Did we hang on to Souness ‘way, way too long’? In his first 3 full seasons he got us promoted, won a cup, then top 6 in the PL. 2003/04 was therefore a disappointment, but surely he had enough credit in the bank to last that season? And then he went to Newcastle in early September 2004. Now if he’d have staggered on till Christmas without JW pulling the trigger, especially with the rumblings of player unrest, then fair enough, but we’ll never know...

Ayala was, on paper, what was required and I personally think his performances have actually been ok considering he can’t ever have been fully fit since arriving - however his injury record has got worse over recent seasons and now in his 30s you can’t imagine that improving - you have to look at the overall package with a signing, especially as Williams and Lenihan always miss a sizeable chunk of games. Just doesn’t seem to be any kind of real strategy with building the defence, always seems to be essay crisis mode, unlike with what he’s trying to do with the team in an attaching sense.

It is a decent signing, as was Tosin. But ideally we need an experienced old hand back there (and some proper coaching by the look of it at times), and young lads, of course, will make mistakes and that will just add to the keystone cop antics that ensure we never threaten the top 6. But it is what it is, for a club that rarely spends fees on defenders and a manager that just doesn’t seem to see building from the back as a priority.

Getting on a bit is John Curtice, was wondering who was going to replace him...

Though Mogga is quite apt at keeping a slight fire burning at this stage of the season, and his social media army purring... until the wheels come off prior to the run in.

Often said on here that this lot have created a ‘hollowed out club’, want a tangible example? Covid rules say you can have up to 10 directors attending games. How close to Rovers get to filling that quota? Not very... Waggott, Cheston, Gandhi Babu (based in India?) and non exec (and pretty much retired) Rob Coar.

I never usually go in for all this ‘Teeside Tony’ stuff, but the Pears signing has a whiff factor for me. His dad Stephen Pears is a big pal of Mowbray, played together for 10 years and was one of TM’s coaches at Boro. Little track record or form, but a decent fee paid and a 4 year deal (which is a contract length we don’t usually see here). Nepotism at play, I’m afraid.

Who was cautiously optimistic? A few “give ‘im a chance”-ers aside, it was a rare example of a united Rovers fanbase. The dive in ST sales that summer was the first inkling that it had gone down with the fanbase like a lead balloon.

Of course you never give up, ‘next year Rodders...’ and all that, but why would we have given up in the 80s anyway? The club was striving to be the very best it could be every season, and it did bloody well for a club of its means. No, the last sentence is not ‘rubbish’ in the slightest, and I was surprised it needed pointing out to a fan as long standing as you, Gav. You seem to think the 80s were a decade in which we just had to ‘stick by’ an impoverished club scratching around, but BRFC was far more than the sum of its parts in those days as our league positions, players and cup wins showed, a club with a soul. The crux of the argument being we are now owned by billionaires, with highly paid executives and we can’t even keep Ewood weed free and we have a pitch that wouldn’t look out of place up Blacksnape. The 80s club had me proud as punch. In 2021 it is THIS version of Blackburn Rovers that merely needs ‘sticking with’, it is a hollowed out shell of a football ‘club’ and one day, when this shower finally fecks off, the club will need pulling up by it’s bootstraps and some semblance of a fanbase to pick up the pieces.

Crowds collapsed across football in the mid 80s, it wasn’t because of Rovers fans being uniquely disillusioned, even clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham etc had gates regularly in the 15,000 bracket. The club WAS successful in the 80s considering its means. A cup win, three play off campaigns (would’ve been more if they’d have been invented earlier) and we were rarely out of the top half - without a pot to piss in. Our near neighbours were all trying to avoid falling out of the Football League at the time. You are doing the club of Bill Fox, Bancroft, Howarth, Kendall, Saxton, MacKay, Parkes a real disservice

Who ‘gave up’ in the 80s? The club didn’t, couldn’t pay the leccy bill? Training on Pleasy and fishing balls out of the river as we couldn’t afford to replace them? Yep, but still no excuses and the club maintained standards, the result? Top end of the second tier for the majority of the time. A club to be proud of. Compare and contrast to BRFC of 2021.

DD Should stick to home improvements... there’s a few for him to look round after the game.

Football is a cosy business in which they all look out for each other, hoping to get that next contract as a player or coach, nobody ever does a bad job. Exhibit A... ‘In 2008, [Coyle] had managed to get Andrew Cole on board for a loan spell and the former Manchester United star spoke very highly of Coyle when interviewed by the Daily Mail a couple of years later. Cole said: “If a manager is not good at his job, I might say so. But Owen Coyle was the most impressive manager I played for after Sir Alex’ The bench rests.

It’s about ratings, that’s why Leeds were on Sky almost every week in the Championship and why every single Man Utd cup tie is shown.

They’ll have a few boxes of tat that need flogging...

He gets sacked tomorrow and Chaddy will be telling us how it was time for a change and he’ll be regaling us with his shortlist of potential replacements. So why bother getting wound up going in circles with him?

Aye, an actual discussion tried to get started stating it was even better than what we saw with Dalglish! 🤦‍♂️

As I said the other week, when we were on a death spiral last season, Waggott was asked if the manager’s job was under threat, he laughed and looked shocked that the question was even asked. Not a chance he’s under pressure. Good personal relationship with the owners and you are set fair, couple that with having a pal as your boss and I would expect a new contract before any sacking. It’s not normal, and it’s why the club will never do more than tread water under this regime.

For the LT, this is pretty damming (Sharpe’s verdict piece)... ‘During a bizarre, nine-minute period in the second half, between the introduction of Adam Armstrong, the final piece of the cavalry, and departure of Bradley Dack, seconds after he was denied from six yards, they had a back four, albeit one including two central midfield players, and then a front six, with very little inbetween. There were quizzical looks over to the touchline for direction, Harvey Elliott and Joe Rothwell not appearing to know what was being asked of them, and as the game slipped away, the body language didn’t look like that of a team about to launch a grandstand finish.’

Buckley is a £10million player and we were heading for automatic promotion after losing at Watford ... think you can stop hanging on the every word of the Football Man.

Other clubs, neutrals? I’d say a fair chunk of our fanbase too! But yes for those who don’t follow closely, part of it is down to longevity. ‘4 years in a Championship job? Obviously doing a great job’. They are not to know of the dumbing down of expectations and standards and owners that tune in one day a year when Chief Ex and manager make their annual show of fealty in Pune.

I don’t expect my manager to be a performing seal, and maybe it’s just a coincidence with the personalities of the managers we’ve had this past decade, but every incumbent seems to spend most of their time attached to the bench, in contract to their opposite numbers who spend the game encouraging, cajoling and yes, often getting in the ears of the officials. To me it just seems to sum up the malaise that has enveloped the club under this regime.

BBC Breakfast still calling them Chorley Town this morning 🙄

Fair play to them, fantastically run club... but it will be another nail in the coffin for the Rovers fanbase.

‘Alexa - what is the definition of an anti-glory hunter?’