15 quid all lower tiers, 20 quid upstairs and aim for 20k crowd including the barcodes otherwise it might be a tad embarrassing charging league prices for a live tv game. This is a great exercise for them to use what's between theirs ears and come up with something rather than just salivate at filling it up with away fans and fleecing them. Help the home fans, help the team and sod the visitors you want it as uncomfortable as possible for them.

I don't think there was much between Tommy Spurr and Williams, to be honest although the back up in Bell is better than what we had previously but barring the odd exception does anyone have good full backs in this league ?

That's why I've been repeatedly critical of the lack of back up for Graham as that certainly would've taken some of the spotlight of BB for a bit at least.

And because those who spent the big money on him appear very reluctant to actually use him in a position or system he seems best suited for.

You do feel sometimes that some of that is what stops him being a regular gaffer at a higher level but if he did pull off promotion here it would be some achievement, surely his best one.

Ha ha that old chestnut....

There's no doubt Cashley is another clueless fat self serving business man tosser in football for altogether different reasons but I think our tales of the Venky ownership trump anything he's done so you might find sympathy a bit short on here. Shame Newcastle can't provide the backing whilst they've got a big name gaffer there like Benitez he could well have had them punching above their weight.

He did a pal of mine bumped into him up here when he was covering a game around the time the full Venky/Kean/Anderson situation was kicking in and off record he was genuinely disgusted at it all and seriously worried about the clubs survival at that point, I think they owed Barclays 10 million about then.

Great piece on Mowbray what a proper football bloke he is, shame about Venus situation there was a few questioning if he was a good enough coach but the poor fella wasn't even coaching. We really do forget that despite the money they get and the circus they are on in that industry they are all human and have the same trials and tribulations as everyone else.

A full pre season here and a year stronger might make a difference he's only a kid really but for me along with that the manager has to decide what he's doing with him and how best to utilize his talents if he has any. That might mean a different approach next season although it could see Graham as back up man Brereton seems very much a two or three upfront man. Let's hope there actually is a plan in place.

Therefore it was a signing based primarily on money instead of a pure football decision. This lot never quit from trying to learn the hard way.

To be fair Mowbray has reconstructed the whole set up and although sometimes it doesn't feel like we've moved on from the GB days we've got to consider what's happened inbetween. Arguably he started from a weaker point after Venkys, agents, toss pot players along with Coyle & co ruined the good foundations Bowyer had laid so TM has restored us to that point so far with a team that has more bottle and workrate but less overall talent. Key thing now is he just has to improve the starting 11 and not just bloat the squad and call it strong because it has depth which then results in constant tinkering and rotation just for the sake of using it and justifying it, been there before as well. Build on this thing and improve the team whilst it's there to build on before it gets pulled to bits again for one reason or another.

Of course he's as proven he's carved out a career as a professional over several seasons albeit more successfully so far at a league below and his England youth record is better than Bens seeing as that keeps getting held up. Different types of players of course but regardless of last season in Bens case at Forest AA is streets ahead of him at the min yet half the price and still has potential sell on in a few years if he improves. Not sure how they'd compare neck and neck at the same age but if Rovers had doffed 1.75 plus a multitude of potential possible add ons on BB not many would worry that much. Top and bottom is Brereton probably should be cutting his teeth and banging in a few in league 1 or 2 like AA did to best help his progress and hunger to succeed.

A) No one's tried to defend the deal, one of the chief sugar coaters has liked your post and the other would ute he's banned ? b) You couldn't sign 3 proven players for that money, you could obviously depending on how you are judging 'proven' i.e Armstrong is proven compared to Brereton. Not painting your post as nonsense by the way just the notions that we couldn't sign a few good players ready to go into the side for that kind of money. Wages are also debatable as room can be made loaning out or removing a bit of deadwood so accommodate the 1 into 2 or 3 scenario.

Sorry pal but that's nonsense you only have to look at Armstrong, ok he hasn't torn any trees up but every now and then he contributes something. He cost an initial 1.75 poss rising to 3 over time, his wages won't be cheap but decent champ standard. Not much older than BB and I don't know about his youth pedigree but he had pedigree for scoring a few in the lower leagues he can also play a couple of positions. I'm also sure that BBs wages in the contract will reflect his progress and if he becomes a regular scoring goals he won't be on much different to AA soon enough. Either way compared to Brereton at the min he represents good value and just the same as Ben one good season or even half one and he'll attract attention and deliver a good profit if sold. Just as much chance if not more of that happening as there is with Brereton and we don't have to wait and pray that he delivers something at least. Yes ready made articles are hard to find for that money and modest starting wages but there ARE signings out there to be had who can contribute now and still grow and maybe deliver a profit.

Some people trying to defend it have some twisted logic, it's as if there was no other player available anywhere ever to BRFC so we just had to splash the total package of 7 million spread over time just in case he's worth a bit more in 3 years but the first 11 can slide it doesn't matter because Big Ben might just might come good one day.... so we can sell him ! However do other clubs ever manage when they can't do deals like this ?

You'd have to calculate those per season because per game would be pointless as often there aren't any.

That's the million dollar question with Rovers as if every penny or even most of it went back to be reinvested in the squad i'm not sure we'd have been where we have, the rank bad management of Coyle aside who could probably relegate Man City this season if he went there now.

Lenihen still has time on his side and he's still developing we need to remember that and centre backs can bloom late 20's onwards but it does hamper the team a bit. A huge part of their game particularly at this level is trying to dominate the air but neither of our first choices do that well enough imo and it's a big reason we concede so many from those central positions in the box. Swings and roundabouts though because it's hard to get the balance right as when we had Hanley and Duffy they got done on the deck from open play too easily at times but repelled a lot in the air. Still let in too many from set pieces considering their attributes but a lot of that was down to the weak keeper then and too many crosses came in because the full backs, particularly RB's got swapped about all the time.

Definitely a message to the owners there but how do you know ask for more money when seemingly you didn't want it in the summer OR tied it all up in a riskily speculative might come good might not signing of a kid ? Hopefully that one was above his head and he's now asking for proper first team funds for his own players.

You suspect huge money would go right to his head but Dack has come up the hard way whereas Bentley was at Arsenal quite young I think and maybe always a bit of a big time Charlie from a young age. I think Dack would give it a good go before he fell off the rails whether it was with Rovers or anywhere else, he's saying all the right things at the moment but it's consistency on the pitch that counts and also gets you the good moves. Personally i'd be horrified to see him become a barcode i think he'd be more suited to gentler Southern climes like Fulham or somewhere, avoid Spuds and West Ham at all costs if i were him, graveyards for modest talent like him.

He's a good manager especially man management and the off field stuff but on it at times some of it is under parr and baffling. People say what they see with football and that will always be the case and i'm sure Mowbray is well aware of that. Every time there's a good performance or signing he gets credit and when it or they appear bad he gets questioned if he and the team didn't we'd slide down the league again with a whimper. Some of the best performances both by the team and him selection/tactics wise have come in response to poor stuff and some stinging criticism, a point worth noting ! Not always the most vocal at home but Rovers have and always have had a passionate fanbase so it's par for the course, never been a club for faint hearted fans, players, managers and that's just the way it is.

I think you can pay on the day but the price doubles.

Andy Morrison or Andy Todd would do nicely !

Bowyer even had him at left back ! He did an admirable job at RB once or twice at Rovers and maybe if they'd pulled their heads out their arses and realized he'd never make the 5 million quid midfielder they were trying to make him into to flog he could've carved out a career at right back. Think it was far too late for him though at that point the shadow chasing was implanted into his DNA, odd that he's never actually played at the level his abilities suit but his time will come,