Burnley must be a rarity these days if they are paying the manager more than the players.

Celebrities before they've done remotely anything to earn that status even Z list. What a world !

If Raya costs any more goals through his own cock ups this season he should be benched and stay there let the other lad se the season out see if he's worth keeping. There's been too many this season despite him being young and learning on the job or whatever. The basics are the basics and he should be grasping them by now and if they don't sign another good keeper for the squad in summer they should upgrade the keeper coach. Time for grabbing the bull by the balls enough of the nicey nicey old pals stuff if we want to get anywhere.

Prime real estate in a tourist town might be the added attraction there. Thee'd be plenty interested in Rovers and plenty who could afford the present running costs BUT the Vs would have to take the loans away with them and write off all but about 25 million of share capital. ?

Probably reflects TMs faith in him as a centre half as well as a left back ?

What the hell did Williams do to warrant a three year deal ? Not like we are protecting an investment in that one. Who's his agent ?

Bowyer or someone advising then seemed to have a policy of looking at the benches of other ambitious Championship clubs and lower end Prem clubs. They had to pay a bit of money and decent championship wages but it worked well to the extent we got some decent if inconsistent players more than capable of going straight into a starting 11. It also paid huge dividends a few years later after they'd got plenty regular games under their belts in terms of sell on fees. Of course we know what contributed to that policy not paying off in league position but i'm totally amazed at why it was abandoned in favour of more and more proven journeymen second & third tier plodders barring a few loan signings from higher up.

Agent Dunn

He cited Millwall and the likes when we came up saying it is possible to do ok on a small budget, he probably got a bigger one but lathered it on his squads new contracts and down payment on Brereton and Armstrong. He then cited the Preston model after they spanked us but he's already invested a fortune in a kid who isn't ready and the lower league punts like nobbers do where injury prone and he doesn't like playing them anyway. Now he's on about the Sheff U model but as pointed out we are worlds away we more resemble a lesser version of PNE but again as pointed out both those clubs have a strategy that matches what they do on the pitch and the signings they make whether punts or first teamers are coming in for a specific job. That isn't happening here and never really has under Venkys no matter who's in the gaffers seat although Mowbray is taking it to new levels. He's a mixed up kid is our Tone !

Seems we are at the point where a 1-0 or 2-1 defeat instead of 4-1 or 5-2 is going to be a cause for a positive reaction ... Says a lot about the current situation sadly. What happened to us drawing every other game ? We'll be jumping through hoops and handing out new contracts again if we managed to draw 2 on the bounce at this rate !!

Usually hate International breaks they always seem to come at a bad time for Rovers and we are always docile coming out of them. In the recent past a collection of players busy on Int duty and others generally living it up if Insta posts are to believed may explain this. However this time I think the break might have done us a favour and may help stop that losing cycle. Time to reset the watch.. Villa 2 Rovers 2

We've heard similar before from other managers under Venkys and they've usually been covering for the fact there wasn't any money for decent cash buys probably after they'd been promised it. What looks to have happened here is they've committed surplus funds in this seasons budget or whatever the financial backers have said they'd provide right now into the first instalments on Brereton. I just think they are covering that up to save face and as for future signings TM did indicate that the signing of BB might be front loaded from the future sale of Dack which he more recently changed to sell Dack maybe to reinvest in two or three others. It's all reverting to type from previous managers under these lot after he somehow prized a bit out of them to fund last seasons promotion tilt and signings like GB in his first season with supposedly the play offs being the aim. Then the door was shut again and I think it is now.

I think the closet plausible thing I've heard to this theory is they genuinely believe they've done nothing wrong and aren't accountable for the way things ended up because they've continued to fund it, they can afford it and in their minds it's an act of generosity which they'll keep doing until something comes right. We know football doesn't work like that at all and it's taken two sets of auditors to finally make them see that but to actually get things really going it'll take more than what we have at present which seems to be a settling in the armchairs for a period of stability whilst another team is grown to sell. That'll keep the middlemen happy and as long as the club isn't causing them daily grief it'll keep the owners happy and the bank when transfer income starts again. They can then dip in and out of it as their time and interest/impulses allow them safe it the knowledge it's stable for a bit. Then they might wake up one morning back in league 1 !

McCarthy & Samba were regulars around some Manchester and Cheshire nightspots during their time at Rovers, they're footballers it's what they do. Not saying it's right but its been in the fabric of the English game for generations. Part and parcel of their profile now is Instagram & twitter I don't doubt that the more posts/ followers/likes/celebrity pals they have the more attractive they become to some sponsors.

It does seem to have veered between the two although not sure there's much in that other than it being Venky land so when he's doing his own thing he's manager but when he's being 'advised' what to do he's a head coach or some other jiggling about. As pointed out on here before they made a big announcement that a new team was being put in place upstairs only to go quiet on it for months then when pressed announce the same people in virtually the same roles. Only real item of difference being the shadowman becoming officially the middleman.

His wages will be used on a loan and yep about a million or so will get spent probably on a couple of Rothwell type squad men that might come good and could be sold again further down the line. They'd also likely only come out of TMs previous players contact book or from a certain couple of agents client lists ! If we lose Dack we really need to become a pragmatic hard to beat team because we sure as hell won't create much off the cuff so to speak.

Hmm ... Do we want people in India to A) Eat more chicken fuelling the mass culling but enabling a football club to sign more Bradley Dacks and waste more on human donkeys and long term gambles and continue giving agents license to print money ? or B ) Stop eating them altogether ending the slaughter and cruel farming practises, make the producers go bust thus (hopefully) freeing a football club from their vice like death grip ???? Tough one !

The main hope I had with Mowbray when he came in was of him revamping the midfield that had been stagnant for years especially after Lowe departed. Sadly he was replaced by someone a bit better but very similar although it was good enough for lge 1 it's mostly been the same old shite back in this league except for a brief spell when Travis emergence and Smallwoods suspension shook things up a bit. Whilst those options remain guys like Mowbray will always revert to them and if it worked and they protected the back line well you'd say ok I understand but it rarely does with the system he plays around it. It'll be the same next season unless there is a radical overhaul which is unlikely but to be honest i'm sick and tired of it we've had the same approach in the majority of games for about 5 years now. I'm not an Evans hater but he's been the one constant in this and to be honest if he was as good as the people at Ewood seem to think he is someone would've bid 3 or 4 million for him seasons ago. Then again he's never had a manager with enough nous to pair him with someone who compliments his style it always has to be someone who can do the things he can't.

Agreed although nothing wrong with Chris Taylor he was what he was but yeah that's quite a reality check really. I'll take Samuel, Armstrong and even the prospect of Brereton any day over that lot so we have moved forwards a bit. Just need the manager to finally figure out the best thing to do with them to really move on.

Fair point but he could still have been utilised better there were plenty times he should have been first choice sub to come on but wasn't leading to the old argument in that era of trying to see games out instead of trying to turn a draw into a win. A major reason we never really threatened the top 6 when maybe we should have, not all resting on just using King of course.

Him and Rhodes played a few games together up front and did ok although I might be wrong but they could have both ended up 0-0 but they were a handful together with King being busy and pressing/chasing back. I remember thinking it might be a decent partnership I think Rhodes dropped a little deeper with the plan probably being try and play King in where possible. Didn't quite work but they linked up well Rhodes had his limitations but intelligence wise he was a good player. King I just don't think his face fit here under GB and he was the one and only Berg signing although who brought him in and what kind of deal it was god only knows given the chaos of that period. It's another in the odd file though for sure and despite his often non existent end product you'd have to be mad to constantly leave out that kind of pace and ability to go past people turning defence into attack and stretching the opposition. There was so much there to work with. Gaz though like Tony was always a bit terrified of that kind of flair when he had his plodding favs fit and available.

That's the way TM manages though so it won't change anytime soon he's just another 'modern' manager who doesn't seem to believe in horses for courses and plays his squad rather than best team week in week out.

You obviously haven't watched much of Samuel ! I hope he gets fit again but for me it's a case of prove yourself useful or pack up and go we need another goal threat upfront and he's a poor striker end of but there's always a place in the squad for a big grafter up front so he needs to become that. Knowing Mowbray he'll pla him on the wing again then back slap him with a new contract.

My guess is it'll end up a 50/50 toss between investing a bit more and trying to move on another notch or staying as we are with minimal summer activity and trying to grow the team another 6-12 months then cash in on it again to plug the financial holes etc. Depends on who shouts loud enough and long enough to have their advice taken on board although if we are being run by accountants option B will be the favourite.