Allow me the chance to quote myself... Armstrong in the 85th minute it is!!!

FOUR subs at once?!? To be fair, they seem to be fully understandable swaps, which is something you can't always say about Tony's subs...

Why would we want to even consider taking off Armstrong? Tight game, he has a history of scoring late goals or goals from out of nowhere. He's also been one of the best creators and had looked lively. While he hasn't had his shooting boots on, he's our only forward who knows how to get into the right place at the right time (Ben should really be taking notes) and is our likeliest player, by far, to be hitting the back of the onion bag.

Always thought Bennett was a cracking little player for us, always giving his best, until Mowbray wrecked him, his confidence and even his reputation with the fans by shoehorning him in as a right back. It was bad enough when we were desperate, but when he started him in front of Nyambe... Actually, the true low point was Bennett as left back. Oh, the horror, the horror! as Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz would have said. If he'd, you know, been a Rovers fan.

Agree. Rothwell surging up the pitch from deep transforms defence into attack quicker than any other player. Otherwise, the only way we can do that is by hitting long balls and defences can deal with those if they are the only thing to look out for before the rest of their team are able to get back and dig in. Our slowness in building an attack leads to teams defending deep and us aimlessly knocking back and forth sideways, vainly waiting for an opening. Rothwell should be starting centrally every game. He offers us something no other player can.

My favourite time as a Rovers fan was actually when I was first taken along by my dad in the 80s. In fact, my most-treasured season was 1987-88. That was back when the Riverside was no longer used for games (it just stood there empty, one whole side of the ground!) and we were in what was called the second division (today's championship) back then. After struggling at the start of the season, Don McKay's boys seemingly out of nowhere went on a 21-match unbeaten run that surged us up the table and even, very very briefly, had us on top for approximately one week. Crowds grew and grew until, again seemingly out of nowhere, the most spectacular signing any of us could remember turned up. Steve Archibald came in on loan from Barcelona! The high point of the run was a thrilling defeat of Graham Taylor's Aston Villa (who'd been European champions barely over five years previously) 3-1 at an absolutely-packed Ewood. World-cup winner Ossie Ardiles came in on loan (rumour has always had it that Jack Walker paid their wages, but I don't think that has been confirmed as certain) as well from Spurs, but Nicky Marker (future Rovers player) crocked him in his first game. It was a disappointing end to the season, which saw our form dwindle and we were defeated in the play-offs (then pretty new, the older fellas never stopped whining about this new-fangled concept) by Chelsea. The next season was as bad as it got as a Rovers fan until the Venky's...in the play-off final we took a 3-1 lead in the play-off final (then over two legs) but Howard Gayle missed a penalty. The horror of a 3-0 defeat at Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace was the inevitable finale to that scintillating but heartbreaking season. Many a Rovers fan have never been able to listen to "Glad all Over!" again after it was played endlessly after that horror show... Great days! Anyway, back onto our need to beat Luton who, funnily enough, were in the top flight then and won their only trophy (the league cup) that very 1987/88 season when they beat Arsenal in the final, also 3-2 just like our slaying of Taylor's Villa brummies...

In the next seven league games (up until the end of February) we play just one side above us; Watford at home. We then have a horror run of six games in March where we play five of the current top eight teams in the league. 'Why a horror run?', some might opine. 'Isn't that a chance to take points off the other challengers?' Well, considering we have won exactly one game all season against a team currently in the top ten, and that needing a huge slice of fortune with the referee not seeing Branthwhaite's boot in the opposing player's face, then I'm not sure we can be too confident about playing the more competent teams in the league just yet. It's now or never to go on a run. We need to be in the play offs, not just near them, by the end of February. Can't say I'm confident, but as Mowbray is going nowhere...this next month will either keep the ember of hope burning or completely extinguish it for what was such a promising 2020-21 campaign. Life as a Rovers fan since 2010...it's the hope that kills you!

Four incidents that won Rovers the game: Incident One: Well, we got away with that one, didn't we? Stonewall penalty and it's clear that by the laws of the game it should have been a red. We'd have been raging against it if it'd happened to us. However, it wasn't given so we: didn't lose a penalty, kept eleven players on the pitch and Boro lost one of their best players. We've had some decisions go against us this season, but we've certainly had them go for us as well. Incident Two: That said, at least as important was the incident when Kaminski pulled off a fantastic reflex save. Despite this, the Boro player should have scored. He's but a couple of yards out. With the penalty let off and that woeful excuse for a finish, we seemed to be living a charmed life. Incident Three: Quality play by Nyambe steaming forward followed by some deft touches by Elliot and a superb pass by Armstrong meant a tap-in for Rothwell. Armstrong might not have had his shooting boots on last night (or indeed recently), but his buildup play has often been excellent. Comparisons with Vardy are obviously over the top, but he's destined to play in the premier league at some stage. I can't see him being the main man anywhere like Vardy, but as a squad player? It'll happen. Incident Four: Taking off the goalscorer and the creator straight after the goal seemed bizarre, but for once Tony Tombola's throw of the dice worked. Ditch the 4-3-3, please! We should have won by more than one in the end, but Arma's not quite in that goalscoring form of 2020 at the moment. He's getting in the right positions time and again though, so he'll come good again soon. Conclusions - - Fortunate win in many ways, but that's what sides who have playoff aspirations need to do. We'll need more "fortunate" wins to come, this is the championship and it's a heck of a tough league to escape. - Surely we can all understand Warnock being upset, but surely we can all understand how he's one of the biggest hypocrites in football so it was funny to see. Still, why the hell did we choose Coyle over him? Mind boggles and we'd have been in the prem (and perhaps come back down, admittedly) if that appointment had been made. - Get Buckley out on loan. There might be a player in there, but he needs regular game time in a settled position, not right back one week, left wing next, central midfield next. - The worries about Dack returning to form are lessening. Great vision displayed. TL;DR - We got lucky...and it feels great!

This is the first post from over eighteen months ago on this thread. Ok, so Nyambe and Rothwell play more now. But they've stagnated and might bugger off for free sooner rather than later. Other than that, has anything changed? 370 - yep, count 'em! -pages on a "Mowbray Out" thread means that he's not the man to take us into the Premier League. He wasn't 18 months ago, he isn't now and he won't be in the future. How about a request to change this thread title to "The Never-ending Story"? Certainly, our attempt to break into the playoff positions is starting to feel that way!!!

Rovers fans arguing amongst ourselves is daft. Any Rovers fan is a brother or sister. It just highlights how this is not a normal club these days and that we have little if any influence over the Venky's and their decision making. Rovers fans want the best for their club, but do their objectives align with those of the owners? Apologies for arguing with fellow fans over nothing very much significant.

I didn't have a "theory" or post one, so get it right. I was responding to the logical argument proposed by another poster. You then responded with the 'COMPLETELY lost the plot" line out of nowhere. So, it's ok for you to go on the offensive but nobody else to respond, then you use the god-like 'The End" as if you've dispensed Biblical wisdom on a Blackburn Rovers message board? Lol. As for "best to leave your judgement on my ‘thinking’ hey?", you might have a point if you weren't judging the thinking of other people. Apparently you can say that others have lost the plot but how dare they respond in the same manner? Your last paragraph highlights your hypocrisy. It's hard to take anyone seriously that ever ends their post with "The End". You like to judge other people but don't like to be judged yourself. Ok Paul, enjoy your evening.

Reactionary response indicative of short-term thinking, not of the long-term needs of BRFC. What does "win" mean for Rovers? To beat a team on a Saturday to gain three points or is it to put in place the right manager for the good of the club not on just one Saturday afternoon but for the good of our season and the next season to come. Why would having Mowbray stagger on from week to week to give us mid-table mediocrity be an aspiration, why would a result that prolongs the underperformance of our club in the long run be a boon? Winning the battle is not much good if we lose the war, is it?

He's so obviously run his course, it's hard to see why he still has his supporters. Why? Do they support Mowbray over Rovers? As he's obviously not the best person for the job. Not even close.

So you'd prefer for Rovers to get a win today rather than events to happen that might lead to the best long-term outcome for the club? If a manager isn't good enough, why would you want to prolong the situation?

Worst possible result we could have garnered. A loss might (wishful thinking) pushed the manager to being closer to leaving. A win, well...a win's a win after all! A draw...what's the good in that either way?

It was 100% a foul. A brainless, silly foul. Buckley put out his arm and pushed him. Yes, ever so slightly and he went down too easily, but it's a foul.

Buckley 1-1!!!!!!

We're at the stage where every reasonably intelligent Rovers fan wants Mowbay to go. Being a Mowbray supporter and Rovers supporter is mutually exclusive by now.

This just gets worse and worse...

Nothing boring about their performance today. They ground out a dull 1-0 win at home when they had an injury crisis for worse than we have had. Today, they are stronger and have been by far the better team. Is there any Rovers fan who wouldn't swap O'Neill for Mowbray? A single one?

This stat says it all about the first half... Shots Rovers 1 Stoke 9 We're supposed to be at home for crying out loud!!!

We deserve to lose games for that kind of defending. All he had to do was stand still six yards out and move his head a few inches. Pathetic.

Yeah, Rovers-Stoke would have been a right belter otherwise! 😄

Jack Walker only took full control of the club in 1991. He might have helped out with the wages of Archibald and Ardiles, but that is speculation. Regardless of those, we finished fifth three seasons in a row before he stepped in officially. I'm not trying to say we were any great shakes, but we were a club to proud of before Walker and we did come close to reaching the top flight time and time again before his arrival, that wasn't just under Mackay but also under Kendell and Saxton. Fans used to talk about how Rovers didn't really want to go up, I'm sure you remember that. We are not that club any longer under Venky's. We haven't had a sniff of the top flight since we were relegated. Life under the Venky's is far worse than in the eighties. we had hope then, passion. We have nothing but boredom and a hollow carcass of a club under the Venky's.

RIP Blackburn Rovers season 2020-21. The season passed away peacefully and in its sleep yesterday at 2.50pm yesterday when Tony Mowbray gave his inspirational pre-match team talk and was pronounced as dead at 4:45pm. The season leaves behind three children: Shit defenders, Shit football and Shit tactics. Guardian Mowbray plans to honour the memory of the season in the next five months by playing mourners out of position, making three substitutions at once and continuing to healthily remunerated so as to boost his pension fund. The season will be remembered primarily for some thumping early-season wins over whipping boys down to ten men, which led to hilariously anticlimactic hopes on behalf of long-suffering Rovers fans in September. The cremation will take place at Pleasington Cemetery with guest speakers Tony Mowbray and Steve Waggott. The Venky's are expected to send a telegram from Pune, India if their secretary remembers to get around to it in time.