MarkBRFC71

He was only here fleetingly, and played sparingly - but Patrick Valery was pretty uncompromising. I love the fact he arrived from seemingly nowhere - looked as Gallic as it is humanly possible to look - played a few times and mullered a few oppo wingers, and no-one ever heard him speak - then mysteriously disappeared and was never heard from again. Classic cult player.

I fucking hope so.

The fact he was a bit part player at Hull and they weren't arsed when he left - even when they couldn't sign players - tells you everything you need to know.

In League One they might be.

De Neve is fucking pub league standard.

3 words - "Three Year Contract".

There, There - Radiohead

Been a Rovers fan ever since my Dad took me on my first game (think it was Keegan's second game as a Newcastle player) back in August of 1982. My Dad, his Dad, and HIS Dad were all stalwart Rovers fans, a lineage which goes back almost to the clubs foundation. Got a season ticket then, and had one pretty much all the way through to 2015/16 when I moved abroad, where I remained until January of this year. Despite the physical distance (and -6 time difference!) I still watched as many games as possible, via official and at times, erm, non-official means. I tried to attend games in person every time I was back for a work or personal trip. Over the years, and I guess because my visits were quite far apart, there was a marked difference at Ewood, both in terms of the dwindling attendance and diminishing atmosphere every time I went. Off the pitch and behind the scenes, we seemed to be on a downward spiral of incompetence and skullduggery. Fast forward to this summer. I had bought a flex ticket in January, and viewed it as a chance to meet with mates again regularly after so long away. The football was almost secondary - thankfully as there wasn't much to enjoy. Come this summer and I had all but decided against getting a full season ticket, but in the end I caved and signed up. I'm not sure I will again, and even now it's more of a chore to go to games than something to be enjoyed - no atmosphere in the ground, cluelessness off the pitch and on the bench, and nothing to see on it. It's a shell of the club I love, and while I'll always have it in my heart, it will not be difficult to find things that are more rewarding and productive to do.

2026 gig line up starting to take shape - booked in so far: Maximo Park, Sleaford Mods, Elvana, Geese, Super Furry Animals, Foo Fighters, Alanis Morissette, Pet Shop Boys, CMAT, Kendal Calling (although the line-up's a bit shit - especially the headliners), The Cure.

First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder

Modern managers? Or what we have - shite ones?

The problem is our CB options are horrible. You can’t play only 2 because any combination of them gets rinsed - hence why it’s 3 and perceived stability. We need a strong, first choice, quality CB this window and only then can you even think about playing 2 and trying to pick the least worst option from the rest to play alongside the new one.

Don't see Cantwell as a problem. Far bigger issues: Get Toth back in goal IMMEDIATELY. Pears is a liability. Need a backup RB for Alebiosu. Need a starting quality CB with leadership - Wharton and Carter cannot be relied on to complete more than a third of a season each. Miller is committed but very limited. McLoughlin is too lightweight - which is even more of a problem when he's the current mainstay. Pratt has done OK but we're in a dogfight and we need experience there. LB options are average but at least we've got 2 - wouldn't prioritise this. Need a starting quality CM with leadership - and a bit of steel and shithousery. We've got decent technical options but no guile or grit. Tronstad is a must start, Baradji needs to play further forward, Montgomery is OK as a backup. GH and Tavares are both poor IMO. Need at least 1 starting winger/wide forward. Need a starting quality striker. Ohashi puts a lot of effort in but I think he's been sussed this season, and his finishing is poor. Gudjohnsen I like but is he injury prone? Big Mak needs to move. Lastly - I would bin off Ismael. He can't get a tune out of 'his' players with any kind of consistency, and something needs to change or we will slide into League One. That said I think there is zero chance of this as the stupidity of us giving him a 3 year deal means we will not pay him off.

Not sure if true, but would not be a surprise. Could probably add Cantwell to that list also.

A centre back, a centre mid, winger and a striker. So basically the same as summer. Which is a damning indictment of the shite we signed then. They also need to be leaders, with some physicality and fight in them - not more rubber dinghy men.

Spine of the team sold off. Circa 1500 Championship appearances worth of experience removed and not replaced. Cheap players from foreign leagues, or bang average ones from the UK shipped in - all of whom are a downgrade on what we had before, have no idea of the demands of this league and/or simply aren't up to them. Report of a toxic atmosphere at the club. Childish/amateur spats with the local press because they won't toe the party line. A manager that has never gone beyond a year at previous clubs, doesn't seem to have a plan or a clear way of playing, and was probably only appointed in the first place because he was cheap and desperate for a job - and we're asking him to polish a turd. This is just a shell of Blackburn Rovers these days, and all of the above is only pointing to one thing - the big 'R'.

Not a Hedges fan, but he's been our best wide player this season. Which is probably indicative of how shite the rest are. And which part of 5 goals in 34 games in a shit league leads you to think Gudjohnsen will offer far more upfront than Yuki? We've just borne witness to a massive downgrade of the squad. Not a single player brought in is better than we already had at the end of last season. Our only hope of survival is that somehow there are 3 worse and/or bigger basket case clubs than us.

Can't wait for Chaddy's positive spin on this one 🤣

'Well done', you could say.

How much of our poor form and performances is due to the massive downgrade in the squad, and how much is it ineptitude from the manager? For me it’s both but I’m not sure it what percentage split.

Just got back. Piss poor performance. Lowlights today: Tavares - said it since the first time I saw him and he’s done nothing to change my opinion - far too laid back and casual. Every pass is 5 yards too short or too far. Anyone who thinks he’s an upgrade on Travis needs to give their head a wobble. Says everything about him that we were better when he wasn’t in the pitch. Kargbo - had an absolute stinker today. Shouldn’t be starting games IMO but our squad has been weakened so much this is where we are. Maybe useful as an off the bench option but other than that clueless. Can run fast and that’s about it. Ribeiro - total shocker of a game, way below his usual standards. Needs a rocket up his arse. McLoughlin - nailed on foul, pen and red card. Brainless decision to do what he did. Gueye - loveable but thick as fuck. Needs to be spend the next weeks learning what offside is and how to avoid being it. Everyone else was bang average as well. Where was the pressing, fight and energy from the Hull game? We reverted back to the shite performances of the WBA and Brum games. Only person to come out of that with any credit was Alebiosu. It’s gonna be a long hard season folks. You don’t lose all that Championship experience and replace it with cheapo foreigners without it having a negative impact, and this is being borne out right in front of us.

Last time we went before this year was 2015 - it's changed even since then. Capacity is about 35k nowadays. You'll have a great time at Oasis - knowing how good it was I'm jealous you've still got it to come! Our last outdoor/summer gig this Friday - Nile Rodgers & Chic at Piece Hall. Never been but heard good things about the venue, seen Nile before so know it's guaranteed a good night.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle

Yeah the chair thing is daft - when we left Kaiser Chiefs early it was like a bloody obstacle course trying to get away! Similarly we tried to make our way around the main stage crowd while Courteeners were on and it was nigh on impossible. They need to do something to contain the chairs to a certain area - it was like seeing Brits on holiday at times with their beach towels - groups of empty chairs set out it 'reserve' a decent spot at the main stage for later while their owners were away watching something else. Have booked again for 2026 🙂

The tactical change to 3 CBs helped kill us. We sat back and invited them on to us. Naive decision - we were controlling the game set up as we were, there was no need to change it. We should know from experience we are spectacularly bad at trying to protect a lead but VI made a daft choice and it contributed to our downfall.