I wold hardly describe a goal difference of -1 as terrible for a team 11th in the table - around about right for a mid table position. If we beat Derby we will be a point better off than last season. The key is avoiding another bad run - manage that and we will be challenging through the season. Revert to or normal fluctuating forma and we won't.

That would fit with my view too. I missed the first 3 home games but have seen all the others and Preston and Stoke away and Downing has comfortably been our best player across those games.

Morecambe will be a challenge as Blackpool knocked them out in round 1 4-1.

That's what you wrote Stuart. You may well have meant that they would be Wigan fans but given it was made on a thread about Rovers attendances it's not unreasonable that posters, including me, assumed that you meant scrotes from both teams or even just our own scrotes. And we have plenty, as anyone who has been to some local away games can verify.

Bairstow is in the test squad - he was added last week as cover for Joe Denly, who has an injury.

I don’t see an issue with managing the next two NI games given that they are next week. It would be the potential play-off game in March I would be concerned about.

If by that comment you are suggesting that Greg Coar is related to Rob Coar then you are completely wrong. As others have said on this thread Greg is from a long standing Rovers supporting family and is one of the good guys, as in truth are the majority of staff at Ewood.

I absolutely do believe that a £10 or £15 deal is a good idea and I also agree that it should be done at a popular attractive fixture and not a winter Tuesday night. But I was replying to Old Ewood Blue who was suggesting that we should do away with season tickets and just charge £10 -15 a game - that absolutely won't work.

+1 for Paul's post above. It's not even a practical idea. No doubt if we charged £10 or £15 for the home game with Preston we would have a bumper crowd but how many would we have had for the game with Forest? Team playing poorly, Tuesday night, bad weather, game on Sky red button - the crowd would be down to the level of an early League Cup game, a few thousand. 4,000 at £10 doesn't look quite so good.

You seem to be confusing what I post in situations like this with my opinions. I was just posting what the club told us they planned to do with these two games - it doesn't mean that I agree with it. I have been on the Forum for over 10 years now and there haven't been many meetings when we haven't talked about attendances and atmosphere at Ewood. I'm sure it will be on the agenda in November as well and i'll be raising many of the ideas that have been posted on here over the last few weeks.

Well they would be if any Rovers fan needed to pay them. A couple of Fans Forums ago Steve Waggott told us that the club would be charging top dollar for both the Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds games this season as that's what they do to our fans, but that home fans would be able to get significant discounts on those prices. That is what is happening, albeit that you need to take out 1875 club membership to get the discount. But if you're regularly buying one-off tickets that makes sense anyway.

I was in Sheffield last weekend for a University reunion and i went along to Wednesday v Wigan with my mate who is a ST holder. If you think Rovers have a monopoly on dreary football, on fans complaining about square and backwards passing then think again. This was a very poor game that Wednesday were lucky to win. I've not seen much of Rovers yet this season as I missed the first three home games but overall based on this game we should take 12 points form this pair. We won't of course, because we will probably play badly at least once out of 4 and they will probably be better, but no way are they any better overall than us. Mulgrew played and whilst there were no howlers Steven Fletcher was beating both centre backs in the air at will. Rhodes wasn't even on the bench and the locals' assumption is that he will be off somewhere in January. The Eastbank can still make a hell of a noise when Jeff Beck comes on just before kick-off but in truth it was by far the loudest noise the 22,000 crowd made all afternoon. The rest of the weekend was good though.........

When I spoke to the guy ion the phone he mentioned it was targeted at young men, but there is no reference to it in the email above which he sent me. i would take it for anybody actually.

The £300K is the shortfall on the budget - i.e they budgeted to sell £300K worth more STs. It's not a shortfall against last year's sales. Typically we (and many other clubs) lose about 10% of ST holders for all sorts of reasons every year. This year it's a bit higher at 13%.

As Secretary of the Fans Forum I have been approached by a documentary film maker today who is making a film for the BBC about young men's mental health issues and the role both playing and watching football can have. His email outlining the aims of the film is below. It is planned to show the film as part of the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup this year. If anyone is either interested in helping with this or knows someone who is can you please send me a private message and I will put you in touch. Obviously you don't have to be a member of the Fans Forum, or for that matter even a Rovers fan. This landmark film will focus on men’s mental health through the prism of football. The film hopes to highlight the fact that we all have mental health and encourage more men to feel comfortable talking about their mental health. One aspect we're looking at is how supporting a football team can have a positive impact on men that may be dealing with mental health issues. I'm travelling to Blackburn on Thursday next week to spend some time with a group called 'Blokes United' that arrange football meet-up sessions to any lads in the area that may need an outlet and some support. I thought it couldn't hurt to talk to some Rover's fans while i'm up there. If there were any members of the Rovers Fans Forum that you think may be interested in talking to us about the programme and if they had a story that they'd be interested in sharing, please feel free to pass on my details.

I can see the standard page on the website? 1,235 tickets allocated and on open sale now and no suggestion that they’ve sold out.

Who played the ball for his second goal?

I think fairly clearly the flights available now for next Summer are going to be expensive to get right now as everyone is scrambling to rebook. There must be a good chance that other airlines will look to expand into the market gap left by Thomas Cook so ther3 may well be better priced options later on if you’re brave. I guess what might make a difference is when and where you’re going. A popular flight route in high season will be harder than somewhere less popular in May.

That's true Den, but the Government have confirmed that anyone currently away with a flight only deal will be brought back for free for the next two weeks at least. Of course, it's a different matter for you and your bookings for next year. God knows whether it makes sense to be looking to rebook flights with another airline now or leave it a bit to see who picks up some of the slack.

Not if you’re driving.

Yes and soon.

I think that's only a bargain in comparison to the £33 adult price. For Rovers' next game at home you can get an adult ticket for less - £22 (or £19 with an 1875 membership). I have just come out of the 60-65 age group. There are a few clubs that allow senior tickets from 60, notably in London. But the majority in the Championship don't.

Close crimpshrine. The numbers are about 1,000 down - 1,700 non renewals offset by 700 new ST holders. As far as I'm aware every one of the 1,700 have already been contacted.

I couldn't abide Botham as a commentator. Thankfully as he was on Sky I rarely came across him. I have Sky but for cricket I have to listen to TMS and I only use the TV for pictures. There are a host of female cricket commentators already. Alison Mitchell has been around for years and Isa Guha and Emily Rainsford-Brent have been on for a couple of years now. But I found the Australian Mel Jones to be the best during the World Cup.

Norwich had 5 points from their first 6 games last season.