JHRover

This is hilarious. Almost a word for word copy and paste of the shit they were coming out with last February after the O'Brien fiasco. It would be bad enough if this had never happened before, but twice in a year in identical circumstances? A disgrace, embarrassment and utterly tragic. I don't know how they dare even release this statement after last year.

I think our only hope is that the investigations / court applications in India come to our rescue. If the investigation expands or continues for a long time to come, or if it unearths evidence of wrongdoing, or if the Court for one reason or another decides it isn't going to allow this to continue, then they are going to have to come up with something new, this being either a new way to fund the club free from these restrictions or lose the club. I can't see any alternative and assume it isn't easy to simply switch to another way of funding the club. If it is indeed the case that we are relying on sales and cuts every transfer window to generate the funds and space on the wage bill to continue to operate then this is unsustainable for many reasons. For me the worst outcome would be that the authorities don't find any wrongdoing, end the restrictions and Venkys return to 'business as usual' albeit conveniently with a drastically reduced cost base. We will still likely end up in League One due to cost cutting but the pressure will be off the owners and they can revert to leaving us on the shelf to rot for a few more years. They aren't giving this up easily or voluntarily IMO. The only hope is the decision is forced on them by more powerful bodies, a Court or government agency.

My guess as to the answers to your questions 1) It was Gregg who appointed JDT and probably made promises to him when doing so. Nominally Gregg is the boss when it comes to recruitment and signings. So I expect in the early days JDT assumed, like most people would, that Gregg was in control of this and that when things went right or wrong he was responsible for it. I think JDT has learned over the last 12 months that actually Gregg is another who has been played like a fiddle and made into a scapegoat when the problems lie much higher up the chain, and I suspect JDT even has some sympathy for Gregg, and is doing his best to turn the focus onto the real problem here, and the chuckle brothers who occupy the directors box. 2) I believe that Mowbray had a 'personal' link to the owners due to his trips to India and that as a result of this he essentially had his own power base and authority to do certain things, within reasonable limits. I suspect this is the reason why Mowbray had more freedom, he was effectively unsackable whilst under contract and he was able to go out into the market and recruit under his own steam (e.g. Hedges). The shift to the D of F structure has severed any link between India and the team management and instead left the shadow man as the only direct link to India. As such the only way anything happens is through him and when India approve it.

I don't think this needs to be made into something bigger or more elaborate. I think it is actually quite simple. People on the ground, manager, Broughton, Silvester, do what they need to do to get the deal ready for finalising. One of the final steps on this route is Indian approval. No purchases or cash commitments can be made without, That approval doesn't come through in time. Either because they are busy doing more important things with their time, far too important to concern themselves with this organisation, can't agree on whether to do it or are bullshitters when it comes to money and won't authorise it despite previously promising to, fundamentally the end result is the same - no authorisation and therefore no transfer. People on the ground are understandably left looking rather silly, so they can either be honest and blame the Indians and lose their jobs, or make up various increasingly unbelievable excuses but keep their jobs.

People said that Venkys 'rejected' bids for Rothwell and Diaz in a bid to get what they wanted or help the team to promotion. I don't believe they did, I just don't think they approved those sales in sufficient time for them to go ahead. People said that the O'Brien deal was a transfer paperwork cock up by Broughton, Silvestre, Waggott. I don't believe so, I think authorisation couldn't be obtained from India in time to allow it to complete before the deadline. Looks like the same with McGuire. People said that the owners had decided to change path from Mowbray which is why they let him go. I don't believe so, I think his contract ran out, they failed to do anything about it until even Mowbray got fed up with them and walked. It is this silence and complete and utter indifference to the fortunes of their football club that saw Kean wreak havoc for years, that has seen a hollowing out of the club and decaying infrastructure, that saw Mowbray plod on the road to nowhere for 5 years, that sees Waggott sitting in an office he should be nowhere near and still on the gravy train after 6 years. They are responsible.

As CEO Waggott is the highest ranking individual within the company. He manages and is responsible for the overall operations. Whether it is his job or not to sign the paperwork he is ultimately responsible when things go wrong, and by god have they. Yet silence. Shoulder shrugging. Business as normal. Let speculation, rumour and uncertainty ravage the club, hang your manager and D of F out to dry. Now that's leadership for you.

Internal appointment. They will want a cheap yes man and clearly haven't got the cash or aptitude to appoint a tried and tested external option. They are so thick they will think people will embrace a Johnson appointment because he used to play for us.

My prediction is that after the debacle of last January the 'powers' in the shadows instructed or requested Broughton take the blame for it and do an interview to fob the fans off and keep the heat off the owners. Broughton complied with this instruction / request, though viewing his interview it was clear that there was a lot more to it than what he said and he was clearly very uncomfortable with the situation and also referenced 'internal and external factors'. I think he was doing what he felt he had to do but wasn't happy about it and at least a part of the problem was the people above him at the Club. Nevertheless he did it, he took the blame and responsibility, sheltered the others from blame and promised it wouldn't happen again. I suspect he felt that it was still early days for him here and that with time it might correct itself. A year on and he's realised that nothing has or will change, because it's the same charlatans in India and the same charlatans sat in the directors box. Result? Similar chaos and embarrassment on deadline day. Penny has dropped. Waggott will be squirming after the fans and Telegraph turned yesterday and will be trying to respond. Solution will be to try and get Broughton to front it up and take the blame again, only Broughton isn't going to play the game any longer.

Broughton and JDT will be the 'easy' ones to shift. Both professionals, both have decency and some degree of ambition. It's the Venky scum and their stooges up the chain that will be harder to shift. The gravy train keeps on riding with no end in sight.

It's Venkys. Always has been, always will be. Employees will come up with stories and excuses to cover themselves and avoid incurring the wrath of the Indians. But ultimately they need to approve things. And they won't move quickly, and if they can't agree on things then it either drifts until too late or doesn't happen.

It's also partly down to our obsession with using the kids and academy so much. Ultimately in this league you need know how to hold on in games, deal with pressure and fight back. This lot have chiseled away at experience (cost) for 3 years and it should be no surprise when the kids struggle against battle hardened men in the Championship. Reap what you sow. It seems the penny may have dropped in the last two days of the window. But those signings may be too little too late given they won't even be match fit.

Oh yes I agree. I just think stating the 'nobody is interested in replacing Venkys and even if they did they'd need £20 million a year' line is just quite lazy and lifted from fans comments online. But definitely a step forward and the type of thing that will hopefully get the relevant people sweating

Hard to say as it depends on what the aim is and how far an owner wants to go. Nothing wrong with losing £20 million a year if you have something to show for it and the owner can afford it, but let's look at our peers - similar or smaller clubs who compete at this level each year and how much it costs them: Millwall lost £12.6 million last year. The year before £13.8 million. Preston lost £12.2 million last year. The year before £16.9 million. Hull lost £7.9 million last year. The year before £9.7 million. Luton lost £8 million and got promoted. Watford lost £17 million despite a legacy of PL wages and costs. Swansea lost £13 million So just a few examples but I'd love to know why we couldn't quickly get down to that sort of ball park without any particular problems.

Good to see the Telegraph waking up to reality and doing something about it. Hopefully some of those who believe everything they read in the papers will wake up now. "There is not a massive queue of creditable investors waiting to take over the club. Certainly not those with the ability to write off losses to the tune of circa £20 million a year" Sadly he lets himself down with this, nobody, least of all the Telegraph reporter, knows how many people are or would be interested in taking over here, and nobody will know until the existing lot put the for sale signs up. Until then it is complete guesswork. £20 million a year is another lazy figure thrown out there to inflate what is actually required to sustain a bottom half Championship club. It doesn't need anywhere near that amount.

They're a disgrace and should be ashamed and embarrassed. They are also cowards, unwilling to face up to and confront what they have done and instead hide behind lackeys. Their only defence after 13 years is that they pay the bills. Kind of sums it up doesn't it. I long for the day that they are history and I never have to think about or hear their name again. It would be a bonus if their wealth and status came crashing down around them, and the least they deserve.

What a thoroughly unpleasant organisation this must be to work for. Vile. Totally vile.

Amidst the chaos and misery of another damaging defeat I have to say I was very impressed with the chants from the stands in support of the manager and against the Indians and Waggott. It's been years since such things were heard with any volume at Ewood and I doubted there was the appetite for it any more. Thankfully it shows there are large portions of the fanbase aware of the real issues and prepared to stand up to them. Well done all concerned. Unfortunately still some fools around, like one bloke about 20 seats along the row from me who I have never heard a peep out of before yet the minute there were grumbles against Venkys he was on his feet, raging and shouting including abusing those who were making anti-Venky comments. So still some simpletons around but very much a minority today from what I could see. I'm past caring now. Relegation is a question of when, not if. Survive this season and its the same or worse next season. More important issues right now. Need the scum out, no matter what the cost.

Must be the first time in football history that a manager/head coach has been banned from giving a pre-match interview to 'protect' him from talking about transfers. Protect him from what? They've never been bothered before and he's had plenty of difficult transfer related business put to him. Wouldn't trust these clowns as far as I could throw them.

Lowe will be here until Venkys go, they ain't going to risk that by thrusting him into the firing line. No he'll stay behind the scenes. It'll be Damien Johnson. Internal, already on the payroll, knows the academy, ex player status wins free brownie points with some.

And the club are surprised/disappointed by the reaction of the fans and media to this? Surely not even those idiots think cancelling the manager's press conference at short notice the day after a dismal transfer window closes will be construed as anything other than very alarming?

Well I said at the start of the season if JDT didn't see the season out then nor would I. Looks like it is crunch time....

This is the fatal mistake you and others make. Nobody is complaining because we haven't spent shed loads of cash and signed proven quality players. Nobody demands that. You are seemingly aligning our ridiculous behaviour with the normal activities of a standard Championship club. We aren't. Don't believe that this is just a normal case of a hard working club like any other struggling against the tide of parachute laden clubs. That is the line Waggott and the filth want people to believe. They want us to believe that all is normal, standard, routine, typical business for a Championship club. But that isn't the reality. Going to court every 3 months to pay bills isn't normal. Not knowing if or what the club's future will be beyond the next court date isn't normal. Selling players to the tune of £25 million and spending a few hundred grand on kids is not normal. Setting a summer transfer budget and then slashing it in the middle of the window is not normal. Telling the manager that things will happen and then repeatedly failing to deliver on it is not normal. Sending your captain on loan to Ipswich in the first week of the window to save on wages is not normal. JDT wouldn't have had to deal with any of the above at any other football club, because it doesn't happen elsewhere.

Unfortunately even if he doesn't sign an NDA he's unlikely to reveal the gory details of what's been going on here. If he did he'd send potential future employers running for the hills. But I think actions could speak louder than words and walking out of this circus within days of another joke of a transfer window would speak volumes. Only the most deluded and deranged people would try to spin positives from that one.

I hope he resigns and announces to the world the reasons why. Might make one or two in the fanbase wake up and would draw the architects of our problems into the spotlight.

I think the people making 'strategy' decisions down there are arrogant enough to think that this route is going to comfortably keep us in the Championship. I don't think it will and this season is proving that the gap really isn't that big once we get on a bad run of form. It really doesn't take much to go from a play-off chasing team to a relegation team, especially when you've taken a wrecking ball to your squad. If we did go down I don't think the owners would care. I don't think they would have cared in 2017 had Mowbray not quickly jumped on a plane to India and sat down and persuaded them to 'go for it' and get back up. This time around that won't happen, they will just double down on their approach but this time reduce outgoings to compensate for the reduced income in League One and on it goes. Numpties in the fanbase will just blame Broughton, JDT or the next manager. Waggott and Pasha clearly aren't judged on results or performance, rather their ability to deliver the owners' agenda which is continual cost cuts.