22 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

The performance used to drop off after 20 minutes under JDT.

Games followed a remarkably similar pattern under the Dane - we'd fly out of the blocks for the first 20 minutes, trying to get an early goal and on top in the game. We'd then fade after 70 minutes and hang on for dear life (or watch the game peter out if we weren't in the lead) with no impact subs to bring on. 

Those first 20 minutes for JDT were absolutely crucial - a bit like watching Emerton play for us, you knew within 20 minutes how our (and his) game was going to go. 

If we could start the JDT way, but then go Eustace for the last 60 - then we would be on to something.

Or even start Eustace, and then hit them with twenty minutes of JDT ball at some point in the second half.

If we could manage both styles in the same 90 minutes I feel we would really be getting the best out of what we have available. If we stay up I sincerely hope the players don’t forget how to play JDT ball as next season progresses. Being able to go between both styles could make us a strong championship side.

Swag has many, many failings both as a CEO of a world famous football club and as a human being.

Broughton isn’t perfect, he lacks experience and his signings have been mixed.

The root cause of all our problems are the dysfunctional and contradictory family that own us.

However, Broughton and the family member who appointed him at least have one thing - AMBITION. Swag, Silvester and maybe Suhail - and the family members who are controlling these malignant entities and their sabotage - not only have zero ambition they clearly appear to be actively ensuring we can never ever have the ambition to leave this league. 
 

People attacking Broughton are backing the wrong side in this power struggle -  unless your only ambition is that we fail so badly that the Raos sell us. IMO this is flawed thinking though: The club will only be sold when ALL the squabbling siblings agree to sell. That may happen because of court proceedings in India, but it will never ever happen because of anything that occurs in Lancashire or in the championship - be that protests, relegation or managers or personnel coming or going. 
 

SWAG OUT should be the aim of the fan base right now IMO. He is not immovable and his experience of attending football matches and dealing with fans should not be a pleasant one that he wishes to persist with. 
 

I also wonder if the slimy maggot is responsible for turning some players against JDT. Hyam, for example. They were being made to train very hard, run their assess off in games, senior and popular players like Travis were deemed not skilful enough and when things started going wrong there is Swag to sway them towards dreams of the old days when they didn’t have to bust a gut just to let Szomdics and Wharton get all the plaudits. It’s a conspiracy theory, but we know the man is such a self interested asshole he would do anything to cling on to power at the club.

SWAG OUT - it is achievable.

I wish Eustace all the best. However, my dislike of Waggott is now becoming almost irrationally intense. I mean, I really, really can’t stand the guy. Everything about the guy gives me the creeps. I haven’t disliked someone at the club like this since the days of Anderson and Kean.

I hope he gets his comeuppance sooner or later. Hopefully he gets stabbed in the back just as coldly, messily and publicly as he has stabbed JDT and GB in the back. 

39 minutes ago, danger19_80 said:

Big Sam's up for it

 

Absolutely the best option available. Would sort out our set piece nightmares and thus save us from relegation.

Probably the only appointment that could save me from the feeling of grief that our only genuinely ambitious manager in 13 years is leaving. Big Sam would be coming here to take us up, whatever the conditions.

Only caveat is that last time he was here though he had John Williams to oversea that financial affairs were above board and honest. Now we have a dishonest snake who is not particularly bright in that role. 
 

It will never happen, I know. Just the thought of this potential redemption is going to make the actual appointment even more underwhelming though.

1 hour ago, Craigman said:

Fowler being linked according to Daily Express

 

Be like Coyle all over again, except swap the doughnuts for cocaine.

1 hour ago, Groundhog said:

I can't listen to that mad bloke any more, dread to think what he is saying, luckily at work and can't listen

I can only ever listen to Bob Mortimer's impression of him, which is amazing

Thanks so much - I had tears in my eyes. Go listen if you have not heard this. It is a worthwhile distraction from following developments at our dysfunctional club.

16 minutes ago, JHRover said:

The airwaves alive with talk of JDT, senior players, the atmosphere/attendances at Ewood and what might have gone on at this hastily arranged secret meeting.

That, my friends, is how easy it is and precisely what Venkys, shadow man and Waggott want to happen.

Exactly! If you want the social media and the press to change the conversation throw a dead cat on the table. 
 

Don’t fall for it.

31 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

Maybe nobody has been sacked because Raos think they are doing what they want - taking us down?

The Raos don't think or act with unity of purpose. They are a multi-headed beast.

12 minutes ago, Roverthechimp said:

If the person sacking lacks the authority to do so then technically he was never sacked. Probably why he was so pissed off after thinking he was free of the madhouse 🫢😉🫣

And why he was banned from speaking to the media. We thought it was so he couldn't rant about the f**k up/sabotage over the McGuire deal - but actually it was probably even more crazy shit than that which caused him to gagged.

They are some family, they really are.

39 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Which aligns with what I was told by two different people on Saturday namely that one of the brothers (presumably the playboy) actually sacked (through his minions) Tomasson on Friday but big sis reinstated him within a short space of time. I believe there is real disharmony at Chez Rao and we are piggy in the middle.

And you can be sure that Mrs D's reinstatement was nothing to do with her knowledge or belief in who the best coach for a relegation scrap is - it would be to do with the fact the she won't sanction any money spent on a pay off and a replacement.

I hope JDT is up for the scrap that we now have facing us for survival. It's him, the players and the fans v the club & the owners now!

Many pages back someone argued that ultimately it will be good if the McGuire deal does not go through, because it will push the Raos closer to a sale of the club.

I wonder if it’s the other way round and that the £500k fee could be what forces the issue within the family. If one part of the family is refusing to fund us and another part of the family is trying to fight this (my theory only), then the overturning of the Slyvester/Waggot sabotage attempt by the EFL actually stirs up the tension in Pune. An EFL decision to void the transfer leaves us more likely to continue with this (hypothetical) status quo. Where we are caught in their civil war (perhaps) and the stop sending £ side of the family is winning, but not decisively enough.
 

My hypothetical status quo (Conspiracy Theory #99) btw, is that one part of the family is wanting to cling on so as to eventually give a job to a younger Rao, whilst the rest of the family have given up and just want rid of the damn thing. 
 

The more I reflect the more it fits, but maybe I am thinking too hard - like all conspiracy theorists!

I thought with the situation in the summer that it was possible that one member(s) of the family may be acting to undermine other(s) members of the family. This is a theory that can't be proved, but perhaps, for example, Balaji was responsible for selling the dream to Broughton and giving permission and assurances that money raised could be re-invested, but Mrs or Mr D thought "sod that" and then told their man at the club - perhaps Slyvestor - to sabotage the deals.

We know that their is tension between Waggot and Broughton and Waggot and JDT. Is it possible that Waggot and Slyvestor and maybe Suhail work at the command of the real boss - perhaps Mrs D, but Broughton only has the ears of the wannabe boss - perhaps Balji?

Maybe some Rao's are despearte to rid themsleves of the club (understandable) and deliberatley screwing things up, but other Rao's are still clinging on to it and hiring people and making them promises that in reality they can not always fulfill.

It is all conjecture - but there is nothing at this club in the last 13 years which doesn't fit with the scenario of warring siblings giving lesser minions different and often contradictory instructions.

The Birmingham guy makes sense for two reasons:

1) He looks like he could buy a round of drinks without being IDd.

2) He is not a dwarf.

Both are qualities we desperately need right now.

4 hours ago, CambridgeRover said:

Still no replacements in for Travis and Hill.

Dear me

Ben Chrisene for Hill

Buckley for Travis

It's hardly going to make the teams around us in the league quake with fear, but it seems to be the reality of where we are at right now with our budget. Ouch!

Just looked at the stats on the Rovers website. It says we have had 58% possession. You could nearly laugh if it wasn’t so fucking tragic.

Btw, I was firmly in the pro-JDT camp. I won’t be defending him now, no way.

Best possible outcome for us would be Sweden national team come to our rescue like Newcastle did when Souness lost the plot. 

As for a return of Mark Hughes - yes please - a return to the ‘dogs of war’ attitude would be absolutely fine right now.

2 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

I think its more of what you ask, how you ask it, and how you line the dominoes up.

I've made it perfectly clear from day dot to him, I don't do secret hand shakes or come for a balloon or picture. My time is precious and I will report exactly what's said.

We ain't playing games here, it's our football club and he might not like the questions,  but he is gonna get them anyway and be probed , probed again until he gives a tangible answer.

If I was rating him against the others who came before , I'd put him behind Shaw in terms of progress. I strongly believe he is holding the club back and I've seen zero evidence in the meetings to date that we can improve without a wholesale board change.

He has this strategy that he wants to be everyone's friend. It's a terrible recipe for change as the reality is, he holds all the strings and the more he keeps people quiet the longer progress won't be forthcoming 

Waggot does ‘secret handshakes’? I can believe it. It explains how such a useless cunt can come to be earning so much money.

I hope you enjoyed probing him 😳

2 hours ago, glen9mullan said:

Waggott said in the meeting I had last month GB was totally against bringing is Sammy. He had been monitored for 12 months prior to GB and when all other avenues closed , GB caved in.

Maybe true, maybe bullshit, but Waggot bitching about one of his colleagues - essentially in public (he must know you post here) - makes him look like a total prick to me.

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

Always good to see all is well with the world of Rovers in Chaddyland

The events of the last few days, weeks and months in all departments of the Club met with almost universal derision and condemnation, but can always rely on Chaddy to fish a positive or two out of the Ewood Park swamp.

Most of the time I just scroll past Chaddy’s waffle - apologies, no offence intended. However, on days like this when 80% of the board are on suicide watch, I actually bother to glance over Chaddy’s optimistic offerings. I am very grateful for the different, sunnier perspective. Somebody mentioned being in the trenches earlier - you know it’s good to have an eternal optimist around in such situations.
 

The budget constraints are clearly damaging the squad and everyone is sick of seeing a revolving assortment of naive light-weight tiny kids being bullied off the ball. However, we are not currently being run by incompetents of the likes of Owen Coyle and Paul Senior and I firmly believe GB and JDT (whilst he lasts) are more intelligent, more ambitious, more knowledgeable and more honest than previous regimes under V’s. The hatred of some towards GB seems to be based on prejudice rather than evidence. Maybe he’s too posh, too southern, too ugly - I am not sure - but we are in a terrible run of form and that is clouding many people’s judgement of where we’re at. 
 

Long term V’s ownership is slow brutal torture, but this is not yet the free fall situation of our first season after relegation from the PL or of the Coyle relegation season. Hang tight, it only takes one lucky season - same as always in this league. 

I will judge the window at the end of the month. However, biggest alarm bell for me is that the new guy is only 5’ 8”!

We are terrible at set pieces and are crying out for height. A team needs taller players.

By the end of the window I am hoping for experienced, strong, TALL players to be added to the team. One more short arse isn’t the end of the world, we do need more quality creative attacking options from the bench. But if we keep on signing guys under six foot we are always going to be losing tons of points from being totally inept at attacking and defending set pieces.

15 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

How many points has Wahlstedt cost us this season - 10 to 15? I've lost count of his mistakes but he alone could be the difference between us staying in this division or going down. 

Sell Travis and whoever and make Rotherham an offer for their keeper. 

If he was playing for us we would have won yesterday - comfortably.

I see he’s 25, 90 Championship games, 1 cap for Sweden. Transfermarkt rates him at €3million. Seems he’s contracted until end of next season and ‘news’ stories are linking him to Sheffield Utd. 

Rotherham’s keeper is probably out of grasp I am sorry to discover! Shame, I thought he looked great.

37 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Rotherham away record

P12 W0 D2 L10   F6 A31

That is fate well and truly tempted now then.

8 hours ago, Ghost7 said:

Deluded, it's completely over reliant on the academy due to a lack of investment and a reinvestment after releasing a huge amount of senior players in recent years without replacing them. The academy should be complimenting a senior team, instead it's forming the foundations of one. As mentioned earlier today, the fans need a reality check if you can't see this. It's a team crippled by terrible owners and a lack of investment accumulated over years, not injuries. Half of these players would be away on loan if the owners had any true interest. 

A real owner (a Walker), present on the ground, with this manager and academy and a reasonable amount of money to spend would have this Rovers team pushing for promotion with ease...

The squad isn't just stretched it's being completely abused and they are performing miracles. The owners are scumbags, like plenty in the football world.

We are under a self imposed transfer embargo and are being starved from above. 13 years and counting...

JDT is talented and will walk whenever he gets the chance, and some will STILL sit and make excuses for the owners. Incredible.

I don’t mind the academy being the foundation of the team. However, what it needs is far more quality senior, savvy and experienced pros to help see them through games. A couple of battle hardened warriors is what we need - to give the kids a helping hand.

5 hours ago, Shirley Crabtree Wrestler said:

The omens aren't good. But feck it, JDT has performed miracles with the resources he has at his disposal. From time to time the wheels come off and the ride gets a bit bumpy, and there is no reason to expect anything other than being dumped out of the Carabao Cup by a side that on paper has to be regarded as favourites. But it is football, JDT is a miracle worker, and if the weather is unfavourable and a bit Northern, maybe the cossetted pooches of Stamford Bridge will be rogered senseless by the mongrel dawgs of Ewood Park.

Whatever, as long as we come home with some kind of belief in ourselves, it will be a result.

COYJDT BLUES!

Except we're not mongrel dogs anymore, - we're a classy bred but hopelessly underweight and incredibly young puppy.

Just a list for my own satisfaction. I’ve been following Rovers since Don MacKay’s first play-off season. Here’s my ranking of managers since then, from worst to best:

Kean - Agent of Satan 

Coyle - Anyone fancy a doughnut?

Berg - Ouch!

Ince - Shoot!

Kidd - signed Jansen, otherwise an idiot

Appleton - Halloween everyday 

Lambert - No fool, but too dour

Harford - the greatest no.2 though

Bowyer - gave it a right good go

Mowbray - the lemon drizzle went stale 

Hodgson - Good at first, but not for Tim 

Parkes - 5 in midfield before its time

JDT - with potential to rise higher on list

Mackay - so, so near I cried

Allardyce - Did what he was hired to do

Hughes - Bellamy, Benni, Santa Cruz!

Souness - fell out with everyone though

Dalglish - Was it a dream?

Hope I’ve not missed anyone.