12 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

They did mention it, at least once 

They probably waited for me to go to the loo!!😏

On 22/03/2023 at 09:16, 47er said:

Didn't know where to put this, not worth a thread of its own. Read an article Phil Jones recently. his contract is up in summer and there's no chance of it being renewed.

Before we get upset for him though, he's earned (or better put received) over £42M since he joined united 11 or 12 years ago! It works out at £300,000 per game!

What's most astonishing is that, despite his many injuries he kept getting new contracts and always with a significant increase.

Inexplicably his last renewal was in 2019 when he actually got a big increase although he'd hardly played at all before this and hardly played thereafter

The gravy train eh?

Google Harry Arter.

For a couple of seasons now - IIRC - Nottingham Forest have been paying him £40K + per week to do a bit of training! 😦

The Manager who signed him has moved on but no subsequent Manager has rated him enough to pick him.

18 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Tomorrow will be shorter (as long as you remember to put your clocks forward!)

I had thought it would be next weekend; but having seen the BBC News & weather forecast, I'm up to speed, thanks @wilsdenrover

As I'll need to be in the morning for my weekly verbal joust with my Burnleh-supporting old schoolmate in NZ!! (It'll be strange with no weekend games to discuss; but I'm sure we'll find some points of disagreement!

19 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

I think you mean Tommy Doyle

Mea culpa, @wilsdenrover , so do I!😏

In mitigation, it's been a lo-o-ng day today.

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Man City in the FACup in the late 1960’s was the last 40,000 plus gate. Yes, it was packed.

Certainly was! 😦  I remember coming over from Blackpool with a colleague who was a Man City fan; but can't now recall why it was a Monday night match - lo-o-ong before the era of rearranged fixtures for the convenience of Sky TV.

Said colleague was severely erm, "hacked" off with me reminding him for the rest of City's successful Cup run that Jim Fryatt's goal in our 4-1 defeat was the only one they conceded in that run!

Incidentally, perhaps it was a bit too much of a "niche" statistic; but I was a bit surprised not to have heard any of the commentators last weekend mention that both of the grandfathers of Tommy Booth played for City in that 5th Round game.

On 20/03/2023 at 21:16, roversfan99 said:

It can never be a "catastrophe" to get promoted at any point. Any promoted side will be up against the odds to stay up regardless of when that is. Promotion will allow us to strengthen so worst case scenario, we come back down with a stronger team compared to now. It breaks that psychological barrier, it improves our ability to attract players and staff, it will likely give us a big chance to expand our regular going fan base. We no longer would be a side that has been in the wilderness for over a decade. Tens of millions of pounds will also be generated, but the benefits go beyond that.

In the grand scheme of things, whether it is this season, next season or the season after, the calibre of our team is unlikely to be much different relative to the Premier League.

Dead right @roversfan99. That's how Dyche did it for the 6‐fingered ones, and quite a few others have followed a similar route to Premier League stability.

Who knows, Kompany may have to do it as well next season?

11 hours ago, Hasta said:

I've only just noticed that.

I presume one price grid was for before the end of the season, and the other grid was for the rest of the summer. 

There will obviously be a claim your seat deadline before they allow move-arounds, but it makes no sense to hike the prices up higher in June or July as those are the people who are undecided who need persuading. 

Happy they've brought them down a bit. The only gripe I have is not making the Riverside a more entry-level price point.

Yes, the part I've copied in bold is where longstanding - you know what I mean! - fans will get penalised.

Over the years, I've stood/sat in most parts of the ground; and like most of us, I guess, I want the club to strike a balance between loyalty and fairness. (= "I must have some of those 'Yaarkshire frugal genes' in my DNA!!")

As I get - much! - closer to 80 than 70, I'm thinking I want a bit more comfort watching a game at Ewood than I've been used to in recent seasons. So I'm toying with the idea of an upgrade and moving from not very high up in the Riverside to a seat in the Jack Walker Upper. But, because I'm not renewing my old season ticket, I guess I won't be entitled to any discount, but will have to pay the post-discount price for my new seat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I can't afford a seat in the Jack Walker; I can. What I'm saying is that there doesn't seem to be any incentive for a loyal season-ticket holder who wants to upgrade!

Additionally, there's the timing of matches to be taken into account, as per @Oldgregg86 . I'm not sure if I can be bothered turning up to Ewood even in the Jack Walker Upper to watch a Premier League game next season if it's versus, say, Brentford or Fulham when it kicks-off at 7.45 pm one midweek evening.

4 hours ago, oneandycrawford said:

1, Difficult choice this one but I think Wembley Play-off final. That feeling of knowing we were going to play in the top flight after 17 years of supporting Rovers was just incredible - particularly after the Palace defeat. Honourable mentions to Gigg Lane 80, FMC 87, and Cardiff 2002

2. Anfield 95. .... .... .... ....

Thanks for reminding me of that game, @oneandycrawford. It was a bit special, all right.

18 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

Excellent choice for a thread, @wilsdenrover; thanks for the idea.

As regards the game I was happiest to have attended, I see that others have already commented on the wins in the Full Members' Cup (Surely the trophy with the most bizarre name?!😏 ) 1987; and the League Cup 2002.

So can I offer my memory of 15th February, 1975? It was the day of the 5th Round of the F.A. Cup, which took priority for Match of the Day over the contractual obligation the BBC had to feature a limited number of games per season from Divisions other than the First.

So, as we'd already been knocked out of the Cup, there was no chance of our "Second v Top of Division 3" game at home to Plymouth Argyle being shown on television. What a game they missed!!

Gordon Lee, who'd been appointed manager halfway through the previous season, had used the close season to recruit a squad capable of being promoted back to Division Two. However, we'd had a bit of a blip in late January/early February, picking up only 1 point out of 9 , including a 2-1 defeat in Plymouth who had taken our place at the top of the Division 3 table.

At this length of time, I can't be certain, but seem to recall that Argyle were 2-0 up just before half time in the return game at Ewood 11 days later when Ken "Beamo" Beamish made it 2-1.

I don't know what Gordon Lee said to the lads during the interval; but in the second half, "Dear old" Don Martin and Mike Hickman each scored a couple without reply for Rovers to run out - 'scuse the football writers' cliché! - 5-2 winners.

And with the exception of the away game in Colchester (I bet that ruined more than a few Pools coupons!) which we lost, we were unbeaten in the remaining 16 games of the season to clinch the title by 1 point from Argyle.

I was so chuffed that February evening that I couldn't go directly home; I went via the home of one of my work colleagues who also had completely blue and white eyes! He was so surprised to see me; but I just needed to share what I'd seen with another true fan!

As for the game I most wish I could have seen, it's the 1960 Cup Final. And that's mainly for my Dad's sake more than mine. I was only 14 at the time and if I could have been there, my Dad would have had to be there, too.

His best pal had had a ticket for the 1928 Final but my Dad couldn't have afforded one in those difficult times. So even though we lost the 1960 Final, I'd have loved it if he could have been there at least once when we played at Wembley.

We lived in Blackpool at the time and I'd been totally insufferable at school about what we were going to do to Wolves. The Monday after that game was the longest day of my life! I never knew how awful Humble Pie tasted!!

Because of where we lived, we both knew we had even less chance of Wembley tickets than most season-ticket holders, so we watched the game on TV more philosophically than many of them must have been able to!

One humorous memory of that game was seeing Kenneth Wolstenholme going round the ground a couple of hours interviewing fans of both clubs. He found an archetypal Rovers' fan, who told him that Wolves "hadn't got a snowball's chance in hell" of beating us. 

Ah, well!!

6 hours ago, Shirley Crabtree Wrestler said:

Not being funny Merce, but I think it would be an absolute catastrophe for Rovers to be promoted this season, from a footballing perspective. It might carry a sweetener in terms of the financial rewards, but it would be unlikely to be an extended stay at the pinnacle, and there is something very disheartening about trudging back up Livesey Branch Rd week in week out with the guts torn out of you...

Not saying it won't happen, mind - look how teams like Brighton, Brentford and Wolves have consolidated their positions recently, but I do feel it would be more likely to end in a death spiral more akin to Forest for us.. Having said that, there were plenty (including me) who expected Rovers to have dropped away to mid table obscurity by this stage, given our inability to sign new blood in recent windows. So anything is possible.. 11 to 1 odds eh...?

I'll be happy if we can extend the season in some meaningful way via the playoffs, but I'm not quite ready to bet the farm on promotion to the killing fields. Good luck with your bet!

COYB!

Yes, I know - and get - what you're saying @Shirley Crabtree Wrestlerand , if we were to go up this season, I think we'd do extremely well not to come straight back down.

However, and fwiw, I don't think it would be a total disaster to come back down after a season, so long as we spent wisely - a bit like that club the far side of Accrington, which was founded in the year we competed in our first FA Cup Final.

It took Dyche at least three seasons from their promotion to the Premier League to establish a presence therein. If Gregg and JDT can attract players of sufficient quality in the years to come, who's to say that Lancashire's Most Historic Football Club couldn't return to our rightful home on the basis of their work augmenting the Brockhall production line?

2 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

The immediate reaction it got from me was a bucket load of verbals at my TV aimed at SG for messing up a decent chance.

Without VAR a pen would never have been awarded, Robinson would not have been booked. The incident would have passed unnoticed.

However VAR proved it was a handball and therefore a penalty, to the Refs annoyance as his subsequent behaviour showed. He was pathetic as are so so many of those look a like posturing pricks.

In a way, it's a shame that the Mitrovič incident later on Sunday - rightly, I guess - drew attention away from our grievances.

Presumably, the clubs send in reports on the Officials' performances.

Presumably,  we can at least let the the FA - ?and PGMOL - know our feelings. (Viz. We wuz robbed!)

2 hours ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

I did, as soon as I saw it!

This feels like an important moment. The club looked in a very healthy, unified state in front of the whole country yesterday. I was very proud to see the texts from non Rovers mates.

The media team have utilised it very well indeed.

Can the powers that be capitalise on this potential reunification moment?

As did I. I even had a conciliatory WhatsApp call before I went to bed from my Burnleh-supporting old schoolmate in NZ!

But, come on, Lennie; how long have you followed BRFC? These aren't the days of John Williams, tha knows!😏

On 19/03/2023 at 18:56, SoldierMo said:

I will never forgive morton for that should have just took the lad out and then gone down bloody amount of goals he has cost usjoke

With respect to the 7th paragraph of the following report - the one beginning, "That was how it stayed until the hour ..." - it interests and intrigues me how a - presumably - neutral reporter sees things differently from those (of us😉) who invest: financially; emotionally; and every other conceivable way; in one of the combatants.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/19/sheffield-united-blackburn-fa-cup-quarter-final-match-report?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

4 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Then he needs to take the credit for getting us to the QF and (potentially) the Playoffs.

He's doing an unbelievable job.

Quite a lot further in both Cup competitions, in fact, than his predecessor would have wanted to.

4 hours ago, broadsword said:

Good point, well made. It's not worth it. But it is difficult to take. And they really made me believe for a while. Sheffield being as dirty as they come really is insult on top of injury. And I just can't believe those subs. How it league form doesn't suffer now.

I'm just on the floor here boss, how do I pick myself up?

 

I would honestly put that on a par with losing to palace in eightynine. That's how bad it is

Yeah; I get that, @broadsword .

That second leg defeat in Sahf London was really painful at the time and the journey home heartbreaking.

And nearly 25 years on, I've still haven't forgiven George Courtney - the Referee of the Second Leg game - for his "controversial decisions", to quote Mike Jackman. He (Courtney) may be 82 nowadays; but he was always one of those Referees who, for me, made the game all about them.

But who could have foreseen what would have happened within three seasons, with Uncle Jack's largesse?

And that’s why I cut JDT some slack on here. For me, he laid the ground out clearly from almost his first statement that it would be three to four 'Windows' before he had a squad capable of holding their own in the Premier League. If they do that nearly as well as our squads of the 1990s did, it will go a lo-o-ong way towards easing the pain of this lunchtime.

But that'll call for more input from our Owners than we've seen over the years.

15 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Ha, City away. Serves them fuckers right.

Don't forget they beat us for the right to go to Wembley, @Mike E. All four teams will be playing "Away".

(If it helps, when I first saw the draw, I wondered about posting an - understandably - snarky comment referring to the cricket history of Bramall Lane and wondering if they still had a scoreboard from those days.)

2 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Well played Rovers..no disgrace there.We'll play at the new Wembley one day.

The subs simply sunk us(and a cracking shot),we invited them to attack.

To mis-quote from "The Sound of Music", "I am 76, going on 77!", @SIMON GARNERS 194And would love to see Rovers at the New Wembley while I still can.

(And yes, I know; it neither scans, nor rhymes!)

1 hour ago, BigBar said:

Will he accept responsibility for the subs and hold his hands up that the changes and timing were the reason we went from Wembley to being eliminated immediately after. I don't want him caned but it be nice if he held his hands up and said he got that wrong.

The decisions that went against us were long gone so you can't turn to them as the reason. 

Oh, with respect, @BigBar, I think we can.

Even if the Referee hadn't shown the Sheffield United defender a Red card before BBD took the penalty, he could - and, arguably - should have shown him a second yellow about halfway through the first half.

Which would have left Sheff U with 10 v. 11 for at least 65+ minutes of the game. Obviously, I can't prove that that would have seen us through; but it would have made our job much easier.

22 minutes ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Bit of an overreaction on morten imo. He showed bravery going for the second goal, he is a young lad and he got a poke in the eye and stopped playing, he will learn. 
 

im disappointed but more so I’m proud of the lads today, stood up to a hostile environment and gave it their all, showing that they can play under pressure. Feel this will put us in good stead for the rest of the season and they won’t want to suffer the same disappointment in our ultimate quest. 
 

let’s get a bit of perspective albeit I know everyone will be disappointed about not going to Wembley 

Why on earth do you say that @Bbrovers2288? Isn’t that where the Play-off Finals will be held this year? Wouldn't it be sweet if we got the lot we've just played in that competition?

Wouldn't mind a different Ref than today's, mind!

18 minutes ago, DanielMB said:

This messegeboard after a loss……

Not just any loss, though, @DanielMB. Victory was SO-O-O close.

We will get over it - eventually ‐ but right now, it hurts. So many "ifs": if the Ref had sent off the one of theirs who contended the penalty early on; if JDT had made some different substitutions; if we had a bigger squad to choose from; if our multi-millionnaire owners would put a bit of money into recruitment of better-quality players.

Repeat that last one, in particular, ad nauseam.

When my Mrs. was weary, she used to say, "I'm like a wrung-out rag!" The last couple of hours have left me knowing exactly that feeling.

Only two consolations: if we'd won, I was going to "invest" a couple of quid with itv.com & see if I couldn't win best seats at Wembley for the final. Well, they can forget that!

And: Hopefully, we can now properly "concentrate on the League."

13 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

That the VAR official told him to give. And he didn't send the bloke off in the process.

Nor show him a - merited - 2nd yellow.

Kinnell. 😦

😦

Kinnell!😦😦😦