gumboots

You may not have said he'll definitely gone but then you insist that there's a very definite possibility he will be. Well, we all know that it's a possibility given that venkys track record in making decisions that are good for the club isn't good, and we all have our own fears as to what might happen. But as I say whilst i don't share Chaddy's blind optimism, I do think your need to come on here and state things as fact based on a possibility is out of place atm.

Whilst I don't share Chaddy's optimism that Dack will definitely not be sold, I do find it somewhat distasteful that, whilst most of us are still basking in a promotion achieved without recourse to the playoffs, Mercer returns to tell us he will be. Surely we can let the dust settle on this season and allow Mowbray and his players a week or 2 respite before the players who are leaving thread starts. Talk about deliberately trying to rain on our parade!

Don't think I would. The problems run deep at Sunderland and although potentially debt free they have a lot of clearing out and restructuring to do. Oh and if Dack going just let it be soon enough to sort out the rest of the squad. We can't afford to be selling him after the season starts

I thought I'd seen that somewhere too

Hopefully. I really needed to get away from Rovers but still felt the emotion and belonging when I was there on Saturday. My little grandson loved being there wearing the same shirt as mummy and nanna and grandad

The problem here is priorities. If you really really want a season ticket then £50 increase over a year is achievable for most though not all. So you and Chaddy are correct. However, if you're trying to decide whether you want a season ticket or not,, the higher price might, if money is tight, make you wonder. The people were trying to get over the line are those who might buy if the price is right but might not if it's a bit of a squeeze. So the £50 increase may just put them off.

She's not his wife yet Rev. Don't forget the proposal is coming shortly. I won't mention the date in case she's reading?

Even in the affluent Ribble Valley we have significant numbers using our food banks. Donations are high here but there is surprisingly little wasted and that shows how much use the service gets.

Oh I did get the reference right!

Chaddy we didn't have much cash either when our kids were little. 4 kids and one teachers salary don't add up to much, and we couldn't afford to buy a season ticket for each child. Our kids had to share one junior one. I'm not saying you can't afford it, just that for some people it's hard to commit to season tickets and price is a factor in that. I worked out I'd be here and available for 10 games. Even at 35 pounds a ticket it's not worth my buying a season ticket. Will be cheaper from next season when I get to be 65!

Thing is chaddy, for a lot of other people the choice is not that straightforward. I missed matches when I worked because I was contractually obliged to attend parents evenings, open evening, speech night and others. I couldn't have got out of them at all. I even went back into school for a speech night when I had a ticket for Rovers away in Bradford once because I'd been off ill that day but everyone knew I was wanting to go to Rovers so I didn't dare stay at home. Cash is more of an issue for many families than it seems to be for you. Many couldn't afford luxuries like season tickets if they lost their jobs or even if they thought they might lose their jobs, because they'd want to put that money aside against the day they might need it. Life is far more complicated than I go to Rovers no matter what for most people. It's that way for you, but you are very fortunate that it is. For most of us its not.

For many people a season ticket does not represent good value either. If they live at a distance or their working hours mean that their attendance is, of necessity irregular, it's simply not worth buying a season ticket other than out of loyalty to the club i.e. I want to support them anyway and any money I overpay doesn't really matter. Making walk on tickets too expensive means that coming in from work and thinking "hey I'm back in time to get to Rovers in time for the match" won't be most peoples first thought. I don't whinge about the cost of walk on tickets. If I wanted one I'd buy one and pay the price. But I can see that it's not encouraging young parents with all their other bills to meet, or people with incomes that just cover the bills but leave little for extras to just up and decide to attend because they like going to matches live but can't justify having a season ticket. The club is, as someone else said, perfectly within its rights to close the Darwen end to home fans, as it was in closing the BBE upper a couple of seasons ago. However, the lesson they haven't learnt is that doing it without open and transparent consultation gets people's backs up and leads to some fans walking away. Perhaps people shouldn't but they do care almost as much about the place they sit with familiar faces around them as they do about the match. It's reassuring to see every year that that big guys still getting there, that old guys still around etc. People can accept change but do so more easily if they are part of the process that brings it about. Rovers have lost sight of that fact in their desire to streamline their seating arrangements. We may have won Family club awards but there is still a lot more to do to reengage with fans across the board.

For what it's worth, I do feel sorry for Smith in the sense that it must be hard when, from being a kid, everyone has fawned over you and basically let you get away with whatever you've done. Then suddenly you expect to get away with yet another thing and you get caught out. Suddenly you're career as captain goes, your adulation dries up and what have you left. It must be hard being a superstar. Do I feel the punishment is too harsh? Do I heck! He cheated, admitted to cheating, and thought he'd get away with a rap on the knuckles as usual. His arrogance beggars belief. As for Warner, just par for the course. The one I do feel a twinge of actual sympathy for is Bancroft. He's obviously been singled out as the weak fall guy by Warner and whoever. Younger guy who probably looks up to others and does as asked. No excuses still though. Bans all about right

So was Shearer but we still did well out of him

I did say to name but a few as a catch all! ☺

That depends on a number of factors out of our control though. Do his parent club want to sell? Does he want to join us? What league will we be asking him to play in? How much will he cost? And JAL's favourite "who's his agent " to name but a few

Wouldn't fancy any of Russia atm. We flew up over China and Mongolia then across North Russia en route to Frankfurt on Wednesday. Bleakest places you could imagine. And vast beyond imagination. The distances you could end up travelling if you have to change location, even though all the stadia are, for Russia, relatively close together, are mind blowing.

Misquote. Money isn't the root of all evil. It's the love of it ie putting it above anything else that is the root of evil. Look at scrooge. It's not his money, which he later puts to good use, that's the problem. It's his putting it above family, friends, the needs of others. Anyway, sermon over. Have a merry Christmas

How about being on hols in Italy?

I don't think he meant that at all. It's more a case of those casual supporters who might have been tempted to attend might have been more inclined to do so if there had been signs of something to excite them in performances to date

Probably because you keep repeating yourself. We've heard it all before. You go to your matches and leave the rest of us to wallow and we'll all be happy.

I've been there and done that and, while I think it's good for keeping our plight out there, I'm not sure it makes much difference to Venkys leaving

Thing is we've all known for years that they need to go but the problem is, den, how do we make them do it

Wouldn't be going anyway. No means no, but as it turns out I'm on my hols

I thought that word was banned