I remember Mahonney playing in one of Mowbrays early games here and really struggling to get to grips with it. V Barnsley at home a shocking performance all round and i might be wrong but seen to recall them starting him on one side one half and the other side second half ! Whether that had anything to do with him not fancying it here anymore i don't know but i'm sure he got the standard TM young player treatment at the time which didn't go down too well. I wouldn't be adverse to him coming back to be honest because he has a bit of flair and runs with the ball something badly missing here at times. I would however hold out no hope at all he'd be used correctly regularly.

One of those modern day multiclub fans !

But not Wheelton......

Pretty standard for anyone from Bolton.

Interesting stuff although i'm not keen on the 'everyone involved' in the signings i think there's been plenty of that here ! Can see a lot of sense in what they are doing down there though but just like the first team tactics Rovers has to decide which way it's going to go and stick to it. Burnley/Sheff U .. then get a group together like that and pragmatically physically fight your way up. Watford/Brentford -- Have a football style and stick to it, let somebody who knows what they are doing operate the recruitment and have a good head coach who can work that way. We are constantly caught in the middle it seems when really what they should be doing here is having their own Blackburn Rovers by Skill and hard Work identity. Using all the means they have to invest in players/youth to build a team for promotion. Mowbray himself has said that in the past and some ways we are on the road so why change. Promotion challenge first with the funds given and all this investment model, production line stuff second. Why oh why hold it back in the slightest....

Apparently we now want to follow the Brentford model, just need some with the brains to do it.

We were still able to sign players under embargo as long as they were on less than 10k pwk. I can't see where i'm questioning the overall expendure so not sure why you're bringing that up i'm on about business done in Jan or lack of it. The promotion season i think they sanctioned some stuff to help us kick on, either side of that not much in the winter window. I agree any faultering in terms of overall spending and where its gone under TM is right at his door but in Jan we should've done something in the relegation season, we should've done something last season and something now might really end the season well. Same excuses we've heard several years past are being trotted out again now though so who's to blame if there's no action ? It isn't FFP !

Like they invested in Jan in the fight against relegation..... or a play off push last season ??? Come off it we've heard it all before.

Just trying to keep everyone happy and a bit of parity sometimes is my guess. Only a hunch but iv'e thought it before because you cannot fathom some of the swapping and changing at times before any injury list etc. I assumed he's found a formula to get as many involved over the season as possible whilst getting games and value in them, blooding youngsters and gathering enough points to keep the wolves at bay. Not an easy task but he's a crafty sod imo and knows just how far he can push it. A lot of gaffers will try and operate this way but here it should be all about the best first 11 getting as many points as poss week after week and nothing else. These opportunities of good budgets and fees for signings don't last we've seen it before and its been wasted many times before. At some point in the very near future he has to press the 'go for it' button.

Iv'e said a few times that some Rovers players contracts might be heavily weighted with appearance bonuses etc. Hence the relentless rotation for often no obvious reason.

How many things are they looking into ?

Really wouldn't surprise me if they got him on that much by applying the legendary 'flex' in order to get it signed off.

Call me sceptical but it all has a feel of how it went last time when Shaw kept saying they were all aware of it but monitoring it closely. Then we were right in it, owners (allegedly) had to turn the taps off and the club had to eat itself by cashing in a line of assets. To bring wages down, reduce losses and pay down external debt. We were told by some that there was no choice and the owners wanted to invest heavily but couldn't. Everything was blamed on the admittedly ridiculous FFP but they knew it was there just like now and they know the rules. In the middle of all that the usual people moving players out and worse ones in whilst getting their %%% No doubt similar vultures are circling again now, i wonder what advice they give ?

A trip to Iceland would be far more expensive though ! Ironic really when sunshine is cheaper than frozen weather, that's global warming for you though.

I just don't see the logic in spending 5 million quid on 6' 3" striker then sitting in a video room all week trying to make him into a right sided midfielder !!! How about finding a supply line for him and looking to get the best out of his athletic ability instead of playing on the fact he'll gallop up and down the wing willingly ?

You've opened yourself up there pal considering the last 10 years at Ewood ? I wouldn't be too sure that a few on here aren't pros, ex pros or involved in football either.

Our scouts will be in Portugal via the old SEM offices by the sounds of it.

Let's see a settled side and play to the players strengths. Lower on numbers with a few of our arguably best players out but.... It won't impact as much if we gel as a team and let Holtby fill in Dacks role for a while. Even better if we get an actual right winger to finally give the side some much needed balance. Rovers 2. Rangers. 1

Probably.

He got paid off with a nice wad as well the absolute shyster. I really hope he's never set foot in Ewood since !

I think there's a lot of buck passing on the Darwen End situation. I'm sure the manager and players would've preferred the 3/500 regular home fans to stay at that end giving the team a bit of support also !

Style over substance being pushed first is what i'm saying really, solid workmanlike midfielders are in my opinion more likely to make the grade in the championship over lightweight flair. You've got to give them all a fair crack of the whip obviously.

Agree here whenever iv'e seen them he's always looked like a steady player to me the type who you'd expect to be around it at first team. Nothing flash he's just always looked ok which at that level should mean something although nothing flash then he doesn't catch the eye i suppose. Too much emphasis on who might be worth big money over those who might turn out solid but unspectacular perhaps ?

Hopefully, i think they've missed a trick at Rovers quite a bit in the past not loaning these types out for some games though. Some get shunted out quick whilst others get kept around for the odd taste of action. To me if you can arrange them somewhere lower down they'll get regular games right now that surely helps, especially the character building side of it. Then again i suppose it's easier to pick up bad habits elsewhere.

If they'd lost on Saturday - ' They are off on the piss, don't give a ####' !!! Win 5 0 ' This will set them up for 2nd half of season, enjoy lads ' ! ? To be fair we usually come back off these things in better shape than after International breaks, at least they are doing some training and being monitored.