Old Codger

Double swoop for out of favour Everton players.. Asmir Begovic Position: Goalkeeper Age: 37 2024/25 appearances: 0 Dominic Calvert-Lewin Position: Striker Age: 28 2024/25 appearances: 26 Oh, and we are sniffing around the stinking pile of shithousery called Danny Ings, from West Ham too.. But seriously, there are some excellent goalkeepers available from the top flight...

Does that mean he'll be training by himself? I'll get my coat.

How do we know this? Have you got spies in the Indian camp?

And? They're gone. We are still here - so glad we are 'In' 😉 Just saying.

People are suspicious of Gestede possibly because of the way in which he arrived in a relatively low-key role but was suddenly and dramatically propelled into a senior one, without any explanation (notwithstanding that being the modus operandum of the current regime). Coupled with that there is the clear and obvious drive towards a low cost model that has left fans scratching their heads due to the disappearance of familiar (and loved) faces, again with little or no explanation from the club. What is absolutely clear is that Gestede has the reigns and weilds considerable power in the current set up, despite there being no obvious rationale for his ascendancy into such a pivotal role. He certainly has few credentials, little or no relevant experience, no ownership interest, and poor communication skills in person and asynchronously, yet has been allowed to architect a veritable revolution with an apparent free reign. What remains to be seen is whether this is a desperate gamble on the part of those behind the curtain to salvage something from their tenure, or whether it is all a bit of a Frankenstein's monster - lots of disparate parts cobbled together with the remote hope that life may ensue. And this has all taken place during a period of sustained uncertainty for the major stakeholder group of the club - the fans (us) who have been treated as an afterthought (WE AREN'T! - Why does Blackburn Rovers exist in the first place, FFS!). So people have every reason to be suspicious - an untried experimental poorly communicated process led by an inexperienced and autocratic shoe-in, with unclear objectives and questionable tactical decision making that has created sweeping change despite there being no explicit rationale.... Hmmmm.. what could go wrong? Now, if it was all to somehow go right, and miraculously transform the fortunes of the club, wouldn't that just create more problems (e.g. a manager who would be considered hot property, a model that would be rapidly adopted by other clubs, potential poaching of key staff etc)? Or perhaps this is just one of those Business School case studies in 'Disruptive Innovation' that will do the rounds in future years - 'here's how Blackburn Rovers became the first small town club to regain the Premier League title' - We Wish!! Time, as they say, will tell! Arte Et Labore!

What hasn't changed is the fact that football is a results business, and the patience of those with the purse strings wears thin very quickly if the results don't meet expectations. The confounding factor that we have had to contend with at the Rovers since the Venky era began is that there doesn't seem to be any clear set of expectations. The closest we got recently was the odious Waggott claiming that survival was the goal a couple of seasons back. No wonder we lack direction, there's nobody setting a Vision, so the Mission is confused and contradictory. Basic strategic management. Absence of. End. That's what is most frustrating for those of us who have lived through eras where there WAS a clear plan, there WAS a coherent strategy (even if it was shoe-string stuff) and there WAS a clear identity and cohesion on the pitch week in, week out. It's about time we had another era where we all felt like we could pull together.

On recent years' form, Hedges can be comfortably discounted now for a couple of seasons, in terms of any attacking contribution. If you are reading this, Ryan, prove us wrong 😉 All we want is for our players to give everything on the pitch, and to be good at what they are paid to do, with reasonable consistency. After all, the mighty Mr Shearer didn't score every week, did he? But we always knew we would get a shift from him, regardless of the opposition. Anyway, I suppose the upshot is we are beginning to now have options where there were none, which moves us a lot further on than many had anticipated for this season (including me)! I'm not getting optimistic and misty-eyed yet though, as it is a long hard slog in this league, and some of our new recruits are in for a nasty shock! On that front, what the actual fook is going on with the Yuki-bashing this season? Refs seem to think it is ok to have open-season on him, including (on Saturday) getting kicked in the chest without there being the slightest chance of a foul being awarded. VI needs to school him in the dark arts and get some of these cynical cloggers called to account for their bully-boy tactics with our Oriental maestro (maestroes now, I guess). Watching on with interest... COYB!

We could offer a 'contribution' to wages to reduce the overhead for Ipswich.. But thinking about it, he'd never reach those dizzy heights again, the way this team is set up..

Let's put a cheeky bid in to loan Sammie back from Ipswich 😉

I think with Yuki, it would be a great advantage if he had a partner up front with whom he could build an understanding. That would build his confidence and allow him to be on the end of things rather than having to create his own opportunities all the time. I suspect he is a better poacher than creator, to be fair, and that if we set up to actually play to his strengths, we might be very pleasantly surprised by the results. Interesting times, if this rumoured new addition comes to fruition. It is, of course, still a big IF 😉

Having said that, they've not exactly stormed the early part of the season so far, have they? If we were to go on a decent run, I'm sure we would see a lot more excitement and energy post match from the players. Anyway, most of them have only just been introduced, so it is a little early for bonding and 'team spirit' to have developed.

He wasn't his usual self in the post match interaction with the travelling support, that's for sure. Nice lad and a great positive around the dressing room, but no great loss if he was to move on. Maybe to a club that can develop him further, and polish out his obvious flaws whilst optimising his strengths.

Football is full of surprises - sometimes they aren't nasty ones either! Well done the lads today, and safe home for the faithful who made the pilgrimage across the M62. Enjoy the singing and laughter for a change. Maybe there is a God, after all...

As Mercer points out, 'Those dingles bastards' are just us in the mirror, before the cancerous Raos kicked in. We'd be prepared to put up with a lot to return to the position they are in / have been in for the past decade or so. There but for the grace of football, go we.

More likely to see a flying pig. The chances of Hull being more disorganised, less drilled, lower in confidence, more unfamiliar with each other, less resilient, less driven by a sense of pride in their club, having less strength in depth, using more players to fill in the clear gaps in the side, putting less into the game - are practically zero. We deserve some luck. I'd say we'll be lucky to come away with anything less than an absolute tubbing. For the thousand or so that are making their way duttifully down the M62, I salute your bloody-minded optimism and wish you a safe and happy trip. But you do realise you are completely mad, don't you? Head - A mauling from the Tigers - Hull 4 Rovers 0 Heart - Heavy and Heartbroken - Tigers 2 Rovers 0 Hells teeth Myrtle, I'm Hallucinating! Hull breached 0 Rovers Rampant 5 - pass the Bolivian Marching Powder! COYB! VENKYS OUT OF THEIR TINY INBRED MINDS - OUT I SAY!

News for anyone who has had their head up their arse for the last 14 sad years.... Venkys don't re-invest money made on player sales in replacements. Doesn't matter if Adam Wharton had been sold for £150 million - none of it would have been ploughed back into playing staff. VENKY FIFA PLAYING MORONIC WADFANKERS OUT!

WE HAVE BILLIONAIRE OWNERS FFFS. We can't match it, MY ARSE. #Plantbasedapologistsgosuckmyballs VENKYS OUT! TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YE!

FFS he hasn't gone yet. However, a word to the wise, GET ON WITH IT WILL YE? Mealy mouthed mendacious meatheads, the lot of em. VENKY INBREDS AND CHURLISH NE'ER DO WELLS OUT!

He could cross a ball, from what I remember, and had fairly tricky feet, but a bit of a sicknote. Trouble is though, aren't Rovers now known in the English game as being a club in some kind of crisis, low-balling wages and creating waves for anyone above the ridiculously low bar that has been set for paying new recruits. As a result, I'd be very surprised if a player would care to drop down from a newly promoted prem club, to a crisis club complete with toxic atmosphere, inept management and completely uninterested owners, where there is no evidence at all that things are going to change for the better in the short, medium or long term... I know, I make it sound sooooo attractive.. Now I see why recruitment has been from the ranks of obscure outfits on the periphery of Siberia - no-one there has heard of Blackburn Rovers, mighty conquerers of the Premier League, Football Association Founder members and the home of Jack Walker (oh, and all that other shit we have had to swallow and wallow in since the arrival of the gumptionless ones of Pune..). Y'know, for a second or two there I almost thought we might be looking at Prem cast offs, but then reality bit me in the ballards and I remembered that we ain't like that no more..

"Recruitment team!" Pah!

..or Blackburn, for that matter.

Too kind sir. I wear my heart on my sleeve - snotty and broken these days, from all the trauma at Ewood!

Thank you! Much appreciated! I'm sure it's not just me and my curmudgeonly self that feels this way about the way the club is run! All the best!

I have a sinking feeling that this is going to be a long season of us chanting regularly from the sidelines, "You don't know what you're doing..." and not, as is the tradition, directing the remark at the ref 😞 WTF happened to a 'normal' set up of a 'manager' setting the agenda for the players he needs in his side to play a style and system that is his brainchild and operating within the financial constraints specified by the Board? Seems to me that all the sophistry, subterfuge and slight of hand that comes with a set up where an inexperienced and unqualified patsy uses his naive and paper thin judgment to dance to the tune of a thick as pigshit no-mark (also, by the way, dancing to someone else's tune) hiding behind a poorly constructed and intentionally impenetrable barricade, leads us nowhere but to a dead end. Dead end. Dead, End. What. The. Actual. Fuck???? VENKYS OUT! UNQUALIFIED AND DELUDED TEA-BOY PATSIES OUT! HIDING BEHIND SHITE BARRICADES MORONIC GOBSHITES WITH NO FOOTBALLING CREDENTIALS OUT! GRR!

You can say practically anything on this message board, but it doesn't necessarily mean it is true 🙂 As with all other things 'factual' about Rovers, we will have to go on the announcements made by the club, rather than any speculative commentary (however well intentioned) from outside agents. However, if it is true, and Buckley gets to play in the coolest league in the world (based on sales of air conditioning units per capita), then good luck to him.