Well it's the 3rd time its happened so it's never been part of any plan all they've ever done i buff the squad out they've never gone for instant impact. I do suspect someone somewhere thought Dennis might deliver that this time to be fair but whoever it was needs keeping away from bringing people in in the future. Amazing how they got that over the line despite the cost but somehow totally screwed up TWO previous big signings....

Of course they are but the starting point here was lower and the impact higher than a lot of other places. Historically outside of certain big city boroughs smaller places like Blackburn suffer more in hard times.

I just don't understand how and why a club that watches the pennies so much and constantly bemoans lack of income goes out and plays russian roulette signing the likes of Fleck and Dennis. Easily a million quid wasted on those 2 for absolutely nothing and their recent resumes screamed the chances of getting games out of them was 50/50 at best. Utter stupidity but yes someone somewhere will be doing alright out of it.

But the main point here surely is Blackburn Rovers are in Blackburn with Darwen, not Norwich, not Stoke or Swansea. The tickets simply have to be cheaper to get more in regularly, ok Bolton are a league below and have less running costs so we'll ignore them but Preston have shown the way. If we did the same deal they did a few years ago we'd pull in more than them we did before they cut their prices.

Not really a catchment area now though and hasn't been for a long time, yes there are fans still there but this regime doesn't care about lapsed fans. When Jack started building Rovers up back then outside of the Manchester and Merseyside giants there hadn't been another north west club in top flight for decades never mind a successful one. Hence the rebuilding of Ewood to such a size, hence the hiring of John Williams and just as importantly well priced tickets. The area was huge and it worked for a while then plateaued out before this lot ruined it. Now though they are right to concentrate on a more realistic market but many locals are priced out or put off ST by kick off times and cack handed running of the club. If you can't offer Prem football them you have to offer tempting and affordable Championship football and a bit of ambition. No reason why we can't average 15k home supporters they are out there but nobody seems arsed we'll just host them a few times a season and get match by match prices off them.

Limited catchment area, vastly altered demographic from when we were drawing big crowds, constant worsening cost of living and poverty crisis within the borough, many Rovers regulars, former regulars and casual fans now live a few miles away, low wage economy and of course constantly disillusioned fans. You simply have to price to your market and ours is slightly different than a lot in this division or indeed England. Never the mind the fact we have at least 15k empty seats most of the time but we do actually have potential for more attendees even at this level.

They represent experience given Gestede will likely push the age of the squad right back down again plus they fit the bigger wages but short deal category. That' 'the model' now 🫣

Boro reinvest and despite bigger gates so bigger wages i assume Gibson still has to prop them up so they can reinvest in fees and and wages. There's a downside to everything though as i reckon a lot of players go there purely for the wages they pay. If our lot were still putting money underwriting costs in then when unavoidable big transfers do happen a good wedge of that could be reinvested but oh no there's always a problem or excuse here.

If we are struggling by next Jan and he needs some backing and doesn't get it he'll probably bail out before he gets a relegation on his cv. Ditto if we are doing well then players start dropping like flies mid season and he's told there's nothing in Jan he'll get the feelers put out for another gig and Rovers will happily gobble up the compen before scouring the scrapheap again. If we are plodding along going nowhere and a firesale of players is brewing nicely he'll probably get an extension.

Riverside is going to look a bit better for the players walking out by the sounds of it but the JW will look sparse. All i see is people saying they are moving there, even from the BBE, only at this club could they create musical chairs with the same set of fans rather than new ones snapping them up. Costing themselves in the process by people moving to the cheaper stand, might as well just have reduced other areas and tried to actually get more in instead of creating fresh empty seats. Unreal lack of brains.

I wouldn't go near Dennis the red flags were there long before these lot decided to throw away at least half a million on borrowing him.

Pointless with 7k already sold. Boycotting now for anyone's own personal reasons then fine fully understandable but biting a nose to spite a face won't make a jot of difference unfortunately. No matter how angry or fed up of the ownership and gravy train riders some get they can't even force themselves to boycott one game never mind a season. The support is and has been for a long time now split into 3 camps, hardcore, part time (for varying reasons) and stay aways (odd game aside). Of course if they'd sold less than 5k i'd take a different view as that would be a statement.

Without checking i'm assuming it's more than last season in the first phase considering it only limped over 8k by the end of summer. Now just imagine if they showed a bit of ambition in the next few weeks, Ty-ing down Dolan would be a good start !

We simply have to invest money and wages in a good potential striker from somewhere. Ok they missed him i'm sure they've missed others in similar circumstances, it happens and we'd not moan if it was us doing it in fact we've seen both sides of the coin here down the years. However non of that detracts from the fact their new model of trying to do it with punts like Gueye and expensive stupid toss of the coin loans of unfit forwards will not work it will just cost as much in the long run with no return. They should have been hunting for the next Dack, Szmodics etc long ago but they'd wasted 7 mill on BBD and ended up with zero to reinvest. 2-3 mill min plus whatever add ons needs investing in a striker it's that simple.

Very sensible, credit where it's due it's the only common sense approach and hopefully a couple of thousand more take it up.

How can there actually be a plan or stability or a real blueprint when staff are changing behind the scenes every 6 -12 months. It's ridiculous and whilst some of it is normal most of it isn't and there is a reason for it. It isn't a method to bring success it's a method to continually try and cut corners, to one min start building it up then then next min start cutting it back again. It's a clown show of winging it year by year just sat waiting from summer to summer to see what budget the owners grant and what we have to work with. Until there is a genuine well laid out 3 year plan that they ALL are onboard with and will follow then the clownshow continues.

If the club or Venkys gave Dunn or Gallagher a turd in a cone instead of an ice cream they'd just sprinkle candy and raspberry sauce on it then say it's not that bad. They are footballs old boys club and will always speak from the side their bread is buttered although to be fair iv'e heard Gallagher be critical at times as well. As we knew it would the near miss at the end has provided them with ample opportunity to sugar coat all the shortcomings but it was worth the trade off i'd much rather have this than Mowbray or Bowyers limping along just good enough is enough scenarios.

'In light of the great backing this season and to help fans get over the heartbreak of the teams valiant but ultimately disappointing near miss we've extend the early bird offer by one week, to allow as many as possible to benefit from the discount' Common sense, great PR and will ensure a decent uptake for another week instead of reducing it to a trickle for the rest of the summer. They wanted the team having a final big push so the commercial dept and directors should now do the same.

At least we've learned under big Val that Toth isn't another Leo and is more than a capable replacement for Pears. So an experienced English Championship keeper barely turned 27 is up for grabs for a modest fee plus add ons. Come and get him.

I think the commercial director has revealed himself.

A bid for us might be Derby staying up fully expect they'll be another who'll outdo us next season and if they get a decent budget Eustace will be knocking on our door for one or two.

I think he's going to be one of those coaches i'm afraid a bit like TM tinkering, fiddling for the sake of it and just subs for mins and appearance fees to keep everyone happy. Hes done some odd things in the short time hes been here so he's definitely another who it's in his DNA but at the end of the day they are just following the clubs remit.

Ah well it wasn't to be it was a very long shot but they kept it alive to the very end we can't ask for anymore we just don't have enough in the squad. Massive credit to all involved this season, mainly most of the players but also both head coaches and their staff and of course the fans. Its ended in disappointment but not tragedy and given the backdrop here and budget we'd no right to be anywhere near it really. Sidenote whoever thought it was sensible to gamble 20/30k per week on loaning Dennis in needs firing on the spot i don't care who you are. A massive waste of money and squad place that was always doomed to fail and we cannot afford that, well done that's about half to three quarters of a million of the Wharton money straight down the toilet to add to the similar amount thrown away on Fleck last season. Back the team not the regime. COYB

Well one thing is certain with games under their belts for us they'd both be worth more than they were sold for.

Iv'e pointed this out before and it's where their argument breaks down, badly. There is no one telling me that 4k wouldn't double at £150 so they've automatically covered it straight away and not only that many of those taking it up would then add a child or two as well. They won't though because their business model is based on c9k ST's and over the course of a season an ave of c4k paying match by match full price in home sections. That guarantees a certain income level that guarantees their wages, it's too comfortable they won't gamble and increase the hassle and match day costs, they will not manage upwards it's a complete status quo at Ewood. Saying stuff like oh suchabody only increased their income level by a couple of % from doing cheaper tickets is such a cop out it;s embarrassing. These same people then constantly talk about 'marginal gains' on the pitch and league position. They spin it so the real point INCREASING CROWDS is totally lost it's all about a few quid here and there again, something that can be easily absorbed by 40 mill of sales and less than 10% re-investment, increased tv money and yes billionaire owners, whats an extra million to them to help fill up the ground ?