Started in the previous league game away at Derby, I believe. Didn't do too badly either. Then again, that was the only time I remember Leon Best scoring for Rovers (at least when he wasn't playing for Charlton) so there might've been something in the air causing otherwise bang average players to do well that day.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48621629 Bilic appointed now. Surprised he's taken a job with high expectations and a reduced budget, but a good appointment for them all the same

Agree with that. I think one centre half to play alongside Lenihan could be enough, but if so it'll need to be a real step up to what we currently have. Bauer might be a good player, but in the main untested this level.

Game of opinions, he lead the line well against Bolton, which lets not forget was the first time he's started at Ewood. Totally accept that they're an abysmal team, but his all round game was good and with a little more composure could've had more than the one. He's no Heskey, but he's an athletic boy.

Footballing intelligence definitely seems to be the main issue. He has it physically, and has shown bits technically. Looks slightly ungainly when he runs, but travels with the ball rather well, albeit looking unorthodox when he does. Lone strikers, a bit like centre backs, take a few more years to learn the role and responsibility than other positions, and he's learning from an expert in Danny Graham, so there are reasons to have some optimism for me. I think whether he can improve that aspect of his game is probably going to turn out to be most important question about whether he turns out to be a good signing or not in a couple of years time.

Potentially load-of-rubbish rumour that we're after Jordan Hugill

You'd have thought so, but everything you read suggests they're looking to rein it in a bit this season. Wide, wide open next year.

Possibly, but we weren't far away for Freeman last year if I recall correctly. QPR are really struggling with FFP and it sounds like he basically needs to be sold. Don't see any reason why that can't be to us if we have a semi-decent budget.

Everything I hear about Cooper is that he sounds exactly what we need. Some rumours around clubs with bigger budgets, but nothing from the Prem, so might be doable if we're patient. Failing that, I'd like to try for Liam Lindsay, but again we'll probably have to hope that doesn't turn into an auction. Not sure if the Freeman ship has sailed, but I think he'd be perfect if we're hoping to play more of a passing style. I'd be more than happy if we spent the bulk of our budget on one of those defenders and Freeman, with loans and more affordable players filling spots in goal, as Graham back up and perhaps as cover in attacking midfield/wing.

Imagine this is going to be a tough read in parts, but far more deserving of a book than 99% of other footballers who churn them out. Still can't believe Tord Gripp & Sven opted for Keown. A fifth centre back in a maximum 7 game tournament). Total madness.

Really find it surprising how he wasn't a megastar post-Rovers. An absolute colossus once he got used to the league and ironed out the odd concentration error. Even 70% of Samba at his pomp is what we're crying out for. Sadly he's not likely to be as good as that.

Is this just a nod in the direction to FFP though? I.e. that external investment in players & a top academy is vital, but if we don't see it back in kind with either a promotion or player trading then we're limited in how much we can spend?

It would be interesting to see how Dack would do at this level when there clear danger-men all over the park (hopefully this may be us next year with Rothwell playing a more prominent role). I recall in the better periods under Bowyer that Rudy, Conway, King and Cairney all had their best runs by far when other teams couldn't afford to just target one player. Marshall too played his best football by a mile when he wasn't our go-to creative outlet. Strangely Rhodes was better in my view when the rest of the team was awful, but that was probably an exception! Anyway, back on Dack, I think most teams have targeted him this year, but his goals & assists suggest that plenty didn't manage it! Totally accept that he has struggled at times though, and that better teams in the Prem would find this easier. I think my point is better made when looking at a player that our 6 fingered friends down the road had. If a pre-injury Jay Rodriguez was the star man in a top flight team, I'd say that he could be made to look like he wasn't all that special rather easily. Put him in a Southampton team with 4 or 5 other danger-men, then he flourishes to the extent that he gets an England jersey. I could see a similar sort of thing happening with Dack. Come to think of it, I think you could probably say the same about most attacking talent that comes up through the lower leagues (with the odd exception like Vardy). Some of them are definitely up to it in the right team, but if the rest of the squad are below that level, then not only does the team struggle, but it probably has a knock on effect on how well the player performs as an individual with too much responsibility on their shoulders.

There's something to be said for Dack being the main man in this league, he's clearly our dangerman and plenty of teams have taken the approach 'stop Dack, stop Blackburn'. For what it's worth, I think Dack's of the quality of a good (not CL) top fight team, but probably not to be talisman like he is for us now. Wouldn't put him in the same class as Le Tiss or Dunny (I'm still one of those who think under slightly different circumstances, Dunny would've played for one of the elite clubs with 50 caps for England). They could do it despite being marked men. But I see no reason whatsover if he was in Bournemouth's, Watford's, West Ham's teams, along with a few others, that he wouldn't slot right in there and do well. Playing with better players would do him the world of good in my opinion.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5975839.rovers-deny-pirlo-swoop/ Not a bad foil for Keane. Wasn't Miranda (ex Atletico & Brazil CB) linked heavily with us in the £50 million warchest days?

Don't know why I'm actually putting myself through this, but I wonder what said XI would actually look like. Just the ones you mention are half way to being a world class side. To be fair, not that outlandish that we could've signed one or both if we had different priorities of spending the Bentley & Friedel money. Money paid for Robinson, Grella, Andrews & the money we found for Diouf would've been comfortably more than £6million

Can't argue with almost all of that. All I'd say that is that Hughes level of success in the transfer market (and even he was responsible for some turkeys; Rigters, Vogel, Berner to name 3) is an awfully high standard to judge everyone else towards. Fitness levels too for that matter, was it Mourinho who said that the Rovers team of that period were the fittest in the league? I'd look at his signings a bit more favourably too. Dack is the only player who'd go for megabucks, but we'd have to say that Rothwell & Armstrong would go down as good investments who would feasibly go for big sums in the future. Too early to say with Chapman or Davenport, but the odds are decent. You could even argue that BB is too early in his career to be confident one way or the other about he's going to develop, but that's not a hill I'm willing to die on.

It's one of four categories that countries can be assigned to after being given a score on various things, civil liberties, free elections, levels of corruption etc. i) Full Democracy, ii) Flawed Democracy iii) Hybrid Regime iv) Authoritarian The definition for flawed democracies are states in which "elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honoured but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance." Not perfect labels by any means (the US is classed as a flawed democracy too).

Feel similar about this than I do about Downing; could be astute if the rest of this summer's business is of the right calibre. I'd be disappointed if he's there to be a replacement for Reed with nobody else coming in, but a bit of experience probably wouldn't go amiss if we're looking for Travis & Davenport to make big contributions.

As much as this would be amazing, it's probably either: i) A story to try and put pressure on Leeds to sell ii) A story literally made up from nowhere to get a site which nobody has heard of a bit of attention. Having said all that, Nixon reckons that there's nothing in it, so expect the Quataris at Ewood holding Rovers scarves aloft within the month.

Couldn't really think of an appropriate thread to put this, but here's an unexpected link which has a vanishingly small probability of even having the slightest chance of being true http://sportsrecents.com/psg-president-nasser-al-khelaifi-wants-to-takeover-blackburn-rovers/?fbclid=IwAR0oagGPaKjO0WTgfxEv-XmUbSOQuC2D6YYTlJUOLnbupfXFjFUlemnqfoQ

I've only really seen him in the play off final, but he looked a quality above that level at least. Carried the ball excellently, looked unbelievably athletic. The sort of player you think TM may have had in mind when we signed Samuel

I actually quite like the first two, we've definitely had worse away kits. Can't say I'm overly fond of the third one though!

Would love this. I know no club treats its away shirts as particularly sacrosanct, but I've always thought that a club like ours which more than any other in the country is associated with a particular style of shirt, I don't know why we don't play on that more in our away kits and stick to halves. Colours could easily change; red & black halves, yellow & black halves, yellow & blue haves, whatever.

Can't speak about last year, but he played centre mid most weeks when he was at West Ham under Big Sam. Not sure how this would work in our system, he's not going to be number 10 so can he play as deep as he would need to play centrally? Probably not, but he's certainly more versatile than an out-and-out winger. I'm thinking Big Sam era Pedersen. This is the crux of it for me. If he's a Conway replacement, I'm completely okay with it, even pleased with it. If his wages are as high as 15k a week, suddenly that would put him amongst our higher earners and that would definitely be too much of an outlay for me. Waggott seems to be putting quite a lot of emphasis on the Mowbray and Venus links, so hopefully that would be more about convincing him with what we have on the football side rather than offering the biggest contract. My view in a nutshell