It’s not really easy to compare across eras and confidently declare that a modern day player is the ‘best ever’ or player A from the 2020s is better then player B. from the 1950s. The balls, the pitches, the tactics, the interpretation of the laws, the fitness levels were vastly different. Put Pele, Maradona, Best, Finney in the modern game where they would have the very best sports science and aren’t kicked around the pitch on cabbage patches and see how they’d go… and vice versa parachute Ronaldo(s) or Messi into an era in which they would be repeatedly hacked down on a mud bath...

I remember those Gerald Sinstadt round up packages that wouldn’t even show all the goals! 🤷‍♂️

You had a few tonight roverandout?

Murphy’s spell here was deplorable, but even if he’d never have darkened our doors he’d still be a dreadful pundit. His half Chester/half cockney accent grates an all...

The Fans Forum is there for trivial issues, and I’ve no issue in asking O2G or K-Hod to raise any I have. I don’t need to ring up the stadium manager or Lyndsay Talbot about it. The big issue is ticketing and Swag has made it perfectly clear as recently as this week that he ain’t for budging. That’s his policy, those are his targets and that’s that. Some random fan having a brew in his office certainly isn’t going to change it. Him leaving the club and a replacement with a grasp of reality is the only thing that will potentially change things. Bring on that day (sooner rather than later, I beg you Venky’s).

Can you have a toss up between six teams?

Good, another golden goose that Swag has fecked up. Let’s hope Blackpool and Wigan sell bugger all either and we see the last of £30-£35 ticket prices for run of the mill second division games.

It’s on Ajax’s YouTube (in Dutch though, of course!) https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2022/december/03/watch-rovers-v-ajax-live-/

Updated a staff list 👏

Fair enough. I’ve enough to worry about with Rovers to give two hoots about England.

Because they are obviously not as well run, from academies to executives. A lot of it goes back to Scottish football culture and the talent pool. Are they successful teams at a European level? Of course not, doesn’t mean they aren’t big clubs on many other metrics and wouldn’t thrive outside Scotland. (Obviously all moot as they ain’t leaving the Scottish system).

They are ‘small fry’ on the pitch because they’re stuck in a backwater league which limits their income and ergo they can’t attract world class players. Give them a PL income and they’d be right up there very quickly.

You can do both, no? Obviously rovernout sees absolutely everything from an England perspective, but most other folk can surely enjoy watching a game on its own merits, whilst in the back of their mind every now and then think ‘hmm wonder how England would do against this French side’. Bit like in club football, I can watch other top 6 Championship games, but still think ‘we’ll beat this lot’.

Attendances are booming throughout England, and this guy has somehow ensured we’ve missed out on it. Amazing how these owners find fool after fool to run ‘their baby’. Law of averages says they should stumble across someone half decent at some point..

Because that is where the money is.

And remember it was only £399 for existing ST holders in the BEnd and Riverside (went up to £500 in the JWU) For new or returning fans it was an entry price of £430 up to £530. Sounds insane pricing for a long standing second division club with crowds at their lowest level in 30 years in a cost of living crisis, doesn’t it? How on earth will you increase crowds with that policy? Ah, but that’s the point, it’s all a cynical ploy, Swag has no interest in actually growing the fanbase, just rinsing the core. So such ridiculous prices for new purchasers then makes perfect sense as he can then paint £399 to £500 to existing ST holders as a price that is ‘rewarding their loyalty’. Contemptible.

‘8k, plenty of people’ 🤦‍♂️

Nothing will change next summer either, it’s obvious from that article that he will just be tinkering around the edges, I.e that family ticket that no actual family bought will be slightly less ludicrously priced. The real issue, that any potential new or returning fan has to find £430 to £530 won’t be on his agenda. We won’t sell more than 8/9k at these prices as a second division club, it’s as simple as that. But he isn’t bothered if we do or don’t as long as he hits his revenue target (though he often misses it anyway). These are his ticketing polices and he simply won’t move on them… the only hope is someone else moves him out the club.

Pathetic. He’s crowing throughout whilst quoting numbers he’d have been embarrassed to have as a target when he joined. We’ve sold 200 half STs and he honestly expects a 1000 to go when £230 to £280? Get real. ’We’ve already got 11,000 home fans for PNE’ - 👏 ‘Generally 12,000 home fans gets us to where we want to be’ …Err no it doesn’t, five years you’ve had and you still don’t have a clue. Please just retire for christ sake.

You just said it was boring. You and England, what a rollercoaster 😁

‘Piss poor commitment’… it’s England (who are pretty much already through) on tele. It’s hardly a 5am coach trip to Bournemouth away. 😁

Won two All-Ireland Championships with them. Proper old school multi-sportsman. Denis Compton-esque.

‘Not interested, thanks. If I’m not at Ewood Park watching my team I like to go to watch a film or for something to eat with the Mrs’. 😁

He was managing QPR, a club with a relatively small Championship budget, not a parachute club. So every chance they fall away and are not seen challenging again for a good while. So not exactly difficult to see why he’d jump ship for a club like Rangers.

Norwich away twice in three weeks. Deep joy…