Mattyblue

Priority for the playing side? Of course, as John Williams used to say the point of running a football club is to get the very best team on the pitch that budget allows. However, it’s become strikingly obvious that to keep a semi-competitive Championship squad the non playing side is run on a shoestring (executive pay aside, of course). Weed infested, filthy stadium, litter piled up, cabbage patch pitch, skeleton staff for maintenance and groundwork, closed Radio Rovers, closed RoverVision, closed DEnd, closed BBEnd Upper, closed town centre shop, leaking roofs, closed Blues Bar, run down merchandising. All supplemented with steep price increases for tickets (with surcharges) and food/drink. Of course, the success of the first team is what everything else hangs from within a football club, but contract extensions for Gladwin, Hart et al sticks in the craw whilst the infrastructure of the club falls to pieces...

Back to back series against India after Sri Lanka, some year of Test cricket coming up... and I’ve a ticket for Old Trafford in September... in vaccines we trust 🤞

Did we kick off the season earlier than the rest of the league, as the majority I’ve seen in the Championship are nowhere near as bad as ours...

‘We’ll put the postponement in the bag and move on’.

As others have said there’s obviously a dual budget at Ewood. Playing side gets generally what it needs, the last few weeks have seen that with Branthwaite, and little pressure for the manager to sell players. On the non playing side ‘keeping the lights on’ so we don’t ‘do a Bury’ is seemingly seen as enough. Maybe that’s the correct approach and we are all being precious over weeds, litter, grime and a Sunday league pitch, the first team has to take priority at a football club after all - though considering much infrastructure spending doesn’t impact FFP and we have ‘optimum owners’ that ‘never refuse a cheque’ it seems strange that the place is now a complete shit tip. Well it’s caught up with us now and the stripped down husk that is Blackburn Rovers in 2021 is there for all to see.

What was the line again? Oh yes... ’they never refuse a cheque’

Yes wasn’t that the day Ribchester had already flooded after days of heavy rain? And the River Darwen was bursting its banks? It certainly wasn’t after a few hours of rain just on the morning of the match.

Can say the same for Stanley, and they are knocking on the door of the Championship, suppose it puts ‘The Promotion’ season into a bit of context...

Great Harwood...Everton?

Yesterday’s LT, ‘no momentum lost’ https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19018264.mowbray-insists-no-momentum-lost-despite-rovers-recent-run/ Also yesterday’s LT, ‘we are losing a bit of confidence’ https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19020010.mowbray-says-rovers-confidence-levels-hit-little-bit/ Broke my own rule of not reading manager interviews, remembered why...

And? Most clubs in lower leagues have a turnover of players. What’s that got to do with an incoming manager working with them for half a season to improve results? ‘Sorry pal hear you and the fella from Leeds won’t be here next season, just work it out amongst yourselves’ You work with what you’ve got until the next window - a la Allardyce replacing Ince

WE DON’T PLAY ATTACKING FOOTBALL (despite what the manager says).

Indeed blue blood. How could he possibly know who other managers would be able to bring in? How do you know they come here solely because of Mowbray? What is this ‘style of football’ you speak of? Players are loaned in from the PL throughout the league. Other managers could’ve built a side that isn’t so ridiculously unbalanced that loanee teenagers aren’t relied on to carry the team in the first place. A lot of assumptions at work here to defend a manager that is currently failing by your own laid out remit for success one post ago.

So 8th is fine, 9th is a failure? Is there a prize for 8th in the Championship?

The pitch was even worse in 1994/95. Didn’t do that side any harm. But from then on until this regime, we had a cracking, often award winning surface.

Why? What did you think was going to happen to even get the ball rolling? - A ‘board’ meeting? - Balaji or whoever demanding a morning Zoom call for answers from Pasha and Waggott? - The manager hauled into the Chief Exec’s office for an explanation of recent form? You reckon anything like that has occurred?

Sharpe’s obviously seem enough, he’s flagging that Hughes wants back in management this morning...

Always find it fascinating when folk take what football managers say at face value.

Two more home games in January for it to get through too...

So why haven’t the optimum owners sorted it?

There’s always a time with a manager when you can see the players just aren’t really responding anymore, a new voice is usually needed - and at a normal club the board spots it too. However, as it doesn’t work like that here, we will just stagger on as interest within the fanbase rapidly wanes...

Little dig from Sharpe in his verdict. Though a bit snide if it’s only ever in copy and not held to account in interviews... ‘But of late, neither your eyes or the statistics are offering much comfort to supporters, many who fear that just two league games in 2021 another long run to the finish line awaits.’

If/when he goes the TM fan club will merely say ‘nice guy, but time for a change’, even now he is far more popular than an actual top manager like Sam ever was here. So will he buggery end up a Kean-esque hate figure.

We can’t compete with Brentford because they are a highly functional, professional football club with an effective business model and we aren’t? That is undoubtedly the case.