If you can get them low cost or on loan with a view to earning a deal those types of gambles can make more sense than multi million young player gambles in my book, other clubs go this route and have some success. Can he be any worse than dollopers like Brown, Varney etc ?

No decent forwards and no stand out defenders so no not really, we'll not mention their midfield....

Well done to everyone i'm sure it's enough to make your heads spin at times. Also nice to see that finally some of the regular stirrers and those who seek to smear the site elsewhere on social media have been reigned in a bit like the rest of us mortals who sometimes bite a bit too easily ?

He's a scout ? Odd he recommends going back to a couple of wasted talents who couldn't wait to leave the building and go and find a drinking culture elsewhere.

He should get the backing no bother then this time seeing as he told us last summer he was advising them not to go on a spending spree and give the lads of promotion a chance and new contracts instead. His slow build now needs to pick up pace a little so let's hope he hasn't watered down their expectations too much.

NO going back go forwards....

Peacock was still decent in the air when at Rovers that was his only remaining strength, his legs had deserted him long before.

Exactly, there are certain players you would stretch the wage budget for at least for a season or two and the famous 'flex' should be a two may thing if the right instant quality is gettable. I wouldn't want them to go after 3 or 4 like that in a big wages sh~t or bust for promotion effort but one or two added to this squad and some of the pointless deadwood that still clogs it up shifted out might not be so bad.

Evans was playing for a top new contract but once that was in the bag he soon reverted to neutral again so he's one who's regular place In the starting line up should be under close scrutiny. The engine room needs to be an engine room not a floppy piece of cardboard covering the defence and I think the signing of Reed along with the contract gave Evans a little bit of a kick early last season but once it was obvious Reed wasn't there to displace him permanently it was a case of as you were so not sure who'll put the pressure on him next season. Travis has great potential but is still a novice so he'll need time to get some consistency and experience he's another learning on the job a level above where he might be at at the moment. So after that we are back to the two deep lying defensive twins Rovers managers seem so obsessed with in recent years, I cringe at that thought.

I'm amazed Kean never got that one done he'd have found the perfect drinking buddy.

A centre half that was possibly more or less running the team ?

It's easy to try and comb over the issue with Conway but the bald truth is he'll never gel in next seasons 11.

It's always been the case in this division there are many bargains to be had from other places or lower down if you look hard enough and have the right people looking. Not even that though as some don't cost much or come on a free and don't have massive wages so it's a worthwhile gamble and nothing really lost as opposed to committing millions and ten grand plus per week for years. The Brereton signing just smacks of having agents finding players for you instead of scouts yet again I don't think there is any getting away from that. Mowbray is an old school manager so lets hope he's now implementing some old school ways into it. I don't think the BB signing was dodgy and it could still prove a worthwhile investment it just looks like it's going to take a few seasons. On that basis I wouldn't call it misuse of funds more misguided (again), wrong to tie up big money and commit to long contracts on that type of signing at this moment in time. Signs there is actually a player in there somewhere at the end of the season though but the manager has to carry some of the can for the lack of impact he needs to use him properly from the get go next season.

I'd be more than happy to have Mulgrew stay as a squad man but I think he falls into the category of if he stays he'll start. He was ok early this season to be fair although we were still leaking goals so the key would be how to get the best out of him. Quit Internationals would be a start but he won't and bringing him on to maybe score from set pieces sounds good but bringing him on to try and see out games doesn't. Very tricky one a player of some pedigree and certain real quality but a constant defensive weak link no doubts at all, does TM see it like that though ?

Posh gaff is Harrogate Town they don't want any riff raff once went there watching Chorley and all the blokes in the clubhouse were drinking white wine and prosecco !

This is the thing i'm sure it's better for all concerned to have say 12/13k season ticket holders than 9/10k, not a massive increase but about right for us at this level and moment in time. I think to get around that wouldn't need massive price cuts just something imaginative and some other incentives and of course the main thing as always in Blackburn show some real ambition with a couple of astute signings. Certainly better for the atmosphere and image in the stadium and better for the team and matchday takings. They've closed bits down to home fans so we only have c20k to fill so why not set about filling those bits up best they can ? Now on the flip side of the coin looking at it from the business angle I think Waggot & Charlie will have cottoned on to the fact at present levels more or less the same people renew whatever and a bit of natural wastage is balanced by a few newbies however when the team is doing ok around 2k are rocking up paying single match ticket prices with a hell of a lot paying the Waggot tax. That in itself is a bit of an earner along with good away followings when they arise so I reckon he'd be reluctant to alter that by trying to get everyone in on discounted ST's. Bites them on the arse if the team isn't doing well though and traditional big following games fall in midweek or tv !

The club also said they'd drawn up two budgets one for not much funding and one for if there is bigger funding so maybe they are just paying lip service to questions and not revealing their hand or they don't know yet but it's fair to assume they don't. I'm still a bit dubious as we've been told there was good funding in the last two windows and we were priced out of better players than we had and the manager didn't see the need to spend on anything else. Personally I thought that was just covering the fact they'd invested what was available in Brereton and again i'm personally not expecting anything other than a similar tale this time. To be fair though he'd be a bit daft to come back and say hey the owners have given me 20 million and suddenly add 50% to everyone he enquires about.

We knew straight away we'd not be able to afford Assombalonga and the like in the last window but they publically flirted with it all the way along. Not having a dig at Mowbray but he does have form for many bold words then some rapid back tracking and i'm not altogether sure it's always to do with budget. I prefer to expect underwhelming then i'll be doubly delighted if not. The name of John Ruddy is a positive though but i'll be amazed if he ends up here.

Its also been pointed out to him that the huge clubs increasing capacity and well as some traditionally big supported city clubs dropping down the pyramid completely skew this and in truth if you scratch the surface of propaganda away the picture is startlingly different. All it takes is some clubs outside the Prem who can fill or near fill their stadia to be having good seasons year on year i.e top of the champ becoming Prem x2. Us ourselves boosted crowds in league 1, Sunderland will trump that home and away this time and the likes of Bradford City still hanging around in that league when the size of them they are a championship club in all but present position. Propaganda like that is everything that is wrong with football it starts at the top of the Prem and finishes a third of the way down the championship in the eyes of the suits and that's only because of parachutes.

A straw clutching dingle don't you just love it ?

We have an honest workmanlike team with potential youngsters to fit into it, one flair player of note and one reliable but aging goal poacher couple with one and only one solid developing centre half. We don't need anymore workmanlike players particularly not for back up what we now need bolting onto this squad is a bit of steel, some pace wide Chapman or no Chapman and some much needed height and presence in the middle of defence. I cringe when I see names of grafters just because they are grafters. Time to think outside the box a bit, specialists in defence or midfield instead of multi-positionalists and a few more artists before the soldiers.

Yes the ones I recall were definitely first team pre season tournaments and cracking they were.

Remember going to the Turd 3 years on the bounce I think in late 80's / early 90's for the Lancs Cup games but don't remember any Youth games with them around then though might be wrong. Always around half the crowd from Blackburn in them and always marched in and out without being crushed by the big hairy dingles although there was always plenty bother. Finnigans 40 yarder still lives long in the memory, only thing he ever did in blue and white, I always wonder how he ever ended up here ?

Good forwards are always the most valuable and saleable assets and the key there for Burnley was sensible re-investment after each sale i'd wager, something you don't associate with our lot....yet. They must've had some hellish good scouts looking around instead of picking off agent lists, something you do associate with our lot. To think you could probably sign most of that dingle lot named for the price of one Brereton and times and prices although inflated haven't gone that daft. We need to get wise and hopefully the more independent recruitment model TM is on about does actually take shape but I certainly wouldn't rule out keep scouring the lower English leagues in favour of lower foreign ones. They need to put the making of a potential player first and foremost over potential quick value increases.

I don't think Fielding would push Raya anymore than the guy already here, waste of a wage at this stage of his career for us.