Russell Martin situation has been going on for a while. The compensation level changed dramatically once Southampton were officially relegated (last week?), which is what was understood to be the hurdle, but that has gone, now. Perhaps somebody else or a change of heart has come into play while this has been rumbling on. If I was a Southampton supporter, I wouldn't be overly enamoured with the appointment of Martin.

Michael Duff expected to become Swansea City manager once Russell Martin to Southampton is done.

Boos ring out at half-time in Enschede. The Dutch are showing why it's called The Dutch Disease. Possession with no incision.

Dykes got no service yesterday, mostly due to Scotland's game plan, yet he pounced on a mistake by the Norwegian defence, and knew when to lay it off for the winner when he had his back to goal. I'd wager he's a more intelligent footballer than a certain striker of ours. If nothing else, signing Dykes would make Euro 2024 much more interesting for us as Rovers supporters if Scotland make it. I've always enjoyed watching Rovers players in the major international tournaments, and with Hyam likely being in a possible tournament squad (to bring it back on topic!), it's make watching the tournament a bit more interesting.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,174 (+8) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

Scotland went with a clear game plan to frustrate Norway and keep their two best players (Haaland and Odegaard) off the ball. It wasn't pretty to watch for 85 minutes or so, but that was some sucker-punch they were dealt by Scotland! A calamitous error at the back ultimately saw Norway taking nothing from the game before Scotland had the wind in their sails to score a nice winner. The interesting thing was seeing how Haaland and Odegaard played when they aren't alongside world class players. It makes me wonder if Dykes could play in that City team and get 30 goals in a season. Anyway, Hyam gave away a somewhat dangerous free-kick after he came on in injury time, but ultimately did his job. Good lad.

Bah! Hyam on the bench versus Norway. 😒

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,166 (+15) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

I was thinking the same, but if you've got the pull and the budget that Arsenal have, it's a bit different to being able to attract the Declan Rices of the world as opposed to the Nathan Blakes. Although he did sign Matt Jansen, so credit where it's reluctantly due. 🤗

Good job you're not Italian, then. 😄

Why do they need to? They're at the arse end of a full season. They're human.

I've upgraded this man's name to Gazza.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,151 (+8) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,143 (+6) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,137 (+13) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

The club would have to reimburse over 1,000 supporters.

Not yet. There was an interesting mention last week that the Glazers were stringing this along to increase the share prices. Looks like that is exactly what is happening.

I mentioned N'Golo Kante's €100m contract was over the course of two years. Apparently, it's €100m per year. 🤯 Karim Benzema is getting €200m per year. There are rumours of other players, such as Paulo Dybala, potentially going to Saudi Arabia. Whether they do or not will likely be down to if the money can tempt them for the sake of a year or two. Benzema, Kante, and Ronaldo obviously have no problem with it, but Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski apparently do (reports and quotes that they turned it down on moral grounds without saying they turned it down on moral grounds). I can see this trend increasing and things getting more politicised and polarised. Saudi Arabia is only going to ramp up their interest in the game leading up to their 2030 World Cup bid, and they're only going to throw more and more money at it.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,124 (+18) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

From Nixon, HMRC have now sent a winding-up petition notice to Wigan Athletic's owners for a tax bill of ~£1m. Far more serious than the ~£2m of unpaid wages which is bad enough. They could be wound up within a week if the owners don't act or sell and sort. Any new owner would have to immediately drop £3m in cash to set things straight, as well as taking over a club starting on -8 points at the most.

According to Pete O'Rourke, Gerrard is going over to Saudi Arabia for talks to manage over there.

Carlos Carvalhal has left Celta Vigo. I suspect he'll be linked with Leeds United. 🤞

I read that we couldn't give Phillips a longer contract than three years due to his age. He turns 18 in a couple of weeks, after which I assume we can offer a longer contract, similar to what we did with Adam Wharton. Alongside Adam Wharton, Phillips is one of the academy's breakthrough prospects, so he may well have a massive value to his name within the next few years, just as Adam Wharton does at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if Broughton tries to negotiate a new contract for Phillips at some point this year.

Season Ticket Estimate Latest: 8,106 (+0) Notes: The estimate is based upon the total number of saleable seats to home supporters (18,210), minus the amount of unavailable (sold) seats. (+xx) represents the difference in season ticket sales from the previous estimate (usually 24 hours). 159 seats in block W01 are marked as unavailable (sold), but are not saleable due to being cordoned-off. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. 376 seats for supporters requiring ground-level font-row access are marked as unavailable (sold), but appear to be block-reserved rather than fully sold. These are therefore excluded from the season ticket estimate. A seat is marked as unavailable for up to 28 minutes when added to the basket. It is not possible to exclude these from the estimate.

Yeah, fair enough. Thought it was worse at the time!