Hats off to Alan Pace, the Dingles have gone from being one of the best run clubs in the Premier league, with nigh on £100 million in the bank, to being 10's of millions in debt, sold all their best players and are below us in the Championship. 

Despite all this, their fans are up and down as if Christmas has come early, and are buying their worst home shirt in history in record numbers. 

He's some salesman is Alan. 

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I know that,  but that’ll be the level of earnings he’ll be looking for. Wether he gets it is another story.

I've no idea what he wants, it was just what I thought was a sensible suggestion. 

I've always thought he's a good player and would tick multiple boxes. 

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Even at Burnley he’ll be on more than we want to pay a left back.

He's not at Burnley, he got released. 

4 minutes ago, Finlay McKenna said:

no thanks

Fair enough.

It's seemed an obvious one to me since Burnley released him. Never saw him have a bad game for the Dingles. 

13 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I loved it when we moved the towels last time they were here.

It's absolute bollocks - you shouldn't be allowed to do it at your own ground, but there's no way I'd stand for it at mine. 

I'd get into a fight if needs be.

If we were winning last 10 minutes, I'd throw about 10 towels all around the pitch, and I'd wipe the ball at every throw in and goal kick. 

Let's see how that goes down. 

We need experienced cover at left back/ centre half, on a free?

Erik Pieters, no brainer. 

16 minutes ago, Lee0r said:

15 minutes in and Ayala tweaks a hamstring against Hartlepool. No thanks. 

Absolutely, I'll be there on Wednesday and I'm quite looking forward to seeing the academy lads in action against a senior team. They were good to watch at Stanley. 

The line up will show us how seriously Tomasson takes the league Cup, regardless of whether we get a result or not. 

Personally, I'm happy with whatever side he feels is best to benefit the League position. A win, though, could be beneficial to getting some minutes into more legs. 

2 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Only team with 6 points - two clean sheets. It's hard not to get carried away but I'm trying desperately hard not to and casually chalk it up as a "decent start".

Think the success over the first couple of games has been built on the two centre backs, Ayala and Wharton. Thought Wharton in particular was absolutely sensational here once again. The worry surely has to be Ayala's injury record and if we somehow could get JPVH in it would be a massive boost.

Kudos to Hedges, very good yesterday and it was the first time I've thought he may end up a decent acquisition. He looked like a bloke off the street who had wandered into a professional football match last season so it shows the difference a bit of decent coaching can make.

How the hell has anyone managed to unlock the howitzer in Travis? He never looked like he had one of those in his locker previously.

Gallagher still woeful, the two results are all the more impressive playing effectively with ten men, if we could replace himwith someone decent we really would be flying imo.

Super goal from BBD. Although the same type of gamble didn't come off in Jan, for me we need to roll the dice once again with him and keep him until January then see where we are imo

The funny thing is, I don't think we've even played that well yet! There looks like there could be a lot more to come from this group of players under this manager.

Come on Waggott and Broughton, there's something potentially a bit special in the offing here. Do your jobs and give the manager the quality and strength in depth to succeed over a 46 game season.

Went to Preston last season and Hedges was our best player, he also had a decent game at  Birmingham.

He's carrying on where he left off last season.

That's both games that we've seen Rovers keep a clean sheet and play out the last few minutes calmly,virtually without incident. 

Can't help thinking that losing Lenihan might well be a factor. 

1 hour ago, Don Said said:

Very early days, but credit to JDT and Broughton on Szmodics and Brittain our two permanent signings so far. Initial viewing says they suit the way we are playing very well, promising starts to their careers here.

No plodders, no gap fillers, no jobs for the boys.

Just efficient, purposeful business.

 

As Broughton and Tomasson eluded to when they first came in, they've inherited a young, hungry, talented squad which just needs a bit of fine tuning. 

JDT isn't daft, he wouldn't have taken over just anywhere, the foundations are in place. 

Cracking start to the season, the whole squad looks young and hungry. Another 2 or 3 hand picked, quality signingsand keep Brereton and Tomasson will be licking his lips. 

Hedges with another man of the match performance for me, to go with last week's. 

The Edun substitution worked to perfection. 

As far as I can see, Erik Pieters is still without a club. As a free agent, he'd be a strong, experienced addition. 

22 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I suspect the two Clubs are still currently a long way apart in terms of asking price unless Brighton have a massive rethink.

Genuinely asking, do we know if Rovers are actually trying to sign him? 

If we do get anywhere near £20 million for Brereton, I hope it finally puts paid to the ridiculous notion that Mowbray has left the club in a weaker position than when he came. 

We now have a young squad on supposedly manageable wages, many with a potential to be sold for good money. 

That definitely wasn't the case when he came in. 

Prediction for this game, I'll stick my neck out say that if we win, we'll have 18k plus on against West Brom. 

Thought the most discernable difference to last season, if there was one, was the way we played out the last 10 minutes. 

At 1 goal up over the last few seasons, the usual would be to pump it forward and see it coming back straight away. 

I can hardly remember a hopeless hoof out yesterday, each player stuck to keeping the ball down and passing the match out, and it made for a much calmer finish. 

1 hour ago, Displaced Rover said:

“Crap heavy metal” 🤦

You mean Thunderstruck by AC/DC….

Best track to be played at Ewood for many a year. 

If I never hear The Final Countdown ever again, I'll be happy. 

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

He's athletic, works hard and is technically competent, but his end product is generally underwhelming.

I think he's a very good squad player at this level - someone you can bring on for 20 mins to inject some energy into your side in that 3 (of the 4-2-3-1), but he's not a starter. He just doesn't do enough on the ball. 

Far and away Hedges was our best player going forward, particularly first half. 

One ball round the corner to Brereton first half was superb. 

I do think people sometimes make their mind up before they go. 

6 minutes ago, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

Rothwell cost circa 400k and we got zero for him. 

Szmodics is potentially 7 times more expensive as a direct replacement.  In that light - he's overpriced.

The guy was also clearly second fiddle in terms of ability to Dembele - who left for a million less.  

 

However, as you say, if he fits with what the new management want - you sometimes have to overpay to get what you want.  

This is where things blur with the new dof/coach structure.  

Has JDT said 'Szmodics is the guy I want' 

Or is he simply the best that Broughton feels he can recruit...

 

Either way, £2.5 million is overpriced at this point of time.  

 

But if he fits the style JDT wants and has a good season, then in hindsight it won't be. 

Such is how managers and signings are judged. 

 

I was going off being offered £3 million for Rothwell with 6 months left on his contract and scoring 3 goals last season. 

Rothwell hadn't played a Championship game when Rovers bought him, Szmodics scored twice as many goals as Rothwell in the Championship last season and has plenty experience at Championship level. 

If we're saying Szmodics is a replacement for Rothwell, as a direct comparison, I don't see how he's being seen as overpriced. 

I also don't see the point in screaming for a change in management, then questioning one of the first things that they do. 

It's the club's money and they'll spend it as they see fit. As always,at the end of the day, they will be judged by their results. 

23 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Granted he cannot be fully blamed for players not signing and moving on but under his tenure the club has been commercially regressing year after year. Season tickets being a prime example of this. Maybe it wouldn't add up to player sales but at the end of the day more is still more.

The fact people are even comparing us to Preston shows how far we have fallen and we are always towards the bottom of the table when it comes to revenue. 

He is running the place into the ground and needs to be gotten rid of and replaced with someone who has a rudimentary understanding of how the capitalist system works.

I'm not going to disagree with you on that, but the conversation was regarding contracts and players not signing them. 

5 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

If the club made more money then we'd be able to raise the cap and compete with other clubs. 

The absolutely pathetic amount of revenue the club generates is definitely in a large part down to Waggott

And how long would it take to raise the £3 million they lost because Venkys wouldn't sell Rothwell? 

It's a drop in the ocean compared to potential money raised from player sales. 

I'm far from a Waggott apologist, but the stick he gets over contracts is way over the top when he must be more frustrated than anyone. 

If the club has set a salary cap/wage structure or whatever you want to call it and it's broken every time someone wants more, then the club doesn't have a salary cap. 

Whether it's set at the right level is a different argument,that's a matter for the owners, but some of the stick levelled at Waggott is just ridiculous. 

Put yourself in his position,counting the pennies, then losing players for nothing which are worth millions.

It's been 10 years and it still hasn't sunk in with some that Blackburn Rovers isn't a normal football club. 

I'm expecting Hedges to be involved. 

15 minutes ago, longsiders1882 said:

So you have a manager with zero experience in the league, have lost players, will lose your main striker and have no top level experience but will be top 6 but we will be 15th even though we have already made signings, currently have a lot of top level experience. You may well be right but I think your view is based on little more than what you hope will happen - knowing it’s a no lose scenario. Guess right you can claim brilliant insight, wrong and it’s passed off with a shrug.

I have not a clue where we - or you - will be. In fact beyond expecting Norwich and Watford to be there or there abouts I have no idea who will do well and who not so well.

If you gave me a million quid(please), and I had to put it on anyone to go up, it would 100% go on West Brom. 

Felt Bruce was getting them playing towards the end of the season and the signing of Wallace is massive.