A few points: 1. Of course V’s want promotion, silly to suggest otherwise and no point even debating that. However, they have absolutely no real idea whatsoever on how to achieve it. They do appear to have learned that some things will definitely not help with promotion - four managers in a year, having a fire sale of players, managers being at war with the fan base, appointing a manager because Balaji owes his agent a favour or allowing an agent to buy your players. Obvious stupidity to anyone here, but it took them a decade to learn all that. 2. Venky’s don’t watch games, follow results or even know what other clubs might be considered our local rivals. Therefore, as fucking woeful as some performances under JDT have been, they are utterly irrelevant to JDT’s future. Maybe GB has been watching with raised eyebrows, but I will be VERY surprised if he has power to sack the coach. Past experience would suggest power most likely lies the other way round. The only thing that matters is where we are on the odd occasion one of their minions updates them with a league table (I assume they’ve learned what a league table is over the past 10+ years, maybe I am being generous here). We are third. JDT is safe as houses as long as the likes of Pasha likes him. 3. Don’t take what JDT says in interviews at face value please. He might just being talking hollow bullshit to protect his players from public criticism. He might be talking to someone in India - but it is just bullshit. Most football managers talk bullshit - some because they are genuinely stupid (Ince, Coyle), some because they are clever enough to realise there is little to be gained being particularly honest in interviews (Dalglish). Souness style honesty is rare - and totally counter productive. JDT is clearly a clever and contained man (and very bloody stubborn too) he is always going to talk bullshit in interviews. I suggest we stop paying attention unless we are looking for crosswinds on his relationships with the Indians. 4. I think the death spirals were probably more to do with Mowbray’s inability to psychologically turn around a team totally shot of confidence - and his stubborn refusal to set up & prepare specifically for a clean sheet - when the shit started hitting the fan. Also - being shit at set pieces, never looking solid at the back, being too small and being comparatively unfit did not help either. He also assembled a team with lots of light weight bottlers (‘artists’ lol) and that didn’t help. However, for us to totally fall away second half of this season, like we did so many times under TM, we would have to have a manager now with the same peculiar inadequacies as TM. We don’t! JDT plays stupid football and makes stubborn selection choices. However, his team can certainly defend a lead, do practice set pieces, are not as unfit as a TM team and he doesn’t make me want to slit me wrists or down half a bottle of whisky when I hear him talk. He talks shit, yes, he is annoyingly stubborn, yes. I imagine he pisses the players off often, but I’d rather be pissed off with JDT as my boss, when things are going wrong, than feeling manically depressed with TM as my boss when it all goes tits up. We will have a bad spell before the season is out, but TM owns those death spirals - no one else.

Oh, I so would if I could.

Apologies if it’s been asked before and already answered - but does anyone know if tomorrow’s match is available on Sky red button (or on telly anywhere else) please?

Well done, good work for a Wednesday night. Now back to the important stuff - like what’s the gossip on Rover’s potential signings? You need to get focused on that or you might make the fatal mistake of over-messaging her. Remember - focus - Rovers rumours first - chats with women second. Then, hopefully, GB can get another signing through the door before Friday, so you can go on your date with a spring in your step and a smile on your face.

Who is no.8 please?

And that player’s name is Jan Paul van Hecke.

If this is taken from the career statistics on his Wikipedia page (which does show him as only having 17 Championship appearances), it also says above the table of statistics “As of match played 10 January 2021”. I guess his agent hasn’t updated his Wikipedia stats in a year and a half - that’s all - hence the different appearance figures being touted on here.

Far-fetched and illogical? They bought a football club not even knowing that the league the club were in had relegation from it! They are a ridiculous bunch of quarrelling siblings and the club has been a victim of their dysfunctionality for over a decade. There are lots of examples of them behaving in contradictory ways - not sacking Mowbray, yet not throwing money at him, is a relatively logical action compared to, for example, not sacking Kean yet at the same time employing Shebby Singh to undermine him. Contradictory behaviour is a significant and consistent feature of their tenureship. I am shocked that anyone could be surprised by it after all these years. I hope, btw, that making good appointments with Broughton and JDT, yet then not sanctioning any signings so that they eventually piss off and leave - Lambert style - is not going to be another example of their long list of what you describe as far-fetched and illogical behaviour.

Which is closer to any Premier League action than Hedges is going to get.

Does anybody have a clue how much tickets for either match will be please?

It’s true Ryan, we love you, please come home. You’re my twelve year olds favourite player.

Absolutely- I’d rather the entire budget was spent on two top quality, permanent, young additions in those two positions, as oppose to four cheap journeymen and five PL loans.

I do feel there has been a tendency on this board, for many years, towards statements like ‘we need half a team to be signed or we’re getting relegated’ or ‘seven new additions needed urgently or we’re doomed’. That kind of attitude (not necessarily from posters on here) holds back the development of youth players. I am glad that Broughton recognises that. Many thought we we’re doomed last year at the start of the season, having to rely on kids like Wharton, Dolan, Buckley, Pickering and BBD. We touched second place with those guys, and if it wasn’t for Mr Gloom boring everyone to death from the dugout, we would have definitely made the playoffs with that team. We need a centre back for sure, if Diaz goes we need a forward too. We don’t, however, need to start panicking. We do need to start believing in our academy products. It’s the only way forward. We also need to cut back on the huge number of loans that persistently hold back our own kids. Yeh, Elliot was good, but now Dolan has essentially a season less experience because of him. JPVH was brilliant, but was pointless without promotion*. Tosin was class, but we could have been advancing Wharton’s progress and value instead. We don’t need a ton of signings - we need a few. What we need is a ton of is faith in our own academy. *That said JPVH would be the best loan signing of all time if Broughton and JDT could pull a rabbit out of a hat and sign him permanently. If you’re reading guys - that is the centre back we need. Whatever he costs he is guaranteed to turn in a profit for the club. Not cheap but a sure-fire safe and profitable investment. Please sign him, please.

I would like a poll - perhaps for any visiting Burnley fans, as well as ourselves. Question - Who would you rather have as Rovers manager? Option A - Vincent Kompany Option B - JDT I know where my vote is.

Apologies for the pedantry, but your dating is wrong. About 500bc many Greek mathematicians would, I believe, have been postulating and trying to prove the Earth was round. A mad theory it was not at that time.

They are not organised enough for window dressing. Window dressing would also imply they gave a shit what people think of them - they don’t. There’s no secret plan, no secret strategy, no hidden nefarious intent, they really are just useless. Just completely and utterly useless. They inherited some chicken farms, a lot of land and a hell of a lot of money. That doesn’t make them business people. They’ve owned a football club for over ten years. It doesn’t mean they’ve learned anything, absolutely anything, about running a football club. We’ve seen them interviewed - yes they really are completely stupid, totally dysfunctional, quarrelling siblings. Proper, bona fida, thick as two short planks, super dumb, very, very rich and over-privileged idiots. That is all there is to see here - incompetence, disinterest and idiocy, However, we still have one hope with the managerial appointment - luck!

Another classic piece of tea leaf reading from the charlatan fortune teller formerly of this parish. You have to love it. Nixon predicts the future manager might be a surprise, but then again it might not. Ohhhh! Cryptic! edit - spelling

If we were to go up, buying VH would be my number one priority. Even if we didn’t go up I would be advising Barry Rao to make a personal investment on the player. Short of injury, his stock can only rise. Combined with Lenihan and Wharton they’re a potential championship winning defence. I can only dream.

Van Hecke is the first name on that list for me too. I hope that next season, assuming he goes, we don't see a return to the perennial leaky defence we're used to for many years. I think VH is immense. I think he makes a huge difference to our team and will only get better and better. He makes the odd mistake - young centre backs do - but once he has a few years of experience under his belt I think he will be a superb player.

Feels good. Two goals. What a rush!

Would require owners who follow results.

Are you being serious? He played a defensive midfielder upfront, and choose to not even put the youth team striker on the bench - when we’ve scored two in ten and our only fully fit first team centre forward is beyond atrocious. Really? This is Gallagher at right back ridiculousness. The only thing dafter is that earlier in the season I thought Mowbray had changed, that he’d started making an ounce of sense. Wow!

I think Derby can smell blood here.

I don’t normally type whilst watching the match. I like to watch. However, can’t take it anymore. This is torture. Glad to see Gallagher dropped - but Johnson up front?!??!?£?!??!? Who would have thought it - he’s shit up there. Gosh! Sorry for not reading earlier posts, but guessing Vale must be injured?

I started a Sky subscription just after Christmas, so I could watch all the Rovers matches that were scheduled. I can’t help but feel it’s somehow my fault. Christ we need Dack back ASAP. Playing upfront. Just someone who can bloody score. I’ve had enough of watching Gallagher to last a lifetime tbh. Totally sick of him.