Mattyblue

At a normal club Barnsley would be pivotal for the future direction of the club. With two weeks to go, either a decision is made now, giving time for a new man to be appointed or TM is made clear that the fixture is his last chance. Alas, we are not normal and I doubt a conversation will even be had, because, well, who’s he having this hypothetical conversation with? Couple this with a match going fanbase that still seemingly have no issues with our 2019 collapse in form and on we stagger to a possible third Venky relegation in 8 years.

Because we have detached, uninterested owners, a pal of the manager as Chief Exec and a fan base who think mere survival in the Championship is now our ‘natural level’

I assume Stoke will hit form right in time for our visit...

Leeds fan with a soft spot for Rovers. Fine. So why did you make up some cock and bull story about being a Preston fan from Bamber Bridge then?

No, won’t pay £40 as I said yesterday. Sure you came on here saying you were a Preston leaning fan from Bamber Bridge, when in reality you are CP Company re-badged

Very calm cheers, however I’d go on a Leeds forum if I wanted to read post after post about how marvellous they are for getting 30k crowds, they are the only club in one of the UK’s biggest cities. They ain’t owt special however much the media think so.

They get around 3,000 tickets at most grounds, so do they buggery pay wages at Championship level. You need to get your head out of Leeds’ arse, really beginning to grate, it was bad enough when it was Preston you kept going on about.

Risky move for him, these nosediving club's with half-arsed over-paid mercenaries are notoriously difficult to turn around, we should know.

It is still predominantly academy grads that get singled out for criticism by the looks of it...

Purely by accident I have found that I have personally received a lot of criticism for this column over the years. Unlike Tony Mowbray I cannot hold back the deluge by picking up a defiant win. By no means am I asking for your sympathy nor your lenience. I always, 100 per cent, stand by what I say and that will not be diluted by other people’s views. I’m here to be shot at and whether you are a Shearer-esque sharp-shooter, or a Stokesian blank-firer, you are entitled to do so. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/quicktest/18019450.the-unexpected-drama-follow-rovers/ He’s definitely not bothered though

A normal club would forget about that, as Wigan ain’t fetching folk at £28 for a Sky game. ’Christmas Cracker’ or some other PR guff. £15 anywhere in the ground. Lot of exiled Lancastrians will be arriving back home, lot of people take Christmas Eve off, so a chance of a ‘decent’ crowd... so no chance.

‘Fully expect a decent Rovers effort’, ‘Leeds not hitting the heights’... but we’ll lose at least 3-0? Possible cricket score? Got to do better than this Nobber...

40 grand a week for Sam Gallagher? The modern game, ay...

Probably be close to a 1,000 by Saturday, great effort considering, but it could be one of the best aways of the season if normally priced. Like it was in th’owden days. Direct train, cracking city for beers. Alas, at £40 many won’t bother (me included),

Most clubs do keep the bulk of their support on relegation,,, unless you are relegated in a state of civil war with public enemy number 1 STILL as manager...

Blackburn taxis are the cheapest in the western world. So if it was me, I'd get a taxi from the station straight to the Lord Raglan and work my way down the hill (Livesey Branch Road).

Person who told me didn't know the name, I presumed Greg Coar, but he is still listed on the website. Possibly someone who works for Greg? As the wage quoted wasn't a million miles from minimum wage.

Great idea, but won’t happen. Because they know as it’s Boxing Day there will be a couple of thousand extra than usual wiling to cough up the Cat A prices. So Cat A it will be. Bugger the big picture.

Interview with Michael Appleton in today’s Times. Touches on Rovers... ’It was a mess. I was there two months, never met Shebby Singh. Yet, I turn up one day to find an envelope on my desk, just saying my services are no longer required due to poor results. It was a shock. We were still in a healthy position on the league (18th), which was my remit, I was reducing the wage bill. We had 18 players injured’. Really has been a decade horribilis...

Plus an upwardly mobile Stanley eating into our support across Hyndburn. So how does our management respond? Almost £50 tickets.

Absolute no question that he still has the vast majority of the match going crowd. I find it very interesting that he seems to defy the usual logic of who gets blamed for a struggling team. In the first half and after their goal I heard fan after fan lamenting how crap we are, how 2019 has been really poor win wise, how many soft goals we concede, how we aren’t going anywhere... yet not a single one joined the dots and pointed a finger at the manager.

One of the everlasting joys of football is the last minute winner... our first in the over two and a half year reign of this manager, that’s some barren spell.

Heard a tale today. Our commercial manager has gone to Blackpool, as they offered to double the pittance he was on here. He wrote a letter to Waggott outlining how gutted he was having to leave the club he supports, Waggott laughed and ripped it up in front of him...

Nope, just like most Rovers fans, ergo lowest home attendance.

Yeah part time bastards, I mean they’ve known it was £48 all season, should’ve just saved up.