KentExile

The wage bill stated in the accounts staying roughly the same over the past 5 years (£25.5M give or take £200K apart from the 21/22 season when it was £24.3M), despite obvious cuts to the playing staff would indicate that something is not as it seems

I fully expect the next set of accounts to show that the overall wages paid are inexplicably the same as the last god knows how many years, which would then point squarely in the direction of certain non playing members of staff

Whilst what you say is true Toronto, If we ignore averages, our weekly wage bill for the 24/25 season was also stated above as being the 17th lowest out of the 24 in the division. and that was before Birmingham & Wrexham came up with much bigger wage bills than ourselves, meaning we are down to 19th out of 24, and Rovers then decided to cut our own wage bill on top of that. We are now comfortably in the lowest 5 wage payers in the league (at most). And possibly rank even lower depending upon how much we have cut the wage bill this season (and how much more our rivals are spending. Derby probably had a lower wage bill than us last season, probably not anymore based on their spending) Obviously Sheff Wed will have the lowest wage bill, as most of their players have now left. But our wage bill will now be comparable to Portsmouth, Oxford and Charlton. Even so Portsmouth are paying enough to take Chaplin on loan from Ipswich, Charlton are signing Kaminski, who wont come cheap, & Oxford are signing players who we were after)

U18s came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home to Stoke this morning Sergeant started, getting an assist for Rovers first goal before Stoke were reduced to 10 men at the end of the first half Leatherbarrow, Joseph & Kelley-Quinn with Rovers goals Is Higgins injured? Not seen much of him at all this season (I seem to recall him playing once in pre season, but not at all since the season started)

Starts this weekend for O'Riordan - lost 3-0 - played the full game Connor O'Riordan 5 - Back in at centre-half after his successful right-back cameo last week. Struggled against wily operator Mullin, in truth, but chipped in with nine clearances (his centre back partner, Pearson, got 4, as did the keeper) Edmondson - won 3-0 - Taken off as a precaution after 12 minutes, presumably means that he is now cup tied in the FA cup Pratt - won 1-0 - played the full game, sounds like he impressed, presumably means that he is now cup tied in the FA cup On the bench Olson - won 1-0 - remained on the bench throughout Barrett - drew 1-1 - remained on the bench throughout Not involved in matchday squad O'Grady-Macken - won 1-0 Duru - lost 3-1

Specifically regarding the last line in your post that I have marked in bold Never mind why has the wage cap not been increased, It looks very much as though the wage cap has been reduced and is now below what some of these players are currently on (or at least below what they were on before they left and found new clubs who would pay what they are worth), however, they were offered terms equal to their current contracts on the long shot that they may accept, which would have been seen as an unexpected coup (at least by Pasha, Gestede et al) Not sure I have explained myself properly there, but for example, if Hyam/Brittain/Travis were on circa £10K-£15K/week, and the wage cap is now £10K/week, then whilst all new signings have that £10K/week cap, they are willing to extend our "star performers" on their current terms (but only for a year) It all screams short termism, and the 1 year extensions to our (former) higher earners were them attempting to cover themselves financially as they know where this is likely to end (relegation in the near future if not this season)

He is a 2nd year scholar (the same year group as Tyjon), which means he is 17 (unless his birthday was earlier this month in which case he is 18) In the same thread which claims Sergeant is 15, it also states Joe Boggan is 17, which is also incorrect. Boggan was a scholar a year before Tyjon and Sergeant which makes Boggan 18 or 19 nów (19 according to the Premier League) Scholar years in football work in the same way that school years do, 1st Sept until end of August 1st year scholars are basically 1st year college/6th form and likewise, 2nd year scholars are 2nd year college/6th form Full match report from the 1-1 draw with Coventry

We just have to hope that if he is as good as they think he is, that they get him fit and activate his buy clause before someone reduces the budget changes the project again

Its based on European numbering As the vast majority of the top coaches & managers from the past 20 odd years are European, the labelling has stuck, and now, given the amount of time it has been, younger English coaches have grown up with the European numbering, If we had a spate of Brazilian managers in the country for a couple of decades, then it would change and people would end up calling left backs, "6s", "3s" would be centre backs, and a 5 would be the holding midfielder

U21s are away to Coventry this evening in the Premier League Cup, 7pm kick off Preview score/update

I would be amazed if it did, he hasn't had one training session at Rovers yet Pressing triggers are hugely important to Ismael, which are difficult (if not impossible) to teach in a day or 2 Cameo off the bench for Gudjohnsen this weekend, and integrate him properly over the next week, rather than "hanging him out to dry" (like Henriksson on his debut)

Yep Also and and and

Toth starting for Hungary against Portugal this eve Gudjohnsen starts for Iceland v France

Jack Barrett makes his Tranmere debut (Jason Lowe also starts, with another former Rover, Richie Smallwood on the bench) as Tranmere play Nottingham Forest U21s this evening in the EFL Trophy Game is on Sky Sports +, kick off at 7pm Barrett - drew 2-2 - saved 2 penalties and scored the decisive penalty He was getting grief on twitter earlier from Tranmere fans for letting in a late equaliser

seconded, a wonderful job indeed Wilsden 🙂

No apology needed 🙂 You were just being nice, and the comment was appreciated nonetheless

Sam Barnes is now with Altrincham, played 5 games so far

I would hazard a guess that Ribeiros extension was triggered due to games/minutes played, rather than we negotiated a new contract with him He signed for Rovers 3rd Feb He then started in in 9 out of 10 games Before his extended contract was announced 3rd April The "9 out of 10 games part" (90% of available minutes), right before signing his extension, just has the feel of an extension being triggered, rather than a new deal being negotiated

In short, are the players progressing, and are they covering their (the loan managers) own arse through reports/data that are produced to an acceptable level A more detailed explanation is below, and the full job spec on the link https://talents.studysmarter.co.uk/companies/blackburn-rovers-football-athletic-ltd/loan-manager-8770253/ 1. Job purpose: To oversee the development of our young professional players through strategic loan placements (domestic & abroad). To ensure that loaned players are progressing in line with the club’s long-term first-team objectives and to assist with scouting responsibilities to support the club\’s broader recruitment strategy. 2. Duties and responsibilities: • To be committed to ensuring the safeguarding and welfare of all elite players, promoting their well-being needs whilst maintaining professional boundaries; • Identify and arrange appropriate loan opportunities for young professional players, ensuring placements support their growth toward first-team readiness. • Build and maintain strong relationships with loan clubs, ensuring clear communication and mutual expectations. • Manage the operational and administrative elements of loan agreements in collaboration with the Football Administration team. • Attend matches and review footage to monitor the performance and development of players out on loan. • Provide structured weekly reports to the Head of Academy, Head of Football Operations, with input shared with the Head of Technical and Development. • Conduct regular check-ins with loaned players to provide feedback and maintain engagement. • Support the scouting department by attending matches and assessing potential player targets. • Produce detailed scouting reports on prospective signings aligned with the club’s playing and recruitment philosophy. • Work closely with the Head of Technical and Development, Head of Football Operations and Head of Academy to ensure loan plans align with the club\’s player development pathway. • Maintain clear and consistent communication with leadership.

The quote from Rhodes in this article (also pasted below) seems to indicate that whilst the priority is preparing them for first team football with Rovers, they will also be looking to prepare them for first team football elsewhere if it won't happen here. "Ultimately, that's what the staff's there to do; to facilitate those players and give them the best opportunity to be able to thrive for the first team ideally, but ultimately for their development and what makes them be the player that they can become." Which probably makes sense, as football is treated as a business these days so even if they don't make it here,improving them means they can probably be sold for a little more, and a kid (and his parents) knowing they are not going to just get dumped if they don't make it, may make them more likely to sign with Rovers

Maybe he has a Turkish idol?

One for those who love squad numbers Taylor Gardner-Hickman is our new number 5, & Andri Gudjohnsen is 11 https://www.rovers.co.uk/teams

Which of course would make sense But if that is the case, then they should have said when. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/may/22/club-statement--steve-waggott/ And also, if he wasn't working his notice period, then who would be performing his role whilst he is on gardening leave As ever, communication & clarity from the club is 4th rate at best

RE Pereira, he may be first choice now that James Justin is plying his trade at Leeds. Although Choudhury has been ok there. Pereira missed the first couple of games of the season, but did come off the bench in the 2 games  before the international break, so maybe given the couple of weeks before their next game, he will be back in the side then? Too early to say that he isn't their first choice if/when he is fully fit In terms of pedigree, I would have Pereira above Brittain, it depends if his body holds out and lets him get back to where he was