Indeed, they served Wainwright’s in the late 2000s, sold really well from what I remember. Then they got rid of Thwaites as beer supplier and that was that.

I’m taking about Smallwood, not both of them. He’d gone back to Rotherham, say, and you’d be on here slagging off TM over it?

Though if he’d have left you'd have praised TM for his ‘evolution of the team’, I’d wager!

Evans fine (he will be one of our top earners, by the way, he was signed in the parachute days and has earned 50 international caps since). Smallwood can’t make the bench and that’s with Davenport injured. He should have left for his own career if nothing else.

I don’t drink in the ground phil , I go to watch the Rovers and they are doing ‘basically ok’, but for a lot of fans they do like to put their money into the club by purchasing food and drink on a matchday. I dislike the piss poor product and service they are receiving and a better product would actually bring more money into the club. Surely the issue is three fold. 1 - prices have gone up massively in one summer - £3.80 to £4.50 a pint is a piss take from where I’m standing. 2 - The service is terrible and facilities that should speed things up are not used properly - i.e contactless and multi pint pourers or just a simple idea like ‘how about pre pouring some pints in the run up to half time?’ 3 - The club still thinks just providing one basic lager is sufficient in 2019. The club hasn’t altered its offering since the new stands were built in the mid 90s. That was a pre Wetherspoons/pre CAMRA/pre micro brewery time when pubs largely served Carling/Fosters/Xxxx/Carlsberg on draft with a John Smiths/Boddingtons esque ‘ale’ keg also on draft. Tastes have moved on massively over the last decade, the club hasn’t. Doesn’t seem a big issue to sort to me, but it won’t be as we have a management team without the initiative to do it.

It will be £15 million for all 3. Armstrong will be worth it at £1.75m rising to 3. A steady Championship player. £5 million for Gallagher is fairly risky free as he will make an impact in games and I believe will improve. The millstone around the club’s neck is the £7 million for BB, doesn’t look remotely close to making an impression, and unfortunately I foresee it going down as a disastrous signing for the club.

That song just fit his name, even in League 1 it was known he was limited but did a job at that level. Not good enough for the second tier, there’s no ill will towards him, just the realities of football and he should have been released in the summer.

Our friendly last month could be the last ever game at Gigg Lane.

So? Was the ‘Class of ‘92’’s manager Eric Harrison a top player himself? Indeed was Johnson’s own crop with Dunn, Duff and Taylor managed by ex international stars? These are development squads, as long as they are coached by quality people and a conveyor belt continues to the first team who gives a feck about how many caps the coaches mustered when they were players themselves.

Bell just doesn’t have it. Nowhere near enough quality when it comes to distribution and a poor defender - just not a Championship standard full back. He’s had an extended run at it but now a better player has come in, that’s football.

Don’t disagree. I can ‘see what he’s trying to do’, but a weak spot when it comes to defenders means I foresee any top 6 challenge falling away.

In what way?

Should stick to his films.

Of course. But I can see better footballers in key positions, to me that is the most important development over performances and the obvious need to cut out mistakes at this stage.

A bad player, or having a bad game? Second one is subjective, 1st one? They can feel free to bring back Smallwood or Evans or Lowe or Williamson or Akpan.

Who thinks Johnson is bad? Not seen a single post saying that. Been a monster in there since the opening day.

We are looking a better side. Why? Better players. It’s that simple. Mowbray will have wanted that level of performance since he took over but players like Bell, Evans, Smallwood, Mulgrew, Conway are not capable of providing it (or at least can’t provide it anymore in some cases). All I ask for my club is that it strives to improve each season. And last night was a sign of a club that is FINALLY behaving like an outfit with ambition. Here’s to the rest of the season.

Fox & Hounds, Brown Cow, White Bull, Moorgate, Lord Raglan, Wellington and you can nip through to the Navigation at Mill Hill.

Was replying to tonygreenbank, he needs to get on Livesey Branch

Still loads of pubs around Ewood.

Johnno went straight to the U23s (U21s then) from the U14s... he did ok.

So you didn’t want him sacked last week?

Thought you wanted him gone, Dreams? Bit rich trying to take the moral high ground about ‘hyperbolic’ brfcs-ers that won’t see any good in TM when you were happy for him to be sacked after TWO games of the season.

I’m sure that deduction pledge wasn’t on the article originally. Quite right they should be deducted from the cost! But 1,400 sales at this stage? Come on! I am the last person to decry any attendance initiative. But to wheel this out just days before they are usually withdrawn from sale (after the third home game) is pure desperation and a sign of pressure from above. Waggott obviously believed we would be increasing sales significantly this summer and he’d be hitting his target. Pure hubris from him as finishing 15th in the second tier and an average at best summer window is not going to lead to increased sales of any note. I’m just relived we’ve pretty much matched last season’s. He’s still no nearer to understanding our fanbase.

Absolutely no chance 1400 more people are going to sign up in late August for the standard price with the season underway and two home games already played. Surely this should have been promoted all summer... or Waggott really doesn’t want to miss his target two years in a row. Real desperation stuff as he’ll know sales slow to a trickle at this stage.