You're imagining that as others have said! Therefore I'm optimistic about tomorrow but not the season.

Yorkshire and Twinings Assam Bold. Yum! Good to see a thread I can get excited about!

Since Blackpool won 3-0 let's hope they learned something!

No---entirely wrong here, other way round---Kean had a dog but denied it (for some reason only he knows!)

It was the big competition in Lancashire in the early 20th century according to my Grandad (long deceased). Valued above the FA Cup according to him. Certainly not reserve teams.

In fact, Mowbray's whole era has been a disgrace as far as Cup competitions are concerned. Doesn't matter who we play, I just take it for granted we'll be knocked out first round. Even in the "bad old days" of the 70's/80's we had the Cups to keep us going. Like much else that's now completely gone.

Big "if" though.

I was thinking yesterday how £15m bought Shearer in 1996 and buys Armstrong now!! That's some inflation! Mind you his value went from £3M to £15M in 4 years!

Maybe but we agreed to get the price down.

If we cheat them that'll be the last signing we make with them though on these terms. It'll be full price next time.

Looks good on paper but Dack may never return to the form we saw early days here and as for Chapman----is he ever fit? Dack was just unlucky but we have developed a habit of gambling on players with terrible injury records----probably because they're cheap. And its bitten us on the arse.

And Nyambe and Rothwell and all the others whose contracts run out at the end of the season and can go for nothing? Isn't it unique to our club in terms of extent? Can you name any other club so cursed? Have you ever wondered why?

which is now all we ever do....

God---we collect them! Its like a nursing home. Go to Ewood, see the physio, join your mates in the lounge, blanket round your legs and watch tele.

My wife always referred to him as Tummy Lawrence!

Brentford want Rothwell, presumably for free. https://www.footballinsider247.com/brentford-set-sights-on-signing-blackburn-rovers-26-yr-old/

No it wasn't but Branthwaite was. If they're better than we have --fair enough ,and Elliott was, but no better than what we have is destructive.

Once Jack died the Walker Trust got rid as fast as their grubby hands could grab the dosh. That doesn't provide an excuse for what followed ---so what's your point?

Exactly, anyone who thinks the alternative will be an improvement is delusional. We know what to expect from recent history---the stadium, the pitch, the team, next---the training facilities!

Bolton---16000+ attendance at the weekend compared to our 10000+. Does that give you a clue? Even Preston had 12000+. You're flogging a dying horse mate. Fans have made their mind up.

it seems to me we have 3 " No 10's"----Dack,Rothwell and Dolan and we can't play them all in the same team yet each, individually, are worthy of selection. Elsewhere we have little cover at all. Mowbray's random signings.......

A few observations: The centre-back pairing of Ayala/Lenihan was solid, how I wish they could play every game. Mowbray says he doesn't believe in formations but he certainly believes in 2 big blokes lumbering up and down the flanks with a little bloke in the middle! Defies belief. Dolan will be eaten for breakfast by centre-backs this season. Butterworth was a revelation when he came on, presumably he'll be coached out of driving forward and be reminded to watch videos of Cory Evans. Why can none of our forwards shoot? We could have won by 3 at least. Through on goal and we scuff it like a seven year old. 4 bookings in what was not a dirty game. Swansea have had time enough to cut out the Premier League play-acting.That first-half booking of Pickering was as bad a refereeing decision as I have ever seen! A perfect tackle in my book, the sort that inspires the rest of the team. Finally we won't play against a defence as bad as that one very often. Let's hope and pray their keeper has no Boro connections! Still we won and that's what matters. I'd forgotten what it was like to get 3 points from the first game of the season.

I knew it wasn't going to go well when he got rid of Brad.

The almost entire LT readership?

If they read the LT comments they'll confirm they're doing a great job!