In the case of the loans it's just another comfortable way to manage as far as i see it. Yes they are always backing their own judgement but if it doesn't work they can be sent back. And they can always say well they came from a top club so we expected better and put the onus of blame on the kids themselves. When it does work, as it has in a few cases recently then everyone gets a pat on the back. And the sob story about not being able to keep them is ready made. Things get more complicated when you have to risk actually signing academy cast offs.

That was just his latest get out of jail free card being played. As we've often commented on in his time here his narrative changes to fit the situation. Every time it does he manages to do it in a way that projects whatever is happening at the time was always part of the plan. Or 'journey' if you like. Once it was clear they'd fooked the season up he turned it so it was all about development of individuals all along. I'm expecting similar this season it's just taking him a bit longer to crank into gear.

That's exactly what i mean they/we follow the club out of loyalty. That allows the clowns in paid positions to keep taking the piss although to be fair it's probably just a reflection of their abilities.

People who steer us into these positions are paid a hell of a lot of money to so called avoid doing just that. Yet fans are expected to keep following these clowns on the payroll just out of blind loyalty.

Problem is we are that lightweight that we need these kids with bits of quality to help keep our heads above water. Could be argued that last season might have been a bigger mess without Elliots contributions. Season before Tosin helped us to midtable, relying soley on our kids in this div is a v dangerous game imo.

I wonder how much of it was down to Stuart Harvey ? Obviously the manager has to agree to use these guys but i'd have thought most of the groundwork is done by the recruitment dept.

Looking at the Blackpool signing another thing struck me in regards to our manager. Many would have us believe he invented these kind of loan deals and only him being here makes them happen at Rovers. More absolute hogwash this div is littered with them. Preston had a Liverpool defender last season who claimed their right back spot. Impressive enough for both club and player that they've got him back again. Fair enough Elliot turned out a bit special but he grabbed more headlines because he's English. There are deals out there to be done for any club though you don't need a midtable Middlesbrough Messiah just to pull it off.

Clubs like that are set up to withstand managerial change, they have proper structure in place. Change is all part and parcel of football and a gaffer can leave or be sacked at a moments notice for any number of reasons. Relying on them soley to almost completely run the whole show at clubs the size of championship ones is plain crazy. Even worse when you allow them to employ all their pals and deal with their pals. Not here though, that's the norm and the blueprint for how not to prosper.

If they flogged BB and Rothwell for 4 mill combined and kept Armstrong etc and staved off full embargo i'd take that.

The attitude of it was the worst thing, those kind of season ruining near relegation type runs are ok with this manager. As long as he himself thinks performances are ok and the likes of Arma are developing into 15 million pound players it's all fine. Blood boiling stuff.

The word a while ago was the EFL had the clubs projections for the near future and needed assurances on one or two things. Hopefully thats been boxed off now i suppose the clues will be in the details of the accounts.

We are 10 years behind Swansea in our transition to their style and the lush reseeded pitch suited them more than us. So chalk that one off already, i fancy a point at Millwall though.

Better player than when he came in ? Hardly, everyone was wondering what happened to the kid who'd look decent for Forest playing how many games ? You know the thing that prompted some at Ewood to think it was a good idea to bid against themselves and pay 6/7 million. It's taken Chile and a different enviroment to finally find him again.

But if someone can kid our owners that they might the lad might be put on 25k pwk for the next 4 years !

Probably is when they've somewhat cornered their market and virtually control it on several fronts. That's why they think they are always right and paying 15 million a year to cover mistakes will solve everything.

There's going to be several clubs linked with Brereton now he's at the nearing a new contract stage. The good old 'flex' that waggot and a few on here championed in terms of BB, big fee small wages. Will be well and truly put to the test now because he'll be wanting a substancial payrise probably. I'm not one of those who bought into him only being on a few grand a week i'd wager it was double figures or as near as damn it. So Rovers will be having kittens now other renewing it. Hes improved but he ain't worth a big hike in pay no way but at the same time if he leaves they wave bye bye to all that stupid fee they paid. Maybe the best scenario would be someone stumping up a few million for him now.

That's how i see it as he had a free run last season without the crowd. I'd like to think having fans in would've helped against the bad run, it would also have put a rocket up them if we were witnessing that in person. He'll not last long if the crowd turns although it's not something i'd like to see. Certainly not if it started dragging on whilst he waited to be sacked for a pay off as they don't seem to work that way. Several thousand miles away is a very handy void when the flak starts. I hope he realizes that.

He had a nibble at him last season and clearly got the manager rattled. Wouldn't be surprised if there was an off the record strop by the club.

Yep, most of this seasons deadwood clearance will have been forced on him. I'm sure he can be ruthless when it comes to keeping his job though.

What happened to the vibrant young team playing on the front foot he was building a couple of summers ago ? This guy just says the first thing that suits the moment when there's an interviewer in front of him. Of course the expectation will be less, it won't be less on the 12 million boys nor any other good player we have. Nor should it be ! As for him anybody expecting him to deliver anything above 11th ever needs to lower them.

Nail on head He'd need 60 million just to break the 10th place ceiling and he's already conceeded he'd need 100 million to get anywhere near the top spots.

If anything it just goes to show we could end up existing just to a serve a purpose for other clubs loanees. Nice when they do alright for us for a brief spell but it's no way to try and build a club up. These lads should be the icing on the cake or final jigsaw pieces to a top 6 squad. Yet we are in danger of them being our lifelines for a lower midtable finish.

Working with Konpany in Belgium or Mowbray in the Championship is a no brainer for THB. Can't blame him for that he'd only ever have ended up back here if there were no other decent suitors. Just one of those things, not unexpected and i don't think it's really a reflection on Rovers too much.

Kean, Berg, Appleton, Bowyer, Lambert, Coyle, Mowbray Really is Roy Keane any worse than any of those ? He might be no better than a couple of them but that's our market. Like i said earlier i think at various points in the last 10 years he'd have been a good shout. Right now though probably not as there could be another Ipswich scenario about to unfold here. Give a guy like him a decent squad though and a little bit of room for maneuver like Mowbray has had the last 3 seasons and he might surprise a few. Being a venky/pasha/agent yes man though would always be a sticking point. I'd love to be a fly on the wall though.

Drunk or sober it ain't complicated but it rarely happens at Rovers.