Welcome back Sam to Ewood. One thing you must do is watch your performance against Brentford in your last appearance for us when we got relegated. You were brilliant that day and showed genuine pace and talent. Things haven’t quite worked out for you since then but Mowbray wants you and that should boost your confidence. He will set you a target for the season and I hope you can meet it.

I’ve just spent the last 30 minutes listening to the IFollow interviews of Johnson, Downing and White. If these guys play as well as they talk then we’re in for some happy times ahead. If you want to de stress from all the transfer speculation then give them a listen. Very interesting insights into how Tony Mowbray manages, his football philosophy, his standing in the game and his target for the season. I know sometimes interviews are misleading and footballers aren’t renowned for their public speaking but these three are a credit to themselves and can be real assets this season.

I hope Raya has a thick skin as he’ll get plenty of stick from Pontus if he makes an error. I remember him tearing a strip of the young Leeds keeper last season after Lenihan’s goal. I’m astonished that Leeds have let him go. There must be a story there.

Just a little surprised that Downing hasn’t gone to Austria to get familiar with his new teammates. Also, Mulgrew, Evans, Nyambe, Liuetweiler, Williams and Samuel haven’t travelled for various reasons.

A big thank you to everyone for putting this out. A terrific player resource and it brings back some wonderful memories. Have we ever had a “z?” Archibald would be my favourite A as he was the first big name to come to Ewood under Don Mackay. Didn’t we only have 3 sides of Ewood open then as work was being done on the Riverside?

My thought too Philip. I’ve been trying to find any comment from Mowbray about Stewart Downing. Has he stated that he wants to sign him? It all seemed to start with a journalist from the Yorkshire Evening Post, picked up by a Sky Sports News guy then the LET “understanding” talks may take place with him. Stuart provided these links for us but does anyone have other links?

Great work by all of you keeping us Rovers exiles in touch with events on and off the pitch.

On page 15 of this thread you said that Mowbray had made some bewildering decisions with regards to his management and that you and certain others have been highlighting these whilst the manager continued to make wrong decisions. You then claimed that as the manager did make changes then these were attributed to your knowledge of the game. Thus calling into question his professionalism and that members of this messageboard somehow knew more about the game than he did. Hence my use of the term arrogant. I am quite happy to let Mowbray get on with his job but I don’t like to read on this board the seemingly random criticism of his actions without any basis in fact. I apologise to you for the use of the term arrogant as it wasn’t directed at you personally but at the way this messageboard has gone in recent years.

MY issue is who takes the credit? This manager or the messageboard? I’m neither pro- Mowbray or anti- Mowbray but to claim a handful of posters can influence a professional manager in his decision making seems ridiculous.

Perhaps the reason Mowbray chose not to play them today? Im sure he has his reasons but he wanted the win to boost the feel good factor going into the end of the season. An away win in this league surely has to be applauded? You seem to be suggesting today was a meaningless exercise but we are a professional football club with the integrity of the league an important consideration. You can’t just “throw” a couple of kids into the team and hope for the best. TM demands his team win and to jeopardise that would be foolhardy in the extreme. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of the U23’s and I’m sure he has plans to aid their development in discussions with Damian Johnson. I am delighted that we won today and hope we beat Bolton, Norwich and Swansea. I can’t believe that any Rovers fan would not wish the same.

Just seen on TV that Brighton and Bournemouth gave a minutes applause for Kit Napier!

A great player for us. One of the most exciting wingers I’ve seen at Rovers. He had an incredible shot on him and some of his goals were Sheareresque in quality. RIP Mike Harrison

Being brought out on a stretcher was never going to work?

I watched the game on the Bet365 app. No commentary but you could really hear the crowd reactions. The 3,000 were magnificent tonight. The support really lifted the team. I thought the lads played with so much confidence. Travis is an absolute diamond. A special mention to Conway whose “legs have gone” for playing so well! Graham is a real professional. Dack’s goal was a training ground bonus but sorry I don’t think he’s ready for the top flight just yet. It was difficult to tell which was the Premiership side tonight. Great to see Mark Venus tonight after his recent bereavement.

A very good read and tells you a lot about Mowbray as a person, as a manager and as a parent. He does mention the owners which will surprise a lot of people. if I knew how I would upload this article for everyone to read!

Totally agree Tom. I think if a Prem club offered anything like £18m then the club would surely accept that. He’s been a great buy for us but I would suggest he’s found his level with us. I doubt he is of top Prem quality. But if he wants to be with his Essex girlfriend then West Ham might suit him.

As a traditional list why oh why did the lads not play in blue and white against the red of Boro? A point is good in the scheme of things.

I’m pretty sure that he played against us at Ewood for Plymouth in our famous 5-2 win. One of my favourite games I’ve watched at Ewood over the years. I also think Jim Furnell was in goal for them that day.

Absolutely! It’s certainly a shift in the clubs transfer policy of recent years of investing in young players who can command a huge profit down the line. I include Dack and Davenport in there.

Apparently the Lithuanian lad we got on loan for this season has been attracting a lot of interest from Premiership clubs. We have an option to buy him after his loan spell ends but could be difficult now he’s been earning some excellent reviews.

A very interesting thread, Stuart. My Dad was a keen supporter then but didn’t go to that particular game. However he often referred to it especially when we were crossing the bridge at Preston station! I’m sure that’s why I’m always uneasy crossing such bridges. I was interested to read that a collection was organised for the next home game for the injured. I would hope your grandmother would have benefited from this collection also. According to Jackman there were 25,000 on against Luton so one would have thought s reasonable sum would have been raised.

I must say the potential pairing of Freeman and McGinn would have been tasty in our midfield. Both Mowbray targets and shows that he can spot a player in this division.

My first Ewood game of the season and what a great place it is when the fans and the team are on the same wavelength. We matched Leeds effort and we showed a lot of class moves especially in the first half. Mowbray has done a brilliant job tactically, recruitment and a professional team spirit among the players and staff. This season could be one to remember.

The link was in today’s Times in an article on falling attendances at midweek games. It stated that £88m was agreed between Sky and the EFL to show the midweek Championship games either live or on the red button and my search has found that highlights of Leagues 1 and 2 are shown after the final whistle. Each EFL club will get £1.2m up to 2019 and then £1.7m up to 2024. Sharpe’s quote does mention no recompense other than the annual Sky deal so its £1.2m for now and sorry if your attendances suffer but we’re not compensating you!

I think what Rich Sharpe is referring to is that Sky do not provide any extra funding to clubs playing at home midweek to compensate for a drop in attendance. Each EFL club gets £1.2m per season to allow the Red Button facility whether you are Leeds, Luton or Lincoln.