Absolute circus. O'Brien could be the difference between promotion and staying down, the margins are that high. A well rated player who we never thought we could get, yet someone has dropped a clanger. The explanation I keep seeing about the second part of the deal causing issues doesn't tally up with there also being issues with the other lad. It's bloody useless. Best case scenario - he signs but isn't ready for Monday as it won't get done til Friday. JDT must be absolutely seething, no doubt sold a dream by GB etc but the same old pisspoor unprofessionalism still seems to reign supreme at circus Ewood.

Marketing 101 down at Ewood

Wasn't sure where to post this, but £25 for a midweek vs Blackpool. Wasn't there a plan to cap prices at £20 for midweek games? Or was it £25? Been a few similar broken promises this year so just wondering.

The worst thing is - when I went to bed last night I'd have been disappointed with just O'Brien. Now we are staring down the barrel of nobody. Feel for JDT if we don't strengthen, he'll feel he's had the piss taken.

True, I just hoped that this much lauded new recruitment strategy led by Gregg would yield something a bit better.

O'Brien will be a good signing if it goes through, but the lack of striker is criminal. We look so toothless up top. If we've failed with O'Brien then we need a full explanation. Would be another disastrous window from Gregg - sending back our 'top target' and failing to strengthen despite our glaring deficiencies. If we don't have strengthen when 6th, then we never will.

I think you're being far too generous there mate!

Apologies, clarified above. Saw the one post out of context, but now understand why it has a knock-on effect. Back on topic - O'Brien would be a superb signing. We desperately need a striker too though, so hope something is going on behind the scenes.

Apologies, I realised after my latest post and edited my reply - but not in time it seems! Just saw the one picture out of context and made an arse of myself 😆 Been a bit late to the transfer rumour party and didn't know Sheffield United were in the hunt as well. Makes total sense though! *removes egg from face*

I just think we have no chance of Berge - he's being sought after by clubs far bigger than ourselves and any loan fee would be absolutely eye watering relative to our budget. Wanting him is one thing, but the main blocker for Newcastle getting him is the fact they want a loan deal (rather than a £20m permanent deal). There's no way we can compete with them or any other Premier League club. EDIT - apologies if the Berge post was referenced as it increases our chance of getting O'Brien. Can see why him staying there would increase the chances of us signing O'Brien!

Guessing this is a wind up! A centre midfielder would be lovely, but please Rovers - someone who can put the ball in the net. Or at least lead the line.

Agreed - far too easy to play against, especially when BBD is having a quiet/poor game. It's all a bit slow/pedestrian.

It was decent enough, but it's what you expect really. And like you say, he rarely seems to be in the box - remember how good Rhodes was at finding space? Vale seems to do the opposite - he's often far too deep or holding hands with their centre half. Now I'm not writing him off, but he's clearly not ready at the moment to flourish in our system. He just seems to disappear for long periods, but also doesn't seem to work his arse off in the way you'd expect from a young player eager to impress. Still a bit pissed off at him barely breaking a jog at Turf Moor, and the way he was so easily bypassed for the goal on the weekend was another example. He isn't quite lazy, but also often seems to be running at 75%. The first half was a very tough watch. We were well organised, but just had nothing going forwards. We briefly improved second half until the red card killed it for us. I'm not sure if we are simply a few ingredients away from being a decent outfit (we looked very compact and controlled the game quite well) or whether any increase in ambition/urgency would cause us to unravel and get thumped. Either way, it wasn't one for the neutral. Purely anecdotally, and I don't necessarily agree, but the mood from talking to random fans was pretty negative and seems the jury is still out on JDT for many. I can sympathise; for a 10 hour round trip you want a bit of excitement, and thankfully Dack gave us a brief glimmer of that.

Seen some debate about Vale, and the best way to summarise it is that I went to the game and forgot he was playing. He was just anonymous. He made a run that created a bit of space for the goal, but it was the most basic run and if that's being used to big him up then we're really clutching at straws. A focal point up front is a real priority. Dack another positive. Certainly our most animated player and clearly a leader out on the pitch. We lacked guile - shame Markanday couldn't play.

Sold out today, around 1,100 going. Fair play.

A much more pleasing performance. Well organised, more pragmatic and mixed it up a bit. Can't fault an away win and clean sheet. Much better after the debacle of the previous 2 games.

Agree media have gone over the top. He has been superb but think the BBC/ITV pundits have been swept away by the romanticism of it being his last World Cup, as well as it being a rare glimpse of him on those channels. That being said, there have been some moments that have been absolutely out of this world. The assists vs Holland and Croatia both top drawer, and whilst it was only Australia, that performance was amazing. The coverage is a bit odd - whilst I appreciate it's a domestic TV channel, I was surprised with them discussing Southgate's future at half time during an engrossing semi final.

Good point! 'Not many' would have been more appropriate - although nobody touches his assist numbers in the last decade (although appreciate assists are weighted against players who sit deeper and often aren't credited officially with the assist). I still think Messi edges it for vision, some of his passes in the final third are sublime and always perfectly weighted. It's been a privilege watching him and Modric all tournament; the latter absolutely bossed it vs Brazil, at 37 he was head and shoulders above everyone else.

Of course, but I can't understand how Messi doesn't excite people! And I agree on Kane, England are lucky to have him. Not from the same planet as Messi, though.

Messi doesn't excite you? There's nobody of our current generation who can dribble like him, nobody who can pass like him, only Ronaldo scores at the frequency he does. If he doesn't excite you, then I dread to think how miserable you find watching Rovers. And fair enough about their celebrations, but I notice you didn't mention the Dutch players in the face of every Argentine penalty taker. Did you have the same disgust when England players (rightfully) got in the face of Colombia players in 2018?

I think Fulham's perceived superiority was skewed by the fact they absolutely tubbed a few teams - they hit 3 different teams for 7. Plus, they were promoted really early. They got to 90 points (less than I thought actually), but turns out they lost 4 f their last 7 and 5 of their last 10. Whilst it didn't appear to be the case, it looks like Burnley will end up doing similar to Fulham and will run away with it. Things were a bit unconvincing at times for you, with a few dodgy draws and question marks over cutting edge and putting teams to the sword, but Burnley have quietly put together a real consistency and are now starting to comfortably win games. And those tight, late wins over Rotherham and Reading are the hallmarks of champions, despite protestations over a few refereeing decisions if I remember rightly. The league doesn't feel too strong this year, but I'd say Burnley are comfortably the strongest side. Although the game vs us didn't really tell us much, as we've made lots of teams look that good this season (sadly)

I am actively trying to find a way where I am not in front o a tele to watch it. On a weekend away with a Dingle and a Rangers fan - sick to the back teeth of people putting the boot in and mocking our self-destructive style of play, so hopefully I'll find somewhere without a tele between 5.30 and 7.30!

As I've posted before, my main issue is the nature of defeats. We will turn our wins into draws/losses before we turn our losses into wins/draws, as the losses are so clear cut and totally woeful performance wise. Whilst Boro (wonder save and 2nd half battering), Huddersfield (sat back and lucky to win), West Brom (even game) and Birmingham (Kaminski MOTM) could easily have been draws/defeats, you can't argue any of our defeats could have been more, perhaps with the exception of Stoke where we were alright 2nd half. Reading, Cardiff, Burnley, Preston, Luton, Wigan, Cardiff and Coventry would probably all find themselves on a list of top-15 worst performances since promotion in 2018. I'd even argue this season would comprise the entire top 5. Even when we've been tubbed before, we've shown some sort of attacking intent, whereas amongst those games you'd probably add up around 5 shots on target combined. Fans are already starting to turn and get frustrated mid-game - it will only get worse if we keep playing hospital passes and repeating mistakes, especially in games that matter to fans. It's easy to say people's opinions are clouded by Preston/Burnley, but these concerns have been aired before. And to put in 2 disgraceful performances in local games is spitting in the face of the supporters, compounded by his smug grinning away after the match in interviews, totally unwilling to accept any sort of responsibility. Make no mistake about it, we could easily ship 5 at home to Burnley in March, and on our current trajectory there won't be the saving grace of being 3rd in the league to make up for it. Unless he adapts, I can see a swift plummet down the table. I barely even enjoy watching the team anymore - as someone who can generally only make away games, this season has been painful and the lack of Plan B makes games uninteresting, tedious and frustrating. I'm not calling for him to be sacked, I'm just calling for a bit of common sense and humility from him. Mix it up a bit, please. I'm sick of people watching us on Sky and taking the piss about how bad we are, compounded by our local rivals laughing our fans/players out the ground. I hoped the entire Turf Moor singing 'you're fucking shit' at the players would force a reaction, but we only succeeded in proving them right.

My thoughts on the above: Hyam - agree, been a good player Brittain - good when he plays, injuries a constant issue Hirst - not sure what you've seen to suggest he'll come good, hopefully there's a player somewhere but as it stands has been a total flop Szmodics - undecided. 3 goals and 1 assist when we've played 22 games isn't a great return, although appreciate he hasn't played them all Mola - very disappointed. His first touch/passing look amateur

Did anyone just see Travis totally duck out of a 50-50? Cowardly.