14 minutes ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

Generally, I do tend to agree with your analyses.

It may seem like mere wordplay, but, on reflection, I  think it is harsh to say a large part of our fanbase is actually complicit.

As Rovers fans, we are all powerless and have not been able to influence the tragic events at our club one iota.

Like yourself, I have been frustrated by the denial and the apparent willingness of some to do mental somersaults in order to be grateful to Venky's. I have also smarted at some people's unwillingness to face the dumbing down.

But the uncomfortable fact is that all our hopes and dreams are entirely at the whim of distant, disengaged Indian chicken people, who probably couldn't name a single one of our players.

To blame fans, who are actually the victims of this tyranny and to call them complicit is taking it too far. Also, I think it is actually contributing to the division, which merely aids the carpetbaggers' agenda.

I suspect, like me, you started supporting in an era when we were a top team with the likes of England, Pickering, Dougie etc thrilling us week after week.  The crown jewels then had to be sold to keep the economic wolf from the door and the slide into Division Three seemed inevitable.  I remember Jim Smith being distraught that he couldn't sign Geoff Hutt, a full-back who'd been on loan but a fee of £9,000 was simply too much to make the signing permanent.  

The key difference then, of course, was that the guardians of the purse strings - the likes of Bill Bancroft, David Brown and Bill Fox were Rovers men through and through.  Although we, as supporters, gave them stick from time to time because of the lack of spending, we also knew that they were working miracles to keep the club afloat.

Today, we have owners on the other side of the world who are totally remote from the club and have been unable to stem a decade of decline.  Sadly, we are totally dependent on an ownership model where one or more individuals bankroll the club.  Jack Walker tried to make it self sufficient - the academy was to play a large role in that - but it proved impossible at a time when we were in a far better position than now.

With the present owners seemingly happy to continue bankrolling the club I think it's understandable why supporters are willing to take the cash to keep things going - even if reluctantly.

We may not be Bury but there are any number of 'Big' name businesses at the moment that are going to the wall. 

Mowbray and his staff have two years left on their contracts.  Any change of manager at this point will mean a huge outlay in paying up their contracts and then employing a new manager and backroom team.  At a time when the pandemic is still going to restrict normal commercial activity within the game I suspect most clubs, Rovers included, will simply be happy to come through this period with the club intact.  

If the financial situation at the club is anywhere near as bad as it sounds then it points to players being sold and replacements being a combination of Under-23's, freebies and loans.  In the circumstances, I'm not sure how a change of manager, at this point, would do anything but plunge the club into further financial turmoil.  

Of course, with owners as unpredictable as ours, anything is possible but I suspect that their priorities at the moment are all in India with their own business and maintaining the support their Charitable Foundation gives to the people in the Pune area.  At the moment I suspect Ewood is way down on their list of priorities even though they seem to have no inclination to sell the club, indeed far from it looking at the money pumped in each year.

5 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

How are those dates are irrelevant? 

You are right chaddy they are not irrelevant.  I have no doubt that at least two of  Armstrong, Travis, Nyambe and Lenihan will be allowed to move on to raise funds to allow us to bring in some freebies and a loan or two.  Survival as a football club is going to be the main aim whilst we deal with the virus rather than funding a promotion bid.  Sadly, I suspect there are going to be some real tough times ahead for us as a football club.

21 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Suhail is their eyes and ears.

He can't fail to have seen how poorly we are performing in the main and how we are as far away from the PL as ever. 

I feel sure he will also have picked up the growing discontent about Mowbray.

IMO, he will make the bullets for the Raos to fire.

Hasn't he been back in India for the past four months - he left before lockdown - and last I heard I think he's still there.     

8 minutes ago, Ewood Ace said:

How can anyone still defend Mowbray when he has missed his own minimum target of 70 points. If he was as honourable as he likes to make out he is then he would resign after failing to meet his own minimum target.

Quite easily all things considered.

An enjoyable game and a draw a fair result.  The changes that Mowbray made certainly improved us in attack - although both Davenport and Holtby should have scored.  Felt we finished strongly against a very good side.  Pleased that there was finally an end product from Rothwell who looked quite dangerous running at people - if he could only do it on a consistent basis.

Considering the injuries we've had this season to key players I'm more than happy to have reached 60 points with still three games to play. 

58 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Today’s Times:

12th September aim for new season with 30/50% ground capacity.

So 10 to 15,000 for Ewood, which would always be fine for us anyway.

Any chance of STs any time soon?

The logistics are going to be interesting.  Existing season ticket holders would have to be ready to move seats as social distancing will mean at least one or two seats left empty between each supporter and presumably every other row would have to be left empty.  Rovers have a large number of senior supporters so will be interesting to see how many take it up.  I suspect many, like myself, may buy a season ticket but not appear in the ground until much later. 

1 minute ago, Kamy100 said:

It is going to be a summer of balancing the books.

With our biggest asset (Dack) not being sellable because of his injury, it will probably mean one or two off Lenihan, Travis or Arma having to be sold to help balance the books.

After that we are looking at freebies, loans and signing up and coming players from lower leagues.

We don't have the money for a major facelift for the squad.

Totally agree with this.  There will have to be departures to balance the books and only Lenihan, Travis, Armstrong and possibly Nyambe are going to attract bids.  One can easily see Fisher or Hilton being used as the back-up 'keeper whilst the likes of Wharton - unless he is sold - Magloire, Carter, Thompson, Vale, Butterworth become part of the senior squad in terms of filling the bench on matchdays or graduating to the starting eleven.  

Good news and pleased that Lyons and Paton have also signed on for another season.

22 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

So what we're saying is he should be sacked but we can't afford to do so?

No, Rev, what I'm saying is that the cost of paying up two years of a contract for the manager and his staff is going to have to be taken into consideration.  Personally, at the moment, I'm more than happy for him to stay for next season - which is likely to be another difficult one with the games between September and December likely to be behind closed doors and, who knows, the whole thing may end being behind closed doors.  I suspect, like many clubs, the Rovers simply want to survive intact during the period of this pandemic.  

Mowbray's contract lasts until 2022.  With the club reluctant to refund season ticket holders, due to the financial situation, I doubt much thought will be given to paying off Mowbray and his staff anytime soon.  

The events at Wigan show just how precarious the situation is for many clubs - Rovers included - due to the virus.  I've no doubt that Mowbray will, at the very least, be given next season to try to break into the top six.  With finances so stretched I'm not sure how he - or indeed anyone who took his place - will be able to rebuild the squad in the way that it needs.  Personally, I like Mowbray and think, on the whole, he has done a decent job since he arrived.  Like all managers he has made mistakes. Some of the tactics can seem strange - still no idea was a false 9 is - unless it's another way of describing Gallagher or Brereton in terms of non-scoring forwards. Those two have been huge disappoints and costly mistakes.   A bit like Bob Saxton before him, he's been loyal to players and, like Saxton, that may ultimately cost him.  But, due to the financial situation I suspect he will see out his contract unless he decides otherwise.

Looked like a nothing goalless draw until Walton's clanger.  Why he is trying to catch a ball like that instead of punching it clear is beyond me.  He's simply not good enough.  For all our possession the front three looked toothless in terms of scoring.  Rothwell, again, flatters to deceive whilst Gallagher looks a shadow of the player who was here a couple of years ago.  Brereton was better but, again, never looked like scoring.  Disappointing after last week but realistically we are a top ten team rather than top six at the moment.

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Needs must on a (hopefully) temporary basis but I actually enjoyed today's game more than most this season.

If it's deemed necessary in general to be ridiculously over cautious going forward then there's nothing we can do about it but as far as the football is concerned, if it has to be behind BCD then bring it on as far as I'm concerned.

Don't get me wrong Rev, I enjoyed the game once the problems were sorted out.  But it simply reminded me that there is nothing like 'being there' as opposed to watching on TV.  Sadly, I fear we won't get back until some time in 2021, particularly older folk like myself.  But, as you say, the streaming service is better than nothing.

Once I came out and went back in it seemed to clear the picture and no problems after that - so I suppose I missed the first ten minutes or so.  Pleased I gave it one last go to work as it was a very good team performance.  Didn't seem to be a weak link anywhere - although Walton was dreadful for their goal.  Evans outstanding in midfield and we seemed much fitter than Bristol.  

The prospect of watching possibly half of next season this way is pretty depressing as today proved beyond doubt, for me, that watching Rovers on TV is nowhere near as good as being there.

Terrible service - managed to get on but not worth watch with it freezing every few seconds.  Going to watch Arsenal on BT.  At the end of the day the buck stops with the Rovers they took my season ticket money and it will be the club I'll be contacting for a refund on Monday!

Looking at those minutes it suggests that until January 2021, at least, games are going to continue to be played behind closed doors.  Will be interesting to see how they price the i-follow ticket for a half-season and how many they are able to sell.    

Very sad news.  I remember Jim's debut at Gigg Lane and at that point he became something of a cult figure for me - with the sideburns, balding pate and drooping moustache.  He scored the best diving header I think I've ever seen when he came on as sub against Norwich City.  A friend who is an Oldham Athletic supporter speaks so highly of him and, although not a great success at Ewood, he was a pretty consistent goalscorer wherever he played in the lower divisions.  RIP Jim.

8 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I have look into it actually Paul. People at Oxford university said 80% chance of vaccine being ready by September in April. Now that could be end of the year. There is other treatment trials happening at the minute. AstraZeneca said they could have 30 million doses ready by September of the Oxford University vaccine if it works. So we will see

Listened to the Oxford folk on the radio last week.  They were talking about it being well into next year, at the earliest, before they would be likely to find a vaccine and even that, they felt, was by no means a certainty.  

Like Paul said earlier, people will make their own decisions about what they feel is safe.  Personally, I don't see how any stadium can be safe and social distancing - which is going to be here until a vaccine or successful treatment is found - makes it even more likely that the future of football is going to be behind closed doors - Sky and BT will be rubbing their hands at that.

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

we don't know this so lets leave it to experts from Oxford University and other people who are working on the vaccine. Sarah Gilbert from Oxford University was confident of a vaccine by September when talking BBC in April. We have ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine as long as it works

 

She was on the radio last week saying that it was unlikely that a vaccine would be found until well into next year at the earliest.

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

 

All correct Parson and something I've been saying for many weeks now.

Yet despite all this you still seem opposed to the return of football?

I'm opposed to resources being wasted on football rather than where they are needed.  I appreciate that you have been opposed to the lockdown from day one but I look at the growing number of deaths and really don't regard football as all that important in the greater scheme things.

Behind closed doors football is going to be the norm for the foreseeable future.  Our way of life before the virus hit is not going to return until there is a vaccine and that may be a year or two away, if indeed one is created at all.  Social distancing is here to stay with all the ramifications it will bring.  Football, like the rest of society, is going to have to adapt to the new reality and, sadly, many clubs are going to find that impossible.

43 minutes ago, Stuart said:

If they are going to show games on TV or YouTube then Sky/BT won’t have the exclusivity that they pay top dollar for. This would negate the whole money argument, which is they only logical reason to rush football back.

Sky/BT will keep the Premier League games - or the majority of them and certainly the key games.  SKY/BT, as you say, are not going to give up the exclusivity to the major games.  BBC may get the Premier League games that have no importance in terms of European qualification or relegation and very little audience pulling power.  ifollow will end up with Championship games with one or two maybe making it to Quest.

I think the interesting question is what happens next season.  With the Oxford group now admitting that it is unlikely that a vaccine is going to be ready until some time next year - at the earliest and maybe not even at all - it's likely that the whole of next season will be played behind closed doors.  With the costs of testing etc. I'm not sure how clubs in Leagues One and Two could possibly contemplate that and I suspect several Championship clubs will find it a stretch too far. 

The Premier League will be able to fund it from TV money  - both from here and abroad - but I suspect the rest of football is going to really struggle.  In twelve months time I will be amazed if we still have 92 full time clubs at senior level unless the government are going to prop clubs up with financial support.

22 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

According to my paper this morning - " The Premier League has said fans may not be able to return to matches for a year, even if it's Project Restart is successful."

I must admit Tyrone that I'm not expecting to be back in a football ground until the start of the 21-22 season - and even then I suspect it will probably need a vaccine before the government allow it or, indeed, many older folk would be happy to go back.  I noticed in the government guidelines for sport they had mooted the prospect of  'behind closed doors' sport until a vaccine or successful drug treatment had been found.  

14 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Care workers can get tests every day. They can get home test kits which they can do themselves or go the test centre either at Preston or Manchester. My family and friends have all gone and been test who work in health and social care sector at least once. Blackburn Hospital has a test facility but it looks it just for staff at the hospital. 

Football went private to ensure that none of UK taxpayers money was used to fund their kits or use NHS resources. 

They arent using Government test kits, facilities or staff. 

I think you'll find care workers can't which is why the government said - only last week - that they planned to have all care workers in care homes tested by the END of June.  The point you seem to miss is that if there are private tests available why aren't they being made available to the people on the front line who need them.  A care worker in a care home is surely far more important, in terms of needing regular testing, than a footballer.