Angry_Pirate

It's a shame they don't do "Player Cam" anymore.... if they did, Evans would win World "Hide-and-seek" Champion every year without competition.

4-2-3-1 for the second half. Gallagher as the 1, some form of Armstrong, Brereton and Elliott as the 3, Evans and JRC as the 2.... left in the changing rooms. Douglas probay deserves to stay there too... that mistake is pathetic for the first. You don't see goals this bad in Sunday League. Miles off them.

Rankin Costello needs taken off.

Premier League team for half a dozen years, time wasting at home after 30 minutes in the first half... embarrassing.

If Tony is to persist with the new formation. I would like to go with: Kaminski Nyambe - Ayala - Lenihan - Douglas Trybull / Johnson Holtby Rothwell Elliott Armstrong Gallagher / Brereton I realise our strikers are crap, but Armstrong offers nothing too often as a CF and I feel a spell back on the left might be needed. We need a focal point. Add the quality of Douglas, we can't have him crossing to a penalty area of Armstrong and Dolan. We really missed Holtby and Rothwell as Buckley and especially Evans were trash. Dolan is probably ready for a 30 minute cameo role for a week or two as he has fizzled the past 2 games.

Heard it was a given that if we failed to make the playoffs this year, one or (likely) both of Mowbray and Waggo would be sacked/walk. So it makes sense he is going balls deep this season... and I love it. Blackburn Rovers have been playing scared for too long. Armstrong, Elliott, Dolan, Dack, Rothwell, Holtby, Brereton, Buckley, Douglas, Chapman, JRC and Nyambe is a team littered with flair that is built to attack, attack, attack. A world away from the Smallwood, Evans, Bennett, Downing and Samuel, "respect the opposition" tripe of years past. Bring it on.

Love a good pegging...

I actually wrote something about Bolasie a few weeks ago, but deleted it before posting as it sounded far too fetched. So whilst I believe it to be genuine, I believe this is our token deadline day "we bid (X-75%) and other team bid (X)" deal... a la Freeman, Reed etc.

Can see Hilton being released/leaving on a free tomorrow.

1st Team Thomas Kaminski Anynsley Pears Antonis Stergiakis U23 Andy Fisher Jordan Eastham Joe Hilton U18 Aidan Dowling Felix Goddard Think minimum two need to go. We don't need/can't use 8 goalkeepers ? Can't be either of the U18s and think they want Eastham close by, so Hilton (sold) and Fisher (loan/sold) should exit in the next 26 hours. Not exactly ITK price of ground breaking news here... but my source has been told to expect a "very busy" couple of days (today and tomorrow). ?

Downing and Pears would be a poor waste of resources. Downing, as mentioned, is about 15mph behind the pace our team is trying to play at, and a top ten earner... which can't happen when we need to renegotiate with so many. Downing in, basically relegates one of Holtby or Rothwell (or Brereton) to the bench OR means we skimp on Douglas/ANother LB. Thought he was good last season, but now that ship has sailed. Pears... why? We have signed our presumptive #1 and #2, plus we have Fisher, Hilton, Eastham AND two Academy keepers. That is already 8 Keepers for 3 shirts. ---- Douglas is on £30k a week (promotion wage rise) and the hold up is the fact Leeds think they can get 50%+ covered AND a loan fee, that is why Watford have cooled on him. We can't afford Downing AND Douglas.

Basically 3 days utill the window shuts and this thread (our business?) is dead on its arse. Haven't been on here for a week which says it all. For about 20 pages I thought we were signing Chris Houghton though, so that was exciting.

Colin Kazim-Richards was an underrated player for us. Think we made an error not getting him in after his loan. Think he gave us something we never really replaced back then - attitude wise.

On a side note that may be the worst montage music for a football highlights package I've ever heard... not withstanding it doesn't even kick in for 20 seconds. ?

Like 3 seconds behind.

Pretty fucking crap ? (That Arsenal game, my god!) 11 appearances for Rovers apparently (over THREE years). Would be curious to see which games they were. Interesting he is a goalkeeping coach with Man Utd U18s, where theoretically he got to mould our favourite ex Shrewsbury keeper. Ironically I think we would all take Fettis as GK coach over Ben Benson ?

Now this will be the last time I join in the Raya conversation as nobody will chance their stance - rightly, or wrongly (Wrongly - in the case of those who defend selling him for £3m) but... Raya wasn't perfect (for us and Brentford - see Playoff Final). But I guarantee you that if we would have played last season with Raya in net for 46 games - and not Walton - we would have had at least the 7 extra points needed for the playoffs... and then potentially a place in the Premier League. Heck, Walton probably cost us 7 points - on his own - after lockdown. I'm prepared for a ton of negativity to this statement but here goes "Selling Raya (to replace him with Walton) cost us a genuine chance at £200m." Fact. Not buying a LB and keeping Bell as a starter may do the same this year...

Our transfer activity screams uncertainty. It is like we identify a player (McGinn, Kipre, Garner, Reed) and make a "shallow/token" move... but then we delay and piss about pulling the trigger. It's not until another team comes in that we then suddenly decide we really want said player 100%, only for the player to (rightfully) take the "Fuck You" attitude to our recruitment team and move to the new (actually committed) bidding team. We didn't even get Holtby or Ayala in first time around when they had trained with us, only for them to go abroad after being teased, to eventually come back to us as their own Plan B. Last year Adarabioyo took about a month to complete as well for similar reasons. Seems very indecisive and, ultimately, detrimental, and is why we lack in some areas.

Told today that this is the plan, both being worked on. Optimistic. Ayala deal didn't happen originally because Waggott and Mowbray think that if a player/agent tries to negotiate during contract "negotiations", then they have a bad attitude and get blue balled. (*Agent was also originally asking daft money/bonuses*) Rovers are being very "take it or leave it" with contracts apparently this past couple of years... hence the amount of "near misses" we have experienced (Bauer, Reed, McGinn, Kipre etc). ?

Which team though? ?

Morning chaps. Here's to the last opening game of the season with Mowbray and Waggott "running" our football club ??⚪ (?)

Happy for Chanka, he's a good lad. He got rather screwed by the fact the 18's simply didn't have a proper #9 last year and Chanka was played there as he had a bigger build than Burns, Brennan, Lonsdale, Gilsenan etc. Brentford had him for a trial and Sunderland were keen (pre-covid) so Cardiff is a good landing spot. He should revert back to an attacking midfielder/winger now. Does anyone know why Enzo Boyomo hasn't signed?

Oh one thing is for certain, excuses are coming.

? "Chinese Whispers" in full force here in my house ?. I'm sure there will be a "bit in paper" tomorrow about Matt Phillips now ?

(Edit: Incorrect player) Not a priority by any means, and would be shocked were it to happen, but a good move in theory/hindsight if we ever get the CB and LB. But did I imagine SSN linking us with an interest in Matt Phillips? I've not seen it mentioned here. As far as right wingers go, I've always rated him, especially in this league. He is like a less hyped but better Tom Ince. Will be 30 this season so not a bad age and obviously has the Championship pedigree. No idea if they were talking loan of permanent. Would probably spell the end for Chapman (probs for the best - allow Dolan to take over as backup) and hopefully leave Gallagher and Brereton well away from that wing.