JHRover

'Huge wages' now for Travis that presumably we 'can't afford' yet in reality he was offered and signed that deal not long ago whilst we were a mid-table Championship club, fully aware of our income levels and FFP restrictions. This is how they shift the narrative. Making out he's a luxury that we cannot afford when in reality that just isn't the case on either front were it not for their extreme cutbacks. So we've either handed out unaffordable deals recently knowing we were going to get into trouble....if so why and why is the CEO still here.....or these aren't unaffordable deals and he's simply on the going rate, but the owners are electing to cut right back to the bone (again). If they don't want to spend what it takes I have a good idea. Clear off Venkys and save everyone the hassle.

They'll get a play-off spot at very least. Then anything can happen.

He could be a Premier League player or at least promotion winner in the next 5 months. More than he has achieved in 6 years with Rovers. Meanwhile we will, at best, be sat here still in the Championship speculating which assets are getting sold and which cheap loans we are going for.

How exciting. I feel so much better about the future now. Look on the bright side if we give him plenty of minutes we might be well placed for another kid from Villa in the summer.

Not at this moment in time, no. But there is a bigger picture. I can't see Wharton and Tronstad playing 90 minutes for the rest of the season. So someone else will need to come in. That's the reason Ipswich have signed him. Proven depth. What do we have in reserve? Travis is likely to be a sub at Ipswich, at least to start with. I assume he is content to do that and try to work his way in.

Agree with most of this. I am sick to death of this club. At every turn it is a cesspit.

A few extra thoughts. JDT has said Travis asked to leave. We don't really know the context of that (if true). We don't know what JDT or others have said to Travis. Of course JDT as a club employee is going to say things that paint him and the Club in a healthier light than a popular senior homegrown player being sent packing....on loan....to Ipswich. If people at Rovers have said to him "we're getting shut of you, you ain't playing until we do" then of course Travis will want to look elsewhere. They have to come up with something convincing because on the surface of it this is one of the more bizarre transfers I can remember. Loaning your club captain out to a side 20+ points above you in the same division. Unheard of. Yes there has been engineering of his move out. It is quite clear that since November a decision was reached that he would not be featuring in the team and his lack of appearances over Xmas at a time when we had lots of games and few players to call upon was inexplicable other than to keep him out of the way for Ipswich to come along. It isn't as simple or innocent as preferring another player in his position. That's fine, but Travis would still have featured at least as a sub if there was normality at the Club.

Probably around the same time the people upstairs decided he was the next one up for the exit door as they wanted his wages off the books and to 'reinvest' it into a couple of unproven kids instead. And as JDT points out these are 'club' decisions which basically means the owners' man decides, instructs Waggott and Broughton who in turn tell JDT what is happening with players.

I'm glad that JDT has confirmed that the Buckley loan and now Travis are at least partly motivated by finances and freeing wages up. As some of us suspected all along but were told they were purely footballing decisions for the betterment of the team. They're having us on and I think JDT is being as transparent as he can be about it.

Let's put it this way, in a relegation battle (which we will be in soon if not already) I would much sooner have Travis fighting in my team than a group of teenagers and loans most of whom have no real experience and none of whom are up for a scrap. Every game he plays Travis puts 100% in for 90 minutes and runs himself into the ground getting stuck in all over the pitch. Opposition sides must hate it. Instead we're going into the trenches without him, and I'm afraid looking at some of the 'characters' we have left it doesn't look good to me. A distinct lack of leadership and fight in recent games.

How do you know this? It's also convenient how these things always seem to get taken out of the club's hands by the player 'wanting out'. See Lenihan, Nyambe etc. Perhaps there should be questions (if true) about why on earth he'd rather go and move to Suffolk to sit on Ipswich's bench than continue his time as captain. Maybe Rovers' conduct leaves a lot to be desired. Imagine if they treat the players with half the disrespect they offer to the fans. Suspect they'd all want to go elsewhere.

This time last year we were enjoying our 6th month in the top 6 of the Championship. Ipswich Town were in League One. A year later we are dropping down the Championship and are now looking over our shoulders at the relegation zone, Ipswich Town are 2nd in the Championship and looking to stay in the promotion race, 23 points above us. We are now loaning our captain, one of the few remaining experienced players we have, to Ipswich Town, for their promotion run-in. And people don't have a problem with these decisions or the direction we are taking? Wow

The whole point of the 'current model' is a hand-to-mouth existence whereby each and every year those running the club are tasked with cutting costs down. If that means getting a few bodies out the door on loan and saving on their wages for a few months then so be it. It will save them a few quid in the scheme of things, further weaken the squad and prospects of improving but they've never been interested in such things. We've seen it in action many times with the 'penny wise pound foolish' approach of the shyster in the boardroom and it looks like they are now extending it to the first team.

And by remarkable coincidence it just so happens that unlike Buckley (injured) and Garrett (unproven) Travis will have no shortage of takers especially on loan conveniently getting one of the bigger wage earners of the books and probably paving the way for a healthy transfer fee. Funny how it's always the most expensive / valuable ones who end up by the exit door isn't it?

I think the fact that it is a loan only emphasises what a catastrophic situation we are in financially and how new owners are needed urgently. For those who caution against administration loaning out senior players to league rivals so they cover their wages for a few months is probably something you wouldn't even encounter at a club in administration. It is that desperate. It simply isn't sustainable and our behaviour is reaching levels where I suspect other clubs and managers are scratching their heads wondering what on earth is going on here when we are agreeing to such deals. Still there are those who cannot see, who persist with a fantasy that Buckley and now Travis were shipped out to get 'minutes' or because they don't 'fit' what we need. The simple reality is that we need their wages off our hands and we will do the necessary to get that.

This club disgusts me.

He joined Brentford in Summer 2022 We got £15 million for Adam Armstrong yet apparently still had to sell our training ground and were still on the 'cusp' of FFP problems so not sure how they can be so much better off. I suspect the difference is that their new Turkish owner has ambition and wants them to grow and get better. Whereas our owners, nobody really knows what they want but it ain't growth or improvement I think we can all agree.

But JRC isn't fit. He hasn't been for months and his record suggests that is likely to always be the case. So folly to make plans on him being available. Buckley is also out injured. And will be for 2 months. And not long ago you were supporting his departure out to Sheffield Wednesday whereas you now appear to be welcoming him back into the fold and putting ahead of Travis in the pecking order. Not sure why. Adam Wharton will be sold in the next few windows. We aren't adding quality to the squad. You yourself have already explained why - FFP and Indian government. Even if we sold Travis for immediate cash by the time the money men have taken their slice towards running costs there ain't much left over in the pot.

Some people never seem to learn If players are sold the proceeds will not be reinvested. At best we get a % back, probably nothing given the state of things. The wage bill will come down as it has done every window. We won't reinvest all the wages freed up. All the excuses....Indian government, FFP, lack of time, paperwork issues, moving goalposts....all primed and ready to go when business doesn't get done. Telegraph doing their bit to embed the excuses in readers minds today. Been the same story for the last 5-6 transfer windows The club is in my opinion run by charlatans, liars and bullshitters. I don't at this time include JDT or Broughton in that as this circus began well before they arrived and I think they genuinely mean well. Unfortunately they are mere tools in the grand scheme of things. Someone like Isaac Hayden isn't coming here unless Newcastle agree to a very generous loan. His wages will comfortably outstrip anyone else's at the Club and we ain't shelling out on wages these days. A loan is no use if we are funding it by selling.

I can only assume the real reason for the removal was either: A) an element of petulance - I distinctly remember that it was an Alan Myers initiative and perhaps someone doesn't want traces of his time around the place it was done on the cheap to start with and inevitably after a few years of wind and rain it deteriorated and it was easier to just get rid of it. Plastic bin liners over Darwen End seats would have gone the same way if we hadn't needed rid of them for the Leeds and Preston fans.

We might consider changing it given we are shipping 3 goals a game, losing most weeks and plummeting down the table. I'd sincerely hope that every players' place is under review after recent results. I'm not interested in 'what suits' our 'best player' and 'best goalscorer'. This is the Championship not academy football, the requirement is to get results on a consistent basis and if that means ditching one system and reverting to something else so be it. The Club and league position are more important than what is best for individuals or most pleasing on the eye / balance sheet. You're also overlooking the not so insignificant issues of fatigue, dips on form, injuries and suspensions, which will come, and for that reason you need a SQUAD not just a good starting XI. Your attitude appears to be that we should just let people go because they aren't currently getting on the teamsheet. You've already made your mind up on this like you have on so many other things so there's little point in engaging in an endless debate with you. Your second question of course nobody knows the answer to. I'm not sure what comments you are referring to but I think you are daft if you think JDT is in any way happy with what has happened here over the last 6 months. You'd be hard pressed to find any manager at any club that is happy with having the rug pulled out from under him mid transfer window and being forced to play kids for reasons other than trying to get promoted.

There's no evidence, of course there isn't, just as there isn't hard evidence for many other things including claims we've bid for players or offered players certain terms. This probably all exists in the heads of 2-3 people, mainly the shadow man and his assistant who are ultimately making these sort of day to day decisions. But I'm not one for believing in coincidences where this mob are concerned and don't think it is any sort of coincidence that a previously indispensable component of our team, and captain, suddenly finds himself frozen out of even substitute appearances despite the team looking in a state of disarray and leaderless. I think if you look at incomings and outgoings there's plenty of reason to suspect that these are motivated by financial concerns - wages, transfer value, age - generally those on bigger money, on the wrong side of 26/27 and those who might attract interest from elsewhere - are ushered out of the exit door.

The last few years i have been concerned by the apparent relentless march towards the 'academy model' and the obsession the Club and many fans seem to have with always relying on the academy lads to step up to the plate and perform consistently to Championship standards. We've certainly had our fair share of good academy graduates these last few years and those involved deserve some credit for their work. But I think it is a risky and dangerous game. So far we've done well with it because we've had a perfect blend of experience and youth. Even last seaosn you had Championship experience in Ayala, Hyam, Kaminski, Travis, Dack, BBD, Gallagher. Enough there to provide a solid base and platform for the younger end to rely on and be guided through difficult times and keep the spirit up, or make a couple of changes later on in games. This has now all but been completely eroded. We are left with Hyam who has been in and out of the team and form (and who actually only has a couple of seasons behind him at this level), Travis who has been exiled for what I believe to be financial reasons, Gallagher who has had his traditional spell on the sidelines. Other than that there's hardly anything resembling years of experience at this level or above. This experience isn't getting replaced, it is only going one way and I think we are soon to enter the end game with it. As I say they've got away with it the last 3 years because there has always been that base still beneath it but they've gone too far with it now and it is going to cost us big time eventually.

Too late now. The message is out and 2 weeks have passed by with the club stubbornly sticking to their daft idea. Even if they were to announce on Thursday that paper tickets are available it leaves all of 24 hours or so for the message to get out and people to change their minds and go.

At the moment no, assuming that we continue with the same formation or that Wharton and Tronstad remain fit and available for the rest of the season. Does he fit our style? What is our style? Our diabolical run of results has occurred with him out of the team, so perhaps his absence is causing more of an issue than people think. On the flip side he played almost every minute of most games last season and the season before when we were entrenched in the top 6. So perhaps we need to think more about cold hard results than this mythical 'style' which I am becoming less and less convinced is a route to success and more convinced it is a route to winning plaudits and putting £££s on values. Can we replace him with better? Possibly, but with no money and alleged government restrictions I'd wager that we won't replace him at all, or at best with a loan and that doesn't really get us anywhere. For the record I am not suggesting that Travis is a great player. But I am suggesting that he offers important attributes that few others in our squad offer. I look at the young lads shoulders slumped as Huddersfield and Hull are banging in goals against us and want someone in there with some fire in his belly, which Travis offers. Too many 'nice lads nice footballers' in there not enough warriors already. I think JDT would be insane to stay here beyond this season unless something drastic changes with the owners and the budgets. He will know by now if he didn't last summer that they only way is down whilst the club remains fixated on cutting corners and costs every window.