Chaddy you need to try and have some original thoughts instead of just constantly parroting lines from the DoF and others at the club. We can read those elsewhere.

‘Spoons?

The club hierarchy will be patient, the match going fans will be patient. As time goes on won’t that be what matters over a dozen or so critical folk on a football message board (something that will always happen anyway as these forums are renowned for being far more reactionary)?

Once again, a handful of people critiquing a players performance on an obscure website, doesn’t impact said player or mean the fans aren’t ‘getting behind him’ one iota. Just like it doesn’t if the critiquing is being done in the pub, in the car, walking up Livesey Branch. Just like BB always found, the Rovers support is very patient and supportive…

Still has that aura about him. Must have a decent surgeon too… looks younger now then when he arrived 22 years ago!

Why would I want him under pressure or sacked? He’s doing perfectly fine. Sorry, didn’t realise my musings were particularly controversial. Just noting that a manager can pivot from a top tier club that looks for/needs immediate results and expects to challenge for the title, to a second tier club, that looks to be a fair way from getting out the division, with a middling budget and an onus on youth development. JDT has obviously amended his own expectations of what is deemed a ‘success’, which is fair enough from his perspective. Like I said, career development can take many forms.

Hard to please? Not particularly. This is Blackburn Rovers now, I made peace with it years ago, the missed opportunity of January just reinforced my view that we have no real aspirations of promotion, whatever platitudes emanate from the powers that be re becoming ‘a sustainable PL club’ and all the rest of it. And I understand why when you compare budgets, the plodding, but stable, second tier club we are is not exactly going to get the missing thousands back, but hey ho. My actual point was more a general musing about how JDT seems happy enough with the parameters the owners/GB/SW have set him, despite some optimistic talk about how he wouldn’t settle for a TM style development project and would rather walk out the door…

The JDT comments about how having high possession stats ‘adds value to the squad’ (Christ knows how, but that’s another debate) are a great insight into how most managers are happy enough to fit into whatever the culture of their new club is. When he arrived there was a lot of talk about how he wouldn’t be like TM banging on about ‘journeys’, ‘adding value’ etc, as he’s ‘a winner’, ‘ambitious’, ‘he’ll be off if the team/club isn’t going anywhere, like at Malmö’. But in reality he’s arrived at a nice environment with patient bosses and, no doubt, a good wage. ‘Ambition’ can take many forms in a career. The mantra here is always about ‘adding value’, ‘sustainability’, ‘journeys’. High earners being eased out. He knew that would be the case and still took the job, indeed he wouldn’t have been offered it if he had any objections to this modern day version of BRFC.

You were happy to write Dack off (you know a fella with an actual track record of quality) before he had got back to full fitness…

I was about to say, United’s form improved after Cantona’s ban. Whereas ours went the other way. We almost cost ourselves the title.

Why does passing the ball around aimlessly ‘create value’?

It’s an *option* to buy Hirst? Like Zeefuik? Not a definite loan to buy, like the BB deal? Right? Right?

Yes.

Yeah that was kind of my point, Chaddy, in reply to yours that was implying that they are still in the habit of sacking them!

They’ve sacked two managers since 2013. Pretty much unheard of in the modern game at any other long standing Championship club.

Every DoF would describe their club as a ‘project’ or ‘on a journey’. It’s just the modern day corporate waffle you hear across the game. All clubs are trying to improve and ergo ‘on a journey’ of sorts, but calling it ‘a project’ doesn’t mean they are immune to criticism.

Whoever brought ‘blimey’ to the board… thanks for that!

It’s only a taxi for Tomasson if he thinks ‘feck this’ (or Danish equivalent) and wants to call it himself, no chance his job will be under any threat.

‘It’s a project’. All managers say something on those lines. It’s JDT’s version of ‘it’s a journey’. It isn’t a defence/an explanation of anything in itself.

Sunderland tickets just announced at £25-£30 (Category B), though the club themselves said in the summer that all midweeks will start at £20… ‘We know how special Ewood feels under the lights and our midweek matches on home soil, which include the visits of recently-relegated Watford and newly-promoted Sunderland, will be Category C contests, with Adult ticket prices starting at just £20.’ https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2022/july/12/save-with-an-1875-membership--/ Obviously there’s now a Return of the Mogg big potential away support to rinse!

We had a so-so start, didn’t really get going until November, whereas Fulham flew out the traps, and despite our fantastic form in the second half of the season we never really looked like catching them.

Looks a steady enough second tier squad man, though for me he just seems an odd player to really chase hard and pay a sizeable fee for.

Oh ok, no problem. 👍

I think I speak for everyone in wanting you to open that particular thread…

‘Phelan, Phelan, Phelan!’