He's having to extract everything he can from the senior players he has left. This is the main reason the likes of Trav, Szmodics, Gallagher are running themselves into the ground playing every week. If the Club had backed him with a couple of additions in January or even a free agent or two since January then he might have the luxury of being able to throw someone with experience on for the last 20 minutes in games but he wasn't backed and we don't have that option. So far it has caused Dack to be out long term when the manager tried his best to balance game time with keeping him out of harm's way - he was booed and jeered for trying to do so - and we've had to manage without Dack for the last month just as he was hitting form.

I said a couple of weeks ago - we need to win our home games and if we do that then there is little pressure on the away games. Probably need 5 wins from 10 to secure a play-off position. 74-75 points ought to do it. Reading is must win given its at home and they are in disarray.

Club just announced only 150 remain. Some take up there

Final batch arrived from Sheffield this afternoon and will be on sale imminently I believe.

Good old EFL eventually imposing a sanction that will have zero impact on the Club. So there's no point to this other than the League being able to turn around and use this as 'evidence' of them taking things seriously and adopting a zero tolerance approach. Of course there is a way around this - the embargo is carried over into the summer and enforced in the PL - or at least reinstated once they inevitably return to the EFL. So that's Burnley and Sheff Utd both under transfer embargos yet both likely to be outside of EFL jurisdiction in the next few months so meaningless. Huddersfield, Wigan, Reading and Birmingham up to all sorts of financial/organisational nonsense yet no sanctions imposed. EFL not fit for purpose.

Almost as though it is possible with a small squad to push for promotion and take the cups seriously at the same time despite being told for years that it must be one or the other.

The request for the additional 1000 tickets that Spurs got should have been made last week. There is no reason for Sheff Utd not to give them to us - they cannot allocate those seats to home fans and with it being a 12pm kick off surely they wouldn't suggest stewarding or policing issues. I would be ringing them up now and telling Sheff Utd that if they don't give us those seats then we will restrict their next allocation at Ewood in retaliation.

They can't allocate that corner to home fans, as it shares the same concourse and turnstiles as the away end. So they either need to leave it empty or let Rovers use it. I imagine part of it will need to be used as a buffer zone but can't see any harm to them of releasing the rest if we need them.

There's a reason we pay 'experts' a huge amount of money each year - that is to form judgments on players and personnel and address contracts appropriately. The purpose is to protect the Club's investments. If the Club decide to do something to try and protect said assets, then that might at times raise eyebrows or question marks, but if it is being done with the future of the Club in mind, with the best intentions and is a decision reached by people who should know best and certainly better than people on here, then that's their call. If a player signs a new deal and people don't like it then it might mean a few whinge or question it on here or in the pub but it really doesn't matter - what matters is that the Club does what it needs to do to protect its assets and growth. Personally I am a little bit concerned about the direction things have taken off the pitch since last year - but delighted with how things have gone on it. I say I am concerned because after an initial flurry of activity under Broughton with transfers and new contracts things seem to have gone quiet of late. We've also had the shambles of all shambles in the January transfer window and this week our Head of Recruitment has walked out after 6 months in the job and no summer window to oversee. I know enough about Venkys and the last 10 years to have some concerns about this. I think a new deal for JRC or Carter, or both, soon, would settle the nerves a little bit.

Not sure about that. He's had a well travelled career both as a player (Denmark, Holland, Italy, England, Spain, Germany) and as a coach/manager (Holland, Denmark, Sweden, England) It comes with the territory if you are ambitious and want to progress. I expect to see JDT coach in an array of European nations in his career It shows what sacrifices need to be made to be successful rather than the plod along to nowhere with Uncle Tony gracing us with his presence. Mucking him around like we did in January is the sort of thing that will see him on the plane out of here.

Interesting that he refers to his wife and kids both living in the Netherlands and him not seeing much of them. Some sacrifice but goes to show what people in football do to progress and take on good opportunities. In stark contrast to the last mon who made out like 90 minutes down the road from Middlesbrough was the other end of the world and that he was doing us a massive favour being here.

I know that, but it puts me in a position of unnecessary risk, because I will have to wait and time my purchase to when they get around to selling the upper tier, they won't announce this so will have to rely on word of mouth and the risk is that once they are on open rather than restricted sale they will get snapped up quickly. My view is that ST holders and 1875 members should get allocated best seats first, but more often than not they get allocated the worst down in a corner somewhere because it makes it easier or preferable for the Clubs to do it that way.

Online sales suggest still selling in the lower tier, which will be filled before they open the upper tier sales, so a good chunk of the allocation still available. This is annoying, as the lower tier offers a quite terrible view of the action whereas the upper tier is better. Once again those regulars who get their tickets first and are 1875 members will be allocated the worst seats.

Agreed with most of your post but who regards them as a big club? 5 years this time since they were in the PL. Not really recent. They're a middle of the road Championship side like 10-12 others these days, ourselves included. Tend to have enough to keep clear of trouble but haven't threatened promotion.

I'd sooner be going to Stoke or another one of those middle of the road clubs (Birmingham, Bristol, Swansea) who are safe but not getting play-offs than I would to Blackpool Huddersfield, Wigan, Rotherham right now who are in the last chance saloon for survival. I think we are made of stronger stuff these days under JDT whereas under Mowbray this would be a classic collapse after a few good results. Nevertheless we will drop points and lose sooner or later and they will be bouncing after their big win but hopefully they continue to be plagued with the inconsistency they have had all season.

There are usually only 2 reasons why someone like Williams would voluntarily leave a club doing well after only 6 months of a 'project' having not even yet had a summer window to prepare for. Either a massive or irresistible offer from elsewhere, or inherent problems/issues in his current role that make it desirable to leave. Given this development comes a matter of weeks after the biggest transfer window shambles in living memory I don't think it is negative to draw links and assumptions that all is not well. I hope it is me making 5 from 2 and 2 but my starting point where this club and these owners are concerned is to look at such developments with apprehension. It isn't normal to join a club under a new super structure in the summer and then by early March be off back to a previous organisation.

I hope that is the correct explanation, I really do, because it is the only one bar some personal reasons on Williams' part in wanting to move back to Wales, that doesn't cause me concern. If that story is correct then it suggests (a) that JDT plans on being here beyond the end of this season (b) the club are willing and able to act on his opinions and (c) is able to do so relatively quickly and in good time for the summer. Lets hope its right and we get a replacement in pronto, because if we balls this up again I think we will be searching for more than just a head of recruitment.

We mustn't forget that even after the Kean period and relegation to the Championship, and even after a couple of distinctly mediocre Championship seasons including the Shebby, Berg, Appleton mayhem, we still pulled in 11000+ season ticket holders under Bowyer. I think it is important to remember that fact because it shows to me that even despite the carnage and relegation that we were forced to sit through we still managed to pull substantially healthier numbers than we have over the last 3-4 years under Waggott. The second big drop off came after Lambert went and they appointed Coyle, chiseling another 2-3000 off Bowyer's figures and really since then, despite the L1 promotion and competitive Championship football we haven't got it back. Important to remember because there is a certain element of Rovers' support, the stuff of Waggott's dreams, who will stop at nothing to convince themselves and others that there is an inherent problem with Rovers' fanbase or that all we are seeing is an organic, inevitable, natural drop back to 'natural' 80s numbers (strangely they never compare to the 50s, 60s, 70s, 90s, or 00s) Also worth remembering that when we pulled in 11,000 under GB the prices were still higher than Notlob and PNE are charging today, so perhaps fair to guess that if we were charging the same as them we'd be getting considerably more than that if we did it properly.

I very much doubt that Williams had any role in the January fiasco. I do find it worrying that someone supposedly in such a position who has had 1 transfer window in the job is upping sticks and going back to the Welsh FA. That doesn't look good whatever your interpretation. I suspect that he's another who came here with expectations and good intentions, only to realise that operating successfully under these imbeciles is virtually impossible. So he's getting out quickly I've applauded the backroom appointments under Broughton. For once resembling a proper competent modern football club. The January window and this news makes me worry that the owners are still undermining the Club.

The concept of an 'early bird' is another totally lost on Waggott. His version of an 'early bird' is a priority window, basically where renewals get a chance to do so not at a reduced price but at a 'held' price which is essentially the basic price from the year before. A proper early bird should be just that - early - not in the summer and it should involve an actual proper incentive to renew early. It's laughable. He's basically admitted his only focus and task is to increase income and cut costs and yet has zero imagination or drive when it comes to bread and butter stuff to make money.

2023-24 season tickets should be on sale yesterday. Never ceases to amaze me how clueless the Club and so many fans are about the situation with attendances. We've 8000-9000 season ticket holders in a 31000 seat stadium. To be getting an extra 4000-5000 walk ons (almost 50% of our season ticket base) turning up for a lunchtime televised game with no ticket promotion is a good effort. Can't imagine many other clubs would be able to turn around and say that only about half the people in the ground on Saturday were ST holders. Usually you'd be way higher than that. Waggott can run a couple of promotions for midweek televised games, he can encourage people to wave their flags. Unless he radically alters his approach to season tickets and in doing so gets substantially more than 8000-9000 buying then it matters little. That isn't just pricing, but is mainly. Also important is actually pushing them and how better to encourage people to buy than during a promotion push and in fantastic form. Instead he will wait until the summer when the dust has settled and then try to sneak through further price increases.

Just normal Rovers routine. Probably find out on Friday they are on sale.

I usually look enviously at rival clubs managerial appointments and wish we'd have got A, B, C instead. Right now I look and don't think there's a Championship club whose manager I would prefer over JDT. The fitness and discipline we've seen at times this season is on another level.

Oh joy. 24 hours of wondering if we'd shift 4-5000 brought to a shuddering halt. We'll do well to fill the bottom tier now I reckon. Cheers ITV.

The rules state it must be at least 2,000 visiting fans, or 10% of certified capacity if less than 2,000. If it was at least 10% then away teams would have had nearly 4000 at Elland Road and 5000+ at Newcastle in the Championship but didn't. Fair is fair - I'd give them the exact number they gave us - and if they don't like it tough. I didn't like paying £30 odd to stand behind a pillar and not be able to use the toilets.