. They'll treat it as a cup final, their ground will be full and they've done this sort of thing more than one before on the final game of the season.

If Bolton get through the play-offs I wonder who the 'be careful what you wish for' gang will use as their poster for why we can't hope to be rid of Venkys. All these other clubs who go bust, reset, get through it and go again, coming back in far better health than Venky Rovers. One day we'll do the same, we need to, just hope its sooner rather than later.

I think we are now in Plymouth's hands and hoping they don't beat Hull final day. That's our best chance of survival. Hull a tricky side to beat but Plymouth unpredictable at home. I think it is a banker that Wednesday finish the job off and get something against a rudderless on the beach Sunderland, after comprehensively dealing with us and WBA. I think it is highly likely we lose at Leicester, and I'd bet on Birmingham getting past Norwich at home. Really couldn't have asked for better circumstances today. At home, against a side with nothing to play for, knackered after a big week and playing with 10 men for over 30 minutes. Couldn't manage it.

Where's the connection? Gestede was long gone from Rovers before Waggott turned up so doubt they knew each other or that Waggott is letting him shadow him at Forum meetings as a favour to an old friend. I'm not aware of a similar arrangement ever occurring before, and it isn't the first time I've heard of Gestede being around the club and training ground which all just seems odd to me if he isn't employed there.

I may have missed this among the talk of using the Adam Wharton cash to repair the broken lifts at Ewood but can anyone explain why Rudy Gestede was in attendance at the meeting on behalf of the Club? I can't find any mention of this in the minutes and cannot find any mention of him being employed at the club or what role he performs.

I know he's done a good job. Point was what happens next. JDT got zero backing and undermined in 3 transfer windows, forced to sell his best players and offered nothing by way of reinvestment. I bet QPR's board don't do that to their manager this summer. Our January transfers were nothing short of laughable. Just because we signed 6 does not mean they are remotely good enough or that the manager has been backed.

Unlike JDT here they'll actually try to back him and improve under him.

Can't block those pathways for the youngsters. It just wouldn't be fair to sign proven players when we've an academy model to follow!

Surely these facility repairs and safe standing could all be funded comfortably from the £25 million cash coming into the club since last summer? Or are we supposed to forget about that. Just like we are supposed to forget that not long ago Coventry were a 4th division side playing in Northampton, so yes I take exception when Rovers employees are using them as an example of what we could/should be. The only reason we are below them is because of mismanagement at our end which has been bettered by virtually every other club in the Football League.

I'm sure it occurs to him every summer to do it and it will probably be the next step on Steve's race to the bottom which he will turn to eventually. For now he'll have worked out the costs and benefits. At the moment there's 1000 or so ST holders in there many of whom would be furious if the club asked them to move and many of whom wouldn't move elsewhere they'd just not buy. Most of these people will be in his 6000-7000 bankables who he needs to renew every season at his prices to hit his targets. He'll know that he's taking a risk if he starts going after those people. Expect it to happen only as a last resort or if relegation occurs and he grows increasingly desperate in his cost cutting schemes.

They will justify it on the usual basis - that we need to 'help' the owners, that we need to 'reduce' our reliance on the owners, that we need to comply with FFP and that if we cut ticket prices it will simply mean less cash left over to spend on players and transfers. All a load of crap of course, but music to the ears of the apologists, as proven by the fact that we carried a far greater wage bill and transfer outlay years ago with cheaper ticket prices, but back then we didn't have a CEO paid on the basis of saving the owners money and willing to do whatever it takes, including destroying the club, to achieve his personal targets. There is not a single reason to believe that this CEO will come up with anything better than a price freeze and probably some offer with multiple strings attached that isn't worth the trouble. One look at his track record tells us that. He isn't in the business of reading the room and making drastic changes to reflect that, he will simply double down and push it through regardless. Remember back in the covid days when he lied, twice, first by stating that people would be compensated for missed games in the covid season and then by saying the club would reduce future season ticket prices to compensate people instead. Neither happened, so I'd take his comments at the moment with a lot of salt because he'll say one thing when on the spot and then deliver something different when sat secure in his office with his targets to meet. He knows he's getting at least 6000 whatever league we are in and whatever price he comes up with. His biggest problem is going to be plugging the £10 million black hole from relegation and missing out on the away support bonanzas offered by Leeds, Sunderland, Sheff Wed, Sheff Utd, Dingles, Preston and co. if we go down. That will be his biggest concern.

Crowdfunding to make changes and improvements to the stadium. Utterly tragic and embarrassing. The sort of thing I'd expect to hear about at Clitheroe or Bamber Bridge not a Championship club owned by 'billionaires'. 'Some work' 'would be planned' 'summer 2025' - talk about jam tomorrow, yet again. They can never actually do things can they, just refer to some vague non-binding future date when it might happen. When people leap to the Venky defence and grumble about FFP and support they need to ask themselves why such relatively minor investments aren't made by our great and wonderful owners and why a once great club and stadium is literally covered in mould. They talk about these renovation works as though it is unique or something. I suspect the reason we are facing a relatively high bill for these works is because they've cut corners and dodged spending for over a decade and now it comes back to bite with crumbling concrete, broken boilers and malfunctioning lifts. Some TLC and proper maintenance over the years would have kept things in working order. As far as I'm concerned these meetings are a stunt overseen by a liar and people who aren't up to it or empowered to do anything. I don't believe any of Waggott's claims, little more than a paid human shield to present a positive image of his bosses come what may. The club don't want Szmodics to stay, the window isn't even open yet and you can tell he's practically salivating at getting some big juicy offers in for him. He'll be flavour of the month in India if he can get a wedge in for Szmodics just 6 months after the Adam Wharton bonanza.

More likely they only predicted / budgeted Coventry would bring 4000 and have only made arrangements for that number including police, stewarding and catering, and at 2 days' notice and with cheap tickets it isn't worth the hassle of getting more on just so they can sell another 500 or whatever.

It took Mowbray 5 years of 'development' to get us to 69 points. That includes 10 transfer windows during which he was only forced to sell Adam Armstrong and had, comparatively speaking, a massive budget. JDT came in 2 weeks before pre-season started having just lost Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell The way to do this is simple and obvious. It doesn't need someone to reinvent the wheel with clever strategies. It needs price reductions across the board, it needs people to see value in the product and it needs serious sustained efforts at selling. When it comes to value in the product there are many aspects to this. Selling all your quality players, spending no money, throwing in the academy kids - this is not going to persuade anyone that you have any ambitions or serious intentions. With half the games being midweek, red button, Sky, dodgy sticks, lunchtime kick offs then the price of a season ticket has to reflect this as a large number of people will be unwilling or unable to get to those matches. So you have to have a price whereby it is still worth being a season ticket holder even if you miss all those games. Preston and Bolton - £250 per adult. So even if you missed 50% of all the games you are still getting the other 50% for a reasonable price that's still good value despite the Sky tv and kick off nonsense. But at £400 per adult if you miss 50% of the games you are looking at a price which is hardly worth it when the club often offers matchday tickets at £15-25. People will just pick and choose and not be any worse off. There is also an onus on the club to drive sales. Putting a few tweets out and tacky straplines about commitment or similar isn't enough. You need to engage clubs, schools, previous buyers, get people buying in groups. This takes time and effort. You can't do it overnight. Too much effort here. Waggott has got away with his low hanging fruit policy for 5-6 years milking the results of Mowbray getting us back up and protected by Covid and then JDTs good season. I think he's going to get the results of his ruinous policies very soon. May need to bring forward that retirement date.

No other Championship club has had to sell £25 million worth of players (+ substantial wage reductions) just to keep the lights on Why have Rovers? They will try to normalise our situation making reference to annual losses and FFP but it isn't normal. Its unique.

My prediction is a freeze at £399 for adults who are renewing, but a short 'early bird' discount of perhaps £20-40 off that price if you commit quickly.