The circus for corporate gain and media publicity has been tried, tested and failed here and has led us to where we are. Thinking out of the box is one thing we've never done for 30 years since when Jack did it as he took over. It'll never happen now though previous regimes have only had their own interests at heart and pocketing the club/owners cash. This present one has got itself far too comfortable to rock any boat and threaten that. Even John Williams lost his bottle as time went on not backing Hughes towards the end then Big Sam when he wanted to recreate some of his Bolton days.

As always in rip off Britain money will come first so they'll find a way to fit the Prem in. Championship in wages terms if not football or profile is quicky becoming Prem 2 so that'll follow. The only safe sensible thing to do is write it off then go again next season starting when it's safe to do so, even if a few months have to be done behind doors. Not being able to crow about Liverpool winning it and maybe even Leeds getting promoted will make many in power do their utmost to get it on again. Get those cheques in the bank first and foremost !

The common sense approach in the best public interest for peoples health and safety, footballers etc included would be to write it off and start afresh late summer/early autumn. When we can see if this thing is finally under control and not a moment before, that's what matters. Even if they have to do the first half of next season behind closed doors or severely restricted numbers. Otherwise just leave this season till August and finish it behind closed doors for the sake of sporting rivalry to sort out all the champs/ups and downs. Then have a mini season where reduced games just playing each other once or split North & South lges. Instead of ups and downs maybe offer a points bonus to take into the next proper season.

Irrelevant as far as SKY are concerned but i'm sure clubs will come up with something for ST holders. Ours might carry a Waggot tax though.....

Football Without Fans..... If SKY can sell it and people will watch it they'll be all over it make no mistake. Could be the start of a whole new ball game, games kicking off at 5pm weekday evenings or Saturday morning 10 am. They want to fill potentially popular viewing slots not stadiums. News at 10 or Liverpool v Spurs anyone ?

The inexperienced coach brought in as a manager delivered Matt Jansen, Short, Gillespie and Carsley. Blew the socks off Roy's recruitment.

It'll pass but no one knows how long to clear it completely or if it'll have manifested itself into a different form by next winter.

They'll be cooking up already the best way to exploit what's left. They'll have suffered as well, some might even have to try and earn an honest wage now.

There's many risks be taken just going around in everyday life. Sitting at a football match isn't usually associated with them but now it might be a risk in itself. Not the time to playing the hard man this one doesn't come at you square on.

Real potential for early 80's style gates again when you put all the factors together. Maybe not 4/5 k but certainly regular 7 thousand or so attendancies.

One of the best players he signed in my opinion was Perez for about 3 million but he didn't know what to do with him so another wasted.

The guy really didn't know the British market at all i remember the Dailly thing. Hodgson came out with something on the lines of iv'e seen a player today who i think would be great for us but will cost a lot of money. After we'd played them first game of the season, then up pops Dailly for about 5 million. Him, Blake for about 4.5, Davies 7 million plus a few others so yes the worse business of any manager at Ewood with money to spend. Absolutely terrible in fact as even the vastly inexperienced Kidd got some quality in with the money he had. Awful as he was he still had to carry the can for a lot of Roys bad work.

The rumour I heard was a caught with the pants down job. So the missues demanded to go back home. As always though that type of stuff was standard gossip back in the day.

I think some of his big money crap signings were the biggest reason. I've heard some of the established stars were less than impressed by what he was bringing in. As for the other side of it it's true his methods were different. They got a good response in the beginning with some of the best football and fittest looking Rovers players I've seen. They couldn't keep it up though and he couldn't seem to put his finger on what was needed so just flogged them harder. Then he started desperately throwing the money about as plan b. Started a lot of long lasting rot that did.

A lot of Hodgsons over payed for trash wouldn't have looked out of place in the Kean/Anderson era. Guy pissed tens of millions of Jacks cash straight down the pan.

Watching those highlights back in the morning gets the blood pumping for the rest of the day. Not difficult to see what's missing now when you look at the passion in that on the pitch in the stands and in the dugout. You used to get exciting 1-1 even 0-0 end to end draws whereas now from the first min it seems all about cancelling each other out. Down the past ten years football and this club in particular has been sanitised and strangled to death footballs played on a whiteboard in managers offices. What happens on the pitch is just going through the motions too often and being happy with narrow defeats because we can 'take the positives' into the next game and on and on. Give me some blood and thunder anyday over attempts at tippy tappy sideways and backwards to keep stat obsessed managers and coaches happy. Look at Parkes and McKay in the dugout railroading players to get back into position. The players themselves seeming pissed off every time there's a loose ball of missed shot and letting each other know about it. Non of this head down, walk back shoulder shrugging.

I agree he seems a sound lad and when he first came after a bad start he settled a bit under keeper coach John Keeley. Soon as he left he seemed to go backwards rapidly. In truth he fit the GB stereotype, nice lad, possibly a bit of potential but in the end too many weaknesses and needed feeding a bit more red meat. Bad time to go to Sunderland though but very poor signing from Graysons point of view but did us a favour. I'm sure Steele would be more comfortable at a plodding lge 1 club as no 1 regular.

Think Stoke only averaged about 6 to 8k at the time. Crowd was probably about 14 thousand so not far off half the gate might be a fair estimate. Sounds funny looking back but I'll admit as a skinny teen it was a bit scary at the time in there.

Remember being in that side at Stoke packed in so tight from about tens mins before kick off my feet were off the ground as they swayed forwards, backwards and sideways, i'm 6ft ? God knows how many were actually in there but it must've been way over capacity and it was very tasty afterwards. Always was down there around then though. Think we played quite well that day but contrived to cock it up i think they just ran out of steam it was a hell of a run. To not go up after half a season unbeaten is gutting in itself never mind the dreaded play offs. Great times though.

I'd say what comes out of all this mess is just the type of job suited to TM. Probably a small squad decimated by sales and loans going back will leave gaps to be plugged by whatever we have and can scrabble about for through the little black book. Aim, survive in midtable rotating what you have, keeping your fav squaddies with contract extensions, getting more youth in the team and a viable excuse for square pegs in round holes.

Palace 89 or i'd have taken a drubbing like the UTD one that pushed Allardyce to the trapdoor pre Wigan away to get rid of Kean before him and his cohorts blagged a contract extension.

Big Al blazed one over at Anfield as well, the type he'd normally bury with his eyes shut.

Perish the thought Steele ends up back here ?

The way SKY etc and some clubs have gone about it down the years it's as if they aren't bothered about a crowd in the stadium anyway. Stupid kick off times, ticket prices even the bigger non Prem teams don't fill the ground for a lot of live games. We've even said Venkys aren't bothered sometimes with the way they've ignored fans and had the attitude we can afford to do what we want. Well now footballs chickens might be coming home to roost. All of a sudden fans are important.

Predicted we'll over pay for him in an undisclosed fee not long after he signed, i'll stick to that. Worth a punt at sensible money and wages but that's unlikely to be the case although after all this i'm not sure we'll be affording anyone.