Hard to be sure but my interpretation of the last 15yrs is the only leverage that's had a modicum of success is when the family name (and to a lesser extent brand name) is brought into things, particularly on a stage likely to be seen in India. I genuinely believe that this tactic, combined with non-confrontational engagement has the best chance of creating meaningful change.

Today's article in The Athletic (and NY Times) will be uncomfortable reading for the Rao family. They must surely be getting the message now that any issue within the club will be attributed to their brand name and family name. Whether this is enough for them to realise Pasha appears to be lying to them I don't know but the pressure continues through some exceptional work by Glen, Rory and co

For me, Brittain is the best player at the club and so having him on a new contract would be my first priority, closely followed by the same for Tronstadt and Travis. No point looking to sign others when we may then need to recruit into those positions as well.

The article on "mint" is interesting as having a piece published in India feels a huge step. Kudos to those that have managed to find an Indian journalist brave enough to mention Venkys, that's proven impossible in the past and might just be the final straw

Yep so a leeds win by 3+ goals on Monday gives us the best chance as we realistically can't overhaul their goals scored

I can be quite cynical regarding people seeking to place themselves at the centre of drama but I don't believe thats what we have here. This is a calm and measured approach aimed at improving Blackburn Rovers. I am wholeheartedly behind the coalition.

Really excited for this as are the kids, we can all feel the inevitable 0-2 loss coming but at least the season is still alive for the last (?!) home game

We should be doing all we can to keep Dolan but only to a point. We've no idea what he/his agent believes he's worth wages wise, if that's 25k a week then the cold hard truth of it is that he is not good enough to pay that money. If on the other hand we're playing hard ball and refusing to pay him 12k a week then that's a classicly stupid position to take as despite his weaknesses, he makes the team better.

*polite cough*

I did last night and this morning slightly regretted it

Wait one more point. Pickering coming on at RB and Ribiero signing a longer contract, I wonder if that's indicative of Ismael seeing Pickering as a utility player capable of playing across the back line and Ribiero being first choice LB.

I'll try not to repeat what others have said but some thoughts: Toth looked decent, I think tthere's a classic lack of confidence in a goalkeeper unsure of his position and that played out a couple of times when he was unsure of coming out. He was heavily used in recycling the ball which is great but 100% will cost a goal at some point as his passing wasn't perfect Brittain - player of the season for me, defensively solid and has a knack of being in the right position from an attacking sense too Tronstadt - definitely played further forward. Really reads the game well which is why he's so often in the right place at the right time. Again, I think the shift in positioning will cost us a goal and its probably why Millwall managed to break the limes a couple times but it really contributed to the intensity Ismael is set upon. Yuki seemed ineffective today, not sure why but perhaps the early miss was playing on his mind. He still managed to drag Millwall players out of position so as much as he didn't score he played his part to an extent Gueye looked unfit to me, very slow but gave them something to think about at set pieces which is the point of having him as an impact sub. Cantwell is a class above in terms of vision and passing ability, his work rate has definitely picked up under Ismael which I think is interesting. He's got to cut the sulky rolling about on the floor when he loses the ball though. There were 2 occasions we played with 10 during Millwall attacks because he was committed to pretending he had an injury. Dolan, classic Dolan performance really, great workmrate, great drive but his final ball and decision making let's him down. That said, we shouldn't be letting him leave unless his wage demands are ridiculous. Overall - a great game to watch and if this is what Ismael teams are about I'm actually looking forward to it. We will doubtlessly lose badly to teams eho put away the chances we will deginitely give them each game but noone will look forward to playing us! However, our squad is so poor (as shown by the subs) that it's got to have some investment. One final thought - everything I saw yesterday suggests this team has a togetherness about them that they didn't under JE. Even the warming up at the sidelines was done together and there was one point they were clearly having a great time pressuring a millwall player taking a throw. Interesting given togetherness was JE's mantra. PS - playoffs definitely still on!

So. Buoyed on by a brilliant performance today (and also a couple cans) I've had a little look and I don't think we're dead and buried yet. Cynics look away now and the rest of you bear with me as we make some big assumptions and ignore some bigger contradictions... Assumption 1 - Rovers will win the next 3 matches. I know, I know but that's the only way this works, if you can't accept this then skip the post. We probably also need a few goals within those matches but if we play as we did today that won't be an issue. Assumption 2 - anyone can beat anyone in this league - I think this is a bit easier to accept particularly towards the end of the season but is slightly contradictory of #1 Assumption 3 - leeds are the best team in the league and will show that (this is very important...) Assumption 4 - millwall and West brom will not win all their remaining 3 fixtures - all we need is a draw somewhere and we're golden Assumption 5 - Middlesbrough will not win twice - classic Boro, who knows which team will turn up on any given day If you're still with me after those 5 then you're a true believer and the next bits won't be an issue for you I'm sure. Bristol City - need 2 pts to ensure they finish ahead of Rovers. They play Luton away next and only just beat an unmotivated Sunderland who were down to 10 from the 7th minute. Accepting assumption #2 means this is 0 pts. They then play leeds and obviously accepting #3 that's also 0 pts. That means they go into the final day needing a win against PNE as their (at best) +8 gd will be under threat from our (at worst) +5 gd. Coventry - need 3 pts to definitely finish ahead of Rovers. Play Plymouth next who just beat Sheff Utd, then Luton who, as we know, have just spanked Bristol City. Even if they get a draw from one of these games (highly unlikely) they will need to win their last game against Middlesbrough as again their gd is under threat from a resurgent Blackburn Rovers. All in all then, I've booked my Travelodge for Wembley.

Not to push this too much as I know its not realistic BUT in 2013 after gameweek 42 6th place was on 63pts so the same parallel exists as it did for gameweek 41. 2013 of course was the last time 68pts earnt a playoff spot. Just keeps a little bit of interest!

I've been forced to have a little look at this in comparison to previous years. The trend is basically for the pack contending for 5th/6th to slip up a bit over the last 4/5 games which is why you sometimes see a team come from nowhere. If Rovers actually won the next 4 tthen think we would end up very close to 6th as Coventry, West brom and boro all have to play each other and we play millwall and Watford. Coventry losing tonight would be a really good start and goal difference doubtlessly would come into play. A lot of ifs, buts and maybes though and not really worth thinking about unless we win the next 2.

68 points was enough once for Leicester....interestingly, as with this season at game week 41 the team in 6th on 62. Throw in that the teams above are playing each other.... I know, I know but my 10yo has told me off for being negative about rovers so I'm trying! I fancy a draw here, the energy of the last 1.5 games to continue and Cantwell to score

I think the last couple of weeks have been brilliant and all involved deserve some genuine appreciation. I don't expect details now but I wonder, when this is all over, will we get a behind the scenes story? Feels to me there are people involved who we don't know about and that have recognised now as an opportunity. If that's the case, I absolutely love it and it gives me just a tingle of hope for a fresh start next season?

Really interested to see what this turns out to look like!

What a ridiculous situation it is that I actually dare to hope it might be true just because it would surely be the beginning of the end for venkys. I dream of the first match under new owners. In reality though, this doesn't feel true at all.

Feels unlikely that news would come out this way but i suppose stranger things have happened, what was actually said on the podcast?

I really feel like this is Dennis' game today. He's clearly been on the outside of the team, that's evident jist from lacklustre warmups alone from the others BUT despite what some may think, he's actually a very talented player and can be a genuine goal threat

Forgot to mention, speaking to Hyam after the game re the elbow he said "don't worry, I know him". Thought that was odd, I don't know if he meant it was a bit of a joke between pals or if they've had issues in the past

As another 40 odd yo with 2 kids stood next to me 90mins after the final whistle said, the 1230ko's are good for it as you have the time to wait. Just hang around at the corner of JW and DE, the palyers and staff either come out there or the centre of JW and walk towards the cars. All are happy to stop and sign or have a photo taken

As another 40 odd yo with 2 kids stood next to me 90mins after the final whistle said, the 1230ko's are good for it as you have the time to wait. Just hang around at the corner of JW and DE, the palyers and dtaff either come out there or the centre of JW and walk towards the cars. All are happy to stop and sign or have a photo taken

Just back after my boys insisted on hanging around after the match for autographs, there were only a couple of us die hards left there by the time Ismael made it out! Thought we did OK, Forshaw wasn't as bad as some made out, I think we were strong on the right because of his link up with Brittain (who remains player of the season for me) Dolan continues to frustrate, I think overall he just isn't good enough. Kargbo will be excellent for us long term, but today he was having to do a lot of defensive work at times which limited our attacking options. Gueye wasn't brilliant but remains unrecognisable from the player who started with us. Cantwell was fine, few lovely touches and he seemed to get stuck in a but more than normal. I remain firmly of the belief he needs to be surrounded by better players to shine and suspect he won't get to the levels he's capable of at rovers. I thought we were caught out a couple times as players adjusted to a new mindset and some tactical switches from Eustace, I may be hopelessly optimistic but I think as they relax into it we'll do OK over the next 11 (ish?!) games.