There's no nepotism in football whatsoever obviously..... 🙄

The warm ups under Benson look fine very similar to when John Keeley was here. Worst ones iv'e seen were under the guy Lambert brought in, can't remember who he was even.

Vast majority aren't though they are on half or less that's why i said Tosin isn't a great example he's an exception rather than the rule. It's easy for an agent to say i'll get you more than 8 grand a week at Blackburn plus signing on fee though. It should also be easy for Rovers to tie an asset down 2 years ago whose starting point is a very modest wage. Agree on the malaise but that in truth is only part of it as the club or whoever still managed to bloat the wage bill with Holtby, Downing, Trybull, Johnson and keeping Bennett and Evans etc. Hindsight is wonderful of course but some very wrong calls have been made along the way.

Tosin is a poor example he was recruited by City the richest team in the UK and on a reputed 30 grand a week anyway. We also paid a million pound loan fee for him. We are talking about graduates from our academy where the starting point wage is between 5 and 7 grand per week allegedly.

Who knows but as i said earlier the starting points for players are different. A bit like the daft match by match ticket pricing strategies everyone at Rovers seems to be on different wages. Kaminski as you say is an established keeper and came for a fee i think so he's on established money to start with. The debate is the lads we are on about weren't on that type of money but were probably asking for it, which is fair enough. Other factors obviously come into play but maybe Travis was on a better deal to start with. Or more likely he's happy here and his personal life is settled so for now he was happy to extend.

The reasons being his back knackered unfortunately and also i think his general fitness habits deteriorated. There's been plenty from him out in public about that period and we just got him as time was beginning to take its toll i think.

As others have said though the starting point for them as academy graduates, low cost signings was low. So the club offering 6 grand a week plus bonuses to someone who was on 3 to 4k is a good rise. Problem is the standard wage for established similar players in this league and some already at the club at the time was 10/11 grand a week. So they are perfectly entitled imo to ask for that especially when we are carrying players on 14/15k and above. I'm certain earlier in the talks some middle ground could have been reached with at least one or maybe two of them. It doesn't set a good tone here if those coming through the ranks can't even aim to get a regular championship wage here. Once they start getting noticed and the contracts start ticking down so signing on fees come into play elsewhere they suddenly realize they can be quids in.

Robinson didn't really improve he was a solid steady but not great keeper when he signed and was what it said on the tin. Capable of the basics but lacking the agility and reflexes of even an ageing Brad. He then had a purple patch under Allardyce mainly due to the way we played and the extra involvement in that. Once he was injured then ill he slid away pretty quickly but no one ever tell me Steele was any kind of improvement whatsoever. So i'm not sure coaching had much to do with Robbo but for a spell he was the perfect man for the percentage game.

' The Club Waggot has done all it can it's prepared to do' Probably more apt ! Although my opinion is they low balled years ago saying you've come through the ranks and were on X amount so here's a rise to Y and that's it. You can't be expecting the same money as the managers big buys and marquee signings (even though you are now key members of the team like/unlike them) Then they look elsewhere, get courted and realize there are better contracts and will be signing on fees at other clubs similar to ourselves. Later on the club back tracks and offers more realizing they've fooked up but it's too late....and still not enough. Great work !

BBD seems an ambitious type who might put his football before the money. No harm in him signing a new deal here if they allow a release clause, there's a risk there though obviously. Look at what happened to Dack and also if Ben continued to improve a 15 mill release isn't really enough. Although that's just a starting point if there were a few clubs in for him. Get a new deal in front of him it's the smart thing to do now it could also force those interested to dive in with big money before he signs it. Trouble is here now these balloons have set a president whereby all agents will be advising to just sit on the contract then pick your club and pocket your signing on fee.... Waggot OUT !

That's the way it should be done. However it's nailed on if it does happen it'll be the 11th hour or after and no money will be available. Got Rhodes transfer saga written all over it this one.

That's him demonstrating how he intended to squeeze a shrinking skint fanbase between his digits.

Whilst the work is welcome i think it's pretty standard stuff most clubs have to get on with. Ewood is a bit awkward being where it is next to the river and the huge JW stand blocking out half the daylight. However when you are cancelling games and losing grass that affects players (Mowbray excuse 1631) it simply has to be done. Necessity rather than luxury and the only way to do it properly is ask the name over the door to pay the extra. They don't lease it it's their asset and their responsibility for upkeep and so it can function as it should.

Rooney was a physical beast for his age he was footballs answer to Mike Tyson so coupled with the talent he was ready. Jones looked like a 30 year playing with the kids also and Hanley was built for it at a young age. All this makes a massive difference so that is what will decide if/when Phillips is truly ready. If he hasn't the physical side of it yet he'll struggle like countless others despite whatever talent he has on the ball. I think Van Hecke last season was a good yard stick because of his raw aggression. A couple of years older than Phillips though.

That'll upset Waggots coffee cup crew. He's a salesman, a middleman, if they throw down a new mix of grass seed he'll say it's a brand new pitch, that sort of thing.

He's a corporate salesman giving it the corporate patter with zero substance or acknowledgement, it's what they do so nobody should be surprised. The VH HQ finance dept (Babu) is calling the shots they've no idea how things role in Blackburn or football they are still looking at it like another processing plant. He isn't rocking any boats either he's just here for his wages.

He'd brought his scoring up a division with Hudds hadn't he ? Either way we were an ailing second tier side supposedly looking for promotion so he was a good signing if a little overpriced at the time. The kind of signing that would have got us back up if we were managed and recruiting like a well run club. Also we ended up in the 3rd tier after we sold him.

Waggot is the guy running the corner shop across the road from the supermarket happy because some will still pay 50p more for a loaf of bread. There is no bigger picture with this guy as long as he can pay the bills a year at a time he's making a nice wage.

We aren't beating Sheff Utd off for any players money wise, hopefully the JDT factor might swing it. As long he tells them they'll be in the team if they train hard enough and aren't coming as back up or to learn off Scott Wharton for 6 months !

I think the step up over the last few years and last seasons early form has got a few down there a bit over excited. Risk v reward paid off last season in terms of us not fighting relegation after the youthful wage slashing revolution. However the post 2nd place slump and the 0-7 home beating should be serving as massive red flags. The squad now is significantly weaker than it was then. They are going down a very rocky road if they don't allow some quality and experience to be brought in.

100% this. There's a lot of hindsight going on now but the contracts were a slow burning clustfook going back years and we SHOULD have finished in the top 6 with the players we had.

The deals have gone on the table 2 years ago low balling more like, that is what has started this rot off in the first place. The key is to get these things done before players become desirable for other clubs and quite clearly there have been poor judgement calls from the manager and CEO. Along the lines of they'll never be much better than they are so the limit is about 7 grand. Meanwhile those players and their agents are looking at Ayala and co on 15 grand. That was the time to find middle ground and get a deal or two done at least but once side has pulled the drawbridge up and the other has taken offence. Then we muddle on whilst they leave it at a stalemate, all of a sudden we are doing well and the contracts are ticking down. Club starts getting twitchy and tries to re- engage but interest has been garnered elsewhere, heads are being turned and beyond are top line wages plus signing on fees and long contracts are being promised elsewhere. Too late is the cry, you've fiddled about with your balls in your pocket waiting for us to come crawling but it's not happening. All this isn't helped by rumours of the manager and his pal advising take the bigger money elsewhere, suspecting they were off as well. Thoroughly unprofessional stuff but not surprising in the slightest and this is all on Waggots watch.

I'll quite happily take that car crash chance i don't really understand the mentality of not ready particularly after the last decade. We were more ready than at any other time under this ownership and whenever or if ever we go up again there'll be carnage at times. We are so far behind a lot of others now being ready isn't really to bother about just take that chance if it comes along however it does. One season up there sorts the finances providing there is no more skullduggery and there actually is a plan. Being a yo yo club for a few years is fine by me there is more chance of getting back established building up that way. Just hoping to do a Burnley ain't going to happen here, it could have done if it started 5 years ago like it should have.

So it was said a while before we hit the top 2. I think what we can all take from this is nobody comes out smelling of roses in our eyes, not the players nor the club. Like you say it should never have got to this point not with all 3 of them anyway. The lack of strong decisive leadership and authority to make decisions is the root cause yet again, hopefully the new set up irons this out.

To say he'd happily have sold all 3 at Christmas after they'd played key parts in getting us into automatic promotion places speaks volumes of the brains and ambition. Who in their right mind would have even considered that at that point unless the baliffs were knocking. Clowns.