Bethnal

Just to stop the conversation around this (because politicians do this and it’s also incorrect): The credit card analogy is completely incorrect. The current owners have invested £200m or so in the football club and have converted it into shares, meaning it’s now equity in the business. They have - if what we hear is to be believed - borrowed that through the parent company from State Bank of India, but the football club isn’t directly on the hook to repay that. Getting it all back on the way out would be a case of a prospective owner agreeing to clear that amount with the sale of the club from the parent company to them. Highly unlikely, but they’re not going to start issuing dividends to reclaim it and pay it down. So you’re not paying down a debt as in the credit card analogy, because cash is essentially created out of thin air (in practical terms, the way a national bank does for governments and retail/commercial banks) for you by the owners. You’re not explicitly on the hook for it. Like the political argument for building infrastructure (and let’s not start that up at all here) using money that’s available to you to strengthen what you have and to try to progress, investing while you can is the only way we could meaningfully move towards actually paying it down, ironically. We do not sell out Ewood, we do not make enough from commercial and we are in an industry that is almost designed to be unprofitable for the overwhelming majority participating. Without getting into the finite FFP window, the PSR angle where not running at a loss and calling in cash from the owners means we can only lose 3x less than if they did help us (work that one out, I’ve never been able to), we’ve sold key assets that could have helped us progress up the league and towards the Promised Land, which is fine, but we simply have to reinvest it or we die. It might be slow, it will be painful and it will happen. Anybody saying any different is either being facetious, wilfully ignorant or has some homework to do.

Agreed. He’ll pop with a few, especially from set pieces and crosses, but he’s got three assists in three league starts and that’s extremely valuable

Gueye with 3 assists in three league appearances is good stuff. The manner in which Oxford lost is the manner in which we lost a lot of games over the past couple of seasons and coming back from 1-0 to win is as rare as rocking horse shit. Big game next weekend, could absolutely derail the dingles, if we nick it. They seem livid at their owners as it is, I’m not sure Burnley Town Centre could cope with the hammering it would take after losing. Turning a disaster zone into a wasteland. Let’s get it done.

I think it’ll be rare we get all of them starting and certainly not for a while, but I think this is probably our strongest XI. Maybe knife-edge between JRC and Weimann. Pick the weak spots and replace.

Last 10 mins has been really poor

Yes, you’re right, only shit keepers get beaten from 35 yards. (1:46 for Buffon’s howler).

What did he do wrong there, exactly? He’s not too far out at all and it is hit perfectly, dipping into the goal. He’s a generally shit keeper but there’s nothing he did wrong at all on that. Hyam should’ve won his duel.

You don’t save those

Everyone is off it, apart from Ohashi who’s having a really good half. Oxford were not at it early but have grown into the game. Something will need a change at half time.

Is JRC that much quicker?

I think there’re a lot of aspects to him that need changing. A few fundamentals that inhibit his ability to progress in other areas. But I reckon he’s got a higher ceiling than what he’s currently playing at. I don’t think he’s a 10 at all and I honestly think if this line up is going to persist, it should be Dolan wide right and JRC in the 10.

Can’t tell if it’s just the lighting, but the pitch doesn’t look in the best of nick

We forget how young he is. 22 and making his 149th league appearance for us. Have to tie him down, he has so much room to develop, frustrating as he is.

Agreed, he’s such a handful physically that you really need him from the off, but there could be fitness concerns, who knows? Ohashi leading the line is for later in the game against tired legs, where he can really cause some mischief. I still think he should be in the 10 behind Gueye, but you probably can’t have both on for a full 90 at the moment.

Karamoko Dembele seems to have settled in extremely quickly at QPR. Proper live wire, basically everything you want Dolan to be and excellent dead ball deliveries, from this viewing. Opportunity (if there truly was one) missed.

Once again, I booked transfer deadline day off. No point being at work for it, as we’re likely to be hanging on for any news of a speculated move happening. I think it’ll go late and I expect disappointment with at least one deadline day deal. Eustace is basically confirming as much today with his comments to the press. Even still - it is a bit of a thrill doing late business. Just a shame we can’t seem to get it done on the day. Let’s hope the lad from Brighton is a better administrator than we’ve had previously.

Ruddy is done, he’s gone up there for a nice little earner and fair play to him, he’s had a good career and can contribute to what’s happening at Newcastle with one eye on his next move after his playing career. But he’s done as a first-choice or backup goalkeeper. He looked tired in the two matches against Rovers last season and a handful of others I caught through the season. Signing him and paying decent wages for the privilege is counter-intuitive. Pears is old enough to not need a wisened keeper backing him up with advice. We’re long past the “polishing up” phase with Pears. He’ll probably be suited to League One and there’s no shame in that, but he needs replacing. If Ruddy’s being eyed up as a replacement for Ben Benson - well, that’s another matter entirely.

We get back what we put in, so let’s hope we all wake up to that.

Thing to remember here is this matter (specifically sending funds to Rovers) is just part of a wider matter that Venkys are embroiled in. We’re a facet of it and some of the actions under investigation are tangentially linked to us (G Nev’s house) but while the investigation continues, Venkys remain somewhat hamstrung anyway. Now’s the time to inundate the club, now is the time for everyone to individually do what they can. It can be emails, withdrawing financial support, challenging and questioning at fan group meetings, protesting at games, spreading information to the wider football community, even your friends or people you run into, whatever you’re able to do.

It’s not too difficult of a life being a High Court judge in India

Yep, I’ve been in the wrong room. What did you hear about rescheduling?

Which stream are you on?

I’m still watching the court. Wider shot of the judges now, but nothing pointing towards them being finished yet

It is some wild nonsense that we are here on a Tuesday morning trying to work live feeds from a court in India to find out what happens to our football club and we’ve not directly heard from the owners that are causing this in years. What an absurd situation these untalented morons put us in. I hope they get routed (Rao-ted?) and are left as close to penniless as possible but legal processes don’t seem to hit the wealthy very hard, in the main. Something has got to give

Two separate Brighton friends have texted me today saying this guy is going out on loan and they think/hope he comes to Ewood. “Second coming of Saka” (believe it when I see it). Has he been linked before?