I don't watch the match streamed these days, I come on here after the game and follow this thread from the kick-off to here. I was doing domestic jobs around my flat this afternoon and only occasionally checked the score; last time I did so it was 2-1 on about 85 mins.  So that goal by Davenport - didn't he take it coolly? - made such a difference to my mood.

Someone - apologies to whoever it was made the point that a win and two defeats in today's game and the two following would be more valuable than two draws and a defeat. What I'd like to say is that I believe the team can come back knowing that we - they - can easily get 7 points out of 9 in those three games.

For me, the only worry right now is the severity of Wharton's injury; I'd hate it, both for the club and specially, the lad himself, if it's as bad as we all fear at the moment.

Does anybody know - for certain - whether or not there's any clause in loan agreements which allows players like Magloire to be recalled from loan by a club as near the bare bones for central defenders as we seem to be?

Well, he was missing last night, and N.I. lost. Just saying!

[I'm not his greatest fan, either; and I know that it's nowt to do with Rovers, before anyone points it out.]

This really isn't funny - it's more extremely bl**dy annoying - and sorry, I didn't get my phone out of my pocket quickly enough to take a photo of it.

But, as I was on a bus coming to the Roverstore on Wednesday, I noticed a road sign on Blackburn Road in Darwen just before the right turn onto the M65 which advised drivers "For Blackburn follow Burnley". ?

Can the Council not make representations to the Highways Agency about this offensive sign?

42 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

 

Taxi for Mowbray??

15 hours ago, Tom said:

Sadly I didn’t have a clue who we were playing and have no inclination to buy a streaming pass.

I wish it wasn’t this way but struggling for any enthusiasm 

You're not the only one, Tom.

I'm technologically incompetent; and because Mrs. M1st & I never had any children, I don't now have any grandchildren to watch my feeble attempts to load an iFollow programme and say, "Oh Grandad; it's dead easy!"

And if I couldn't do it last season when it was 'free', I'm certainly not going to blow £10 per game on it this season when I haven't renewed my season ticket.

So I have to check the BBC Sport website to check who our next opponents are.

It's sad; very sad.

5 hours ago, Mercer said:

Mowbray in LT on Downing:

“But as I sit here, he hasn’t done anything in the last three months and you can’t come and train for two days and think you can go and go and affect a football match".

So Downing hasn't done anything in three months which is approximately the length of time between the final league game of a closing season and the opening league game of a new season.

So based on a normal pre season of 5/6 weeks or so, I would not have thought he would be 'match fit' until the middle of December by which time we'll have played 18 or 19 games.  IMO, what a nonsense - a desperate signing by a desperate manager.

 

It could be worse, Mercer; I'm still half-waiting, half-fearing Mowbray announcing the signing of Stuart Ripley!

Well, he must be the only Teesside-born player we haven't signed in the last few years!

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

It goes without saying that there will be harm to attendances across the board and clubs are really going to have their work cut out to try and address it.

What I am interested in is how our decline compares to those elsewhere at rival clubs. I am expecting us to be one of the worst affected, and I don't believe that this will be down to 'demographics' or the local population, but will be down to a shoddy poorly thought out strategy from those running the club.

Lets assume that fans will be allowed back without restrictions for the 2021-22 season. Lets assume we are still on the road to nowhere with Mowbray in the summer. Then Waggott is going to have to work his socks off over the summer to get people back. It isn't going to be easy, or quick, but serious, sustained and innovative ideas need to be rolled out to do it and re-engage supporters and get people back in the habit. Groundhog day just won't sell.

I'm afraid sticking an extra £50 on the price and attempting to emotionally blackmail supporters into signing up will just alienate even more.

'As you were folks' and 'we're committed, are you?' attitude to it will not bring people back. This is going to be the stage when a £300,000 a year CEO needs to earn his salary.

Sadly I don't think Waggott has the capability, innovation or interest never mind the freedom to spearhead such a thing. All he will do is propose a pricing structure and await approval from the money men in India.

Scary really whilst Accy Stanley are this week distributing free kits to Hyndburn primary school children. Keep them interested, keep them hooked.

Totally agree with you there, JHRover.

I'm currently listening to 'Out of their League', the podcast about the way in Bury AFC was established in the wake of Bury FC being kicked out of the EFL. Earlier today, I listened to an episode describing the importance of involving young volunteers in establishing the Phoenix club. The majority of the older Bury AFC fans won't be that fussed about doing jobs around the place but if you can get the youngsters on board, . . .

So it'll have to be at Ewood; we have to appeal to the younger generation. They are the 'us on here' of the 2030s and going forward who'll, hopefully, carry the torch of This historically Great Club Of Ours forward.

It sounds like Stanley have grasped that; it's pathetic if Waggott - is he really on £300,000 a year? What ideas does he come up with to warrant such a salary? - can't.

Because without some radical thinking at Ewood for the post-Virus era, I fear for the attendance figures once fans can be re-admitted to the ground. And that leads onto fearing about the very existence of the club in the medium- to long-term.

2 hours ago, tomphil said:

Another disjointed but determined effort, Evans has probably told them he's putting his feet up in prep for his usual international efforts. Seeing as he'll be needing another generous contract soon though he's said he'll do 20 mins if needed just to help old Tone out because he likes him. 

Another draw but we'll score in this one. has to be first obviously otherwise it's curtains.

1 - 1

I know you'll all be pleased, but not surprised, to know that one of the headlines on the BBC Sports app tonight is that 'Evans is expected to be fit for Northern Island's game with Slovakia.' The item doesn't explain in which sense they're using the word 'fit': 'free from injury'; or 'appropriate for selection'.

I assume that TM will help him by not selecting him for the game.

Given that we seem to be down to the bare bones of the squad, I wouldn't disagree with pick32's choice except that I'd be reluctant to risk Armstrong. With fingers crossed, I'd go for Gallagher instead.

As an aside, I'm belatedly reading "Rovers Revolution"; and one of the thoughts that's occurred to me is what would Uncle Jack have to say about the likes of Grella and our current Northern Irish mini-Grella? My bet is that he'd have leant on the Manager - and it surely wouldn't have been Mowbray - to pay them off.

And we could drop another three places tomorrow. Not saying we will, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

The whole structure of the club is wrong these days, imo. There appears to be no accountability anywhere and there doesn't really appear to have been since Uncle Jack died; and certainly not since the Walker Trust sold the club to our present owners and what seems to be their benign[?] neglect of an entity which they obviously don't value or respect a fraction as much as most of us on here.

I'm sorry I haven't the technological skills - I'm an old fogey who doesn't 'do' social media; apart from this Board, I like to 'have a life'! - to copy a post about Wolves which I put on page 37 of the post-Watford inquest. A Chinese company bought them some years ago and installed locally one of their executives as a link between the company and 'their' football club. Which has gone from strength to strength at a time when our owners' apparent benign neglect of their purchase has led to us travelling in the opposite direction.

Our owners apparently see us as a small and insignificant part of their portfolio; and, imo, all our present ills stem from this. A couple of years ago - plus or minus - I was one of those who took the attitude that, because Rovers were in roughly the same League position that we were at the time of the first match I remember my Dad bringing me to at Ewood in the 1953/54 season, we should give Mowbray at least another season.

Well, he's had that and more; and we seem to be locked into a spiral of decline in which he seems incapable of reversing. And worse, our owners seem not to care - at least to those of us who have always cared about Lancashire's Most Historic Football Club - enough about what they're presiding over.

I don't know what we can do about this - to most of us on here - sad state of affairs. The way that the FA and the EFL apparently did little or nothing in the sad case of Bury FC leaves me with little hope that either of them will want, especially not retrospectively, to investigate whether our owners are appropriate or responsible owners.

It hurts me to post a message like this; but we seem to be in a spiral of neglect. Money is wasted on players who are then played out of position; key positions are not being filled adequately; we're signing what appear to be Mowbray's cronies - or the sons of cronies - irrespective of whether they are what we actually need.

The worst thing is I don't know what we can do about it.

55 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Have you? Not for me. Mowbray has plenty of fans backing 

Name them, Chaddy. There can't be that many.

53 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Agreed. Pears, Lenihan and Evans SHOULD have played themselves out of the side. 

Suggested amendment for you, Exiled_Rover.

Knowing the TM style[?] of football management, I wouldn't have put any money on your original suggestion happening.

2 hours ago, tomphil said:

Isolating because they 'might' have come into contact with someone who's had it or symptoms ?

Can't run football like this for a season it's farcical, nearly as farcical as the real world.  Speaking of that you'd think they'd lockdown certain clubs who have a few tested positive or showing symptoms.

Lockdown 2 on its way soon guaranteed.  This season will turn into a pantomime way before it ends.....about next December.

Oh, no; it won't!?

[Well, someone had to say it!]

8 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Or just hows unpredictable this league is. This league is wide open. With no fans in ground now and Covid-19 impacting games it is making this league even more unpredictable..

Not just this one; think back to recent surprise results in the Premier League for Liverpool and Manchester United.

And yes; it is too early in the day for me to get you chapter and verse about the ones I have in mind; I'm sure you know the ones I mean!?

On what's forecast to be a day not to go out if you don't have to, I've just been checking the TV schedules.

You might want to give BBC1's Football Focus a miss; it looks like there's going to be a big interview with The Dingle-Manager, from which he's quoted as saying that their Board told him his first job was "beat Blackburn for us."

Cue smug grins on his face, no doubt and rises in my blood pressure.?

14 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Wimbledon play at QPR this season.

Just read that the new Plough Lane opens next month

And when Wimbledon and MK Dons play each other, I believe the Dons refer to the game - ironically, obvs - as the 'Franchise Derby'! If memory serves, they won't do anything they're not required to: e.g. they won't print a programme.

9 hours ago, 47er said:

God, I’d go down there and carry him to Elwood myself!

A manager who would definitely get us promoted and keep us there and break Burnley hearts as well?

What Rovers fan could not get sweaty over that?

If that were to happen, I'd like a wee bit of advance notice, please.

I'd want to be the one person to be able to break the news to my Burnleh-supporting old schoolmate in New Zealand!!?

On 09/08/2020 at 14:02, chaddyrovers said:

anyone seen this 

 

 

Has anyone else been listening to Out Of Their League, a podcast about the way Bury FC were dealt with - failed? - by the EFL and the FA, and the way in which a 'phoenix club', Bury AFC, has been set up by volunteers in the town? It's quite frightening how much risk EFL clubs are in from individuals and companies who have no real interest in the club, but buy and sell them for, basically, 'buttons' and how the FA and the EFL manage to show that they have complied with what - they say - they are required to do.

It's going to be a 9-episode series - I've just finished listening to episode 2 - and while Bury and Macclesfield have bitten the dust so far, you can't help feeling that they won't be the only ones by a long way. It's doubtless available elsewhere, but I've been listening via www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

16 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

If it doesn't what are we paying him for ?  I get the impression at Rovers there is no " buck ", we exist in a responsibility vacuum. The manager can make as many mistakes as he likes and we all know nothing will happen. Same with the players, certain players can phone in performances on a weekly basis and nothing happens.

Dead right, Tyrone.

Since reading that post of yours, I've been in contact with a Wolves-supporting former colleague who joined me at their first-ever Premier League game in 2003 at Ewood.

He sent me the following link: https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/2020/07/23/matt-maher-owners-are-proving-to-be-the-dream-ticket-at-wolves/

which sets out clearly how their Chinese owners are represented locally by a man who was accepted by Sir Jack Heyward, their equivalent to Uncle Jack.

If only our owners had established a similar set-up, TM wouldn't now be in such a stress-free zone as he and Waggott seem currently to inhabit. And who knows, we might even be back in the Premier League.

Aren't 'if' and 'only' two very big words?

And couldn't that 'loyalty and decency' which seems to be part of TM's DNA, lead to internal clashes - Mowbray vs. Waggott, even - if any such Review recommended getting rid of some of the backroom staff? That could be a real test for TM: loyalty to long-standing colleagues [say, Venus] vs. keeping his own job.

Having said that, I don't actually think it would come to that because I couldn't see Waggott having the cojones, as they say in Spanish football ? , to commission such a Review.

Unless, of course, our Owners ordered him to. And are they really that interested in us?

Yesterday's result was predictable in so many ways for Rovers' fans: first game after an 'international fortnight'; fans on a high following a more positive than expected transfer window; and, from what YouTube shows - I didn't watch the game 'live' - we were 'kicking the wrong way', with Forest's goal going in at the Blackburn End!

So it's important that we do as much as possible to bring all three points home from Watford. Which for me requires the following team to start the game:

Kaminski;

Nyambe, Ayala, Lenihan, Douglas;

Trybull, Holtby*, Johnson;

Armstrong, Gallagher, Elliott.

Subs: Pears; Rankin-Costello, Williams, Bell, Evans, Brereton, Dolan.

Bell may have had a better game than often yesterday but, from all I've read about Douglas, he's an upgrade on Bell and that's why he's been signed. Also, as has been noted elsewhere, having been signed from Leeds - and accepting that he's only played one game this season before his transfer, he's a product of Bielsa's training regime so may well be the fittest bloke in blue and white halves.

After yesterday, Trybull, for me, has to come into midfield. Again, I believe he's an improvement on Evans and that alone would warrant his immediate selection.

As for the front three, I'd lump - sorry, play! - Gallagher in the middle with the instruction that if he even tried to play on one of the wings, he would face, in the words of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, "a cruel and unusual punishment"!

When I asked my correspondent with an Anfield season ticket about Elliott's attributes, he specifically mentioned his 'toughness'. Which gives me hope that he'll be more than able to cope with whatever wiles the Watford defence have waiting for him.

If we weren't ahead with 25 - 30 minutes to go, I'd replace one of the midfielders with either JRC or Dolan.

* Assuming he's back from Paternity Leave.

12 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Talk about being cheesed off! Typical Rovers after an international break.?

2 hours ago, JoeH said:

Benno is going to be out for months so why don’t we put the hate on the back burner considering it means absolutely nothing right now. 

Just got in from the Saturday Big Shop, so I hadn't seen this before. My earlier comment certainly wasn't intended as 'hate' for Bennett.

For some time, I haven't seen what he's added to the pre-yesterday squad, other than being a conduit between TM and the Dressing Room. Comments I read about Douglas yesterday - and the links between TM and Downing - made me think that, if my view were correct, then either, or both of, Douglas and Downing could fill that role.

10 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Looks like it!! I suppose if you had the budget to fill it then Downing is the perfect choice...great experience, versatile, model pro, positive influence in the dressing room and still a very good footballer.

Douglas is also said to have a positive influence in the dressing room. So here's a thought; do we still need Bennett?

Just asking!?

PS: I can't wait for my regular weekend WhatsApp chat with my Burnleh-supporting former schoolmate in NZ!!???