It's a cup competition, Lowe cost than the ordinary games at Ewood and a good opportunity to bring some much needed new blood into the club, both on the field and in the stands. I dont nderstand Waggott's bizarre mentality of making g it difficult for folk to attend - anywhere else in the known universe, the idea is to encourage as many punters through the turnstiles as possible, and to encourage them to spend whilst on the concourse. Waggott seems to be in a perpetual battle against doing business, rather than optimising income wherever there is an opportunity. Baffling , like most aspects of our club these days..

Thanks for your valuable contribution 👍 I take it you'll be roaring on the lads at Ewood this evening, alongside me & my brood? COYB!

I think we might be in for an early shock, and then a test of our resolve, composure and tactical nous. Tangerines to score first (a tap in after a goal mouth scramble) the Rovers to roar back with Big Mak, Yuki and Hyam thumping home. 9532 hardy and slightly damp souls, with most of us heading happy up Livesey Branch Rd at 9.45pm is COYB!!

Would like to see Rovers progress in the League cup, and will be going with my youngest (7) who has suddenly got the football bug. Not an easy fixture to call, especially with the test coming up at the weekend. I'd like to think we will put out a strong side, with the intention of giving it a proper go. And of course maintaining a winning mentality and some momentum is important, even if we all know that it counts for nothing in the context of having our heads held firmly down the bog from an ownership and outlook perspective. I'd just like to enjoy an evening at Ewood, with the chance to reinforce new recruits to the Blue and White cause. I think Big Mak needs a run out, and the chance to notch again, to build his confidence early in the overall campaign. Definitely include some of the emerging talents if possible - these cup competitions are designed to ramp up the challenge the further you get, which is invaluable experience for raw recruits. COYB! Let's segment that tangerine into smithereens! Head Rovers 2 Pooliverse 0 Heart Rovers 4 Pool 1 Headlice and Bedbugs Rovers 2 BPool 3 with Sir Jordan of Rhodesia scoring a hat-trick 😞

YES!! JRC!!

Good strike from their player.

Erm, the season before last, when we won away at Millwall on the last day.. we missed out on the playoffs by goal difference..

40 years ago this fixture might have been one to worry about, with Oxford United back then a swashbuckling, League Cup (Milk Cup) winning, first division terrorising outfit including the likes of John Aldridge (yes, he of Liverpool FC fame and fortune). These days they are slowly rebuilding under a relatively unknown manager, with few (if any) players whose pedigree would bring them to mind as household names. A bit like that outfit down the road at Ewood, in that respect I suppose.. This weekend's game won't be a pushover, and Oxford are in the division on merit, so Rovers will have to be up and at it from the outset. A difficult one to call, but I'm hoping home advantage and a decent bit of momentum will propel the blue and whites to an emphatic win. Heart - Blue and White supremacy over the Yellows 2-0 Head - Scrappy and difficult to watch with goals at both ends and the usual howlers from the usual suspects - 2-2 Handbags on the Isis - Rovers hand out a kicking and send the U's with their mortarboards askew back to the spires. 4-0

Isn't it refreshing to have a centre forward who is willing to put his head in where it might hurt, in order to score? I know we haven't had much in the way of crosses and wing play for many years, but a bullet header from Yuki-San makes you salivate at the prospect of a striker who understands that his job is to score goals... Come on you Japanese Blues!

Yes, I'm getting that vibe too. I think we may underestimate the contribution of the Super Sammie, all that running on and off the ball, chasing down the opposition, never say die attitude and (crucially) the ability to pick a sublime pass. Not that I think the contemporary Canaries are any great shakes, but I think East Anglian pride, a partisan crowd and that long journey on Waggot's Charabanc will put us on the back foot. Having said that, I think we have more 'men' in the side this year than last, and perhaps we have acquired a tactician in the dugout. Head - Rovers Reverse (Canaries 2 Rovers 1) Heart - Canaries in a Coal Mine (Norwich 1 Rovers 5) Whup me with a Wallaby - Honourable draw 2-2 and everyone goes home talking about the swashbuckling new style icons from East Lancashire COYB! COYP! Just COME ON!!

I suspect we have flattered to deceive in our opening fixtures, and whilst we have had a good start against weak opposition, I fully expect Norwich to be a much more demanding opponent this weekend. If we can take the momentum and confidence from the Derby and Stockport games forward, it will certainly help us to bond this oddly assembled team of old heads, misfits and outliers together. Sometimes, taking an unorthodox approach can wrong-foot your opposition, that is for sure. However, I am sure too that Norwich and other sides in the division (including our six fingered cousins down the road) will be looking closely at how the Rovers team functions, and no doubt at what our weak spots are (no points for guessing the obvious resulting tactic there...!) Going for an honourable draw at Carrow Road. Whilst we have enjoyed success on our recent visits, it is a big set up down there, and I'd expect a hard game in which we fall prey to our weaknesses, whilst also playing where we can to our strengths. It is too early I guess to paint us into a particular style, or to know whether we can change up games as necessary to counter opposition strengths (our lack of squad depth might be an achilles heel I guess). But the green shoots are encouraging, even if the omens aren't yet very clear. COYB! COYP!

HURRAHH!! THe Big Mak scores!

Yuki Ohashi - are you Simon Garner's Japanese love child?

SIGGY! Great volley!

No sound, but then I can't bitch about the commentary, can I? Rovers dominating so far, and great to see Sammie notching again! Good for the players to get more game time as a unit, and excellent to have continued the momentum so far. Keep it up lads! COYB P

We have to use games like this to get a feel for how different permutations from our thin squad of players can work together. Not sure how many subs are allowed for this competition, but I'd hope that JE uses them to good advantage, like on Friday evening. It is odd to hear of a club with an even thinner playing squad than our own though! No room for complacency though - this is a banana skin, no doubt, and Rovers will need to do a good job to get a result. COYB!

What about if we have sussed them...? Anything can happen, of course! It is cup football, a banana skin for the Rovers and a shot at glory for Stockport. COYB!

Aye but the checkbook is in India under Madam's mattress and no-one is allowed in there, not even Mr Madam these days

Question is, who is selecting these players and what (other than being cheap or free and available) are their selection criteria?

Window dressing with obscure and unproven long-shots. Obfuscation when pressed for clarity about the long term strategy. Complete lack of transparency and honesty about the basis on which the club is being run (into the ground) No strategy, other than to project incompetence when under pressure. Another 'head coach' / manager making uncomfortable noises about the quality of the resources available to him. Assets being sold off on a repeating basis, with less and less of value remaining in the club, and a clear intent over the long term NOT to replace like for like. Hmmmm.... Dunno about you, but I can't seem to see the problem, really.

I had a bit of a dig around and the consensus from the fan side seems to be that he will be a good addition, full of confidence and hungry to do well, at the peak of his game and a steal at (ahem) £8 million 'for the best player in the Championship last season.' There is more anxiety that 'Blackburn will mess it up' than there is about a 28 year old coming into a young side. Meanwhile, back in the bumbling crumb stew that is Rovers pre-season debacle, nothing has happened other than a whole load of piss and wind, and our reserve reserve reserve keeper joining Bamber Bridge. Exciting times. ? 😐

What are the Tractor Boys boards saying about Sammie's move, which also seems to be mired in treacle? It seems likely that the charade is linked to at least one sale, probably SS to Ipswich, which is the bottleneck slowing down all other developments / announcements at this end. C'mon Ipswich - time to shit or get off the pot.

Aye, but his actual job is to work his socks off and be a bloody good....striker. Tada! See what I did there?

Feck me, this is grim... waiting up late, hoping beyond hope that something, any sodding thing might happen to dispel the gloom and move our once proud club forward even a millimetre. But NOTHING?? Grim. Probably the scheming Maggwaggot polishing his pension pot, and mouthing pleasantries down the bog to his masters in the dock. Grim as fuck.

I heard he was 7'2" and has to jump downwards to get on the end of crosses. A bit like Telalovic being an Olympic standard sprinter.