A tell all book needs producing 'Memoirs of a Moderator' !

A few out in the wide world love smearing this board elsewhere yet regularly lurk amongst us, know thine enemy ....?

All about levels.....

I actually think we play some decent stuff at times particularly in the final 3rd on the counter we just waste so many good chances and rely far too much on one steady goal scorer and one creative player. It just needs another striker who knows where the net is - they don't all cost millions and earn 50k pwk at this level - and it needs some solid defenders and that has been the case ever since before we went down. My main gripe at him centres around that he's had windows and money to come up with something but not only hasn't he but he doesn't really seem to have put much stock into it at all. I don't buy into all this bemoaning the fact we can't afford Assambalonga and Austin they knew that from the start of the windows not just in the last few days it's just deflective stuff. They should have been scouring the planet for these guys other clubs seem to turn up players who can do ok they always seem to score against us ! There are other issues but that's just the way he manages so we expect it now and have to accept he'll never change, that goes against him with a few but it isn't a sackable offence at this stage. It has seen him fall on his sword at numerous other clubs after a few years though so the warning signs were always there. Massive summer but it's not all down to him the button pushers have to back him and for the rest of this season the players owe him big time for the faith he puts in them.

Aye Mark Hughes.. The same one who played here and helped us to promotion to the Prem then helped us win a league cup and stay up, the same one who came back to us as his first full time managerial appointment and kept us up again after sorting Souness mess then delivered a host of great players out of thin air for not much money which led us to some high placed finishes and trips around Europe. The Mark Hughes who left everyone gutted when he took Citys filthy money and the one who since he left the club has never been quite the same. Perish the thought we should covet such a return when he suddenly finds himself out of work and we are owned by rich people we allegedly have ambition to return this club to the big time ! Then again I suppose we aren't allowed to dream and hope if we don't get 25k+ every week (well when we are doing really well) ... ?

Income from promotion has just gone back up 5 or 6 million guaranteed so balances that outlay somewhat. And for billionaires your right it's not peanuts it's a grain of sand.

Changing 5 key first team players all at once for 5 new ones isn't a slow build it's a big change and that will take time to bed in that's why this window just gone was important.

Player development imo it often happened under GB and we know that despite the usual superficial words about building a promotion team they were really developing players to sell on. I fear we are going down the same route again now as now just as then if you want to get the best out of the ones you have and build a good settled side to grow into top 6 contenders you play the best suited players in their best positions to compliment your preferred system. That rarely happens under TM even last season but we were strong enough to get away with it, I refuse to believe he is imcompetent so for me he's doing it with a lot of these guys for other reasons.

Instead of giving them nice bonuses as a reward for promotion and then the carrot of a nice new championship contract in summer they go around dishing nearly all of them new deals tying them to us but us to them for several more years. Some needed doing understandably but some really should've been given an opportunity to see if they were worth it at this level. I see a lack of serious action this summer unless there is big money coming in and a desperate need to replace, even then we could see the taps stay off after the outlay on Armstrong and that there other expensive gamble. Summer is indeed going to shape the next year or two.

They've paid 1.75 and whatever the first instalments on BB were, something similar i'd imagine so an outlay of of around 3-3.5 million over the summer and Jan windows so far - peanuts mate ? As for your other point yep totally agree and there's only one door that lies at - Mr Complicator.

Rodwell had one good game and scored in another but looked average before that and poor since yet many would've had him tied to a 3 year contract on the back of about 140 mins decent defending. Square pegs for square holes please if they are going to tie up that kind of money, Wes Brown he ain't but the answer to our defensive problems he isn't either. Both him and Mulgrew are quality footballers but they aren't quality defenders.

That scenario has been banded about a bit recently and i'm beginning to suspect that despite what he says there wasn't any funds worth spending because it really wasn't enough to improve the team and I don't mean the Assombalongas of this world. We've had this before under these lot with managers saying they're keeping it dry when really there wasn't enough powder to set off a firework. Some of the stuff he's been coming out with recently sounds more and more like he's pleading with the owners for significant investment whilst trying to pacify fans, again not unusual under this ownership. After all the pay rises,contract extensions including his own and the signing of Brereton & Armstrong I think he might have been told that's your lot and he fears it'll be the same in summer. Just a hunch based on previous things here.

And some at the club will then deflect the blame onto fans again to save their own arses, fans will turn on fans again there's already loads out there and on here who just can't wait for that from their lofty perches, usually an armchair 100 miles away or on a different continent. We really don't want a return to those days so everyone needs to hold their nerves and accept it as a bad run there was bound to be a few although it can't go on. Next three games are vital and the ones to judge but it is fair to say Mowbray needs to up his game considerably and get angry instead of this shoulder shrugging every week, he's contributed to it as have the players.

The chances of them appointing someone better in terms of on the pitch stuff are very slim they'll just go down the usual route of one of whichever clients their advisors present them with that'll never change under this lot. They just got lucky with Mowbray it's as simple as that and for the off the pitch stuff you really would struggle to get anyone better than him he was the right man at the right time. As for how could Blackburn Rovers attract better ? Well we could it's utter @#/? to think we couldn't especially the shape TM and the boys have now got the club in. What they have to realise though is they just will not achieve it on the cheap just look at the Lambert fiasco and Coyle titanic stupendous stupid disaster. If a manager says he can get promotion with this squad or by spending peanuts or just wages on loans he's either lying or deluded. As always the problem isn't attracting a better calibre of manager to Blackburn Rovers the problem is venkys and their friends in low places !

He was evolving it helped by the emergence of Travis but when you push on more and play a more open style you're always at risk of shipping goals on the counter especially with our defence. Thing is you have to persist with it and take the odd spankings on the chin then if it doesn't work go back to a more pragmatic defensive style for a game or two looking to grind a few results out and settle things down again. Can we say he's done that ? No he's just spinning the tombola and experimenting whilst giving people games to keep the camp happy. We hand uncle Gaz now I think we have uncle Tone - that fist half was shocking in many many ways it wasn't just because Boro are stronger than us or we looked particularly nervous they just didn't turn up and didn't really looked arsed - end of season stuff to match the recent mentality. When you constantly go on a crusade to dumb things down don't be surprised when that's what you end up with, maybe it's about time he took control of the team again instead of the senior players running it !

Admittedly it's just a ballpark figure for arguments sake and I usually just use Blackburn rather than BWD it sounds better ? As with a lot of things regarding Rovers it's totally skewed by the difference in demographics of this town and places similar sized say like Ipswich for example. Here we have one of if not The most multicultural towns in the country for its size as well as high levels of poverty so it would be crazy to thing that doesn't affect our local pulling power. Most clubs though will pull a lot of their regular hardcore from within a mile or twos radius i'd wager so I do believe we'll still stack up well compared to these it's just we don't have the same amount of people ...or type who'll be interested enough. Facts whether we like it or not sadly.

If that game and in particular the entire first half doesn't scream comfort zone I don't know what does. Dangerous place to be.

From what we've seen since the transfer window shut the words of Boro/Cov/WBA fans in regards to Mowbray after a couple of seasons completely giving in to his silly mix and try and match selections and formations until they implode is well in motion.

Couldn't care if I never see Williams again he's been utter rubbish this season about time this manager woke up to the fact most of his defenders are not of good championship standard. Mulgrew is included in that he struggled like mad last time in this league and has a lot this season, his wand of a left foot takes attention away from his frequent defensive frailties. As I've mentioned before though generous Tony has tied these lot here for several more years on big money so there'll be little available for any upgrade.

Bring your mates for a tenner but don't expect the team to turn up !

I forsee Pullis wanting balls lumped at the full backs this aft. Yet another experimental side thrown out so lets see what happens, second half of this season really should be named Tombola time I think.

Some clubs just have the demographics, affluence and maybe location of ground to sustain the gates the likes of Rovers just can't I don't think it's coincidence that bigger towns and cities can hold onto bigger crowds even when times aren't as good as they once were on the pitch. We still average around ten percent of the towns population in regards to home fans and that'll stack up against most other clubs it only shows up more here when we do ok the crowds don't rise much if at all whereas at some others they shoot up by thousands simply because they have more in the woodwork locally to draw from, todays opponents being a case in point.

Or he's trying to create a nice vacancy for a pal or pal of a pal ? I suppose they need someone watching that screen and knowing what he's looking for then able to drop everything and jet off to see them in the flesh, not a bad number. Think i'll apply ! In other news I see it's snowing again on here this morning ?

One of Connings lads ? Anyway if they leave him out on loan over the next 12 months most of that contract should be covered, maybe we are in the hiring players out game as well now....

A former well placed 'source' said he arrived like all the rest i.e no director etc in England knew anything about it until they were told he was coming the day before. Maybe just the usual cloak and dagger Venky stiff so they could all get their bets on but I don't think it's coincidence all their appointments were left field never in the running 25-1 shots. But then again you wouldn't say anything if the bosses told you not to so who knows, personally I doubt Senior had much to do with it but he probably highly recommended getting rid of Coyle. He was just another blame deflector with no real purpose though imo after they realised they'd screwed up in epic proportions getting Coyle in. As for Bowyer yes I've no doubt he was a real yes mam no man guy but they potted him after he had the club in a comfort zone for a few years and made them millions, on the recommendations of those who had most to gain from the revolving door manager/player policy again i'd wager. GB wasn't their man after all but they pretty soon got another one in the hot seat in an effort to be Kean mk2.