Just remember how they laughed at us. That is all I am saying. This is further proof - if we as fans ever needed it - that the EFL are not fit to run the English game. Off shore bets, dodgy international mystery men - all sounds very very similar doesn't it? Unfortunately for Wigan they were a less sophisticated scam than ourselves but make no mistake about it Rovers suffered similar fates, and probably would have been wound up in a similar circumstance hadn't so much of a fuss been kicked up. We had a very, very dodgy relegation under Coyle not so long back. Mass sales, no investment, a last-minute u-turn from a promotion chasing manager to a shyster. Do you not think there was sums of money in the middle / far East put on that outcome? I think in our early days a lot of people made a lot of money out of us. I think they still do, with the signing on fees and agent involvement in almost every facet of the club. This is further proof that fans should have a 51% stake in the club at all times. If benevolent super-rich elites really want to blow their money on the 'pride' of the towns and cities they claim to represent then they would still do so if only running on 49%, surely? The truth is that most clubs these days are loss making enterprises for a reason - no rich person ever got rich by throwing millions down the drain every single year.

We have had a different approach in the Midlands area, from my experience. Most of the Main Contractors sent recommencing of work letters which basically said by accepting this instruction you forego any right to claim a loss / expense as a result of Covid 19 etc etc. They were quite spiky and vague, giving off the impression it was open to interpretation as to what a claim relating to Covid-19 could be (ie: temporary work required for ped walkways, cabin set ups etc). We only ran into problems when we sent it back saying it worked both ways and if my subbie ran over the allocated programme time we can't be expected to be hit with charges as a result. For some reason (?) us telling Main Contractor they couldn't claim from us in the future was met with a bit of resistance. But yeah, from a contractual p.o.v, everyones first port of call seemed to be the force majeure clause, but that has been either been accepted or rejected on a job by job basis or. On the large though businesses seem to be quite flexible and are not looking at shafting each other.

Some shockers of posts here. Fair play to the bloke for being there and standing by his word to his Mrs. A real man. I'm sure his child will be over the moon they were worthy of such a "sacrifice" (but I bet Darragh didn't see it as a sacrifice at all). Some of you should give your head a wobble. Usual lot though, nevermind.

I turned iFollow off on the 88th min. I think I can count on one hand the amount of games I haven't seen to the end in 20 years of supporting the club. I just didn't care anymore, and that was a bit of a sad thought to be truthful. I am firmly in rog of the rovers camp - excellent post by the way - in that I have tried so desperately to equate TM the man into TM the manager. After years of seeing shysters come and go it is just nice to have a bloke that I trust. Unfortunately though that only gets you so far. Your results have to match your 'personality', otherwise we are just treading water and paying for a nice guys living when in reality there are better options out there for us. As said, 2020/2021 will be his last chance for me. We cannot continue this inconsistency otherwise we will lose all of our best players again, if we don't already lose them this summer. Once Dack, Lenihan, Travis, Holtby and Tosin go we are literally left with the bare bones once again and you can bet any money that there will be teams after them players in the Summer break, save maybe Dack due to injury.

Samuel did something brilliant in the first half, beat his guy and smashed it across the box. Had me thinking "ok then, he's turned up". Was a flash in a pan. Terrible performance from him. Terrible performance from everyone really. Honestly there were some comical moments between Bennett and Walton in the 2nd half, if I weren't a Rovers fan. I have never screamed at a TV as much as that 45 minutes. In my opinion that is the worst I have seen us play this season. When Gallagher passed the ball out of touch towards the end I shut down completely. Another season in the Championship beckons.

You are very dismissive and rude to people considering when the tables are turned you always champion "fair discussion". Just sayin. Don't play the victim when you dish it out tenfold.

Scott Wharton has done more than Adam Armstrong? The man has a League 1 promotion and 50+ senior career goals. Travis has become a Championship regular. Regardless of the league 2 promotion Travis has still cemented himself as a better standard of player currently. Brereton and Nyambe you may have half a point but, even then, both of them players have senior Championship regular status, youth international caps and full international caps in the case of Nyambe. You are on very thin ground trying to claim Wharton has done more than them players imo. Although this is in no way a slight at Scott, I want to see him in the side next season or at least playing at a level higher than League 2.

I remember seeing Wharton play twice for our senior side and both times I came away thinking he was a tidy player. In my opinion, that's what you judge a player on - his performances in a Rovers senior side. As said, when Travis first started getting game time he was struggling to cement his place. I'm sure he had a few knock abouts at right back before finally getting centre midfield his own. Nowadays, when I see a team without Travis in, I immediately think we have lost the midfield battle. There is an extra incentive for academy players to play well because it is their chance. That's why I will always prefer to see Scott Wharton on the bench than Derrick Williams, regardless of whether Williams has played in the Championship / League 1 for most of his career - which says a lot.

We’ve tried that Crimpshine. I’m sure most of us on here were out there in the early days, marching, singing, protesting. It is very difficult to have an effect when they are so far removed from the town. I can’t wait for the day they go but until then I don’t think any sort of fan movement will shift them. In my opinion we should turn our attention to the FA and unite as fans, demanding supporter board representation. That’s a whole other story though.

Calls for Mowbray to go at the end of this season are over the top. None of us thought promotion was a given at the start of the season - it is just all the more frustrating with how close we keep getting to a chance only to flunk it. However it is becoming apparent that Mowbray may never break that duck of getting into the top 6. He has to seriously improve the teams consistency or move aside for a manager with fresh impetus.

How fecking frustrating man. Every time we get within touching distance we go and make a right pigs ear of the next game. Time to get rid of players like Bennett, he’s simply not good enough to fill any position in our team if we are serious about promotion. Mowbray dropped another clanger yesterday. I have been his most fervent supporter since our promotion and always look to try and defend him and our players because I do think he’s been a brilliant manager for us. I’m far more proud of my club than I was when he took over. We are in a far better state that’s for sure. With that said, I am getting sick to the back teeth of our inconsistency. Some games we play I think we would be able to mix it in the Premier League with a few additions, then I watch that shite and realise we are where we deserve to be. For me TM has next season to sort this problem out. Another season like this and it would then be time for a change. We cannot miss our opportunity again.

I'll focus on a few points here You talk of a lack of money following the pandemic, and then you advocate walking into next season without a full time senior left back on the books. If we don't have money to pay Bell's wages (signed on L1 wages from Fleetwood) then how are we to afford another 2 senior players with added on signing fees, agents, bonuses and all that comes with it? I'm not even debating the Hart issue here, solely Bell, to which you seem to think is a poor decision. Regardless of all the claptrap about not signing players until we know what league we are in (mere speculation), if any manager went into a summer window without a registered player in a certain position he's made a balls-up. It could happen to us with a goalkeeper, unbelievably. Your opinion on every player is hyper-criticial. You couldn't even squeeze in your point not being about his ability without adding in the "lack of" caveat. Tedious stuff. Williams will almost certainly leave if we follow our upward trajectory. We are buying better players in every position and Williams is currently one of our weaker centre halves. Providing we continue to improve, don't lose players, you'd have to assume Williams will be gone next season. Aside from that, which is completely besides the point, Williams isn't a natural left back and if we didn't sign Bell he'd be the only senior player left in the 2021 season who could play there, without sacrificing Downing. Clearly that isn't a situation we want to be faced with. I don't disagree with any of what you said about our owners being at fault. I just don't see the furore about a one-year extension for a player that has both improved since his arrival and is a natural in a position we are paper thin in, especially given the current financial situation of all football clubs. As an aside, it would be nice if we got some posts from you - not just you - which didn't 99.99% of the time have some sort of ridiculous downplay of our players. I'm sick to the back teeth of reading "incompetent at best" or similar. Your criticism is overdramatic. That's all I will say on that matter because I've had this discussion with you before. Quite frankly I think it's disrespectful - your 'criticism' goes above and beyond the normal level, to a point of melodrama and often blatant untruths.

My bad. Probably even more of a reason to have at least one left back tied for 12 months, given our transfer record as of late.

Amari'i Bell is probably on less than £5k a week and puts effort in on and off the pitch by all accounts. Even if we buy a left back I wouldn't mind if he was in the squad; if we get promoted and buy two left backs he'll be a back up player on less than 12 months remaining for the contract. It's a no-brainer really. Realistically, if we aren't going up, we will probably look at buying a left back and then Bell will remain as cover. That's decent business in my eyes. After those 12 months he either massively improves or he's off for free and we replace him. Despite the fact you are the most critical supporter I have ever seen sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture. Williams has a year left and will most likely go, Hart has a year left now (bemusing one though) and aside from that we have no alternative left back. Williams sees himself as a centre half (better there than left back) and Hart will no doubt go out on loan again. If we didn't extend Bell's contract we'd be heading into the window without a left back in the squad at all. Although I'm certain you'll label him "incompetent at best" or "savagely shite" or some other remark I actually think Bell's curve since becoming a Rovers player has always been on the up. He's been playing a lot better recently than when he first came into the Championship. With any luck he might continue that improvement.

I wasn't replying to you, it was a general comment

Morgan Fox got pelters from Sheff Weds fan in a "Who would you keep?" poll. Injury prone, over rated and inconsistent were the terms used. He'll fit right in with your history of left backs then.

Sam Hart was out on loan though and has been since he came. He can't have spent much time with the squad at all. I can understand Smallwood as I'd assume he's a pretty influential figure in the squad. Plus if the dreaded coronavirus does put a few of our players out Smallwood can easily step in and play.

That didn't even cross my mind before asking that question to be fair. A very weird choice, given his position in the squad. I was trying to come up with some justification for it but there's no point trying to defend the indefensible.

Remarkable from the bloke who totally dismisses anything positive about Gallagher to the point of near tears. Your tune changes quickly.

Is it 100% confirmed Sam Hart cannot play for the Club under any circumstances? Given the current situation it is possible we may lose Bell / Williams overnight due to forced quarantine and Hart would need to step in. It may shed some light on why he was given another month. For all of those who are linking our transfer conundrum to Tony Mowbray - you're way off the mark. This is a problem which stems from the top. Ever since Venky's came we have had a reputation of being slow when it comes to transfers, which means sometimes agents, players & clubs go elsewhere. Nothing will change whilst the attitude of our owners remains the same.

A tad disrespectful, although I am going to assume you didn't mean it as Smallwood the man is a joke, but more the decision to sign him up again s. If that's the case I apologise. I f it isn't the case then I should remind you that Smallwood always put every effort in whilst in a Rovers shirt and has never done anything to disrespect the club or town. He's not good enough at this level but I enjoyed watching him play whilst in League 1 and will always be thankful for his services. We've had far, far worse players!

Nah, not buying it. Sorry. I had a quick look through my tender list for work. During the Covid-19 lockdown I helped to secure over £10m worth of groundworks schemes, £3.5m brickwork scheme and a £1.2m ground remediation contract. I did this by remote working, zoom meetings, Microsoft Teams and generally a bit of endeavour from everyone. If a small construction surveying firm based in Shropshire can do that 'remotely' why can't business mogul Waggot and multi-national business moguls Venkys not sit down and discuss budgets? It's bullshit. Another excuse for why we will be once again behind the curve. As for the refund the club should be making it much easier to recieve a refund if required. There's no reason to wait 10 - 14 days, nor is there a reason for the customer to be approaching the producer for their money back. They should be making the process as easy and quick as possible because, for all of their financial difficulties, the man on the street is facing more.

Definitely. When I was younger the local ABC was ran by "Mad Frank". MMA was up and coming back then and most of us went to Frank's to box. Some of the roadmen lads at school would come down occasionally and Frank was perfect at bringing them down to 'normality'. He'd put them in the ring to spar with one of the better lads and they'd walk out with a different mindset. Mad Frank died when we were 15 sadly, and unfortunately a few of the roadmen lads who boxed with us are either dead or in jail now. I can't help but think if Frank had stayed around a few of them might have stayed out of trouble. One of the best boxers I've seen is doing a 10 year stretch for armed robbery right now. There's certainly a dozen or so success cases from the gym. I think it has since shut down. Personally speaking I was always a bit of a tearaway as a youth. I always lacked mental discipline and it got me in a bit of trouble. I started wing-chun and Brazilian ju-jitsu after hitting it off at Dark Circle MMA gym in Wolves when I was 17. Without blowing my own trumpet them two martial arts have instilled a discipline I never thought possible. Whether it was solely the art or a mixture of that and maturing I'm uncertain but, without it, I wouldn't be the person I am now. From Birmingham there are two big success stories: Leon and Fabian Edwards. I saw Leon train at the Erdington UTC (now a washing machine wholesalers!!!) and he's a whole different animal physically. The level of fitness them pro fighters have is breathtaking. Fabian is a bit different: he recently done time and has come out the other side. He's now in the Bellator and smashing it so will no doubt see him in the UFC at some point. As a final note, both of them have said in the past without MMA they'd probably be in and out of jail all their lives.

Infinite Limousine Pile Up - Dead Players (any grime fans give this a listen, including Sox ?)

The infamous Marcus Maddison. I wonder whether it was him or the Peterboro director who couldn't strike an agreement? I can't wait for another summer of being tentatively linked with him.....,.