3 hours ago, tonygreenbank said:

That is my time scale also to cope with play offs etc.

I wonder if the EFL might consider for the 2020-21 the return of the old North/South Divisions from the past?

12 teams in each Division would only necessitate 22 matches which could be fulfilled before the end of May. The top team in each Division gets automatic promotion with the second and third placed teams involved in a play off for the third spot.

This is a very difficult situation where clubs futures are very much at stake. We need some careful decision making.

Now that's a good idea I'd not thought of. Perhaps we need, at least for the next few seasons, to go back to the concept of regional divisions for the present Leagues One and Two.

Well thought-of, that man!

On 11/03/2020 at 17:38, Mattyblue said:

Does it rile anybody else when you see clubs like Watford with halved shirts?

Our heritage, fuck off!

Nah. I just think, "Ah bless; how sad to be a club so desperate to jump on the coat-tails of the famous Blackburn Rovers".

Obviously we never had the best of him; but, at least, he wasn't a Danny Murphy, using Rovers as a transition into another career.

Perhaps we signed him a season too late.

RIP Peter Whittingham 

All too predictable. As will be TM's post-season analysis that he only promised more points and a higher final position in the table than last season.

Which he'll probably deliver.

On 23/02/2020 at 12:10, OldEwoodBlue said:

You might not know but the track is just the other side of the river. It could be done quickly with the will and the investment. 

And for many of us, it was our route down from The Manxman down to the ground.

I recall reading about plans for building an Ewood Halt - my name for the station, not what was in the paper - in the Lancashire Telegraph on the train going up to the EUFA Cup game at Celtic.

And still it's being talked about.

3 hours ago, DE. said:

Tbf if Arma added that to his arsenal then he would 100% be gone to a PL club in the summer. The lad isn't far away from being a top level player based on current form. Honestly I think he may have some serious interest in the summer anyway, as much like Josh King he has that critical ingredient of pace which will intrigue top tier clubs even with his weaknesses taken into account. 

Newcastle must be kicking themselves for selling him for such a relative pittance. I wonder if there's a sell-on clause in there? 

I have a number of friends who are season ticket-holders at St. James' Park whom I asked about AA when we signed him. The consensus was that Rafa Benitez didn't think he could make it at the absolute top level.

They made it sound like we'd got an absolute bargain at the price we paid for him; I'd be staggered if their beloved owner ? doesn't habe a good sell-on clause written into deals like the one on which we acquired him.

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

The select group 2 referees are professional now. Which are Championship Refs unless a Group 1 ref step down and refereeing at this level. The National list only refs league 1 and 2. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_refereeing_in_England#Levels

Today's ref is Tim Robinson who is a full time professional ref. 

https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/match-officials/select-group-two-officials/what-is-select-group-2/

https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/match-officials/select-group-two-officials/select-group-2-match-officials/referee-profiles-201920/tim-robinson/

 

Well, if he is, I hope he can explain today's second penalty to his evaluators' satisfaction.

4 hours ago, Blue blood said:

A few thoughts on today's game.

For their second the referee was wearing a home shirt. That never was a penalty, it was not even a call that the ref had to make and got wrong - plain and simple it was a penalty out of nothing.  If our penalty was dubious - and there certainly was a strong case for the penalty, though I appreciate there is an argument the other way - then there was no case for theirs whatsoever.So neither goal could really be helped by Rovers.

   

A bit of selective editing from someone who wasn't there and who won't pay Murdoch!

I haven't heard ANYone neutral - BBC Radio 5, Quest TV - commentating on the game who thought that that Brentford's second 'goal' was a penalty.

Obviously, I'm sad at the outcome, but it was a point I'd have taken at 12.29 this lunchtime. I'm a bit worried that Michael O'Neill's improved Stoke to the extent that I fear that 5 will be our maximum haul of points from today's and next week's two games.

Let's hope I'm wrong.

4 hours ago, OldEwoodBlue said:

We were 3 points outside the playoffs.

Now 5 points.

The regression is the 2 points we chucked away today.

Shouldn't that read, "the 2 points the Ref chucked away for us with the softest penalty decision ever"?

Mark Chapman on R5 says again that Brentford got a soft penalty. Nobody in the R5 studio saying that about ours.

Mind; in the great scheme of things, what people in the R5 studio - or on here - think about Brentford's pen don't matter, do they??

3 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Soft penalty for them.

FFS!

FWIW Radio 5's commentator & their people in the studio agree. Interestingly, they didn't say that about ours.

Mind you, even if they had, it wouldn't have affected the award, would it?

On 15/02/2020 at 09:58, MarkBRFC said:

I certainly understand the point given our owners track record, but it doesn't mean we should cling on to him until he doesn't fancy it anymore.

I think he's done ok, and achieved what I would probably expect results wise so far during his time here despite some horrendous runs and baffling team selections, It sounds harsh considering what went on before him, but I do think he should have kept us up in his first few months though.

But I honestly think, If Tony Mowbray is the glass ceiling for this club then it's probably time to pack it in.

I've come late to this debate and am 'bingeing' on the last 10 pages or so of this thread at the moment. And, although I've gone a couple of pages beyond Mark's post above, I keep coming back to it.

And that's because I'm perplexed by the last phrase in it. I'm not sure what it means.

Are you saying, Mark, that if we can't get a better manager than TM: then the club should fold; that; if he's eventually replaced but by another name from the client-group of our least favourite agents, we should stop supporting the club; or what?

Have to say that sounds like a real counsel of despair to me.

On 14/02/2020 at 21:55, Colt Seavers said:

You must be tougher than me Stuart. I'm still thawing out!

Yes, decent performance tonight and an entertaining game. Midway through the first half I heard Mulgrew  say to Louie  Annesley "What's his name" about our right back Dan Pike, which made me laugh. He then proceeded to give Pike a piece of his mind.

Think he called him a stupid boy....

Thanks a bunch for that, Colt! I can't now get the image of Mulgrew as 'Captain Mainwaring' out of my head!?

Of course the downside of 'Football For a Fiver' is when the full house of home fans boo their team off at ht. [as mentioned by the Radio 5 reporter at the game!]?

And the lovely thing is how our goal difference is gradually increasing.

Now up to +10; could make all the difference between 6th & 7th place at the end of the season.

1 hour ago, windymiller7 said:

Speaking to a guy last night who knows one of the staff in the treatment room. Says AA is struggling with his back after a weights session on thurs. 

Apparently it's resulted in a bit of a showdown with the training staff, Mowbray & the players. Players not happy with the weights sessions so close to a game leaving them knackered. Mowbray also not happy & it will now change.

This seems to stack up with what we've seen with late injuries to players & them blowing out of their arses after 70 mins.

Hope AA is fit enough to play as he's on fire at the mo.

Can't remember how long ago it was now - the years fly by - but when Everton suffered an 'epidemic' of, I think, knee injuries, David Moyes blamed the club's physiotherapist - one "Baz" Rathbone - and sacked him.

Do similar questions need to be asked of our trainers?

1 hour ago, JHRover said:

Quite looking forward to the day out provided the weather doesn't cause any problems. 

Think we will struggle here. It will be a big day for Charlton with a full house and a chance to take a big step to survival after last night. They'll see this one as a golden opportunity.

I worry about our resilience in these part of games against the poorer sides in the division.

Yes, it'll be a bit of a bear-pit dahn there on Saturday. I've just been talking to a pal in East London whose son lives near the ground and it's already a sell-out @ £5.00 a ticket.

[Random question: Will Waggott have the nous to talk to his opposite number at The Valley about how to fill a ground with lots of fans for the day who might be tempted by a good result for their lads to return again and again????Or will he try to sell them the idea of a Waggott Tax?!]

Back on topic: So how will we cope with a newly-resurgent Charlton - and their presumably fired-up crowd?

I wasn't at last night's game [Please don't have a pop at me like you did at my pal, Russ, last night, inglorious basturk: I'm 73; mobility-impaired and no longer drive; live 20-odd miles from the ground and wouldn't have got home by public transport till around midnight.] but it was quite funny listening to the occasional reports from Ewood on Radio 5.

The reporter was someone I'd not heard before, but he was quite enjoying the game and I remember thinking, "I'll bet what I read on the Message Board after the match won't be quite like that!" Nor would I have expected it to be; we're all - hopefully - "Rovers till I die." After we'd got the 3rd goal, the R5 reporter said that the introduction of Samuel and Brereton had made a difference and implied that the latter had been a bit of a hulk intimidating Hill's defence.

So do we go with an ultra-cautious - we'll keep hold of the point we started the game with - approach or do we go a bit gung-ho and try to get some revenge for that 1-2 shock they gave us back in August? I'm not going to pick a team this far away from the game - there's plenty of time for another one or two of the squad to go down with injuries between now and Saturday - I just hope we keep the back door closed better than we did against Fulham and, perhaps a bit like it sounded on R5 last night, keep plugging away till Charlton crack.

That afternoon in South London was probably the first time since 7th May 1960 that my heart was broken.

Life seemed so unfair!

1 hour ago, Stuart said:

Naming a training pitch after him?? Insulting.

Totally agree.

It really will show Waggott up as utterly insensitive - especially after the verbal kicking the club's management got in FTH recently over their lack of respect to our deceased heroes of yesteryear - if the idea of naming a pitch at Brockhall after TP goes through, and the Riverside Stand isn't re-named.

On 03/02/2020 at 19:33, OJRovers said:

Bennett should not play.

 

Corrected for you, OJR!!??

I've a soft spot for Fulham - the first match I remember my Dad bringing me to at Ewood in 1953 - and, at the start of the season, I thought they'd be pushing the top two harder than they are.

I think that, despite the Teesside Tinkerman, we can win this one by either the only goal, or the odd one in three. Our back four will have to keep a very close watch on Mitrovic, though.

I can only agree with every word that everybody's put in this thread. Especially with the need to get the Tony Parkes Riverside Stand named a.s.a.p. Tony wasn't "one of our own" in that we bought him, but he certainly became one. Has anybody answered the call to manage a club more often?

I'm half-watching the Oxford - Newcastle replay while catching up with the Board. Given the Board's recent record with recognising those of our former heroes who've recently died, I was particularly interested to catch sight of a big photograph of Jim Smith, who of course managed both clubs, with his dates at the Kassam.

On 31/01/2020 at 22:17, Beanie01289 said:

So if he takes us from league 1 to the prem you think hes out of his depth give yourself a shake ( and I know technically he took us down but the damage was done by Coyle before hand)

Isn't 'if' a very big word?!?

4 hours ago, stinny1 said:

I was very gullible at frist with TM and Venkys  i thought  they would push the boat out this season and have a real go . I thought that if we where near the play offs they would just have a go  but  the Transfer window has come and gone and nothing happened . And i come too the opinion  that TM and Venkys  don't  want too move the club forward and the lack of ambition  is there for all too see . I will not be renewing  my season ticket next season because  i don't  want another  season of TM lies and Bennett , Bell ,Williams, Smallwood  stopping  the youngest  from coming through .   There so much work to do next season and i don't  think TM can get it done a Keeper , Left back and right back two Center halfs a Right winger a Stricker just too stand still . Travis , Dack, Nyambe will be sold in the summer  unfortunately and the money will just disappear  very sad

The question that keeps recurring to me in catching up on this thread is, "How much actual interest do the Venky's owners have in us?"

Obviously they can't love This Great Club Of Ours as much as we do; it's in our blood. But is there someone based in Pune whose job is to keep them up-to-date with what's going on in the Championship? And, who knows, keeping an eye on this Message Board?! Or do they rely on TM telling the them the truth on his occasional flights out there?

If the latter, then, sadly, I fear your optimism is misplaced, stinny1. If they're relying on cautious old Tony with his slowly-slowly approach, then they wouldn't see the need for pushing the boat out.

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It's more than just being in this "crap division " for me matey. It's the whole mess, the debt, the powerlessness, the alienation from the fans of the what used to be what I felt was my club, the lots of really dull football, the "doublespeak " from those supposedly in charge. It's the whole nine yards. You and I have seen us in this " crap division " before for decades but we never lost the faith, Rovers were our team even when we couldn't pay the electric bill. I could always paint a rosy picture of our future then even if it was pretty unrealistic, under the Chokers I can't.

One of the snags about coming on here the day after the curtains were drawn on the the transfer window is that you - I! - quickly use up your daily quota of ❤️ to say you 'like' a post.

So I just want to say I like this post of Tyrone's; imo it brilliantly captures the pre-Uncle Jack era.

4 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

I disagree. I don’t think we can have many complaints about youth integration into our first team. Raya, Nuttall, Lenihan, Nyambe and Travis have all broken in and played. The first two were sold. That’s a pretty decent rate over a three year period where we needed to get back up and then consolidate in the Championship.

I agree with your point re increasing that rate now though. I would be looking to start JRC based on form and to be playing Buckley and Thompson as well as Davenport and Chapman off the bench. Get Butterworth some minutes once fit too. Let Hilton cover Walton and evening give him a run towards the end of the season if we’re out of the top 6 running and mathematically safe from relegation[?]

We need to know how many of these players are good enough as an absolute minimum. Unearth a star and we could get a big sale in the summer. Bellingham quoted at £30m. No reason a fantastic final part of the season can’t bring a chunky fee in for JRC or Buckley.

Suggested amendment for you, Paul.