If nothing else, hopefully his going leads to not reading about lemon drizzle cake and Gallagher’s ten minutes at right back any more.

Just now, jim mk2 said:

 Missing the point, which is that Watford have acted swiftly

They’ve had plenty of practice.

Well done Tony, thanks for all the hard work!

Another game where you system confirmed that Dack has been beyond peripheral since his return. I’m not sure all that’s missing is a pre-season for him.

1 hour ago, RoverCanada said:

Lengthy article in The Athletic today on our oncoming 'talent drain': https://theathletic.com/3286731/2022/05/09/blackburn-rovers-talent-drain-from-mowbray-and-recruitment-team-to-brereton-diaz-and-captain-lenihan/ (paywall warning!).

No doubt a lot of this being fed to the journo by Mowbray's reps/friends, but always interesting when an 'outsider' journalist at The Athletic takes a deep dive on Rovers.

Given the paywall (and I'm never sure how easy it is to get around their paywall!), some summary notes, much of which not news around here, but thought I'd share. Don't shoot the messenger 🙂:

- In general, the piece seems to imply Waggott has emerged as the key decision-maker at Rovers...

- Mentions Rothwell was going to Bournemouth for £4.5m (not the £3.5m often mentioned). Seems to lay the decision not to sell on Waggott, who wanted to prioritise the chance of PL football over the £4.5m. Mowbray thought he could net improve the squad with the two signings he had lined up as replacements, and Mowbray has suggested this could've corrected our lack of goals/depth down the stretch (Suggests Waggott again tried signing Rothwell to a new contract after, but no dice)

- Mowbray had nothing to do with Waggott's hiring, who was brought in by headhunters Nolan Partners. Confirms that Waggott and Mowbray's relations have been strained for a while. Mowbray's agent informally asked about his contract situation in January, but Waggott's excuse was he hadn't been able to see the owners in India (Mowbray calling BS on that, but from what we know of Venky's, that may actually be 'true'... but a clear example to Mowbray of why this club isn't run right...

Thanks for summarising such a long article - much appreciated. While it no doubt has a bit of Mowbray spin, it seems well corroborated externally and, just as importantly, rings a lot more true than 99% of what has become the received wisdom on here.

To me it just confirms that any success we have would have to be an absolute fluke - like Ben’s 20 goals by Xmas - and in spite of the permanent shit show of executive management and governance. With that set up, we won’t get the best manager, we won’t get him in time, and he almost certainly will fall short, no matter who he is.

Not too much weeping and wailing about Joe Rothwell having played his last game for us then.

Never much of a fan myself: I stopped getting up off my seat about three years ago as his runs so rarely resulted in anything, mainly I felt because he was a lot better at accelerating than he was at decelerating while keeping the ball under control once he got near the box. Only very rarely would he be able to score or set up a decent chance once the defenders started closing in. As a centre-mid he was just too inconsistent as a threat and too rubbish defensively.

Running down a contract once could be due to any number of reasons, doing it twice is symptomatic of calculating greed.

Will soon be forgotten.

49 minutes ago, roverandout said:

I can never say never but I feel very strong in my mind that it's not a conversation where they say 'Tony will you stay?' and I say 'yes because you're asking'. There are lots of things that need to change. I want to give myself a chance to compete in the Premier League with a club that has the finances, the backing, the support and everything around it to compete in this league at the top and be disappointed if you don't get out of the division.

 

What dream world does he live in where he thinks hes good enough for a Premiership job? 

More interesting is what he seems to nearly say outright: how much of a shit show it is behind the scenes. Been there every day for five years and doesn’t know who makes decisions - in what other organization on earth does that happen?

My theory is he is so much of a football nut, and it was a much better gig than he could’ve expected after Coventry, he put up with the shit show because he loves the day to day job. I think the two straws that broke even his back were getting knocked back on selling Rothwell without knowing who decided or why, and then his rather prickly self-esteem not taking to no contract discussions.

My prediction is whoever we get in will not feel like putting up with the Venkys way for long and it’ll be another Lambert, and maybe a few more in quick succession.

Venkys out.

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Do you mean 1968-71 ?  1963, 64, 65 we were brilliant lots of the time.

Once Pickering was sold in 63, the ambition also left the building.

8 hours ago, arbitro said:

Today is the 10th anniversary of our relegation from the Premier League on that awful night against Wigan. The last decade has been, in my view pretty awful with very few highs and a multitude of lows. The lost fans, financial mismanagement, awful administrators, poor managers and players along with lots of other facets which none of us ever thought we would ever see.

Step forward Venkys.

Thanks for nothing.

Tied neck and neck as the worst period in our entire history with 1963-1971 when we went from being one of the top 3-4 teams in the country to 19th in the third division after a useless manager in the form of Eddie Quigley, top players sold and replaced with rubbish, promotion pushes thrown away, and general mismanagement. Of course we know how that turned around whereas we don’t know how this one will finish….

Surprisingly enjoyable game. Two best goals of the season, I’ve seen many worse debuts than Brown’s, Bucko and Trav centre mid next season, Ayala sure can defend the aerial ball well, Hedges man of the match. On the downside, Pickering is a problem, Dack was a passenger yet again, and Gallagher is just pitiful. 

4 hours ago, Claytons Left Boot said:

Like a vintage wine, USA or, in my case, like a well past it stout. 😆

Think you missed a comma out between it and stout Mark! 🤣

20 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

There are many more like the above fan on twitter and at Ewood. On here many of us dislike Mowbray's management and give the owners stick over how they run the club, but we seem to be in a minority, which is bizarre as all we are doing is calling for standards to be raised at the club. We refuse to accept and excuse mediocrity at Rovers. That doesn't make anybody who feels like that, "spoilt".

However, inside Ewood is a different matter, as generally the fans at the ground these days think Venky's are doing a good job as they have stuck around this long, we'd be screwed without their money and that they were conned by agents in the early days. There's definitely a bit of "we should be grateful" going around some parts of the fan base.

The irony is, they (the owners) are the reason why Rovers are a shell today and all ambition has been drained away from the club. They are the reason why the club has been dragged down to this level. They are the reason we keep on seeing these spirals and slides down the table (as they could have sacked him long ago). Yet we should be grateful for that and want more of the same by giving Mowbray an extended deal.

It's pretty sad, really, but the fans aren't to blame for all of this.

And those fans aren’t going to change their minds and adopt the attitudes of the majority on here. Not because they are thick/demented/deluded, but because they are no different to those of us who started supporting the club in the early 1970s third division days and who couldn’t have given a shit about the perspectives of the 1960 cup final ticket boycotters, of who there were many thousands.
 

The younger more positive supporters clearly enjoy it, as did we back in the day, and the fact that things are a lot crapper than 12 years ago makes no odds to them. We were singing the praises of John McNamee - a lower league clogger if ever there was one - only two years after captain of England Ronnie Clayton was in his position! 

Maybe two TonyOz awards: highest average and highest cumulative, which looks like Lenihan by a mile!

Embarrassing difference in quality

Awful goal to concede: no pressure on the bloke with the ball; Van Hecke nowhere near his man, Wharton nowhere near his man; Lenihan plays him onside.

Gallagher back to his back on his heels self, anticipating nothing, late to everything; Pickering and Hedges out of their depth; Rothwell making sure not to trouble his future teammates - tippy tappy sideways passes at the back and a sudden liking for short corners.

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I'm very very angry about all this, tomorrow is effectively a dead rubber but I suppose I should wait until the theoretical possibilities have been completely exhausted before fully venting my spleen.

I wonder what the atmosphere will be like tomorrow, will it be fairly supportive or in my view as it should be, pretty hostile in view of the one off opportunity which has been spurned?

A dead rubber is a match where the result, either way, is entirely meaningless to the overall outcome. It’s very much a live issue for Bournemouth and still marginally live for us. So the opposite of a dead rubber.

15 minutes ago, deanives said:

What does everyone think of lenihan at RB in a back 4? 

I'm shocked at how comfortable he seems in the position, I know he doesn't give us the attacking threat that nyambe or another attacking rb does but he looks and reminds me of an old fashioned rb of yesteryear

He put a peach of a cross onto Diaz’s head which Ben headed onto the bar, something Nyambe can’t do. Also Travis was freed up from being stationed ten yards diagonally behind Nyambe when in their half, where he receives the inevitable pass back.

3 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

I think so too. He didn't score but played well last night. 

I said a week or two ago that the Sheffield Utd loss was the worst one. It's looking more prescient as the end nears. I still don't understand why Khadra took the penalty.

Because none of the other ten had the balls to grab it off the lad. There’s no born winners in our team.

51 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I used to joke with Faz that he nearly got a few Rovers fan's killed because of that goal. I had to explain to him why but anybody there that night will understand.

He found it funny at first, by the tenth time I told him he was bored 😂😂

We ran faster down Manchester Rd afterwards than he ever did during the game!

4 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Well, well, well. Where did that performance come from? On the evidence of the last couple of months I doubt anybody, including Mowbray and the players, was that coming. It was full of intensity, pride, purpose, attacking and positive play, four qualities we have been glaringly lacking for some time. I'm still glowing from the performance but as the players came over at the end I couldn't help thinking that tonight could have been a promotion party and what a way to have done it. Highlight of the game for me was the goal from Travis. The pass to him, his touch and finish made me happier than I've been for a while at a game.

It changes nothing for me though in my thoughts and opinion of Mowbray and his staff. Throw Waggott and the owners into that too but for the next couple of days I'm going to bask in what I thought was the performance of the season.

Had to happen Tony after your pre-match comment that Lenihan at fullback would add good crosses and a goal…!

Wish I’d put a Mercer on Bucko and Trav scoring in the same game.

First goal was 99.8% Pickering and Diaz, Buckley’s goal a pearler but his first ever shot not leaning back, and Lenihan hasn’t given up. Nothing wrong with Hedges on that showing.

Rothwell’s first shot this year a predictable limp effort

I’m not sure why Buckley doesn’t get the benefit of the Mowbray handicap when donkeys like Gallagher do. Personally I’m looking forward to see him develop further playing in centre midfield alongside Travis and hopefully one other for a full season. He’s a great tackler and easily the best quick forward passer at the club. Yes he’s not the finished article but this has been his first full season where he’s barely been allowed to  stay in one position in any one game thanks to the tactical genius in the dugout.

11 minutes ago, tonyoz said:

He’s the most frustrating bloke. Sometimes, I swear, he’s the worst forward I’ve seen…..other times, like Saturday, he was a real handful. How can that happen?

He was till it was time to pull the trigger; I thought all the efforts on goal were poor technique: soft header, mis-timed header, hit the bar when he should’ve just curled it in. Got into great positions but let himself down imo.