Don’t even think he should be out anyway before a game. He should be looking after himself while he’s being handsomely paid to be injured. He should be with the team unless he can’t get about - which he clearly can. Doesn't look like he was at a family wedding either. The “it doesn’t matter” mentality has ruined better players than Dack and will hold him back. No chance a top top club would take him. This isn’t the 90s!

Professional footballers should not be out partying on the eve of a match - and certainly not being paraded on social media. Playing or not. Sadly Dack mixes with the wrong kinds of people. Typical Champagne Charlie. And he’s not even made it yet. “Some people” will jump to Rovers players defence no matter what they do or how unprofessionally they behave.

Wrong thread

What an idiot. This is the down side of Dack.

This one?

Yes I do. Just not against Everton for his first one. And him being physically fit is subjective.

To be fair, the press might have had a field day with that one - with it being Everton. But I do think he’s nowhere near match fit.

Fair dos but would you have dropped Bell if Williams was fit?

Bell not even in the squad. Strange choice that. Williams is the obvious sub (of fit).

Hope that’s not a euphemism!

You sure?

I do think there is an untapped market from 21-25 that we have priced out of football. Those lads and lasses will absolutely be watching on the red button.

I guess it’s moot anyway as I doubt we would ever try it.

Why are you so selective about parts of my posts, Phil? And on this occasion @Mattyblue as well. If you are 24, it’s just gone from £350 to £99. That on its own would see a huge demographic growth.

?‍♂️ You will be able to smell the plastic from Caerphilly. And that’s with Colin in charge!

It’s finding the price point. £199 for adults; £99 for under 25s; £49 for under 17s: free for under 8s. You don’t think we’d shift 20k at those prices - even competing with the red button? Its win-win for clubs. Red button cash - relative to viewers and full grounds.

For me, football has moved on again. The number of ex-PL teams (including in terms of gravitas and not just one season wonders like Bradford or Barnsley) is now greater than current ones. We have Champions League and Europa League teams - barring the odd seasonal exception - as the same 6 sides. There are then 38 other teams (plus about 2 L1 sides) that could make up the other 14. People need to get their heads around this. Anyone buying a Rovers season ticket “to watch PL football” is a fool and deserves to pay top whack, while loyal fans should get a huge discount by way of compensation for the ‘privilege’ of losing to the top 6 sides. The very idea of it being somehow special is a facade peddled by the PL itself. Changing this can only be done by clubs offering low low prices and filling grounds. They can manage it in the Bundesliga.

Oxford. The price was right and the game was of interest - which was the point. The weather and day/time obviously helped. Why wait until the PL for £200 season tickets though? All that says is that local football fans would be along to watch the other PL teams. Take a step back, ignore the Sky “brand-washing” and three-quarters of the PL sides are no more exciting than Championship clubs. The only difference is the top 6 teams (City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs, the latter being a recent entry). The rest you could rotate around the Championship. Aside from their history, Everton aren’t much more than a blue Aston Villa, and we are playing Villa this season. Don’t wait, start selling £200 season tickets in the Championship. 10,000 at £400 or 20,000 at £200? It’s an obvious one surely - even allowing for concessions the revenue would be comparable. We would be opening the DE again before you know it!

I agree it’s a game changer but the response from clubs (who are getting extra tv revenue they wouldn’t have before) HAS to be lower walk on prices. If it isn’t then you have to point the finger at clubs. I don’t see Rovers reducing ticket prices though. Waggott’s M.O. seems to be high-margin-low-volume. We can’t even optimise concourse food/drink sales! Begrudgingly high prices and poor/slow service. He may say that he is trying raise the value of the product (players in the first team) but I don’t think he understands the local mentality. Heck, the penny didn’t even drop after the blatant clue that was the Oxford game. Rovers fans will turn out if the price is right and the game is of interest. Otherwise they will take the tv/pub option every time. Lower prices, higher footfall. Lower margin, higher volumes. Make the money out of first team success - cheered on by 25k in the stands - not from ticket and pie sales from 500 walk-ons. John Williams got it and the fans responded.

I don’t think the window applies to the development squad. We signed Simmons towards the end of last season. Don’t remember that being January.

Don’t know. He does have other (indirect) Rovers interests as we know but it was a genuine question.

Other way around mate. Keep going with the root cause... Player wages are so high (in the top two tiers) because their agents have demanded a huge slice of the tv deal money (including parachutes). Tv companies are driven by advertising so they do all they can to drag people out of the stands and into their living rooms. Companies who pay the advertisers want their product/brand seen around the world so they will invest more money to make the PL more attractive, and to help clubs to afford the best players across Europe. Aside from one or two notable big clubs in Spain and France the PL is the place for players to be. It’s the European Super League ™️ by default. Wages have then risen steadily to match or at least pay relative the higher earners. Rather than having one or two players on top money and the rest getting an average the cost base has risen. Another unintended consequence is that some absolute dross have managed to ride the gravy train by having a good season and a clever agent. The root cause is corporate greed. Player (agent-driven) greed is a direct consequence of the money swashing around that they believe they have generated. This becomes self-fulfilling. The big winners? [Some] Players, short term. Agents. PL executives. Sky executives. Corporate executives. The big losers? Fans. Thick players, long term.

Out of interest, are you scouting for the club these days?

Respect for Venkys. Ha! At best they are protecting their investment. At worst it’s a fluke. Like Monkeys typing out the complete works of Shakespeare.