Herbie6590

Crikey, there’s a lot going on here...! Let’s break it down... 1. The Ground is owned by the club which is owned by Venky’s London. It’s therefore theirs to do with as they wish, except... 2. The ACV is a separate instrument aimed at protecting the site & was taken out by Rovers Trust. All the ACV does is buy some time to raise some money in reality. 3. There are threads on here castigating Venky’s for not selling the ground to raise money for a promotion push so whatever they do, they’re on a hiding to nothing. Given the lack of trust between owners and fans, whatever they do is seen as nefarious by at least some fans. 4. I struggle to believe the land & buildings around Ewood are worth a great deal to be honest (compared to the location of other stadia around the country). Venky’s are only ever going to get their money back by getting us in the PL. Selling all the club’s assets will barely make a dent into what they’ve had to put in to keep us going. Makes no sense so to do. The really interesting point is that the club needs to raise turnover (income) & investing it facilities will help to achieve that. Waggott says the owners are willing to invest...so why not redevelop it with income-generating facilities ?

Like the WBA suggestion - I’m not convinced of the viability of a hotel at the ground TBH, particularly on that side of the stadium. Having to build out over the river also introduces logistical challenges. Having a wide open concourse with decent food & drink concessions, TV screens etc - a smaller version of the one at Spurs new ground - would entice fans to enter the ground earlier, stay later and generate income. As long as the cost doesn’t impact on FFP (?I don’t think it does...) then it would be a perfect way for Venky’s to demonstrate that they are open to suggestions.

It’s a foul, no question...?‍♂️ EB33F11C-A951-498E-9F7D-3BBB9451843D.MOV

Armstrong’s recent form with his goals against QPR & Hull especially and his assists at Sheff Weds would suggest he can do exactly what you describe, danger where no danger seemed present.

I thought most of their attacking was down their left TBH. The lad Henry was a greyhound early on. Their movement and slick passing was terrific.

Bravo ??????

A Tale of a Two Pens...worst Dickens novel ever... 1B3BD84F-A091-486F-BE4B-81EC242A243D.MOV E81BBC7E-5E67-4020-B350-F4C0E52B382B.MOV

Close...??

Good luck ?? #tensionrising

Educational & entertaining...all I hoped for...thank you ??

Haha...I don’t know how that’s happened TBH ?‍♂️

This week's slightly extended "Accrington Observer" column... Rehabilitated Rovers' Rapid Rise Cast your mind back to the opening day of the season, newly-promoted Charlton visited Ewood as one of the pre-season favourites for relegation and Rovers were expected, unusually, to record an opening day win. It didn’t happen as we know of course. The first instance, but certainly not the last this season, of a poor result leading to expectations being lowered and the manager’s ability and acumen questioned. The atmosphere leading up to the return fixture on Saturday was heavily influenced by the respective run of results of the two teams. Charlton arrived on the back of a topsy-turvy sequence of form DLDWLW; that last W impressively coming away at Forest in midweek, whilst Rovers’ run of just one defeat in the last six seemed to indicate that this would be a tough encounter for each team. Charlton to their credit experimented with an innovative pricing experiment of £5 admission and were rewarded with an attendance of more than 25,000 (including more than 2,000 visiting fans), an increase of more than 25% on the previous home fixture. The opening exchanges pointed to the home team being inspired by the swelled ranks of their support. Their passing was sharper and more incisive than Rovers and the visitors had to work hard to establish a foothold in the opening quarter. Slowly but surely however, Rovers started to take greater control of possession and moved the ball around with increasing confidence and accuracy. The ever-lengthening injury toll has to an extent forced Tony Mowbray’s hand when selecting the team, reducing his options and preventing Bristol City (a) style reorganisation. One can only imagine that the WhatsApp group messages owe more to a Sunday league pub team than a professional football club:- Big T: “Who can make it Saturday then lads?” Dacky: “I’ll be there..but only to cheer you on...” JoRo: “Hammy still a bit tight boss...count me out” Bucko: *waving emoji, smiley face* Cornelius: “No boss...just no...*attached photo of Quasimodo*” DomSam: *waving emoji with clasped hands in prayer emoji* Mowbray’s shrewd signing of Stewart Downing allied to the youthful exuberance of Lewis Travis has certainly reinvented the midfield, Travis in particular has blossomed this season, whilst Saturday pleasingly saw the successful rehabilitation of Johnson and Buckley as his midfield compadrés. Johnson and Travis prowled and snarled, hunting like a pair of starving dogs to close down, win the ball and move it quickly to exploit space. Downing though continues to defy the ageing process, much like a footballing Dorian Gray. Somewhere in an album, there is a Panini sticker of a visibly grey, wrinkled and weary former Middlesbrough winger. It was great to see Buckley back in the team and looking lively, skipping around challenges, threading passes and doing his share of tracking and tackling.The Huddersfield tribulations seemingly a distant, if painful memory. His run and shot to open the scoring was due reward for his endeavours, albeit it took a fairly heavy deflection to wrong-foot Charlton keeper Philips. It reminded me a little of Scott Sellars, another lightweight but skilful player capable of teasing, evading then punishing the opponent. Another returnee to the starting XI after a long injury rehabilitation was Dominic Samuel. His pace and strength proved problematic for Charlton throughout. One run in particular led to strong calls for a penalty as Pearce was outmuscled and out sprinted and brought down Samuel with a combination of arms round the waist combined with falling on Samuel’s ankle that would have been rightly praised by Eddie Jones, but the referee had seen a foul by Samuel earlier in the move as the two were jostling for supremacy. Let’s be charitable and say it’s one of those that if you get away with it as a defender, you are mighty relieved. Rovers felt like they were very much the wronged party. At the back, Tosin Adarabioyo and Darragh Lenihan seem to have gelled, the City man demonstrating an eye for a pass that betrays his Guardiola heritage although his tendency to try an elaborate flick or to dwell under pressure causes the occasional palpitation. Sadly, any lingering hopes of keeping him beyond this season seem now to have worsened following Uefa's punishment, City now significantly less likely to be able to buy expensive alternatives may need to blood a few more of their academy graduates. Adarabioyo's threat from attacking positions though is constant and it was his thigh that brought the second from a free kick swung in by Downing. “To err is human, Tosin is divine” you might say. The foul leading up to the Rovers free kick was at best marginal; but as is often said – these things even themselves out, but rarely in the same game. Two-nil up away from home and of course the words “Brentford” and “Preston” were mentioned in despatches but Rovers were to prove themselves up to the task this time around. That’s not to say that there weren’t any scares, Christian Walton had made a couple of decent saves early on in the game whilst Charlton were in the ascendency but he saved the best till last with a fabulous stretching, finger-tip save that required all his height to reach. Walton also falls into the category of rehabilitated Rovers players. His form in recent weeks you hope, is the benchmark for the remainder of the season. Another tidy away win, another clean sheet, a six-point week and once more, those pesky play-offs hove into view. At 5pm, it became apparent that only Rovers and Leeds in the top ten had won and the gap to sixth was now back to a tantalising three points. Rovers seem to be following the plot of a Warner Bros cartoon, the Wile E Coyote to the Road Runner's Top Six finish if you like. Shirt sponsorship from Acme can only be a matter of time. In order to climb into those places, cement the position and send a warning message to their rivals, Rovers will have to start beating the teams above and around them. Of the current top six teams, Rovers have so far only managed to beat one of them – Brentford, at Ewood, back in November. Who’s next up? That’s right, Brentford; though this time, away from home, in a farewell to Griffin Park. If Rovers truly believe and want to establish credibility as genuine play-off candidates, winning a difficult lunchtime fixture on Saturday would be a terrific place to start.

One thing’s for certain, there’ll be a high degree of caution if we’re two up after 10 minutes...?

Will you do us a live blog on here ? I’m sensing a future podcast item if you’re up for it.... “...as the train pulled into Euston at 11:50 I knew I was up against it...it was then that by an extraordinary fluke a passing helicopter pilot saw my scarf and offered me...” ?

The very definition of cutting it fine...?

Rich Sharpe says we do

If he’d photobombed you this would make for a terrific anecdote ?

Scott Sellars, looked like a strong breeze would blow him away but the ball stuck to him & he skipped over & around challenges

I suspect City will need to keep Tosin even more so after yesterday

I can still remember buying that single from a record stall on Accrington market...?

This week's slightly extended "Accrington Observer" column... Injury-Ravaged Rovers Bounce Back Just one season in the Premier League, even finishing bottom, is the footballing equivalent of scooping the lottery jackpot. Rovers’ opponents last Saturday for example, were relegated after a single season and earned; if earned is the correct term, just shy of £100m for their efforts. To cushion the blow still further, Fulham will receive at least a further £75m or so over the next two seasons in the form of parachute payments to reward their failure. To say this gives them a head start on the majority of their divisional rivals is something of an understatement. Such an abundance of riches enabled Fulham to spend approximately £25m of the total of £33m spent by all of the Championship clubs in January window just gone. Eighteen Championship clubs kept the club cheque book locked firmly in the safe, untouched, unwanted and unnecessary. As we now know, Rovers were a member of that parsimonious group. Taking on one of the pre-season favourites for promotion is inevitably a challenge but when your squad has been ravaged by injuries and reinforcements have been as difficult to locate as a Rovers shirt in the home section of Turf Moor, you travel in hope rather than expectation. When your opponent has as its midfield fulcrum, a former Rovers Player of the Year and a man that former Rovers left-back Tommy Spurr described on our latest BRFCS podcast (out this week folks – go to www.brfcs.com/mb/index.php?/podcasts/ to hear in full !) as “absolutely, unbelievably talented...”; then it’s likely to be a long afternoon. The afternoon started emotionally, with Tony Parkes being presented to the Ewood faithful before kick-off, amidst resounding applause and one or two tears I fancy. The injury-influenced selection headache manifested itself in Rovers demonstrating a cautious approach. Much like a health & safety conference - safety-first seemed to be the maxim. The game seemed to have all the hallmarks of a cup-tie, with Rovers playing the part of the lower-league hosts, aiming to keep it tight, hoping for a breakaway or set-piece opportunity to nick a result. Fulham also seemed keen to keep it tight but you sensed that they believed they had the cutting-edge needed to score; though Fulham intriguingly haven’t won a game by more than a single goal margin since November. Fulham moved the ball faster, with more precision and posing greater danger. The probing usually started at the feet of Tom Cairney, the afore-mentioned former Rovers POTY. Watching Rovers fans could only dream of a midfield combining the talents of Cairney and Lewis Travis and wonder as to what that would do for promotion prospects. Sadly, if incongruously, it was a mistake from Travis, the Man of the Match, that set up Bryan to find Mitrovic who relished the opportunity to swivel and fire a shot past Walton. Rovers still had some chances, Gallagher tested Rodak and in fairness, Rovers did have the ball in the net only for it to be ruled out; questionably as it transpired, for offside. To the naked eye from a vantage point in the Riverside, it looked like the cross had been flicked onto Lenihan, who it should be noted, finished with aplomb. The assistant referee certainly thought there was a flick, as his flag was raised immediately and interestingly, with little in the way of protest from Rovers. However, with the benefit of TV replays, it was hard to discern whether there was a flick from a Rovers player or indeed whether Lenihan had even strayed offside. The referee’s decision is of course final – well, it is in a division that has no VAR and in fairness, justice was probably done. Rovers managed just a single shot on target in 90 minutes and that, despite at various points using Armstrong, Gallagher, Graham, Samuel and Brereton in various permutations. Rovers operating a “Bring A Striker To Work Day” it seemed. Possible redemption was at hand with a further Ewood fixture on Tuesday evening. Despite Storm Ciara’s weekend battering, the game went ahead. Tony Mowbray had lost yet another midfielder to injury, this time Joe Rankin-Costello. On a bitterly cold evening that had brass monkeys seeking refuge from the cold, Rovers recalled the talismanic Danny Graham and the stalwart Elliott Bennett for the injured Gallagher and Rankin-Costello. Interestingly, neither would last an hour. Rovers once again were out of the traps quickly with Adam Armstrong presented with a glorious opportunity to score virtually from the kick off. His finish lacked conviction but he was to have Rovers’ next two shots, seemingly keen to make amends. Most of what was good from Rovers usually involved Armstrong but lacked the required finesse in front of goal to make it really count. Hull’s most potent threat came from set pieces, most notably a corner leading to a six-yard box skirmish before the referee’s intervention awarded Rovers a free-kick for an infringement to ease fears. Former Accrington Stanley loanee Mallik Wilks ballooned a chance high, wide and handsome into the Blackburn End summing up their first half efforts. The second half started with Hull hitting the Rovers bar following a poor Lenihan clearance but it was to be a double-substitution from Tony Mowbray that was to prove to be a catalyst. Rovers seemed to blossom and a goalmouth scramble from a corner saw Lenihan stab home from close range. Many would have wagered that a single goal would prove sufficient to win this fixture, but all of a sudden, the team was inspired. Armstrong perked up and picked up the ball, drifted to the right, looked up and aimed a beauty into the top left corner, a definite goal of the season contender, bettering his own previous goal of the season contenders. "Armstrong Of The Season" ? Almost from the kick off, Hull tied themselves in defensive knots and the keeper mishit his clearance to Samuel who struck it straight back into the bottom left corner this time. From nowhere, Rovers were now in their comfort zone and the crowd could relax and enjoy the remainder of the match with no concerns, other than how to fight off hypothermia. Rovers moved up to eighth, at least temporarily and once more fuelled dreams of the play offs. However, the last two games have illustrated the gap between the very top sides in this division and the mid-table ones. Rovers are presently quite correctly positioned somewhere between the two. “The best of the rest”, just outside the play-offs feels like a more realistic stretch target – especially given a treatment room with more croc(k)s than Chester Zoo. Charlton up next, football for a fiver – what a tremendous initiative from the home side - Rovers go into the Valley and will hope that they can put the home side on the skids.

Doesn't he just ? He was a joy to interview, a real gent. Thanks for your feedback.

Is now a good time to do a retrospective piece reflecting on what has happened in the meantime ? ? DM me if you fancy doing something for a future episode ??