J*B

The big question needs answering @Mercer

Merry Christmas to everyone apart from Steve Kean and Jerome Anderson.

Leeds by quite a distance for me. West Ham fans in second.

They’re only geography-lucky in footballing terms. In every other way… give me Blackburn/Lancashire.

I was once asked to quote on some work for Rovers. I was told it couldn’t cost more than £4,999. I asked why not £5,000 and was told that any expenditure over £4,999 needed approval from Venkys and they didn’t want to bother them. I assume that when Venkys have been asked to sign off on selling Rothwell/Brereton they’ve replied “no thanks”. Why? I’m not sure. But there must be a reason. Go back to Phil Jones, they somehow got Man United to pay more than his buyout figure in his contract. The rumour at the time was they didn’t want to sell their best players. If I was speculating I would say 16M for Phil Jones, or 15M for Armstrong, or 8M for Brereton, or 3M for Rothwell really is peanuts for them. Their eyes don’t light up at it.

Poor leadership/decision making/planning from the CEO if you ask me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m convinced - based on numerous interactions with people claiming to be ITK/Rovers staff/Venkys staff - that Venkys have been given a financial document which basically says “if you put X into the club each year, we will run the club so it doesn’t need any further investment.” I’m not sure they’ve any idea what the plan is, or why we’re doing it, or the rationale for why. They just know it won’t cost more than X and that is an amount they’re willing the lose each year.

We couldn’t spend any money because of FFP despite selling Armstrong, as the latest accounts show. We also had to sell our training ground to our owners.

You’d hope the new team running the footballing side of the business are much better than their previous. Obviously the previous situation is totally unsustainable in anything other than the short term. If they’ve any sense they have made a decision on BBD this summer based around any combination of: can’t replace him for ~8M, don’t have time to sign anyone, don’t have any recruitment plans lined up to replace him, have to build a new footballing side of the business, don’t want to put JDT on the back foot by selling his best player… and in future it wouldn’t happen the way it has. I suspect we’ll find out in the next 18 months!

It depends how you spin in really. If they intervened on Rothwell because they thought (or had been told) they couldn’t adequately replace him with the funds offered, then the decision not to sell him makes perfect sense. If they intervened on Brereton because they thought (or had been told) they couldn’t adequately replace him with the funds offered… or if signing a player for circa ~7M and selling him for circa ~8M vs. him leaving for free in 12 months makes hardly any difference to FFP, then it makes sense.

Clubs that get out this league in recent history have one thing: money. Either through player development and trading (Brentford), Parachute Payments (Burnley) or huge city-based income (Leeds). Our big chance was when we had just been relegated but the people running and managing the club were totally incompetent. Waggott is incapable (he would say it is impossible) of revolutionising income at a club like Rovers. Therefore the only proven model is player trading - develop players, sell them, have a recruitment system in place capable of replacing them. That is the reason why suddenly the academy is the future: because we need to make profit from the players it develops in order to fund transfers. Phillips, Batty, Wharton, Leonard, they’ve thrown all the eggs in that basket. FFP means clubs in our position cannot possibly spend their way out of it however rich the owners are.

I think it’s exactly what is needed and is realistic. I thought that when Mowbray was saying it, I just didn’t believe he was capable of delivering it. I’ve believed since he was appointed the odd decisions and trials have been tests to work out which players are capable and which aren’t. They (the management) aren’t passionate about the town, it’s people or Blackburn Rovers like the fans are. They’re interested in ‘the project’. Once you accept that it’s a lot easier.

The players are more disposable than the system nowadays.

…you’re scraping you’re targets and just getting by! Retirement is pending, no money you’re spending, Leave Brockhall alone and get out of our hair.

Will Adam be allowed on the coach?

If Gally is through one on one I’m expecting him to finish. If Hirst is through one on one I’m worried how the opposition will counter.

Arguably one of the coldest grounds in the league. The thing is made of breezeblocks. Take two coats, a hat and gloves.

I think I’ve only had one of the three messages here. Send me your addresses please @oldjamfan1 and @Darrenbot, I’m only doing one trip to the post office!

Some would say there’s something going on, it’s almost like his head has fallen off since the Burnley game.

Catch, @K-Hod

And Nkunku, who’s just signed for Chelsea for 60M.

France have a superb keeper - Mike Maignan, AC Milan’s first choice keeper who is out injured. They were also missing their first choice left back Lucas Hernandez, Kante and Benzema. They’d have comfortably won it with those four.

Argentina manager deserves props here. Keeping Di Maria as a threat so far on the left hand side of the pitch is making it almost impossible for France to attack down the opposite side without stretching the pitch. France will put Mbappe central second half to try and counter it.

Phillips seems to be the answer to the Ayala question.

Best team in the league by far, sadly. If they ask, make sure you say they’re buying the league. They don’t like that at all.

Yep - I remember singing “we want Steve Kean out” in the Blackburn End before a game had started.