Sorry I’d have been guessing on that one!

Wrong guy front and centre...

As long as they keep paying, Waggott will keep charging. Wonder how many of those 800 have booked earlier next time (the official line of what Waggott wants), how many have been so disgruntled they stopped going, and how many don’t really care about the surcharge? You have to blame those people who happily pay it week in week out as the reason Waggott charges.

As long as they keep paying, Waggott will keep charging. Wonder how many of those 800 have booked earlier next time (the official line of what Waggott wants), how many have been so disgruntled they stopped going, and how many don’t really care about the surcharge? You have to blame those people who happily pay it week in week out as the reason Waggott charges.

We were the same. It was weird that some people who also booked over the phone were given tickets. It’s a good idea but a couple of tweaks. The guy on the phone didn’t want my season tickets numbers but wanted my name and then the seat numbers. Then he ‘found’ me on the system and assigned our cup seats to our season ticket cards. Then there was no receipt or even email confirming the sale. I was assured it would be “ok because I’m now on the system”. So I turned up with no proof of purchase hoping that my ST would just work. It was unnerving when everyone else around me had paper tickets including ST holders! Room for improvement. I definitely don’t like having to proof I’ve paid before I rock up to a match.

Translation?

He would be awesome in this team. Sadly he retired nearly 5 years ago.

I think our game and replay perfectly illustrated the ridiculousness of applying VAR on a selective basis. Game 1 - Newcastle are awarded a penalty after a VAR referral. Game 2 - Newcastle are unfairly awarded a goal despite being offside because VAR wasn’t used for the replay. We could have won twice but the technology was both used and not used against us. What a stitch up! If it can’t be deployed for every game in a round it shouldn’t be deployed at all. (Personally it should either be included all the time or none of the time).

It’s still Mowbray’s fault for not getting a cb in in the Summer. However, in the past he has slotted Smallwood in there and he has done a job. At time last night it wasn’t clear if Bell was the cb or Nyambe and I’m not sure the players knew either! He could have played Reed centrally and Conway out wide. There were certainly better options to cover Smallwood than cover Mulgrew. I also don’t believe that Downing is ill.

Agreed. I the time I said we’ve now got no pace in the pitch. We pretty much relied on Bell and Conway after that.

On another note, although he didn’t have a bad game per se, Smallwood’s return coincided with defeat after the team did extremely well without him. He sees to have a 50/50 player. Half the time he can be brilliant with blood and thunder tackles in him, the other half the ball just gets by him.

Nuttall looks head and shoulders above him. Metaphorically and literally. I’d love to know what attributes Mowbray believes the lad has. For a big lad he doesn’t even put himself about. It’s almost cruel watch a bloke’s confidence fading so badly and so rapidly. The worry is that this becomes Mowbray’s golden albatross. The loss of face in costing £7m and the spectre of us never recouping close to that may mean he perseveres with young Ben. Trying to put a positive spin on it, maybe we need to look at this as a long term investment (well, three years anyway) and get him out on loan to L1. It’s been a disasterous signing and someone at the club needs to swallow their pride. On a more facetious note, wonder if Messina are looking for a striker right midfielder? https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jan/31/newsstory.sport5 We may need to cut our losses and/or get him some experience to bulk him up. Serie B might suit his pace. Maybe even secure a permanent deal out there. The U23s were lacking a striker yesterday, it may be a good fit for both. Really wanted him to get on the score sheet tonight but with Graham playing 120 minutes tonight I could see Brereton playing against Ipswich.

Said exactly the same to my lad on the way home. Didn’t think it was offside though, just rank bad keeping.

No but we need a new goalkeeper and at least one centre half pronto.

Proud of the boys tonight. Square legs selected for round holes by Mowbray and the makeshift defence couldn’t organise themselves for long spell. We will not be successful at this level with Raya in goal. Travis was MoM again today, don’t care which sponsor gave it to Lenihan. We deserved better that to lose 4-2. Had it been 3-2 or 4-3 I could have stomached it but to listen to that smug, classless bunch after a smash-and-grab that eclipsed ours at the weekend, well, I hope they are relegated.

Back in the game!

His reputation preceded him. It’s down to Rodwell to prove him wrong. Rothwell should be more concerned about having a future here.

I agree completely with this but it’s something Waggott won’t do. So what else?

You keep saying we need to try something but then you poo-pooh every idea put forward. Right now you are actually backing Waggott by sayingbthere is nothing that will bring back fans but promotion. This is why prices are staying high and increasing every season. We have a capped fanbase so we need to squeeze as much money as we can out of them. I disagree with this. I think there are a lot of Rovers fans in and around the town that will watch on red button or in the pub or online rather than go to games. There needs to be a lot more research done into the reasons why and how that can be changed. Going to football matches is a habit you can get into and out of very quickly. Starting up the habit requires and sustained effort from the club to get people in the door. There are plenty of football fans who have been brainwashed that only PL football matters. They would buy a cheap season ticket just to be able to get a ticket to watch the big 5 or 6 teams that we now have plus Bumley. But with 13 of the teams being Watfords or Bournemouths or Aston Villas they are really get ST for half PL games (at best) and half Championship games. Even worse, with us unlikely to sell out they could just wait and simply buy Liverpool or United tickets on a walk on basis. The matchday experience and the enjoyment of live football need to be marketed more - at the right price. Yes, there are teams with bigger catchment areas but often it is the style of football that makes a game exciting to watch. As much as we appreciate what they are trying to do (at least part of the time) a Mowbray or a Bowyer isn’t going to excite anyone, not like a Dalglish or a Souness or a Hughes (along with a brand of football) can. This psychology needs to be understood and more done to change that mindset. Supporting your local club can be a source of pride and joy. People just have to be given a nudge. Prohibitive pricing and surcharges donthe opposite and nudge people away.

I’d argue Waggott thinks it does. We do have fans in the area. You said earlier that the Oxford game was an anomaly but it still illustrates that the numbers are there it is just attracting them down. Being in and around the play-offs all season challenging for promotion still wouldn’t bring people down if tickets are £25+. We need attractive matches (or match day experience) at an affordable price. We we’re getting decent season ticket sales after relegation from the PL on the back of the “Premier League pledge”. This is something that needs further consideration. If we do get promoted, the cash would cover the cost of season ticket renewals for a season. (£349 x 8,000 adult tickets = less than £3m). We only have to get promoted once but that recurring offer is a potential value which, on the back of a good season may bring many back - although I’d also throw in a £299 early bird price offer to get people in. The trouble is, despite the money Venkys are still putting in, and £7m+ thrown away on Brereton, we seem to still need that matchday revenue. So without any imagination from the folks in charge it’ll not change.

Just goes to show that psychology is everything in football. Confidence, belief, mental strength... Maybe we need to be finding out who coached Crouchie and bringing them into the club rather than throwing millions at another striker.

Looks like a bit of good negotiating going on on both sides there. Potential buyer and potential seller. Personally I wouldn’t part with a future England play-maker for anything lesss than £20m in today’s market.

He definitely got the last touch but he knew very little about it. However, if he hadn’t made the run we had we wouldn’t have got that breakthrough goal, and it may have run out 0-0. He did very well to be that physical presence that frightened and distracted both defenders. He showed a desire throughout that match that his game has lacked after the disappointment of being dropped last time out. Mowbray said as much in his interview (without giving a reason for the dip in form/work rate of course - that’s just my opinion). For me, having just signed a new contract on the back of breaking into the first team only to be dropped will have confused and upset him, maybe feeling like he was a bit of a commodity. I’m hoping that his return to form with the U23s and breaking back into the team is down to Mowbray explaining that he does have a part to play. However, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him loaned out. We have Graham and Brereton plus Armstrong and Dack in the manager’s thoughts. Unless Mowbray converts Brereton into a wide player he is up against Nuttall for that second striker spot. The Brereton signing is looking more and more odd by the week. A £7m back up for a back up?

Did anyone say what caused it? Not a coin I hope.