Parsonblue

Depends what it was for - sometimes you have a family crisis which is far more important than work. I'm not saying that is the reason but it just amuses me that you get pages and pages of speculation about players who the club may have no interest in at all and then everyone goes into meltdown when we don't sign a player who we may have had no interest in at all.

Perhaps the fact that he is from the north-east, a Newcastle fan as a lad, and may well have been visiting family for all we know and not anything to do with transfers.

Any deal for Assombalonga will come down to wages. I suspect the club won't be keen on disrupting the harmony within the group by smashing the wage structure for one player. The success we have enjoyed over the past eighteen months has been built on Mowbray getting together a group of players who are a 'team' in every sense of the word. I suspect Gallagher on loan would be a more realistic option, unless Assombalonga is prepared to accept the type of wages that are on offer at Ewood at present.

Sad news indeed. Like so many on here, of a certain age, Mike was a member of the best attack I've seen at this club. He was quick, direct and a goalscoring winger. Without doubt the best penalty taker I've seen. Looking at that team group on the website, it brought back many happy memories of watching was what an exciting brand of football played under Jack Marshall. RIP Mike and thanks for such wonderful memories.

Totally agree. Graham was outstanding in the way he held off defenders, brought the ball under control and laid it off. As you say, it was a master class in centre-forward play. Long may it continue as he's a joy to watch at the moment.

He didn't say that he wasn't searching the foreign market full stop, just that the January window is not the one he would want to use to bring in foreign players. I assume he means that a summer signing gives the player time to adjust to a move to a new country and a pre-season to adjust to English football. From previous interviews, he has talked about scouting across Europe for the right players. The fact that we have brought a Lithuanian player into the Academy set-up, one who has attracted a lot of attention from top flight clubs, suggests that we are looking abroad for players.

His actions are always in the best interests of the club - you may not like them or always agree with them, but he always has the best interests of the club at heart. John Williams wasn't everyone's cup of tea but he too, always had the best interests of the club at heart. I've found Steve to be the same. Personally, I think we are lucky to have him.

Jack Doyle isn't on loan anywhere. He returned with a bad injury some time ago. Sadly injuries have blighted Jack's progress during the last eighteen months. Certainly, Doyle looked a far better prospect when he was fully fit. I suspect the jury is out on Hart - although I believe that he had impressed on his return from Rochdale - and this enables the club to see how he goes at Southend.

Personally, I do think that he has made a real effort to meet as many different groups within the town and also the council to improve things. I know that he is not going to please everyone, some of the decisions he makes for sound commercial reasons are not always popular, but I really can't fault the guy for the effort he has put in over the past twelve months. As I say, he has an open door policy, like John Williams, and his enthusiasm for the club is clear to see if you talk to him.

You couldn't be more wrong Stuart. Steve has engaged with supporters from day one and I've found him to be very similar to John Williams, in that his door is always open to supporters and he's extremely approachable. The fact that he is also trying to put the club on a proper business footing is only a good thing. FFP, whether we like it or not, means clubs have to get their houses in order. We have criticised the club for not doing that in recent years and now we have someone who is working hard to do so. Of course, not every decision is going to please everyone, but so far I've found him a breath of fresh air in turning the off the field business around. Indeed, I would say the club is now being run in the same way that it was with John Williams and Tom Finn and that the present 'management' team is pretty good to be honest. I've found them all very approachable and genuinely concerned for the interests of Blackburn Rovers.

I suspect, although I may be wrong, AAK was talking about the old Central League that existed prior to the Academy system being introduced. I would agree that up to the early 1980s the old Central League was a far better standard. 42 games were played, mainly on Saturday afternoons, on the home team ground - not training grounds or non-League grounds. You had established internationals lining up on a regular basis and many players had an entire career that was spent playing Central League football with occasionally first team outings. It was a tough learning ground but its the one that produced generations of top class players. I remember being on Ewood in the early sixties when you could get gates of a couple of thousand for games not the couple of hundred you get today. Today, players can face each other at U15, U16, U18 and then U23 level but without ever coming into contact with senior pros until they make the first team - thus the jump from U23 to first football seems huge. I would agree with you Stuart that there has been some good football played at times by our development squad over the past couple of seasons in particular.

I think the difference Stuart is that when folk did that in the past if was for personal use at home. Today it ends up on the net and is much easier for those who hold the copyright to take action. I know that many years ago, agencies bought new sports books, in particular, and went through them looking for breaches of copyright. It's not something you want to get on the wrong side of - it can be very costly if you get it wrong.

I suspect this is a combination of broadcasting rights and copyright infringements. In the modern era these are absolute minefields and infringement can be a very costly business if you get it wrong. The fact the club are happy for him to interview fans outside of the ground would indicate that it's the actual match that's the problem and that is covered by EFL and FA regulations. These organisations, like photographic agencies, are very protective of the rights deals they have in place and don't hesitate to take action.

Totally agree Tyrone. There are no certainties in football. You, like me, will well remember the games against WHU over Christmas in 1963. 8-2 win away on Boxing Day and a couple of days later, with everyone expecting a double-figure job we lose 3-1 at home. I fully expect a really tough game on Saturday with Ipswich needing a win to keep in touch with the teams just above the relegation zone. I hope for a win but wouldn't be surprised by a draw or totally shocked by a defeat. It's the unpredictability that makes the Championship such an interesting League.

Looking at away programmes this season it would appear that a surcharge on tickets bought on matchday is quite common. At Leeds, tickets are £5.00 more if bought on the day of the game. Sheffield United charged £2.00 more for tickets bought on the day of the game. Even at Millwall, you need to be a club member and buy your ticket before the day of the game if you want to make a £3.00 saving. Looking at the minutes of the fans forum it would appear that supporters don't have a problem with the surcharge and are happy to pay it.

In fairness, Nuttall has worked extremely hard over the past couple of months and has been excellent with the Under-23's. He's far from the finished article but I thought he brought that improved work ethic to the first team on Saturday. Listening to Mowbray on the website, it sounds as if he might well have changed his mind about letting him go out on loan and give him more games with the first team. He certainly put more into the game than Brereton has done so far since his arrival - it's the reason why I think Brereton would benefit from a spell with the Under-23's to try to rebuild his confidence in the same way that Nuttall has done.

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip yesterday and a good result always makes the journey back more enjoyable. Very pleased that Nuttall took his chance to show that he is worth a place in the squad. I thought he worked very hard and thoroughly deserved his reward at the end. He did more in 90 minutes than we've seen from Brereton all season. Another good performance from Travis in midfield who really looks the part. I thought Rodwell looked very comfortable at the back and had that bit of composure on the ball when it was needed. The manager got his selection and tactics spot on yesterday and putting Armstrong on to run at them late on caused them major problems. It was great to see us scoring the goals late on to silence the Millwall crowd. I must say that it is still an intimidating atmosphere for opposition players and match officials.

Both spoke about a three or may have been four window plan at the last consultation meeting when Mowbray in particular talked about gradually rebuilding the team that had won promotion. He talked about being fair to those players and giving them the chance to prove they could cope at a higher level and improve their game but if not they would be gradually replaced. Clearly the owners have bought into this long term strategy by giving Mowbray a long term contract - something they don't usually do.

But at the moment he simply isn't good enough to start a game. Personally, despite the fee - whatever it might be - I'd stick him in the Under-23's and let him, hopefully, score a few goals and build a bit of confidence. Nuttall has regained him form in recent weeks by doing just that.

In fairness Graham looks a lot fitter than the 19-year-old who is supposed to replace him.

As one who goes to every game and has seen every minute of Brereton thus far, I haven't met any supporter who wants the lad to fail. I think we all hope he will come good. However, I think fans, like myself, are starting to have doubts based on what we have seen so far. In truth I haven't seen one performance which has suggested that he will oust Graham from the team at this moment in time. Hopefully he will prove me wrong and become a mainstay in the team but at present he looks far from a Championship player.

Delighted that Graham has extended his stay. One can only hope that now Brereton is here to stay he can settle down and improve on what we have seen so far.

Thoroughly enjoyed the game today and very pleased with the performance. Travis was outstanding, Evans was solid, as usual in midfield, and Graham worked like a Trojan in closing down and winning free-kicks when needed - Brereton should just watch and learn from him if he is ever going to have a hope of winning a starting slot. Mulgrew's goal was a bit of quality and the second was a superb move and excellent finish from Dack. I thought Bell had a better game today and offered a bit more defensively than he has of late and Armstrong offered more today than he has for some time. Looking at the table I just don't see us getting dragged into a relegation battle the way things look. Lambert is working his relegation magic at Ipswich who seem to have one foot in League One, Reading are in freefall whilst Bolton are looking in serious trouble both on and off the pitch. Wigan have taken just one point from the last 18. At the moment we have 8 wins, 8 defeats and 10 draws - very much mid-table form and a platform on which to build.

King Kenny lost six on the trot, almost lost out on the play-offs but recovered to win the Premier League title. Bad runs can happen to any manager - main thing is not to panic.

He travelled to Leeds and took part in the pre-match warm-up which suggests he is still part of the match day squad.