The fitness of the team has been amazing at times this season especially compared to previous ones. Yes still many similar niggling injuries but is the improvement in match fitness down to something or someone new ? Or is it just younger hungrier team with more desire ? Or has TM shook up the training methods after getting himself on stronger tea bags. I posed a question a few times in the past what the highly rated Chris Rush brought to the team seeing as we had poor overall fitness compared to a lot of others. Coincidence ?

Depends how you look at it as our ceo preferred to fleece home fans just so he could fleece away fans. I suspect the slight about turn has been forced on him and the middle ground is what we see now. In regards to Reading we are talking about visiting fans here and if you want to compare to Rovers, well we have more than enough room in the DE to offer similar to visitors.

Only just calmed down enough to comment on this now. It's not gone unnoticed how we tend to get one judge calling it way off when it's a huge fight and close. Long suspected it's a premeditated tactic just to try and make sure the result tips the way the outside influences want it to. Common on US cards in the past and certain Euro ones you could guarantee it. Sadly crept in over here way too often in recent times just to be passed off as incompetence. Bent ? Paid off ? No i don't think so just more likely heavily influenced or peer pressure, although Saturday quite simply bottle jobs playing to home crowd.

An away club looking after opposition season ticket holders, that's a new one. Very refreshing although a lot of travelling hardcores probably aren't ST holders so a tad unfair with the pricing maybe.

There's a family area available to ST holders i think.

By radical i mean something a little bit more than 'price freeze' for early buyers !!!

Don't really mind this one other clubs do similar West Brom v Rovers ? I remember this happening when Williams was in charge. Although it's not the groundsweller most of us would prefer it will stick another thousand on i suppose. If not doing tenner tickets etc this season means they are going to go for something really radical with next seasons STs i'll take it.

I'm just assuming the club just didn't fancy 3 or 4 players at once jumping from a 3/5 grand a week to 8 or 10. Players themselves were probably expecting good offers and a bit of parity with more established pay graders. Their agents sticking their oars in will want the money the likes of Dack and Gallagher are on. And here we are but i'm pretty sure if they'd made some serious offers in the first place one or two would have signed. Too late once they realize you never really wanted to pay them better money in the first place. Would their desire this season have waned had they been given double money 3 year deals in summer though ? It's an interesting conundrum as so far it hasn't affected performances, quite the opposite in some cases. Next season will be a mess though losing so many influences and good players so lets not kid ourselves.

Can't say Gally doesn't give blood for the cause though, coughing it up the other week, pouring out of his hooter last week. His commitment levels will get him a few goals if nothing else does but sadly most of his in the thick of it is way outside the box. There's a Bolton version Kevin Davies in there if only someone could bring it out in him,.

The double decker thing looked to have done ok to be honest, must've been a thousand in the DE half. Although essentially a buy one get one free rather than bundle. doubt the 99er will have similar take up.

Probably insulted with the offer and being told it was that or nothing, sounds like one of the parties has blanked the other. I know where my money is, Ryan may or may not get a better team but i bet he finds it quite easy to get a good pay rise from what hes been on.

Why does he look like a competent left back whenever i see him playing for Luton. Yet in all his time at Ewood he rarely looked like he had left league 1 ?

We've often done well for support down in the smoke when things are going well so it isn't really a fair marker of cost/attendance in general. Day/weekend trippers, family outing down there, London branch plus other exiled fans plus it being the Cottage a quaint little famous old ground. I'd lay odds on if this was in the midlands or north east and ten quid less we wouldn't take that many. Still it's a great effort and i hope there's something to show for it.

Yes seeing as we've been getting it in the neck all week for not taking thousands to Sheff U. Back to being glory hunters this week no doubt.

I hope everyone calling it a free hit doesn't come on taking pot shots at team and manager if they approach it in that way. We should be going there with a point on the mind at least, lets make it an unpleasant afternoon for them.

He's 21 he has a lot of strength to gain yet Hendry was wiry at that age and even Lenihen has only got to grips with the physical stuff in the last few years. Bags of potential this lad.

No such thing as a free hit if you want progress but the other side of the coin most will be happy not to lose by more than 3 goals ! They've battered a few teams because they are good but really did a number on us because our style suited them. They pressed our inexperienced back line all night and played neat football in the space ahead of our midfield. A real lesson in how to dissect opposition. So for me i'd just go and pack the middle, dig in and try and grind something out.

Still poor, as you say a ten grand a week very experienced player should be able to crack it with both feet in a position like that.

Thought Johnson did a decent job although his miss was very poor but it seems Mowbray wanted him pushing on a bit more and trying to get in the box. So as mentioned he was cream crackered after 60 mins but yesterday was a good team performance. Everyone did their bit including Gallagher and the subs.

Me going off previous evidence. Lets stay realistic.

All beatable as long as it isn't Bournemouth.

We will never ever spend millions on defenders again under this ownership model. Forget JPVH after this season there'll be another along next season or maybe our own Carter back. At some point the luck will run out with these borrowed center defenders.

Think he got it right today as imo second half we looked to draw them out a bit more instead of penning them in with possession football. Maybe it was just them growing in confidence a bit but i'll give him the credit and say it was something mentioned at half time. Left Khadra and Dolan on for once when one or both often get hooked just when they are doing ok. Subs opened it up a bit and we should have killed it off. Break out the darjeeling and extra double drizzle cake tonight Tone you've earned it.

That was inexcusable really but we'll let him off just this once as Dolan probably would've done the same. It's something that really needs ironing out when we are so desperate for goals.

Are you the guy who drones on the microphone at Ewood now, get behind the lads......FFS! Decent turn out today all things considered and the crowd did well second half.