JPTSwindon

I suspect with several clubs interested the club feel they can hold out for an extra £million or so, especially if some of those teams have a bad opening result. If absolute cash is an issue perhaps there will be various clauses: games, England call up, staying in PL, sell on % etc. It is clear he is ready to leave for a PL club, so let’s hope the deal is reasonable.

Will this be available via BRTV?

League Cup… I hope TM doesn’t make too many changes. Let the team gel - too many changes last season messed up the rhythm / instincts. A good performance and win on the back of the Swansea result will do the power of good for morale and belief - players and fans. Club should have done this as £5 tickets as a ‘thank you’ - packed Ewood, get the fans back.

Guess a judgement has to be made if his mind would be on the task. TM right it does need resolving. To be fair he has earned his chance at the PL. He has always given us all and certainly has been our best signing for many years.

Opening day 3 points - brilliant! It was clear all the players gave 100%, perhaps a bonus of no loanees? Plenty of potential with our younger players - I am excited. Shame there weren’t more at Ewood to see the positive start, but hopefully gates will start to pick up. Big thumbs up for today.

What’s the Turnstile magazine?

So back to normal…

As it stands presume it’s back to just midweek games for RoversTV / iFollow?

Positive: It was on Sky Red Button, so I didn’t pay for this ‘entertainment’. Negative: Everything else.

Red button time... Mind you ifollow I find better quality, but I guess I need some value out of my Sky package! Sheffield Wednesday need a result, so no easy 3 points here. I’d give starts to Dolan and Buckley, might as well build up game time for next season.

Huge slice of luck - though as pointed out earlier in the season when we were on the wrong side of decisions etc - it evens itself out. The joys of football! Decent 2nd half against a very poor Derby side. Big win.

And because he has won promotion twice he has earned an extended contract.

We should by-pass Brentford and sign up Peterborough’s striker, works for them.

Friedel - propped us up for years, so whilst Tugay had the excitement, Friedel probably secured us the most points over the years. Shout to Carlos Villanueva, showed real potential when we overcame Blythe Spartans in the FA Cup.

Defeat beckons, TM emphasises we are finally consistent, losing week in, week out.

My FM Rovers beat Forest in the FA Cup, whilst as predicted the real Rovers whimpered through a feeble 90 mins to another expected defeat.

Confident of 3 points...Well that’ll be my Rovers team on Football Manager gets upgraded to my laptop / big screen whilst the real Rovers 3-0 defeat is relegated to my iPad.

On reflection we wouldn’t even manage to go backwards without tripping over ourselves, falling down the stairs and TM claiming it was simply a sign of great agility.

Miserable, pathetic... we are going backwards.

Glass ankle, big wages - panic buy, huge waste. Very poor.

As expected. Confidence, tactics, shape, leadership, hope... AWOL. Grim.

Just completed my first season on FM21, managed to get Rovers up as runners up to Norwich. Good start to the Premier League, sitting 7th coming into November. No real money to spend, but a good set of younger players (JRC, Dolan, Buckley, Vale etc) give options for the squad. Shipped high wage fringe players (Gallagher, Bennett, Evans etc) which gives room to sort new contracts for Armstrong etc.

The reverse fixture we were desperately unlucky to lose, this time there will be no luck in the defeat. Only hope is Watford aren’t too hot away from home, but we are generous hosts. Many years ago I went to Vicarage Road where we won 1-0, Marcus Bent. I had a 50p / £1 bet on that so won £33. As a student that was a real bonus. Not massively relevant but at a stretch the only positive thought I could come up with for this match.

It’s really, really hard to judge. The older players are injured so often we can’t judge them. The younger players are rotated, dropped, mislaid so often we can’t judge them. (Key reason why the confidence has drained away) If TM could settle on a team / formation / tactic - he and us could judge.

Billy Barr / Damian Johnson caretakers - if immediate upturn, carry on until the end of the season then review. Otherwise the Cowley brothers, young, ambitious, great job at Lincoln and started to turn the ship at Huddersfield who were a right mess.