To be fair John Williams was exactly the same. He bought us a drink in one of the lounges once and he and I got chatting at the bar. Back at the table Tom Finn joked to Mrs Frost "that's the last you'll see of Ben tonight" and he wasn't far wrong - I got the next round in and we were still stood at the bar. I guess the only difference is I didn't get home and share any of that conversation on the internet.

I can't believe I'm bothering with this, but anyway. There were 6 passengers on the flight. So the alleged 85k is immediately divided by 6. If you book a taxi from Ewood Park to The Railway at Plezzy, and Mill Hill Cabs quote you 6 quid, that's for the journey, not per passenger - right?? Personally I suspect the flight was organised by the Chilean FA and they will also have paid for part of it, so it probably cost Rovers (and the other European clubs who used it) well less than 10k each to get their players back home asap and in the most convenient and comfortable way possible. Explaining this is not being "contrary", it's pointing out the fact that "Rovers spent 85k for BBD to sit on the bench" is complete rubbish.

This £85k is fiction becoming BRFCS fact. Even arbitro when he posted it flagged it was a rumour. So why you are now running with it in this and the transfer thread I'm not sure. You only have to look 2 pages back to see there were 6 of them on the plane. An eastbound private jet for up to 8 passengers over the Atlantic is currently quoted from 60k Euros. By your logic if they each paid £85k then that flight cost over half a million quid! It's just nonsense.

Chile wouldn't have gone near the Ben Brereton of two years ago - I doubt San Marino would have. So following your logic Mowbray and co will have to take the credit for getting BBD to a place where this international career was even a possibility.

This is criticism for the sake of criticising. Because if the Ben Brereton of 6 months ago had been given a lucrative and lengthy contract extension by Rovers, there would have been uproar on here, probably led by yourself.

I've been a paid up Blues Bar member for several years, 60 quid a year. Not sure how many members there are, probably between 100 and 200. So the club has probably had between 6 and 12 grand from us this season just for membership. Couldn't get served before West Brom game without a half hour queue. People who I know have paid the £60 were walking out and going to the Fernhurst. Queued for 25 minutes at West Brom half time, absolute shambles. That should be solved by more staff and better trained staff, but there is a national problem in this sector and Sodexo are not immune. So I don't agree that this change to £3 is a ploy to squeeze potential BB customers, I think it's to prevent a riot from those of us who have already coughed up 60 quid which so far this season has been for absolutely nothing. We'd be getting served quicker on the concourse, and cheaper. It's £5.50 for a Kronenbourg in Blues on a matchday, utterly ridiculous pricing.

You do realise that this place is exactly the same but in reverse don't you? The mere fact that in order to get opinion onto this MB which runs contrary to the group think, it has to be screenshot from FB or Twitter or the LT comments tells you everything you need to know about how insular and hostile this place has become. And those screen shots aren't placed on here to start a sensible discussion, they are placed on here to be ridiculed with no right of reply. To use an analogy involving Mowbray shooting family members is quite distasteful IMO. That fan is as entitled to their opinion as you are to yours.

That was yesterday

Again a distortion. I've already said I don't think these plans will get past Base 1. That's not unflinching support, it's an opinion that the planning process and RVBC will leave this dead in the water.

You don't reply to Stuart or Rev's posts and start the response with the words "I'd missed off .... " Or for that matter (going back a couple of months) state as fact that the undersoil heating at Ewood has been left to rot. Shown up for the lie that it was when it transpires the undersoil heating has actually been on for weeks at a time this winter. That's not forensic or passionate, it's making things up to fit a viewpoint. As for contrarian - not correct. You yourself have often said how this site is not representative of the wider fanbase. It's an echo chamber, total silo mentality. Look at how some posters have treated 1864 and O2G on this thread - not for stating a view one way or the other on the actual plans, but just for pointing out flaws in some of the wilder arguments, or giving neutral information on the actual planning process. It appears that some regular posters here just want a place where everyone thinks and says the same.

Did you know that the correct description is Category 1? There's nearly 2000 posts in this thread and only you and JH Rover who call it Category A 🤷‍♂️ And then there's this weird thing where you reply to JHRover in the first person...

It's not really clear who is guilty of being silent or who should be hanging their heads. Or why you are throwing various forms of the "F" word into every post you make in this thread. Personally I expect this whole thing to fall over at the first hurdle, ie these speculative applications for proof of concept will fail. But let's play devil's advocate for a minute and imagine a scenario where RVBC ignore the lack of infrastructure, inadequate roads etc, and go after the council tax revenue from some new houses, so this actually goes to the next stage. That would then be the time to study the detailed plans for the new Training Centre which would inevitably follow. It would also be the right time to raise objections if those plans didn't come up to scratch. The club is clearly and publicly committing to Category 1. Steve Waggott in the Fans Forum minutes says "the most important criterion for the development was that Category 1 status for the Academy must be retained". The website is even clearer "we are 100% committed" (screenshot) The club has achieved and then retained Category 1 ever since the Elite Player Performance Plan was introduced in 2012. That has taken a lot of money and even more hard work. It also means that the relevant staff at BRFC know exactly what is required to maintain Category 1, and are very proud that Rovers continue to aspire to it and retain it. That's not achieved at CEO or Board level, that's people lower down the admin structure and more particularly the Academy management. So personally I don't agree with the speculation that Category 1 can't be done on the new site even if combined with the Senior facility, it will have been discussed and scoped with the people who have kept the club Cat 1 for the last 9 years. There ends playing devil's advocate. But as above, the only way this moves forward is if RBVC chase the cash above looking after their residents in Brockhall.

"The proposals for both sites are inextricably linked meaning the residential development can only go ahead in conjunction with the building of the new training facility"

That's not fair. Someone's taken a screenshot of his Twitter and posted it on here to be used as target practice for the mob. It's worrying that this MB is now so polarised and so intolerant of alternative views that taking screenshots from social media is the only way to see a different view, because no sane Rovers fan who supports Mowbray staying is going to volunteer that opinion on here. Life is too short. Even just from the last few pages people who don't want Mowbray potted have been patronisingly tagged as "happy clappers", "superfans" and "Facebook Fanboy Cult". But it's an entirely legitimate position to have as a Rovers fan. I get on a Zoom with about a dozen mates after some Saturday games (sadly not in the actual pub for now) and that group is 80/20 in favour of not sacking. Age range mid-30s to mid-50s. No happy clappers or Facebook Fanboys. Just normal Rovers fans. (About half of them used to post on here, none of them even read it anymore). Dan Clough has had his Twitter posted in a forum where it was bound to attract venom. Why shouldn't he be allowed to come on and defend himself for a couple of hours, but then get on with his Sunday afternoon? People need to take a step back.

Sorry to be picky, but you want to put a Greggs directly opposite Ewood Sandwich Bar and Leavers Pies. Think again.

Mowbray did quite clearly say "f*** off Neil" towards the end of the match on Sunday (at 4.53pm to be precise). It came through nice and loud on the TV. Didn't see any other Neils anywhere around at the time.

It's where we are in the league in 104 days time that really matters

It really wasn't

Head Groundsman Trevor Wilkin - directly quoted in the Club Statement: "Ultimately, the first team needed to train, so Ewood, which has undersoil heating, was used as a training facility for two days in the lead up to the FA Cup tie against Doncaster." "it really was unavoidable on this occasion, as there would not have been enough time for the pitch to drain into the River Darwen, whose levels were already extremely high" "The weather had also taken its toll on the training ground, with all the pitches frozen, even though they had been covered with the frost sheets." In other words, the undersoil heating at Ewood works, the drains aren't blocked, and the frost sheets are still at Brockhall. All of which makes your attack on the club on Tuesday look rather undermined. Or based on statements which you presented as fact when you didn't actually know them to be true. There is no doubt that the pitch is a mess, and the club has released a comprehensive statement explaining how that has happened, and what they intend to do about it in the short and long term. I'm not sure why that has triggered you to launch this latest rant against the club, starting off with the words "We can be absolutely certain" but once again based on nothing factual. Perhaps it's because you're a bit embarrassed that your mate Trev has so comprehensively exposed Tuesday's post for what it is.

I'm not worried. These owners have paid the bills come what may, even through the pandemic. And seem to be happy to sanction new signings to bolster the defence during this window. You and your ilk have held Derby up as the way to create success in this league - yeah, sell the ground to the owners for 50 million quid, yeah sign Rooney on a deal with a betting company for the 32 shirt number Derby can't even pay December's wages despite all of their dodgy FFP swerves and supposedly new owners. People need to stop over-analysing what might happen after the pandemic and think more about how on earth Rovers are still solvent after 10 months of zero income.

In which case neither is any opinion on this website, including yours. Why get angry? Yet another example of the superiority complex which is evident all over this forum. As you used to write the LET fan column I'm really surprised that you are attacking fellow Rovers fans like this. They are as entitled to their views as you are to yours.

If only you had spelt it correctly (unless you were intentionally merging sceptical with skeletal, in which case the post of the year trophy is waiting ?)

I just don't understand the hate here (except that it's from the usual suspects who need a target). His terrifying injury happened in this calendar year!! How many of his critics would be bouncing back to work full steam ahead after having part of your face and skull rebuilt? But Evans did bounce back - his comeback game in June he was MOTM against Bristol City, and scored a goal. And then fractures his big toe. Now that's apparently his fault because he's "injury prone" and "saving himself for NI" Really?

I certainly won’t be subscribing to BT Sports but would have dropped a fiver to iFollow to watch That's what you said, and is specific to this game. BT Sport don't tend to broadcast any of our other U23 or U18 matches.

iFollow is owned by EFL. This is the FA Cup and BT have the rights. So no, Rovers couldn't have streamed it.