ben_the_beast

Wasn't the previous test with Forest pretty cut and dry in that the fault was on the club. And they were appealing for common sense to prevail in that what does 15 seconds or something like that really matter. In that case they can simply point to the rule book. In this case it seems as though we are pointing to shortcomings or moot points from the EFL which caused the delay. So very different scenarios. I imagine the amount of time this is dragging on for is because its being taken seriously and they have legal experts analysing the case rather than it being just 3 people from within the EFL casting their eyes over it. Any decision which is made has to hold up to scrutiny.

I think the fact there is still no decision shows that it is touch and go. I imagine the EFL are weighing up being sued by Rovers or other clubs should they contest the ruling. Damage limitation. In terms of relegation clauses when relating to contracts. I may be wrong in saying this but I'm pretty sure there is no obligation for a club to include a wage reduction clause in the event of relegation. It's foolish but not a requirement, though the rules on this may have changed. 1. If the sticking point regards the obligation to buy if we are relegated that's a moot point and a mistake on the EFLs part. 2. If its a wage reduction in the event we are promoted and then relegated back to the championship after a single season, is this within the rulebook that clubs have to include this. 3. The only other option I can see is the wage reduction relegation clause had wording which stated it would kick in if Rovers were relegated from the Premier league. Which has led to the question, what if you were relegated again to league 1. Again is a wage reduction upon relegation a legal requirement. The longer this drags on the more I see a glimmer of hope.

Grabben would be a very smart move from Rovers. However he turned down a contract extension in the summer with a now Premier League Forest, in favour for what one can assume was a very lucrative offer in Saudi. The fact he's only stayed 6 months suggests it's not worked out there for him. I'm not sure the reasons for him leaving. There's a good chance his salary demands could be sky high. If he's available, I'd say bring him in. 6 months or 18 months and he could solve this short term crisis. Providing his head is still in the game and he's not just looking for any final paydays.

It would be nice wouldn't it. I wouldn't put it past the EFL delaying their decision as long as possible out of pure spite. Keep us hanging that little bit longer.

Greed all around. Greed from the initial clubs in on the proposition and renewed Greed by the three clubs trying to relaunch it. It's not surprising though. As there already is a European Super League and those clubs aren't in it. The super league is the Premier League. Its not justifying the relaunch but its understandable as these so called 'super clubs' are struggling to compete. The Chelsea spending spree was exceptional but they ended up spending more than Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 combined. Premier League clubs will speak out in faux outrage and act as though they've learnt their lessons, that they support the wishes of the everyday fan but its all bullshit. They are already where the money is and its a closed shop.

Because the process had been shown to work. It's completing paperwork, not the running of an entire club

The only way we'll get out of this league is through a 'project'. We're all scarred from Mowbray trotting the line out constantly, whilst season upon season, completely changing tactics, never having a balanced squad, swinging from players on high wages with experience to youth. Basically when Mowbray said project it was bullshit and he was just winging it. I accept that getting us promoted is a project, whether we like it or not. What I want to see is consistency, smart decisions and clear progression. We've not seen this so far. Diaz being the main issue and a wasted transfer window. Broughton for me has time to implement, but a project means nothing if the actions aren't followed through on.

I'm still willing to give Broughton time. Like another poster has said, I feel we're in an infinitely better position structure wise than we were 3 years ago. The debacle around the paperwork not getting done, on a human level I can understand how this was an oversight on his part. He had no reason to belive our 10 year process would fail to deliver. There are three glaring issues he faces now. Rovers fans have been through it all so we treat board members with scepticism. This has blown any good faith he had with the fans. Secondly clubs will undoubtedly think twice when dealing with us, especially on deadline day, which given our finances is a date we always seem to still be trying to wrap deals up on. Thirdly, and almost most importantly. JDT saying he's lost attackers and O'brien is a midfielder shows a misalignment between him and Broughton which is unacceptable if this model has any chance of working.

Watching Wrexhams replay against Sheffield United. Paul Mullen is so much better than any of our strikers and he's playing in the National League

Considering how lacking we are up front we should have been all over Chris Martin as a free agent, but Qpr have snapped him up already. He may not be mobile but he'd still offer a hell of a lot more than Vale or Gallagher.

Just read that was Wigans first clean sheet in 15 games. Their last clean sheet... against us.

I think we'd be a significantly better side with him in the middle. And would give us an outside shot at top 6, but JDT clearly said last night, we needed a striker. I'm a bit torn on O'brien now. If the appeal is successful, he'll be expensive but I think we'll still fall short. On the flip side if he doesn't come in the relationship between JDT and the rest of the club could become toxic. That would seep into the players which is no foundation for the club to build from.

When are we going to sort our pitch out? It's condition played a part in the Wigan defender doing his knee. Its not acceptable and tough to take for the guy. The same will happen to some of our players eventually. Its a ticking time bomb.

JDT I'm sure can't just 'walk' at the end of the season, he has a contract. It's definitely not ideal though. We don't want an unhappy manager. Broughton will be very aware that the heat has been turned up now. Looking at Brereton-Diaz tonight it's madness we've not sold him. I can't imagine we'll have much money to spend in the summer and we are desperate for a striker. It needs to be sorted. The situation with JdT will become untenable if its not.

JDT on O'brien. "We had two players going out. Hirst is a forward player, Markanday is a forward player, O'brien is a midfield player." Clearly unhappy.

Going to start with the positives. Thomas was very good. Excellent to see an old fashioned winger getting balls into the box. I was almost advocating for him leaving us at some point over the last 12 months but to me Carter is looking solid and I've more confidence in him than Wharton these days. Travis was good driving forwards rather than sitting in front of the back 4. JRC again was very good. Especially when Vale ran past him in the area. He telegraphed it. Fantastic defending. I also thought we got into good areas and needed someone on the end of one of those chances. The bad.... Brereton-Diaz, that was abysmal. His worst performance since pre-covid. Absolutely terrible. As poor as Gallagher can be, Vale can't keep starting. He's so soft and is not ready for mens football in the slightest. Our options off the bench showed how weak our squad is. Thomas looked like he was cramping up so I understand why he went off but it killed every bit of momentum we had. It's clear as day the lack of someone who can finish is going to cost us, especially if Brereton puts in shockers like that until the end of the season. All in all, quite predictable.

We've had some good play. For about 20 minutes we were well on top, but we've got too many passengers. Vale has been awful, weak and slow barring one nice bit of play towards the end. Worst I've seen Brereton play since he became Diaz. Between him and Vale for the worst player on the pitch. Wharton. How many times does he over commit and get caught out of position, way up the pitch. Looks like he's learnt from Lenihan but misses out more than Lenihan did. Apart from that the rest of them have been OK. We look like we've got more overall quality than Wigan but they've got some strong runners all across the pitch.

Has Dacky played against Wigan since that thug Morley did his knee in 2 years back. (Yes I know it was just a nudge) If not I can imagine him being very up for this one.

Hopefully if he gets a chance he'll put it away. My biggest worry of Vale is he provides no physical presence and the ball doesn't stick if he's muscled out of it. I'd be quite happy with us persisting with him if he added that to his game.

If we went up this season I'd hope we'd be wise with the riches that come. Sign some of the best players from Championship level and one or two promising players from abroad. It'd be an almighty scrap to stay up but the Norwich method isn't a bad shout. Position yourself to bounce back at first time of asking if relegated. The trouble with Norwich is they never progressed and became a yoyo club. Promotion should always be the aim, whether the current set of players are well equipped for the step up or not. We struggle to compete at this level as it is. Suddenly we might have a fighting chance. All hypothetical as its highly unlikely to happen anyway.

I'd like to see this. We now have genuine options out wide. Get Brereton central, closer to the goal and also closer to our other main threat in Dack. We need a player who can occupy centre backs. Brereton is a hard worker. I'd rather see him hassling opposition centre backs than tracking his full back to our own penalty area.

If I'm too look for positives (and that's not to discount the mess of deadline day) then Dack being back to his best is like having a new player. Sorba offers something different, Jrc has been performing well. Buckley is back from suspension too. Once Hyam is back the squad will be looking a little less stretched. I do think one of our big losses is Brereton being bang out of form. I do think we've the quality in the squad to pick up wins, though my gut says we'll fall short. If Brereton and Dack were both firing with Sorba offering a different kind of threat then I see potential for us. Hopefully this starts with a good victory tonight and we can have a good second half of the season.

Feel like this is a huge game for us with the mess of a transfer window and the bad taste it's left. We need a win desperately. A bad run of form could see a real negativity Sweep through the club. That's never good regardless of its justification. The squad needed strengthening, it feels unlikely that it's capable of the playoffs, but we're still in a strong league position. To quote Souness, you can only wee with the willy you're given, so hopefully we can get a win and a bit of momentum.

Spot on

Looks like we could have hit 7 or 8 with better finishing.