Devon Rover

Parade of tossers at the club coming out with "venkys never refuse to sign a cheque but what do fans want - a good manager or the electric bill paid for the rest of the season? Get real." Our club is finished until Venkys go.

Whilst everything is for sale at the right price, I wonder if that might not extend to the willingness of a homeowner to consider a sale, or even survey, of their house when they know it contains skeletons which they hid within it? Just a musing.

I'm on duty with three children at home this weekend. I've been back and forth over the last few days about whether to bring them all up for this game. The kick-off time means, realistically, we need to drive up through Saturday afternoon and pay for hotel rooms, dinner, etc. I think I'd still do it, but looking at the seat availability, it seems like not many fancy it at all, which is totally understandable. So, why go to such effort and expense when there will be little atmosphere, no feel good factor about the club, a stupid kick off time for a game that we can watch at home and ticket and food money spent that will go into the Venkys Malevolent Utility Bill Fund? So, amongst many others it seems, that'll be four fewer voices cheering on the team, and associated money spent at the ground, then. And my seven-year-old gradually losing his enthusiasm for what he thinks of as "his club". I know how he feels.

I'm more irritated by the substitutions he made (or didn't until far too late) and that he still publicly reflected on the game as one in which a draw would have been a fair result. We could have got a draw, we might have got a draw. We didn't really deserve one and QPR would have been very disappointed not to have won the game as they dominated for large stretches. I don't buy into any form of "we were unlucky not to draw" narrative. We got what we deserved. Having said all that, Eustace is in the position he is, regarding team selection and substitution options, due to the ownership and the club's transfer strategy (or lack of). Venkys are the perpetrators of our situation, rather than our manager, or the players, whatever their shortcomings.

I feel that, too. Resignation combined with knowing I'll never be able to stop following Rovers, but the time for giving them any of my money and time is over. I hope that will return, and that the current actions around contracts and loans, etc, points to an impending sale of the club to someone with very different levels of interest and ambition. But I suspect it is far more likely it is just part of a Venkys plan to hammer down the running costs of their convenient but loss-making off-shoot to the very minimum possible. Not making the Championship playoffs may well be the least of our worries in the years ahead.

As with so many Rovers games, this was a horrible watch. The kind of game that does make me wonder about Eustace's tactics, substitutions and getting the team in the right frame of mind to go out and attack anyone. That was not a team showing any urgency, intensity or creativity. Why the hell Kargbo had to wait so long to come on when he showed more in 5 mins than Hedges has in months, I don't know. That's on the manager. We got what we deserved in that match. Horrible and demoralising on many levels.

Dreadful substitutions. Dreadful goalkeeper. Shit runs right through this club

Well done to him - great penalty

I so want to like and defend Dolan. I appreciate his effort levels. But several years into his Rovers career (and probably the final few months of it), he is only consistent in his ability to repeatedly lose posession in the most elaborate way imaginable.

It is amazing we are only 1 down. That was a terrible performance. There is literally no point to an attack including Dolan and Hedges. Lots of running to achieve absolutely nothing at all. Our only threat from out wide comes from our full backs. It's like playing with 9 men and 2 excitable dogs.

I agree with you. But Venkys have NEVER come out and explained their plan or strategy and there is no way at all that a full and open statement will be issued by the club about these things. Any statement will be as empty and meaningless as those that have come before. Sadly, as a club, we are drifting through a process of dismantlement, with the levels of relative success we are currently 'enjoying' being down to a very good manager and a group of limited, but hardworking, players. The only way this changes is by somehow getting promoted or by Venkys selling. I don't think either is imminent.

Dennis will potentially be a good addition for the next three months - but all depends on his fitness levels. Other than that, we have spent virtually nothing, after previously generating significant amounts in transfer fees whilst reducing costs. There was no impediment to spend other than the owners' decision. For those reasons, it was a very poor transfer window in which we fell further behind our current main rivals, whilst also growing the proportion of our squad that will not be contracted to the club for next season and not even investing in potential, to generate transfer fees in future. It all seems devoid of any strategy and like a club treading water, at best. I can't feel particularly positive about this transfer window, nor the ones ahead, for as long as Venkys' curse is hanging over us.

All totally accidentally, of course. "We are confused".

Now this sounds like a scenario in which our traditional generosity in providing a timely boost can really flourish. I still think we can win this one...

What informed the one mark? Not giving Travis to someone else in the league for a bit?!

Blackburn Rovers can't "find the cash to match Swansea". Our corrupt and negligent ownership, in a nutshell....

"Venkys Never Refuse To Sign A Cheque Day"

Dirty so and so.

Is it OK that I'm imagining its our Big Mak sat behind his laptop typing this with a big grin?!

Zero intent and clumsy could also be described of the PNE defender for ours. I feel they were either both penalties or both weren't. In my opinion both were and both would have been given as fouls elsewhere on the pitch. But who cares?!

Good win, really high effort performance from the whole starting eleven. Do other clubs do this thing where they switch to a deep 5-4-1 whenever they are leading in the latter stages? It rarely seems to work for us and the substitutions last night very nearly cost us a well deserved win. That's on the lack of investment in the squad, of course, and Forshaw in particular should be nowhere near a championship level football pitch.

I remember Desai's (only?) interview after buying the club when she said they'd focus on "leasing" players. Could we be seeing the actual playing out of their long game in minimising costs by running down contracts and building a team of low wage academy players and max numbers of loanees? Obviously would be even more of a car crash than we are used to being caught up in. But there doesn't appear to be any other 'plan' in place and the dereliction of duty in non-renewal of contracts can only be about further 'dumbing down' the squad and wage bill?

That's a deadline day admin error ready and waiting to happen.

You wouldn't have thought it. Venkys fucking us again. Harder each year.

Another flaw in the "waiting to the end of the window to judge" approach is that it gets more difficult to secure targets as the time for their club to replace them becomes less. An already narrow window of opportunity for everyone nears closing and the likelihood of non-panic (and non-shite) additions becomes smaller. The "wait to the end of the window to judge" approach is, at best, naïve and, at worst, apologetic for the owners' and/or executives' shambolic failures of planning. The cost of the failings is felt by the manager, the squad and the fans. Anyone who suggests more "let's wait and see" regarding the utter fuckwits in charge of our club is totally deluded.