Old Codger

Eureka! I've found the answer - SALT! Oh yeah.. what was the Question? (How do we get Venkys OUT?)

End point is a full stop. No more Rovers. Why the morons in Pune continue to scratch the irritating arse itch that we appear to have become is anyone's guess. Sadly, guesswork, speculation, hope, blind optimism and faith in fellow human beings' good intentions have so far proven capable of nothing but disaster for our club. I have already predicted the script for this close season (no meaningful comms, players leaving, no players incoming up to a few days before the end of the transfer window) and I stand by my prediction, hoping beyond rationality that I am proven wrong. VENKYS OUT! TAKE YOUR TRASH BACK TO YOUR CHICKEN SHIT HOLE TOO... As Clint says, "Who's the feller who owns this shit hole.."

Wandered on to the Blackburn End when the gates were opened after half time (20 mins from the end I seem to remember) just in time to see Rovers equalise against Aston Villa in their 3rd Division clash in Feb 1972, I was 9 at the time. The roar of the Blackburn End when Terry Garbutt scored scared the bejaysus out of me, and I remember feeling disorientated in the crowd streaming back up Livesey Branch Road. Not sure when I went to my first paid game, but the family got season tickets the year after, I think, as we were there for the Centenary season and it felt like we were part of the club by that time.. Glorious days, just round the corner of the mind..

Unfortunately, if we see Sammie at all again next season, it will be him getting in behind our defence and scoring against us, rather than leading the line for his beloved Blue and White army. Small matter of the decent fee Ipswich stumped up for the lad, for which they will want to recoup a fair chunk from whoever takes him on. Then there's the possibility that a club in the Championship with far deeper pockets than us (i.e. practically any team you'd care to mention) looking to add his proven goalscoring boots to their ranks. Not withstanding Ipswich actually start to deploy the Smodster in their own battle to boing boing back to the Prem - after all, he has already shown he can more than cut it at this level. Let's face it - Sammie Smodicz - thanks for the memories, and we salute you for your contribution. But it's ancient history now, and a return of the Smodz is not on the cards at BRFC.

And we know how that is likely to turn out... You'll need to turn up the heat with your media savvy and way with words, Ian, if we are to break the repeating pattern that has held our club under water in the Venk-toilet for so many years.. Not that it is exclusively your job, or your purview to take on that role. You do have some social capital built up though, so perhaps there is an opportunity to show thought leadership as we enter what is likely to be a fallow period of news about the Rovers.

Now we get to see what plan A looks like (plan B was some horse-shite back of fag-packet nonsense in the unlikely event we made the playoffs despite the staged nose-dive). I'd wager it involves further rationalisation of the playing staff (cheaper, lower quality, less experienced) and further cost cutting (as if this was possible) to render the match day experience at non-league standard or below. There will be a barrage of communications from the club towards the end of the summer, to the effect that 'our glorious but ultimately disappointing charge to premier league glory cost more than we anticipated, so cuts are needed' but almost complete radio-silence from all concerned until that point. Players who are out of contract will be quietly let go, and no replacements recruited until very late in the day. Any player whose stock has risen during this season, or who might realise some kind of cash flow windfall, will be allowed to find another club (as long as a fee is generated in our favour). We will start pre-season with a worse than threadbare playing staff, with some key players no longer part of the set up - so a complete overhaul of approach and (crucially) expectations will be the main aim for the manager. To misquote / paraphrase Scott of the Antartic, " "Had we lived (i.e. got to the playoffs), we should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of our companions which would have stirred the heart of every Rovers Fan," Instead, we are left with the almost certain conviction that 'not quite good enough' is the true motto of those whose greedy, grubby and despicable hands are at the helm of our once proud club, rather than a true and heartfelt adherence to Arte et Labore, in the tradition we would all prefer to see brought back to life. Simples. VENKYS OUT! AND TAKE YOUR (EXPENSIVE AND INEFFECTIVE) TRASH WITH YOU!

In the end, the DNA level connection to this wonderful old club of ours just does that to you - it's physical, emotional, spiritual and (a lot of the time) simply mystical. I hope your nerves are calmed by the professionalism of a decent Rovers performance this lunchtime. Mine too 🙂 COYB!

Why would you change a winning formula? Pears has been supplanted IMO, and Kargbo hasn't had enough time to be other than an impact option from the bench. Start with a consistent approach. Build on that.

You've got to be in it, to win it. We are in it. All we can ask is that nothing is left in the changing room, and the players give it their all for the travelling fans and those biting their nails back home. If the Blades are on form, their steel may puncture our form. If the Rovers are on form, there should be a helluva game of football to enjoy. If history follows form, all bets are off. Sheffield United are far better placed to take the prize than Rovers, but who cares? Let battle commence, Arte et Labore indeed! COYB! Steel City Slickers 2 Small Town Prem Winners 1 Blades cut down to size 0 Rovers roar for more 2 Sheffield's other team 1 Blackburn's only team 1 Lap of the gods.. c'mon ye gods!

Let's face it, the prize here is getting into the playoffs under unexpected circumstances, versus where we were in the doldrums with Valerien looking clueless and taciturn. I don't for one nanosecond think any consideration has been given to what to do should the even more unthinkable (i.e. winning a place back in the Prem) should happen - whilst it is nice for a change to have a season finish with something positive to play for, imagine the carnage if this squad (earmarked by many for relegation to L1 this season!) should find itself anywhere near the cauldron of pounce and kill that is Premier League status these days. But hey ho... where there is a game of football, there is room for optimism 🙂 VENKYS OUT! AND TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU 😞

Dennis is dogpooh, does nothing, but gets booked and gives away silly fouls. A liability that should be sent packing back to Forest.

And Preston's form has fallen off a cliff...

And breaaaattthhh!

They might get a points deduction for that 😉

Unbelievable! Who'd a thewt it!?

He's a nice lad, but his shit stinks.

He said in the Lancs Raggagraph that consistency was key, and gave praise to the 'settled' team he'd been able to select for the past three triumpant outings.. So, this being Blackburn Rovers, of course we should expect changes to be rung in at 2pm...

The stars are aligning, the pattern is emerging, the opportunity is coming into focus, the energies appear to be flowing our way... And yet, the words, "so near, and yet so far" are poised to flutter disdainfully up the warming airs of Livesey Branch and Bolton roads this afternoon. Only words that really matter are: VENKYS OUT! TAKE YOUR TRASH OUT WITH YOU.. BE GONE

Ah, the old sucker punch..

Ah, I'm a poet, albeit I didn't know it ! ahem... Hornets are more hairnets this season, suffering from holes all over and a distinct lack of ability to contain what they are asked to cover. Having said that, the old adage 'any team in this division is capable of beating any team in this division' comes to mind, and our new found razzle and resolve may well be sorely tested here. I have a sneaky feeling that Elton will pop along for this one, having failed to show the last time he was booked to come, and as a result, the horrible hornets will wreak havoc with the recalcitrant rovers, who somehow may fail to show up 'when it matters'. Valerien Ismael is already casting smug glances towards the previously hostile Blackburn end, and as for Suhail Pasha, my guess is that he will be thinking he won't be needing his dark glasses, earplugs or crash helmet for this one, as his soldiers have done enough to assuage any (ma)lingering doubts held by the keenest and most loyal to management fans the world has ever seen.. Feck it. I'm going to go with my gut, which says that: Rovers regress 0 Watford waltz without waking Wally 2 Possibly Toth has a worldie and it turns out Wovers Nil Rotford Null points Or more unlikely, Rovers last of the season Huzzah 4 Watford wail back to the world's dullest town centre 0 My money is sadly on a reverse, so as to make the short trek to Bramall Lane a lesson in abject futility for the long suffering, loyal, vocal and largely insatiable for Rovers hordes (gawd bless each and every one of them). Our away support this season has been nothing short of Magnificent! Fair play to everyone who has lent their time to following our frustratingly unpredictable team through a season of ups, downs and a fair bit of whoopsadaisy. COYB! VENKY'S AND ASSOCIATED TRASH - OUT!! GET OUT YOU SCUNNERS!

You seem to have conflated hatred with distrust and dislike. Not like you to lack discrimination, Chris!

Some folk are just easily offended - usually those folk who believe they have the right to be not offended... (they don't) or who are so lacking in awareness that they just think the person in charge is right all the time (they aren't). At least you (and me) are getting a reaction - unlike the last 'protest' (a wet Saturday morning prior to Birmingham City at Ewood) when only me and a Birmingham fan turned up to protest! For the record, I believed then that what has been done to our club is not right, and I believe that is still the case today, with what is BEING DONE to our club. VENKYS OUT! TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU..

People's memory of what he did whilst at Rovers is remarkably shallow. The number of games he made completely inept non-decisions, deployed players in unnatural positions, sat taciturn on the sidelines whilst things fell apart on the pitch in front of him, his insistence at staying on way beyond his sell-by at the club (to feather his nest) and much of his passive-aggressive drivel towards the fan-base all contributed to my personal disdain for the bloke. Granted he has had a health scare since leaving us, but to be fair, he is amongst a small minority in this country who can afford to get the best treatment and care for that. The gurning chump label is something I stuck on him towards the end of his tenure, when that was literally his modus operandi - standing on the touchline pulling faces and doing nothing of any value, whilst the team floundered rudderless in front of him. It was and continues to be a personal view and it is one I have shared with other 'well thought of' managers face to face (Mick McCarthy being perhaps the most well known). I don't wish him ill. I don't hate him, but for me, Tony Mowbray will always be another of a long line of yes-men ineffective coaches / managers inflicted upon our once great club, by a vindictive and pernicious ownership hell bent on doing anything except actually keeping their word - remember, "We will absolutely respect the legacy of Jack Walker..." bollocks! VENKYS OUT!! AND TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU, PUNE GOONS.

He's been potted by WBA just now. Gurning chump gets comeuppance for being a gurning chump.