This feels very familiar.

Barry Fry - fucking big mouth. I wouldn't bother doing business with him when he's naming us to the media. He's only trying to stir up a bidding war so cut him off at the knees and walk away.

There's at least 4 empty slots in that sticker book..... 👀

What is his natural position?

Actually always liked the flashes of Marriott that I saw before his Derby move, but he's an out and out striker so slightly different to Szmodics. Didn't he score a very good goal against us last season? If we're in the market for a striker I wouldn't actually be against him.

On Szmodics - he had a record similar to Dack in his league one season with P'Boro (15 goals in 42 games), and still managed 6 goals in 36 for an incredibly goal shy side last season. scoring 14% of their 43.

Just very quickly on this topic. During lockdown etc I found iFollow really easy to use - one or two initial teething problems when every fan in the country tried to access summer of 2020 if I remember, but otherwise piece of cake. The Rovers one I found to be absolutely bloody abysmal. I can never find where to access the match centre and start watching. Has anyone else had trouble with it?

Scientists always state there is no such thing as fact, just a theory that is yet to be disproven. I'm sure JH is looking forward to his theory being blown completely out of the water.... it certainly hasn't been yet! Speaking of theories.... Chaddy goes to see Waggott on Monday afternoon. Rumours surface yesterday that our impending Head of Recruitment appointment has fallen through.... this morning we're linked to a player Chaddy has been touting as a good signing for months and months.... Safe to say I'm expecting a Twitter announcement very soon. Welcome our new Head of Recruitment!

This is true, I agree with you and tbf, it's something we should all bear in mind. I did wish Chaddy luck yesterday, appreciating that he had taken the time to email Waggott. But the fact that he's now come back the conquering hero and won't share any details is OBVIOUSLY going to get the backs up of a lot of people on here. He did also say he would report back after the meeting, which barring a very shallow overview, he hasn't done. As others have said, why even mention it in the first place? The fanbase is extremely frustrated, quite rightly in my opinion after 12 years of absolute shite from the ownership. Others have come on here regaling their meetings with the wonderful Mr Waggott. before clamming up with mysterious, snipey answers should anyone dare to question their unwavering support of the current regime.

Haha, what a load of rubbish. If a poster says he's going to meet the CEO of the club it's quite natural people are going to want to know what was discussed, especially considering the general lack of trust and confidence towards the boardroom. You do know this is a message board for people that support BRFC don't you? We're likely to be interested. Chaddy has come back as many would have predicted, with a glowing reference for Waggott, no information of any substance other than confirming bits of the pitch have been stitched and season ticket sales are a secret, and a closed door approach of 'I won't be answering any questions on the matter'.

And sorry, just in the interest of absolute clarity, Ayala has so far played in 30 league games out of a possible 92 - that's 32%. So not sure the Ayala comparison is even remotely fair or relevant,

Does anyone know his demands? I haven't seen anything on here regards what he asked for and what the club offered... Since promotion he's played in 67% of our league games. Noting some of those were on the bench, not through injury, you'd could probably estimate he's been available for 75% of our games in that time. Okay, not an 'ever-present', but I don't think a massive concern.

Totally agree. No intention to belittle Chaddy, but Waggot will be in his element convincing people to like him. An office based schmooze is his perfect environment. He's not got to his salary level without being able to win people over. Most posters on here would probably struggle to really nail him in a one-2-one meeting - it would certainly take a huge amount of prior research and fact checking to ensure you went in well armed. Glen will probably give as good as he's got nowadays, but interested to know with the benefit of hindsight whether he felt out of his depth when he first met with whoever the fuck was in charge all those years ago.

Great metaphor. Even better when you consider his arrival may turn out to be a mirage unless he's supported by the club.

Could you divulge the questions that you asked, even if you aren't prepared to publish the answers? Be interesting to know what subjects/areas you prioritised.

Good luck. I'm sure you've got your key points and questions lined up - don't let the bugger soft soap you.

Not sure about this. He's widely considered a prodigious talent - a potentially generational talent and future England centre half. He could end up being worth the rest of the squad put together. They'll also be aware how good this guy is and the type of clubs mooted to be interested. I think they'd understand, if any of them actually need to know how much he's getting paid. Still stands to reason, we could go for broke and offer 18k, United would just go to 25k if they valued him so highly.

Was your meeting with Waggott this morning or this afternoon? Looking forward to reading your thoughts and feedback.

If Lenihan and Nyambe had been attracting attention from United I would understand why we couldn't compete. What sticks in the craw in the case of those two is that they're going to rival clubs, who seemingly are at a similar level to us. Certainly the case with Lenihan - we'll see with Nyambe. This with Philips is different, and a fine example of how modern day football is the absolute pits.

For once, I'm actually not immediately going to blame the club or Waggott here. If big clubs have been whispering sweet nothings in the ear of Philips and his agent, then what exactly can Rovers do? We can try and compete and pay him 5k, 10k, 15k... the big clubs could blow us out of the water without thinking. It's nothing to them if they think they're getting the next England centre half. I'm aghast that this can be allowed to happen, quite frankly.

How difficult would it be to impose a rule that the club who offered and honoured the scholarship has first refusal on a 3-year pro contract for the player. If not, all these academies across the country may as well have the crest of the top 6 or 8 clubs over their door. We're essentially rearing young footballers for them to swoop in and nick whichever they want.

So my assumption is right.. the club can be simply held over a barrel by Philips and his agent, and the wealthy elite can mosey on in and take him from under our nose. The system is completely and utterly broken.

Can someone tell me whether we could have signed him to a pro contract earlier than this? If he was doing a two-year scholarship and we COULDN'T possibly offer him a pro-contract until 1st July, then what exactly could Rovers do differently - apart from of course pay him more. But even if we did push the boat and offer let's say £5k a week for a 17 year old, any team in the Prem could come sailing in and blow us out of the water. Would we be due any compensation? I suppose it would be bloody peanuts. If he does walk away for next to nothing, and if my assumption that the club couldn't have offered pro-contract earlier is correct, then it's just another indication of how broken the system is. Top 6 clubs can just come along and peck at the corpse of small-town clubs struggling to make ends meet by taking their top, young talent for nothing. The sooner football implodes the better.

I may be wrong, but wasn't it Abada that gave Pickering a chasing, not Jota? Jota looked like he was playing on the left vs Carter. Pickering looks mighty fishy to me. He's so slow and I think because of it he tends to narrow up too much when defending. He allows so, so many crosses in to the box.

Nonsense. If the wall is guarding one side, the keeper covers the other. Basics. Well placed strike, shouldn’t beat a half decent keeper.