Realism, realism, realism You can count on one hand the number of clubs that have actually done that in the past 10yrs, I bet none of them had bonkers owners either. We can have ambitions as fans, but the clubs a basket case from top to bottom, anyone who thinks the club post 2011 will get anywhere near the Premiership isn't being realistic. Nothing improves until the owners leave, 7 failed managers proves that, how many more before people wake up to the real issue.

Mate of mine drove to Blackburn on Saturday (60 miles round trip) to buy the new kit for his 4 kids, the club shop was shut, on a Saturday having just released a new kit? He told me the opening days, as advertised on the door, are Mon, Tues, Weds and Friday....... He should have checked first, but make of that what you will.

Glorified salesmen tomphil and a blight on the sport, allowed to operate with impunity for the most part. Footballing governing bodies have a lot to answer for, but whilst they're in the VIP section at Wembley, complements of the middlemen, fans of clubs like ours and Sheff Weds worry about the future and indeed if we have a future at all.

I thought it could well be ‘Mushy’ but I wasn’t sure. Hope you and the family are well pal.

Thats one positive thing he did say Sparks, you're right.

I was talking to a Sheff Wednesday season ticket holder yesterday who had been trying to buy Weds v Udders tickets online for almost a week without success, apparently the system has been offline due to them not paying the bill and when someone did pay the bill the system crashed, thousands queueing outside the club shop yesterday as a result. He was also telling me how many of the players hadn't been paid for 4 months, the club came very close to not playing this season as the majority of players were out of contract, the club was in breach of contract due to not having paid wages, it was an absolute shambles. Last season Wednesday were originally deducted 12 points after breaching rules surrounding the sale of Hillsborough to the owner, it was reduced to 6, but they still went down to division 2. The date of the sale was the problem here, they were found to have breached the EFL’s profitability and sustainability regulations for the three year accounting period up to 2017-18 as a result, the owner couldn't even get that right, the fans suffer. Last season they had three different permanent bosses (Monk, Pulis and Moore), one long-term caretaker (Neil Thompson) and two emergency stand-ins (Andy Holdsworth and Jamie Smith) due to Covid issues. Sheffield Wednesday made an operating loss of £24 million and paid £2.5 million to rent Hillsborough, the latest set of accounts for the 2019-20 season reveal. The club still hasn't refunded season ticket money promised to fans from last season either, but they have sold 13,000 tickets for the new season which is a good effort considering the above. The common denominator, useless foreign ownership, its a blight on football across the globe and it needs putting a stop to or great clubs like Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers will cease to exist. Ps - Some good news, they got Wednesday home shirts delivered a month or so before we did, the bad news, many have been taken back due to stitching coming away. When it rains it pours.....

Mowbray talked about trying 2 different formations in each half and getting recovering players on the pitch, makes complete sense to me. Lets hope he starts as he means to go on

Thanks chaddy, much appreciated.

Just finished watching The Staircase, went on a bit, but compelling. In 13 episodes I never saw Michael get angry once, but 2 staircases and 2 murders……. Great Tv, but not as good as The Jinx. Thanks for the recommendation. Watched ‘The Widower’ recently, another bonkers US crime must!

Did you go roversfan99?

To come back from 2-0 down away at Bolton, even in a friendly, I bet the 1200 enjoyed that.

I think this is a lazy characterisation and way off the mark with respect. I'm looking forward to the next trip to Ewood, nobody hates Venkys more than me, be assured of that, but I spent far to long boycotting and being angry, it got me nowhere. I don't have a problem with the manager, he wouldn't be in post if we had proper owners and proper people running the club, same for the past 10yrs of mediocrity, he shouldn't be here, but that won't stop me watching the team. I support the football club, its in the blood, I'm sure plenty more feel the same and shouldn't be slagged off for doing so.

1. Yes - Owners to blame, they empower mediocrity 2. Yes - Owners to blame, they empower mediocrity 3. Dolan 4. 17th - Owners to blame, they empower mediocrity 5. West Brom (Or any of the relegated sides, the rest can't compete)

Can someone post this on the bolton site, I used to wind them up years ago, talk about illusions of grandeur and chips on shoulder..... They used to consider us the main rivals, I used to point out thats actually Bury.

Fans back at Ewood on Wednesday has to be not only good news but great news! @rog of the rovers brilliant post almost brought a tear to my eye, I can't wait to get back in the stands: Overall Before even speaking about the match.....How brilliant it was to be back inside Ewood. Feeling that connection with the team once again, and that feeling of pride at the final whistle. Great to be home! The kit looks fantastic, plenty wearing the shirts in the stands, saw both home and away on display! c.9,000 fans provided a great atmosphere for a pre-season match. Thankfully Rovers fans almost matched the Leeds fans 1 to 1, so made for a nice spectacle. Left the ground feeling more optimistic than I felt going in! In regards to almost everything! Off the pitch, how comfortable it felt being amongst a large group of people. The euphoria of being at a live match at Ewood and the feeling when the ball hit the back of the net.

@Moderators Can you please increase my subscription for £3 (less than the price of a pint) to £5 (Less than the price of a pint in many places) to not only cut out the ads, but also cut out posters who think running a website is free and accessing such a site is a god given right and I've not even mentioned the 15yrs of continued moaning...... Thanks

Yes

Spoke to a Wednesday fan about Reach: “Versatile squad player. Never did anything of note for us other than score a worldie every 6 months. The kind of player where I wouldn’t be massively surprised if he ended up a starter at the bottom end of the premiership in a few years and I’d be equally unsurprised if he ended up a reserve in the bottom end of League one in a few years” Sounds like a mid table championship level player for a mid table championship side.

Considering all the money in football, the way transfers are brokered is amateurish at best.... How many times do we see those idiots on Sky going mad at 1 minute to midnight over last minute transfers between massive clubs worth millions of pounds? Or better still missing the deadline and blaming the fax machine! The Armstrong saga is dragging on as usual, I'd set any prospective clubs a deadline to meet the price or he stays, simple as that. We are already on the backfoot waiting for funds over this transfer, get a bleedin move Watford/Southampton or sod off would be my stance. If only Carlsberg ran football clubs....

Morning Mods. Is it just me or have the adverts now taken over the bulk of the site? They're far more prominent than the threads and pages themselves. I fully understand the need to fund the site and most accepted the switch to adverts, but this has gone beyond that, its difficult to read the site now. I'm using Chrome on PC this morning. Cheers

I'm certainly not against doing that on Covid grounds ojf, but the article refences being away from home and not having the family on tour with them, that doesn't seem like a reason to cancel a tour for me, this is professional sport after all, these are the sacrifices you make, harsh though that is. We have players from across the globe playing in The Hundred currently, the IPL resumes in September, the cynic in me says is more than just Covid and being away from home £$£$£$.

I’ve just seen that Ally Dawson has died aged 63. RIP

England players considering pulling out of The Ashes. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57976072

I’m watching a documentary on The Mamas and the Papas, it’s incredible that this band only lasted 3yrs and yet they left us such a back catalogue. Genius. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h81Ojd3d2rY

Thank God 😃