10 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Because of increasing evidence it is harming kids. They have a moral duty to speak out. 

I'm more interested in the moral duty to do something. Everybody "speaks out". It's easy. The hard part is doing something, which most can't be bothered with.

9 minutes ago, Displaced Rover said:

For him though, he has enough money to be set for life already, so he’s in much more of a position to stick to his morals.

"However much money you earn, it is never enough." - Me.

7 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Maybe that will make our used car salesman think again.

It will be forgotten about next summer when the club changes its front of shirt sponsor.

Funny... We've had this sponsor for our training-wear for several years, and front of shirt sponsor this year. Why are these MPs only just getting around to criticising it? I feel like it's yet another bunch of MPs wanting to be seen to be moral.

7 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Blimey, I'd have Aaron Ramsey all day long to run the midfield and teach our youngsters a thing or two. 

I think you'll find Richie Smallwood is the outstanding candidate for that job.

11 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

plus he could go over and try to improve LGBT rights over there

😆You must be joking. He'd get lynched.

53 minutes ago, sjsbrfc said:

Did he though or is it just rumour?

I said "claim", but rumour is also appropriate. The story is that Batth had a medical and failed it in the recent past. I can't see how that can be true because medicals usually only come after terms with the player are agreed (which we are reportedly still doing), as well as an agreed fee with the selling club (which might be zero in this case).

Onto the original question, I think Batth is a good replacement for the experience of Ayala. It should allow Barnes or even Phillips to go out on loan for regular football.

How can Danny Batth have failed a medical weeks ago if we are still discussing personal terms with him, and likely haven't even agreed a fee (if any) with Sunderland? The whole failed medical claim does not stack up to scrutiny.

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Perhaps 8,100 is paid for STs? The additional few hundred you counted were comps?

Possibly. There are some things that can't be figured out. Let's see... I'm convinced we're doing better than that figure (although not by a huge amount).

2 minutes ago, Rochdale Blues said:

Fans Forum tonight, so season ticket sales should be updated.

Can you ask Steve why goozburger's figure is wildly wrong? What are the secrets of the seat map? Etc. 😄

35 minutes ago, M_B said:

If he played more, Hedges would be the man for captain. Here we have a proper team player who isn't shy to open his mouth.

Hedges? Really? 🤔

Even if Hedges was a regular, I'm not sure he's ever come across to me as the type who has the fire in his belly to rally the troops, unless you know something that the rest of don't when you say he "isn't shy to open his mouth". I'd honestly say JRC is a more likely candidate, even at his young age!

8 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Did Dolan have a poor season last year? 5 goals and 5 assists whilst playing all over the front line

Not exactly enough in a promotion-chasing side, is it? He's still only 21, but I have a feeling that he's one of these players that is at his peak during his younger years. He still has time on his side, of course. Hopefully he will live up to expectations this season.

1 minute ago, neophox said:

Nice to see Hedges and Dolan scoring though. 

I think it was Vale and Dolan who scored against Stanley last year. It means nothing, really, as they both had poor seasons thereafter. Hopefully it'll be different this time around.

My suspicion is that the first preseason game is just something that players don't really bust a gut over. It doesn't really bother me, but it might have been a bit embarrassing to have not scored at all in 120 minutes.

Onto Austria. But not for me. 😩

Just now, ItsRoverZ said:

Dolan lively but no end product

If you don't laugh, you'll cry. 😆

Dolan just loves scoring at this ground.

After being mostly billed as not good enough or consistent enough for Manchester United for the past several years, I'm having a bit of a chuckle at David de Gea being described as a legend in social media circles now that he's left.

While I'm sure the transfer window is far from over, let's not forget that we've got two new attackers that aren't playing today before we start panicking about lack of goals.

Well... An improvement on last season's first game against them. 👍

Apparently, a good showing from Tronstad before being subbed by Weston. Thoughts from others at the game?

Just now, Madon said:

Ash Phillips is looking bloody brilliant by the way!

Elliott Jackson has just said something similar. Apparently, Phillips has bulked up a bit. Hopefully not due to off-season burgers and stuff. 😄

2 minutes ago, Displaced Rover said:

I know it’s pre season but bloody hell that was a crap 30 mins.

It was dire in the first game last season, too, which we lost. Doesn't really matter, though. We went on to play better as time wore on in preseason. Just about fitness and giving players match time.

1 minute ago, neophox said:

Travis off to Millwall or Luton?

@TommyRovers suggested that there has been a death in the Travis family. 😢

Just now, BankEnd Rover said:

Tronstad looks good! 

Is he playing well though?

Sounds fun so far.

5 minutes: Stanley should lead

8 minutes: Rovers should lead

Bah! My trip to Austria is off due to some unexpected vet expenses today. 😢 Can somebody count the Rovers fans in my stead? 😄

On 02/07/2023 at 20:34, Mattyblue said:

Made me laugh when all the media luvvies were trying to promote a mass move to Mastodon, it will never, ever have the clout of Twitter.

Edit: I've just realised I made pretty much the same post as I did the other day, which I totally forgot about. 🤪

I use Mastodon for tech-related news because it has the sources that I need, and I prefer to use free and open-source software where possible. It is much more joyful to use than Twitter. It's a cleaner, simpler interface with not adverts and no distractions from the content you actually want to read. The closest thing to an RSS feed in social media format.

However, the problem is what content you're looking for. If it's football, then Mastodon probably doesn't have the sources that you want (LT, Lancs Live, Rovers official, etc.). I still use Twitter for that, and I've been posting the season ticket estimates there, too, but I'm wondering if there is really any point to it when RSS feeds are ample for the amount I can physically read.

I have a Facebook account for the sole purpose of accessing a Group that I enjoy being part of. I only went back to it recently and, oh my, what an absolute piece of bloatware and shitware Facebook has become since I last used it. I really wish the Group would use something more open and accessible than a platform run by data-abusers.

But that's the thing with social media. People say they don't have a choice, and I may even be saying that in my last paragraph. Actually, we all have a choice. It's just whether the reasons for switching outweigh the effort of doing it in order to get the same thing on the other platforms out there. Invariably, I think people just give up trying.