Lorient fluked promotion because they had a good start to the season and when they finished the season early because of covid, promotion happened because of how they worked out the points. If the season had finished normally, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been promoted as results were going the wrong way at the time and they were dropping down the table.

This is not some random French team. It's the team I've watched every time I could for the last 20 or so years. In the last 10 years I've probably watched them more than Rovers. I've stuck with them from the days when they had Kevin Gameiro up front with Vahirua, through days in Ligue 2 when they lost all their decent players and really struggled back to their fluked promotion last season. I think I probably know more about their players than I do Rovers' nowadays. They're certainly easier to watch. Rovers have my heart but not my interest

In normal circumstances I spend about 10 weeks a year, sometimes 13 or 14 in Brittany. I dont think Pelissier would do well at Rovers as it's a very different set up and I haven't a clue whether he speaks English. Any manager that can get his team, in the relegation zone, to beat PSG with most of their big stars playing has to be doing a good job. They're still hovering around the relegation zone but did well away at Marseille yesterday, only beaten by a late goal. I'm not sure for me that Venkys Rovers do come first. I feel less connection with the current set up than I do with other teams I'm interested in in other sports or playing football in other countries. Do I want Rovers to do well again? Yes of course I do. Will I be back at Ewood? Not for the foreseeable future. Being a Rovers fan ceased being a joy even before Venkeys turned up. It ceased being even something I enjoyed shortly after their arrival, and although I persisted as a season ticket holder, they lost me when they closed my stand and appointed Coyle at the same time. Either of those and i might have hung on but both together was too much. I still follow scores when were playing and theres always part of me that rejoices in a win but I no longer feel the connection that took me all over the country. I no longer plan my life around attending Ewood. I no longer go to youth games. I no longer know who we're playing over the next 6 weeks or enter the entire season's fixtures in my diary when they come out.

Leave Pelissier alone. Lorient are my team when I'm in France. My husband has been watching lorient for nearly 30 years and I've been to the Moustoir countless times.

Good to hear from you bob

Dis

Paying for the best managers is often a saving. You get better results, a better league placing, more fans paying more upfront for season tickets, more merchandise sold, more tv coverage so TV income, better players will sign, leading to more interest and improvement all round until your manager reaches the end of his shelflife. Its not like other jobs where the manager facilitates the running of the club. He IS the club's front man. He's what players, public and media see. He makes the club's statement of intent by who he is.

Well, we didn't see that coming did we? In fact I'd just finished saying to my husband, who read out a comment saying Rovers were beginning to dominate, that Derby would score and lo and behold they did

I try not to say in case I taught anyone on here😆 There are plenty on here who know which one

Not fixated. Just think it's a barometer of what's going on at the club. More failure, more rubbish spouted, less interest in actually winning a match, fewer goals scored, more lies told, more underhand schemes hatched = more swear words on message board.

I taught in an 11-16 high school in Blackburn for nearly 20 years and so of course it doesnt offend me. However, this is one of the few message boards where swearing wasnt commonplace. In this thread it is becoming more prevalent so I just made the observation that this might be an effect of Mowbray's still being here. Nobody is listening to us and it's driving us mad. I've even been tempted to swear myself at what he's saying and doing here and those of you who know a bit more about me will know that's not like me at all.

I've noticed a distinct downturn in the standard of language on here these last few weeks. We've got through many years without directly using bad language. What has Mowbray driven us to?

Because our manager is going nowhere

Well, it works for the government, lie after lie after lie, so I suppose you can't blame Mowbray for trying it too.

Dont forget, Tony, that fans do look, and do know how perilous things are. Dont just expect them to fall into line and renew their Season Tickets. Stop treating them like ignorant little people. Stop assuming you have carte blanche to run the club into League 1 and won't face any consequences. In fact, just take your myopia and leave our club. We want someone who knows exactly where we are and has a clear view of how to get us out of the mess you've created.

To be honest, I dont mind their moving matches to avoid clashing with the funeral, although, if it were up to me, i wouldn't bother. However, I've just seen that Sale Sharks (and i presume others) are not posting anything other than required content on their social media till after the funeral. Now that, to me, is definitely taking it too far. I and many other people i know, have gone back to work a day or 2 after the death of close family members. Why suspend normal life for a 99 year old most of us have never met? By all means respect the time of his funeral. That seems proportionate. Anything else is, for me, OTT

All this about shelving plans. Is our old friend Shaw back on the scene? 😆

As you know, I watch Sale Sharks. Yesterday they were well beaten in La Rochelle. They interviewed Alex Sanderson, the DOR, after the match. No bleating about the fact that Sale had 2 days less preparation time than La Rochelle then had to travel to France with all the Covid testing that entails. No whingeing about a possibly dodgy try awarded to La Rochelle. No complaints about anything. Just 'we could have been better.' He said that he was proud, as were most fans, of the way the players fought to the end, and of the effort they put in. He then said that he and his coaching team had probably got their preparation wrong and made mistakes in analysis and they would learn from it to be able to do better in future. He took responsibility. Players were nearly in tears when coming off because they knew they hadn't performed to their absolute best. Everyone took responsibility. No blame. No excuses. No waffle about journeys or possession or anything else. Just we won together last week. We lost together this week. We'll learn together this week to be better next week. That's how it should be at Rovers too. But it isn't and won't be while Mowbray is in charge.

For goodness sake, we DREW! Yes it's a better result than losing, but you'd be likely be relegated if you drew every match. I'm not a Mowbray hater, but I am firmly in the Mowbray out camp because he's outstayed his shelflife here. Most managers don't get half the time he's had, even if their results are better than Mowbray's.

To answer the question nobody asked, 'Yes, I do still want Mowbray gone'

I'll be very jealous if you get their sacking as a birthday present. I asked for it for mine on Tuesday and didn't get it

I'd take the tea lady as his replacement at the moment. At least she serves a purpose

I must be going insane. I keep logging in to see if he's gone yet, in the same way that you sit watching a match on TV when you're desperate for the toilet because you just know, if you leave the room, they'll score. But it's not happening is it. After every defeat you feel it must but it doesn't. Then you think, maybe its a bit late tonight so probably tomorrow. Just go, Mowbray. I want my life back. I want to dare not to check in here every 5 mins. I want to speculate about other things. I want our club out of your clutches.

No I misread the post. I assumed it was an attempt at Mowbrays accent which is very much the County Durham side of Teesside accent. That'll teach me to read posts properly

Sounds nowt like a Teesside accent.